Missed days are made up later

Regarding the letter, “Most parents can’t ‘walk off’?”: I would like to clarify a few misconceptions surrounding teacher walkouts. Teachers are only paid for the days they work. Period. Walkout days must be made up at the end of the year, just like snow days, so the days they spent demonstrating are unpaid time they are volunteering to improve learning conditions for students.

As far as schools that look like “corporate headquarters,” teachers have nothing to do with building schools or school design. Money for building is raised through separate, voter-approved levies. There are probably more schools in dire need of updating than there are new showplaces, but that is not the point. Teachers deserve respect for going out and standing up for their students and what has been voted on by the majority in Washington, but not provided by the legislators — smaller class sizes and fully funding education. This is not about salaries and they have little to gain personally from the walkouts and demonstrations — but teachers are tired of being told to do more with less and it is time that the powers in Olympia hear them. Unfortunately, they have been largely ignored, so they have had to resort to walkouts in order to bring attention to their cause. Instead of questioning their motives, we should be joining them and demanding the funding that our kids deserve.

Andrea Johnston

Everett