Editor:
Isn’t it amazing that our schoolteachers don’t have any understanding of economics?
In B.C., the average teacher salary is a high of $71, 831 in School District No. 20 (SD20) (Kootenay-Columbia) to a low of $63,869 in SD84 (Vancouver Island West). Ontario pays the highest average salary of $75,688, Alberta second at $74,299, and B.C. third at $72,242. Alberta placed number one in literacy scores and B.C. came in second (from kt012.cabc_teachers_wages and from nucleuslearning.com).
Now Susan Lambert of the B.C. Teachers’ Federation says teachers are underpaid to that of Ontario and Alberta.
Ontario’s tax rate is 5.05 per cent, the lowest in Canada with a population of 13,210,667. B.C.’s tax rate is 5.06 per cent, second lowest with a population of 4,510,858.
The reason B.C. does not pay the same is because Ontario has 8,699,809 more taxpayers. Alberta’s tax rate is 10 per cent, with a population of 3,724,832 – it collects much more in taxes from taxpayers than B.C.
Lambert must realize it’s taxpayers that pay teacher wages. In B.C. if she thinks that the present government should adjust wages to that of Ontario and Alberta, then taxpayers just have to pay more taxes.
B.C. teachers, on average, are paid $63,869 to $71,831, with total working days of 188, after all professional days, statutory and summer holidays are taken into account.
The average working person will work 238 days, after stat holidays and an average of 15 days vacation taken into account, with nowhere near the amount of these salaries.
Is it fair that taxpayers should sweeten the teachers pay package with higher taxes? Lambert has to take into account that with the present salary structure, along goes all that time off without ever affecting the paycheque.
It is amazing that these university graduates are teaching our kids and yet they cannot understand the above economics.
Joe Sawchuk, Duncan, B.C.