A new survey released by the National Education Association showed that 55% of educators are thinking about leaving the profession earlier than they had planned. School districts across the nation are already experiencing teacher shortages. The U.S. is on course to have a public education crisis. Some might say it has already started.
Many teachers would agree that there are numerous problems in public education. One of the problems that has persisted for far too long is the issue of low teacher pay. It is almost common knowledge that teachers are not paid what they deserve. Now is the time to act in order to avoid a public education crisis.
So many state and local levels of government have been unable to find real solutions to fairly compensate teachers. The Orange County School Board consistently expressed their desire to pay teachers more; however, they maintain that their hands are tied because of various state laws regarding the allocation of funds. This is not a problem that is unique to Orange County. We have a national problem with public education. As more and more teachers leave the profession, something must be done now to attract and retain highly-qualified educators.
A step in the right direction would be to better compensate teachers. There is a solution to increase teacher pay without an increase in government spending: exempt all public school teachers from federal income taxes. The government’s solution to a problem usually involves more spending. Exempting public school teachers from paying federal income taxes does not involve more government spending and allows teachers to bring home more money.
Teachers play such a vital role in our communities. Let’s not forget that education is the foundation of our society. Our republican form of government does not work without an educated population. Without teachers, we don’t have education. Without education, we don’t have a future. Teachers have been overworked, underappreciated and underpaid for too long. If the government can’t find solutions to pay teachers more, this tax exemption seems an appropriate benefit and the least our teachers deserve.
Exempting public school teachers from the federal income tax should appeal to both the Democratic and Republican parties. The Democrat Party claims to support teachers, and this solution helps our nation’s teachers. The Republican Party claims they favor limited government. This is a limited government solution to a major problem.
Your teachers need you, Lake Nona. Please consider writing to your congressional representative. Ask them to exempt public school teachers from paying federal income taxes.
We have all heard of “No Child Left Behind.” Now it is time for “No Teacher Left Behind.”
Kyle Johnson is a U.S. History teacher at Lake Nona High school and an advocate for teachers in public education. He has kicked off the movement #NoTaxationforEducation and hopes to make enough noise to start a dialogue about the injustice of teachers being unfairly compensated. To learn more about this movement, visit @NoTaxationforEducation on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
