In response to the 4/8/2011 post, “My Property Tax Appraisal” a reader writes: You’re my hero!! SC ResponseThank you. Right now, my heroes are the campus administrators and teachers who continue to work harder than ever while politicians and the public treat them like they are thieves and leaches. Is this a case of people projecting their faults on others? What is interesting to me is that no one believes that police officers and firefighters are getting rich in their pursuit of fulfilling public service, but that is not the case in education. Which shows you how clueless the general public is in regards to this matter. Police and firefighters get paid overtime and routinely work off-duty jobs to significantly supplement their income. Neither which is the case for educators. In fact, the teacher who works an extra job had best keep that fact quiet, lest it be assumed that they are not putting in the planning and preparation time necessary for quality instruction (refer back to the 452 part series, Yes, I Know the Hours are Long). Second, I’m spending more and more time explaining that there is not one administrator for every one teacher (the 1:1 lie). I won’t argue that the number of support personnel has increased, but the vast majority of them are in response to increased requirements, expectations, services and accountability. Even if we could save millions by cutting pre-K, bilingual, special education and GT services, the act is morally reprehensible and bad fiscal policy. Increasing the breadth and depth of an educated citizenry is critical for long-term economic growth. The fact that maintaining that investment requires sacrifice is not a bad thing. If my grandfather’s generation was as adverse to perceived (actual in their case) hardship to further that greater good, as we seem to be now, the free world, as we know it would not exist. It is as if we have gone from a shinning beacon to a whining beacon. Which is why the school staff that haven’t lost focus are my heroes. Think. Work. Achieve. Your turn…Follow Sean Cain at www.Twitter.com/LYSNationComing Soon! “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction” www.TheFundamentalFive.comPlan to attend the LYS presentations at TASSP, TASB and TEPSA