Dear Editor,
This week the leader of the NOW party stated on the Lady Grace Radio Show that for four years the Government of St. Maarten neglected police officers and teachers. As a teacher, I agree or concur with this statement. In the case of teachers, many of us have suffered mightily. For example, public school teachers are still owed vacation allowance. On the other hand, teachers working at subsidized schools are still owed their cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Many of these teachers are wondering if they will receive their COLA next week when salaries are due.
The new Government of St. Maarten needs to do the following things to gain many teachers' respect and support.
First, ensure that teachers working at subsidized schools are paid COLA as soon as possible.
Second, devise a new formula or way how to pay subsidized schools. The current form is outdated.
Third, discontinue charging schools the same price that is billed to a business for electricity and water. A school does not make profit.
Fourth, make sure all schools have white boards, projectors and other forms of technology.
Fifth, extend the summer vacation to two months for teachers and students.
Sixth, permit students to return to school the second Monday of January.
Seventh, reduce the teaching period from 45 minutes to 30 or 35 minutes.
Eighth, amend the law to allow secondary schools to begin school at 9am and conclude at 3pm. Teachers and students will have additional time to rest and sleep.
Ninth, establish a monthly source of income to pay yearly COLA and Christmas bonuses.
Tenth, institute the recent policy on special education.
Eleventh, increase vacation allowance from 6 to 8 percent.
Twelfth, introduce a new salary scale for teachers, especially since many teachers remain at the bottom of the current salary scale for years.
There are a lot more areas a new minister of education can focus on besides the ones discussed in this article. Hopefully, the new minister of education will be an educator who worked in the elementary and secondary level. Such a person should also listen and use the ideas of teachers. If many of the issues confronting education are not quickly addressed, the departure of educators that is presently occurring will certainly continue.
In closing, my wish is for the new government to last for four years and bring what the leader of the NOW party described as tangible and meaningful results daily to the lives of us all.
Kenneth Cook
