Dear Editor,

According to the National Education Association (NEA), the average starting salary for a teacher in California is $46,589. The US average is $39,249. The NEA further notes that “when the effects of price inflation are taken into account, the average classroom teacher salary has actually decreased by 4.5 percent from 2009-10 to 2018-19, while average salary for instructional staff had decreased by 3.6 percent.”

These salaries are insufficient to draw more of the best and brightest to the noble profession of teaching. Bravo to our hard-working and effective teachers here in Culver City and across the state who forgo far easier professions with often better salaries and workplace conditions because of their love of children and their passion for teaching.

Would someone please tell Mr. Rubenstein (9/26) and Mr. Laase (9/12) to stop picking on our teachers and schools? Rubenstein’s numbers in his salary evaluations are derived from a proprietary website serving businesses to make “compensation decisions” and circumvent negotiations on salary. I find his statements to be misleading, at best. Laase’s assertion that CCUSD spending on salaries has “gone wild” is a half-note shy of hysteria.

Sincerely,

Bruce Lebedoff Anders

Culver City