Oct 19, 2017 1 min read

Ringgold Education Association (REA) needs a reality check.

Most people who work have had to suffer through concessions in salary and health care coverage. We live in a district with depressed communities. The majority of us have just gone through an assessment of our properties, which in some cases has increased our taxes by 50 percent or more. The increases the REA is asking for are unreasonable.

The salaries of members of the REA are paid by taxes, which are not a bottomless pit. The teachers still have a guaranteed pension, which should have been done away with years ago. Most people in the real world have had to convert to 401(k) accounts, and are responsible for their own retirement.

I’ve worked several union jobs, and different jobs paid different wages, and seniority doesn’t matter. As far as working two or three jobs to make ends meet, it sounds like these people need to learn to the difference between wants and needs. There is no reason a person couldn’t live a comfortable life on the salaries that have been proposed. It’s called living within your means.

Dean Ingram

Monongahela