Teacher pay
We are in the midst of every Virginia Beach teacher’s favorite time of year, budget season! It is during this time that teachers hear platitudes about how we are appreciated and how important we are to the successes of the schools and students. Simultaneously we learn how undervalued we truly are to those making and passing the budget. As if always having to beg for a long overdue pay raise isn’t insulting enough, now Virginia Beach teachers have lost two half days that were previously scheduled for planning. The pages of accolades that are shared in the Superintendent’s Estimate of Needs are a direct result of the excellent work of hardworking teachers and other school employees. Quality instruction requires planning time and it deserves an increase in pay. VBCPS is poised to receive $16.3 million in additional funding from the state. At the Feb. 25 budget workshop, VBCPS gave no indication that they intended to use the additional funds towards a substantial pay increase as suggested by Segal, the consultation firm hired to provide solutions to address the VBCPS salary and compensation shortfalls. School employees across Virginia Beach welcome any and all public support. Please contact the school board and ask them to use the additional state funds of $16.3 million to increase the pay of teachers and school employees.
Animal shelters
Re “Virginia poised to become largest no-kill state” (Other Views, Feb. 28): I take issue with Makena Yarbrough’s reference to the outdoors as a “home” for cats. It isn’t. A home is a safe place, a comfortable place. A place where you are loved and welcomed. The outdoors is none of those for cats. I have trapped and sterilized many cats who’ve wandered onto my property as well as properties I manage. I’ve seen what life is really like for animals who are left outdoors. I’ve horrifically seen them run over in the streets, suffer from miserable illnesses, or simply disappear. It breaks my heart knowing how preventable all their suffering is. PETA has been a tremendous help with the spay/neuter, vaccinations, and humane euthanasia when the time comes. They’ve helped me alone with over 15-plus ferals. Most of them lived to be very old, and had a much better life thanks to PETA. That doesn’t include the countless cats and dogs PETA helped vaccinate, spay/neuter for our tenants. Recently, I sought help for an old, semi-feral cat I called Weezy. I had been trying to trap her for a long time, but she evaded me until she was so ill that she could no longer run away. Leaving animals like Weezy on the streets might make shelters’ statistics look better, but it’s cruel, and the opposite of what shelters should do. PETA’s team made her final moments peaceful and ended her suffering with love. The streets are not homes. Shelters must prioritize animals’ well-being above their “no-kill” ambitions. It’s a harsh truth but a necessary one.
Downturn
Re ” The governor’s voice” (Our Views, March 2): Before it is too late I would like to say “thank you” to all the businesses who have provided goods and services to our communities, and many of whom are our neighbors and friends. Virginia has about 145,000 federal employees, making it one of the states with the most federal workers. With the firings of many of those employees and the potential loss of billions of dollars in federal funding from Washington, I fear in the coming months Virginia will begin to feel the economic pinch and we will see the shuttering of businesses we know and love.
