Editor,
With Nov. 6th just around the corner, I wanted to take a moment to say why I’m voting in support of Miller Yes.
Our Noblesville students/children deserve the brightest and most creative professionals our educational institutions have to offer. With neighboring districts in Hamilton County paying teachers $5,000 to $15,000 more per year, I’m not surprised to see a teacher shortage in the past two years in our district.
Our teachers work tirelessly each day: concerned with appropriate grade curriculum, teaching lessons, making sure students aren’t falling behind in their coursework, classmate/friend disputes, etc. They’re asked to teach anywhere from 22 to 31 students per class and make sure each child gets the appropriate amount of explanation needed in each lesson.
With that said, I’ve volunteered in my three children’s classrooms during their elementary school years and have witnessed first-hand many social, behavioral and emotional challenges in the classrooms. The disruptions, even with an experienced teacher, makes teaching and learning come to a halt.
In the past two years we’ve lost a handful of teachers, within the schools my children attend, that have 10 to 15 years of experience each. These professionals are asked to be responsible for the same duties at a new school versus their Noblesville School, but are being paid $5,000 to $15,000 more at a new school. My heart breaks as I realize, “We’ve lost another great educator.”
Whether you have a child, niece, nephew, grandchild, neighbor, etc. that attends Noblesville Schools, don’t you want our teachers to be paid fairly for what they’re responsible for? We all chose to live in or move to Noblesville, which is an awesome community. One key factor for my family is our great schools and great teachers.
It’s hard to compete with salary disparages between same-county school districts. If this referendum doesn’t pass, our schools, our students and our community will lose out. Please consider voting yes, Miller Yes, on Nov. 6.
Jennifer Sochocki
Noblesville
