Before you vote, please read what the McCreary legislation (Senate Bill 6362) says. It cost you a lot of money.

Two items should interest you. First, it specifies the minimum salary for beginning teachers, classified and administrators. South Kitsap School District already pays folks well in excess of what the legislation requires. So those huge pay raises (average 23 percent) just added to the excess the district pays.

Second, it tells districts to secure a funding source to maintain the excess funding if it chooses to pay higher. I guess that’s more levies to follow. So, how is this affecting your child since, in South Kitsap, it’s “for the kids”?

Is your child’s teacher now 23 percent better, more attentive, more innovative and more responsive to your child’s needs? Is your school principal 23 percent better at helping your child succeed? Or is it still the same stuff?

Did you get what you paid for? If not, start asking why. Education is one of the few jobs where we reward longevity instead of performance. Maybe it’s time for South Kitsap to lead the nation in paying only for the performance of the school district. The statistics the SKSD touts mean little to us. What we should be caring about is that our children are succeeding in their education.

Start voting with your pocketbook and saying no to things that don’t help your child. After all, it’s supposed to be “for the kids,” isn’t it?

Jeff Daily

Port Orchard