Letter: Lawmakers appeasing wrong group

How ironic! The front page of the Feb. 14 Gazette bemoans a shortage of substitute teachers ('Wanted: More substitute teachers”). Immediately above it is a report of the furor about the collective bargaining bill that is an 'attack on public employees.”

The list of unmet substitute needs in the first article shows a real need for extra teachers. I would be interested to see the percentage of unmet substitute needs in a year or so. Will the number of teachers leaving the state or going into other careers increase, leaving a greater shortage? Those days when subs were needed would be either sick days or continuing education sessions. Were some of those missed days ‘mental health days'? I wouldn't blame them. How demoralizing to work in a state where your knowledge and dedication to your profession is held in so little esteem by legislators whose only thought is to implement the political ideology of the donors who enabled their election.

Bev Philpott

Marion