The following is a reaction from Denise Fountain Willmore of Bountiful Elementary to her day spent at the legislature last Wednesday.
"I really enjoyed my experience at the State Capital on Wednesday. I now realize the importance of being involved and to express my opinion to the decision makers in the state.
"I had the opportunity to speak with Representative Roger Barrus about the latest retirement bill. He expressed to me that he supports the retirement bill because he feels that the current retirement system is costing the state an enormous amount of money. He believes that the new system would allow new teachers to have more of a choice in regard to how long they stay and would be able to transfer their money when they leave their job. He also expressed wanting to offer teachers a higher salary but retirement would have to be cut in order to do this.
"I expressed to Representative Barrus that I recently moved to Utah from Colorado and was faced with taking a $25,000 reduction in pay. The retirement benefit that Utah offers made the pay cut a little less painful. In addition, if they are going to cut the retirement, when will they be increasing wages for teachers? (There is nothing in legislation at this time that is addressing increasing pay. )
"Overall, I felt like Representative Barrus heard what I had to say. I do not think that it will change his vote but perhaps it will make him aware that teachers do care about their profession. I walked away from my experience realizing the importance of owning my voice and expressing my passion for a profession that I love. The bottom line is the kids that we teach. If we are not able to attract exceptional candidates into the profession of teaching or lose teachers to nearby states that have higher compensation plans, the children in the state of Utah are ultimately the ones who will suffer."
Five more Davis educators are scheduled to attend the next Under the Dome which will be Friday, March 5.
