Saddleback College Teacher: ‘Last Year I Made $25,000’

Before I tell you who I am, I’d like to tell you who I’m not. Recently, The Times ran an article in View about a young policewoman--late 20s, a bachelor’s degree and a couple years’ experience: her salary--$38,000 per year. I have a master’s degree. In fact, I have 50 units past a master’s. Last year, I made $25,000. Who am I? I’m a full-time faculty member at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.

I am writing to you because of your article (“Accord Announced on Salaries at Saddleback,” Feb. 16) about the salary settlement. May I ask why you did not mention that management got an 8.5% raise? This was announced on Feb. 14 by the school paper, The Lariat . No one mentioned that management’s raise might put the school in red ink for next year, as your article indicated the faculty’s raise would.

Did you ask how many faculty members make $70,000 per year? Did you find out why, and whether it is deserved? Your article made no mention of that. I guess I don’t understand why the faculty has to look bad. I certainly don’t want to be a police officer, but isn’t it interesting that we’re willing to pay the police more than we are our teachers?

Clerks and secretaries have better working conditions than I do. The secretaries in our building have closed-door offices with windows, lights, phones and one or more assistants to help them with their work. They are hard workers, and we could not get along without them--but so am I!

I am not an activist, but now I am angry. I’m tired of hearing of salaries far higher than mine in areas that don’t require as much education as I have, of working in demeaning working conditions and then having the media make me look greedy and worse to the public. I’m a good teacher--ask my students. I work hard and make decisions based on what is best for them. Most teachers at my school do.

JOANN M. CRIST

Anaheim