Teachers Enroll in Homicide Insurance

Well, it seems that it is safe for teachers to go back to work . . . well, if not safe, then safely insured (“Teachers Get Homicide Insurance,” July 26). The National Education Assn. has a new benefit for its members: homicide insurance. It’s actually “unlawful homicide,” though I am unsure exactly what lawful homicide is.

It seems that if a teacher is to die at work, it is to his or her advantage to be killed rather than accidentally fall on a sharpened pencil or die of a heart attack on the tennis court: The accidental benefit is $50,000, while the unlawful homicide benefit is $150,000. Of course, we would not wish a teacher or any school staff person, let alone a student, to die at school, let alone be killed.

The Times quoted one official after another, saying how terrible such an eventuality would be and how one death is one too many. But the fact remains that the NEA would not have made this decision if there had not been a need. In fact, the article informs us that since 1992, 29 school staff members have been killed violently at work. So this is their combat pay. Too bad they won’t be around to enjoy it.

Jeff Bernhardt

Van Nuys