I think he was surprised.
When I was a young teacher, I was forced to write ten letters to people I knew, asking them to vote for a tax hike to fund education in my home town. These letters were collected in a box under the supervision of the union president. I was clueless about politics back then, but now I am quite embarrassed about complying with their demand.
It's more than my husband makes working ALL YEAR LONG as an engineer. Sheesh with all the time off that school teachers get in addition ot summer vacation, it comes out to more than an $82,000 pay rate.
Does $82,000 include her health plan (worth $5,000 to $10,000 per year) and her 'to die for' retirement plan?
Her retirement plan is big, fat, and happy, with a generous guaranteed payout at the end. You know that you and your neighbor contribute $1 to her retirement for every $1 she puts in, don't you? PLUS she gets to CHOOSE from a line of excellent investments where to invest that money. Then, she probably has an optional 401k plan to invest in, and YOU add money to that one too in most instances.
The retirement plan is worth another $10,000 per year.
So, you teacher friend is making $90,000 to $100,000 per year. AND I'll bet serious money she complains about having to 'buy all those supplies' for the kids out of her measily allowance.
Fortunately, for that teachers pittance, they aren't required to teach the kids to read.
Can you imagine what they would want if they actually did something productive instead of ruining kids lives?
I looked up the PE teacher I had for 2 weeks in middle school (shortly before I moved to Virginia).
$124,000 for teaching PE.
From a link that went dead:
The 100 highest salaried public school teachers in Illinois have a pay grade ranging from $173,077 (high end) to $132,940 (low end)? Check out this site, they list every one. And click here for the 100 highest paid Illinois public school administrators who make from $302,746 (high end) to $194,822 (low end).