Robert Hutchinson LTE exposes lies of Jim Trageser

Congratulations to Robert Hutchingson for the best pro public education letter to the editor of the week. When will Trageser stop writing factually challenged inflammatory nonsense about the good teachers of VUSD?
Read more about Trageser's propaganda attack on VUSD teachers and his follow up comments defending his lies here:
http://vistaschools.blogspot.com/2010/02/jim-trageser-caught-in-lie-refuses-to.html

Read Jim Trageser's factually challenged inflammatory comments about the outstanding teachers of Vista Unified here and in the comment section following:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/columnists/trageser/article_f6bb9d6f-2c6a-51bb-ba50-cc4d4651da39.html


Read Robert Hutchinson's verbal spanking of Jim Trageser below.

Teachers want you to know the truth

I am a proud Vista Unified School District teacher who must correct Jim Trageser ("Budget cuts won't be equitable," Feb. 21). His statement that, "In Vista Unified, union leaders have steadfastly refused to agree to any reduction in pay or benefits," is patently false. In fact, Vista Teachers Association leaders and teachers have accepted five unpaid furlough days for the next two school years. To me, unpaid furlough days qualify as a reduction in pay, since my paycheck will be smaller.

Mr. Trageser's second false statement is that VUSD teachers' salaries and benefits were "... raised so generously during the economic boom a few years back .... " It is true that local districts received cost of living adjustments from the state a few years ago, but Vista's teachers received not one penny of a raise, while teachers in other districts did receive raises, creating a painful gap between our salaries. We are now among the lowest-paid teachers in San Diego county.

Meanwhile, VUSD management gave themselves hefty raises and concurrently chose to spend $10 million on an obscure reading program (Lindamood-Bell) that actually benefitted very few students. Shame on Jim Trageser for submitting an editorial without proofreading it for errors.

Robert Hutchinson

Oceanside