Many workers go above and beyond

In response to Gretchen Holly bemoaning the "shock value" of the story ("Story on teacher pay was inaccurate," Fence Post, Nov. 4), most people realize that there are a percentage of teachers who go beyond the stated requirements of the job. In most professions there are those same people, and they don't get paid for it.

I worked in the data processing industry and was paid for 35.5 hours a week. I was required to carry a pager and had the ability to log on to work from home. In effect I worked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week , 52 week a year. I was called in the middle of the night, on weekends, during movies or plays and when I was at parties. I knew that was what the job requires, and I accepted it because I enjoyed the work.

You don't seem to realize that teaching is not the only profession were it is necessary to work through the lunch hour or after the work day is done. This is common, and there are people that give 110 percent and don't get paid for it.

I, as a tax payer, want to know when people receive $150,000 raises in their last three years to pad their retirement income. This was not just a single individual who abused their position but a whole culture that condoned it. That is simply obscene, and it is news. They are the people that are giving the teaching profession a "bad rap." The problem needs to be fixed.

Larry Zak

Lake Villa