Pittsburgh — When her daughter was born, Valerie Williams had already put her daughter on a childcare waiting list for six months, hoping to secure a spot before returning to her job as an early childhood educator. Eventually she found her child care program, but she had to work extra work just to pay her $1,400 monthly bill, Williams said. This amount is equivalent to paying a second mortgage or rent.
“I was a pretty good teacher working for unbearably low wages, teaching at a local childcare center in the Pittsburgh area, making $12.40 an hour, which was $496 a week before taxes, or $25,792 a year. My own medical insurance premiums were deducted from that, a few hundred dollars each month,” Williams said. “So at the time I was working two more jobs and working every day, seven days a week.”
But then she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Ultimately, she had a benign illness, but at the time Williams was diagnosed, she had no idea how to proceed or how much medical care she would need. Then she suffered another shock. She could not afford the deductibles and copays under the health insurance plan provided by her teaching profession.
“I realized that my wages were so low that I couldn't afford my own health insurance,” Williams said. She made the comments Friday at the launch of Pennsylvania's Educators for Biden-Harris initiative in Pittsburgh, where she was joined by state Sen. Lindsey Williams (D-Allegheny) and state Sen. Bill Heilman, president of the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers;
Sen. Williams, Minority Chair of the State Senate Education Committee, said the launch “brings together educators, school staff, parents, and everyone in the community who cares about public education in this country. That's true.''
Sen. Williams said that for many teachers, the pandemic has resulted in a suspension of student loan payments that began during former President Donald Trump's administration, and recent loan forgiveness efforts were the only way to keep them in the classroom. Ta.
First Lady and Teacher Jill Biden Launched National Educator Initiative for Biden-Harris On April 19, presidents of the National Education Association (NEA) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) attended in Minnesota. The two national teachers unions that have already endorsed President Joe Biden have nearly 5 million members with local affiliates in all 50 states.
As part of student loan debt forgiveness, the Biden administration announced in March: Forgive about $6 billion Student loan debt for 78,000 public servants, including teachers, nurses, and social workers.
vice president Kamala Harris visited Philadelphia earlier this month We touted the government's new student loan forgiveness program and spoke to educators who talked about how students' lives have changed for the better since their loans have been cancelled.
Vice President Kamala Harris touts Biden administration's latest student debt relief proposal in Philadelphia
To date, the Biden administration has canceled or forgiven $144 billion in student loan debt for more than 4 billion borrowers, Harris said.
Campaign education plan
Trump is considered the 2024 Republican presidential candidate. criticized the Biden administration's student debt relief effortscalling it “very, very unfair to the millions of people who worked hard to pay off their debts.”
The “Defending Parents’ Rights” section of his campaign website states: Trump outlines education plan If he wins the next term, it will include a “reward.”[ing] States and school districts that eliminate term limits for kindergarten through 12th grade teachers, adopt merit pay, reduce the number of school administrators, adopt a Parent Bill of Rights, and implement direct election of principals by parents. ”
Biden is proposing $12 billion in his 2025 budget request to “fund strategies that lower the cost of college for students,” according to one report. white house fact sheet Accompanying budget requests. And Biden reiterated his earlier call in his 2024 State of the Union address in March. raise salaries for public school teachers.
Valerie Williams said she eventually quit her teaching job and took a full-time role at her second job in search of better benefits and pay. “I still think about those kids and their families and how frustrating it was for them to have to make that call,” she said Friday. “If I had made more money and received the benefits I needed, I could have continued to do the job I love.”