Having friends who teach elementary school telling me about their pay, benefits, time off, etc makes me feel less sorry for some teachers. <-- Notice "some".
I used to religiously vote for anything school or police/ambulance/fire or public parks. I want decent schools just like everyone else, but some of this is ridiculous. Case in point - the elementary school I went to was probably built in the 1940s, was a single story, simple brick.
I recently drove past the replacement school. 3-story with High School size gym and auditorium. What looked like a full track set up. For a freaking K-5 or 6.
Somehow I managed to do well in an old, vanilla brick building with a kid-sized gym and a simple field for recess. How many teachers could that multi-multi-million dollar building pay? (I know there's an argument for some state new build money has to go to buildings, not salaries).
When I see kids going to campuses that would rival any college from a couple decades ago, it does make me wonder about the waste.