I am hoping to raise the public’s awareness about a serious problem that we are facing in our state. In Maine, we are lucky enough to have high-quality public schools. One reason is that we have dedicated, well-educated, experienced teachers in most of the classrooms across the state. However, many of those teachers are nearing retirement age.

Unfortunately, many young people are not attracted to teaching because of the increased federal and state mandates, which have vastly increased the workload and lowered job satisfaction. This career just does not appeal to young people. Three out of four leave the teaching profession within their first five years.

One of the factors that is most unappealing is the salary. The average beginning teacher salary in Maine ranks 45th in the nation. As some might know, Gov. Baldacci has called for a mandated beginning salary of $30,000. Most of the other Northeast states are at or nearing $40,000. New Jersey is on its way to a $50,000 beginning salary.

How can we expect young people who do choose to teach to stay in our state when the prospects to nearly double their compensation requires a move of only a few hundred miles to one of our neighboring states?

Our Legislature must support the governor’s initiative. Let’s keep our best and brightest right here in Maine.

Chris Galgay, Turner