Between retirements of veteran certified teachers and low numbers of college graduates entering the teaching profession, there is a shortage of certified teachers. Some reasons are obvious: low salaries compared to the private sector, diminished respect for educators by lawmakers and students, and increasing pressures of paperwork and standardized testing.

Added to this is the slap in the face by the Social Security Administration in the form of the Government Pension Offset and the Windfall Elimination Provision. Public workers, instead of receiving 100 percent of their Social Security pension, only receive 40 percent. Spouses, instead of receiving half of their spouses’ Social Security pension, receive nothing. Private-sector workers who make a career change to teaching soon find when they retire that they too only receive 40 percent of their vested Social Security pension.

Jan. 4 starts a new day of hope, when public employees should tell Congress to repeal GOP and WEP by passing the Social Security Fairness Act. If people want to ensure that the nation’s children have qualified certified teachers in their classrooms, they can begin by telling prospective teachers the retirement benefits will be there, as promised.

The Social Security Fairness Act deserves support.

Carl Beckett, Mechanic Falls