The teacher can be pleased that she motivated me to do some math.
The teacher placed a call to “It’s your call” with a word of warning. She — I just picture the caller as a woman — said she had endured her third pay freeze and was having to watch her money. As a result, she would not be tipping any hairstylists, waiters or waitresses.
That bitterness is easy to understand. When pay freezes and unpaid furlough weeks were announced in our office, the mood was decidedly downbeat for a time. After the tax levy failed and the St. Joseph School District began slashing positions, I imagine a similar wave of disenchantment swept through the schools.
This teacher wanted to make sure voters were aware that their decisions will have consequences. She correctly pointed out that economic factors are linked and when one person suffers, others are affected, too.
Her comments, however, revealed a cavalier lack of concern for her fellow citizens.
She stated she had been a teacher for 23 years. According to the salary schedule for the St. Joseph School District’s, she would earn $49,600 per year with the potential for more earnings with further education.
That’s not the sort of salary that supports an extravagant lifestyle, but it is enough to be able to go out to eat every now and then.
The waiter serving this teacher’s meal makes about $7.90 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If it is his full time job, that figures out to $16,400 per year. Or about one third of the teacher’s annual salary.
If a pay freeze means you can’t afford to tip the wait staff, the rules of etiquette state that you can’t afford to eat out. The teacher should consider eating macaroni and cheese at home tonight instead of going out and stiffing the waitress.
The teacher’s hairstylist is faring much better, earning an average annual salary of $27,000 in St. Joseph.
There’s a good chance the person serving food at the restaurant is a high school or college student working part time while trying to earn an education. The teacher needs to also factor in that if that young person is able to graduate, they will earn a higher salary and contribute more taxes to things such as teacher salaries.
On the other hand, a single mother could work the swing shift as a waitress, shuffle her children between day care and relatives while trying to earn a living, then send them to school with the advice to watch out for tight-fisted teachers.
The caller may want to reconsider. It seems more like she cannot afford not to tip.
