VIRGINIA’S PERVERTED PRIORITIES

            Virginia’s fiscal priorities are at best askew with the needs of the average person; at worst they are a demonstration of incompetence and irresponsibility. The state’s spending is so badly off the mark that it makes Washington, D.C. look like a paragon of virtue in dealing with the needs of the citizens of this country.

            Take a look at the facts. By law, an adjunct professor at a state university can be paid no more than $2,550.00 per undergraduate class. If an adjunct teaches three classes a semester twice a year, that is $7,650.00 per semester or $15,300.00 per academic year. If he or she is lucky enough to get a course for the summer, add another $2,550.00. So, we are now at a grand total of $17,850.00. Who can live on that?

            Virginia has been the site of two school shootings: Appalachian School of Law, January 16, 2002, three dead and three wounded; Virginia Tech, April 16, 2007, 32 dead and 17 wounded.

            Nearly everyone agrees that more needs to be done in tackling mental health problems as part of ending carnage on our campuses. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the pay for the average person in “Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability, Mental Health, and Substance Abuse” is $37,030.00.

            Take a look at some salaries at Virginia Tech, the site of this country’s worst mass school shooting: The Head Football Coach makes $3.2 million dollars a year, the Associate Head Coach makes $925,000.00; the Offensive Coordinator makes $450,000.00, the Special Teams/Tight Ends Coach makes $408,000.00, and the Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line Coach makes $308,000.00. In addition four more members of the football coaching staff make $260,000.00 each a year and a fifth makes $200,000.00.

            Most galling of all is then-President of Virginia Tech Charles Steger, the man whose inaction played a roll in the slaughter of 32 people and wounding of 17 others at Norris Hall, made $836,886.00 the year he retired.

            Another upsetting fact, under Virginia law, the families of those killed at Virginia Tech could get no more than $100,000.00, despite the fact that gross negligence was involved.

            What are you thinking Virginia House of Delegates? Why would you cap wages so that people are paid below the poverty level? What kind of people are we sending to the State Legislature?