ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
Drowning in debt, going bald from stress but glad to finally have a job in the industry, a bright-eyed and freshly qualified teacher told The Advocate this morning that she’s really been enjoying her first year in primary education.
Sandy Greenwich’s group certificate has been sitting by the disconnected landline in her Betoota Heights sharehouse for a few months now and the deadline to have your tax return in is fast approaching.
So like any self-respecting 24-year-old go-getter, she set aside last night to get all her receipts together and take down them the road to the local tax accountant.
She told our reporter that when she left her money man’s office, her opinion of working in education had changed somewhat.
“I spent nearly $6 000 of my own money on school supplies that the school couldn’t afford or simply wouldn’t buy for the kids,” she said.
“No hard feelings against the school or anything, or even the department. They have to make sure every kid gets their fair share of the funding pie – but I at least thought I’d be able to claim things like crepe paper and edicol dye. They’re classed as student expenses, which you can’t deduct from your tax,”
“Fuck me! Why didn’t anybody tell me! That’s basically business class to Japan and back! But the kids need these things but I also need things!”
Cough-laughing and rolling her eyes, a 30-year veteran of the teaching trade provided comment to The Advocate this morning in the wake of young Sandy’s fiscal epiphany.
South Betoota Public School teacher Brenda Gilmour said she feels for Sandy and can empathise with her position.
But the 62-year-old said Sandy probably wouldn’t be making the same mistake twice.
“You just need to make do with what the school gives you,” said Brenda.
“Which is fuck all but that’s the skinny of it. You just need to make it work. You’ve got these suckhole politicians who can claim everything from a clandestine visit to a massage parlour to a dozen shucked oysters in Beirut – and we can’t even claim a pair of sucking Hush Puppies,”
“And it’s the same regardless of who’s in power. Fuck the lot of them.”
More to come.
