spent their entire careers in public education in VA. My father managed to work his way up from being a middle school/HS math teacher in the 70s to work in the central office before retiring in the early 2010s. Also, I agree with you the issue is very political in a lot of states. Maybe even all states. I always knew I wanted to do something in public service. While I was trying to determine which field I wanted to go into, it was a reality check to see the starting salary of most jobs in the public sector compared to the private sector. Also, I do agree with you that people do support those in the public sector who do have a good reputation. However, there may still be a fine line between complete support and qualified support specifically when it comes to the salaries of those in that chosen profession. At least I suspect that is the root cause for a lot of the politics surrounding this topic. While I was growing up multiple people told me that if I want to be rich, then don't go into public service. For the most part I still believe that statement to be true because the exceptions seem to be politicians, college coaches, and maybe a few other administrative positions at the collegiate level. IIWII at this point because I don't think it will change any time soon. People will still read articles about a HS/school system spending millions of dollars to build a football stadium that may rival most colleges. However, it is unlikely people will ever read an article where that same HS/school system spent the same amount to support academia in some way (assuming it even spends at that level) or a HS/school system lacks adequate funding to be able to provide its students a proper chemistry lab or access to computers while in school.