Deborah Thurber

I am a retired Guidance Counselor from the Narragansett School System. For the last 24 years, I have lived in Sarasota, FL. I was living the relaxed life of a typical retiree. Sometime after my COLA was suspended, I found it hard to keep up with all the increased costs of a house, healthcare, and just general living. To handle things, I found a housemate who helped me for a few years. Then I started to work as a substitute teacher in the Sarasota County School System( for 5 years) and last year I also started work for the Take Care Home Health Agency. No matter how much I could work, I could no longer keep up with the costs of owning a home in Sarasota, Florida, and all the additional increased costs. So, I put my home on the market and sold it in October. In June, I moved to R.I. as at that time my Florida home was due to close in June. This closing did not go through at the last minute, and I found myself owning a home in Sarasota, and renting an apartment in Cranston, R.I. as well as not having a job yet in R.I. Fortunately, my house did finally sell, and I obtained a full-time job in East Greenwich working with Special Needs teenage girls. Right after I was accepted as a paraprofessional in East Greenwich, I was told that I only could work 75 days in a public school system.

Now, I am planning to start substitute teaching on day 76 as this is allowed by the General Assembly for this year only.

Because of the loss of my COLA, I had to sell my loved home in Florida, I had to move to be closer to my family (here in R.I.), and now I need to work to meet my current cost of living costs. To be better prepared for unexpected costs, I am applying to R.I. College to get another Master's Degree, one in which I will be able to work as much as I want. I will become certified as a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Therapist. Recently, I have become frightened that I will not be able to keep up with the cost of living in the future, because of unplanned and unexpected things that can happen. All of this is the result of having my COLA taken away. Something that I worked for, something that was by contract due to me, was illegally taken from me and others, this happened and is my and others' daily reality. I am hoping that this situation can be rectified and our COLAs can be restored to us.

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