Pre-TGIF

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Yesterday, I spoke at length with a retired teacher, who is currently subbing on occasion. I was telling her how ridiculous I think it is that school districts think it best to simply get rid of the newest hires, rather than letting their least effective staff go during RIFs. She said that it is the union who thinks retaining people on the sole basis of years worked is smart, to the detriment of the profession in her opinion.

Then she went on a tangent rant about teacher pay... how it is underestimated by everyone. A few highlights:

1) teachers work about 30 years and are eligible for retirement, whereupon they receive 75% of their final salary for the rest of their lives- only the military can compare to that

Me- "...if you can hang in there for 30 years without being driven insane by students and/or parents..."

2) retire/rehire allows teachers to retire and lay out a couple of months and then be rehired into the same position to receive retirement benefits plus their regular salary

3) teachers get a guaranteed raise every year- she said around 3.5% in her district- because they are paid ever-increasing amounts based on years worked

My only knowledgeable comment on teacher pay is that they work 10 months a year, so you have to multiply their pay by 1.2 to get a somewhat equivalent reference to a non-academic job.

She said she's enjoyed (and continues to enjoy in retirement) all the benefits and thinks they are very well-deserved by all teachers; she just doesn't understand the complaints.

Jeff and I finally had the landscapers out to give us a bid to re-do all our landscaping, front and back! YAY! All our overgrown bushes are being ripped out, replaced by appropriately sized species for the spaces they inhabit. (Tract home builders have no sense of proportion.) Flowers, a boulder and other garden goodies are in store as well!

2 comments:

Anonymous,  April 15, 2011 at 6:03 AM  

Sorry --- I had to comment.

* In the district we are currently in, the first criteria for RIF (reduction in force) was job performance. If the principals let least experienced go, then that was a principal choice, not district.

*Texas is a non-union teacher state. We have a "faux" union which has only the power to meet with districts, yet they have no bargaining rights. Also, Texas teachers are not allowed to strike as it is against the law.

* Teachers must work to the rule of 90. Their age plus experience must meet the number 90.

*Unlike the military, teachers in Texas pay into the retirement system, there is no choice. That is our money in there. Not taxpayer money.

*There is no longer, as has not been for 10 years, a retire - rehire option. You must start another profession.

*There is no guaranteed raise each year. In fact, this coming year teachers are looking at a reduction on pay because of the contract changes. That added with more students in the classroom and reduction in health benefits.

*Teachers do not get paid for days not worked (summer). My contract states that I will be paid for 187 days and that will be divided over 12 months. Any time worked after 3:30 pm, on weekends, or days off will be unpaid. Any training attended will be unpaid. Any materials for the classroom that the district does not proved will not be provided.

I could go on, and I might, but is it not yet 6:00 am and I need to get to work to set up Science stations that I created and make sure I have purchased all the materials.

I am thankful the lady you talked to is not in the classroom. Only caring and compassionate need apply.

Just because people have been in a classroom does not mean they have any idea about teaching.

I love you, but I could not hold back!

Kathy April 15, 2011 at 2:04 PM  

Well, hello stranger!

You've restated exactly what I said about multiplying by 1.2 to get a comparable annual salary. If a teacher makes $30,000 for working 10 months out of the year, he would make $36,000 per year if he worked 12 months at that pay rate. That is the only way to compare apples-to-apples salaries with a non-academic employee.

There have been many local and national op/ed pieces about "last hired- first fired" philosophy in school districts around the country. It's the prevalent thinking, and not just here. I have not met or heard of anyone being laid off in the recent RIF who wasn't the last hired, other than one who was let go because the newest hire was a RIF-protected coach.

Our district does allow retire/rehire in areas that have a shortage of teachers.

The current academic year teacher salary schedule on the district website reflects that every year a teacher's pay goes up. I'm pretty sure this is what she was describing. (Maybe I'm reading it incorrectly or this isn't what she was talking about at all. Not sure on that.)

No salaried professional is paid overtime, so that is commensurate with non-academic jobs.

This lady wasn't saying anything about taxpayers footing the bill for teacher retirement. She just said that it is a great benefit. That type of pension is basically unheard of in industry. I guess one could compare it to a 401k, but it would never amount to an annual income of 75% of a person's final salary... for even ten years, I would guess. Much less 25 years+ for those who are lucky to live that long.

You honestly think a teacher is neither caring nor compassionate and shouldn't be in a classroom, if she feels that there are some great benefits to her chosen profession, which she loves? I don't understand what you meant by that.

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