The Toledo Journal has an interesting article in this week's edition titled "For the Teachers" - http://thetoledojournal.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=75952&sID=4
In the article there is information on the cost of the retroactive payment due teachers. The supporting documentation can be found at http://www.tpsinfo.com/finances/tps_retroactive_payment_2007.pdf
There is also a companion piece about teacher compensation - National Study: Teachers among top wage earners - http://thetoledojournal.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=75951&sID=4
Here are the links for information included in the Journal story from the Manhattan Institute - http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/_wsj-is_34.06_per_hour_underpaid...
and http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_50.htm
From the study summary, "Education policy discussions often assume that public school teachers are poorly paid. Typically absent in these discussions about teacher pay, however, is any reference to systematic data on how much public school teachers are actually paid, especially relative to other occupations. Because discussions about teacher pay rarely reference these data, the policy debate on education reform has proceeded without a clear understanding of these issues...."
I'd also point you to an analysis the Urban Coalition did last October that analyzed hourly wage rates - http://tpsinfo.com/documents/tps_teacher_compensation.pdf
Here is another article on teacher salaries - http://tpsinfo.com/documents/Viewpoint_24_2006_06_22_Kirkpatrick_Teacher...
The Journal links won't be active for more than a week - they don't archive their articles, but I have requested copies and permission to reprint and will change the links so they stay active.
Being a teacher may be challenging but in today's economy it looks like a pretty well paying job with good benefits including great health (Mercedes benefits for TPS) and retirement benefits - not to mention, the number hours required to be spent at the work site.
Agree or not - how much more do we need to be taxed in order to give teachers raises when relatively speaking they do very well compared to other professions and in the Toledo area?
is it true this agreement was never reviewed by the board?
Wow, I don't even know where to begin. With that, I don't have time to respond. But I will ask you Mr. Flagg, why would good people spend 4 to 6 years in undergraduate and post-graduate education to get paid less than $30,000 a year?
when I graduated. However, there is much more to the issue than the raise. The raise was promised then taken away. Which was not a huge deal because we realized that if there is no money than there is no money. Then the Admin. got their $2k bumb, which ticked off a lot of teachers, etc. I think that is more the issue. The teachers are tired of being pissed on by the board and the admin. We were promised (there's that word again) that if we agreed to cut our health benefits (which we did) then as soon as there was money we would be first in line to get our previously promised raise. When the whole thing with the $2k bump for the selected admins. happened it left very jaded feelings. On top of this I think we as a group are feeling very demoralized by the board and the admin. The constant bickering with Fisher, the non-cooperative attitude from the people sitting on high (that would be Manhattan Blvd.), and the lingering questions of which schools will close/will I have a job next year have simply left a lot of teachers saying we have had it.
As for the pay, I think I am compensated fairly for what I do, I am just tired of being pushed and pushed by the admin. and the board.
Those are good questions from Junta and Maggie. I've asked, but I've never gotten a public reply.
In my unscientific, anecdotal survey one woman spoke on condition of anonymity. She explained the best part about being a schoolteacher; "There's nothing like it. You're off work when your kids are out of school, the medical benefits are fantastic and the retirement benefits are good."
What
Junta - reread. Both the comparative and TPS figures show that an Intern with a BA makes over 30k. Not sure where you got that from.
Wholesaler, - yes, it is true that an employee of the Superintendent signed an MUO without board approval or notification, with Ms. Lawrence.
The legality of the document is highly speculative. In reviewing the policy I don't see anyplace that the board voted to allow the Superintendent or his employees to negotiate regarding the union, wages and or raises. But it's still under review. My own personal opinion is that the document has no standing since only one of the signors was authorized, or had any standing, to do so.
What needs to happen is to eliminate the union, vote in a whole new school board, and get down to brass tacks and start educating our children the way I was educated back in the 50's. We had very little decipline problems and we were prepared to go out into this world when we graduated high school.
She said just pay the thing because it gets incrementally larger all the time. That it just needs to be paid. I don't understand why the administration doesn't want to do that. For that matter how Ms. Lawrence wouldn't want to do that also.
There is a 19 million dollar (or thereabouts) health fund reserve that Ms. Lawrence herself said could be used to pay this. Without a levy.
Everybody is just ignoring that. The TFT rep SAID that fund should be used to pay that raise to the teachers and offset the budget.
Now they all just want a levy.
The whole thing stinks to high heaven. But it is a situation that continues to have the potential to cost us more and more. So either someone on the board needs to challenge the legality of the document or pay the damn thing.
I thought it was funny that the Blade quoted Fran Lawrence who quoted Darlene Fisher as being opposed to paying it. When in reality, Mrs. Fisher is on tape saying that it NEEDS to be paid.........I wonder why/how that happened?
...to ask the people who want to be teachers why they'd spend time in school when they KNOW what the salaries are?
I've a question for TPSTeacher24: What do you teach, and how long have you been teaching?
I can understand your problems with the administration. There's nothing like a major breach of trust between people to negate any future good faith negotiations.
Then the school district would need to pay the teachers for the full amount anyways, and potentially pay interest on that back pay. The agreement halted the pay increases until a levy was passed, so if the agreement is nullified, the pay increases take effect immediately and back pay would be owed to the teachers for the duration of the agreement. Legally, I don't see a way for TPS to get out of paying this money.
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"When I say your dumb name, please stand up briefly, but then quickly drop to your knees and forsake all others before me." -Ignignokt
...especially about the $2,000 bonuses!!
Ah... would that be the 1850s or the 1950s? Was McCaskey in your class?
thanks, kateb, for the info. while i'm not very familiar with this entire situation (wasn't living in toledo at the time), it seems like a backroom deal to me.
high school in TPS, and I have been here for five years.
...to get out of such agreements would be to negotiate a new one that addresses the previously unfulfilled promises.
It is possible for the unions and the administration, as part of any NEW contract, to address the promised increases/back pay/etc. Whether or not that's feasible is another issue entirely.
And he's confused enough already.