Greedy Teachers

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by caitycaity
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=654435

Great post caity and pretty much exactly my sentiments.

I would add that salary and benefits should be determined by what the maket can bear and working conditions should be regulated by government.

 

[caitycaity]

I would add that salary and benefits should be determined by what the maket can bear and working conditions should be regulated by government.

 

[Tess]

Our district went through the same garbage over the last two years. Our teachers were without a contract the entire time all because of their refusal to accept any contract that included a provision they pay anything toward health care. The old contract provided the district pick up the ENTIRE cost of their health coverage. They didn't pay for scripts, optical, dental, and medical. All of it was paid out of the pockets of the district, hence the citizens. Further, because of the union, the districts are not permitted to seek competitive bids on like health care coverage, i.e., they MUST purchase the expensive policy linked to the NEA (MEA). That's just crap!

I remember the days of paying -0- for our coverage as well--it's been well over 16 years ago. Little by little we have had to fork over payment to cover the "family" portion of our coverage all the while watching our script co-pay coverage go from -0- to $30. My husband's company (which, btw, is a bank--institutions that used to be famous for having the "best" bennies) has switched plans more often than babies need a diaper change all in an effort to lower the overhead and provide a plan for the employees and their families. It sure hasn't been easy and, in fact, we've never been satisfied with the coverage we receive. At this point we no longer receive any dental or optical benefits. Still, we don't have the option of refusing to pay or "strike". We take what we are offered and must be happy to have it because, let's face it, the health care insurance situation is absolutely appalling! It is a racket that holds us all hostage.

With the dwindling funds provided by our lovely state for education, the high cost of payroll, and the insurance issues--no school in MI is in good financial straits presently. I believe the same goes for OH as well--look for stories about this issue in the Sylvania or Swanton school districts, if I recall correctly. Same thing--the teachers don't want to pay for health care. My husband, I, and many of our citizenry here also played the mini-violin for the teachers and they did not garner much sympathy. We all have to pay vast sums of money for coverage--paying NOTHING is just short of ridiculous in this day and age. Finally, the claim that they don't "earn" enough $$$$ to pay for coverage is bunk--most of the starting salaries are quite a bit higher than the mean salaries of of most folks who live in our area.

I guess I should have stayed out of this one--can you tell it raises my ire. Oh yeah, our teachers ended up paying around $20 p/month for their FULL coverage with a $2 script co-pay. I believe though, this amount will begin to increase over the length of the contract. All-in-all, they are receiving the coverage that my husband's company offered back in the 1980s! How's that for progress?

Edited to add: I also disagree with the "greedy" portion of the original post--we all would love to negotiate such sweet deals--for most of us, however, that just isn't going to happen. Let's face it, we are all jealous of those great benefits, but we can't all be teachers. They, along with state and federal workers, seem to be the few minority sectors in the work-a-day world that have been blessed with the ability to wrangle the 1970s/1980s health care benefits that many of us used to possess.

 

[tonyswife]

Good post Tess.

 

[Nancy]

I think it's ridiculous if all they are complaining about is paying for health care. My Dh has almost 100 per week taken out of his check and that does not include dental or eye. My haelth care is free/ with dental...no eye, but the policy is lousy.....I have a huge deductable. We have co-pays for doctors and prescriptions. the cost goes up ever year....but we don't have a choice we need health care. I don't think that teachers should strike. the stuff that it's for the kids if crap...the kids don't benefit from the teachers getting their health care paid for. Really sore subject for me.

 

[decker96]

Obviously we don't have the full story (don't know about caps, etc.) but if it's all about paying $40 a month for full coverage, then I agree, that is totally ridiculous!
My DH is self-employed so we have to pay for our own health insurance. For me, DH and our 3 kids, we pay $432 per month with a $1000 deductible. We have no dental coverage, we get a teeny discount on prescriptions and I mean teeny. I got pink-eye last year, my discount on the eyedrops I had to buy was $1.27 on a $50 prescription. Big deal! They will also pay for a yearly eye exam, if we have met our deductible which NEVER happens, except when I have a baby, so last year we all got to go to the eye doctor for free, LOL! Oh, our policy does cover well-baby visits up to age 5 with no deductible.
Health care costs are increasing at a crazy rate. Our premiums have gone up 3 times in the last 2 years and they usually go up around $40-50 per month every time, which is why we've had to keep raising up the deductible.
Thank god my kids are very healthy and they hardly ever have to go to the doctor!

 

[snarfer1]

Originally posted by Tess
Our district went through the same garbage over the last two years. Our teachers were without a contract the entire time all because of their refusal to accept any contract that included a provision they pay anything toward health care. The old contract provided the district picked up the ENTIRE cost of their health coverage. They didn't pay for scripts, optical, dental, and medical. All of it was paid out of the pockets of the district, hence the citizens. Further, because of the union, the districts are not permitted to seek competitive bids on like health care coverage, i.e., they MUST purchase the expensive policy linked to the NEA (MEA). That's just crap!

I remember the days of paying -0- for our coverage as well--it's been well over 16 years ago. Little by little we have had to fork over payment to cover the "family" portion of our coverage all the while watching our script co-pay coverage go from -0- to $30. My husband's company has switched plans more often than babies need a diaper change all in an effort to lower the overhead and provide a plan for the employees and their families. It sure hasn't been easy and, in fact, we've never been satisfied with the coverage we receive. Still, we don't have the option of refusing to pay or "strike". We take what we are offered and must be happy to have it because, let's face it, the health care insurance situation is absolutely appalling! It is a racket that holds us all hostage.

With the dwindling funds provided by our lovely state for education, the high cost of payroll, and the insurance issues--no school in MI is in good financial straights presently. I believe the same goes for OH as well--look for stories about this issue in the Sylvania or Swanton school districts, if I recall correctly. Same thing--the teachers don't want to pay for health care. My husband, I, and many of our citizenry here also played the mini-violin for the teachers and they did not garner much sympathy. We all have to pay vast sums of money for coverage--paying NOTHING is just short of ridiculous in this day and age. Finally, the claim that they don't "earn" enough $$$$ to pay for coverage is bunk--most of the starting salaries are quite a bit higher than the mean salaries of of most folks who live in our area.

I guess I should have stayed out of this one--can you tell it raises my ire. Oh yeah, our teachers ended up paying around $20 p/month for their FULL coverage with a $2 script co-pay. I believe though, this amount will begin to increase over the length of the contract. All-in-all, they are receiving the coverage that my husband's company offered back in the 1980s! How's that for progress?

Good Post, BTW is that a YOUNG Mr. & Mrs. Kerry in your siggie photo, you know, the orange couple?

-Tony

 

[Cindy B]

Can I give you an other side of the fence story?


I am a special education teachers aide. We were without a contract for two years. My starting pay per hour was less than McDonalds. I did however, get full coverage at no cost for my family, including perscriptions. (mail order only)

As a teachers aide, the pay is so crappy.. the benefits and school calendar scheduling is the only reason I am there.

The BoE here was trying to get aides to pay for part of our premium. I was all for it, however, the pay portion of benefits would have resulted in a negative paycheck! Yes, a negative paycheck. We would have gotten a receipt! We are lower paid than all the teachers.-- even the cafeteria workers make more than us!

We eventually through intense negiotiations, got the benefits without any copay. We didn't get a raise though! We also had to start paying $15 for Rx's, whereas they used to be free.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

First of all, just the title of your post "greedy teachers" is inflamitory. I am sick and tired of being bashed as a teacher for whatever reason. If they have to pay 40.00 per month I am sure it is in additon to the 675.00 per year for the union, and the 500-1000.00 for professional develoment in order to keep their license at 150.00 not to mention the couple of thousand a year that is spent on a classroom so YOUR needy child can have snacks, books, supplies or even kleenex to wipe their noses!! Then there are the times you forget to give your child lunch or lunch money...how do you think he./she gets a lunch?? Do you ever think of that? I teach because I love the kids and enjoy my profession however, I am sick and tired of parents who begrudge every little bit that a teacher gets. Maybe we should keep a tab for all the parents and deliver it at the end of the year. Let's see what is more the amount spent per student OR the 40.00 per month for health insurance. AND keep in mind, you (this is the collective you) send your child to school sick and running a temperature while telling them to ask the teacher to let them put their head down if they do not feel well so you can go to work and earn a days pay. What about our families when we bring home head lice, ring worm or any of the other lovely conditions sick kids can pass on to everyone including the teacher? Yes, you are so right. How dare they be expected to pay 40.00 per month for health ins.(I by the way pay 180 per month).

I bet if you joined the homeschool thread you would not have to worry about a strke!

 

[disney4us2002]

Yikes, the title of this post made me cringe yet I completely understand where you're coming from.....

Our county teachers are also working w/o a contract this year and after 8 months of negotiations have been referred now to an arbitrator. The issue here is salary and insurance copays as well. The teachers want a 4% salary increase every year for 3 yrs and no increase in insurance copays/deductibles. Our county is a fast growing area and we had to open a new high school this year which is quite expensive with so many new hires so the Bd of Educ is offering 1% salary this year with a minimum of 3% each for the next two years. The insurance copays would increase 7.5% this year and the teachers would have to pay 28% of the premiums for the following 2. Now, I don't know what they currently pay, but using $150 per month as an example the 7.5% would be an increase from $150 to $162. Is 28% of the premiums a lot? I have no idea but I know my dh pays more than $300 for our family coverage.

Another fact I find interesting is that in this county (the 2nd highest paying in all of Md) our starting teacher salary (22 and right out of college) is $37,000. That may not make anyone rich but that seems very high for someone right out of college. I was just reaching that after 11 yrs of state service as a social worker when I left in '98.

How this working without a contract translates is that teachers are only working their mandatory school hours - 7:30-3:15 (middle school). High school is earlier and elem is a bit later. So....so far we've had 3 open houses (I have a child in all three school levels) and only met 3 teachers. At the brand new hs where my oldest goes and where many teachers are totally new to the county and parents, out of 200+ staff, 25 were there that night. This is what I find sooo infuriating. Teachers constantly complain about the lack of parental involvement yet when parents come to meet and reach out, they cannot be bothered to show up???

I am friends with my youngest son's teacher and she is not happy with the contract situation but tells me that in order to grade papers at home or work on anything outside of her school hours, she has to sneek to do it. She says the pressure from the majority of teachers is awful and that those opposed cannot really speak out.

Arbitration begins in mid-Oct and will hopefully negotiate a contract but it will be difficult to overcome my annoyance at the start of this year.

 

[Purrrrfecta]

I think what happens is that many people believe that teachers want to be teachers so therefore they should accept the salary they receive. Many teachers stay teachers because of the good health benefits.

I am a teacher in the state of Kentucky. We are about to strike because our health insurance cost are going up like this:

For a family with a 10% co-insurance payment. Max out of pocket $2000. Out-patient hospital visits and prescriptions do not go towards the deductible, which is $800. This means you must pay for $800 worth of office visits and tests before you can even have the insurance cut in.

The cost for a family plan is $608 a month or $7,296 a year

The starting salary is around $31,000 a year. Imagine supporting a family on that! This is with a Master's degree. Not many professions where a person holds a master's degree makes that little a year.

Let's minus $7,296 from $31,000 that would be $23,704 a year after insurance

Also, teachers in Kentucky MUST have a master's degree within five years of teaching.

I am really considering walking away for many reasons. There are many people who are waiting for jobs, but believe me there are many people who are burning out as well. With all of the accountability- teachers are wondering if it is worth it. I do not have one friend who would be able to handle the responsibility of being a teacher in a public school - especiallly one in an inner city.


I could make more working at the local ford plant or General Electric plant. Why educate when I can make more after adding the benefits at a local factory?

The only reason why I stay is because I plan on working with others on narrowing the achievement gap.

 

[tiggerdog]

Hello from a greedy teacher!

I just received my first paycheck of the year. It was so much fun going for two months without a paycheck.

For the first time since 2001 we received a pay raise. Last year was the first year we, as a union, voted to not take a pay cut. For the past 3 years we took a pay cut every year so that students whouldn't lose educational programs or activities. When I I received my paycheck today with my huge 1% raise! Let me tell you I was so excited! Then I noticed that I was actually taking home $79 dollars less then I did last year.

Sorry to get off the subject here. Let me refocus.

In my state the school districts only cover the teacher, not the entire family. Our healthcare HMO charges the district $190/month for each employee. The district pays for $150 of that, I pay the rest. If I were to add my family to that, I would pay an additional $485/month. We have a $20 co-pay with $15 for prescriptions. We also receive eye care that covers up to $150 for glassses every two years. We pay our own dental insurance of $30 per month and the care is capped at $1000/year. So, if you have a root canal down you have shot your dental coverage for the year.

Teachers and other school professionals are very hard to insure because we are considered high-risk. See, teachers, as greedy as we are, catch a lot of germs from the little angels we teach. Many times we also work in a poor working environment (I'm excited when my classroom temp teaches 60 degrees in the winter), therefore catch strange diseases. For example, in the past 3 years five female teachers at my school have been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. One teacher died last year of environmentally-caused lung cancer. She was a 37-year-old nonsmoker. We have also lost two teachers to Lou Gerhig's disease in my 15 years as a teacher.

The general public thinks teachers have this easy job with great benefits and 3 months vacation. Maybe in your world they do. However, in my real world, I don't get paid for 2 months out of the year and I have to pay into my own retirement fund because, unlike the business world, my company doesn't contribute anything to my 403b. I also feed, cloth, and provide materials for students because their parents can't seem to do so. Thank God I got that huge raise this year so I could feed some of my students.

I ask, that before you bash these teachers any more, please find out all of the facts.

 

[Bella the Ball 360]

Good points "tiggerdog". I had forgotten about the high risk and all the teachers that I know who have died from cancer far more than the average. We often work in old buildings filled with fryable(I think that is the spelling) asbestos. In a school with 18 teachers 8 got cancer!! Jee that free health insurance is really a great benefit. Maybe all the "teacher bashers" would like to trade places. I too am getting burned out. Impossible demands for test scores with sped students (ie a student with an iq of 50 is expected to be proficient on high stakes tests) and all the teacher bashing why bother, espeically in light of all the ignorant people with which we have to deal. I could work at Barnes and Noble and make the same pay. AS I said let the teacher bashers home school their children... I am sure with their attitudes they could do a much better job than we do. I am sorry if these are nasty posts but frankly I am holding back. Nothing is more annoying than ignorant, rude parents. Opps! Hope I am not parent bashing.

 

[Mskanga]

First of all, just the title of your post "greedy teachers" is inflamitory. I am sick and tired of being bashed as a teacher for whatever reason. If they have to pay 40.00 per month I am sure it is in additon to the 675.00 per year for the union, and the 500-1000.00 for professional develoment in order to keep their license at 150.00 not to mention the couple of thousand a year that is spent on a classroom so YOUR needy child can have snacks, books, supplies or even kleenex to wipe their noses!! Then there are the times you forget to give your child lunch or lunch money...how do you think he./she gets a lunch?? Do you ever think of that? I teach because I love the kids and enjoy my profession however, I am sick and tired of parents who begrudge every little bit that a teacher gets. Maybe we should keep a tab for all the parents and deliver it at the end of the year. Let's see what is more the amount spent per student OR the 40.00 per month for health insurance. AND keep in mind, you (this is the collective you) send your child to school sick and running a temperature while telling them to ask the teacher to let them put their head down if they do not feel well so you can go to work and earn a days pay. What about our families when we bring home head lice, ring worm or any of the other lovely conditions sick kids can pass on to everyone including the teacher? Yes, you are so right. How dare they be expected to pay 40.00 per month for health ins.(I by the way pay 180 per month).

Are you kidding me? do you really think teachers are the only ones with that kind of job related expenses? I can think of many more. I have friends who are teachers and are making more money than my dh is. My dh pays $85 a week for myself and the children to be added to the insurance policy ( it's free for him ) but our co-pays are ridiculous , not too bad for office visits $10 but prescriptions are $25 and no eye care and only the very basic dental ( only cleanings ) everything else we have to pay for.
I don't know about your school but in our school I know that a student does not go without lunch even if they owe money, everyone must get food , they pay at the end of the year if they want to get their report cards.
I'm sorry but there are way many more jobs that people are making way less money than some teachers are making, having similar job related expenses, work in poor environmental conditions and still have to pay their portion of medical insurance and medical care.
I'm sorry but I would be more than happy to pay $40 a month for insurance, instead I pay $340. Maybe dh should go on a strike!

 

[cobbler]

Originally posted by Bella the Ball 360
First of all, just the title of your post "greedy teachers" is inflamitory.

Possibly wrong choice of words but it just seems when they say they will strike for the children - and it is obvious it is not - it just doesn't leave a good taste on ones mouth.

YOUR needy child can have snacks, books, supplies or even kleenex to wipe their noses!! Then there are the times you forget to give your child lunch or lunch money...how do you think he./she gets a lunch?? Do you ever think of that?

Our teachers don't provide that. We have to supply snacks, supplies and kleenex. The list is quite large and I understand it is due to the budget shortfalls and I have no issue with supplying my child with what he/she needs.

As for the lunch, if they forget the lunch money, yes they will get fed BUT they are sending home a note that day and you do have to pay it back, its not like it is for free that day. So that really isn't an issue.

AND keep in mind, you (this is the collective you) send your child to school sick and running a temperature while telling them to ask the teacher to let them put their head down if they do not feel well so you can go to work and earn a days pay.

While I know this is the "collective you". I don't send my child to school sick, I guess I get the "luxury" to be a stay at home mom - even though we really can't afford it but we do what we can. (This is why I would LOVE to pay 40/month for FULL healthcare!)

What about our families when we bring home head lice, ring worm or any of the other lovely conditions sick kids can pass on to everyone including the teacher? Yes, you are so right. How dare they be expected to pay 40.00 per month for health ins.(I by the way pay 180 per month).

I think 40 is a good deal - esp here and esp now. And while this goes for teachers, it also goes for the other students in the class who also bring it home whos families can't afford health ins or pay out their back side for it!

I bet if you joined the homeschool thread you would not have to worry about a strke!

If they strike, and our district does the sympathy strike, I just might


edited to add:

As I just finished reading some of the other posts. I know that the school district is a great one. The buildings are all in great shape. The community just passed - last year - a huge property tax increase to get a new state of the art football stadium. Now maybe they should have had an increase for healthcare or whatever, but the district asked, the community gave.

Their pay is good and they have negotiated some decent pay increases in this 5 year contract, and the increase will go retro active to when the last contract ended. The only sticking point is this 40/month!!

Not saying the teachers are bad, in fact I think they do a great job and they do work hard but like I said when they claim it is for the students and the healthcare does cover full family for a mere 40/month when over 75% of the known civilized world (and I don't mean literally ok) pays a ton more - it does leave a bad taste in ones mouth!

 

[orvilleair]

To strike on $40 a month difference is not a good idea. You can't convince the townspeople to vote for the next school levy with that kind of attitude. I see job cuts. It's already happening around here. Hopefully negoiations will offer a compromise.

 

[PolyConFan]

All of you whiners who hate us greedy teachers, give it a rest. If we've got it so good, go back to school & become a teacher. I am so sick of the ingrates who do not value the education of their children enough to adequately compensate those who do it. You all could have been teachers, but you chose other paths...oh well, you messed up. What you do not understand that a give back like this is a step on a slippery slope of continued givebacks. It took decades for teachers to make a reasonable wage. Why should we give away what we earned? You wouldn't.

 

[Mskanga]

Originally posted by PolyConFan
All of you whiners who hate us greedy teachers, give it a rest. If we've got it so good, go back to school & become a teacher. I am so sick of the ingrates who do not value the education of their children enough to adequately compensate those who do it. You all could have been teachers, but you chose other paths...oh well, you messed up. What you do not understand that a give back like this is a step on a slippery slope of continued givebacks. It took decades for teachers to make a reasonable wage. Why should we give away what we earned? You wouldn't.

Wait a minute...WE messed up? Why? because we didn't chose to be a teacher? you don't seem to care that other people very similar work related expenses as you do , and still have to pay for their own share of medical insurance and care. In our schools most supplies are provided for by the district ( with our tax money of course ) and a lot of things the PTO also provides. I know one thing, if this happened in our school district , there would be a huge uproar in the community, people pay more than their fair share here.

 

[Purrrrfecta]

Yes,

and let me also add that the teachers who get paid "all that money" have been teaching for over 20 years.
I have been only teaching for three, and I started out at less than 33,000 a year!

I think the cap on teaching in Orlando is around $50,000
Not alot, sorry.

All I can say is thank god for my grandmother, who was able to make a small fortune on her teacher paychecks and wonderful health insurance.

In Kentucky we have the lottery to help pay for the cost of education. UMMMMM wonder where that money is?!

 

[Toby'sFriend]

All of you whiners who hate us greedy teachers, give it a rest. If we've got it so good, go back to school & become a teacher. I am so sick of the ingrates who do not value the education of their children enough to adequately compensate those who do it.

Wow! I hope you get to teach my kids someday. (NOT)