“School’s out for Summer!” originally uploaded by Conspirator Design
Hello, all. It’s my turn to “guest host” Lazy Lightning while Bill lies around the house watching sports on the TV and Kim does all the work. First, let me apologize for the length of this post, but I wanted to be sure to include enough background for those of you who want it.
As many of you know, I am a school board member in ISD 196. I decided to use my guest stint on LL, with its large readership, to harness the wisdom of the crowd and to ask for your help. Most of you have probably read the stories about the budget woes in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district in the news over the past few days. The short version: Because of flat state funding, unallotments and funding shifts, we are looking at potential budget cuts totaling almost $60 million over the next three years, or roughly one-fifth of our operating budget. There is no way to make cuts of this magnitude surgically. We’ll be using fire axes and sledge hammers, not scalpels. These cuts will be necessary even if we ask for and receive permission from voters this fall to continue our excess operating levy.
We are not alone in this situation: Minnesota governments at all levels are facing similar issues. But schools, because of decisions made by the state over the past year or two, are facing substantial cuts in the next biennium. Even districts that have traditionally budgeted conservatively and lived within their means, as I believe we have, are facing daunting budget-cutting decisions. If we cut one-fifth of our budget, what are we supposed to do? Stop teaching social studies? English?
For those of you who want to know more about the fiscal situation and how we got to this point, this quick video produced by Superintendent Jane Berenz and Finance Director Jeff Solomon does a great job laying out the facts without pointing fingers or assigning blame (the video is the one dated Jan. 11).
To have a look at this year’s budget (as well as a more-digestible citizens guide to the budget), click here.
The school district has met with each employee to lay out the situation and to ask for their ideas and suggestions. The school board has met with administrative leaders several times to examine several fiscal scenarios and establish budget-cutting goals. Administrators have met with parent groups and district advisory councils. The administration will be bringing budget adjustment recommendations for 2010-11 to the School Board on Feb. 8
Now we need the broader public’s help. Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan Public Schools has scheduled focus group meetings for Feb. 16 and 18 to get reaction to the administrators’ suggestions.
From the district web site:
The focus group meetings will be conducted by citizen members of the district’s Budget Advisory Council. The meetings will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. both nights at Black Hawk Middle School in Eagan. There will be focus groups of parents, employees and business/community leaders. Participants for these groups have been randomly selected and invited by letter from Superintendent Jane K. Berenz. There will also be two open groups on Feb. 18 for anyone who would like to participate but did not receive a letter of invitation. The first 40 people to call the superintendent’s office at 651-423-7723 or show up at the Feb. 18 meeting will be allowed to participate in one of the two open groups.
A district Budget Steering Committee has been meeting since December to develop a list of recommended budget reductions and revenue enhancements for next year. The budget adjustments are needed in response to the state delaying approximately $58 million in aid payments to District 196 this year and the possibility of cuts to education funding during the upcoming legislative session.
District 196 residents and employees may also share comments on the recommended budget adjustments by sending an email to supt@district196.org or by attending regular School Board meetings in February and March. The recommendations will first be presented to the board at its regular meeting on Monday, Feb. 8, 6 p.m., at Dakota Ridge School in Apple Valley. A summary of feedback gathered at the focus group meetings will be shared at the Feb. 22 board meeting. The final budget adjustment recommendations are scheduled to be presented as new business at the March 8 board meeting, with action by the board at the March 29 meeting.
So, what should we do? Any and all ideas are welcome. No, Mrs. Marcos, we will not contract with Coca Cola to give them exclusive rights to our lunchrooms… but everything else is on the table.
Please feel free to email me or to leave a comment below. I will share all of your suggestions with the school board and administrators. Thanks in advance.
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February 5th, 2010 at 8:00 am
(Guest post by @upwiththemooses) ISD 196 Needs Your Help: http://tinyurl.com/ycff2bh
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
February 5th, 2010 at 8:19 am
Thanks, Bill, for providing the space for this important topic. I wanted to give everyone a new link to a list of budget cuts and new revenue suggestions put together by a district committee. This list will be presented to the school board at our meeting next Monday evening: http://district196.org/District/Departments/Communications/FullNewsRelease.cfm?UID=455
February 5th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Here is what my employer has implemented over the last year:
-Last raise was Jan 2008
-6 1/2 months of 2.5% pay cut
-$40/month increase in deduction for health insurance
-4 weeks mandatory time off (can use either PTO if you have it or take as unpaid)
-cut off overtime
-2 rounds of layoffs (luckily I survived)
Good luck…
February 5th, 2010 at 8:20 am
Seriously, think of the children! RT @SouthMetroNews: (Guest post by @upwiththemooses) ISD 196 Needs Your Help: http://tinyurl.com/ycff2bh
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
February 5th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Andrew, the biggest problem is the union. Teachers really do feel entitled to paying less for health care than the rest of the population, getting yearly pay increases sometimes above the COL index, and plenty of other security perks that the rest of us are not afforded. They seriously believe that they are underpaid and overworked and that these ancillary benefits are required to make up for it.
While all of your ideas make 100% sense in the private sector, unfortunately they will not work in this case as the union will likely fight every last single thing to the nth degree–as it is what they exist to do.
Now, while I have watched the video provided in the post before, I need to look over what UWTM just posted to see what new info has been provided by the district.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:37 am
As a taxpayer & a voter who has voted against all levy increases in the past 15 years, I would like to start by seeing an accounting of where the money for the approved levies has gone. I would especially like to see if the levies for special projects actually got used for what they were passed for (have we upgraded our technology & gotten rid of the ‘temp’ classrooms?).
I will start the discussion off by stating that I don’t have any children in this school district, so I don’t follow things as closely as a parent might. I do recall some underhanded back door ways the school district used to get operating capital (using a back door clause in an expiring levy to extend it and cutting busing after one levy wasn’t passed).
Personally one thing I see where you can start the cuts is with your extra curricular activities budgets. I don’t know how many teams you actually have, but it appears to me like a lot. The small town I went to school in had 1 or 2 sports per season, 1 or 2 teams per sport per sex, 1 math team & 1 speech team. The important things I see with education are, reading, writing & arithmetic, not extras. If the children/parents want extra curricular activities, let them pay extra for it. I’m willing to pay for a good basic education.
I will however give props to the school district for continually pointing out that they have one of the lowest per pupil cost in the metro area. I think its time for the school district to continue that tradition. What makes you think that the district taxpayers have any more money?
February 5th, 2010 at 8:44 am
There’s an inherent problem in a system that has funding and therefore mandates from 3 branches of government. Sorry Art, I don’t know how much help I’d be trying to clean up that mess. I should probably take a harder look at it and try to come up with solutions, but I just don’t see a way out without drastic changes in how our government operates at all levels, and I don’t know if we’re ready for that yet.
February 5th, 2010 at 8:46 am
Yeah –
Well – consider this:
WOULD YOU LIKE THEIR JOB???
Let’s see -
* 6-6 1/2 hours with YOUR kids???;
* homework every night (including the weekends);
* Dealing with parents who are ALWAYS right;
* 6-6 1/2 hours with YOUR kids!
Have you noticed the rampant disrespect in people – notice – not just the young people!
I know many young teachers who have told me that hey are leaving the profession because they did not go to school to be disciplinarians. They would LOVE to just teach!
Yeah, the unions are strong – but education is still the nest deal you have. No matter how many ways you attempt to blame the teachers solely, there are many players in today’s educational world.
. . . and often times IT STARTS WITH YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 5th, 2010 at 8:47 am
Cheers!
Irving
February 5th, 2010 at 8:55 am
Irving, they volunteered to take this job. I’m assuming they enjoy dealing with kids for 6.5 hours a day, 9 months a year..
My job, I don’t deal with kids, but I average 9-10 hours a day, 12 months a year.. There are layoffs coming and I don’t know if I’m safe, I haven’t had a pay raise in over 3 years, and had a paycut then. My insurance premiums almost doubled on Jan 1, and my coverage/deductibles went up.
I don’t get why some feel that others should be protected and on a pedestal. Reality is, we’re all taking it in the shorts right now. Why do teachers/schools/government agencies feel they can whine and demand more of my money, when I have less coming into my pocket? Its time for everyone to realize that the taxpayer isn’t an ATM machine that has an unlimited supply of money.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Sounds like a weekend project for me. It appears that District 196 at least publishes useful information on their website. District 192 is pretty pitiful, only having a video of their Truth in Taxation meeting, but no documentation.
Certainly there are two big things that get thrown off the table for School Districts. One is most of the payroll and employee expenses are handled through collective bargaining agreements. Thus any real changes outside of contract renegotiation periods are nearly impossible.
In general though, I think you have to look at what services are core and need to be protected, look at enrollment numbers, look at facility utilization, and then put it up to the voters to either fund those unprotected services, or let them go.
I’m curious about the above quote. Could you give an example of the decisions and the costs incurred because of them? For example, in the budget document, it shows state aid went down 14.09 million, but federal went up 17.8 million to cover the state loss. That’s a net gain of 3.71 million. Is there a document that better explains the conundrum that is state funding and it’s impact. In particular when enrollment numbers are expected to be flat.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Um, Mark –
I am assuming that no one held the proverbial gun to your head when you took your job, either!
IW
February 5th, 2010 at 9:18 am
Hello Art, I do not envy your role. That being said and the need to take an axe to the budget a few ideas that I have may appear to be harsh but when we are faced with these real budget issues, these actions are necessary.
I would focus on union negotiations and change the concept of teacher and administrator pensions. In the public sector there are very few companies with pensions any longer. Pensions often become insolvent or stressed from a long term liability and become an overwhelming burden to those entities that continue to support them and impact budgets for deacades in the future. My suggestion would be to freeze all pensions at the current value and implement a 401K match of 6% of the member’s salaries. This 6% then becomes a static measurable expense and then the School District no longer needs to manage and be on the hook for shortfalls or solvency of these pensions.
I believe the criteria for free or reduced lunches should be reviewed and altered to save money. I believe that breakfast is served at many schools. Eliminate breakfast.
In 2009-10, more than 16 percent of District 196 students receive
free and/or reduced-price school meals based on National School
Lunch Program qualification criteria. That compares to 33 percent
of students in Minnesota last year. Each year, the district’s award winning
Food and Nutrition Services Department serves more than
3.6 million meals.
Food Service Fund
$11,922,170
3.37%
I also believe that all full day kindergarten “scholarships” should be eliminated. I personally do not believe that the tax payers should be funding this option through “scholarships” which are in excess of $3,000 per student.
I really respect and admire teachers and what they do for our children. I am in line with Irving that more responsibility needs to be placed back on the parents of children. I witness weekly, the poor behavior of children, the complete lack of manners and respect for teachers in the classroom and from their parents. Last time I checked the School District was charged with educating our children. I think over the last two decades that the scope of the School District has expanded into entertaining, feeding, and babysitting the students and parents. We now find ourselves in a position where the district needs to go back to the basics and should look at all programs that have evolved above the charter of educating our children and look at eliminating these programs that have morphed into budget killing programs that we just cannot continue to fund with the budget available.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:35 am
mark, FYI, your e-mail provider does not allow e-mails from my IP range because they have incorrectly pegged me as a residential broadband subscriber. I have contacted them in an attempt to rectify this situation but I will likely be ignored. If you would prefer that I have a different e-mail address on file for you please contact me privately.
February 5th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Ok, I’ll bite.
196 is a district with four high schools (plus an ALC and ZooSchool). I suggest not all four schools need to offer all the amenities many people have come to expect from a high school. What if only Apple Valley and Rosemount had varsity-level football, and only Eagan and Eastview had soccer? What if only Eagan and AV had hockey, and Rosemount and Eastview had Basketball? Or if Rosemount and Eagan had band/orchestra, while Eastview/AV had drama/forensics? Dived up the “competition” level activities, open up open enrollment within the district, and allow students in other schools (and homeschools, etc) to participate in the varsity level activities at other schools, so long as they provide their own transportation. Carry this through to academics (do you need four IB programs, four sets of APs, four spanish/french/chinese immersion programs?).
If you do this, you need to do something that may sound silly: rebrand the district. I say “Minneapolis School District”, and know what I mean. But you say “School District 196″ and I have no clue. That’s the problem with geography, of course. But you will need a unifying banner to rally all member schools together if they go to this level of sharing services and swapping students. “Northern Dakota County School District (NDCSD?)”
Otherwise, you want to crush the teacher’s union? Go ahead. Make them strike. But be prepared to deal with a flood of normally conservative parents with tenuous holds on jobs suddenly having to deal with having their kids at home and not in school. It won’t be pretty. But heck, we haven’t had a good old fashioned teacher’s strike in ages, I’d say we’re due.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:07 am
fehler, I love the idea of consolidating sports into single schools within the district. It would eliminate the overspending for game sports like football and hockey and provide more for sport sports like gynamstics, XC, skiing, etc.
I also don’t understand why you wouldn’t want the teachers to strike. Go for it. You’re still not getting your way. They did it all the time where I grew up. You could time your watch by it. After a while the political climate changed, the state mandated their striking could only carry on for two weeks, and everyone stopped caring. It’s like any union strike these days. No one has sympathy for a bunch of whiners who still have jobs and are getting pay increases while the vast majority of the rest of us are taking job losses and pay cuts year after year. Just remember NWA’s striking. Everyone looked at them, shrugged, and said move on.
I need to stop responding to this stuff and take the time to read up more so I can come up with something intelligent to say ;-)
February 5th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Tearitdown, sorry about your posts getting stuck in the spam filter, I’m pretty sure it’s the e-mail address you use but I could be wrong.
February 5th, 2010 at 10:31 am
Irving: you are correct. Noone did force me to take this job.
However, I’m looking for something better, but with the economy that isn’t very easy. I’m accepting the fact that I do have to live with the cuts, but I’m not going out and trying to force my employer/taxpayers to pay more with property taxes because I don’t like the economic reality. I accept it as a reality and hope it will get better.
Teachers/schools seem to not understand the economic realities that are going on, and instead want to raise taxes when most people are facing cuts in their own incomes. They just want more more more
February 5th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
I’d like to see the union’s budget.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
There’s nothing inherently _wrong_ with lowballing the teacher’s union to force them to accept what could be considered draconian wage/benefit cuts (not that I’m characterizing any of the above proposals as a “lowball”. I don’t know enough about finance to comment). Its just a matter of what you can get away with given the demographics of the district.
The voters will weigh in eventually affirming or denouncing the school board’s decision. A strike will serve to kick over the hornets’ nests of public opinion, but who knows which way they’ll sting. Given it’s a characteristically young, family district, I’d say the teachers would have the upper hand in public opinion. If this were an “older” area, such as Edina, White Bear Lake, or Minnetonka, then the board would tend to have the voting public on their side.
February 5th, 2010 at 12:56 pm
In regards to the sports issues, the booster clubs (parents) of the various sports do the fund raising to buy uniforms, equipment, facility rental, some of the coaches pay, etc. Plus, for most of the sports there is an out of pocket booster fee that is paid on top of the district registration fee per sport. I believe the district fee is capped at $240 per athlete. That doesn’t come out of the school district’s pocket. I will have paid a total of $600 (booster club fees) plus the $240 to have my daughter participate in three sports, She also participates in choir which has it’s own booster club and out of pocket expenses. Perhaps UWTM could provide a breakdown of exactly what the district pays for in regards to athletics, fine arts and other activities. Are we going to combine our debate, science, math, dance, etc. programs as well? That will certainly leave a whole lot of kids with too much time on their hands.
February 5th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
Art, I am an AV taxpayer with kids in the system. I am also an AVHS grad.
I don’t have time to read up on the specifics, so any specific advise should not be considered. Maybe I will find time soon (didn’t even know it was a problem).
All I can offer is that the district should clearly define its purpose and service that purpose as efficiently as possible. Remove anything extraneous. If you cannot afford to meet the basics, then redefine expectations (cut stuff and communicate). It seems that schools are covering all sorts of costs that may be outside the core of education… pensions, sports teams, lunches, all sorts of things.
I only know about running private companies. But if I were in your position, I would completely reinvent my company. It’s just a way of thinking. A trend in the private sector is to go back to your core. Do what you do well and nothing else. The rest is noise and noise is costly in terms of time and money. For some reason, over time we tend to lose our focus.
Ex. If you determine that paying for a chess team is outside of your core, then cut it. People will adapt. A new AV Chess Association will be privately formed and funded. Kids will still play chess.
I understand you will likely be making large groups of people angry any which way you go. Good luck to you; I do not envy your job right now. As others have stated, you are not alone in this whole lack of money problem. I’m sure you guys will come up with some good solutions and no one will die :)
February 5th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
“That will certainly leave a whole lot of kids with too much time on their hands.”
Not to pick on Mrs. Robinson specifically, but I think there in lays some of the problem. Since when as a taxpayer is it my responsibility to make sure the school district’s children have plenty of activities to keep them busy? Isn’t that their parents responsibility? If I need to pay to keep them occupied, I would like them to be in school year round & spending more time working on reading, writing & arithmetic (the skills that grow an American economy).. If that was being proposed, I WOULD pay more taxes.
I’m also familiar with the booster clubs. I seem to run into their fund raisers every time I’m in Rainbow
-Bill, I’m guessing the problem is with the IP this post would come from more then the email address
February 5th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Well geez, I have nothing else to offer
I graduated in 2001 with a degree in elementary education (licensed for grades 1-6). I worked full time while I went to college (in a corporate setting). I have been with my company for over 10 years now but at the time I had worked for them for 1 1/2 years. There was absolutely no way I could give up my corporate paying job to take a pay cut and go to work as a teacher. So everyone that is harping about the outrageous amounts of teacher salaries, I think you might want to dig a little deeper. Summers off? Not really – most teachers spend time each summer working a part time job or spending their own money to outfit their classroom for the coming school year, or collecting continuing education hours towards the renewal of their teaching license. Any way, my point is that teaching is hard work for low pay and I don’t think it is fair to lay the blame on the ‘over paid teachers.’
February 5th, 2010 at 2:39 pm
Is it such a bad thing that the private sector can beat out the public school system for qualified teachers? That can be said of many, many jobs. The fact that a private company is willing to pay more for that talent doesn’t in and of itself mean that teachers should be paid more.
For what it’s worth, I was going to school to be a teacher and decided I’d rather not deal with the unions and a pay scale that isn’t merit-based.
I strongly support teachers making a livable wage. I don’t think it’s the end of the world, though, when the private sector is able to lure them away from the classroom.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
Mrs Marcos, I think you make some great points, and I want you to know I have a great deal of respect for our teachers. They do a difficult job, and its something I know I could not do.
That said, I dont know any teachers who have stuck with it for more than a few years who are not well compensated. None of my teachers were going to the food shelf, worring about job security, or for that matter even working in the summers. Most of what you describe is what happens for the first few years of teaching. As teachers begin to have more time served its my understanding that the pay and benefits are pretty good.
As a frame of reference, two of my college roomates are now teachers and one is a college professor. All three are about a dozen years out of college and all have gone through the working a second job in the summers period. I notice now though that all have obtained advanced degrees (on the school districts dime), all of them have mentioned sizable raises, either tied to the masters degree/doctorate or to becoming nationaly board certified. All have great benefits.
I dont know if this is the case for all teachers, but I do know that high initial burn out is not isolated to teaching. It happens with police, sales, financial advisors, etc. There are many professions where people start the job and decide it is not at all what they expected.
Schools and teaching are one of the few things I am very comfortable seeing my tax dollars used on, but I have a hard time understanding why teachers and for that matter union employees all over the place dont think they need to make changes in this economy.
February 5th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
How much money does the union remove from a teacher’s check?
I’m with Joey on the merit pay issue. How else do you promote high-quality work?
February 5th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Great points Chad! (And congrats on 800 comments, for what that’s worth….)
For my first two jobs out of college in the private sector I was being paid in the low 30k range. That seems pretty comparable to a teacher’s salary (my cousin is a teacher in Proctor, MN, and I’ve seen the union contracts…it’s definitely comparable). Additionally, the benefits teachers get are typically far better than what anyone in the private sector receives.
Each district is a little different though, which is why it’s probably not exactly fair for either “side” to make across-the-board assessments.
Coca-Cola for life! (I’ve heard that phrase will make you Mrs Marcos’ friend for life. It was worth a shot.)
February 5th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
As a follow up to my post, this is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Median annual wages of kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers ranged from $47,100 to $51,180 in May 2008; the lowest 10 percent earned $30,970 to $34,280; the top 10 percent earned $75,190 to $80,970″
That is certainly more than a liveable wage, and a married couple who both teach could easily clear 100k per year, esp when you add in the additional pay they get for coaching or other activities. Thats hardly income that would call for a second job. In addition benefits often include full pay for medical, dental, vision, etc. Tuition reimbursement, student loan repayment, etc.
Again, I have a great deal of respect for what teachers do, but I think the idea that they are somehow underpaid is really just great marketing by the unions.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
I couldn’t agree more.
Don’t forget about the pensions too. Most people in the private sector still have to contribute an additional 6-15% of their income (with or without a company match) to a 401k account if they want retirement benefits.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Just for a frame of reference. When I moved to Minnesota in late 2002 I did so for an awesome “high paying” job where I made all of $25,000 pre-tax, pre-union dues, and pre-all other cost of living included. I didn’t make $30,000 until I took a different job in White Bear Lake. I didn’t make over $40,000 until I took my most recent job–and I’ve been out of college for 8 fucking years now. So this bullshit whining about how little those poor teachers make is tiring, really, really tiring. You know why? Because I lived just fine on my $25,000/year salary (of which I took home what, $19,000?)
So can we stop throwing a pity party for these people who knew exactly what they were getting into when they started college?
February 5th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
Merit pay would be simple . . . IF you could legislate intelligence. EG – EVERYONE who enters grade 1 WILL be XXX smart/capable/interested/supported/loved/exposed to no drugs, sex, or bullets/sleeping well/eating well/ see? The list of things that the schools CAN’T control is almost endless – even though the legislature would have the schools do pretty much everything.
I worked in the St Paul system – not unusual to have a 3rd grader come to school with no coat, having just witnessed his “uncle” beat his mom this morning, and saw his “Brother” shoot-up last night. (OK – so I stretched it just a little, but you get the picture.) Now – you want to teach them the capital of Delaware???
Yeah – it’s true – EVEN in RAVE!
Irving
February 5th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
maybe have a bit of a nomination process where teachers can nominate others.. or counselors who work with the kids may have an idea on what teachers are doing what..
There are some measures out there, I’m sure, that could be used. I know many of my teachers were miserable. They taught the same teaching plan they used for the last 20 years and could almost just quote everything out of the books by memory.. They weren’t excited and couldn’t get the students excited about what they were teaching. But, they knew they had a job, with X% raise every year that would be nearly impossible to lose. Much easier to keep doing what they are doing than try to find something better.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:38 pm
I didn’t mention the union thing earlier on purpose. The teacher’s union is an obvious big target as it relates to budget. The real world part of me figures it is off limits so don’t waste your effort on it. It is the biggest of all rocks to attempt to push up a hill.
Then another part of me thinks we need to address this problem. The teachers say that they don’t make crap for money (true if you are just looking at the salary). The fiscal conservatives say that the total burden is super high (I don’t have any numbers in front of me). In general, I wish the unions could ditch the fancy benefits plan, and most importantly the pension; then we can bump the salary up and save money. Comparing salary is only a minor part of the puzzle. The pension is a long term burden that is nearly impossible to budget for because we don’t know income over that long of a period of time. The pension could be swapped out with a 401K plan with matching contributions that vest over a period of years. In the non-union private sector, it is usually very lucky to have any 401k matching at all these days.
As it stands right now comparing salaries is very difficult because it is apples to oranges…and the union has this huge price tag on it in general. No wonder we are both pissed at each other.
February 5th, 2010 at 3:40 pm
Irving, I agree with you 100%. But, I am willing to bet that even when you were there you knew that some teachers were “good” and some were just getting by, and some were “bad.”
I know there are many schools of thought on this subject, and its something that interests me greatly, but its probably not helping UWTM solve the District 196 funding issues.
To be quite honest, when I think of places that waste taxpayers money, I dont normally think of schools as being very high on the list. I dont always think we get our money’s worth, but I do think most schools operate under the assumption that they have many needs and finite resources. Cuts are always painful. I dont know how to help with that, and while the sports idea is interesting, it was always my understanding that at many schools Football is actually a revenue generator. I also think there is a great deal of value and education to be found in athletics, and as noted above it keeps the kids off the street.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Sorry to beat a dead horse, but wanted to share a great video. For those interested, this Video is wonderful. Its funny and somewhat inspiring.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/OPINION/11/03/robinson.schools.stifle.creativity/index.html
February 5th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
It must be fun to look down your nose and determine how much is “enough” for an individual to earn. Hopefully we don’t pay all of our public servants only what is “enough”, and instead pay them what is customary for the position, ideally indexing it against what the private market is, and adjusting for benefits. If it was always lower, then no one would want the job. But if contracts aren’t up for re-negotiation yet, then much of the payroll talk is pointless for today, but you can expect some issues when contract renewal time comes along. Of course, the state law that starts fining school districts if they don’t have a signed contract by a certain date doesn’t really help.
I like the idea of pooling resources, i.e. sports facilities, pools, gyms.. etc. but I’m not sure it is all that easy. The way many of these resources are utilized, there is often a need for more of them, not less. In addition, the Minnesota education system is leveraged on the idea of “local” control. Now granted State and Federal mandates do steal some of that local control away, the whole idea is that you and you, and you , and even I can have a direct say in how my, our children are educated. If you start pooling things to gain economy of scale, you will further erode that local control. But that is where that kind of discussion needs to go, how much local control do you really want, and how much are you willing to give up?
Education funding is a complex issue, in particular because it has been proven that more money doesn’t mean better results. Thus you need to spend smartly, you need to be careful who you vote to represent you on the school board, and you need to make sure the district is run by people can find the most effective way to use the money we give them.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Mikeh, no one is looking down their nose at anyone. Besides, I hope we do pay public servants what is “enough,” just as we pay private servants what is “enough.” Over-paying them wouldn’t make any economic sense for the taxpayers any more than it would make sense for a private business.
If the jobs are worth more than these people are being paid, they can find another employer who’s able and willing to pay them more. But you can’t pay someone more unless you determine that the position is worth that amount to you and more importantly, you’re able to finance the position.
You also make a great point on the state laws about fining school districts. With all of the state and federal mandates, local control has been slowly slipping away for years.
February 5th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
I took a 15K pay cut to go into teaching when I did so this year. A common misconception is that teachers are paid for 12 months of work when they’re “only doing 9″. First of all, that’s not true, teacher contracts are based on several different things, including student contact time. Teachers are paid X amount for the 9.5 months of the year that school is in session. When that money is disbursed is a moot point. If teachers want to be paid for 12 months of work, they need to give 12 months of work, teaching summer school, targeted services, young scholars, or other types of summer employment any number of things.
Every single teacher at my school is worried about job security on a daily basis. I don’t have a job for next year, most likely, neither do several of my tenured co-workers. Even the union can’t protect teachers from budget cuts.
I pay more for my health care now than I did before I went into the teaching profession, and I had better health care before too. So don’t tell me I expect to pay less than everyone else.
I’m all for merit-pay, because there are several teachers at my school that I would like to see move on to another profession. However, test scores CANNOT be the measure of merit pay, which brings up the question, how do we measure merit? It’s a too subjective area with too many factors to be effectively addressed, especially by those who have no knowledge of the schools, teachers, parents and students.
To answer Mooses actual question, I would say look at how your schools are truly operating, is the block/team schedule in middle schools really helping students? Can you save money by revamping schedules? The combination of student activities across schools is a great idea. Provide all the same activities, but team up your massive numbers of high schools. Make two of your high schools magnet high schools. You’ve already got the Zoo school, specialize the other two and make them destination schools.
The ALC is likely funded by federal targeted services funds, so I’m guessing that school shouldn’t be counted among the other high schools, nearly every school district in the state has an ALC program, with good reason.
Long term, I have never understood why there are so many cities lumped into one school district, would a district split be possible? Apple Valley should be it’s own school district, as should Eagan, most likely. I agree with the branding of the school district, when I was subbing in 196, I always referred to it as “RAVE” I think there’s a definite catch there, it’s all yours if you want it :)
February 5th, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Ok, get ready for a long post: some addressing the basics, some addressing more complex problems:
1. Cut down on the amount of paper coming home. I have a fourth grader attending a school in ISD 196. The paper that comes home with announcements, etc., is a waste. So many of these things could be conveyed electronically. I’m not saying don’t send worksheets home, I’m okay with that, I like sitting down at the kitchen table with my kid and working through math problems the “old fashioned way.” But I don’t need 10 sheets of paper in his homework folder each week, announcing this and that event. Send these electronically. If there are kids whose parents don’t have email, photocopy a small number and discreetly put them in the kids’ homework folders. Putting 5 sheets in 5 kids’ homework folders has to be less work than putting 5 sheets in 30 kids’ folders. Our school has a newsletter, which I receive electronically, but inevitably after receiving the electronic version, one week later I get a paper copy of the exact same thing in his folder. For families with multiple children, this waste is multiplied. Multiply this by the number of students in the district and that is a CRAZY amount of paper.
2. Lower the temperature of each school by 5 degrees during the winter. This was a cost saving mechanism my depression-era parents instilled in the kids in our family: Cold? Put on a sweater. Seriously, these kids are putting out so much body heat, we could likely make the room temp lower and they would not notice. The MOA has no heating system: it is heated entirely by customer body heat and heat coming off of light bulbs. Try it out and see if anyone even notices!
3. Parental Involvement: Some public schools ask/require each family to volunteer three hours or more each school year. To me, this is a multi-purpose benefit: The school gets three hours of labor; the parent gets to spend time either at the school or working on a school project at home in the evening; the kid gets the message that the parent believes that school is important (and if it’s a home project: hey a chance to do homework together!) AND the parent has that all important interaction with the school/teachers. I know that parents work outside the home. I also know that there are projects that can be done at home and not just during work hours/the school day. This initiative is not something that requires the hiring of a “volunteer coordinator.” The district has already collected parents’ email addresses. Just set up an email form and when a teacher has a project that could use some outside help: the call goes out electronically (again, no paper), or some such set-up. We don’t need another staff member: we’re talking about a few keystrokes describing the project and a contact list. The Bloomington School District has a parental involvement program; a video available online that all parents are required to watch before volunteering at the school, etc., and safety guidelines which are not onerous or expensive.
4. Others have raised the issue with teacher salaries, but if they have kids and you ask that same question four days into Christmas Break or Spring Break, I bet the parents would think twice about their answer! My concern is that we put a lot of time and expense into training new, enthusiastic, good teachers, only to have them burn out and leave the profession. This is essentially money flying out the window. I’m not saying that a higher paycheck will make these people stay. Far from it. Money is not the answer to all of the woes. We need to find out what from a balance perspective we are missing with these teachers burning out, and fix it. See #3 above, maybe having a parent help out in the classroom would help with the burnout issue; and have the parents appreciate the teachers’ efforts/challenges in the classroom, and step up at home if need be.
5. We’ve all had a teacher in our past who inspired us, who we remember fondly, who we can honestly say had a positive impact on our lives. Young, old, it doesn’t matter. My favorite was in her fifties and was teaching her heart out. Many of us have also had a teacher who we can honestly say either (a) stayed on too long: teaching by rote; not incorporating new ideas; lost enthusiasm; or (b) was not suited for the teaching gig in the first place. Young and old alike. Can’t we put in place a performance based initiative where we can get what we are paying for? Unions: parents are sending you a message, and the internet is helping. We now can talk to each other about what schools are working and what schools are falling short; what teachers we want our kids to have, and which we don’t and why; and if the neighborhood school is not performing, we don’t have to “live with it” or pack up and move. The arrows in the parental quiver are open enrollment and charter schools, and this is a reality the unions have to start to face. Either get on the performance bandwagon, or start to deal with the teachers who should no longer be teachers. Continuing to say ‘no” to both is no longer an option. Too much is at stake, and too many kids have gone through the system without getting what the citizens are paying for.
6. Early Childhood Education and Screening – Please, please don’t even THINK about cutting this. In fact, it should be expanded. SO many kids enter kindergarten without age appropriate skills, or with issues which, if caught early, can be remedied prior to entering Kindergarten. If we catch it early; that can equal fewer remedial learning issues later on (a cost savings in itself); allow the kids to have a positive experience when they enter the school system (which pays off in the long run!). I’m not the only one who thinks this, bigger brains than mine have pondered the concept: http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/studies/earlychild/highreturn.pdf
I hope this helps. Thanks for your post Art, and for your service on the school board. Maybe if we had more citizens directly contributing ideas, we could come up with even more cost saving initiatives, without sacrificing quality but increasing it; without cutting services, but making the services provided even better.
February 5th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
dawnmarie……can you share with us the reasons you chose to leave your previous profession? It sounds like you have taken a pay cut, and your benefits are not as good (they must have been truly incredible before).
What reason for the change?
February 5th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I agree.
I was going to mention that I don’t work in a union shop, have a private sector job, etc. But figured what’s the point. A rock indeed.
I will say that I live in the district for 196 but we don’t have (and aren’t going to have) any kids. I won’t be voting to approve any new levy and I’ll have to think about voting to continue any as well. I’ll be looking to see what cuts have been made how the impact to the employees stacks up against what I have faced over the last two years.
February 5th, 2010 at 5:49 pm
Chad, I left because I’m a teacher. This profession is a better fit for me, and I know unequivocally that it is where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing.
The pay cut sucked, and the rise in benefit cost sucked, but it’s 100% worth it. I wasn’t complaining, just trying to correct misconceptions. I chose this profession and while I can wish all sorts of things about administrations, parents, pay, benefits, at the end of the day, I’m one of the lucky few who knows exactly what her vocational purpose is. To teach.
February 5th, 2010 at 6:05 pm
dm: You rock.
Love,
Whit
February 5th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
Thanks much to everyone who has responded so far. I appreciate all of the suggestions and will be sharing them with my colleagues at the district. I will try to post answers this weekend to some of the overarching questions many of you raised, but I’m seeing that the wisdom of the crowd has already answered many of the smaller questions for me. Thanks again to all. I would encourage you to attend the upcoming meetings if you have an interest. And thanks again to The South Metro’s News Source for providing me with this great platform.
Art (UpWithTheMooses)
February 5th, 2010 at 9:22 pm
This is one of those things that I wish I had an answer for.
Curious — what are the health benefits? Is it still a straight copay plan, or has the district joined the 21st Century by making employees assume some responsibility/ownership of their health plan with a deductible plan/HSA combo?
February 5th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
“I’m all for merit-pay, because there are several teachers at my school that I would like to see move on to another profession. However, test scores CANNOT be the measure of merit pay, which brings up the question, how do we measure merit? ”
The same way we do it in the private sector. I get evaluated by my boss with input from my peers and those that report to me.
Here’s a question I have…My understanding is that it is hard to actually get a job teaching after you get your teaching certificate because so many people are going in to it. Is this true? In the metro area, how many applicants does a typical teaching opening get?
February 5th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
It’s not that teachers are paid poorly per se; it’s that their pay is (IMO) low for what they have to put up with, the responsibilities, and the work they put in. Yeah, my first couple of jobs out of college didn’t quite pay what a teacher would make in their first few years, or had as good benefits, but, honestly, they were also total cakewalks by comparison too.
February 6th, 2010 at 12:04 am
As for merit pay — it sounds good in theory, but how you do get teachers to work in districts with more problems that make their jobs harder? It seems like the logical result of this would just be that teachers would flock to the districts with fewer issues, even if it means forgoing the chance to get more money. You’d have to make the incentives for worse districts way (as in, way too high to be feasible) higher in order to balance it out.
February 6th, 2010 at 3:45 am
There’s no opportunity in three years to radically change contracted pay and benefits. All you can do (and have done in the new settlement, though some may disagree) is hold the line and hope for mass retirements so the expensive teachers will be replaced with new, cheap ones.
How about retirement incentives? Some districts have offered those. Do they make an appreciable difference?
Have you considered, and has it been mentioned, closing several schools? District enrollment has finally begun to decline. Would capacity allow any school closures? Would capacity, combined with budget woes, DEMAND school closures?
Busing? Making everyone (elementary) walk a mile? Or has that already been done? How about rejiggering start times for maximum transportation efficiency? That could result in some very early, and very late, times for schools. Or long bus rides that may combine junior and senior high students. Have any of these already been done?
What about elementary specialist positions — art, math, science, phy ed? Eliminating those, or some of them, at each school, would save quite a few FTEs. Has that begun?
Have the librarian and school nurse positions already been cut signficantly, as is the case in many districts? If not, they will clearly have to be.
How about shortening the junior high and/or high school day? Cutting a period? Huge savings there, if it’s doable. There ARE grad requirements to consider, of course, as well as electives and tricky combinations of foreign language and music.
After all that, it’s about class size. Let’s be honest: It’s ALL about class size. Is a district-wide elementary staffng ratio of 30:1, even 28:1 or 27:1, acceptable politically and educationally?
It may have to be. High school class sizes in the 40s or 50s in some cases may be necessary.
For all the great ideas and dialogue, if your time frame is three years, you’ll do far more drilling into bedrock than you will reforming.
Have you applied for the Race to the Top funds? They may be paltry, I don’t know, and they come with strings attached. But that may be the only “new” funding for years to come.
February 6th, 2010 at 3:48 am
My bad: In the previous post, I meant art, MUSIC (not math), science, and phy ed.
February 6th, 2010 at 8:12 am
I live in AV. I will admit that I dont’ know exact details about what the schools spend money on, but yesterday I heard that an Eagan grade school has a SMART BOARD in every classroom from someone that works there. When I hear things like that, it makes me furious that they are begging for more of my paycheck when they spend money on comepletely unnceccessary expensive items such as this. It makes me “shut down” and not listen too much to the woes of the school budget problem. They can’t figure out how to efficiently use what they have because they buy expensive “fun” electronics, and want more money for more “essential” needs. Sorry, not listening any more…
February 6th, 2010 at 8:15 am
Perhaps a suggestion to come out of this would be for the district to more closely manage how the funds are used in its schools? Micromanage expenditures so to speak?
February 6th, 2010 at 9:43 am
Maybe we have to start outsourcing to India or the Phillipines like all the other “real” companies (including mine)?
February 6th, 2010 at 10:53 am
As someone with a child who is about to attend Kindergarten in 196, I have a real stake in this matter. Here is what I think: In the past two years, I have seen my income fall 35% and survived two rounds of layoffs by doing so. I am not getting an annual raise at present my job this year, and I am having to pay more for health insurance. Every purchase we make as a family is predicated with “do we need this?” leading to plenty of strife with my spouse. I’m keeping it all together by budgeting very strictly, but there just isn’t much I can cut anymore as we move into a time where kids need things like shoes, clothes, etc. I know we are heading to a moment in which our monthly expenses will outrun our monthly income (and we are saving a meager amount for “retirement” right now, but it won’t be enough by any stretch of the imagination). I will likely either try to find a higher paying job (good luck) or more likely I hope to find weekend or evening work. It should not be like this for someone in their prime earning years, holding advanced degrees, and possessing many years of hard-won experience in their field. But here we all are.
So you folks need to get down off of your high horses and make your 20% cuts and suck it up, because it is unfair to have EVERYONE else dealing with reality except you. I am perfectly capable of supplementing my childrens’ educations myself (and will be, regardless of what 196 does). Live in reality, that is my best advice to you, the bubble must deflate now as there is no more room to tax people. And just so we are all clear on this matter, changes to government should include all public employees on the rolls, including police and firemen. You all serve the public, not the other way around.
February 6th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Ooh now we’re heading for defamation: http://bit.ly/970vlQ — these people are amazing.
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
February 6th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
Sal, I would first ask how those SMART boards were paid for, because there are hundreds of grants available for technology purchases, we just got 3 at my school and the only money we spent on them was on the postage to mail the grant application. If you know of any grants to fund hiring personnel, I’m sure all school districts would love to be in on it. At my last school, we also got 3 SMART boards, all purchased by the PTO/PTA. Funds don’t always come directly from the taxpayers pockets, especially for purchases that are merely just ‘“fun” electronics’ (though I heartily disagree with you there, the savings on resources replaced by the SMART board will pay for the boards themselves), whereas funding for essentials does come from the taxpayers.
February 6th, 2010 at 8:54 pm
Joey,
Please let me know where to send your half of our BFF necklaces!
Cheers!
Mrs Marcos
February 6th, 2010 at 9:07 pm
dm, even money from grants is ultimately from the pockets of taxpayers.
February 6th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
cripes, thanks for the well done comment. I agree with nearly everything you say. My only question is about the Race to the Top funds. I know what they are and realize they’re available and considered to be some of the best funding dollars available as part of the stimulus package but I wonder what good it would really do the district.
So let’s say it funds something in the short term. It wouldn’t do much in the long run and may even cause extra problems for the district and the taxpayers. Institutions end up depending on funds that dry up over time or come with sticky requirements which require more monies. Would these dollars end up biting us in the ass?
What a hassle all around.
February 7th, 2010 at 2:11 am
Bill, re: Race to the Top:
An open question; I’m not sure either. But it does seem to behoove school districts to join the state and get on board, for now. It’s my understanding districts can opt out once the state opts in (once its application is accepted).
The program does seem truly reform-driven. I don’t think the teachers union likes it, because I think it requires states to allow individual teachers to be held accountable for achievement-test results (as opposed to, say, Q Comp, Pawlenty’s merit–pay baby, which is more about teachers meeting personal professional goals and school-wide performance benchmarks).
But the spending tails and trails, I don’t know.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:30 am
Chad, yes, but not in the way the Sal was complaining about. It’s not like the district had a levy/referendum for their in-district SMART board grant so they could put the boards in every room.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:31 am
Some of you may have seen this before. Interesting ideas.
http://www.tepcharter.org/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/05/education/05charter.html
Here are the basics:
“A New York City charter school set to open in 2009 in Washington Heights will test one of the most fundamental questions in education: Whether significantly higher pay for teachers is the key to improving schools.
The school, which will run from fifth to eighth grades, is promising to pay teachers $125,000, plus a potential bonus based on schoolwide performance. That is nearly twice as much as the average New York City public school teacher earns, roughly two and a half times the national average teacher salary and higher than the base salary of all but the most senior teachers in the most generous districts nationwide.”
“In exchange for their high salaries, teachers at the new school, the Equity Project, will work a longer day and year and assume responsibilities that usually fall to other staff members, like attendance coordinators and discipline deans.”
One thing to note, many senior teachers already make salaries in the 100k range, and can retire after 30 years service (mid 50′s) with 60 or 70% pensions, so this is not quite as crazy as it may first sound.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:46 am
One more article on teacher pay and education.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/fashion/01generationb.html
To answer a previous question, in some states teachers pay as much as $1000 per year to the unions. I dont know what the exact amount for MN is.
February 7th, 2010 at 9:11 am
I was paying $80 month to the union, and I was not a voting member, when I worked for the state. Basically one day’s pay after taxes. If you wanted to be a voting member it was quite a bit more.
There was constant pressure from the rest of the members of the union to pay the additional dollars.
February 7th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
1. The students know who the good teachers are. Some teachers connect with the kids; those who don’t need to leave. Ask the kids. They won’t throw the good teachers under the bus.
2. I don’t care how many “enrichment” courses a teacher takes; if they aren’t suited for the profession, they should do something else. Taking classes does not automatically make you a good teacher. I have personal proof of this from my son’s experiences. The teacher who had the most extra schooling/awards was the worst one he ever had. (BTW, he was an excellent student, so no personal prejudice).
3. We don’t need a career center supervisor or a volunteer coordinator.
4. Special needs kids are very expensive. They and their families also gain enormous benefit from their time at school. We need a solution here.
5. Combining the sports teams is a brilliant idea.
6. Our district has spent a lot of money on studies regarding such things as the benefits of all-day kindergarten. This type of thing is not something to buy when you are broke.
February 7th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
The union dues vary. In my district we moved from a flat fee to a percentage model with the acceptance of our new contract last month.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Hilarious! I laughed out lout when I read it. Repeated it to my wife and she laughed out loud.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
What about four-day weeks? I know some schools in this state do that now to save money, along with schools in other states.
February 8th, 2010 at 5:48 am
The Minnesota State High School League has rules in place regarding co-oping sports teams and other activities. The schools in 196 are all AA, it would be extremely unlikely to happen.
February 8th, 2010 at 6:43 am
Regarding things like SMART boards, bear in mind that technology, if purchased, deployed, and used appropriately, can actually save money over the long term. For example, rather than have two classes of something in two different buildings, you could set up a video conferencing link so you can have students from other locations attending the same class. I’m not saying every technology purchase is necessary, of course, but if done right it is a good investment.
February 8th, 2010 at 10:58 am
After reviewing various documents, I guess I have to say you got to cut it all. For the short term, I’d apply a flat % cut across all budget categories that get’s you to the number you need. I would marry that with a push to your service providers or vendors asking for a flat % cut in expenses. If done right, the impact can be limited on both sides of the ledger.
Long term I would like to see school districts working with other districts on purchasing things. I see that 196 is already a part of the Minnesota School Food Buying group. http://www.anoka.k12.mn.us/msfbghome I wonder why District 192 is not? Are there other buying groups out there? Feel like starting one?
Personally I don’t want to see teacher pay eroded. The idea, though needs to be that teacher pay (plus benefits) needs to be reflected in the pay that is available today for similar positions in the commercial market. That has to mean that when everything else is going down, teacher pay and benefits also need to go down, just like when things are going up, teacher pay and benefits should also go up. That being said, if pay hasn’t yet become equal to the market as it is today, I’m not sure that cutting their pay and benefits is the right answer. As taxpayers, we need to understand that if we want quality teachers, we need to pay for quality. That doesn’t mean the highest pay, but that certainly doesn’t mean the lowest.
The market right now is terrible. A company I was working at for over 5 years recently closed down. It took me about a month for to find work, and when I did, I’m at a salary about $12,000 less than I had before, and my benefits are going to cost about $20% more while providing less benefit. Wohoo, free market!
February 8th, 2010 at 11:03 am
I’m with Mikeh, I’d hate to see teacher pay eroded. Is it possible to deal with a budget cut this big and not erode teacher pay? I know that pay cuts are the reality for a lot of the taxpayers out there already, but I still feel like cutting their pay would be sort of a slap in the face. I also wonder how much it would damage morale and what sort of costs would be incurred due to that.
February 8th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
How about a pay raise in the form of union dues returned to the teachers?
February 9th, 2010 at 1:32 am
Explain what “eroded” means. Explain what “cutting” means. You won’t arrive at what you seek as truth until you do that.
Is “eroded” to be compared with our (pretty low) national rate of inflation? Likewise, “cutting?” Joey, no teacher pay is being “cut.” It’s still going up, make no mistake. But way less than it did in good budget years.
Distrrct 196 teachers took salary schedule increases of 1 percent and 1 percent for each of two years, I think (correct me if I’m wrong). That is much lower than the norm of recent years, not only in 196 but in the metro area. But it’s pretty close to the norm in current settlements.
You might also inspect whether 196 teachers have higher co-pays and/or health insurance contributions under the new contract. I don’t know. I suspect they do.
I am not a teacher, but I suspect their union leaders would say their pay iIS being “eroded” under this year’s VERY SPARTAN settlements.
Let’s give ‘em credit: They realized it’s no time to agitate for big pay raises.
But let’s also recognize that when, and if, economics improve, the unions (not just teachers, who set the tone) will remind their bosses how they took it in the ass in 2010.
February 9th, 2010 at 8:55 am
If you don’t get a pay increase that’s at least equal to the annual COL increase, it’s the same thing as a pay cut. Maybe not on paper, but certainly in practice. Now, I don’t know what the COL increase is offhand (it’s probably lower than it was since gas prices are lower), but it’s a factor.
February 9th, 2010 at 8:57 am
If I’m not mistaken, the COL increase for 2008 was roughly 1%, or close to neutral. I imagine it was similar last year considering the stagnant economy.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Thanks for the info, Joey. That would make sense. So, essentially a 1% increase is holding the line rather than a raise.
February 9th, 2010 at 9:41 am
The Social Security Administration has some info on Cost of Living Adjustments that they are required to make for benefits each year. For 2009, there was no increase in benefits (the increase would have been applied in January 2010). The cost of living is based on the 3rd quarter of the previous year (2008 in this case) compared with the 3rd quarter of the current year (2009) and is then applied to next year’s (2010) benefits. This marks the first time a cost of living increase hasn’t been applied to Social Security benefits.
(Also, this report seems to contradict my previous statement about 2008. I wish I could find the source I had on that, because I remember looking it up to see how my pay raise compared with the COL increase. Oh well…)
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/COLA/colaseries.html
http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/latestCOLA.html
February 10th, 2010 at 8:27 am
Tim: Since I haven’t gotten a COL raise for the last 3 years, I guess I’ve gotten 3 paycuts?
February 10th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
If you didn’t get any other raise, then yeah, you pretty much did, unfortunately.
February 11th, 2010 at 9:00 am
don’t forget… even the cost of living increase can be not enough considering the changes in the value of the US Dollar.
March 30th, 2010 at 11:03 pm
Wow – have any of you actually volunteered in a classroom or tried to do the things these teachers do day after day. I did…. Couldn’t hack it – I thought that I was really patient and and really amazing with kids but determined after about 20 minutes that I wasn’t…
I actually have no problem paying for any extra curricular activity, sports, plays, speech, etc. If I want my kid to get to do these things I guess I will pay (even though when I was a kid I could do anything I dreamed of doing and my parents paid nothing), bottom line – lets not fuss with out teachers they love and care for our kids day after day and I can’t thank them enough – let’s talk to the people on the hill and let them know how they are letting our kids down – state and federal are totally dissing our children, not our Teachers union – get off it – look at the real deal and make a difference.
November 18th, 2010 at 10:11 am
Here is an interesting Letter to the Editor which appeared in Thisweek: http://www.thisweeklive.com/2010/11/18/why-i-voted-against-the-district-196-levy/
From the letter:
Read the entire thing, it’s an interesting one.