627 replies to this topic

[TM70]

Yes, I started this thread. District has the money to make up the difference...

[asbestoshills]

It sounds like the district knows that teachers love the Folsom area so they don't pay as much.....I doubt if the pool of good teachers will subside even of the teachers were paid a lot less than other areas...Since Folsom is an affluent area the teachers like to live in the same area and have their kids attend the same schools as they teach in....I know some Folsom teachers and they rather not commute and live where they work regardless of the pay scale....This isn't fair by a long shot....

In addition, I noticed in Folsom, the students go to school an hour less than most students in different cities in California...That whole 45 minute split reading is a joke...My daughter never reads for 45 minutes at a time and I noticed that there is a lot of slacking off in the class when this method is used...It's disruptive too....If you have several volunteers in the classroom to split the class into groups, I think is a better remedy than shortening the learning day.....

[DougP]

This years C.O.L.A. from the state to FCUSD was 8.62%. The superintendent of FCUSD is holding at a 5.24% pay increase without any increase in medical cost coverage. The state C.O.L.A is 5.9%. That means just to keep pace, teachers need to have a C.O.L.A. of at least 5.9% lest they continue to fall behind.

I'm sorry, but I don't feel very bad about a > 5% cost of living increase.

In the private sector, 2-3% is a normal amount with values above that for people out perform their peers by large margin.

To hear that everyone in the FCUSD is getting at least 5.24% regardless of merit actually kinda irritates me.

[TM70]

4.65%+$100=5.25%???

Please explain that...

[dukegirl27]

Also when you think about it teachers worked dang hard in school spending 6 + years getting their education. In the end they end up getting paid 35-45k or less a year for the rest of their lives. Imagine trying to start a family. Imagine trying to buy a home in a safe wonderful community so your family can "have it all". I think teachers are underpaid. Yes itsa very rewarding job but sometimes I think people understimate what teachers and future teachers sacrifice for the job they feel they will love. I understand this clearly my fiance is becoming a teacher which in turn means I will always have to work, I wont be able to be a stay at home mom which i would love to do. Plus think about the medical benefits and cost of living these days. Dont just think about teachers as being lazy and stuff.

[DalOwnerX3]

TM70 - Two people's reply don't represent what *everybody* thinks.

I think that teachers are underpaid and I don't think that people disagree. I think it takes a lot of dedication to teach - their audience are kids who might not necessarily want to be there, so they have to do what they can to get their attention and get something into their brains.

I think the problem isn't the teachers but the system in general. There's so much money earmarked for specific programs, it doesn't allow the districts to decide what's best for the school. I've heard a lot of the money for pay go towards administrative salaries and not necessarily those of the teachers.

[asbestoshills]

I didn't say teachers were slackers...Please respond directly to specific comments I made....I'm giving you my personal experience of what my children are experiencing presently at their school...Also, the whole lack of teachers is FALSE...There is no shortage with the exception of special ed and math/science teachers and schools that are not desirable to teach at in CALI......In FACT, it is a misnomer that there is such a shortage...TEACHERS are not underpaid.....There is no other profession that gives you a full salary for working only 165 days of the year...NOT shedding a tear for you.....

HOWEVER, where I feel for teachers is the disgusting bureacracy of teaching...New curriculum and wasted money teaching the new curriculum because the administrators get money only if they spend all of the money the previous years.....IN a local school here I have a friend who was interning and found 5 computers used to teach special needs children to write by giving them portable keyboards...She was the first one to use them and they were five years old and had been sitting there for all of that time....Also, teachers do not have assistants unless there are special needs students in their class...This is not fair....Teachers should not have to grade papers all night long nor pay for supplies for their students....Teachers need to require parents pay for all of the supplies..I'm a room mom and am always surprised when parents who are from such affluent backgrounds do not send their children to school with proper supplies....However, these same kids come to school with all of the name brand clothes etc....It's all about priorities and responsibilities..Public schools are free, but it doesn't mean you don't have to participate in your child's education...It's not the responsibility of the teacher to teach your children character, manners, personal hygiene, empathy, morals, respect or not to use drugs...Teachers need to teach how to think, learn and absorb knowledge to gain skills that are needed as an adult...I hate the way teachers have to waste a week of the children's curriculum to teach to just say no to drugs...In fact, it's an embarrassment to our culture and as Americans....Why can't we have any givens in this society...It should be a given that your child shows up to school with no illegal drugs and with an attitude to learn....

[TM70]

4.65%+$100=5.25%???

Please explain that...

[swmr545]

Since Folsom is an affluent area the teachers like to live in the same area and have their kids attend the same schools as they teach in....I know some Folsom teachers and they rather not commute and live where they work regardless of the pay scale....This isn't fair by a long shot....

I can remember teachers telling me that they didn't live in Folsom because of the cost of living and not being able to afford it on their salary so they lived in Sacramento and commuted out to Folsom everyday.

[jtroiano]

Not sure if many of you know this, but as of this week, January 22, 2007, Folsom-Cordova teachers are now the LOWEST paid teachers in Sacramento. With the 8.1% COLA raise/increase to Woodland Joint Unified School District teachers, FCUSD teachers have slipped to last in the Sacramento region. And to add insult to injury, this school district requires teachers to pay out of pocket for medical premiums, paying only $375 a month. That means for a family a four, a teacher has to pay over $600 a month for medical coverage. Surrounding districts pay upwards of $550-$600 a month for their coverage requiring teachers to pay much less per month.

This years C.O.L.A. from the state to FCUSD was 8.62%. The superintendent of FCUSD is holding at a 5.24% pay increase without any increase in medical cost coverage. The state C.O.L.A is 5.9%. That means just to keep pace, teachers need to have a C.O.L.A. of at least 5.9% lest they continue to fall behind.

Reports are that school board members and negotiators have been given their walking papers and have no way of negotiating with teachers, although negotiations continue, to what end I have no idea. The superintendent is holding them hostage.

All in all, parents of FCUSD, these teachers work with your children. How long can you expect professionalism and high quality to be maintained when these teachers are being paid the lowest wages in the Sacramento region? It won't take long for teachers to find work elsewhere. FCUSD maintains the highest level of academic accomplishment across the Sacramento region. FCUSD continually scores at or near the top of all STAR tests year after year after year. This can not and will not continue if the superintendent of FCUSD continues to erode teacher wages, year after year after year.

What TM70 said about the health benefits is true. My husband is a teacher in the Sacramento City Unified School District. That district pays 100% of health insurance premiums for their employees (and families). On his final pay stub from 2006 it shows in December the district paid the following:
$809 for Health Net (our plan has $5 copays for Dr visits and medication)
$86.00 for Dental (plan is $1500 coverage per year/per person)
$19.44 Vision (exam each year, new glasses every 2 years-copay I believe is 25 or30 dollars)

For all this coverage our contribution was just 13.00 for the dental. All of this is for family coverage, not just individual.

Unfortunately, the district is currently offering a COLA of 2.6%, but that is in negotiation.

I am not complaining by any means. My husband earns a decent living, but he works way more than the 185 or so days he is paid for. We are still paying off the loans we took out so he could get his Master's Degree. During the school year, his work week is 50-60 hours. Teachers do not get paid for holidays or school breaks or the time it takes at the beginning and end of the year to set up and tear down a classroom. Then there are the inevitable late nights for plays, open house, concerts, and school events and parent conferences.

With that said, He has a job he loves and is totally dedicated to. Everyone should be so fortunate.

[DrKoz23]

I am not complaining by any means. My husband earns a decent living, but he works way more than the 185 or so days he is paid for. We are still paying off the loans we took out so he could get his Master's Degree. During the school year, his work week is 50-60 hours. Teachers do not get paid for holidays or school breaks or the time it takes at the beginning and end of the year to set up and tear down a classroom. Then there are the inevitable late nights for plays, open house, concerts, and school events and parent conferences.

50-60 hour work weeks are common among many private sectors as well... and that is year round. If one wants to compete... this type of work is almost expected. There is travel... and meetings... and those late nights to complete projects.

Many of these people took out loans to go to school and get their master's degree as well. They are paying these off as they work too. This isn't limited to the teaching profession.

[jtroiano]

50-60 hour work weeks are common among many private sectors as well... and that is year round. If one wants to compete... this type of work is almost expected. There is travel... and meetings... and those late nights to complete projects.

Many of these people took out loans to go to school and get their master's degree as well. They are paying these off as they work too. This isn't limited to the teaching profession.

While I agree with what you say, most people don't have to buy their own supplies to do their jobs. This includes everything from pencils to photocopy paper. (Imagine if in people in the private sector had to bring their own paper just to make copies!) Last year was our least expensive yet with only $450 out of pocket for school related expenses. Our highest year expense was nearly $1000 (the early years of teaching are really expensive). In addition, teachers are required to complete a number of hours of continuing education every five years to keep their credential. There are tax credits and that helps a lot, but school districts don't have educational reimbursement program that many in the private sector enjoy.

I think it all evens out after a number of years.

[LexHillsmom]

50-60 hour work weeks are common among many private sectors as well... and that is year round. If one wants to compete... this type of work is almost expected. There is travel... and meetings... and those late nights to complete projects.

Many of these people took out loans to go to school and get their master's degree as well. They are paying these off as they work too. This isn't limited to the teaching profession.

Yeah but most people that earn Master's degrees in the private sector are earning well over what teachers earn.

Teachers SHOULD be paid competitively but they should the whole system should be overhauled so those that excel and exceed standards are rewarded hansomely and those that are mediocre don't get automatic increases.

We as a society should increase the pay for education and social service workers...

[TM70]

4.65%+$100=5.25%???

Please explain that...

[DrKoz23]

Please don't compare teachers to private sector. We all know that people in the private sector make a heck of a lot more money than teachers. No tears...just a fact.

This comparison to the private sector was brought up because of a previous statement saying teacher sometimes work 50-60 hours per week... for approx 185 days a year. Just wanted to make it clear that the teachers aren't the only one's putting in the extra hours... and this is most likely for an entire year.