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Friday, June 25, 2010
Economy puts stress on municipal union negotiations
im looking forward to the day that there is 1 teacher per 100 students.. i am not for a freeze in pay. i wont be able to afford the supplies i put in my room for my students to succeed because we know the schools wont give us anything.
It is characteristic of Jack Spillane to rely on a conversation with Nancy Feeney instead of any reliance of facts or reporting to take a shot at unions.
I'm waiting for the SC to cut all the "fat" out of the budget first. We don't need an Assistant Superintendent for Equity. There are still too many management positions. Some departments are bloated cash cows. If we have to postpone raises, the two professional days during the school year need to go!
You know, I'm a teacher (albeit a younger one) and I, for the absolute first time in my life, agree with Jack Spillane here. There is no money. People everywhere are getting laid off en masse. We're talking about a pay freeze, not a pay cut. Considering how many people in New Bedford have taken 100% pay cuts over the past few years, this just doesn't seem out of line.
In New Bedford, the per capita income is among the lowest in the state- just over $15k. Our lowest-paid teacher, meanwhile, makes more than double that, at nearly $40k. Irrespective of whether or not we deserve more because of how hard we work and how heavily we have invested in our own educations, (we do!) it's going to be mighty hard to gather much public sympathy when we already make so much more than the average resident of the city we serve. The recession will end and we will someday need to negotiate a new contract. It would be nice if, when that day comes, the city, superintendent, and school committee can look back on this moment and remember us as putting kids and the health of the district first. That kind of goodwill capital could serve us well over the long term.
Also, is there really no esprit de corps here? I would hope very much that union members would feel some sense of responsibility for its youngest members, those on the bottom of the pay scale and fresh out of school. For many of us, this pay freeze would mean forfeiting less than $35 a week. Is that really too high a price to pay to ensure that young educators have the same start that we all enjoyed during more solvent times?
Finally, I do disagree with Jack Spillane on one point: we don't have to agree to a pay cut with absolutely nothing in return. If we agree to a voluntary pay freeze, what could we ask for in return? Could we request increased representation at principal or superintendent searches? What about the adaptation of policies that protect elementary planning time when specialists are absent? More control over professional development? I know we all have gripes. Could we put our heads together and come up with some low-cost requests that would make our lives easier or instruction better?
Looking at both sides of this issue, it saddens me to hear the teachers who insist that they will not agree to a pay freeze. Digging in our heels over an amount of money that's only enough for a daily coffee and a bagel hurts so many- the students we care so much about, the younger teachers among us, the school communities we've worked to build. Sure, a pay freeze sucks, but the recession has touched everyone and if we continue to insist that we be immune, the long-term cost wil be much, much higher and the pain will be felt by many more.
The School Committee had to make some difficult decisions on Monday, June 28. I must commend them, particularly Tom Clark, for their efforts to preserve core academics and class size.
Last year 9 supervisors, all union members, lost their positions along with a $10,000 cut in pay. No one blinked. I would guess they have already given to the NB school system.
I agree to a pay freeze. I do not want any of my colleagues to lose their jobs. That said, I would like the district to do an audit of waste. We need to cut spending. Looking around we see lots of waste. To send out the job postings last summer it cost the district, $1287.00 in postage alone, nevermind, paper, ink, staples, envelopes and staff to stuff each envelope. Email is free and so is posting these positions on the website. To produce the Daily Attendance Bulletin each day, the high school uses an estimate of 572 reams of paper a school year. Teacher access to attendance on Ipass is already part of the licensing agreement, is it not. Yes, you can freeze my pay to save my colleagues job, but please cut spending too.
13 comments:
im looking forward to the day that there is 1 teacher per 100 students.. i am not for a freeze in pay. i wont be able to afford the supplies i put in my room for my students to succeed because we know the schools wont give us anything.
It is characteristic of Jack Spillane to rely on a conversation with Nancy Feeney instead of any reliance of facts or reporting to take a shot at unions.
I'm waiting for the SC to cut all the "fat" out of the budget first. We don't need an Assistant Superintendent for Equity. There are still too many management positions. Some departments are bloated cash cows. If we have to postpone raises, the two professional days during the school year need to go!
Hey Jacko, why did the standard times layoff a bunch of people last year? Why didn't management take pay cuts so there wouldn't be layoffs?
Nancy, Nancy, Nancy. When will you be sending your donation to the school department?
Jack is a good man. I'm sure he'll show up with a check to minimize the layoffs.
are the unions obligated to speak to the press
No, they are not.
Will the anon poster above please tell me which management position they wish to cut?
You know, I'm a teacher (albeit a younger one) and I, for the absolute first time in my life, agree with Jack Spillane here. There is no money. People everywhere are getting laid off en masse. We're talking about a pay freeze, not a pay cut. Considering how many people in New Bedford have taken 100% pay cuts over the past few years, this just doesn't seem out of line.
In New Bedford, the per capita income is among the lowest in the state- just over $15k. Our lowest-paid teacher, meanwhile, makes more than double that, at nearly $40k. Irrespective of whether or not we deserve more because of how hard we work and how heavily we have invested in our own educations, (we do!) it's going to be mighty hard to gather much public sympathy when we already make so much more than the average resident of the city we serve. The recession will end and we will someday need to negotiate a new contract. It would be nice if, when that day comes, the city, superintendent, and school committee can look back on this moment and remember us as putting kids and the health of the district first. That kind of goodwill capital could serve us well over the long term.
Also, is there really no esprit de corps here? I would hope very much that union members would feel some sense of responsibility for its youngest members, those on the bottom of the pay scale and fresh out of school. For many of us, this pay freeze would mean forfeiting less than $35 a week. Is that really too high a price to pay to ensure that young educators have the same start that we all enjoyed during more solvent times?
Finally, I do disagree with Jack Spillane on one point: we don't have to agree to a pay cut with absolutely nothing in return. If we agree to a voluntary pay freeze, what could we ask for in return? Could we request increased representation at principal or superintendent searches? What about the adaptation of policies that protect elementary planning time when specialists are absent? More control over professional development? I know we all have gripes. Could we put our heads together and come up with some low-cost requests that would make our lives easier or instruction better?
Looking at both sides of this issue, it saddens me to hear the teachers who insist that they will not agree to a pay freeze. Digging in our heels over an amount of money that's only enough for a daily coffee and a bagel hurts so many- the students we care so much about, the younger teachers among us, the school communities we've worked to build. Sure, a pay freeze sucks, but the recession has touched everyone and if we continue to insist that we be immune, the long-term cost wil be much, much higher and the pain will be felt by many more.
The School Committee had to make some difficult decisions on Monday, June 28. I must commend them, particularly Tom Clark, for their efforts to preserve core academics and class size.
Last year 9 supervisors, all union members, lost their positions along with a $10,000 cut in pay. No one blinked. I would guess they have already given to the NB school system.
I agree to a pay freeze. I do not want any of my colleagues to lose their jobs. That said, I would like the district to do an audit of waste. We need to cut spending. Looking around we see lots of waste. To send out the job postings last summer it cost the district, $1287.00 in postage alone, nevermind, paper, ink, staples, envelopes and staff to stuff each envelope. Email is free and so is posting these positions on the website. To produce the Daily Attendance Bulletin each day, the high school uses an estimate of 572 reams of paper a school year. Teacher access to attendance on Ipass is already part of the licensing agreement, is it not. Yes, you can freeze my pay to save my colleagues job, but please cut spending too.
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