Teachers Making Over $80,000 Say They Need Second Jobs 'To Make Ends Meet'

Michigan Capitol Confidential ^ | 11/4/2015 | Tom Gantert

[MichCapCon]

One schoolteacher who gets paid $87,349 annually, and another who gets $80,472, were highlighted in a recent Oakland Press article complaining that teachers had to get second jobs “to make ends meet.”

The article was written by a third teacher, Julia Satterthwaite, who works at the Rochester Community Schools district and is described as a "summer intern” for the newspaper.

The article featured one of the author’s colleagues, Karen Malsbury, who has been teaching for 14 years. Malsbury was quoted as saying, “There is little or no room for professional growth, little opportunity to increase your personal income, no step increases, no bonuses, no inflation pay rises, rising health care costs and more requirements to take college level classes to get up-to-date endorsements.”

Except, that’s not accurate. Rochester Community Schools teachers did experience a freeze in their automatic, seniority-based “step-increase” raises in 2013-14, but the raises continued in 2014-15, with additional step increases scheduled in each of the remaining four years of the current union contract.

While the story didn’t mention how much the teachers who were featured get paid, these figures are a matter of public record. Malsbury was paid $87,349 in 2014-15. Satterthwaite herself collected $65,987 from the school district. Under the district’s union contract these compensation levels were for 184.5 work days.

The Rochester contract has 20 annual “steps” in its pay scale, so teachers have some idea of approximately how much more they will earn for each year they remain on the payroll. Some of these seniority-based raises are as high as 5.5 percent, but in most cases they run between 3 percent and 4 percent. Teachers with more than 20 years on the job received bonuses ranging from $450 to $550.

Rochester Community Schools confirmed in an email that the provisions in the teachers’ contract as posted online were accurate.

Malsbury didn’t respond to questions sent to her work email.

The story also featured another Rochester teacher, Erin Slomka, who was quoted as saying it’s sad that teachers aren’t able to survive on one income. Slomka collected $61,741 in 2014-15.

Hudsonville teacher Lori Humphrey was quoted in the story as saying she knew several teachers selling skin care products on the side to make up for pay freezes.

But according to her district’s union contract, Humphrey didn’t have to endure pay freezes. She was paid $80,472 in 2014-15. The three-year contract specified 183 work days, and also included step raises for each year. An example provided in the contract text spells out how step increases work, so that eligible teachers will get a 7.7 percent salary increase in the 2016-17 school year.

The teachers' salaries reported in this story were provided in response to a Freedom of Information Act request sent to the state of Michigan, which included a database of public school employees that are a part of the Michigan Public School Employees' Retirement System (MPSERS). The figures cited here do not include health insurance and retirement benefits also given to school employees.

[Mopp4]

Just how do they propose to switch the salaries of teachers with celebrities and athletes? Do they even understand how these things work?

These teachers need to be reminded of exactly who they work for. As it is, they are paid with money that is taken from citizens, under threat of force, whether they have kids in school or not. There's no choice - just try not paying your property taxes and see what happens. If teachers want a raise, then more money has to be taken from the people. If that happens, they get their raise without any performance expectations.

[Red Badger]

I could live very well on 80 grand..................maybe even 70.........................B^)

[oldplayer]

Is this sarcasm? Really?
Oldplayer

[kcvl]

In the past year, business and marketing teacher Mrs. Karen Malsbury went through an intense weight loss program at V.I.P Fitness, where she dropped an impressive 22 pounds in just 30 days. Mrs. Malsbury described her average day in training as strict and time consuming.

“To complete the fitness challenge, I was required to attend a strict boot camp 5 times a week and in addition, exercise on my own daily for 30 minutes,” Mrs. Malsbury said. “ I also had to eat clean with no processed food, follow the diet plan, and weigh in weekly to lose the desired 20 pounds in 4 weeks.”

Mrs. Malsbury explained that an injury made her unable to exercise for a while.

“I am very pleased with the results, “Mrs. Malsbury said. “The program has inspired me to do another challenge, which is to tone up further and get a beach body ready.?

http://rochestertalon.com/2286/feature/mrs-malsburys-fitness-training-yields-amazing-results/

V.I.P. Fitness - $500 for six weeks

[Red Badger]

I have the solution: H1B visas for schoolteachers from India and China!.....................

[alloysteel]

Poverty is a state of mind, much more than a matter of cash availability.

Lacking the necessary critical thinking to make the financial decisions to economize in one facet of life, to support other facets held to be of importance, the blame is put on “lack of sufficient income”.

Consider the plight of the millionaire winner of the lottery.

Within only a year or so, many of these “winners” are bankrupt, owing debts sometimes far in excess of whatever their “winnings” were.

Most people do not have experience with handling more than small amounts of money at a time, and when their fantasies are met, their expectations expand at an even greater rate than their potential for additional income.

Getting and keeping wealth is a learned skill, and not everybody is an apt student.

[kcvl]

Karen Malsbury ‏@kmalsbury · Oct 2
Today my students learnt about market research techniques with the lovely Jane Thompson from Kuka! #rhsfalcons

Karen Malsbury ‏@kmalsbury · Aug 19
It’s been over 6 weeks since I contacted #AmericanAir still no resolution. I feel so disappointed with this level of service.

Karen Malsbury ‏@kmalsbury · May 13
Shark Tank with Bryan Barnett, Kristie Smick, Dr. Norman Bayne and Dave Klonke was fantastic. #rcsrhsfalcons

Karen Malsbury ‏@kmalsbury · Mar 27
Gloria Mann from WildTree came in to talk to my small biz about Direct Selling. #rcsrhs

Karen Malsbury ‏@kmalsbury · 16 Dec 2013
5 more days at school and then we are out of here. 64 degrees is warm enough to go in the pool right!?

Karen Malsbury ‏@kmalsbury · 4 Dec 2013
“@TheEllenShow: Pick me pick me ! #Ellens12Days #Holla http://ellen.tv/1aAXB0t ”.

https://twitter.com/kmalsbury

[Yaelle]

$80 k for only 9 months of work, plenty of paid vacations, and all the kids you can molest??

[Red Badger]

learnt?.........................

[Fido969]

I’m self-employed, and I have “high deducible” health insurance - I pay about $5,000 a year for a $15,000 a year deductible policy It costs me $80-$250 for a doctor’s office visit, and minimum $2500 to walk into the emergency room.

So one day I’m listening to these two teachers complain that their co-pay went from $25 to $35, and they’re ticked off about it. Their health insurance benefits cost the school district about $24,000 each.

And it’s not like kids are graduating from the public schools able to read and write.

Once on the government teat, there’s no end to it.

[Lake Living]

I know, cry me a river. I started out at a little over $800 a month. It was horrible and I had 3 children. We went through some very, very hard times but for us, it brought us very close together. There can be a good side to struggling a little. Today, most want everything (and I do mean everything) now. It’s hard to be optimistic about our nation’s future.

[Yaelle]

It would be better if parents paid the schools. With charities paying for schools in really poor areas. Every parent with a child in that school becomes that school’s governing body, and representatives can be elected every couple years to run the thing, with hired permanent staff helping. Government as middleman just doesn’t work so well. Ever, really.

[kcvl]

Yes, “learnt”!

Business teacher

Malsbury was paid $87,349 in 2014-15

[Red Badger]

rhymes with ‘Rurnt’....................

[kcvl]

Julia Satterthwaite - Special to The Oakland Press

https://www.facebook.com/julia.satterthwaite

Satterthwaite herself collected $65,987 from the school district. Under the district’s union contract these compensation levels were for 184.5 work days.

[kcvl]

Definition of LEARNT

chiefly British past and past participle of learn

[bgill]

Surely, you jest. Can’t make it on less than $130k or $80k??? Knock off +2/3rd of that lower, subtract 1/4th of that for property taxes and then we might talk about making ends meet with kids in college, pets and cars.

[Marko413]

In her defense, $80k is borderline in California. A good friend just moved out of California. He was making over $80k with a wife and kids and they were living paycheck to paycheck. He got transfer to Missouri at the same pay and within 3 months paid off all debts and are loving life swearing to never move back to California.

[MrB]

My instant, kneejerk reaction to this is that they have too much time off and spend too much money during this time.

And, there are probably some cultural aspects to it as well.
It never ceased to amaze me when my haircut lady would tell me of all the vacations she had been on and was planning.

[SgtHooper]

“It’s my experience that teachers can be the whiniest people on earth.”

Oh, it’s because they are “sacrificing for the children!” /barf!