Web site to reveal salaries (teachers' salaries)

The union representative is angry about publication of salary, reimbursements and sick days amid contract talks.

WRIGHT TWP. - Every Crestwood teacher's salary, tuition reimbursements and related pay hikes, plus accrued sick days will soon debut on the school district's Web site.

School board member Gene Mancini Jr. said it's a way to inform the public as contract negotiations continue, but union representative John Holland called the move "offensive and irresponsible."

"It's the public's right to know," said Mancini, who serves on the contract negotiation team. He said the board held a public session in November and next week's planned release of salary and benefit information is a continuation of that.

Holland said school board President Bill Jones and the "other clowns" on the board need to stop playing political games.

"They can put whatever spin they want on it," said Holland, an attorney with the Pennsylvania State Education Association. He said the board is doing a great disservice by trying to generate public sentiment against teachers.

"It tends to make people disrespectful of the teachers," Holland said. He said the teachers' salaries are reasonable given the number of years they have worked at Crestwood.

"The numbers are staggering," said Mancini of teachers' salaries and health benefit amounts. The 2004-2005 spreadsheet the school district compiled lists 27 teachers being paid the top annual salary of $71,408. The district pays more than $14,000 annually for some teachers' health benefits.

Lesser paid teachers received $25,854 a year and some health benefits cost the school district $5,200 annually.

The information lists one teacher's salary increase of $20,000 for additional academic credits and another teacher as having accrued $11,970 worth of sick days at $35 per day.

Holland, the PSEA attorney, acknowledged that some information the district plans to release is public, but if it is releasing information on accrued sick days, people can easily determine what teachers have been sick based on the 10 allotted sick days per year.

Holland cited the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability or HIPAA act that safeguards medical information. "They can proceed at their own risk."

He noted that the district and the Crestwood Education Association are entering the fact-finding stage of negotiations. The state Labor Relations Board on Tuesday assigned fact-finder Alex Kaschock, who has 40 days to issue non-binding recommendations.

"Let the process work," Holland said Friday. He said this is not the time for the district to post teacher information on its Web site.

School district Solicitor Jack Dean said members of the public have requested the information and now they will be able to determine the financial impact of the proposed contracts.

The district Web site already contains a side-by-side comparison of the union and district collective bargaining proposals, the millage impact and the district's last offer on Nov. 9, before the strike.

The school district's 160 teachers, librarians and some other employees are working under the terms of their old contract, which expired in August 2002.

You know as well as do I, that public school teachers as a group, are the most vocal and caustic opponents of every attempt to offer people a public supported option to failing public schools. Pretend all you like. Blame parents as you wish. The truth is that public school teachers know this problem as well as anyone, and public school teachers--not all, but a great many--are unwilling to take any step that would change the course of public education in order to fix the improve the quality of education.

I was a teacher, my wife was a teacher, my grandmother was a teacher, and I have literally dozens of other relatives who are or were teachers. I don't need you to explain the cost or bureaucracy to me. I've been there. I've been in those trenches. I've listened to teachers brag in the lounge about having never changed their lesson plans in the 30 years following their receipt of tenure. I've listened to union leaders tell school teachers to get their butts out of the school as soon as the final bell ring--to do nothing "extra."

You can play your game of trying to analyze my "anger," proclaim my "ignorance," project my "hatred," and play all those diversionary games all you like. Public education is a disaster, and public school teachers as a group are a huge part of the problem. Your wife may or may not be one of the the "good ones," but that doesn't change the fact that there are one hell of a lot of bad ones. And, having been a teacher, I can tell you that one bad teacher can totally change the course of education for a child.

Oh no, lets not hold teachers accountable. My Lord what is this country comming too?

That should be coming and let's. Teachers are held accountable more than people believe. I wish my salary figures as a teacher were even remotely close to those offered here (after 9 years as a teacher).

As a teacher, I don't think it's all bad either. Some will make much more and some will make much less than people believe. I once saw something where the average teacher's salary in my state was listed at $49,000. Yet our top teacher salaries in my district didn't even reach that. Mine is much, much less than that. Yet, I won't say I'm impoverished though (though I definitely won't say I'm rich either).

I strongly believe ALL public employees salary, expenses, retirement and other benefits should be prominently displayed to the Public.
Some posters here argue that, in the case of some schoolteachers, there are out of pocket expenses paid by the teacher that are not reimbursed. IMO That is wrong and distorts the actual cost of education at schools. Perhaps a standard allowance for materials should be granted but actual expenditures should be reimbursed in some way and properly disclosed as well.

Just like many other jobs (doctors, social workers, retail managers, etc.) the real salary really isn't shown due to extra hours and personal expenses. I spend at least a month's worth of salary each year on my classroom and spend thousands of hours each year outside the classroom for my job that are unpaid. Note that I know that this is not the only occupation that does so.

I am SOOO TIRED of you WHINERS!!!!

Me too, but from both ends. I'm sick of the education liberals who sit and complain, finding negativity and fault wherever they can (using biased liberal media reports sometimes), promoting a liberal political agenda against public ed. I don't like teachers who have nothing to do but complain too.

One reason I don't much respect public school teachers.

I was taught to respect teachers by my father and mother. I learned from each one that I had growing up (as have all my brothers and sisters). The precedent though was set by loving grandfathers who stressed the importance of education to both of their families. Their legacy still continues today and I feel lucky to be part of their family.

My perception of public school teachers here in Illinois is that they are unqualified or motivated to have a real job. They are usually English or arts majors, who cannot function in the real world.

Part of that is because of the actions of educational liberals who while offering lip service saying we should have more qualified teachers, are making it easier for any Joe Schmo to become as such.

Public education without the option of vouchers is like Social Security without the option of opting out...no competition makes for a poor product output...more government bureaucracy and waste...

Vouchers are another big government welfare program.

Teachers salary postings do not paint the whole picture. My wife pays for many of her school supplies out of her own pocket.

Your wife is a teacher, she should understand this. There is only so much money given to the school districts. The problem is that the unions are demanding so much money for the teachers salaries that there is nothing left with which to buy the necessary supplies. (The teachers salaries are not the only problem of course. These unnecessary special programs and "teach ins" are part of the problem too.)

But wrt the teachers salaries, there is a lot more demand for teaching jobs than there are teaching jobs available. In basic economics, this translates to teachers being paid low wages relatively speaking. When you artificially inflate those wages, by unionization, you shouldn't be complaining.

I applaud your extra efforts to do the job well. I just think that doing this 'Off the books' so to speak clouds the real cost of the effort. I would much prefer to see the actual, real expenses accounted for and reimbursed. Only then can the true costs be compared against benefits/output. By this means society can both measure true performance and make informed decisions about the allocation of limited resources across numerous needs.

As a teacher, I don't even think we should get paid for our extra time. It is part of the job. I don't think all teachers spend hours upon hours extra, but there are lots that do and don't seek any recognition for it. Most states do give out some reimbursement, but it is limited, as it should be. What concerns me more as an educator is the hatefulness, complaining, negativity, etc. that some of the education liberals have developed against teachers. Those are the attitudes I see with anti-war protestors, anti-abortionists, etc. "Real" people should be above the name-calling. It's not something I try to teach my first grade students.

Exactly, ever government employee, except for teachers, salaries are public knowledge

If you will look at your local school districts website you will see the teacher's pay scale. It should be under the Human Resource Dept.

Most if not all school districts now post the faculty and staff's pay scales.

"As a teacher, I don't even think we should get paid for our extra time. It is part of the job.

As you go on to point out, many teachers do not put forth the extra effort and both that fact and the fact of extra efforts going unrecorded and unrecognized in the system are a problem IMO. The failure to accurately and completely measure the inputs (Time, Money, Other resources) makes comparison of the outputs (Educated and socially adept adults in this instance) meaningless and/or subject to manipulation. The same is true of any activity, economic or otherwise.

IMO until the "True" costs of education are recognized, then any measurement of the performance of our educational institutions is meaningless and, in most cases, actually impedes the achievement of the goal of educational excellence.

So I say, monitor and pay all costs, compare the cost against established and agreed upon standards of measurement and let the dice fall where they may. Again, IMO to hide, or otherwise depend on the dedication of individuals to absorb, on their own, the costs of any activity only leads to inefficiency and disparities in the allocation of benefits from these activities.

Again, IMO to hide, or otherwise depend on the dedication of individuals to absorb, on their own, the costs of any activity only leads to inefficiency and disparities in the allocation of benefits from these activities.

I don't think that will be possible in the political climate of today to pay all costs involved. What I do think could change is the attitude of people involved and all parties involved working together to make a complete product. I do think we should in many cases of those in the military though.

Yep. Homeschooled kids can do all that stuff and still get the personalized attention and first rate schooling they need. Yeehaw!

In Minnesota, the funding per pupil is on the order of $11,000 a year. Give HS parents half that amount to school their own children and watch the revolution. As it is, homeschoolers are burying the publik skools on a shoestring.

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