Posted on 01/22/2005 7:19:22 PM PST by Born Conservative
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.
They should post such information for all public employees.
Oh no, lets not hold teachers accountable. My Lord what is this country comming too?
I want to see the Administrators' and the Union Reps's salaries.
Pennsylvania is where the NEA was founded.
For the 20 years that I was in the US Navy my salary was public knowledge. I do not see that PUBLIC School teachers should be any different.
71 G'S??????? Damn!!!! Our top end is barely 45!!!! If I didn't hate the idea of working back east, I'd apply to teach there.....
Teachers salary postings do not paint the whole picture.
My wife pays for many of her school supplies out of her own pocket.
In addition, the schools are requiring her to pay several thousand dollars for additional classes that do nothing to improve the quality of teaching. The money, however, does enrich the local state universities.
Good teachers are held back by lousy administrators and stupid union leaders. Granted, there are some rotten teachers who don't deserve any of the pay they get, but one must be careful about lumping them all public school teachers into the same group.
It should be followed up by a host of resignations and direct renegotiation of salaries and benefits. The district would be made whole buy the wholesale establishment of a true professional relationship with the district.
I know. My wife works at an elementary school. Not as a teacher, though. But the teachers at her school buy a lot of their own supplies as well and our church donates many supplies also.
Absolutely. I'm all over that. I'd love to see this be a universal thing.
ping
I want to see this happen in Grand Island and Buffalo/western new york!
Next thing you know they'll want to hold politicians accountable as well.
Yup the country is going to pot ;-)
That's nothing...they're all Democrats...
The new North Allegheny School District (Allegheny County, suburb of Pittsburgh) contract finalized this week will pay those at the top of the pay scale (which doesn't take all that many years to get to...) $96,000+ beginning next year.
Now that the bar has been set; the rest of the surrounding districts will have to pony up...is $100,000K next ??? for 8 months work??? I've been a CPA for 18 years; certified in two states, and have an MBA; can be fired tomorrow, have taken less than half of the meager time off that I've been 'permitted' to have off. I've gotten a check for three weeks accrued vacation from both of my last two employers when I departed...in other words ZERO DAYS OFF...and I have yet to get $96,000...not close yet.
The local Catholic schools start at $16,000 and top out in the low $20,000's.
The Republicans are the party of the Little Guy. The Democrats are the party of the Academic Elite and the Welfare Elite...
Reagan80
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.
The scary thing is the health benefit thing. What if you had a child with a disability that drove up your health care cost to the county. Now that is public knowledge it may be hard for you or your spouse to get another job with health benefits. The health care cost might be a violation of the new medical privacy laws by itself.
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