Are you sick of highly paid teachers? It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit!

[Obama 2012 1,714]

The concept of collective bargaining is the one of the only useful ways that many workers have any real negotiating power. Libertarian pie-in-the-sky thinking believes that workers can simply shop around for a better deal from another employer, but in real life, that is rarely the case for many working Americans. Unions built this country and were an integral part of creating a Middle Class. Without true negotiating power, the Middle Class would not exist.

Private Unions and Public Unions are two very very different beasts. Beating the hell out of the pocketbooks out of average Americans with simple means so a few scum public union workers can have a better life than them is horseshit. It's reprehensible and should be 100% illegal. Holding taxpyers hostage is wrong.

Private unions are fine and dandy, eventhough they have their poor tactics as well at times, but at least they are dealing with private funds and not public funds.

Go move to another country if you think you are being taxed against your will. Come on. Put up or shut up. All talk and no action.

The answer is never to run away. The answer is to change the system. Even if eventually it leads to another revolution. NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!

[Zero Sum 305]

I've got 17 years experience. The actual state minimum for that level of experience is 42,510, but my district, like most, pays above the state minimum. Texas is a right to work state, so of course that puts us in a different position than other teacher groups. We don't negotiate contracts. The school board sets the contract and that's it. We can't strike or anything like that. Honestly, even if we could strike, I'm not sure I could do it. I still kind of feel like what I do matters too much for me to walk out on my kids. Or maybe it's just I've always been in this state and I've never experienced anything different.

In case you want more info. In my district, the salaries start at 42,184 and max out at 58,647. The max is at 27 years and after that you don't get any more increases. The district pays $200 per month for our insurance. As a single guy, that means I only need to contribute $121 for my insurance. However, once I'm married, that will jump up to about $500 a month. If I have kids then I'll end up paying about $800 per month.

Here's the retirement formula. Multiply my years of service by 2.3%. Take that number and multiply it by the average of my five highest salaries. So, for me, if I retire when I'm 60, I'll have 34 years of service and my average salary will be the 58647. So, I'll retire with an annual income of a little over 45K. I can live pretty well in the Philippines on that... so I'm happy.

That's pretty nice pay. I imagine that's not an urban school system or am I wrong?

Where are the revenue sources for these salaries? Just curious... And what's your district size? I did my time at a larger district with mandatory union fees, in a right to work state (go figure) that derives most of its education income from tourism, not taxes. And the pay sucked compared with yours.

I see that more rhetoric and no facts are back in this discussion.

- Not from you, BJ.

[jundp 191]

According to those calculations, I should make over $350,000 a year. That's without including compensation for my MA, special certs, 11 years experience, and department head. HA! I don't make anywhere near that!

But, I don't do it for the money.

[B_J 2,752]

That's pretty nice pay. I imagine that's not an urban school system or am I wrong?

Where are the revenue sources for these salaries? Just curious... And what's your district size? I did my time at a larger district with mandatory union fees, in a right to work state (go figure) that derives most of its education income from tourism, not taxes. And the pay sucked compared with yours.

I see that more rhetoric and no facts are back in this discussion.

- Not from you, BJ.

We're a one high school district. We're not quite inner-city but we're definitely not suburban. We're on the far south side of San Antonio. The high school has 1400 students; 84% Hispanic, 71% economically disadvantaged. It is easily the most difficult school I've ever been at; but for some reason I keep coming back.

The district has a total of about 5000 students.

Edited February 22, 2011 by B_J

[B_J 2,752]

Where are the revenue sources for these salaries? Just curious...

I guess you weren't paying attention to earlier posts. We get our salaries from theft... Stealing from the taxpayers.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

$800 a month for a family on a salary of $57k for health insurance? that sounds steep.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

it's not so much teacher wages i have an issue with, it's the administrative bunch that goes with it. someone had posted a graph in the past about how there's more people working in the schools than before. like how much support staff do they need?

+1. No problem here with teachers unionizing and getting paid a fare wage, but like you pointed out...the support staff these days is way top heavy. Cut out these leaches is what I say.

[Zero Sum 305]

We're a one high school district. We're not quite inner-city but we're definitely not suburban. We're on the far south side of San Antonio. The high school has 1400 students; 84% Hispanic, 71% economically disadvantaged. It is easily the most difficult school I've ever been at; but for some reason I keep coming back.

The district has a total of about 5000 students.

San Liberantonio, TX.

But seriously, not that big of a district. And something I see as a good thing! Too much administrative ground to cover many times translates to too many administrators wasting that tax payer money. Zero down the number of admin folks having golf outings on district cash and there'll be more cash available for instructional folks. Maybe larger districts could learn something about that decentralization of responsibility, at least in the financial sense.

I guess you weren't paying attention to earlier posts. We get our salaries from theft... Stealing from the taxpayers.

You crooks! You should be declared illegal!

$800 a month for a family on a salary of $57k for health insurance? that sounds steep.

It is.

But he couldn't bargain for anything better.

[jundp 191]

$800 a month for a family on a salary of $57k for health insurance? that sounds steep.

Before my husband's insurance kicked in (his company pays for him and dependents) I paid $775/month for 4 people.

[Zero Sum 305]

Benefits better than everyone elses'.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

so much better than the private sector!

my dad was a teacher and retired 20 years ago and was making more than 57k (not even adjusting for inflation). They had a pretty strong union in his district which coincidentally also produced one of the highest number of national merit scholars in the country.

He now does teacher training part time in a right-to-work state (SC) and isn't exactly impressed by the caliber of teaching there - I believe the average wage is something like $40k in that state.

[Zero Sum 305]

so much better than the private sector!

my dad was a teacher and retired 20 years ago and was making more than 57k (not even adjusting for inflation). They had a pretty strong union in his district which coincidentally also produced one of the highest number of national merit scholars in the country.

He now does teacher training part time in a right-to-work state (SC) and isn't exactly impressed by the caliber of teaching there - I believe the average wage is something like $40k in that state.

Your dad was a hostage taker in his union-padded job.

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I know! I just think of all the students in his district that went off to top tier universities. I mean that is a privilege that should only be reserved for people who paid $20k a year to attend private school.

[Zero Sum 305]

Elitists too? What a waste and damage to our nation.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

When the unions get us into a war (RE Iraq, Haliburton, oil company's) someone let me know please.