FCPS teacher salaries--pathetic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They are going to cut the proposed COLA for the employees. That is where the cut is going to be for next year. This is not a good idea. They need to cut other areas like the instructional coaches.

Do you have any idea what you're talking about? There are about 100 instructional coaches. They are teachers who basically earn one more month's pay. Let's say that's $5K. $500K in a budget that is $2.6BILLION is a pittance. If that $500K were spread out across all the FCPS teachers, they'd make $4.28 more a year.

Not the PP, but that's a start. Actually, instructional coaches don't have their own classes, so it's actually 11 months pay that could be eliminated for each. You could eliminate their positions and it wouldn't even change the class sizes. How about not paying for all of the AP testing fees? That's another chunk right there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property values will not necessarily go down. Taxes do not need to go up. School Board needs to use better judgment.

Wonder if you'll be feeling similar certitude when FCPS starts announcing what is going to be cut. It's simple math, revenues (primarily taxes) have not kept pace with expenses (more students to teach and a higher proportion of students needing ESOL). Explain again, how the judgment of the School Board lead to any of these factors.

Why would there be cuts? The budgets continue to go up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Property values will not necessarily go down. Taxes do not need to go up. School Board needs to use better judgment.

Wonder if you'll be feeling similar certitude when FCPS starts announcing what is going to be cut. It's simple math, revenues (primarily taxes) have not kept pace with expenses (more students to teach and a higher proportion of students needing ESOL). Explain again, how the judgment of the School Board lead to any of these factors.

Why would there be cuts? The budgets continue to go up.

The budget isn't increasing at the same rate as the costs (increased student population, ESOL population, etc.)

It's like my pay. If my increases are less than the cost of living increases, I'm falling behind and have to make cuts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's right, folks--if the PP didn't make it crystal clear, we ARE NOT PAID during the summer. We are 10-month contract employees who have to turn in our employee badges, keys, etc. when we leave the building in June, and don't get them back until August. (And yes, parents, this is why we might not respond immediately to those mid-summer emails you send us--we are technically between jobs). Saying that we are on vacation during this time suggests a PAID vacation--that is not what the summer is for teachers. Many teachers take on other jobs, or teach summer school to help pay the bills during this period.

Do you get benefits during this time? And, if you don't get paid during the summer, then you are paid a salary for ten months. You do understand that you get about a month off during that time?

I was a teacher and I appreciate very much how hard the job is. However, there are certain benefits that go with the job: time off. Teachers should be paid more than they are, but right now, there really is no money. And, no, I don't want to pay more in taxes.

I do think the stress of all this testing is awful and that it needs to go away.

And you think you're alone in this????? I'll go out on a limb and assert that NO ONE wants to pay more in taxes, but sometimes you don't have a choice when it's for the greater good of a community as a whole. Sheesh, the people around here who expect something for nothing. Perhaps the only way for folks to get it is for schools to fall apart and home values to decline as a result. Maybe then the idea of collectively paying a little more to proper fund the quality institutions we all seem to want, won't seem like such a bad deal.

I don't want to pay any more in taxes, but I also don't want to cut of my nose to spite my face.

Raise property taxes by a few cents. At least property tax money stays in the county.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's right, folks--if the PP didn't make it crystal clear, we ARE NOT PAID during the summer. We are 10-month contract employees who have to turn in our employee badges, keys, etc. when we leave the building in June, and don't get them back until August. (And yes, parents, this is why we might not respond immediately to those mid-summer emails you send us--we are technically between jobs). Saying that we are on vacation during this time suggests a PAID vacation--that is not what the summer is for teachers. Many teachers take on other jobs, or teach summer school to help pay the bills during this period.

Do you get benefits during this time? And, if you don't get paid during the summer, then you are paid a salary for ten months. You do understand that you get about a month off during that time?

I was a teacher and I appreciate very much how hard the job is. However, there are certain benefits that go with the job: time off. Teachers should be paid more than they are, but right now, there really is no money. And, no, I don't want to pay more in taxes.

I do think the stress of all this testing is awful and that it needs to go away.

And you think you're alone in this????? I'll go out on a limb and assert that NO ONE wants to pay more in taxes, but sometimes you don't have a choice when it's for the greater good of a community as a whole. Sheesh, the people around here who expect something for nothing. Perhaps the only way for folks to get it is for schools to fall apart and home values to decline as a result. Maybe then the idea of collectively paying a little more to proper fund the quality institutions we all seem to want, won't seem like such a bad deal.

I don't want to pay any more in taxes, but I also don't want to cut of my nose to spite my face.

Raise property taxes by a few cents. At least property tax money stays in the county.

I thought they should have gone to $1.10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What are these three month vacations people speak of?

School gets out LATE June and starts again late August or mere days into September. Plus, all teachers have mandatory work days before kids begin in the fall.

So by my count that's less than 2 months vacation. And seeing as how they're either only receiving checks for when they work or spreading out a thinner paycheck over 12 months, I don't think we can call it a "vacation" anymore than we can call weekends a vacation.

True. But many, many people make the same amount of money or less and are expected to be at the job for a full 50 weeks or so per year.

So you wouldn't mind any of those people teaching your kids, right? If it's all interchangeable....

New PP. I think FCPS needs more money. I think it needs to go towards more teachers, not a higher salary. Reduced load for each teacher and more teachers employed.

[Anonymous]

Why don't they ever list a total salary for each teacher when talking about raises? One that includes benefits for health, pension, and other things that FCPS offers. The data is available. I think it makes for a better discussion. Many employees in other lines of work also have access to this information for their own jobs these days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don't they ever list a total salary for each teacher when talking about raises? One that includes benefits for health, pension, and other things that FCPS offers. The data is available. I think it makes for a better discussion. Many employees in other lines of work also have access to this information for their own jobs these days.

They do. It's in this report: http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/wabe/2015.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's right, folks--if the PP didn't make it crystal clear, we ARE NOT PAID during the summer. We are 10-month contract employees who have to turn in our employee badges, keys, etc. when we leave the building in June, and don't get them back until August. (And yes, parents, this is why we might not respond immediately to those mid-summer emails you send us--we are technically between jobs). Saying that we are on vacation during this time suggests a PAID vacation--that is not what the summer is for teachers. Many teachers take on other jobs, or teach summer school to help pay the bills during this period.

Do you get benefits during this time? And, if you don't get paid during the summer, then you are paid a salary for ten months. You do understand that you get about a month off during that time?

I was a teacher and I appreciate very much how hard the job is. However, there are certain benefits that go with the job: time off. Teachers should be paid more than they are, but right now, there really is no money. And, no, I don't want to pay more in taxes.

I do think the stress of all this testing is awful and that it needs to go away.

And you think you're alone in this????? I'll go out on a limb and assert that NO ONE wants to pay more in taxes, but sometimes you don't have a choice when it's for the greater good of a community as a whole. Sheesh, the people around here who expect something for nothing. Perhaps the only way for folks to get it is for schools to fall apart and home values to decline as a result. Maybe then the idea of collectively paying a little more to proper fund the quality institutions we all seem to want, won't seem like such a bad deal.

I don't want to pay any more in taxes, but I also don't want to cut of my nose to spite my face.

Raise property taxes by a few cents. At least property tax money stays in the county.

I thought they should have gone to $1.10.

It was .89 on 2008. The rate has already gone up 22.5% since then. In addition, the base increasing every year, which proxies living costs, and new housing is added (and taxes collected) which is where the new people live. That's how they've paid for the massive budget increases (44%) in FCPS.

When you do simple math, it's easy to see where the lies are. Please people, do the math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's right, folks--if the PP didn't make it crystal clear, we ARE NOT PAID during the summer. We are 10-month contract employees who have to turn in our employee badges, keys, etc. when we leave the building in June, and don't get them back until August. (And yes, parents, this is why we might not respond immediately to those mid-summer emails you send us--we are technically between jobs). Saying that we are on vacation during this time suggests a PAID vacation--that is not what the summer is for teachers. Many teachers take on other jobs, or teach summer school to help pay the bills during this period.

Do you get benefits during this time? And, if you don't get paid during the summer, then you are paid a salary for ten months. You do understand that you get about a month off during that time?

I was a teacher and I appreciate very much how hard the job is. However, there are certain benefits that go with the job: time off. Teachers should be paid more than they are, but right now, there really is no money. And, no, I don't want to pay more in taxes.

I do think the stress of all this testing is awful and that it needs to go away.

And you think you're alone in this????? I'll go out on a limb and assert that NO ONE wants to pay more in taxes, but sometimes you don't have a choice when it's for the greater good of a community as a whole. Sheesh, the people around here who expect something for nothing. Perhaps the only way for folks to get it is for schools to fall apart and home values to decline as a result. Maybe then the idea of collectively paying a little more to proper fund the quality institutions we all seem to want, won't seem like such a bad deal.

I don't want to pay any more in taxes, but I also don't want to cut of my nose to spite my face.

Raise property taxes by a few cents. At least property tax money stays in the county.

I thought they should have gone to $1.10.

It was .89 on 2008. The rate has already gone up 22.5% since then. In addition, the base increasing every year, which proxies living costs, and new housing is added (and taxes collected) which is where the new people live. That's how they've paid for the massive budget increases (44%) in FCPS.

When you do simple math, it's easy to see where the lies are. Please people, do the math.

The base will not increase that much every year. Fairfax County is more or less built out. There is some infill development going on near me, but infill development is far harder and more contentious than developing barren land.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's right, folks--if the PP didn't make it crystal clear, we ARE NOT PAID during the summer. We are 10-month contract employees who have to turn in our employee badges, keys, etc. when we leave the building in June, and don't get them back until August. (And yes, parents, this is why we might not respond immediately to those mid-summer emails you send us--we are technically between jobs). Saying that we are on vacation during this time suggests a PAID vacation--that is not what the summer is for teachers. Many teachers take on other jobs, or teach summer school to help pay the bills during this period.

Do you get benefits during this time? And, if you don't get paid during the summer, then you are paid a salary for ten months. You do understand that you get about a month off during that time?

I was a teacher and I appreciate very much how hard the job is. However, there are certain benefits that go with the job: time off. Teachers should be paid more than they are, but right now, there really is no money. And, no, I don't want to pay more in taxes.

I do think the stress of all this testing is awful and that it needs to go away.

And you think you're alone in this????? I'll go out on a limb and assert that NO ONE wants to pay more in taxes, but sometimes you don't have a choice when it's for the greater good of a community as a whole. Sheesh, the people around here who expect something for nothing. Perhaps the only way for folks to get it is for schools to fall apart and home values to decline as a result. Maybe then the idea of collectively paying a little more to proper fund the quality institutions we all seem to want, won't seem like such a bad deal.

I don't want to pay any more in taxes, but I also don't want to cut of my nose to spite my face.

Raise property taxes by a few cents. At least property tax money stays in the county.

I thought they should have gone to $1.10.

It was .89 on 2008. The rate has already gone up 22.5% since then. In addition, the base increasing every year, which proxies living costs, and new housing is added (and taxes collected) which is where the new people live. That's how they've paid for the massive budget increases (44%) in FCPS.

When you do simple math, it's easy to see where the lies are. Please people, do the math.

The rate has gone UP and DOWN. When we moved here in 1997, the rate was [/b]$1.23.[b] So, since then the rate has gone down. You conveniently picked the nadir of the rate to "prove" your case.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's right, folks--if the PP didn't make it crystal clear, we ARE NOT PAID during the summer. We are 10-month contract employees who have to turn in our employee badges, keys, etc. when we leave the building in June, and don't get them back until August. (And yes, parents, this is why we might not respond immediately to those mid-summer emails you send us--we are technically between jobs). Saying that we are on vacation during this time suggests a PAID vacation--that is not what the summer is for teachers. Many teachers take on other jobs, or teach summer school to help pay the bills during this period.

Do you get benefits during this time? And, if you don't get paid during the summer, then you are paid a salary for ten months. You do understand that you get about a month off during that time?

I was a teacher and I appreciate very much how hard the job is. However, there are certain benefits that go with the job: time off. Teachers should be paid more than they are, but right now, there really is no money. And, no, I don't want to pay more in taxes.

I do think the stress of all this testing is awful and that it needs to go away.

And you think you're alone in this????? I'll go out on a limb and assert that NO ONE wants to pay more in taxes, but sometimes you don't have a choice when it's for the greater good of a community as a whole. Sheesh, the people around here who expect something for nothing. Perhaps the only way for folks to get it is for schools to fall apart and home values to decline as a result. Maybe then the idea of collectively paying a little more to proper fund the quality institutions we all seem to want, won't seem like such a bad deal.

I don't want to pay any more in taxes, but I also don't want to cut of my nose to spite my face.

Raise property taxes by a few cents. At least property tax money stays in the county.

I thought they should have gone to $1.10.

It was .89 on 2008. The rate has already gone up 22.5% since then. In addition, the base increasing every year, which proxies living costs, and new housing is added (and taxes collected) which is where the new people live. That's how they've paid for the massive budget increases (44%) in FCPS.

When you do simple math, it's easy to see where the lies are. Please people, do the math.

The rate has gone UP and DOWN. When we moved here in 1997, the rate was [/b]$1.23.[b] So, since then the rate has gone down. You conveniently picked the nadir of the rate to "prove" your case.

Memories are short! How could I forget this. They need to move property tax levels right back up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

That's right, folks--if the PP didn't make it crystal clear, we ARE NOT PAID during the summer. We are 10-month contract employees who have to turn in our employee badges, keys, etc. when we leave the building in June, and don't get them back until August. (And yes, parents, this is why we might not respond immediately to those mid-summer emails you send us--we are technically between jobs). Saying that we are on vacation during this time suggests a PAID vacation--that is not what the summer is for teachers. Many teachers take on other jobs, or teach summer school to help pay the bills during this period.

Do you get benefits during this time? And, if you don't get paid during the summer, then you are paid a salary for ten months. You do understand that you get about a month off during that time?

I was a teacher and I appreciate very much how hard the job is. However, there are certain benefits that go with the job: time off. Teachers should be paid more than they are, but right now, there really is no money. And, no, I don't want to pay more in taxes.

I do think the stress of all this testing is awful and that it needs to go away.

And you think you're alone in this????? I'll go out on a limb and assert that NO ONE wants to pay more in taxes, but sometimes you don't have a choice when it's for the greater good of a community as a whole. Sheesh, the people around here who expect something for nothing. Perhaps the only way for folks to get it is for schools to fall apart and home values to decline as a result. Maybe then the idea of collectively paying a little more to proper fund the quality institutions we all seem to want, won't seem like such a bad deal.

I don't want to pay any more in taxes, but I also don't want to cut of my nose to spite my face.

Raise property taxes by a few cents. At least property tax money stays in the county.

I thought they should have gone to $1.10.

It was .89 on 2008. The rate has already gone up 22.5% since then. In addition, the base increasing every year, which proxies living costs, and new housing is added (and taxes collected) which is where the new people live. That's how they've paid for the massive budget increases (44%) in FCPS.

When you do simple math, it's easy to see where the lies are. Please people, do the math.

The rate has gone UP and DOWN. When we moved here in 1997, the rate was [/b]$1.23.[b] So, since then the rate has gone down. You conveniently picked the nadir of the rate to "prove" your case.

Memories are short! How could I forget this. They need to move property tax levels right back up there.

Edit: I'm not the PP who posted above about the .89 cent rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don't they ever list a total salary for each teacher when talking about raises? One that includes benefits for health, pension, and other things that FCPS offers. The data is available. I think it makes for a better discussion. Many employees in other lines of work also have access to this information for their own jobs these days.

They do. It's in this report: http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/wabe/2015.pdf

Ok, so rounded, the average salary is $102,000 for FCPS, $104,000 for Falls Church, $96,000 for Loudon, $108,000 for Arlington and $110,000 for Alexandra. FCPS pays several thousand more than other counties for health benefits. I don't see how FCPS's salaries are so out of line. What is the problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don't they ever list a total salary for each teacher when talking about raises? One that includes benefits for health, pension, and other things that FCPS offers. The data is available. I think it makes for a better discussion. Many employees in other lines of work also have access to this information for their own jobs these days.

They do. It's in this report: http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/wabe/2015.pdf

Ok, so rounded, the average salary is $102,000 for FCPS, $104,000 for Falls Church, $96,000 for Loudon, $108,000 for Arlington and $110,000 for Alexandra. FCPS pays several thousand more than other counties for health benefits. I don't see how FCPS's salaries are so out of line. What is the problem?

Teachers easily get 3 more months than most other professions, but even if they work so much harder that they only get 2 months off, that would be an annual salary of about $120,000. $120,000 is probably is less than what an actual teacher makes per year once you factor in tutoring that most of them seem to do. At what point is it enough? Is it really the money or the fact that the job is too much to handle because the expectations are too high for anyone to achieve?