Teachers leaving due to no step increase?

[Anonymous]

A lot of bellyaching and discussion going on about teachers not getting step increases:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MontgomeryCountyMD/comments/10m8gkl/mcps_is_denying_a_step_increase_for_teachers_next/

Should we expect a wave of resignations?

[Anonymous]

So Dr. McKnight is pissing off parents and teachers. Who the hell is she serving? This is an embarassment.

[Anonymous]

The resignations have already come. How many special ed positions are currently filled with long term substitutes? Same for gen ed? And ask your school principal (or secretary) how many sub positions go unfilled every day.

Yes, next year will be worse. The burn out is real.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The resignations have already come. How many special ed positions are currently filled with long term substitutes? Same for gen ed? And ask your school principal (or secretary) how many sub positions go unfilled every day.

Yes, next year will be worse. The burn out is real.

Yeah and who fills those empty sub positions? Paras. We are the ones who are really screwed. Do you realize how little WE are paid?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The resignations have already come. How many special ed positions are currently filled with long term substitutes? Same for gen ed? And ask your school principal (or secretary) how many sub positions go unfilled every day.

Yes, next year will be worse. The burn out is real.

Yeah and who fills those empty sub positions? Paras. We are the ones who are really screwed. Do you realize how little WE are paid?

I am 5:18 that you responded to, and yes I know exactly how little paras in MCPS are paid because I am one! Even worse are all the TPT positions (Temporary Part Time) that get an hourly wage and no paid days off, no sick leave, no benefits whatsoever!

[Anonymous]

I am a MCPS teacher at about year 20, so I get $0 for the next few steps.

After DCPS and PGPS recently got like $10k I expected MCPS to match. Instead the budget proposal came out. When I did the math, I realized the average teacher was looking at only about $3k or so. Which is far less than inflation and what happened at every other school district I could identify locally. I was hoping that some of the expiring COVID funds would be turned into bonuses, steps, or COLA's but instead MCPS gives a puny ~3% for this year and next with no step increases.

It takes 10 years to vest in the Maryland pension now, and you have to work for 35 years to reach full retirement. So, if a new teacher is planning to leave education, it makes sense to get out as earlier as possible to restart a new career/retirement fund. It's just not worth it for a lot of people unless you were hired before 2011. That's when the new pension system kicked in. Those hired before 2011 are usually able to retire around 60 or so with a higher pension. So, the golden handcuffs kick in.

Less than $60k for a 1st year teacher is just painful to justify in this area. It's not what I would consider a competitive liveable wage for a college graduate with student loans to pay off.

I am just not really sure what the endgame for MCPS is here in terms of negotiating wages. Current staff are complaining and new staff are getting harder to find. I see new teachers leaving at much higher rates than ever before.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely. Crappy leadership, a crappy work environment, crappy new initiatives introduced regularly, lack of discipline, low pay relative to other districts.

Why would teachers stick around? Definitely expect a wave of resignations.

Too bad, because MCPS used to be an attractive place to work.

[Anonymous]

So when schools tank because of no good teachers, what happens to my property value?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The resignations have already come. How many special ed positions are currently filled with long term substitutes? Same for gen ed? And ask your school principal (or secretary) how many sub positions go unfilled every day.

Yes, next year will be worse. The burn out is real.

Yeah and who fills those empty sub positions? Paras. We are the ones who are really screwed. Do you realize how little WE are paid?

I am 5:18 that you responded to, and yes I know exactly how little paras in MCPS are paid because I am one! Even worse are all the TPT positions (Temporary Part Time) that get an hourly wage and no paid days off, no sick leave, no benefits whatsoever!

Yes, it really is awful 😩 I'm in a temporary situation as a para due to life circumstances, but I hope it gets better for those who stay on. I feel like our Union can't be that strong if we are all paid so poorly.

[Anonymous]

There is no excuse for paying paras, bus drivers and other vital support staff so poorly.

Today, they posted pictures of the monthly Admin meeting where they were serving food and giving out free water bottles. The money they waste is appalling.

[Anonymous]

That's terrible.. our tax money is not being used the right way. i will skip paying taxes this year.. what's the point?

[Anonymous]

MCPS is a mess with no end in sight unfortunately

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a MCPS teacher at about year 20, so I get $0 for the next few steps.

After DCPS and PGPS recently got like $10k I expected MCPS to match. Instead the budget proposal came out. When I did the math, I realized the average teacher was looking at only about $3k or so. Which is far less than inflation and what happened at every other school district I could identify locally. I was hoping that some of the expiring COVID funds would be turned into bonuses, steps, or COLA's but instead MCPS gives a puny ~3% for this year and next with no step increases.

It takes 10 years to vest in the Maryland pension now, and you have to work for 35 years to reach full retirement. So, if a new teacher is planning to leave education, it makes sense to get out as earlier as possible to restart a new career/retirement fund. It's just not worth it for a lot of people unless you were hired before 2011. That's when the new pension system kicked in. Those hired before 2011 are usually able to retire around 60 or so with a higher pension. So, the golden handcuffs kick in.

Less than $60k for a 1st year teacher is just painful to justify in this area. It's not what I would consider a competitive liveable wage for a college graduate with student loans to pay off.

I am just not really sure what the endgame for MCPS is here in terms of negotiating wages. Current staff are complaining and new staff are getting harder to find. I see new teachers leaving at much higher rates than ever before.

Yes, I'm on year 19 so I don't think I get a step increase again until year 25? They definitely have me by the golden handcuffs. I remember when I was hired it was a honor to get a contract with MCPS. They were considered the best of the best. Now it's just abysmal. I hate what this system has become in the last five years. The few kids who are always out of control make classrooms disruptive and miserable for the students who really, really want to learn. Hats off to our paras who support and cover classes daily. As other posters have mentioned, so many sub jobs don't get picked up daily. I work in a medium size elementary school and I'd say about 10 -20% of sub jobs actually get picked up. Otherwise it's our paras covering.

[Anonymous]

I am an early career educator that is leaving after this year. It's not worth staying if they are not going to pay the steps I was expected when I was hired. I can't budget properly anymore because I have no idea what I will be making in 2 years, 5 years, ect. I had plans and dreams that have been absolutely destroyed by the state of this organization. It's so hard. No one listens to you. You can reach out, but everything falls on deaf ears. I don't want to invest in this career anymore. I don't know what MCPS has against the staff, but it seems almost like a war. I don't understand this. This is not my first career but I was hoping it would be my last. I am devastated by the state of MCPS right now. I cannot go back into the classroom anymore because we are not supported. What they pay our amazing paras, bus drivers, and support staff is abysmal. I am so grateful they show up. But they won't forever if this keeps on going.

[Anonymous]

I’m new to MCPS this year but a career teacher in other states. Trying to figure out how to quit now. Why wait until the end of the year? MCPS continues to make everything difficult for everyone. Let them find all these people they think are banging down the door looking for teaching jobs.