3% raise for teachers? What a joke FCPS!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is a step? What is the average step?

How does the pension figure into the salary?

Steps:
Since I have been hired, we have gotten steps about 75% of the time. They are around $2-2.5k
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY24-teacher-195-day.pdf

Pension:
Someone hired today gets 1% pension per year of service based on the average of your highest 5 years, and for full benefits you must be 60 with 30 years of service.

Someone hired before 2010 gets 1.7% and could retire with full benefits at 50 with 30 years of service.[/quote]

Full VRS, but reduced ERFC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is a step? What is the average step?

How does the pension figure into the salary?

Steps:
Since I have been hired, we have gotten steps about 75% of the time. They are around $2-2.5k
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY24-teacher-195-day.pdf

Pension:
Someone hired today gets 1% pension per year of service based on the average of your highest 5 years, and for full benefits you must be 60 with 30 years of service.

Someone hired before 2010 gets 1.7% and could retire with full benefits at 50 with 30 years of service.

Full VRS, but reduced ERFC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the teachers on this thread were to be believed, they wouldn't have time to post constantly on DCUM because they'd be too busy grading papers, preparing lesson plans, and and handling their end-of-the-year responsibilities.

Instead, it's the same steady diet of "woe is me" that we've been hearing from the FEA and FCFT types for years. If only they knew how yawn-inducing it was.

If it makes you happy, I’ve been working since 6:30am this morning. I probably won’t finish prepping for next week until it’s time for me to make dinner.

Yes, I take breaks between papers to clear my brain a bit. Is that okay with you? I mean, it is my day “off”.

Plus, I’m interested in this conversation. I’m fascinated by the blatant falsehoods thrown out by some posters on this thread. I can’t comment from my classroom on a real workday, but I have the freedom now as I work from home.

I’m curious: how do you benefit from ridiculing and insulting teachers online? What’s your end goal?

It would be nice if some teachers here focused more on their students and academics and less on constantly airing their grievances. You often seem more like petulant children than functioning adults.

Petulant parents you mean....because that is what all of you sound like on here. NOTHING makes you happy-complain complain....about everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the reality. It doesn’t matter how many hours people think teachers work or don’t work. We’re all different on that front, once you get beyond mandated contract hours. It doesn’t matter how many hours you think we work in the summer. Some of us have three jobs cobbled together, while some of us take the time to decompress. And it doesn’t matter whether you think 60k, 80k, or whatever is a reasonable salary, or that 3% is a reasonable raise. The fact is that there is a teacher shortage. As a teacher, I can tell you that you can’t attract the best and brightest to this field anymore. Many of those who can leave are leaving, especially the ones who have advanced degrees or transferable skills, which is essentially all of the “good” ones. People who have other sources of income (ie high-earning partners) also are fleeing the field, or at least fleeing public teaching positions. And so the question becomes, do you want to attract the best and brightest to teach our children? And if you do, what do we as a society need to do to make that happen? It’s not whatever it is we’re doing right now, regardless of anyone’s opinion about our salary or the hours we work. I am leaving for a private school. If things aren’t better, I will leave the field. It was a second career for me, and so I have that option.

+1. This is what they don't understand: their opinion on things doesn't matter. Even if teachers are overpaid, undereducated, whining, lazy, entitled brats who are wrong about everything, there is still a historic teacher shortage. Teachers are leaving and there is no one qualified to replace them. I have not heard one detractor address this fact. They keep dismissing it, like a little kid with their hands over their ears, pretending bad things aren't real. When we say we are underpaid, overworked, and disrespected, it isn't a debate, it is an exit interview. There aren't two equal and opposing sides here. These are just statements of fact. Teachers are leaving the field because of these things. Whether you agree or not is utterly irrelevant, because we are still leaving and there isn't anyone qualified to replace us. You won't shame us, insult us, or argue us into staying.

This is a real problem. Filling the vacancies with provisional licenses and teacher residences won't solve it. Telling teachers they are wrong won't solve it and is making things worse.

Teachers ARE being replaced. Maybe not with the best or brightest but patents are kind of used that. There are overseas teachers willing to come here and work for less. An Associates degree seems qualified enough at least for elementary school if it comes to that. Private schools often hire teachers who have lower degrees and they work out fine. Society will move on and the world will not end. That is what parents believe because history repeats itself. Not many are buying into your dooms day hyperbole.

Are you the poster who wants to br g in foreign L&D nurses who will hold the baby and give her massages?

Parents on the college forum whine about international Phd students teaching their college kids. It will be fun to see how they react to their 1st grader's new foreign teacher who barely got an AA degree.

Parents whine about everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is 3% + a step.

$80.9 million to provide a market scale adjustment of 3.0% for all employees.
$58.2 million to provide a step increase for all eligible employees.
$4.3 million to provide a step extension for all scales.

I'm not sure what you want from FCPS. The Fairfax Board of Supervisors needs to raise taxes further if you want big teacher raises.

No they actually don't have to raise taxes. They need to be held more accountable for how they spend the money they already have.

What would you like to cut then? People make this claim all the time but never articulate which programs they want to be cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is 3% + a step.

$80.9 million to provide a market scale adjustment of 3.0% for all employees.
$58.2 million to provide a step increase for all eligible employees.
$4.3 million to provide a step extension for all scales.

I'm not sure what you want from FCPS. The Fairfax Board of Supervisors needs to raise taxes further if you want big teacher raises.

No they actually don't have to raise taxes. They need to be held more accountable for how they spend the money they already have.

What would you like to cut then? People make this claim all the time but never articulate which programs they want to be cut.

I vote for “get to green”, of which they are hiring 3 new gatehouse positions to “coach” pyramids in green initiatives. I would prefer additional behavior supports vs telling us how to set thermostats which can come from an email.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is 3% + a step.

$80.9 million to provide a market scale adjustment of 3.0% for all employees.
$58.2 million to provide a step increase for all eligible employees.
$4.3 million to provide a step extension for all scales.

I'm not sure what you want from FCPS. The Fairfax Board of Supervisors needs to raise taxes further if you want big teacher raises.

No they actually don't have to raise taxes. They need to be held more accountable for how they spend the money they already have.

What would you like to cut then? People make this claim all the time but never articulate which programs they want to be cut.

I vote for “get to green”, of which they are hiring 3 new gatehouse positions to “coach” pyramids in green initiatives. I would prefer additional behavior supports vs telling us how to set thermostats which can come from an email.

I feel like FCPS needs an outside company to come in and evaluate Gatehouse....do we really need all of the cushy positions. It would be interesting to see the reports on that

[Anonymous]

Isn’t there like one non teaching position for every teacher position in FCPS? That seems like a lot of administrative positions with nothing to do. I would cut some of them first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is a step? What is the average step?

How does the pension figure into the salary?

Steps:
Since I have been hired, we have gotten steps about 75% of the time. They are around $2-2.5k
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY24-teacher-195-day.pdf

Pension:
Someone hired today gets 1% pension per year of service based on the average of your highest 5 years, and for full benefits you must be 60 with 30 years of service.

Someone hired before 2010 gets 1.7% and could retire with full benefits at 50 with 30 years of service.

What do you mean by full benefits? We don't get free healthcare or anything like that.

We don't get full retirement at 50, with 30 years of service. Even if we did, how many people started working for FCPS at age 20 or lower? Very few, I'm sure. Most people who have spent their career in FCPS probably started between age 22 and 30. Even most of those in non-instructional positions probably didn't begin at age 20 or younger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is a step? What is the average step?

How does the pension figure into the salary?

Steps:
Since I have been hired, we have gotten steps about 75% of the time. They are around $2-2.5k
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY24-teacher-195-day.pdf

Pension:
Someone hired today gets 1% pension per year of service based on the average of your highest 5 years, and for full benefits you must be 60 with 30 years of service.

Someone hired before 2010 gets 1.7% and could retire with full benefits at 50 with 30 years of service.

What do you mean by full benefits? We don't get free healthcare or anything like that.

We don't get full retirement at 50, with 30 years of service. Even if we did, how many people started working for FCPS at age 20 or lower? Very few, I'm sure. Most people who have spent their career in FCPS probably started between age 22 and 30. Even most of those in non-instructional positions probably didn't begin at age 20 or younger.

Sorry, I meant full pension.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the teachers on this thread were to be believed, they wouldn't have time to post constantly on DCUM because they'd be too busy grading papers, preparing lesson plans, and and handling their end-of-the-year responsibilities.

Instead, it's the same steady diet of "woe is me" that we've been hearing from the FEA and FCFT types for years. If only they knew how yawn-inducing it was.

If it makes you happy, I’ve been working since 6:30am this morning. I probably won’t finish prepping for next week until it’s time for me to make dinner.

Yes, I take breaks between papers to clear my brain a bit. Is that okay with you? I mean, it is my day “off”.

Plus, I’m interested in this conversation. I’m fascinated by the blatant falsehoods thrown out by some posters on this thread. I can’t comment from my classroom on a real workday, but I have the freedom now as I work from home.

I’m curious: how do you benefit from ridiculing and insulting teachers online? What’s your end goal?

It would be nice if some teachers here focused more on their students and academics and less on constantly airing their grievances. You often seem more like petulant children than functioning adults.

Petulant parents you mean....because that is what all of you sound like on here. NOTHING makes you happy-complain complain....about everything.

Both teachers and parents complain about each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is 3% + a step.

$80.9 million to provide a market scale adjustment of 3.0% for all employees.
$58.2 million to provide a step increase for all eligible employees.
$4.3 million to provide a step extension for all scales.

I'm not sure what you want from FCPS. The Fairfax Board of Supervisors needs to raise taxes further if you want big teacher raises.

No they actually don't have to raise taxes. They need to be held more accountable for how they spend the money they already have.

What would you like to cut then? People make this claim all the time but never articulate which programs they want to be cut.[/quote

NP. Their construction budgets are insane. It's like a money making scheme for government contracts. Same with a lot of the contracts!

But I do see your point. I think as a society we have to look at what things cost (more transparency) and whether we support them. Parents suing the school district nonstop over not providing supports means that even less money is available for supports later. Money does not seem to go to the teachers or for actual teaching of most kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is a step? What is the average step?

How does the pension figure into the salary?

Steps:
Since I have been hired, we have gotten steps about 75% of the time. They are around $2-2.5k
https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY24-teacher-195-day.pdf

Pension:
Someone hired today gets 1% pension per year of service based on the average of your highest 5 years, and for full benefits you must be 60 with 30 years of service.

Someone hired before 2010 gets 1.7% and could retire with full benefits at 50 with 30 years of service.

What do you mean by full benefits? We don't get free healthcare or anything like that.

We don't get full retirement at 50, with 30 years of service. Even if we did, how many people started working for FCPS at age 20 or lower? Very few, I'm sure. Most people who have spent their career in FCPS probably started between age 22 and 30. Even most of those in non-instructional positions probably didn't begin at age 20 or younger.

It typically means full salary. Why don’t you know this? And what do you mean about working at age 20 or lower? I’m sure you can get full benefits as soon as you hit the 30 year mark. The number 50 or 60 is just a starting number. I’m sorry but your comment was really really dumb. Even at 60 you could easily live another 20 years and get a full salary equal to the last five years. That is huge.

[Anonymous]

The pension is easily worth an extra third of a salary.

[Anonymous]

So a starting salary in FCPS is now $66k. Over 30 years that is an average of $150k with a 5% increase and the last five years are averaging about $260k So then add $260k for another 20 years for a total of $5.2 million and divide by 30 and you get a starting salary of $66k plus $173k or $240k.

https://www.fncalculator.com/financialcalculator?type=salaryIncreaseCalculator