Fairfax public schools - pay freeze for teachers again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many, if not most, teachers in FCPS are very dedicated and enthusiastic.

There are some, however, who are real stinkers, and teach at schools that are often mentioned as among the county's best. The administrators do absolutely nothing to get rid of these people, even when they'll tell you "behind-the-scenes" that they know the teacher is a big problem and that there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of complaints about the teacher over the years. In private industry, such individuals would have been shown the door long ago. In FCPS, they get to keep their job until they retire. And, to be clear, I'm not talking about teachers who are simply uninspiring, but individuals who lie to parents, have serious personal issues and enjoy humiliating students.

When FCPS and its teacher organizations "Rhee-alize" that they need to get rid of their own dead wood, I'll be more sympathetic to these types of posts.

I really liked this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And teachers nowadays are getting so much help with parents providing time and supplies. Teachers have it so good these days, so they should quit complaining.

The people who are underpaid are the volunteers that get nothing for helping the teachers do their jobs.

There is a BIG difference between being able to teach a child to read and write and making copies in the office or buying some crayons for your kids classroom.

And there's a big difference between the teacher having this help and not having this help.

[Anonymous]

So Fairfax County is the second richest county in the USA averaging 106, 000 USD per household. The average property tax in Fairfax is 4600USD. To send a child to a private/parochial school it would cost 5000-30000 a year depending on the level and type of school. Fairfax County schools are consistently place as tops in the country yet the salaries of the teachers are the lowest when compared to other counties in the area. Most people will tell you to live comfortably here you need to make at least 75,000 - Fairfax teachers start at 44,000 and average 64,000. If raises are going to be given because they can't be afforded that's one thing but stop acting like the teachers are the drain - Parents here are getting a world class education for pretty cheap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If raises are going to be given because they can't be afforded that's one thing but stop acting like the teachers are the drain - Parents here are getting a world class education for pretty cheap.

Factor in the benefits -- FCPS teachers are right in the middle of the market in terms of salary AND benefits -- see page 41.

http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/wabe/2011.pdf

[Anonymous]

The average salary (AMI) of this area doesn't include the cost of benefits so why should it be calculated into the cost of a teacher's salary? The fact is Fairfax is one of the richest counties in the country, one of the most expensive in the area, one of the best in reputation and compared to neighboring counties - one of the lowest paying for its teachers. They can spend millions on administrative centers but not give raises or even bonuses knowing many of their teachers are struggling. As long as they understand they can't stay #1 without the hard work of their teachers - and if teachers have to work 2 or 3 jobs to survive that just isn't going to happen for much longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The average salary (AMI) of this area doesn't include the cost of benefits so why should it be calculated into the cost of a teacher's salary?

Because both the private sector and the public sector factor benefits into the cost for employees?

Even if you exclude benefits, Fairfax County teachers' salaries are at market rate for the area.

[Anonymous]

"The Area Median Income (AMI), or Median Family Income (MFI), is an estimate of how much money people make in your area. If you were able to see a list of all the incomes in your area, the median income would be the number in the middle of that list. A person's income status ("low-income," "very low-income," etc.) is based on that number and is used to determine eligibility for housing assistance."

* Moderate income households earn between 80% and 120% of AMI.
* Low income households earn between 50% and 80% of AMI.
* Very low income households earn no more than 50% of AMI.

2007 Fairfax AGI is 99,000 USD
2010 Fairfax AMI 106, 000
Average Teacher Salary is 64,000

The GS adjustment for the Federal Gvt. is 24% for the DC Metro area.

On average 30% of costs go to benefits in this country in both the private and public sector- that is about what FCPS spends on benefits for its employees - so it's not outrageous.

It doesn't make since to compare teacher salaries after adding in benefits or adjusting for 12 months. Just look at the AGI or AMI which doesn't do this. Also, you could compare a 12-month teachers salaries (beginning salary 49,443) to a 10 month teacher (44,000) but to calculate a 10 month into an annual salary isn't really accurate since that's not what they pay 12 month teachers. Also 10 month teachers are unemployed in summer so there is are no costs to the county.

I think people need to be honest - teachers didn't get into the field to make money but they also didn't get into it to suffer - As the economy improves I think many will begin to question if they can survive here on these salaries and make decisions based the answer.

Realistically, things will get better and many teachers will look at the Maryland counties, Alexandria and Arlington if they want to stay in the area since they pay so much better. Also they may look to moving further out tocounties that now pay about the same but cost so much less to live in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I think people need to be honest - teachers didn't get into the field to make money but they also didn't get into it to suffer - As the economy improves I think many will begin to question if they can survive here on these salaries and make decisions based the answer.

Realistically, things will get better and many teachers will look at the Maryland counties, Alexandria and Arlington if they want to stay in the area since they pay so much better. Also they may look to moving further out tocounties that now pay about the same but cost so much less to live in.

Totally agree with this! For every FCPS teacher that opts to exit, there will be at least three individuals trying to obtain the exiting teacher's job. Supply and demand.

[Anonymous]

Title: Are Salaries of Fairfax County Teachers Too High, Too Low or Just Right?

http://www.fcta.org/data/fx-public-schools/are-salaries-of-fairfax-county-teachers-too-high-too-low-or-just-right

[Anonymous]

"Totally agree with this! For every FCPS teacher that opts to exit, there will be at least three individuals trying to obtain the exiting teacher's job. Supply and demand. "

Proof that people here just don't get it. Well as NCLB gets tougher and VGLA is phased out, Fairfax will need the best teachers it can get and won't be able to compete for them.

It will be interesting to see how they fair in five years and if the teachers working 2 or 3 jobs to survive will be able to continue to work the unpaid overtime currently expected of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It will be interesting to see how they fair in five years and if the teachers working 2 or 3 jobs to survive will be able to continue to work the unpaid overtime currently expected of them.

Hopefully they will know how to distinguish between using "fair" and "fare" in a sentence. Of course they may be "fair" teachers to begin with.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps it's a Freudian slip since the whole matter is quite un"fair" - Either way you're response is a perfect example of the pretentiousness that permeates Fairfax county and most of the DC metro area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps it's a Freudian slip since the whole matter is quite un"fair" - Either way you're response is a perfect example of the pretentiousness that permeates Fairfax county and most of the DC metro area.

Your vs. you're=you are

The children are at play again.

[Anonymous]

What about professional sports? Let's pay just the top players the outrageous salaries. Then why not pay the rest of team $25,000 each? Because you can be sure that there would be a line of athletes just waiting to take those jobs. They would probably even play for free just to say they were on a pro team?

[Anonymous]

"Your vs. you're=you are. The children are at play again."

I get the feeling you are a troll, probably a supervisor from Fairfax, trying to justify your callous choices by being petty and mean rather than providing anything meaningful to prove your point. I could care less about your insults, it doesn't make the pay freeze less difficult and cruel when FCPS is willing to pay millions for unnecessary programs and facilities. Rather than nitpick grammar and spelling in an open forum where people should be able to share their thoughts and feelings maybe you should go volunteer at some of the food banks the working poor of Fairfax County frequent.