Study Reveals FCPS Teacher Career Salaries $142K Below Average of Regional Peers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:this does not take benefits into consideration. The delta is MUCH less.

Sigh. Wrong. The benefits are standardized across districts, by state law. All professional AND clerical employees are defined as "Teachers" in the Virginia Retirement Act, which covers basic retirement, supplemental retirement, life insurance, and disability insurance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get teachers have to do prep work but so does every other professional? It is not liked I walked into my new job and kicked backed and relaxed waiting for people to do stuff for me?

Fairfax should pay the teachers comparable to the surrounding counties but clearly they can't manage a budget and continue to make investments in programs and rearranging schedules over their employees.

I don't see teachers here complaining about their prep work. I see teachers explaining to those who think they don't have prep work or that the hours worked are minimal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband teaches in FCPS. He has a Masters degree and 15 years of teaching experience (10 of them at the same FCPS school) - he makes about $65k. He's strongly considering switching to Arlington for the pay. It's tough living in this area on that kind of income. We realized we weren't going to be well-off with his career choice, but this has gotten to be too much.

We have two kids in FCPS schools, so we care about the quality of schools and teachers here. I hope FCPS finds a long-term fix soon.

That's insane. I make over 65K , and I've only been teaching for 5 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband teaches in FCPS. He has a Masters degree and 15 years of teaching experience (10 of them at the same FCPS school) - he makes about $65k. He's strongly considering switching to Arlington for the pay. It's tough living in this area on that kind of income. We realized we weren't going to be well-off with his career choice, but this has gotten to be too much.

We have two kids in FCPS schools, so we care about the quality of schools and teachers here. I hope FCPS finds a long-term fix soon.

That's insane. I make over 65K , and I've only been teaching for 5 years.

Which district?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband teaches in FCPS. He has a Masters degree and 15 years of teaching experience (10 of them at the same FCPS school) - he makes about $65k. He's strongly considering switching to Arlington for the pay. It's tough living in this area on that kind of income. We realized we weren't going to be well-off with his career choice, but this has gotten to be too much.

We have two kids in FCPS schools, so we care about the quality of schools and teachers here. I hope FCPS finds a long-term fix soon.

That's insane. I make over 65K , and I've only been teaching for 5 years.

Which district?

I've been teaching for 12 years and make $60k.--FCPS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Either one.

I'm not sure where the HS kids do their summer swim for school but usually it isn't at the school - I know that most intermediate/hs do not have indoor pools in house. So maybe that is why there is flexibility on the summer coaching? I have never heard of a HS football coach or yearbook adviser who was not a teacher though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this does not take benefits into consideration. The delta is MUCH less.

Can't pay mortgage with benefits or send kids to college on them. Sucks if you are a healthy adult who doesn't use a lot of health care.

If you are spending less money out of pocket on benefits and retirement, then you have more money to pay the mortgage and send kids to college. Salary + Benefits are one fungible pot of money.

That said, I have no clue how FCPS benefits stack up against other local jurisdictions, or how much teachers are paying out of pocket for various benefits and retirement.

[Anonymous]

How much did FCPS pay this consulting firm to run this study? They are always able to find the money to hire pricey consultants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this does not take benefits into consideration. The delta is MUCH less.

Can't pay mortgage with benefits or send kids to college on them. Sucks if you are a healthy adult who doesn't use a lot of health care.

If you are spending less money out of pocket on benefits and retirement, then you have more money to pay the mortgage and send kids to college. Salary + Benefits are one fungible pot of money.

That said, I have no clue how FCPS benefits stack up against other local jurisdictions, or how much teachers are paying out of pocket for various benefits and retirement.

Retiree healthcare is expensive. The employee pays all but $100 of the monthly premium.
http://www.fcps.edu/hr/benefits/publications/2014/2014RetireeHealthPremiumERFC.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this does not take benefits into consideration. The delta is MUCH less.

Can't pay mortgage with benefits or send kids to college on them. Sucks if you are a healthy adult who doesn't use a lot of health care.

If you are spending less money out of pocket on benefits and retirement, then you have more money to pay the mortgage and send kids to college. Salary + Benefits are one fungible pot of money.

That said, I have no clue how FCPS benefits stack up against other local jurisdictions, or how much teachers are paying out of pocket for various benefits and retirement.

Here are the rates for current employees. Teachers fall under the paid monthly category.
http://www.fcps.edu/hr/benefits/openenrollment/resources/premiums_medical_dental_active_employees.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much did FCPS pay this consulting firm to run this study? They are always able to find the money to hire pricey consultants.

Right, it's much better to save the money on studies and just complain about low salaries without any data to back them up. FCPS would be much more successful advocating for better teacher pay that way. We'd all be so persuaded.

[Anonymous]

Retiree healthcare is expensive. The employee pays all but $100 of the monthly premium.
http://www.fcps.edu/hr/benefits/publications/2014/...14RetireeHealthPremiumERFC.pdf

And, who pays the other $100? And, who pays their retirement check? Once they reach 65, they are eligible for Medicare. It's not a bad deal compared to what others get.

[Anonymous]

How much did FCPS pay this consulting firm to run this study? They are always able to find the money to hire pricey consultants.


Right, it's much better to save the money on studies and just complain about low salaries without any data to back them up. FCPS would be much more successful advocating for better teacher pay that way. We'd all be so persuaded.

It's a valid question. How hard is it to gather this information? Most of it is public record. Just how much analysis does it take? To pay a consultant for something like this seems a little ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Retiree healthcare is expensive. The employee pays all but $100 of the monthly premium.
http://www.fcps.edu/hr/benefits/publications/2014/...14RetireeHealthPremiumERFC.pdf

And, who pays the other $100? And, who pays their retirement check? Once they reach 65, they are eligible for Medicare. It's not a bad deal compared to what others get.

What do you mean "the other $100"? It's more than $100. The retiree pays between $400 and $545.

What do others get?

Isn't everybody eligible for Medicare at 65?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Retiree healthcare is expensive. The employee pays all but $100 of the monthly premium.
http://www.fcps.edu/hr/benefits/publications/2014/...14RetireeHealthPremiumERFC.pdf

And, who pays the other $100? And, who pays their retirement check? Once they reach 65, they are eligible for Medicare. It's not a bad deal compared to what others get.

You do realize that employees contribute a percentage of their salary into the Va Retirement System, right?