Anonymous wrote:The BOS two years in a row has thrown education under the bus. Last year, they gave their general county employees 6 percent raises, 10% for fire/police and told FCPS to jump in a lake over plans to give teachers 6% raises. While all other county workers got 6% +, educators were left with 3% or 4%.

This year, enter collective bargaining for educators: this time they couldn't screw over teachers, and teachers got 6% ... still significantly less than police and fire a year ago, and the BOS are mad as hornets over it. Seriously, do people move here for the county govt services? Or the schools?

The county gave FCPS $118 million more than last year! It’s up to FCPS to make good choices which they appear unable to do. Also the county MSA was 2% this year (even though the market study said it should be 4%) and 2% last year. Meanwhile FCPS employees got a 6% raise.

Anonymous wrote:Pls attend the budget meeting scheduled next week.

And ask why $1.5 million is available for EACH school board member to hire an assistant for $121,000 that only requires a bachelors degree (if even that) and why teachers with masters don’t get paid near that to start. Ask why board members are hiring “political strategists” (their actual titles on LinkedIn) for these jobs. Why someone promoted to this job was making $72,000 and now has a 68% salary increase. Ask why Reid and Gatehouse employees should get raises at expense of AART and Special Ed that is IN schools with children. Ask why Mondays that were to be for allotted learning for teachers to meet state requirements is now pitched as planning time and being rolled out as Wednesday early releases. And why when getting $118 million MORE than did last year Reid is blaming the fall of FCPS on everyone else.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The BOS two years in a row has thrown education under the bus. Last year, they gave their general county employees 6 percent raises, 10% for fire/police and told FCPS to jump in a lake over plans to give teachers 6% raises. While all other county workers got 6% +, educators were left with 3% or 4%.

This year, enter collective bargaining for educators: this time they couldn't screw over teachers, and teachers got 6% ... still significantly less than police and fire a year ago, and the BOS are mad as hornets over it. Seriously, do people move here for the county govt services? Or the schools?

Really? Is that why they are mad? Or is it because the 7% was applied to ALL FCPS employees?

Houston, we have a problem (and it looks like it is you).

Maybe the union should fight for its members, not for FCPS leadership.

Just look at how the union leaders support leadership. I've written this before: union leaders may start out supporting the teachers, but pretty soon the tide turns and you will find that no one benefits as much as the union leaders.

Anonymous wrote:The BOS two years in a row has thrown education under the bus. Last year, they gave their general county employees 6 percent raises, 10% for fire/police and told FCPS to jump in a lake over plans to give teachers 6% raises. While all other county workers got 6% +, educators were left with 3% or 4%.

This year, enter collective bargaining for educators: this time they couldn't screw over teachers, and teachers got 6% ... still significantly less than police and fire a year ago, and the BOS are mad as hornets over it. Seriously, do people move here for the county govt services? Or the schools?

Really? Is that why they are mad? Or is it because the 7% was applied to ALL FCPS employees?

Houston, we have a problem (and it looks like it is you).

Maybe the union should fight for its members, not for FCPS leadership.

Pls attend the budget meeting scheduled next week.

The BOS two years in a row has thrown education under the bus. Last year, they gave their general county employees 6 percent raises, 10% for fire/police and told FCPS to jump in a lake over plans to give teachers 6% raises. While all other county workers got 6% +, educators were left with 3% or 4%.

This year, enter collective bargaining for educators: this time they couldn't screw over teachers, and teachers got 6% ... still significantly less than police and fire a year ago, and the BOS are mad as hornets over it. Seriously, do people move here for the county govt services? Or the schools?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are getting 6% instead of 7%…and some positions (AARTs and elementary special ed. dept. chairs) will go from full time at a school to part time or split between two schools, and the hope is that there are enough jobs any positions to absorb them. It feels really unjust.

Are the special ed chairs and AARTs expected to do the same amount of work in their part-time schedule? I don't really understand. We have a special ed school and one AART and they are certainly working a full time job and probably still barely keeping up. Who does the work they are leaving behind if they are working part time hours?

I don't know about the AART position. The Special Ed chairs are and it's ridiculous. That position is a ton of work already. The expectation seems to be that the Special Ed teachers will just absorb more of the work. As a Special Ed teacher and union member, I am very disappointed. I'll probably drop my membership and just get a personal liability policy in the Fall.

I'm a gen ed teacher, and planning to do the same. The main reason I have always been a union member is for the liability insurance. The fact that the union is declaring victory over this when it is very likely that some teachers may lose their jobs is appalling. I would not want a raise that came at the expense of someone else's job, or at the very least, results in a degradation of both working conditions and support for students.

We are both teachers and we think we’d take a 5% increase plus the bonus if it avoided the cuts.

FCPS could avoid these cuts by reducing the raise for non bargaining unit employees.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are getting 6% instead of 7%…and some positions (AARTs and elementary special ed. dept. chairs) will go from full time at a school to part time or split between two schools, and the hope is that there are enough jobs any positions to absorb them. It feels really unjust.

Are the special ed chairs and AARTs expected to do the same amount of work in their part-time schedule? I don't really understand. We have a special ed school and one AART and they are certainly working a full time job and probably still barely keeping up. Who does the work they are leaving behind if they are working part time hours?

I don't know about the AART position. The Special Ed chairs are and it's ridiculous. That position is a ton of work already. The expectation seems to be that the Special Ed teachers will just absorb more of the work. As a Special Ed teacher and union member, I am very disappointed. I'll probably drop my membership and just get a personal liability policy in the Fall.

I'm a gen ed teacher, and planning to do the same. The main reason I have always been a union member is for the liability insurance. The fact that the union is declaring victory over this when it is very likely that some teachers may lose their jobs is appalling. I would not want a raise that came at the expense of someone else's job, or at the very least, results in a degradation of both working conditions and support for students.

We are both teachers and we think we’d take a 5% increase plus the bonus if it avoided the cuts.

Anonymous wrote:

Our school system has become top-heavy, with lots of salaries and high-up positions being gifted for political activism. Teachers are left with the bill. This sucks.

This. i'm sure all the SB staffers are not political animals, but it appears that most of them are. Looks like our SB is running a mini Fairfax DNC.

Yes! And it appears they are in a political power struggle with the BOS. They tried to throw the BOS under the bus on the budget, and the BOS slapped them down a bit. It will be interesting to see how the Connelly seat plays out.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You could also contact the union and the school board and let them know you don’t support these cuts just to fund 5% raise for non unit members, especially central office and highly paid leadership team. The budget isn’t final yet.

PP. Yes, I've done that. Hopefully others do the same.

The school board also has a budget public hearing on 5/13.

Our school system has become top-heavy, with lots of salaries and high-up positions being gifted for political activism. Teachers are left with the bill. This sucks.

This. i'm sure all the SB staffers are not political animals, but it appears that most of them are. Looks like our SB is running a mini Fairfax DNC.

Historically, Fairfax County has lead the way in spending on employee salaries:

https://www.the74million.org/article/analysis-how-much-school-funding-goes-to-salaries-benefits-does-urban-vs-rural-make-a-difference-red-state-vs-blue-strong-union-vs-weak-some-surprising-answers/

So it is not new that Fairfax spends lots of money on employee salaries. That begs question: if Fairfax spends so much more of its budget on salaries than other places in the country, why do teacher salaries lag behind? Shouldn’t the opposite be true?

The reason teachers in Fairfax county are underpaid does not stem from a lack of funds or a lack will to pay employees, it comes from excess employees that are not teachers in the classroom getting paid excess amounts. Fix that, and Fairfax will lead the way in teacher salaries. I am not talking about AARTs or SPED teachers.

Remember, only about about 40% of the school budget goes to teacher salaries, and even that number includes lots of staff that are not in the classroom, such as school counselors. I am not saying we shouldn’t pay counselors. I’m saying even including counselors as teachers, it’s only 40% of the budget.

Our school system has become top-heavy, with lots of salaries and high-up positions being gifted for political activism. Teachers are left with the bill. This sucks.

Anonymous wrote:You could also contact the union and the school board and let them know you don’t support these cuts just to fund 5% raise for non unit members, especially central office and highly paid leadership team. The budget isn’t final yet.

PP. Yes, I've done that. Hopefully others do the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are getting 6% instead of 7%…and some positions (AARTs and elementary special ed. dept. chairs) will go from full time at a school to part time or split between two schools, and the hope is that there are enough jobs any positions to absorb them. It feels really unjust.

Are the special ed chairs and AARTs expected to do the same amount of work in their part-time schedule? I don't really understand. We have a special ed school and one AART and they are certainly working a full time job and probably still barely keeping up. Who does the work they are leaving behind if they are working part time hours?

I don't know about the AART position. The Special Ed chairs are and it's ridiculous. That position is a ton of work already. The expectation seems to be that the Special Ed teachers will just absorb more of the work. As a Special Ed teacher and union member, I am very disappointed. I'll probably drop my membership and just get a personal liability policy in the Fall.

I'm a gen ed teacher, and planning to do the same. The main reason I have always been a union member is for the liability insurance. The fact that the union is declaring victory over this when it is very likely that some teachers may lose their jobs is appalling. I would not want a raise that came at the expense of someone else's job, or at the very least, results in a degradation of both working conditions and support for students.

You could also contact the union and the school board and let them know you don’t support these cuts just to fund 5% raise for non unit members, especially central office and highly paid leadership team. The budget isn’t final yet.