With Trump's plan out for massive cuts here isn't going to be tremendous sympathy for the D.C. Teacher making 90K with 2 plus months of vacation. The poor and elderly will see a huge decrease in services. D.C. will need to address and prioritize this decrease in funding first.

Be careful D.C. teachers.

I say work the clock. Nothing will cause a rise like teachers leaving at 3:30 when most kids aren't even picked up yet. Hold the flame to the fire people! We will all manage!

Or that teachers move on to another area. How about MD, VA? Then you will also have a lower cost of living as real estate/rent is cheaper.

Anonymous wrote:What does this mean for sports, tutoring, etc?

It means they are gone. The end goal of work the clock is that parents get upset and go to DCPS and fight on the side of teachers.

What does this mean for sports, tutoring, etc?

Work the clock! Make Bowser work after hours programs for your pay, HA

That email should be shared with every DCPS parent!

Why

Reposting this from another thread, in response to PP's questions. These are resources compiled by a group of concerned teachers.

"This email has been created by a group of concerned teachers who are disappointed in the lack of clear information coming from central office and the DC government. Recently the DCPS central office staff and members of the city government have been sharing incorrect or misleading information about the Washington Teachers’ Union contract negotiating process. It is important for our city and school officials to be held accountable for their lack of transparency, and the information below seeks help with that process.

A few publicly available pieces of information that are important to the discussion are below. Specific sources are cited when necessary.

Washington Teachers’ Union expired contract: http://www.wtulocal6.org/usr/Final%20WTU%20DCPS%20Tentative%20Agreement.pdf

DC Government Public Employee Salary Info (available 2011-2016): https://dchr.dc.gov/public-employee-salary-information

DCPS Organizational Chart (as of February 2017): https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/d...hart%20-%20February%202017.pdf

DCPS Salary Scale: https://dcps.dc.gov/page/compensation-and-benefits-teachers

The Facts

The Washington Teachers’ Union has been without a contract since September 30, 2012.

No WTU member has a received a traditional "raise" or cost of living adjustment during the time the contract expired. Many teachers received step increases as they gained teaching experience, but those numbers were generated when the last contract was signed and do not reflect the current economic condition of the district or cost of living.

Teachers at the top of the salary scale are not eligible for step increases, and have been stuck at their current salary level. Regardless of any IMPACT rating, the base salary for our most experienced and skilled teachers has not increased from year-to-year.

When adjusted for cost-of-living, the pay for DCPS teachers is nowhere near as impressive as what the DC government and DCPS central office claim. DC falls behind many states and districts when salary numbers are adjusted for cost of living.

Teachers want and deserve retroactive pay as part of the new contract. DC teachers have received retro pay in the past, and the police and firefighters recently received retroactive pay in their new contracts. The District has continually refused to include retro pay in the new contract.

DCPS has had the money to make a fair contract possible. During the same time period that teachers operated without a contract, the Central Office leadership team expanded and enjoyed an average raise of 36.88%- an average raise of $36,515.30.

The Misinformation

Many DCPS central office employees and city government officials have stated that DC teachers are among the highest paid in the nation. This is not true when adjusted for cost-of-living. In fact, one 2015 analysis by the Kahler Financial Group found that DC teachers are 42nd in the nation in terms of adjusted purchasing power. The data summary from the study can be found here: http://kahlerfinancial.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Teacher-Salary-Chart.pdf. An analysis by the National Center for Policy Analysis found that teachers in the DC metro area lag behind at least 50 other metro areas when adjusted for cost of living: http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/2014_Teacher_Pay_Report-NCPA_MacIver.pdf.

Many DCPS central office employees and city government officials have stated that DC teachers have the quickest path to a six figure salary. However, that path is only available at certain schools, and many DC teachers cannot follow that path. Information on that system can be found here: https://dcps.dc.gov/node/976292

Many DCPS central office employees and city government officials have stated that the DC government doesn't have money to pay teachers. However, the District is in a position of incredible financial strength, so much so that Mayor Bowser has stated that last quarter was the strongest in the city’s fiscal history. For more information, see a recent presentation from the District CFO here: https://cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/oc...ntation%20-%20March%202016.pdf

Many DCPS central office employees and city government officials have stated that the DC government doesn't have money to pay teachers. During the exact same time period that WTU members were teaching without a contract, central office staff were receiving salary increases that often exceeded 10 percent per year. Many staff members saw their salaries increase by 30 percent over 5 years. Detailed information on a selection of central office staff is attached and all the data can be viewed here: https://dchr.dc.gov/public-employee-salary-information

Many DCPS central office employees and city government officials have stated that the DC government is not permitted to give retroactive pay to teachers. This is technically incorrect. WTU members have received retro pay in the past and are currently able to receive retro pay under federal laws. Recent communications from the Mayor’s office suggest that DCPS may technically not be able to provide “retroactive pay”, but that they could provide the same financial compensation to teachers by providing a lump sum equivalent to retroactive pay, and then adjusting the base salary moving forward.

The Questions

Why are DCPS central office staff and DC government officials not telling the truth? Do they not believe that teachers deserve cost of living adjustments? Has the DC government simply spent too much money increasing the salaries of central office staff so that they are now left unable to compensate teachers fairly? Or, do they not want to pay teachers what they deserve?

The DCPS central office staff, the city officials involved in the contract negotiating process, and elected officials in the District need to answer the questions above.

Important Notes
This email does not claim to be a complete summation of the issues surrounding the Washington Teachers’ Union contract. We have not yet analyzed the salary of every employee at the DCPS central office so our sample could be flawed. Instead, we began our analysis with employees included in the DCPS organization chart. Nevertheless, the rapid pace with which visible members of the DCPS central office have seen significant raises certainly creates many questions. Recipients of significant raises will inevitably argue that their roles and responsibilities have changed over time. WTU teachers can argue the same. We have constantly seen new initiatives (Cornerstones and LEAP), increases in our class size, and decreases in our planning time.

DCPS states that attracting and retaining exceptional teachers is a priority. The information above suggests that DCPS is unwilling to back their statements with actual action. DC parents and students deserve quality educators, and DCPS has a moral responsibility to support those educators."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, on the clock. Does that mean working more than the 6 hour school hours?
Does that mean working over Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring Break, which the rest of the US requires vacation time that teachers don't have to work?
What about the professional days that always seem to fall around long weekends?
Give us a break. You get 2 months off with a million off days that no one outside of teaching gets.
And PS., the majority of the US population only gets 2-3 weeks of vacation. Stop whining.

1. I work 8 hours a day, not 6. And I have office hours during lunch, so no real breaks.
2. The past two years I have taken kids on field trips over Spring Break for extra enrichment plus this helps parents out with childcare.
3. The teachers I know usually skip those professional development days to go to our school to actually plan and grade, instead of doing whatever crap they force us to do at PD days.
4. I actually only get paid for 10 months, and over the summer I either take courses to hone my teaching skills or get another endorsement OR I teach summer school.

I would like a cost of living increase so that I could continue to live in the community in which I teach. That's about it really, I am not asking for a huge raise. The cops and firefighters got COLA for 6 years with retro pay, why can't we? So I am not entirely sure who is the whiny little baby is in the situation. But hey, keep on trucking booboo.

Since this is a consistent argument made based on behalf of the retro pay, I am curious if the cops and firefighters had a similar adjustment in the their pay scale as the teachers about 5 years ago (close to when the contract expired) when the IMPACT pay scale was implemented. What's clear is that the WTU is demanding retro increases to a brand new highly competitive pay scale. The side of the story that seems to be unsaid (at least on the union side) is that most DCPS teachers base salaries probably increased by 20% or more within the last 5 years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We would never ask other (majority male) professions to volunteer their time like we do teachers. Imagine asking a corporate lawyer to give up his weekend "for the client firms." He wouldn't do it, and he would be right not to.

Of course we (corporate lawyers) do this. Its called business development and training and networking and all the other non-billable work we do. We don't bill our clients for the time we spend taking them to dinner or sporting events. We don't get bonuses for that time or for the time we spend at conferences, networking events or internal firm committees. That's all free time by us. We do it because we think its going to pay off in the long run with increased business, and its helps the firm generally, but if it doesn't we aren't compensated for it.

Now that's neither here nor there with whether teachers deserve more money, but just to be clear its not a teachers only thing.

Well but you are compensated and given bonuses precisely because you go above and beyond to get that business. Teachers do not receive such bonuses.

DC Public School teachers absolutely do get bonuses.
Signed,
A DCPS teacher who thinks she is paid fairly.

I say do it. We support you!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We would never ask other (majority male) professions to volunteer their time like we do teachers. Imagine asking a corporate lawyer to give up his weekend "for the client firms." He wouldn't do it, and he would be right not to.

Are you naive? Professionals of all kinds typically work well beyond a 40-hour week.

+1. Have been running down answers for clients a big chunk of today- while on maternity leave.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We would never ask other (majority male) professions to volunteer their time like we do teachers. Imagine asking a corporate lawyer to give up his weekend "for the client firms." He wouldn't do it, and he would be right not to.

Of course we (corporate lawyers) do this. Its called business development and training and networking and all the other non-billable work we do. We don't bill our clients for the time we spend taking them to dinner or sporting events. We don't get bonuses for that time or for the time we spend at conferences, networking events or internal firm committees. That's all free time by us. We do it because we think its going to pay off in the long run with increased business, and its helps the firm generally, but if it doesn't we aren't compensated for it.

Now that's neither here nor there with whether teachers deserve more money, but just to be clear its not a teachers only thing.

Not that you are doing this, but it's a bit absurd to compare a corporate lawyer and a teacher if for nothing else than pay. Corporate firm lawyers are paid, starting $160K for a first year associate. At that rate, the law firm can pretty much demand anything from you. Also, whether your time is billable or not is not related to whether you get paid. You get paid $160k+ regardless of whether you make your hours or not (now, whether you'll be fired is another thing, but the point is that billable hours do not equal hourly pay).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We would never ask other (majority male) professions to volunteer their time like we do teachers. Imagine asking a corporate lawyer to give up his weekend "for the client firms." He wouldn't do it, and he would be right not to.

Of course we (corporate lawyers) do this. Its called business development and training and networking and all the other non-billable work we do. We don't bill our clients for the time we spend taking them to dinner or sporting events. We don't get bonuses for that time or for the time we spend at conferences, networking events or internal firm committees. That's all free time by us. We do it because we think its going to pay off in the long run with increased business, and its helps the firm generally, but if it doesn't we aren't compensated for it.

Now that's neither here nor there with whether teachers deserve more money, but just to be clear its not a teachers only thing.

Well but you are compensated and given bonuses precisely because you go above and beyond to get that business. Teachers do not receive such bonuses.

Anonymous wrote:We would never ask other (majority male) professions to volunteer their time like we do teachers. Imagine asking a corporate lawyer to give up his weekend "for the client firms." He wouldn't do it, and he would be right not to.

Of course we (corporate lawyers) do this. Its called business development and training and networking and all the other non-billable work we do. We don't bill our clients for the time we spend taking them to dinner or sporting events. We don't get bonuses for that time or for the time we spend at conferences, networking events or internal firm committees. That's all free time by us. We do it because we think its going to pay off in the long run with increased business, and its helps the firm generally, but if it doesn't we aren't compensated for it.

Now that's neither here nor there with whether teachers deserve more money, but just to be clear its not a teachers only thing.