Step by step Janesville residents lose their employers to high tax levy would have been a better title.
Janesville the town of roaming hoards of unemployed will be a future story.

Well said, Caddyshack!

SRK: In terms of taxes, the State of WI determines the amount of money that it believes each school district needs and then the state determines the tax levy. These days, the state cuts the school tax levy to the bone. Janesville's school board, especially Mr. "Rock Solid" Sodemann, wants to cut that support even further. Whether we spend the money on programs, kids or teachers, Janesville's school board is, in essence, refusing to follow the state's school tax guidelines and is cutting city taxes further in an effort to save a few bucks per homeowner. While I acknowledge that times are tough, and I see that my expenses are not going down at all, I question why the JSD school board is refusing money that the State believes the school district is entitled to. Also, if the school district proves this year that we don't need the money, the state will lower our allotment next year. Mr. Sodemann is making every effort to blame teachers for the economic crisis in our school district. I, for one, would prefer a School Board which puts children and education as priorities and shows support for teachers and their efforts to work with children, rather than a vocal school board which blames teachers for the economic problems of the community.

Abluedevil: Janesville School District administration only allows 6 on-line credits for the lifetime of a teacher’s employment and will not accept any other on-line credits towards salary advancement. Also, ALL credits must be pre-approved by JSD Administrators. Currently, the JSD refuses to acknowledge PDPs for advancement on the salary scale. From what I hear, most PDPs are quite extensive. I am certified by the DPI as a PDP reviewer, and the PDP is a plan which requires 3 to 5 years to accomplish and document. While I own no swampland, I do believe that it takes more than one year to recoup the cost of a lane movement. While a teacher may get a $1200 step advancement, that is the gross pay. Net pay may result in approximately an $800 actual dollar raise, which does not cover the cost of 6 credits. And, please remember, the lane and step movements are negotiated and agreed to by both the JEA and the JSD. Also, in this latest round of negotiations, please be advised that the JEA has focused solely on contract language but the JSD has expressed little interest in discussing contract language and insists on discussing salary only. The JEA has no desire to, in your words, “ignore this and focus only on "per cell increases," as if they stay in the same cell for more than one year”.

All arguments aside regarding pay or benefit increases for teachers, in my opinion whatever the teachers can negotiate that is fine with me. MOST work hard and deserve to be treated fairly. The complaint I have is with an attitude like I had to experience last year with a teacher at Parker. This poor excuse of a teacher openly announced he would NOT provide any extra help for students in his classes. He openly complained during parent teacher conferences that he is not going to lift one finger to go beyond the bare minimum to get by until a contract was settled. As far as I'm concerned this guy lost all respect I could ever have for him. He should leave the teaching profession if he feels this strongly about his contract. I feel a person that goes in to the teaching profession needs some level of love for teaching that goes beyond being a jerk.

This thread of discussion has headed down the same predictable path as many of the postings on Gazettextra.com - People finding reasons to be offended and parsing of words. A word of advice, open your minds and attempt to find the intent of the post and not try and read into them so much. This is addressed to both sides, educator and non.
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I understand why people get so fired up. Educators feel (I think rightly so) that they shouldn't be demonized for negotiating for the best deal they can get.
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Also, I get that people are in tough times and don't feel like they have anything more to give, or at least shouldn't be asked to give more when they are financially strapped.
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It comes down to this - educators need to be patient and show restraint. The public isn't against you, they are against tax increases. Public, address your concerns to the school board; they are the ones we elect to make these decisions. If we disagree or have opinions, the responsibility is on them.

Kay13 – You state the teachers pay out of pocket expenses for graduate classes, make sacrifices, etc without acknowledging that professionals outside the teaching profession have to do the same. The implication is that the teaching profession is the only one to require this. I am not in the teaching profession, but have taken the time to do research. How can you wish non-educators would not make blanket statements about the teaching profession, when you acknowledge that you do not know what other professions do or do not require or how much other professionals outside of teaching have paid and sacrificed for furthering their education. As stated earlier, anyone (and I mean anyone, not just teachers) who pursues a higher education knows the sacrifices that come with it and that should be acknowledged.

Justsome1here, when on earth did I "imply that teaching is the only profession that shoulders the burden of the cost of higher education because this simply is not true"? I've only worked in the field of education, and this was all I spoke about. I don't know enough about other professions to make blanket statements. I do find it frustrating that many non-educators seem to take the liberty to do that with the field of education.

Kay13 - Teachers are not the only ones that make sacrifices to further their education. Your inference that they are is a slap in the face to everyone who is currently pursuing their Masters. Everyone who pursues a higher education knows what those sacrifices are, whether it is an undergraduate, graduate degree or beyond. As stated earlier, please do not imply that teaching is the only profession that shoulders the burden of the cost of higher education because this simply is not true

Abluedevil, I am a former teacher who obtained my Masters in Education through UW-Madison. I know that program best, and I chose it because it is top in the nation. Consequently, as I noted in my post, you are welcome to run numbers for other programs. However, my numbers are accurate for what a current Janesville teacher would pay out of pocket for two classes at UW-Madison.
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Please note that Masters degrees typically entail 8 to 11 classes. Consequently, it will take many, many years for teachers to "make back" what they paid for these credits and begin to see a return on their investment.
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I don't think that whythink believes that his/her Masters was "time lost" with no professional value. My guess is that whythink has a family, coaches, or something else that required a sacrifice to pursue a further degree.
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SarahB1, if teachers received the recognition that they deserved - for their commitment to professional learning, for the many "unpaid" hours that they regularly work, and for their dedication to their students and their schools, I don't think that you would see so many comments that need to explain or defend teachers' choices. The teacher-hating that often occurs in Janesville (whether through the media or from the public) is not the norm. And you know what? It's disheartening.

whythink - I am surprised that you made the comment "The $$ is out of pocket and the time is lost forever". Furthering your education is never a waste of time and the money is well worth it.
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MOC0428 - You want to know about other professions? Start by reading SarahB1's comment from Oct 27, 2009 at 2:36 p.m. Then re-read my comment. I did not say "jobs require furthering their education". I said professions required to acquire continuing education credits to maintain certification. These credits are usually dictated by what their certification is. I did say, however, that graduate credits do not affect pay and a Masters does not guarantee a salary increase. Next I suggest you do some research on your own if you really want to know. That way you may learn something along the way.

It amazes me how many in this country openly support efforts resulting in people working down the ladder of success. State government spends too much? Make the employees take furloughs; school teachers getting their contractual step raises? foolish--no one else is getting a raise, why should they; limit health insurance companies from profitting from sickness? nonsense--we love competition; State workers NEGOTIATE lower salary increases in favor of not paying into their health insurance premiums? why should they not have to--'we at the Gazette staff all pay into ours' was one editorial example of THAT response....I could go on.

Sarah,
I hope you aren't referring to my comments.
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I am glad I obtained my master's...it was a ton of work but very much worth it.
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I was only commenting on the person minimizing it.
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I believe the complaints are just in defense of the attacks aimed at teachers. We always (at least on these blogs) feel we need to defend ourselves...salary increases, benefits, etc... Sometimes, in defending ourselves, it appears we are complaining, when we are only trying to point out that much of what we receive...we have worked hard to earn.
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I guarantee you I did not obtain my Master's Degree just for the salary increase. I wouldn't have finished if that was the only reason. You have to want it for yourself to be successful at it. At least that is what my program demanded.

I never expected teachers to have so many complaints about increasing their knowledge. Some of us obtain master's degrees (on our own dollar) just because we enjoy learning and can make good use of the extra knowledge. At least that is why I and several of my family members and friends got our master's degrees. (I'm not a teacher but did cover the total cost on my own. And, no, it didn't guarantee me a step up a ladder.)

I think the school board meeting tonight starts at 6:00 not 7:00.

Just finished a Master's in Education program through UWL. All teachers from WI districts. Some had salary increases plus 100% reimbursement for earning their master's, others partial reimbursement plus salary increase and some just the salary increase.
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Janesville teachers are some of the best and are in no way spoiled. Please remember that.
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abluedevil,
Are you trying to mimimize what it takes to get a Master's Degree? No matter what program you go through, the district and others must approve it and they all involve a lot of work and time. The classroom time is not what is important because most of what you learn, you immediately apply in your own classroom.
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The $$ is out of pocket and the time is lost forever.
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As for your PDP comment. They are a pain, a waste of time...more busy work for teachers to worry about. They are not a bad idea but having to keep track of all of that is a bit much.

justsone1here: Can you please give examples of all the other professions you are referring to? I'd be interested to see what types of jobs require furthering their education and what they might make per year.

It isn't right to come on and say there are others doing the same thing and not provide facts!

I believe the editors of the Gazette write the headlines, not necessarily the writers of the articles.

Wow, Frank. What a misleading and biased report, especially with a title like the one you gave it.

Harley: You are correct that once a teacher has "maxed out" on their lane and step movement at about $68,000.00 per year, the only increases that they would get would be the result of an increase in the salary schedule itself. In past settlements, I believe that amount has ranged from .5% to 2.% per cell - however I have not researched that carefully. This year however, the current proposal is for no increase in each cell.

Sam Adams: I fully agree that all people should be sharing in our fiscal challenges. Although it can be difficult to make apples to apples comparisons due to things like: some contracts overlap others with different starting and ending dates or things such as: "longevity pay" increases do not take place every year - just when certain milestones take place etc. - I still fully agree with your sentiments that equality should be the goal and I have worked toward that end and will continue to do so.

Also, of course teachers are as important as anyone else - even more, as they are the closest contact to our kids. I believe that the board, administration, principles, custodians etc. exist so that our teachers can be the most effective in the classroom.

Very sincerely,
Bill Sodemann

Sarah1B,
The best place to get your information would be to contact the district offices. However, the JEA does not only represent teachers, it also represents guidance councilors, school psychologists, etc. These professionals serve the students of Janesville in vital roles but their numbers goof up your calculations. It is interesting to note that at tonight's board meeting they will discuss how to spend and extra $150,000 in state aid. If you want it used for classroom teachers, go speak at the meeting at the ESC at 7pm. It is not the union that assigns teachers it is the administration.
Jim Reif - JEA negotiator, Craig Math teacher

Also, does the figure of 824 union members include part-time teachers? Does anyone have the numbers regarding how many teachers aides work in the Janesville schools? Is there a formula that determines which classrooms have the aides?

The article reports there are 824 members in the teachers union. This year's enrollment total for Janesville is 10,420, according to a previous article. That averages out to about 13 students per union member (teacher?). Can one of the union members explain to me why such a ratio and, yet, we see a couple of classrooms at Adams School having 30 pupils each. Why such a low average? Does the union include other staff other than teachers? Are there teachers who have leadership roles but no assigned classrooms? I am not trying to criticize teachers or anyone else so please don't attack me. I just have questions.

Mr. Sodeman,
Again I ask why only teachers? Why are custodians, secretaries, aids, cooks etc. all allowed their longevity (step) raise but you want to freeze teachers? Are teachers less important than these other employees? That is the message you are sending. I think we deserve an answer.

Rocky
Don't be so quick to buy into Kay13's numbers. Unions love to "run the numbers", but there are usually other numbers to consider. Something about "lies, damned lies, and statistics."
First, a small minority of teachers get their credits at UW-Madison - you'll see as many from Silver Lake (Graduate and Teacher Licensure Programs are $410 per credit), National Louis, Concordia ($435 per credit for the 2009-2010 year for Teacher Certification), or Viterbo as from the UW system schools.
Second, several teachers are getting their credits through on-line courses - even some of those "taking classes at" UW-LaCrosse, UW-Stout, or UW-Whitewater never leave their house to do so.
Third, in most districts, the credits don't have to be graduate credits until you get your Master's degree. If you are not in a Master's program, any six credits will do (like a coaching class).
Fourth, PI-34 has changed the licensure process so teachers no longer need six credits to renew their license. They simply complete a PDP (not always as rigorous as one might think) and they are good to go.
If you believe it costs (conservatively) $4800 for the $1200 increase, then you probably already bought swampland in Florida from the JEA.
Even if you agree to the distorted numbers though, you are still wrong mathematically when you claim that they are "making the $1200 profit for (only) one year." They get it every year - even if you believe it takes four years to pay for $1200 every year, they would get it for the rest of their careers, not just in year five. The next time they are "forced" to take six more credits they would get an additional $1200 (every year until they retire).
Again, maybe teachers deserve to be paid more, but it is intellectually dishonest to claim that annual step and lane increases are not automatic, built-in raises.
Of course, as part of the negotiating process, teachers want to ignore this and focus only on "per cell increases," as if they stay in the same cell for more than one year.

I also don't understand why teachers are the only public employees who are ever chastised for wanting a fair and decent salary. No one ever criticizes firemen, policmen, or other city workers when they get a raise. You never even hear a word about it. Don't get me wrong, I would never insinuate that any of these employees don't deserve the wages they're earning. They totally do! I'm just saying teachers deserve the same respect and appreciation. After all, they're educating our future firemen, policemen, and all of society's other valuable workers. Why is that always forgotten?

Regarding people in other professions paying for their own college credits, I beg to differ. I have friends who work for companies who NEVER have to pay for continuing education! One friend, in particular, had his entire masters degree paid for by his company and is now working on a second degree. I don't think anyone is saying that the school district needs to foot the bill for teachers' continuing education. It would just be nice to know that all the hard work and money paid out to accomplish the task reflects some sort of fair compensation. It DEFINITELY is not in Janesville.

Bill Sodemann,
"you fail to factor in that every time a teacher goes through the time, cost and effort to further their studies, they "move over a lane" and receive that increase for the balance of their career"
This is from your last post. According to the salary schedule in the paper when a teacher reaches the top they no longer are guaranteed an increase in pay. If a teacher reaches this in their first 17 years and teaches another 18 to 20 years or more the cost comes out of their own pocket with no increase. Don't teachers have to renew their license every 5 years? Don't teachers have to take credits to do this? So yes they may get the increase for "the balance of their career" but they also will lose money once they reach the top. Is this correct?

I will limit my comments to clarify statements and to answer questions of information. I will try to avoid anything that could be interpreted as being "part of negotiations".

Harley: The Board did not write the article. Frank Schultz of the Gazette did. I don't see how the board can therefore be accused of negotiating in the paper. As to your other question. Yes, the district does cover the costs of additional education for admininistrators within certain guidelines. I was told that they do not receive any increase in pay for that additional education but obviously it could have a great impact when they are applying for a higher level position that might require a Doctorate degree for example.

Rocky: I will not comment on all of the actual costs incurred in gaining additional credits. I do think that your math is a bit faulty in that you fail to factor in that every time a teacher goes through the time, cost and effort to further their studies, they "move over a lane" and receive that increase for the balance of their career.

Obviously, if you are about to retire or leave the teaching profession shortly after you "move over a lane", the payback is minimal. If you go on to teach another 20 years or so, then that investment is much more worth while.

Sincerely,
Bill Sodemann

Freeze the pay, so they can add more seat belts to buses.

Bluedevil - did you read Kay13's post? It costs (conservatively) $4800 for the $1200 increase. So it takes 4 years to pay back the investment. They are required to repeat the process every 5 years, minimum, so at best they are making the $1200 "profit" for one year.

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I think Rocksolid's clarification is important, however, in showing the incredibly bad job of writing done in the article. The gazette clearly failed to elucidate the differences between steps and lanes, or clarify which was proposed as being frozen. Well done, Bill.

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My question to Rocksolid is this: If teachers were to accept the freeze while the economy is struggling at this time, would you consider offering them a "double step" when things get going again? Or is this just another example of keeping the teacher pay down in good times, and lower in bad?

Bill Sodemann
I thought the school board did not want to negotiate through the paper? If this is not negotiating in the paper then why didn't the article include steps for administrators or anyone else in the school district? Why always the teachers? Also, when administrators take additional credits or training do they pay for it or the school district?

Rocksolid;
Why are teachers being singled out? Custodians, aides, and secretaries in my building all got their STEP or longevity raise. Are you telling teachers that they are less important to the education of the youth of Janesville than these other hard working professionals? That's what I'm hearing from the board, teachers don't matter.
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Do people also realize that administators have in their contract they get the best of all finge benefits? So if the teachers get something (say lower insurance premiums) the administrators always get it. So don't feel bad for them, they will get their raise.

Sure teachers pay for their credits (one time) - they then receive the lane increase (raise) for the rest of their career in the District.
Paying $1200 this year to get $1200 this year and every year thereafter doesn't seem like a horrible deal.
They don't pay for step increases (based on experience) which all of them get every year until they "max out."
Teachers in Janesville may believe they deserve larger raises, but they shouldn't pretend that they haven't already received one - even without settling a 2009-11 contract.

Kay13 – You pose some valid arguments, however, you have failed to recognize the fact that other professions also require containing education credits to maintain certification. Taking graduate classes in any profession will require out-of-pocket expenses that may or may not be covered by their employer (tuition reimbursement) as well as completing those classes on their own time – for a full time employee this means nights and weekends with the same complaints that you have stated (time away from family, cost of books, mileage, etc). One could argue that the “lane movement” is actually a form of tuition reimbursement instead of an actual “raise”.
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Completing my Masters will not guarantee an increase in salary for doing the same job I am doing now. In order to achieve that increase I will have to apply for different positions within the company or look elsewhere. Also, wages are based on performance (no cost of living adjustments, no step raises, etc). You have also failed to mention that some colleges offer reduced tuition to teachers enrolled in graduate classes.
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Please do not imply that teaching is the only profession that shoulders the burden of the cost of higher education because this simply is not true.

It's a shame that the district doesn't appreciate it's teachers..
I know of a teacher that worked real hard, even brought grant $ to the district and didn't get called back for employment..
In fact they even told her they didn't want her to sub for them!
Something is drastically wrong with that picture!

It seems like the news media is making a big deal on how much the teachers make. Now that GM is gone now they are picking on the teachers. All the teachers deserve all the money they get. Now on the other hand lets find out how much the administrative staff get paid. I will bet it is over $100,000 a year. All the time you here about t he teachers and there contract with school districts on how much it will cost to give them a raise. I doesn't mention the administrative staff on how much the school board gave them a raise. Lets give the teachers a raise and take some money away from the administrative staff.

Kay:

Good question. STEP movements (moving down the salary schedule) do end at various points depending upon the LANE (moving from left to right on the salary schedule) you are in. For example if you never go beyond your Bachelors degree, then you stop getting increases for experiences (STEP Movements) after 7 years. If you continue your education up to the maximum level, then you continue to get STEP movements up through 17 years in addition to the pay you received for a LANE movement (More Education and degrees etc.)

I hope that helps.

Sincerely,

Bill Sodemann

Bill doesn't the article seem to conflate the two? "The increase is referred to as a “step” on the teachers’ salary schedule. Teachers get step increases starting in their second year of teaching and each year through their 17th year, if they go on to earn master’s degrees and doctorates."

Many of you are under the wrong understanding.
STEP pay has nothing to do with taking classes or for further education. STEP pay is what you get by adding another year of experience. This is the item that the article is referring to and what is being paid even though it has not been proposed by the board or settled on.

LANE movement is when you get extra pay by earning extra college credits etc. The Board has NOT proposed freezing LANE movement.

Sincerely,
Bill Sodemann

Kay 13 is correct. I teach in a nearby district. We must have our courses pre-approved before the district allocates budget to later pay us. As far as I'm concerned, if this is the practice in Janesville, you can't ask the Janesville District to renege on its promises to pay because of a bad economy. If they freeze pay up front, (and according to bargaining), go ahead. They apparently didn't.

This article assumes a lot; more research and perspective needed.

Let's run some numbers, to ensure that the facts are represented here. Generally, to go up a "step," a teacher needs to take six credits. Teachers may take classes on their own, or as part of a Masters program. They may choose to attend public, brick-and-mortar universities like UW-Madison or UW-Whitewater, private schools like Edgewood, or universities that offer classes here in Janesville, like National Louise or Concordia.
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Clearly, these universities all vary in terms of their degrees, quality of instructors, and resultant increases in teaching licenses (ie, administrator, reading specialist, library media specialist). But let's assume a teacher decides to get a Masters from UW-Madison. (Feel free to run your own numbers from another school). UW-Madison's department of curriculum and instruction has long been ranked #1 in the US. That's right - above Harvard and Yale. Consequently, many teachers in southern Wisconsin elect to pursue a BS or MS from there.
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Mr. Schultz talked about a $1,185 step increase that a "typical" teacher earned. (While he used the term "college credits," the fact is that only GRADUATE credits count toward this - an important distinction.) So what did this typical teacher do to earn this increase?
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Cost of tuition for one 3-credit class at UW-Madison: $1973
Segregated fees assessed for one course: $192
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For two courses, the teacher has now paid $4330 out of pocket for tuition and segregated fees alone. But there are more costs:
Mileage (30 miles/gallon at 90 miles round trip) per class: $9. Times that by 30 (2 classes in 15 week semesters): $270
Books: $250 (conservative estimate)
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All told, that teacher has now paid $4850 for two classes (or one step), not including car maintenance, printing costs, internet access, or intangibles - like time away for family or long work days.
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Mr. Schultz, why not write an article about teachers who chose to pursue classes and degrees, and their rationale for doing so? Not only do you have 578 potential interview sources, you can also talk to any of the 246 teachers who have managed to earn the equivalent of TWO Masters degrees while teaching.

To anyone who thinks the school board does not make decisions (budget or otherwise) based on the best interests of students: Please tell them so! They will listen to city residents/taxpayers/voters. Attend a school board meeting (Tuesday night at 6 p.m.) and give a 3-minute citizen's comment, or email the entire board via the school district website (under Board of Education Members).

I believe it is time for school board members to think about students first and lowering our taxes second. Class sizes and teacher retention rates DO affect how well students learn.

First, I am bothered by the clear bias in this article that is event from the first paragraph. The writer could have taken a number of angles on this story and consciously sought to portray teachers and the union in a negative light.
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If 578 teachers got step increases (which is solely measured by credits and has nothing to do with years of employment), then those 578 teachers PAID OUT OF POCKET for tuition towards credits or a Masters. While the district does offer some courses for one to three credits (at approximately $200-300 per credit out of pocket to teachers), these often cannot be used towards a Masters degree.
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The cost of a 3 credit graduate course at UW Madison is $1973 this semester. To earn a Masters, teachers will often pay anywhere from $12,000 to $24,000 to take 24 to 34 credits toward a Masters at UW or elsewhere. To continue to gain in steps/pay, they will need to DOUBLE this amount. So, really, if a teacher has paid almost $4000 out of pocket to increase their knowledge, to learn how to better serve their students, the Gazette is going to write an article to knock them for it and complain about a mere $1,100 pay increase? It will take that teacher FOUR YEARS to break even - and that's presuming that they don't pursue their own education.
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This district is fortunate to have so many teachers who value education and who will take time out of their own lives (and away from their own families) to pursue classes and degrees. Why on earth would the Gazette chose to write a story that instead takes an angle that effectively faults them for it? Bitter much that the print industry is dying?

NVGRF-You need to get out of the sun.

shotgun,
In english por favor.

Where will the madness stop. It soumd they think the resident are made of money.

Domino: I might be wrong here, but I thought Dr. Schulte was also picking up additional responsibilities compared to the past school superintendent.

It's all Obama's fault!

What the Gazette fails to mention is that most of the working conditions that teachers want to review don't cost the district a cent and some actually save them money. They also fail to mention that teachers have not gotten a cost of living increase for many, many years. Remember when the economy was so great? Teachers in Janesville didn't experience any of those benefits due to the QEO and our district's refusal to properly compensate their employees even though money was being made BY the district. The most shameful thing about all of this? I've talked to negotiators from other school districts who use Janesville as the example of the model they DON'T want to follow when negotiating. This school district needs to stop preaching the whole Studer philosophy unless they're willing to follow it. Building UP employees instead of bringing them down is a big component of it. Apparently they think they can ignore that part.

Nice article Janesville Gazette! Why not print how Dr. Schulte took a raise in her first year as Superintendent about 8% higher than Dr. Everts salary after 14 years in the district. Not a bad start. How did the public feel about the high school open houses? Did you know the district hired 8-9 custodians at each of the high schools to polish them up for the showing at time and a half? Where does that money come from? Did it help students' learning? They have the money when they want it, but they don't want to reward the people in the trenches. They don't even provide me with all of the supplies that I need for my job. I've spent at least $400 this year in my classroom that hasn't been reimbursed, not to mention cost of credits and all of the many unpaid hours that I work for free.

Mine it? Is being reviewed some sort of metal?

I don't think most teachers would mine too much being reviewed, but who would get that task? How do you measure a great teacher? Grades or improvement? How do you grade a kindergarden teacher? I think that would be way too tall of a task.

Where is Pete with his old "people are having trouble keeping their heads out of water" line?

Before a teacher gets a raise they should have to go before a review board to prove that they should get a raise. There are too many teachers just coasting along. You know who you are.

So far no ripping on teachers. I am impressed! Before some of you do, consider this from the article.
"The Janesville School Board is well aware that most taxpayers are facing pay freezes, pay cuts, furloughs or layoffs. So it froze administrative salaries for at least the first semester and offered a freeze for teachers as its opening offer when negotiations began last May.
They want to freeze the teachers for the year but administrators for only the first semester. And if you can read between the lines it is only for the first semester because if the teachers do settle they will for sure give the administrators their raise. We should start at the top and work our way down before we rip on teachers. After all, they have not even asked for a raise yet.

It sounds to me like the teachers are being quite reasonable here. These "steps" are normal advancement for increasing their expertise through further education. This makes them better teachers and benefits the district and the students. The amount of the increase probably doesn't cover the cost of the credits over one year, so it seems like a good deal for the district as well. Not to mention that these courses were taken with the promise that they would be rewarded with a step increase. Backing off on that hardly would seem fair. It also seems like the teachers are willing to consider small or no other increases. What more do people want?

SarahB1, the students don't have it that great. If you think so, please elaborate. Yes, the additions at the high schools are nice, but when the school board makes its decisions, I feel they do not make them based on what is best for children. If they did, class sizes wouldn't be getting bigger and bigger. In addition, the school board would also lead by example for our chidlren and not the way they do (attend or watch a few school board meetings and you'll see what I mean).

If you meant that students don't know how good they have it in regards to the great education they get in this school district, then that is a fine compliment to the teachers and staff of the JSD. I would agree with you that for sure.

melstew47 wrote ".i had one girl tell me to get out of her way,excuse me would have been more apropriate,in turn i very nicely asked her if she would like to keep her teeth,"

That says way more about her than she realizes.

You probably are right Dom

oh no u misunderstood,im not telling off anyone,im saying these teachers deserve the money,and students and teachers do deserve better working conditions,no one here is telling anyone off or yelling at anyone ok.

This was a very bad article. What was the point? The gazette has printed the graph before so why do it again unless they are trying to rile people up. RIDICULOUS!

melstew47: Who are you telling off? I hope not me. I was writing about the students in response to badger4life's most recent comment.

are you serious?those people deserve more than a raise!i remember when i used to go over to the schools when my kids,were still in school,those teachers need hazmat pay lol.i had one girl tell me to get out of her way,excuse me would have been more apropriate,in turn i very nicely asked her if she would like to keep her teeth,those teachers deserve every dime they get,even if all they do is show up,and anyone who thinks they dont,then id advise you to get your teaching degree an go over to some of these schools for a couple of weeks,then tell me how much money a teacher should get.good luck an have a nice day.oh an as far as working conditions go,you bet they deserve better,i believe the county jail has air conditioning but the schools dont or at least some of the middle schools dont,wheres the priorty there,an do jump in and correct me if im wrong.

The students in this community should be grateful for how good they have it.

Maybe we could get Mr. Studer to lead the negotiations for free and help settle the mess the teachers and the district are in. Oh wait, he would probably want the employees of the district to be happy (one of his key "Studer Principles". Therefore he would listen to the teachers' requests for better working conditions unlike the current school board. The students and teachers in this community deserve better.

In the newspaper's graphic the gazette does say "Note, teachers pay for the credits themselves", but don't give you anymore details. Also, teachers are required by DPI to pay $100 every 5 years and take 6 credits within that 5 years. Those that are at masters plus 42 credits still are required to take six credits and get nothing for it.

Nice how the article doesn't mention that the school district offers a number of classes that teachers can take over the summer and throughout the year to get credits. Why don't you ask the Superintendent why they are offering a number of 3 credit courses at $600 to teachers if they don't want teachers to get a raise for taking them. How much does the distict make for having a computer class for one week long at an elementary school that has 20 students at $625 a pop?

Are you kidding me. I think the Gazette should do a little more research before they print an article like this. Did you research how much 6 credits cost for a teacher to take? Most credits cost between $200-$300 so that means those six credits cost nearly $1,200-1,800. Sure they will make it up over time, but please don't make it out like they are getting a raise.