Despite cuts, some teachers get raises

As it continues to lock horns with the teachers union over a temporary workload and pay cut, the School Committee has fired its latest salvo by releasing the salaries of its educators and how they have changed with the reduction.

[whatever]

This is all so foolish. I can't wait to hear the howling when the town is forced to give this money, with interest, back to the teachers in a lump sum check. This won't even be close.

[Tewksbury Dad]

"Nonunion employees and the Tewksbury Administrators Group have agreed to take the 5 percent pay cut without any accompanying reduction in their workload for the students' sake. "

Well we can see the ones who truly care about the kids.

[Realdeal]

Bravo School Committee! As we all can see, Tewksbury teachers are doing just fine, thank you very much.

Remember thugs, you all had a chance to leave, but instead came back at a reduced rate.

Where's your "Contract Now" buttons, leeches?

[Teaching Professional]

Realdeal wrote:

Bravo School Committee! As we all can see, Tewksbury teachers are doing just fine, thank you very much.
Remember thugs, you all had a chance to leave, but instead came back at a reduced rate.
Where's your "Contract Now" buttons, leeches?

Thugs...leeches...typical of the ignorance spouted by the teacher bashers during the good economic times as well as the bad. Remember, Realdeal, you ultimately get what you pay for.

[Wondering]

I think it would be a lot easier just to fire 35 - 38 teachers and give the others their raises.

"Our teachers feel not valued and beaten down. It just seems that no matter how professional they are and how hard they work, they're not truly respected"

It seems that the union doesn't understand what the phrase "we don't have the money" means. If the town did the 5% cut to preserve jobs then the only lack of respect I see is among the teachers. If they don't care about the 35 to 38 people that would get the layoff notice then why should anyone else?

[concerned citizen]

I am so tired of teachers whining abou their pay and bennies and the public being held hostage by their unions. If they don't like it, they can leave, that includes the biggest whinning blob of them all, Paul Georges.

[greedy teachers]

Well,here we go again with the whinny selfish teachers who are sooooo into themselves they for get who they are responsible.

I agree that if any don't want to act responsible in this,then let them go.

[bewildered]

Realdeal wrote:

Bravo School Committee! As we all can see, Tewksbury teachers are doing just fine, thank you very much.
Remember thugs, you all had a chance to leave, but instead came back at a reduced rate.
Where's your "Contract Now" buttons, leeches?

Least you forget, Readdeal, we don't need "Contract Now" buttons to make our point. We HAVE a legal, binding contract that the school committee decided to break. Tewksbury wouldn't be in this mess if they had hired teachers all along. They were selfish when they didn't hire new staff to replace teachers that either left or retired. Now, we barely have enough staff to do the teaching, so they decided to cut salaries instead. Why didn't they hire new staff all along? The answer: to save money. Instead they raised the class size. For example, last year I was responsible for 130 students, when all research shows that a team of four teachers should be responsible for 80....add it up,that's 50 more students than a teacher should be responsible for to provide a quality education and student support. So, if you want to call teachers leeches, I think you should look in the mirror(along with the school committee), to see who is draining the life out of the school system. As far as I can see, and I have been in the school system for many, many years, teachers do their very best, work hard, and provide the best education they can with what they have. It was the school committee who cut salaries and to salve their conscience, they cut 5% of noninstructional duties. I AM STILL DOING THE SAME JOB! I dare anyone to say differently.

[Realdeal]

Teaching Professional wrote:

<quoted text>
Thugs...leeches...typical of the ignorance spouted by the teacher bashers during the good economic times as well as the bad. Remember, Realdeal, you ultimately get what you pay for.

Right, you want me to pay more for less. You want me to pay you more so I can have my kids in bigger classes.

Sorry thug, I'm not buying.

[bewildered]

Realdeal wrote:

<quoted text>
Right, you want me to pay more for less. You want me to pay you more so I can have my kids in bigger classes.
Sorry thug, I'm not buying.

Class size has nothing to do with the teachers; speak to your school committee, or, better yet, support your school system. I think you need to go back to school to learn how to speak appropriately on a public forum. Calling a teacher or anyone a leech and/or thug shows lack of education.

[Wondering]

bewildered wrote:

<quoted text>
Least you forget, Readdeal, we don't need "Contract Now" buttons to make our point. We HAVE a legal, binding contract that the school committee decided to break. Tewksbury wouldn't be in this mess if they had hired teachers all along. They were selfish when they didn't hire new staff to replace teachers that either left or retired. Now, we barely have enough staff to do the teaching, so they decided to cut salaries instead. Why didn't they hire new staff all along? The answer: to save money. Instead they raised the class size. For example, last year I was responsible for 130 students, when all research shows that a team of four teachers should be responsible for 80....add it up,that's 50 more students than a teacher should be responsible for to provide a quality education and student support. So, if you want to call teachers leeches, I think you should look in the mirror(along with the school committee), to see who is draining the life out of the school system. As far as I can see, and I have been in the school system for many, many years, teachers do their very best, work hard, and provide the best education they can with what they have. It was the school committee who cut salaries and to salve their conscience, they cut 5% of noninstructional duties. I AM STILL DOING THE SAME JOB! I dare anyone to say differently.

I'm not goig to call you any names but the Tewksbury FY08 had some startling figures.

Payments to out of district schools rose 24.3%
Insurance, Retirement Programs rose 21.8%
Per pupil expenditures rose 10.3%

You say they were selfish but it looks as if they didn't have the money. Benefit costs are soaring and that is part of teacher pay. I don't know how all of this will turn out but Tewksbury isn't alone. You can have all of the legal binding contracts that you want, if there's not enough money the contracts won't help you.

[Realdeal]

bewildered wrote:

<quoted text>
Class size has nothing to do with the teachers; speak to your school committee, or, better yet, support your school system. I think you need to go back to school to learn how to speak appropriately on a public forum. Calling a teacher or anyone a leech and/or thug shows lack of education.

Listen, shill, you can save the spin. You guys held out last round of negotitations to the end and wound up with 4% more than every other union in town. You negotiated in the papers. You signed 2 contracts to void out every other union's "me too" clause because we all knew what you guys would do. You guys constantly lay off your own junior members for a few extra bucks and then say "don't blame me blame the school committee".

Its all double talk and bulsh*t and we both know it. Thats why youre a thug and a leech and I will speak/post however I please here. You people are infuriating a lot of us and we arent going to put up with it any longer!

[whatever]

greedy teachers wrote:

Well,here we go again with the whinny selfish teachers who are sooooo into themselves they for get who they are responsible.
I agree that if any don't want to act responsible in this,then let them go.

The word is "whiny," you ninny. I am sick of you morons spelling this insult incorrectly.

[Teaching Professional]

Realdeal wrote:

<quoted text>
Right, you want me to pay more for less. You want me to pay you more so I can have my kids in bigger classes.
Sorry thug, I'm not buying.

Sorry I couldn't respond before now. I spent the bulk of yesterday and this morning finishing up the work required to submit your childrens' grades tomorrow morning. I then had to take a few hours to take care of personal business so I can go back to work tomorrow and educate your children. I don't want you to pay me more; I EXPECT the town to live up to its legal obligations and pay me what was promised. Oh, by the way,if you are concerned about class sizes, call your School Committee members. They call the shots, not the teachers. Perhaps they can lay off one of the many NEW FULLTIME positions created since I was reduced to PARTTIME status with a reduction in pay because there is supposedly "no money." I can't speak for anyone else, but I have no money left to give to you to subsidize YOUR childrens' education, I have a family of my own to worry about. I suppose that makes me a thug in your eyes.

[Confused in Tewksbury]

I question the validity of the School Committee's comment that there was no other alternative to laying off school personnel and rehiring them as part-time employees. Most communities in the state of Massachusetts are facing the same fiscal woes that Tewksbury is facing, yet Tewksbury is the only community that chose to break the contracts of school personnel in order to balance their budget. What have the other communities done? Certainly not laid off staff or increased class sizes.

[Tewksbury Dad]

bewildered wrote:

<quoted text>
Least you forget, Readdeal, we don't need "Contract Now" buttons to make our point. We HAVE a legal, binding contract that the school committee decided to break. Tewksbury wouldn't be in this mess if they had hired teachers all along. They were selfish when they didn't hire new staff to replace teachers that either left or retired. Now, we barely have enough staff to do the teaching, so they decided to cut salaries instead. Why didn't they hire new staff all along? The answer: to save money. Instead they raised the class size. For example, last year I was responsible for 130 students, when all research shows that a team of four teachers should be responsible for 80....add it up,that's 50 more students than a teacher should be responsible for to provide a quality education and student support. So, if you want to call teachers leeches, I think you should look in the mirror(along with the school committee), to see who is draining the life out of the school system. As far as I can see, and I have been in the school system for many, many years, teachers do their very best, work hard, and provide the best education they can with what they have. It was the school committee who cut salaries and to salve their conscience, they cut 5% of noninstructional duties. I AM STILL DOING THE SAME JOB! I dare anyone to say differently.

look around you, many of us are taking unpaid furloughs, paying more for our health insurance, taking pay cuts. You teachers aren't the only ones doing it. We are still doing the same job.

[Wondering]

Confused in Tewksbury wrote:

What have the other communities done? Certainly not laid off staff or increased class sizes.

That's xactly what they've done.
http://www.allbusiness.com/education-training...

[Billerica Native]

This union thug Bilodeau is kidding right? They take graduate courses to further their education and they get a pay raise. How about just doing it to make yourself more competitive in the market for teachers jobs. So they get a pay raise...good for them. The town fulfilled their contract obligation and several that have bettered themselves will do well.

[America the Beautiful]

There is something strange about the numbers. I this 5% pay cut only saves $100,000 why would they need to lay off 35 teachers if they didn't do it. If it only amounted to 2 teachers, they should have just laid them off or not hired to replace those who retired etc. That doesn't let the teachers who post on here off the hook for their unprofessional response. You showed your true colors. And a loss of pay(gross) of $800 amounts to what,$400 after taxes and other deductions. Is that worth diminishing yourselves in the eyes of the kids and parents? And 2 hours a week. You should have just done the full job and let the courts decide.

[wec1]

Congratulations Rick, you just gave new life to the teacher bashers. The fact of the matter is that the school committee ignored a legal binding contract. Anyone that works under a contract should take notice.