By Mr. J

June 6, 2007 12:56 PM | Link to this

I think most people are forgetting one thing. Teaching is a job. With the size of the teaching union, teachers need to take advantage of it’s strength and demand change from the respective Districts. I’m not talking about monitarily, but better work conditions. The District chooses to tolerate bad behavior and lack of parent involvement in a child’s life. Use this power to improve your work environment and enjoy teaching because the hours and benefits arefar better than average. The teachers quoting previously need to start being honest. How about you go out and find a job that is better for comparible wages and hours. Your teachers, we respect that, but don’t cry about your choice of means to make a living. Everyone has the option to change. It simply boils down to choice.

By pstoff

June 6, 2007 9:54 AM | Link to this

Hey Jay, Ever hear of free lunch, bus transportation, one on one student aids, class size reductions? That is where your tax money goes! My weekends aren’t my own when I spend hours grading papers, planning for the next week and shopping for supplies I pay for from my own pocket. Oh yea and then there are the ball games I go to because some kids have no one else to cheer them on, the extra food I buy for a homeless student. And with everyone pissing and complaining abou the taxes in PBC and our great leaders promising to reduce them where the hell does that leave us. You should be pissed that we don’t ever see a penny of your tax dollars! So shut up! You have no idea what it’s like to walk anywhere in our shoes. I’ve worked “regular” jobs before and made more money, but was incredibly unsatisfied. Teaching is my calling and I am living with the reduction in pay. I would give back all the money I’ve made this year if jerks like you would stop talking about thing you know nothing about. Stop trying to act like you know. You and most everyone else have NO EARTHLY IDEA WHAT A TEACHER ACTUALLY DOES. Sorry that we make it look so easy, but that too is just part of the job. This district would be in shambles if we acted on our actual feelings! Ever hear of a strike? But we wouldn’t do that because it would not benefit the kids. And that is who all of this is really about.

By Saturdays and Sundays Off

June 5, 2007 10:58 PM | Link to this

Wow, Mr. Finnegan. Your comments are so astute that it is difficult to believe that you do not want to enter the teaching profession. After all, my six months worth of vacation time make the stress of the job so worthwhile! First, in case you forgot what you math teacher told you, the average is sum of all the amounts divided by the total number of teachers in the system. That means that there are many teachers that are on the high side and many more on the low side. As a matter of fact, you can actually find out what a teacher makes per year of experience by going to www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us. To save you some trouble, a teacher that has 14 years of experience, no problems on their records, and are certified still make under $50,000 a year. After 14 years on the job!

Of course, it is also obvious that you are not in any type of finance. Yes, tax dollars do fund education. However, that includes textbooks, computers, software, facilities, salaries, electricity, desks, transportation, etc. If you want a higher quality of education, it does take an increase in funding.

I believe you stated that you worked 6 days to support your household. One would think you would understand the difficulty of stretching a budget in times of higher costs.

Furthermore, the last time I checked, I have a 150 clients that I see on a daily basis. Not only must I communicate with them, I have the additional responsibility of reporting to their parents, the district, and the state. Oh yeah, there is the matter of assessment. So let’s pretend I am a slacker teacher. I only assign 10 short response questions in a week. That brings 1500 responses that need to be reviewed and responded to on a weekly basis. But I forgot, the district requires a minimum of 3 weekly. assignments or almost 4,500 comments to be reviewed and responded to on a weekly basis. I can’t remember the last time I had a full weekend off.

But since, I make so much a year, I am sure that I spent it working a second job. Before you criticize, try working not a day, not a week, but a full year in education, then comment. Until you do, either keep your negativity to yourself or get involved to create the type of district you would like to see. If you do neither, you’ve proven your lack of effort is less than that of a first year teacher who makes a little over $33,000 a year.

By EDUC8R

June 5, 2007 10:25 PM | Link to this

For the people who think being a teacher is easy and that they (teachers)are already paid “well” and have all this time off, I challenge you to become a teacher then. Even better, just be a SUBSTITUTE for a week or even a day. Maybe then you can see why 50% of new teachers LEAVE/QUIT the profession within 3 years of starting. It is a very challenging career for the little money you make. I know part time bartenders make more $ than I do…after teaching for 13 years!

By jay finnegan

June 5, 2007 8:25 PM | Link to this

I stand corrected….public school teachers do work 196 days….so the avg.$50,000 divided by 196 days is $255/day—-still not bad pay!!…also,most working people(including myself) i know here in south florida are working 6 days a week or 312 days/year…if i had every Saturday and Sunday off then every weekend i would consider as a vacation. Also, few people in Palm Beach County realize that 1/3 of your real estate tax bill goes to PUBLIC SCHOOLS—-where does all this money disappear to after its collection?…We should have Beverly Hills type schools will all the school tax money they collect in Palm Beach County…..

By A PBC teacher

June 5, 2007 7:44 PM | Link to this

To Jay:

Most people don’t work 365 days a year. A typical worker on a 8 hour day, 5 days a week schedule would work approximately 235 days a year. Teachers work 196 days in PBC, or approximately 40 days less. Please keep in mind that many teachers are making less than average salary of $42,000, or $214 per day. A good number of those teachers will spend the summer working in tutoring or summer school programs, participating in continuing education programs, and researching and improving their lesson plans for the upcoming year. Teachers frequently spend a good portion of their own money on supplies for their classrooms, so in effect that salary is going right back to the students. I also think it is unfair that substitute teachers are paid so little as they play an important role in education. Please don’t assume that all teachers want substitutes to be underpaid. The teachers in Palm Beach County simply want to be paid fairly and on time. I am sure that you would be upset if your employer did not notify you of a “glitch” that would result in you not being paid.

By jay finnegan

June 5, 2007 7:07 PM | Link to this

Wake up people! Why does everyone feel so bad for public school teachers. The average teacher earns $275/day for 180 days of work….they have the equivalent of 6 months off…..now they want an 8% raise to $297/hour…yet they want the substitutes to accept $95/day…..

By Susan Bellantonio

June 5, 2007 2:19 PM | Link to this

Ever since the district implemented People Soft it’s been nothing but problems. Now they are telling teachers they have to do without a check? That’s WRONG! No wonder teachers are leaving this area in droves…first the district charges them with making sure the FCAT scores are high then they hog tie the teachers’ hands when it comes to having some sort of order and discipline in their classrooms. Has anyone else had to listen to how these little animals talk to their teachers? It’s a crying shame that the district doesn’t do something about enforcing simple things like civility and manners. If I were a teacher I most assuredly would NOT work for PB County.

By - struggling to keep afloat

June 5, 2007 1:01 PM | Link to this

It’s likely that if teachers were compensated appropriately there wouldn’t be financial concerns. Real estate, taxes, gas and food costs make it impossible to stay in Palm Beach County, and likely that living pay check to pay check is what all of the dedicated, hardworking, caring teachers do, in spite of the hardship.

By JOHNNY

June 5, 2007 12:39 PM | Link to this

i am more than happy that teachers get paid they are they ones that are taking care of our kids while we work. And they are formating the greates minds of this country