SMHS Student Protest for Teacher Pay
KEYT covered the San Marcos High student sit-down protest today over teacher pay. Students will face consequences for skipping class but what is the bigger lesson here? Sound off or on here....
posted by Sara De la Guerra | 2/02/2007 06:04:00 PM
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19 Comments:
I agree. For the results we get our teachers are overpaid!
Overpaid??? Keep dreaming. The administration is getting 3% raises but the teachers are suppose to be happy with a 1.5% raise after years of no raises at all. It is time to change the priorities.
Once the students become a tool in the negotiations between the union and the administration things are out of hand. It doesn't reflect well on either side and underscores one of the reasons why school performance is so dismal -- the kids rank at the bottom when it comes to matters of budget and spending.
The students becoming a tool between the union and the administration is not because of the union nor the administration....the students put themselves there by choice. They are frustrated by the ongoing negotiation, that for some reason with the Santa Barbara Schools District always takes forever. Goleta increased pay 5 or 6% this year...back in Sept! Carp did the same thing. Why does it ALWAYS take at least half of the school year for the Santa Barbara Schools District to get things in order?
An above comment said teacher are overpaid. Well, just like in any job in any sector, there are a few teachers who get paid way too much for what they actually do. But the vast majority of teachers are underpaid. The districts offer of a 1.5% increase is actually a pay cut when you consider the increase that teachers have to pay for health insurance (another by product of living in a small area and not having competition within the health services sector) and the usual everyday inflation of normal life.
Maybe asking for 6% is a little high, but other district WITH DECLINING ENROLLMENT have found a way to give their teachers at least 4-5% more this year when the state passed down money to them. Where did all the money go that Santa Barbara received? Dr. Sarvis received a 3% step increase and another year on his contract.
The Santa Barbara-Goleta-Carp area is going to have a problem with public service workers soon (if not already) SB is lucky that UCSB has one of the best teacher credential programs in the state. But if those young teachers get hired in the area and can only stay here two or three years because of the cost, how are things going to get better? We say school performance is dismal. In many parts of the state it is. Not in SB. We are lucky to have 3 excellent public high schools But if the turnover of teachers which is starting to happen now keeps increasing over the next few years, where will we be in 5-10 years?
If these people are in it for the money they have the wrong profession.
They should tend bar!
Some already tend bar. Others waitress. About 40% of the teachers in this area have a second job to help make ends meet or to be able to own something. And I dare you to find a single teacher who is "in it for the money." The teachers are not asking for anything huge, they just want to be able to keep up with the cost of living. It is already hard enough to buy a condo or home here. But if they were really worried about that, the union would be backing the district on the Tatum property and having teacher housing on it. But the teachers haven't said they wanted that. They just want to keep up with the cost of living.
So logically, the school district needs to sell its Hidden Valley property to the highest bidder so it can have enough money go give a bigger raise to the teachers.
Logical.
Hailing frequencies open.
To Mr. Spock -
What do you think the SB Schools District should do with the Hidden Valley and Tatum property? Is selling it the way to go? or building houses/condos like the Goleta school district has? Keep it the way it is?
Now let's look at teacher salaries unemotionally. What is fact is the average American worker toils away 2,080 hours per year (11.5) mths. to be rewarded with a two-week vacation. Teachers, given all the school vacations, holidays and summers work less than 7 mths. per year for salaries very similar to those with fairly equal preparation and equally difficult jobs. In reality, they would be part-time workers in the private sector. Their contracts call for them to be paid over 10 mths., however, they do work appreciably less than 10 mths. They have the opportunity to work a second job in the summer if they choose, do nothing at all, be with their kids, not incur day-care expenses - whatever suits them. We must also remember, health insurance is not a right nor is it mandatory that it be provided by ANY employer in this state. Heavens, my friends who are in the health care field as registered nurses have to pay for or significantly contribute to their insurance - no freebies or low-cost plans at Cottage Hospital! The whining is too much and the kids are being used as pawns - pathetic really. With our schools coming in on the bottom rung nationally, perhaps we are not even getting what we are paying for right now!
Anonymous 6:35 p.m.: Sorry, but you are yet another example of someone who just doesn't understand how teaching and teachers work, all emotions aside.
If you think teachers put in a standard 9-5 day and then go home and blitz out in front of the TV like you may do, you're wrong. They arrive at school early, and go home late, every school day, and often must put in overtime for after-school activities. Do you do the same at your job?
They spend countless evenings and weekends correcting papers and tests, all at home and on their "own time", making 80-100 hour weeks the norm rather than the exception. Do you constantly bring your work home with you and do the same?
And yes, teachers still have to work for their jobs during the summer. "Little" things like attend classes and seminars to maintain certification, or to try to rise in the ranks, or to comply with federal "no child left behind" regulations, and so on. Do you have to do the same?
Want to talk about real money? Teachers often have to pay out of pocket for common supplies for themselves and their kids as well, because school budgets just don't cover those things, and this of course cuts into their already measly salaries. I doubt you are constantly forced to buy supplies for your and your coworkers' jobs.
There's apparently a not-so-fine line between reality and the perception of it, when it comes to teaching. All teachers want is a decent wage, not the world.
I'm all for firing these teachers! How dare they use our kids for their gain!!!
12:15 am - with an attitude like that I hope you're not a teacher. Pure venom and not good for children!
to the above poster..how have the teachers used the kids for their gain???
3:40 PM - you don't think these kids could have thought of protesting all on their own do you?
to anon 3:40
Students are smarter than you think they are. Why don't you go to them and ask.
Judging from the defensive reaction in support of the whining teachers, someone must have hit a nerve.
This protest undermines them!
Maybe if teacher pay were raised SIGNIFICANTLY, then people who are SIGNIFICANTLY talented would be willing to replace the least talented teachers.
Pay the teachers what the cops are making and you won't need as many cops in this town. Too many kids are dropping out with a 6th grade education level and starting a life of crime.
What kind of place do we live in where sports and entertainers are so outragiously paid and the people that we entrust our children with hours daily are paid soooo poorly!! Spend a day in a classroom, any classroom... it's exhausting... then help that Teacher before school, after school... on the weekends... for good teachers the job doesn't end!! The chicken or the egg?? Bad educators low pay vs. good educators that are compensated well for the amazing job they do!! We are in a situation in our school district that is similar and we are discussing a student/parent/teacher walk out... a community that stands together will make a difference!!
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