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Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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there are other options...
Reduce the overhead x2 (less schools / teachers staff needed)
Foreign Countries we lived had 2 sessions / day 7AM -12 noon , then the next batch (40+ students) arrive 1PM - 6PM. Teachers managed the double classes. Kids used Public transit, so no need for bus. (in rural places mom just brought 3+ kids to school on the scooter), or you could hire a scooter for <$0.50
My daughter is a Colorado teacher. She works 50+ hours a week. If they cut to a four day week, she woudl still work 50 plus hours a week. On Friday, she could work at home. That would be nice now that she has a home.
Colorado pay is not horrible. In some states many young teachers qualify for food stamps.
However, if you read the thread through, you will learn that this particular district is suburban Denver. It's a far-out suburb, to be sure, but it's part of the metro area.
That's a valid point, its certainly not just the rural areas being effected. However, I still think this shortage comes down to lack of money. Colorado teacher pay is pretty abysmal especially when the cost of living (especially in the Denver area) had been steadily rising. I have a few friends who teach out there and yes they don't qualify for food stamps or anything like that but they're also not making what they should be- though that could be said for just about every teacher in America.
They are saving $1 million dollars, $700,000 of which is from transportation. It is 0.6% of their budget. These numbers can be found in the thread if you READ IT. https://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/04/...ries-colorado/ "CBS4 analyzed 100,000 educator salaries obtained through an open records request. The average teacher salary in Colorado is $52,000. . . But, the big take away – where you work determines how much, or how little, you make. . . Scroll around our interactive map below to compare the average salary of teachers in different school districts."
They are saving $1 million dollars, $700,000 of which is from transportation. It is 0.6% of their budget. These numbers can be found in the thread if you READ IT. https://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/04/...ries-colorado/ "CBS4 analyzed 100,000 educator salaries obtained through an open records request. The average teacher salary in Colorado is $52,000. . . But, the big take away – where you work determines how much, or how little, you make. . . Scroll around our interactive map below to compare the average salary of teachers in different school districts."
With many government agencies you need to look at how much discretionary money it provides. Thus while it may be a small fraction of their overall budget, much of their budget is locked up in things like retirement costs, medical coverage, mandatory building maintenance. If the district has three million left that it can spend on improvements to their system (better paid teachers, better or more learning tools, maybe a music program, mathaletes, AP class training and certification, etc) then $1 million in savings is huge, even if their overall budget is $100 million. What really matters is available funds, not total budget.
They hae to pay more in Denver metro becuase the cost of living within commuting rang e of most DSD schools is much higher than other parts of Colorado. Other issues like the added time spent commuting becomes a factor. It becomes a matter of what does it take to attract decent teachers? If they get paid $10,000 less in a smaller city, but pay $7,500 less for housing and have a 45 minutes a day shorter drive time - then $34,000 provides a better quality of life than $44,000. Thus Denver needs to pay at least $10,000 more to attract good teacher A, than say Fruitia does.
In considering teacher salaries you need to consider cost of living. My daughter moved from Arizona to Denver and got a $10,000 increase. However the cheapest apartment they could find in Denver was $1000 more per month than their apartment in Arizona. Her share of that is $500 a month or $6,000 in after tax dollars, so close to $7500 of her pay increase just for increased housing costs. Adding in the other increases in cost of living and she was only a little better off making $44,000 in Denver than $34,000 in Arizona. She may have netted a $500 a year increase (before taxes).
So seemingly good pay in Denver needs to be considered in light of the cost of living. For someone with 5 years of schooling, a 50 hour work week and a requirement to continue additional schooling over time, that is not really great pay. Her sister who works as an apprentice laborer in a Michigan labor labor union, makes more per year and she has a much lower cost of living.
Last edited by Coldjensens; 09-06-2018 at 07:04 AM..
With many government agencies you need to look at how much discretionary money it provides. Thus while it may be a small fraction of their overall budget, much of their budget is locked up in things like retirement costs, medical coverage, mandatory building maintenance. If the district has three million left that it can spend on improvements to their system (better paid teachers, better or more learning tools, maybe a music program, mathaletes, AP class training and certification, etc) then $1 million in savings is huge, even if their overall budget is $100 million. What really matters is available funds, not total budget.
They hae to pay more in Denver metro becuase the cost of living within commuting rang e of most DSD schools is much higher than other parts of Colorado. Other issues like the added time spent commuting becomes a factor. It becomes a matter of what does it take to attract decent teachers? If they get paid $10,000 less in a smaller city, but pay $7,500 less for housing and have a 45 minutes a day shorter drive time - then $34,000 provides a better quality of life than $44,000. Thus Denver needs to pay at least $10,000 more to attract good teacher A, than say Fruitia does.
In considering teacher salaries you need to consider cost of living. My daughter moved from Arizona to Denver and got a $10,000 increase. However the cheapest apartment they could find in Denver was $1000 more per month than their apartment in Arizona. Her share of that is $500 a month or $6,000 in after tax dollars, so close to $7500 of her pay increase just for increased housing costs. Adding in the other increases in cost of living and she was only a little better off making $44,000 in Denver than $34,000 in Arizona. She may have netted a $500 a year increase (before taxes).
So seemingly good pay in Denver needs to be considered in light of the cost of living. For someone with 5 years of schooling, a 50 hour work week and a requirement to continue additional schooling over time, that is not really great pay. Her sister who works as an apprentice laborer in a Michigan labor labor union, makes more per year and she has a much lower cost of living.
I am not in need of a tutorial about how expensive Denver is (though Brighton may be a little less should a teacher choose to live there). You are the one who said that "Colorado pay is not horrible". I agreed and looked up some numbers.
Thank you all for the lively discussion. As often with long threads like this, posters don't tend to read every post and often make duplicate comments and the conversation gets frustrating for everyone and that never ends well. Thread closed. Have a nice weekend, everyone!
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