More first-year teachers get $50K (income, work, health)

[JerseyGirl08]

I am one of those who think teachers have a pretty good deal. I start to wonder if I made a mistake not going into that field myself.
3 very good friends as well as my sister are teachers and they are the 1st ones to tell you they have it made. 2 teach Gym, 1 Computers in a Lower Class area and the other is a 4th grade teacher. The 4th Grade Teacher has it the hardest but the others are living the easy life. They leave early and do NO work at home and they make very good money for what they do.
On a side note 2 girls from my HS who got left back and wound up taking the GED are now teachers... these girls couldn't walk and talk at the same time without getting confused. It doesn't give teachers too much credit in my eyes.

[b75]

ehhh I don't know about underpaid/overpaid. I think if they do their job well, the hours will be very long, those that slack or put in the minimum well then they are overpaid. But to survive in NJ the payrates do need to go up.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by kristin1

I just had to bump this thread. I just received a job offer as a school nurse practitioner, basically providing health care, doing check-ups, immunizations, and such in a school setting. The job was listed as a part-time job. I interviewed assuming part-time means 2 or 3 days per week. Nope - it's teachers hours, 5 days per week. It's because I'd have summers off.

The reason for the disparity - the school board has partnered with a hospital and the hospital actually employs the nurse practitioner. The hospital goes by true number of hours worked. If the school board had been the employer, the job would have certainly been full-time.

The job requires attending back to school nights, conferences/appointments with parents after school hours, and teaching a few health classes every day. So the teachers I'd be working with are full-time employees, but I'd be a part-time employee, working the exact same hours.

The disparity really irritates me, but I'm used to getting paid only for hours I've worked in my field, so I'm considering it.

well, one *can* look at it as outsourcing to save taxpayer money, right? just goes to show if you cut something, *someone's* gonna be pissed. it's really a no-win.

[CuCullin]

Originally Posted by tahiti

well, one *can* look at it as outsourcing to save taxpayer money, right? just goes to show if you cut something, *someone's* gonna be pissed. it's really a no-win.

I'm not getting it - whats the no-win portion?

kristin1 said she is used to getting paid based on hours worked - meaning, she gets to work something else during the summer if she'd like. she's simply being considered part time based on total hours per year.

Who's pissed?

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by CuCullin

I'm not getting it - whats the no-win portion?

kristin1 said she is used to getting paid based on hours worked - meaning, she gets to work something else during the summer if she'd like. she's simply being considered part time based on total hours per year.

Who's pissed?

i didn't mean *she* was pissed per se, I was just saying that when you cut something, the one on the receiving end isn't going to be happy. someone's always going to complain (meaning "no win"). that's all.

but she *did* say she was irritated.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by tahiti

but she *did* say she was irritated.

She's probably irritated because she's working "fulltime" by school standards, but isn't entitled to the benefits, pension, etc., that true "fulltime" school district employees get. Instead, she's likely getting "parttime" benefits from her employer, which probably aren't even close to comparable. Oh well.....

[nic529]

IMO this is just a part of the issue. I have no problem paying the teachers well. I do have a problem with 50K for a rookie however. There's also the issue of consolidation. In my High School District (only the middle and high school) there are 5 elementary schools that atttend - each elementary school is considered its own district therefore has its own superintendant and pays separately for all supplies etc. Each school also has a somewhat different curriculum - so when the kids end up in 7th grade together they are all at different levels. This makes no sense for the budget or for the kids. And I know that my district is not the only one in NJ that does this.

[CuCullin]

Originally Posted by tahiti

i didn't mean *she* was pissed per se, I was just saying that when you cut something, the one on the receiving end isn't going to be happy. someone's always going to complain (meaning "no win"). that's all.

but she *did* say she was irritated.

Nothing got cut - its a job opening. She's irritated likely for the reasons Bob mentioned. Since she is still considering it, I would say its likely appropriate pay for the job, and she would get summers off to do as she pleases (including a summer job).

The simple fact to me, is that a starting salary generally is to be considered enough money to survive on without needing a second job. To me its enough money to rent a place (maybe with roommates), put food on the table, and occasionally go out to dinner or watch a movie. To me, its roughly $35k/yr. Just like any other job, its a starting salary.

[joe moving]

Cu I came up with a pretty close number. About 40k. As a working professional, renting, working and driving to work in New Jersey, you pretty much NEED to make 40k to get by. 10k taxes, take home 30k and spend all of it. Could get by on 35k.

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by CuCullin

Nothing got cut - its a job opening. She's irritated likely for the reasons Bob mentioned. Since she is still considering it, I would say its likely appropriate pay for the job, and she would get summers off to do as she pleases (including a summer job).

The simple fact to me, is that a starting salary generally is to be considered enough money to survive on without needing a second job. To me its enough money to rent a place (maybe with roommates), put food on the table, and occasionally go out to dinner or watch a movie. To me, its roughly $35k/yr. Just like any other job, its a starting salary.

OMG!!! GUYS!!!

I am NOT saying she is wrong or right in being irritated, nor am I saying she's under or overpaid or she should be considered full or part time.

I am taking her "micro" situation and making a "macro" point, if that makes sense.

People complain about high taxes and how much money we're spending to pay teachers, admins, what have you. Kristin brings up a personal situation about how she's not being treated the same as a teacher. ALL I SAID was "you can think of it as saving taxpayer money" and my next point was "here's a situation where $$$ may be being saved, but someone (not necessarily Kristin) will get pissed. It's a no win. You cut services, someone's angry. You fund services, someone else gets angry".

THAT'S IT! I'm not talking about starting salaries and what they should or shouldn't be! BTDT, got the t-shirt, don't need to go round and round again on it!