Senate Bill 5 (Shaker Heights, Solon, Republic: tax, law, shops)

[Droolrockworm]

The STRS number can be decieving since the coverage is really bad. Health care under STRS is one of the reasons we have so many teachers not retiring when they are eligible to do so. I know the lady across the hall cannot afford to leave due to a major illness. As for health care costs it is a negotiated issue (one that the unions have been losing recently) and many have gone to a HSA which usually has at least a $3000 deductable. We have that and the schools pay for 1/2 of it but we have also taken 5 straight years of 0% raises. The point is that teachers have been giving back in this economic crisis yet are still seeing teachers laid off. The boards and administration spend money on many things that have nothing to do with education yet always look at the teachers first. Seems to me they may be running for higher office as a (R) since we cannot ask the wealthiest people in America to give an additional 3% yet we can target the teachers, police, fireman and working poor and ask them to give much more. How can so many of you support this????

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by EarthBound?

Heck, I want to do that now, move out of Ohio that is. Cold weather doesn't agree with me like it use to.

Where I live most of the kids here are Home schooled and are doing much better in college than most of their public school counter parts. Public schools seem to put sports on a higher level that they should and education takes a back seat. that's one of the main reasons why folks around here don't want to give the school any more money than they need. The teachers don't want to do anything that will challenge the students. Hell, they actually killed the gifted reading classes so they coulds save their useless sports program. Now what's that saying about the schools?

We have no police department out here, we depend on the Sheriffs deparments and they're about as useless as the teachers are out here. All of them have unions and all of them are a waste of time and money. If they're not willing to better themselves and keep up with the times, then let them go and get someone who is worth giveing a pay raise too.

Home schooling has consistently shown to be inadequate. Most parents just do not have the training or education to keep that kind of structured learning at home. Not to mention that home schooled kids just do not have the kind of social interaction they need to form healthy relationships.

Do you know why sports are sometimes given priority over other programs? Because sports bring in money, and when the gov't is constantly cutting the education budget, schools are going to make the logical choice to keep things that help them financially. This is not rocket science. It's not that sports are more important, it's that we as a nation could not give less of a crap about education. Of all the things that could be cut, we choose to attack education first. To attack teachers. Can anyone even think of another profession where you can get a Masters and still start out making $20K or less? This is the reality of teaching. It is not glamorous, it is way underpaid, and we as a nation apparently don't care. The benefits of education far outweigh the investment, and it is ironic that it is ignorance that propels us to look the other way.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by mdmagana

All of this talk about the "Poor Teachers" in WI and elsewhere... no sale here. Who else gets 2 weeks at Christmas, 1 week in the Spring, every minor holiday, and 10 weeks off in the Summer??? Teachers are great, God bless them, but the fact of the matter is that they work part-time! Why do they deserve a full-time salary?

I don't get this argument. So they get more time off than you, so that means they don't deserve it? Sorry, but if I thought that having a massage therapist available on a daily basis would be beneficial to them in improving education, I would be all for it. Regardless, it's clear that most of you have no idea what teaching involves.

[jbcmh81]

Originally Posted by wrightflyer

Does it really matter? Everyone, including those without college degrees that are in the workforce (enlisted military anyone?) pay those taxes that contribute to the teachers' salary and benefits.

And I'll gladly do it. Teaching should be one of the highest paid careers in this nation. Why do we not give a sh*t about education? Why are we concerned more about what teachers make and how much time they have off than we are about the quality of what they are giving us?

[rrtechno]

As for the "lavish pension and gold plated healthcare" that I have read about in the paper and in comments on other forums, I retired recently after 34 years in public education. I recently had to add my wife to my insurance through STRS as she lost her job and her COBRA benefits had expired. Due to a pre-existing condition (a malignant tumor removed 6 1/2 years ago with a clean bill of health since then) she was refused by private insurance companies. The amount withheld from my monthly benefit is now greater than the amount left that I receive. We are currently paying nearly $16,000 per year for our health insurance. If I didn't know so many people who had their entire savings wiped out by one unexpected illness, I would just put that money in a savings, but at least with the insurance, I can know what my maximum liability will be. But then let's just take away what little protections the public employees have.

[EarthBound?]

Originally Posted by jbcmh81

Home schooling has consistently shown to be inadequate. Most parents just do not have the training or education to keep that kind of structured learning at home. Not to mention that home schooled kids just do not have the kind of social interaction they need to form healthy relationships.

Do you know why sports are sometimes given priority over other programs? Because sports bring in money, and when the gov't is constantly cutting the education budget, schools are going to make the logical choice to keep things that help them financially. This is not rocket science. It's not that sports are more important, it's that we as a nation could not give less of a crap about education. Of all the things that could be cut, we choose to attack education first. To attack teachers. Can anyone even think of another profession where you can get a Masters and still start out making $20K or less? This is the reality of teaching. It is not glamorous, it is way underpaid, and we as a nation apparently don't care. The benefits of education far outweigh the investment, and it is ironic that it is ignorance that propels us to look the other way.

All the kids that we know that were home schooled are doing great in college. They tend to buckle down and work harder to get that education and not worry about how and who to socialize with. They're not worrying about (seeing and be seen), they want the education as many of them have told me.

And if it's big money that sports draws in, then that's good. Just leave our tax dollors to pay for teaching the kids and let the big money pay for all the sports programs, maintenance & up keep of the fields, transportation to all the event, iniforms, coaches salaries and everything else that goes with it.

And they chose that profession (teaching), so they need to deal with what comes with it. As a truck driver I have to deal with all the idiots out on the hi-ways doing their make-up, texting, flying through the hi-way work zones over the speed limit and not being able to work because of rain or snow. No one twisted my arm to get me to do this job, but it makes me feel good that I helped build this road or that road when I'm driving over them in my car later.

[EarthBound?]

Originally Posted by rrtechno

As for the "lavish pension and gold plated healthcare" that I have read about in the paper and in comments on other forums, I retired recently after 34 years in public education. I recently had to add my wife to my insurance through STRS as she lost her job and her COBRA benefits had expired. Due to a pre-existing condition (a malignant tumor removed 6 1/2 years ago with a clean bill of health since then) she was refused by private insurance companies. The amount withheld from my monthly benefit is now greater than the amount left that I receive. We are currently paying nearly $16,000 per year for our health insurance. If I didn't know so many people who had their entire savings wiped out by one unexpected illness, I would just put that money in a savings, but at least with the insurance, I can know what my maximum liability will be. But then let's just take away what little protections the public employees have.

Seems like (Socialized Medical Care) would have helped you guys out a great deal. It's a damn shame that the two of you have to go through any of this, you deserve better than to be just thrown away.

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by wrightflyer

From Worthington Education Association STATE TEACHERS RETIREMENT SYSTEM (http://www.worthingtonea.org/retirement/strsfaq.htm - broken link) Number 6. Bullitpoint 4 shows what the state contribution for retirement and health care is for the STRS of Ohio.

The retirement pension contribution is 10% (up from 9.3% as of 2003) but the health care cost is only 1% which was adjusted downward for the .7% increase in pension contribution.

Here's the official STRS homepage, but goodluck finding anything, cause it isn't very user friendly.

https://www.strsoh.org/default.htm

I am not sure what that means on the Worthington site. I know that there is a proposal now for the teachers to start paying 13% toward their retirement. They currently pay 10%, while the private sector pays only 4.2% into social security.

Health care for retirees is not guaranteed. STRS currently does provide health care to retirees at a cost. While I do not know the cost, I know the premiums have increased considerably in the past few years.

[KaraG]

Regarding the 10% paid towards retirement - isn't part of the problem that the public employees can retire at such a young age instead of working to 65 or longer like most private sector employees (if their companies stay in business that long..)? I've worked in both public & private and knew city employees & teachers who retired at 48 or 52, plus some were rehired and double dipped, receiving retirement plus a new salary.

If you're only around people who retire after 30 years of work, do you even realize that the rest of the taxpayers are working 45-50-60 years and see their point of view?

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by KaraG

Regarding the 10% paid towards retirement - isn't part of the problem that the public employees can retire at such a young age instead of working to 65 or longer like most private sector employees (if their companies stay in business that long..)? I've worked in both public & private and knew city employees & teachers who retired at 48 or 52, plus some were rehired and double dipped, receiving retirement plus a new salary.

If you're only around people who retire after 30 years of work, do you even realize that the rest of the taxpayers are working 45-50-60 years and see their point of view?

I understand your concern. The current proposal for reforming STRS has teachers paying 13%, maybe 14%, and working 35 years AND until age 65. I have also known people in the private sector that have retired at 50.

I do not know of any teachers that have retired and returned to teaching in their home state. I have heard of a few teachers retiring and moving to another state to teach. STRS is not really set up to have a teacher to both receive benefits and contribute into the retirement system at the same time. In education, it happens with administrators a lot. I do not think they are part of STRS. Which brings up another question. Does SB 5 prevent school district from paying into administrators retirement plans? Does it cap the board contribution to their health care?