PINE RICHLAND RESIDENTS...increase in school taxes/teacher contract negotiations....are you concerned? (Pittsburgh: chapel, how much)

[southeastlady]

There are a group of concerned Pine Richland residents who have formed a grass roots effort to clearly espress to both the school board and the teacher's union their feelings regarding escalating property taxes and run away spending in the school district.

A sub group of 14 of these people put together in the form of a petition, issues that should be included in the ongoing contract negotiations. This petition was signed by 46 of your fellow citizens. It was presented to the Board at the July 16th meeting and reinforced with testimony from 4 of the members.

If you are equally concerned and would like to become a part of this grass roots effort, please indicate such in a post to this thread. I will direct email, through this thread, contact information for you. This contact can provide you with the teacher's present salaries, supplemental income and benefit summary as well as access to the petition.

If you want to become a part of this effort, please attend the next school board meeting if you have like concerns and let your voice be heard. All attendees are given the opportunity to speak if they so choose.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 13th at 7:30 pm in the administration building on the school campus.

Thank you..

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by southeastlady

There are a group of concerned Pine Richland residents who have formed a grass roots effort to clearly espress to both the school board and the teacher's union their feelings regarding escalating property taxes and run away spending in the school district.
'
A sub group of 14 of these people put together in the form of a petition, issues that should be included in the ongoing contract negotiations. This petition was signed by 46 of your fellow citizens. It was presented to the Board at the July 16th meeting and reinforced with testimony from 4 of the members.
'
If you are equally concerned and would like to become a part of this grass roots effort, please indicate such in a post to this thread. I will direct email, through this thread, contact information for you. This contact can provide you with the teacher's present salaries, supplemental income and benefit summary as well as access to the petition.

If you want to become a part of this effort, please attend the next school board meeting if you have like concerns and let your voice be heard. All attendees are given the opportunity to speak if they so choose.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for Monday, August 13th at 7:30 pm in the administration building on the school campus.

Thank you..

southeastlady,

Can you provide the forum with the facts and issues that were presented to the school board?

[southeastlady]

Originally Posted by eccotecc

southeastlady,

Can you provide the forum with the facts and issues that were presented to the school board?

Dear eccotecc,

Thank you for your request, however, I will not be able to provide you with the personal email address of the main representative for our grass roots effort who possesses all the information noted in my thread.

According to one of your posts dated 7/17/12, you indicated that you are a member of the California Teachers Association. The information in the petition presented to our local school board is of such a nature that it would only be of benefit to those tax payers in our school district located in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I do, however, wish you continued success as a member of the CTA.

[WhoIsStanwix?]

Are you spamming or are you going to post some facts? This is a discussion forum, not an advertising board. Please post so the undoubtedly many interested parties can discuss, including many visitors who are considering relocation to the Pittsburgh metro and specifically P-R SD which generally is pretty highly regarded.

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by southeastlady

Dear eccotecc,

Thank you for your request, however, I will not be able to provide you with the personal email address of the main representative for our grass roots effort who possesses all the information noted in my thread.

According to one of your posts dated 7/17/12, you indicated that you are a member of the California Teachers Association. The information in the petition presented to our local school board is of such a nature that it would only be of benefit to those tax payers in our school district located in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

I do, however, wish you continued success as a member of the CTA.

It looks to me like a done deal for the administration. Are teachers negotiating a similar contract?

School Board Approves Compensation Plans - Pine-Richland, PA Patch

[gg]

Seems there is some history in the Pine Richland district. They were going to cut Physical education and some other subject as well as raise property taxes over 4%. Seem the average school tax bill in PR is about $3700 a year for residents. Oh yeah, that is JUST the school tax each and every year. So you have a district looking to cut things for students AND they have that kind of money coming in from the average resident. Something is clearly broken.

[eccotecc]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

Seems there is some history in the Pine Richland district. They were going to cut Physical education and some other subject as well as raise property taxes over 4%. Seem the average school tax bill in PR is about $3700 a year for residents. Oh yeah, that is JUST the school tax each and every year. So you have a district looking to cut things for students AND they have that kind of money coming in from the average resident. Something is clearly broken.

h_curtis,

I looked at the teachers' salaries and they didn't look that high. A few teachers topped out around 85,000 with close to 30 years of service. You can check on-line and see how much each teacher earns in the state.

[southeastlady]

Originally Posted by WhoIsStanwix?

Are you spamming or are you going to post some facts? This is a discussion forum, not an advertising board. Please post so the undoubtedly many interested parties can discuss, including many visitors who are considering relocation to the Pittsburgh metro and specifically P-R SD which generally is pretty highly regarded.

No spamming on my part, simply an honest attempt to make concerned tax payers aware that there is a mechanism that has been put into place for them to get involved and let their voices be heard.

You asked for facts....here goes:

According to the official salary schedule, there are 66 teachers that make an access of $92,000 per year. These salaries are all based on tenure and not on performance. The district spends $564,000 on supplemental income per year. An example of this type of expenditure is payment for 7 coaches for the varsity football team.

Teacher's only contribute 5% towards their benefit plan.

The teacher's also work a total of 193 days a year.

[gg]

Originally Posted by southeastlady

No spamming on my part, simply an honest attempt to make concerned tax payers aware that there is a mechanism that has been put into place for them to get involved and let their voices be heard.

You asked for facts....here goes:

According to the official salary schedule, there are 66 teachers that make an access of $92,000 per year. These salaries are all based on tenure and not on performance. The district spends $564,000 on supplemental income per year. An example of this type of expenditure is payment for 7 coaches for the varsity football team.

Teacher's only contribute 5% towards their benefit plan.

The teacher's also work a total of 193 days a year.

I think one of the biggest problems facing residents of our region is the benefit plans and retirement. They kill long term planning and also will have kids suffering in the future due to the fact that people CAN'T afford the taxes. Sure there are some people that make tons of money and can afford it year in and year out, but many people can't. It is a bad situation and it isn't going to get any better. This isn't just a Pine Richland issue. I do want to thank you for your post and enlightenment. I think these issues need to be discussed when districts are budgeting. It isn't a popular subject and the people all pumped up on Pittsburgh, really need to have a look at the situation most all of us face. My taxes in the Fox Chapel district have gone up every year without any daylight in site. There are lots of people that will have to move. When people see the words, "Fox Chapel", they always assume, oh you mean the rich people. Believe me there are a ton of people that are far from rich. Lots of homes under 100K and under 150K in the district. Several under $60K. Yes, there are some homes over $3 million, but they are few in comparison.

Anyway, the subject is about Pine Richland and the situation they face. It is great they have a little grass roots effort to show the school board that the residents are tired of tax increases and less service. Teachers ARE overpaid in our region AND the retirements are going to be longterm costs that will really make each district suffer. Not to mention the state is trying to actually budget some money for a change instead of just living off massive debt. This is all coming to a head and what needs to happen is cutting costs.

[southeastlady]

Originally Posted by h_curtis

I think one of the biggest problems facing residents of our region is the benefit plans and retirement. They kill long term planning and also will have kids suffering in the future due to the fact that people CAN'T afford the taxes. Sure there are some people that make tons of money and can afford it year in and year out, but many people can't. It is a bad situation and it isn't going to get any better. This isn't just a Pine Richland issue. I do want to thank you for your post and enlightenment. I think these issues need to be discussed when districts are budgeting. It isn't a popular subject and the people all pumped up on Pittsburgh, really need to have a look at the situation most all of us face. My taxes in the Fox Chapel district have gone up every year without any daylight in site. There are lots of people that will have to move. When people see the words, "Fox Chapel", they always assume, oh you mean the rich people. Believe me there are a ton of people that are far from rich. Lots of homes under 100K and under 150K in the district. Several under $60K. Yes, there are some homes over $3 million, but they are few in comparison.

Anyway, the subject is about Pine Richland and the situation they face. It is great they have a little grass roots effort to show the school board that the residents are tired of tax increases and less service. Teachers ARE overpaid in our region AND the retirements are going to be longterm costs that will really make each district suffer. Not to mention the state is trying to actually budget some money for a change instead of just living off massive debt. This is all coming to a head and what needs to happen is cutting costs.

You are absolutely right. The bloated defined benefit Public Employees Pension Plan will be the real nut to crack going forward. This applies to every state, not just PA. However, the unfunded 5 billion dollar future liability we face here in PA poses a mystery to both Democrats and Republicans. This will be the real tax issue in the future. In the meantime, hopefully our grass roots effort can at least have some beneficial impact on the present contract negotiations.