Manatee Schools cutting salaries & jobs (Sarasota, Bradenton: apartments, to rent, homes)

[Ladywithafan]

Manatee schools impose 1% pay cut
By SYLVIA LIM
slim@bradenton.com


MANATEE --In Manatee County schools, wallets and pocket books are about to get lighter.

In a unanimous vote, the Manatee County school board Wednesday agreed to cut 1 percent from hourly non-unionized employees and 2 percent from some administrators.

The vote came after a lengthy discussion by board members - some who appeared a little hesitant at making a decision Wednesday - and several Manatee residents who urged the board against the move.

Among them was Pat Barber, president of the Manatee Education Association, who told the board she was speaking as a taxpayer and concerned citizen.

"It's unfair for your employees to not look at other options," she told the board, adding that she hoped that they would delay the decision.

Later, school board member Walter Miller disagreed with her.

"I'm upset at what Ms. Barber said," he said. "We don't really have a lot of choice."

The board also talked about pay cuts and layoffs, and how one could not guarantee the other would not happen.

Superintendent Roger Dearing said there have been layoffs already within the district administration.

Fifty-one jobs have been cut; 14 of them by contracts that weren't renewed, he said.

As for school-based jobs, 86 clerical and other support staff have been told they will not be returning to their jobs next year, he said.

But they were told that they will be considered first when positions at other schools become open if they qualify for them, he said. Some of those have been rehired already.

Administrators are also in the process of allocating teachers proportionately at schools, meaning some teachers will be moved whether they want to be or not..

The board's Wednesday decision is the first of several that involve pay cuts.

The local support staff union that represents about 1,000 bus drivers and custodians has tentatively agreed on a contract that includes a 1 percent pay reduction for most members. Part-time food service workers will not face the same cuts.

The district has proposed a 1 percent cut for teachers by taking away two days that have been set aside for training, Dearing said. Those days were added to the teachers contract four years ago.

The district has also invoked a state statute that allows both parties to start and end bargaining in 14 days in times of financial urgency. If an agreement is not reach, an impasse can be declared.

The deadline was Tuesday and the district extended it to Wednesday by sending the union their proposal.

The union declined to come to the table under "the constraints of financial urgency," Barber said.

Earlier in the meeting, administrators also showed the board how teachers' salaries in Manatee ranked compared to other districts in the state. Teacher salaries vary according to their education degrees, but overall, Manatee ranked in the top 10 in each category, ranging from No. 7 in beginning salaries for those with master's degrees to No. 2 for beginning salaries for those with bachelor's degrees.

The board also asked administrators to come up with a presentation that depicts the entire budget cut process - the proposed layoffs and pay cuts since talks of the cuts begun - at the next meeting scheduled for June 23.

[pamperedrachel]

First of all, I'm sorry for anyone who lost their job but overall it doesn't seem too bad. I'm sure that the cuts could have been a lot worse.

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by pamperedrachel

First of all, I'm sorry for anyone who lost their job but overall it doesn't seem too bad. I'm sure that the cuts could have been a lot worse.

Then next round of layoffs is between 300-400 jobs...that might be a bit worse, don't you agree?

[Racelady88]

That will be a hard pill to swallow for the teacher who lives across the street from me. Her husband lost his job 15 months ago and has been unable to find work (construction) and they have been struggling badly.

[Edvard]

They have already given some people notice, but it hasn't even really started yet.
The Dearing's replacement will be under the gun to not "spend like the last guy"
It won't be good for anyone in education.

[Edvard]

I feel obliged to add a few things.
I know there will be tons of confusion.
Those of you in Manatee County were lucky to have Dearing, he brought you out of the dark ages. The old days of push starting the old school buses, the nasty old moldy schools etc etc are probably already forgotten. It's sad that when there is money all the big shots get to buy what they want like the last days of the Roman Empire. 2 Hybrid school buses for half a million bucks. 4 WD Durangos and Explorers for office staff to go to lunch at Noreens in (14MPG tops). Turning 2 late model wheel chair buses into computer labs, then never using them ($80,000 each to convert plus the value of the bus itself). Color copiers all over the place. New MAC's left and right. The office park they just bought on 301. On and on. But when it's time to cut, you get rid of the custodians, lunch room people, mechanics, resource officers, counselors. You're gonna feel it.

I'm sure there will be at least 400 cuts, but you won't actually see them walk up to 400 people and cut them loose. There are job openings that won't get filled, people retiring, stuff like that. If they're smart, they won't cut people, they'll cut positions. They will tell someone that they evaluated their position and they can get by without it, so that person can apply for some other job if it's open, like bus driver or whatever. Then maybe they have 180 still to cut....start drug testing. You can catch quite a few that way. Then come up with a hit list, people you wouldn't miss. See what websites they have been on, check their timecards. Bam! You're there.

But, like I said, they won't be cutting at the top.

[rickylmmo]

This is the 2nd post I have read.Each one was started by the same person.That person must be in a very negtive mood.
I hope the next one I read will have something postive to say.
I travel a lot and I have to tell you,it is bad all over.
Yes,it is lousy and I feel sorry for all involved. I have already had a pay cut but if I go around with a negative attitude what good will that do me or my family.
Make us all feels worse!

[Oobie119]

Im sorry I can't say anything positive about Manatee county, other than their decent pay and benefits. I used to teach in Manatee, but left for a private school. My husband is a carpenter for the school district and everyone was outraged with the purchase of 2 hybrid buses. Many of the schools in the county are in awful condition, they are in need of new desks, new plumbing and the portables are old and some even moldy! I will say that Dearing has tried to do some good things, but his priority should have been the schools. It's not fair for the teachers and students. The buses hardly benefited the staff and students, same with the new fancy computers. These new updated things did nothing but make Dearing look "good" to some people, but to others, they made him look like a spendthrift who doesn't know how to manage money. Fix up those schools for the teachers and kids!.. JMO

[loves2read]

I live in TX and was teacher there -- am retired--have a daughter that teaches in Sarasota county for past 3 years as well

I find that in FL and most other states--schools are only as good as the people who live in the communities and really become involved in watching what the school board and admin do--you have to have quality, committed people to the good of the community--not just a niche of their friends or social order...

if you do not have knowledgeable people on the board who can see the long haul, you are just doomed....they have to be willing to make people mad and say no to the RIGHT thing -- and that does not always mean cutting funding or buying something that seems appropriate--like hybrid school busses--

it is not about race or even their own educational background--but some people are smart enough to know when admins are just going nuts---and put a stop to it

we have been pretty lucky in our district in the 25 years we lived here--it was one of the best in TX when we moved with plenty of white collar, professional families and well-paid blue collar ones--over the years--demographics have changed--we have apartments which were built to cater to single professionals but because the ISD was so good people from Fort Worth wanted to move in--cheap rent but good schools...
the apts tried to fight them but there was Supreme court decision on class-action basis at tht time which said that apts could not refuse to rent to families with children as long as the # of residents was withing legal limits--
so that marked the decline in our district--we have lots of families with unstable home lives whose kids come with lots of problems that the ISD can't always solve but have to deal with the side effects--many special needs and ESL kids as well--they often move every 2-3 mo because of financial crisis which means school hopping--

plus the fact that our town was built out--no room for new construction in higher $$$--people who moved from California and Conneticut no longer could afford to move into homes in our neighborhoods--they had to move where they equity could buy more house---so we suffered because the pool of possible buyers became less and less upwardly mobile...

TX taxing situation is not the easiest to stomach but we have taxed ourselves to put money into our schools and it is the state--not the local govt--which has come up short with funding--the state refused to provide ITS fair share and then takes money from individual districts that have "too much" to pay to poor districts with lower tax base...
that is just stealing IMO and the change in the law is not making that big a difference...

we have been lucky that our board and admin have been able to pay well enough to keep our teachers and to fund some very good special programs--
I am hoping with the gas price situation that more people will want to move here and we will have a resurgance of younger families moving into older neighborhoods because we are close to FTW and some of the other areas like DFW/Las Colinas--

I think having county wide districts is just too unweildy--there are too many conflicting issues to deal with and seem to be "fair" to all--while it might generate a lot of tax money for funding--there are also MANY expenses to content with and as in any business the tendency to have top-heavy admin vs ground level staffs...
I think almost any ISD could get rid of 20% of its admin (headquarter staff) and still be as efficient--if they had people who worked--
I find that the times I have been in the admin bldg at my ISD the clerks are busy talking to each other and the admins are in meetings--most of the time, there is nothing getting done in a meeting except setting the time for the next meeting

I worry for my daughter--she is really a gifted teacher and loves children--but I wish she had continued with the speech pathology career that she originally intended...

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by rickylmmo

This is the 2nd post I have read.Each one was started by the same person.That person must be in a very negtive mood.
I hope the next one I read will have something postive to say.
I travel a lot and I have to tell you,it is bad all over.
Yes,it is lousy and I feel sorry for all involved. I have already had a pay cut but if I go around with a negative attitude what good will that do me or my family.
Make us all feels worse!

Let me explain something to you...it's not about being negative, it's about being REAL.

People that want to relocate to the Bradenton/SRQ area need to realize what they're buying into; it's not a vacation when you live here.