Bellevue teacher's strike... (Seattle, Starbuck: to rent, home, school)

[swinky]

Let me start by saying, the Bellevue School district teachers are great. For the most part they are talented, dedicated and friendly educators who have wonderful students.

However, I'm very on the fence about this strike.

a) When you decided to become a teacher, you knew that teacher pay was low and maybe should have considered this more

b) you should have done it in the summer, if it's for the student's sake, then you wouldn't waste regular school days and would have solved this problem sooner

c) Considering that there are few problem children in this school system, I see why you aren't paid a lot (as weird as this may seem) because it's less to deal with

d) HOWEVER... the school district of Bellevue expects to be on the top of charts with tests and school ranking so they should get good teachers and expect to PAY them because good students deserve good teachers and good teacher DESERVE good pay.

e) Although teachers are underpaid by Bellevue's standards, they are paid pretty well considering how much they work. I know they grade papers and tests, but now a lot of it is peer editing. They get breaks and summers off and this is great for teacher parents. so really you work less than 9 months a year (approx.) SO... let's say your salary is $60,000 a year, working about 9 months, that means your paid about $6666.67 dollars for each of those months, or $5,000 a month for 12 months

f) Lots of Bellevue teachers don't live IN Bellevue, so that may not be an excuse because plenty of other jobs don't adjust with the cost of living and those people get by well.

either way- get the kids back to school and yes, I hope the best for the dedicated and well manered STUDENTS because they are kind of the reasons why these teachers have an easier job than those in lets say, Everett.

[SeattlitefromNC]

Originally Posted by swinky

a) When you decided to become a teacher, you knew that teacher pay was low and maybe should have considered this more

In 90% of this country, a teacher's salary does not exclude them from financing on a home.

Seattle and its Eastside suburbs are well within that 10% of places where teachers simply cannot afford to be a part of that community.

The way I see it is this: the cost of living means that the only way a teacher in the Bellevue district can avoid commuting into the district is by marrying someone making six figures. That bothers me.

If we are accepting that a significant number of these teachers are therefore commuting into the district to provide their decidedly high-quality services, then their salary needs to -- at the very least -- reflect the cost of commuting.

Also, again, if everyone agrees that Bellevue's teachers are among the best, then why NOT pay them more? As has been noted already, teachers in Marysville make more ... and the average cost of a home in Marysville is roughly half (at least) the cost of homes in Bellevue. Anyone qualified to teach the students of Bellevue can do that simple math. If they are not valued by the district, I would not be surprised to see them move on to districts with a more friendly cost of living ... where even a "poor teacher" salary can support home ownership.

[Ira500]

Teachers don't simply grade papers and tests. They have to put up with your children, and you know that ain't an easy task. Obviously people don't become teachers to get rich, but a lot of continuing education is required of them, and masters degrees are preferred by a lot of districts. Sure, they knew the pay was low when they went into the profession. So why did they choose to become teachers rather than become attorneys or software engineers? Because most of them want to give back to the community. They're not asking to be paid wages that are comparable to attorneys or software engineers.
The Seattle area is a very expensive area to live, but teacher salaries are not much higher than much less expensive places.
Again, why are Bellevue schools considered good? Is it simply that your children are just bright, and the teachers have nothing to do with it?

[jenlion]

Originally Posted by Ira500

Again, why are Bellevue schools considered good? Is it simply that your children are just bright, and the teachers have nothing to do with it?

Hmm. I don't know anything about the Bellevue SD, so I'm not knocking any specific, current teachers around here. However, I can tell you that my education had pretty much zip to do with competent teachers. I had a good teacher in 4th grade, and a good teacher in 8th grade, and that was it until college.

Like Allforcats said, we COULD whip out our SAT scores, but I understand they have changed formats in the last couple of years, so we couldn't really impress Tada (who is probably working under the new standard). Then what's the point? But I can say that I scored in the top 1% on every standardized test I took, and I only say THAT because I think it gives me the right to comment on education. And that it had pretty much zilch to do with the petty, silly, ineffective, brutal teachers I had over the years.

I would say that if Bellevue schools have a reputation for being good, then yeah, my money is on the kids being bright. They're probably from families who can better afford to educate them, who value education and are probably well-educated themselves, and who aren't busy fending off foreclosure, starvation, and general blight at every turn. Education's a bit of luxury after you take care of food, clothing, and shelter, and probably more of Bellevue than not is in better shape to look after those luxuries.

I'm guessing these teachers might have some better qualities than those found in lower-paying, tougher-to-work-in districts. And I know there are SOME teachers who have found their true calling, care about what they do, and postively impact the kids they work with. But in general, I know I'm not laying the hope for my kid's education at their feet. I hope that we're in a district that's SAFE, that provides a good FRAMEWORK for their education, and maybe, if we're lucky, gives him a good platform to learn. And sure, I hope he's bright (he can count to three now! woohoo!). And I hope he has more than a couple of good teachers to work with, and I hope I'm not too stubborn and jaded to stand in their way. But unless things are radically different from what I saw growing, up, I'm not going to hope for a whole lot teacher-or-administration-wise, and I don't have a ton of sympathy for them either.

I DO understand that teachers are underpaid. I think that if we, as a society, decided to value them as much as we do engineers and lawyers, forgot the pink-collar history, and paid competitively, then we'd attract a higher calibre of people to the job. Then maybe things would improve. Until you're paying a livable, competitive wage anywhere, though, it's still all the same petty crap. I don't know how you break that cycle, but $5 or $10k isn't going to do it.

[70Ford]

My old high school is ranked like 255 out of 340....with 58 percent of students passing....and it wasn't any better when I attended.

I was raised poor. Like digging furniture out of the dumpster poor and whatever my dad killed was dinner, poor. I've eaten pretty much every adorable forest creature and beautiful bird you can think of. I've eaten sparrows that we ran a clothes hanger through and grilled them. I killed most of them, actually, with my BB gun.

I was also bright. I think "Bright" is genetics + hard work. I realized a long time ago that I may not have shirts with an alligator on them (double hand me downs, actually) and I may not have Nike shoes (Dollar General "Shoe bin" anyone?) and I may not drive a Porsche (I drove a 66 GMC farm truck.) but by God, I have the same books as everyone else and I have the same amount of time as everyone else and...
and.... (Internal growling...)

When my grandfather was dying in the hospital he passed on a little gem. He told me "Get an education, son. They can't take that away from you." That was the last thing he ever said to me.
******************
Hrmmm...I got off topic. Oh well.

[jojo7]

Originally Posted by swinky

Let me start by saying, the Bellevue School district teachers are great. For the most part they are talented, dedicated and friendly educators who have wonderful students.

However, I'm very on the fence about this strike.

a) When you decided to become a teacher, you knew that teacher pay was low and maybe should have considered this more

b) you should have done it in the summer, if it's for the student's sake, then you wouldn't waste regular school days and would have solved this problem sooner

c) Considering that there are few problem children in this school system, I see why you aren't paid a lot (as weird as this may seem) because it's less to deal with

d) HOWEVER... the school district of Bellevue expects to be on the top of charts with tests and school ranking so they should get good teachers and expect to PAY them because good students deserve good teachers and good teacher DESERVE good pay.

e) Although teachers are underpaid by Bellevue's standards, they are paid pretty well considering how much they work. I know they grade papers and tests, but now a lot of it is peer editing. They get breaks and summers off and this is great for teacher parents. so really you work less than 9 months a year (approx.) SO... let's say your salary is $60,000 a year, working about 9 months, that means your paid about $6666.67 dollars for each of those months, or $5,000 a month for 12 months

f) Lots of Bellevue teachers don't live IN Bellevue, so that may not be an excuse because plenty of other jobs don't adjust with the cost of living and those people get by well.

either way- get the kids back to school and yes, I hope the best for the dedicated and well manered STUDENTS because they are kind of the reasons why these teachers have an easier job than those in lets say, Everett.

I was thinking the same dam thing. Why couldn't this be worked out over the summer? This made no sense to me at all! You also raised another valid point. Not many of the teachers reside where they work in Bellevue and I have found most teachers on my son's elementary school live in Seattle and elsewhere, not Bellevue so that argument really doesn't hold water to me. I agree, lets get these kids back to school ALREADY!

[secret_squirrel]

Originally Posted by jojo7

Why couldn't this be worked out over the summer? !

They tried. The contract didn't expire until the end of August. Typically, workers strike after the contract runs out (see Boeing Machinist Strike).

Bellevue does have a good educational system in place, by design and also for many of the reasons already mentioned - students come to school fed and ready to learn, have stable housing and family support of education. Their schools are also funded at a higher level than most other local districts. Why? Because Bellevue has an exemption that allows them to tax their property owners at a higher rate than is currently allowed by state law.

Anyone know why Marysville pays higher? They went out on strike several years ago. It lasted months and kids went to school into July. That is so tough on the Seniors who need to start college in the fall. But - it looks like their strike worked.

There is a lot of complaining about public education, but you get what you pay for in this world. It's our system. We currently have a shortage of qualified teachers. If you want better education - teachers who care enough to overlook the long hours, abuse and apathy from students and parents, and often shoddy materials - pay them a respectable salary that is commensurate with their degree and create competition.

[Where2Live?]

"Because...hey.....if you choose to live in an expensive part of town, you obviously deserve more money."

A Starbucks manager in San Francisco, CA earns more than a Starbucks manager in Omaha, Nebraska. This is not because the SF manager works harder; it's because he/she happens to live in a more expensive city. This is common sense - The company wants stores in SF and the people who work there need to pay their bills. COLAs!

Teachers don't need to make doctor, lawyer, CEO level salaries - but they do need to make a living. They don't need to live in mini-mansions- but they should be able to afford a decent home in the community in which they serve. If the cost of living in Bellluvue is blank% higher than it is in Blankville, a COLA should be included in the pay structure.

Of course the bigger issues here are (1)The growing divide in this country between the "haves" and the "have nots" and (2) the blatant disrespect for the teaching profession.

It used to be that choosing to become a teacher meant accepting (perhaps even embracing?) a middle-class existence. A modest lifestlye instead of fancy vacations, second homes, luxury cars, or designer duds. Now, teachers who teach in well-to-do communities are members of the working poor.

Bellevue doesn't value teachers enough to pay them respectable wages. Taxpayers here could probably afford to give more to the teachers - but let's face it; no one wants to part ways with their hard earned money. They'd rather spend it on more important things like fancy vacations, a 2nd home, an Ivy League education for junior, a new car, Nordstrom is having a sale this weekend.....

I wish the teachers of Bellevue the best of luck in settling this labor dispute. They have my support.

[seattlenextyear]

Um, well if junior gets into an Ivy League school, then I'm going to go ahead and pay that tuition, even if I have to eat beans and rice for 4 years.

[70Ford]

Originally Posted by Where2Live?

"Because...hey.....if you choose to live in an expensive part of town, you obviously deserve more money."

A Starbucks manager in San Francisco, CA earns more than a Starbucks manager in Omaha, Nebraska. This is not because the SF manager works harder; it's because he/she happens to live in a more expensive city. This is common sense - The company wants stores in SF and the people who work there need to pay their bills. COLAs!

Teachers don't need to make doctor, lawyer, CEO level salaries - but they do need to make a living. They don't need to live in mini-mansions- but they should be able to afford a decent home in the community in which they serve. If the cost of living in Bellluvue is blank% higher than it is in Blankville, a COLA should be included in the pay structure.

Of course the bigger issues here are (1)The growing divide in this country between the "haves" and the "have nots" and (2) the blatant disrespect for the teaching profession.

It used to be that choosing to become a teacher meant accepting (perhaps even embracing?) a middle-class existence. A modest lifestlye instead of fancy vacations, second homes, luxury cars, or designer duds. Now, teachers who teach in well-to-do communities are members of the working poor.

Bellevue doesn't value teachers enough to pay them respectable wages. Taxpayers here could probably afford to give more to the teachers - but let's face it; no one wants to part ways with their hard earned money. They'd rather spend it on more important things like fancy vacations, a 2nd home, an Ivy League education for junior, a new car, Nordstrom is having a sale this weekend.....

I wish the teachers of Bellevue the best of luck in settling this labor dispute. They have my support.

You copied that from somewhere.

Where? (Post the link.)


Edit...

Bullpucky. The average, decent house in King county costs $350K- $400K (and more+) dollars. As the sole breadwinner, I'd need to make $116,000 a year to afford that house. If me and the wife split equally, we'd need to make 80K a year, each.

Can a barista make 80K a year...FOR 30 YEARS? Hell, no.

I'm 36... my wife is 41. Can she make 80K a year at 71? What? Maybe she can...maybe she wants to stop working at 50. Or can she make that now? Nope. She doesn't work. She's a housewife. Which means....I need to make 116K a year to afford that house. Which I am not making. And probably won't make for at least a decade.

Is that my fault? Absolutely. Is it my fault that I chose to get a job and take care of my wife and kids and not go to college? Absolutely.

If I can't make 116K a year, I can't afford a house in King County. But I can afford rent. And we do love it here. Seattle is freaking awesome.