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A family member of mine is a recently retired NYC public school teacher (unionized). Their salary was sickening (140+) along with their benefits package. However, the tradeoff is that taxes in that area are greater than my mortgage + taxes here for a larger house in a nicer neighborhood.
Some people in modest homes pay 14k+/year in taxes alone in NY. Not all of that money goes to education, but a large share of it does. Raising salaries for teachers (even deservedly so) would have a negative impact on many residents of the area.
Wow. You won't find any teachers here in SC with salaries in the $100,000's! With a Masters Degree AND National Board Certification AND 27 years' experience, I still make under $60,000! We (teachers) certainly aren't living "the good life" and living in upscale neighborhoods unless we have a spouse with a second income. Being divorced for many years and taking care of my elderly mother now, I am the sole income in my household, but we make do. I could be making much more $$$ if I had pursued different career paths, but I chose teaching, regardless of the low pay, because it was my calling and my gift.
A family member of mine is a recently retired NYC public school teacher (unionized). Their salary was sickening (140+) along with their benefits package. However, the tradeoff is that taxes in that area are greater than my mortgage + taxes here for a larger house in a nicer neighborhood.
Some people in modest homes pay 14k+/year in taxes alone in NY. Not all of that money goes to education, but a large share of it does. Raising salaries for teachers (even deservedly so) would have a negative impact on many residents of the area.
You are so right. That's the #1 reason we're moving out of NY. My taxes are just a hair under $9,000, but that's because my house is 106 years old and only 3 BR's and 1.5 baths. My neighbor's house, which they gutted, rebuilt and added an inground pool and cabana, pay about $14,000. Of that, 2/3 goes to school taxes.
I don't buy the NY snobbery that because we pay our teachers more, they're better teachers. I'd trade all but a handful of them in for teachers like SC Beaches who entered the profession because they love what they do.
A family member of mine is a recently retired NYC public school teacher (unionized). Their salary was sickening (140+) along with their benefits package. However, the tradeoff is that taxes in that area are greater than my mortgage + taxes here for a larger house in a nicer neighborhood.
Some people in modest homes pay 14k+/year in taxes alone in NY. Not all of that money goes to education, but a large share of it does. Raising salaries for teachers (even deservedly so) would have a negative impact on many residents of the area.
Most of the teachers on Long Island live in or near the communities that they teach in. They are paying taxes just like everybody else so I guess in a way they are paying part of their own salaries. The school taxes here on Long Island are high, no doubt about that, but the property taxes are the real culprits. Most of the Island is still being taxed using an antiquated assessment model. But that argument is for another day.
Taxes on a moderate home here may be high, but that home value is probably 3 x's what you paid for your larger house, so its really all relative.
We cannot escape taxes, there's no way around it. We all pay a price for where we choose to live. What we can do however is become a part of the solution instead of just complaining about the problems. Not happy about your school taxes, think your not getting what your paying for? Then get involved, join the PTA or get on a watchdog committee. Find out just where your money is going because you have every right to do so.
Just stop bashing an entire profession because you're unhappy with your particular situation. A good education is one of the most important components of our childrens' lives. Incompetent teachers need to be replaced for sure,but the good ones can change the course of a childs life forever. How can you put a price on that?
If you think its only about dollars and cents, well, that's your right. If you think teachers may too much money,again, you're entitled to your opinion. How many of us I wonder, would turn down a salary that was offered to us because somebody else thought we were being overpaid?
dspguy, sorry, I don't mean any of this towards you personally. I just highlighted your quote to address the property tax issue.
Most of the teachers on Long Island live in or near the communities that they teach in. They are paying taxes just like everybody else so I guess in a way they are paying part of their own salaries. The school taxes here on Long Island are high, no doubt about that, but the property taxes are the real culprits. Most of the Island is still being taxed using an antiquated assessment model. But that argument is for another day.
Taxes on a moderate home here may be high, but that home value is probably 3 x's what you paid for your larger house, so its really all relative.
We cannot escape taxes, there's no way around it. We all pay a price for where we choose to live. What we can do however is become a part of the solution instead of just complaining about the problems. Not happy about your school taxes, think your not getting what your paying for? Then get involved, join the PTA or get on a watchdog committee. Find out just where your money is going because you have every right to do so.
Just stop bashing an entire profession because you're unhappy with your particular situation. A good education is one of the most important components of our childrens' lives. Incompetent teachers need to be replaced for sure,but the good ones can change the course of a childs life forever. How can you put a price on that?
If you think its only about dollars and cents, well, that's your right. If you think teachers may too much money,again, you're entitled to your opinion. How many of us I wonder, would turn down a salary that was offered to us because somebody else thought we were being overpaid?
dspguy, sorry, I don't mean any of this towards you personally. I just highlighted your quote to address the property tax issue.
By the way, I am not a teacher.
I'm assuming most of your post was directed towards me since I am on L.I. And you are absolutely incorrect about the bulk of a homeowner's property taxes being "general". Fully 2/3 of a LIer's property tax bill is school taxes.
My children are now grown. I was a PTA member, site based team member, co-founder of our district's SEPTA and founder of an elementary science fair. I attended Board meetings regularly and I read the budgets. I know EXACTLY where millions have been wasted and I have watched a budget of $24M grow to over $70M for 2300 students in less than 20 years.
It's NOT relative. Our district spent over $400,000 in legal fees trying to get rid of a tenured music teacher who slammed kids hands in the piano and who knocked them out of their chairs. Couldn't get rid of her. Best we could get was a year's suspension wiithout pay and then she was right back in the classroom and making 6 figures.
And as far as really ridiculous wasteful spending in education, I run a website advocating against a particular expensive program with national readership. You're barking up the wrong tree with your lecture, pal!
NY living cost is also about twice as much as here...100k is more like 50-60k here. SC doesn't have teacher's union, the teachers' pension and school budget are still in trouble, in addition, been the 2nd worse public edcuation in the US.
I'm assuming most of your post was directed towards me since I am on L.I. And you are absolutely incorrect about the bulk of a homeowner's property taxes being "general". Fully 2/3 of a LIer's property tax bill is school taxes.
My children are now grown. I was a PTA member, site based team member, co-founder of our district's SEPTA and founder of an elementary science fair. I attended Board meetings regularly and I read the budgets. I know EXACTLY where millions have been wasted and I have watched a budget of $24M grow to over $70M for 2300 students in less than 20 years.
It's NOT relative. Our district spent over $400,000 in legal fees trying to get rid of a tenured music teacher who slammed kids hands in the piano and who knocked them out of their chairs. Couldn't get rid of her. Best we could get was a year's suspension wiithout pay and then she was right back in the classroom and making 6 figures.
And as far as really ridiculous wasteful spending in education, I run a website advocating against a particular expensive program with national readership. You're barking up the wrong tree with your lecture, pal!
It wasn't a lecture, it was an opinion. The education system in this country is wasteful and inefficient. I don't think anybody will dispute that. Here on the Island, the problems seem almost insurmountable. The superintendent salaries are ridiculous and the tenure issue is,in my opinion,the biggest single obstacle standing in the way of real progress. The music teacher in your district should have been arrested instead of suspended but that doesn't mean that the entire profession should be condemned. My children are also grown and I also was,and still am,an active participant in our education system. I know only too well about the wasted millions and ballooning budgets. At long last it looks as if a little progress can be made because of the superintendent salary cap that our Governor wants to impose. ( I will not insert a sarcastic political party statement here) It may be only a baby step but at least its a step. The problems with the system in South Carolina may be different than the ones in NY but they are problems just the same. Dedicated,caring teachers continue to take abuse for problems that are not their fault.
I'm sorry you feel that my post was directed at you because it wasn't. It wasn't a lecture or an attack. I was stating my opinion concerning the teacher bashing on this forum. I believe in spirited discourse but only when it is accompanied by respect and civility for all participants. With that in mind, please do not call me pal. Its both condescending and rude.
NY living cost is also about twice as much as here...100k is more like 50-60k here. SC doesn't have teacher's union, the teachers' pension and school budget are still in trouble, in addition, been the 2nd worse public edcuation in the US.
NY living cost is also about twice as much as here...100k is more like 50-60k here. SC doesn't have teacher's union, the teachers' pension and school budget are still in trouble, in addition, been the 2nd worse public edcuation in the US.
The teachers pension isn't in trouble in this state, but the school budgets are to a tune of about $300M state wide versus $300B in Wisconsin....
It wasn't a lecture, it was an opinion. The education system in this country is wasteful and inefficient. I don't think anybody will dispute that. Here on the Island, the problems seem almost insurmountable. The superintendent salaries are ridiculous and the tenure issue is,in my opinion,the biggest single obstacle standing in the way of real progress. The music teacher in your district should have been arrested instead of suspended but that doesn't mean that the entire profession should be condemned. My children are also grown and I also was,and still am,an active participant in our education system. I know only too well about the wasted millions and ballooning budgets. At long last it looks as if a little progress can be made because of the superintendent salary cap that our Governor wants to impose. ( I will not insert a sarcastic political party statement here) It may be only a baby step but at least its a step. The problems with the system in South Carolina may be different than the ones in NY but they are problems just the same. Dedicated,caring teachers continue to take abuse for problems that are not their fault.
I'm sorry you feel that my post was directed at you because it wasn't. It wasn't a lecture or an attack. I was stating my opinion concerning the teacher bashing on this forum. I believe in spirited discourse but only when it is accompanied by respect and civility for all participants. With that in mind, please do not call me pal. Its both condescending and rude.
Cuomo's proposed Superintendent salary cap of $179,000 is a surprisingly good suggestion coming from the party it's coming from, however, I assure you that all of the Superintendents NOW earning $300,000+ will be "grandfathered", as will their pensions. Furthermore, there are a significant number of Superintendents who retire in NY, then take a position in CT (and vice versa) so that they can collect a DOUBLE pension.
I'm not bashing teachers. You seem to have missed my praise for dedicated teachers like SCBeaches. I am bashing the teacher's union. It is the union in NY that ties the hands and will of dedicated teachers like SCBeaches who are willing to do extra without extra compensation because they love teaching. I have seen it firsthand - a new, enthusiastic teacher is hired. He or she stays well beyond contract hours to provide extra help for students and is praised and loved by parents. Then what happens? The tenured teachers take that new teacher aside and "warn" him or her that they are making the rest of them look bad. Cut it out. The union "protections" result in overall mediocrity in performance.
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