Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was offered the position, but wanted to see if I could swing working part-time at the public library, so I could be mostly at home with my baby. The year I worked there, there were a number of people who got positions who had worked as leave replacements, ISS teachers, or aides to get their foot in the door. I think if they like you, they keep you. One thing: it would appear that there's been a lot of turnover on the admin. levels, so I can't be sure it's the same. Several different principals for several years.
I liked working there. The year before I started there were some discipline issues, but I was never concerned. There is a lot of diversity. A lot of m/c AA and white students, some Hispanic. There are some kids who come from rougher backgrounds, but I never found the management issues to be too tough. Most kids were nice. I liked my colleagues and the principal too.
The middle school at least has had a big turnover recently--lots of retirees, lots of new blood. I ran into a teacher not long ago, who'd been there a long time and she was pleased with the changes.
Good Luck!!
Thanks, lilibrarian,
I was wondering if the "leave replacement" openings are actually in order to find teachers - a way to get to know if somebody is a good fit.
I'm going to do some research though and see what I can find out about different schools. If Malverne is the lower end, it's probably still better than NYC., but I'll sniff around and see what I can find out.
NYC Teaching salaries are the same across the board.
Nassau residents pay high taxes which vary and those pay teacher's salaries which also vary.
"Poor or bad" districts have a multitude of problems, including violence and bureaucratic BS, that discourage great teachers and potentially great teachers from staying.
Poor analogy on my part. Let me just state that all starting teachers salaries should be the same in each district. This way a teacher in Freeport is making the same as one in Glen Cove, Jericho or Oceanside. As the teachers advance their education and degrees, they would all follow the same step structure.
The teachers are all performing the same task: teaching our children. Teacher pay stabilization might ultimately help keep our taxes under control.
Teacher pay, benefits and retirement (as well as administrators -- I don't mean to single out one group) make up a fair portion of the budget. Asking teachers to pay more into their health insurance benefits wouldn't hurt either. That 'found' money could be used to offset unfunded state mandated programs.
Poor analogy on my part. Let me just state that all starting teachers salaries should be the same in each district. This way a teacher in Freeport is making the same as one in Glen Cove, Jericho or Oceanside. As the teachers advance their education and degrees, they would all follow the same step structure.
The teachers are all performing the same task: teaching our children. Teacher pay stabilization might ultimately help keep our taxes under control.
Teacher pay, benefits and retirement (as well as administrators -- I don't mean to single out one group) make up a fair portion of the budget. Asking teachers to pay more into their health insurance benefits wouldn't hurt either. That 'found' money could be used to offset unfunded state mandated programs.
Good idea, which will never happen.
It's so inefficient the way things are run around here, with all the different villages, districts, and towns. I mean, there are areas where homeowners are paying taxes but they don't have access to the local public library, b/c they're part of the school district, but not the village or what not.
I hear you Browse, but since your wife teaches, you know it's really a calling.
*smile*
An MA plus 30 at 16 years in NYC is about $80,000 to $85,000. (mid-nineties is top salary).
So we're looking at about a $20,000 difference.
Is your wife at one of the better paying schools in Nassau?
Someone told me that the North Shore schools pay higher salaries.
Until her most recent contract was approved, her district was among the lowest 25 percentile of Long Island teacher pay scales (according to her union) which is why her pay has gone up $10k this year and another $10k next year (including the two steps across via credits). Her district is more in the middle of the county, not on the North Shore.
What really gets me as a taxpayer, is that it is next to impossible for the average citizen to get a copy of the teacher contract salary table, and even if it was highly visible, the school budget vote doesn't have anything to do with salaries...that's all pre-negotiated and arbitrated. Taxpayers can only "vote down" after-school activities, facilities/maintenance items and stuff like that. It's all a total joke unless you actually have to pay the $10k property taxes on a 45 year old house on a 1/4 acre lot, with no kids to send to the schools anyway. What a sham. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're getting a piece of it, but it's still not right. To get an annuity to match the value of her pension, you'd have to save up $1.8 million by age 55 (assumed 6% growth, 35 year payout). I sure hope the NYSTRS pension fund doesn't go bankrupt...that would really hurt. We're maxing her 403b just in case.
Somehow I don't think my 401k will be anywhere close to that, even with max contributions for 30 years, employer match, and decent market returns.
Until her most recent contract was approved, her district was among the lowest 25 percentile of Long Island teacher pay scales (according to her union) which is why her pay has gone up $10k this year and another $10k next year (including the two steps across via credits). Her district is more in the middle of the county, not on the North Shore.
What really gets me as a taxpayer, is that it is next to impossible for the average citizen to get a copy of the teacher contract salary table, and even if it was highly visible, the school budget vote doesn't have anything to do with salaries...that's all pre-negotiated and arbitrated. Taxpayers can only "vote down" after-school activities, facilities/maintenance items and stuff like that. It's all a total joke unless you actually have to pay the $10k property taxes on a 45 year old house on a 1/4 acre lot, with no kids to send to the schools anyway. What a sham. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we're getting a piece of it, but it's still not right. To get an annuity to match the value of her pension, you'd have to save up $1.8 million by age 55 (assumed 6% growth, 35 year payout). I sure hope the NYSTRS pension fund doesn't go bankrupt...that would really hurt. We're maxing her 403b just in case.
Somehow I don't think my 401k will be anywhere close to that, even with max contributions for 30 years, employer match, and decent market returns.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Are you jealous of your wife? Sounds like it. Don't worry about the NYSTRS, my husband was a delegate for many years; the investments are pages and pages long of small type ... The resources are phenomenal.
We "old timers" paid into our retirement ( Tier I, Part I (pre 1971)) and some older than I had no SS taken out.... we got to put savings into the system, not 403(b)s... I finally got a 403(b) in my system to access in 1986. By then, I had:
1) paid into my own retirement as much as I could (maxed it out)
2) was having the district take out FICA
3) trying to max the 403(b)
OTOH, I moved upstate for school, married a local and saw the handwriting on the wall [read: it cost too much to live on the island].... so I stayed here.
Starting salary was under $8K / retirement was at $70K after 30 years... you know the formula, figure my pension. New teachers here start in the mid $30s and top of the scales are in the low $70s... some pricey districts get to $80K. Big difference, huh?
Now, when you figure I grew up down there, and my first home was on an 80X120' lot and the second a 50X100' lot.... the first my parents bought in the 1940s for $8K, the second in the 50s for $15K -- now worth about $700K and $450K... well, I am glad I stayed here!! We raised our kids in the country, now they are grown and living & working here; we still live on over 4 acres and it is paid for. Our 20-something kids and their spouses have homes, not apts. My taxes ( town, county and school included) and utilities (gas and electric and water) are less than $5,500/year (yep, $5.5K for all). I don't regret one penny of my school taxes. And, it's easy to live on 2 teachers pensions when we live where you don't have your LI money burdens. We sure didn't make much and YOU know that our TRS pensions don't go up, only our investments in our 403(b)s will. Not a problem. Would I make more if I had moved back to the island? Yep. Would it have been worth it? No way. You can take your costs and taxes and keep them.
BTW, up here, you can get a brand new custom built home for $500K in some of the priciest towns. You can't even get a 50s cape on LI for that! [We will keep our 50s ranch on acreage backed up to a farm!]
Last edited by BuffaloTransplant; 12-05-2007 at 10:41 PM..
Some of those jumps are obnoxious...but should the DA for a county the size of Nassau only be making 150k?...Even at 175-200 it would still be a big cut from attorney work at that level in the private sector. Just sayin', some of these jobs are quite significant. Of course I also do not see the need for the entire extra layer of government we have on long island in general...but seeing that go away is a pipe dream.
The jump does seem quite high, but one thing to keep in mind is the salary hasn't changed since the mid 90's, and really aren't that far off from where they would be if they were adjusted for inflation. Not to mention the increases are still below what the same jobs in other suburban NYC counties get paid.
The jump does seem quite high, but one thing to keep in mind is the salary hasn't changed since the mid 90's, and really aren't that far off from where they would be if they were adjusted for inflation. Not to mention the increases are still below what the same jobs in other suburban NYC counties get paid.
I agree in the sense that many of these positions should be paying way more than they do given the weight of the position...but also bear mind some of the government supported perqs of drivers and vehicles, etc, are not necessarily noted in the base salary. I am not even saying they do not deserve them, as a DA should have other things to be worrying about besides finding parking, but some of these packages are richer than face value. What is more concerning is how many PAID political posts Long Island has. At all levels...every clerk and village admin seems to have two assistants...let's trim that and give half to folks like the DA's office, etc.
I agree in the sense that many of these positions should be paying way more than they do given the weight of the position...but also bear mind some of the government supported perqs of drivers and vehicles, etc, are not necessarily noted in the base salary. I am not even saying they do not deserve them, as a DA should have other things to be worrying about besides finding parking, but some of these packages are richer than face value. What is more concerning is how many PAID political posts Long Island has. At all levels...every clerk and village admin seems to have two assistants...let's trim that and give half to folks like the DA's office, etc.
I generally agree. We do have too many special districts on Long Island and for the most part someone making $110,000 in a Govt job will likely have more perks and come out more ahead than someone making the same salary in the private sector.
Also the increase might seem a bit excessive, but I do think its fair that those in govt positions in Nassau County, should get paid at similar levels as people in the same positions in other counties in the area. Not to mention the biggest reason why the raises seem excessive and are as high as they are is because their has been no raise since the mid 90's.
Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
8,900 posts, read 15,937,156 times
Reputation: 1819
I'm a NYC first year teacher and I'm making base, which is 43,300. I'm trying for the next salary step since I graduated with a BA+30. We'll see how that goes. What's nice about city pay is that it goes up fast pretty quickly. My salary goes up about 2000 by May.
Not sure about LI districts. It tends to vary. I know that they generally don't include dental insurance, so that takes some out of your salary. In the city both are free.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
