Submitted By a Concerned Troy Parent–
Troy High School teachers abruptly close doors to students and make the parents sign off on it.
Are the students caught in the middle of a contract dispute between the teachers’ union and FJUHSD?
This is just one of many forms that came home with the students from Troy teachers yesterday.
Troy teachers are now:
Unavailable for help before or after school
Unavailable for tutoring before or after school
Unavailable to write letters of recommendation for colleges or scholarships
Unavailable for AP testing review before or after class time
Teachers have decided that they will no longer be available to help the student outside of their contracted work hours.
Is the unavailability due to a union contract dispute?
Before break teachers were wearing red to protest the lack of a contract.
Some, many, or all explained to the students, during class time, why they were protesting.
The understanding was that their teaching salaries were not enough. So when it is ever enough? You be the judge. Here is the salary list for the district.
The District’s school year consists of 180 instructional days of 372 minutes each-6.2 hours a day 180 days a year. Mr. Bainter, for example had total compensation of $136, 221 for 2014 and makes $122 per hour in total compensation if you do the math. Guess it is not enough for him or the rest of them for that matter.
Keep in mind that they do not work the whole year and the wages/total compensation are unsustainable: http://www.capoliticalreview.com/capoliticalnewsandviews/calstrs-teachers-retirement-pension-system-in-deep-trouble/#respond
“Using the State accounting system for pensions, CalSTRS, the teacher retirement plan, had a $8.9 billion increase in liability, bringing it to an admitted unsustainable $67.3 billion. Using Federal pension accounting systems, the real unfunded liability is over $170 billion—and growing. At some point the taxpayers will be forced, by law, to bail out another government failure.”
Teachers want more, but are totally divorced from the fiscal reality.
Teachers want more and will totally turn their backs on the students in order to have their ‘unsustainable’ demands met. Looks like Troy teachers are doing just that.
#1 by Anon on January 22, 2016 - 1:11 pm
I am a parent, not a teacher. Throughout 20 + years I’ve been thoroughly frustrated at times (more times then I can count) with the education system. I’ve had many sleepless nights, I’ve sat down at the round tables, I’ve researched, I’ve argued the facts, I’ve hit brick walls all the way to the very top. Looking back… the walls pretty much have always been about funds. My personal experience ultimately boils down to funds for the students. Through all that pain I’ve also come to be able to realize and appreciate when the system is actually working for the students. I’ve seen (what I experienced as) the worst and I’ve seen what I can only consider the best offered to us. In my opinion, and a lot of other parents’ opinions, Troy fits in the best category. From the district level, to the administrators to the teachers we have had a positive experience. Thus far. We are stronger working together than working against each other. An effective teacher with a love of learning and a love for his/her students is priceless. Also, an effective teacher with a masters or above needs to be fairly compensated in order to keep them in the classroom teaching our nation’s future. I’m sure in this great nation of ours we can figure out how to rearrange some funds in order to secure our top teachers. It may or may not be allocated or “sustainable” in the overall funds provided to the schools/districts as of right now, but maybe we can find a way figure this out at a higher level. We do need to make sure our top teachers earn a fair and competitive compensation. What we don’t need to do is start to work against each other because ultimately all we will accomplish is hurting the students and our nation’s ability to compete.
#2 by Anonymous on January 22, 2016 - 8:40 pm
We are many miles from being “a great nation” and the education system is nothing but a public private partnership under the Common Core.
It’s great to look at the positive side of things and be grateful for them but not when eyes are totally closed to reality. Our nation’s youth will be prepared to enter Community, not a four year College by the time Common Core is fully implemented. Already, our college graduates are competing with Asia and Middle Eastern nationals for U.S. jobs. Same thing with seats at U.S. colleges and since the colleges get so much more tuition from foreigners, the U.S. kids will be squeezed out.