MASON CITY – It was a long wait, but the Mason City school district released information today about the status of negotiations between the teacher’s union and the school district.
According to a district finance official:
On April 14, 2014 the Mason City Education Association (MCEA) negotiations team presented their opening wage and language proposal for 2014-2015 to the Board of Education negotiations team at 12:30 p.m,. in the Board Room at Mason City Community Schools Administration Building. The MCEA proposed a $2,100 increase to the BA base. (The BA base is step 1 on the teachers’ salary schedule. A new teacher starting out in the first year would start at “BA 1”. In our school district the BA Base is $34,771, then you add the TSS (teacher salary supplement) fixed dollar amount of $4,300, plus an additional $1,039 for the indexed portion of the TSS dollars to get to the combined salary schedule “BA 1” dollar amount of $40,110.) The Generator Base goes from $35,810 to $37,910. The total BA bse will be $42,210. The total package percentage increase is 5.99% with a total cost to the district of $1,361,265.
The Board of Education negotiations team proposed that eligible employees be advanced on the salary schedule, that there be a $400 increase in the BA Base, and that there be no change in the structure or longevity provisions of the salary schedule. The total package increase is 1.98% with a total cost to the district of $456,212.
It seems to me that after looking at the Administration Salaries and where they rank in Iowa-there is something really wrong here. Why is the CFO making 30 to 40k higher than the next CFO on the list. If the Supt. is so worried about the teachers then cut the admin salaries to where they should be in the hierarchy of the state. Then go from there. You know nobody would leave. Those jobs are hard to come by and with the salaries leveled , won’t pay any more in another district.
@Blisterpak-Now that makes sense. Cutting janitors and low level teachers will not get them where they need to be. They need someone to come in and clean house and if that means going after some sacred cows then so be it. They could easily combine some schools and shut down some. This bussing kids all over town has got to be expensive. And, being top heavy in administration is a killer and affects everything els.
Maybe the complainers about school system pay need to do what Frank Stearns did. When Frank first became a cop I asked him why and he said, “if I couldn’t beat, I thought I’d join em”.
Now we begin to see the real reason for the budget mess. Blame it on more special needs students, higher utilities bills in the school buildings with claimed new more efficient HVAC systems, and higher transportation cost, but don’t mention or provide
details on the escalation of salary/benefits cost increases at annual % far above the
norm in this community for the majority of jobs. Keep the info on cost increase for staff
salary/benefits as vague as possible. Blame the State and…
Aren’t utilities also paid out of the same fund as salaries? Aren’t they saying a part of the budget shortfall is the increase in utilities?
Didn’t we just spend ALOT of money on remodeling the high school, including a new HVAC system?
Everybody else has to adjust their budgets to pay their bills, why don’t they?
Could the 150,000 salaried CFO give us a detailed budget?
If the Administrators are getting 2.5% then the teachers should get at least that much. You people have no clue what teachers have to deal with these days. They are teacher, mother, father, social workers, psychiatrist, nurse, Dear Abby, and dedicated ones I know, continue their education in the summer so our children have better outcomes. You all sound whiny and jealous. Instead, go back to school and get a better job, or get a second job. We owe the teachers for dealing with our kids….
I definitely support teachers and coaches 100%. On the other side of the coin, although I’m sure the admin’s are great people and want to help, I feel they have fallen into the corporate model of “we are administrators, like CEO’s, we make decisions, so we should be paid more”. And they may deserve *a little more* just due to the fact they may have higher education and more experience than your average teacher. However, 2 to 3 to 4 times as much compensation? No. Sorry, that does’t fly with me. I say perhaps 10%-20% higher pay than your top-tier teachers is fair for admins (not a one-size fits all solution here).
I agree that the administrators in Mason City make too much, people shouldn’t take it out on the teachers. These people got a college degree and work hard everyday. As a teacher I know how difficult at times the job is and the raises are set to keep up with inflation , living standards, and experience. To the people that see this as a problem by all means go to college, get certified in education, and see if you can handle the job.
@Tony-What makes you think the rest of us are uneducated. Our expenses keep going up and our taxes right along with them. Our incomes don’t go up and and you seem to think we should subsidize you teachers no matter how much we go farther behind. Our social security went up a lousy $30 a month and you want 5.9%. People are getting fed up with the cost. You have less and less students and want more and more money.
It is like I said before do not punish someone for their education and experience. If you don’t like paying taxes you could always leave the country. What’s great about this country is if you work hard and make intelligent decisions you should be rewarded.
@Tony-I have a much better option for you other than me leaving the country after paying taxes for over 50 years, Let just cut your salary just like what happens in the private sector. Where do you get off thinking you are better than the people who pay your salary that is way above the average for this area.
I don’t think that I am better, I just have made better decisions when it comes to education and selecting my career field. Compared to other school districts, the cutting of staff, and the national outlook for the profession the increase in salary is needed to attract new faces to our community and compensate based on the work done. Believe me teaching is way more than 40 hours a week.
Tony, your self-righteous attitude is not the way to win friends and influence people.
As to your education, unless you have a PhD, I can guarantee you that I can put more letters of the alphabet behind my name than you can by yours.
That point of yours is irrelevant.
I previously worked in the field of academia for 10 years, so I know a little about that as well.
As to career field choice, do you really think that teachers should somehow be immune to budget cuts/restraints?
(cont)
Where do you get off that you “deserve this” and you “deserve that”?
When times are tough, sometimes you just have to suck it up and don’t whine about “that’s not fair” because “I am in public education”.
In 2008, 2009 and 2010 myself (and others) took a 10% pay-cut so that all could retain their jobs.
I was all for it, if it meant that no one would get laid off
So,would you be willing to take a pay freeze or pay cut if it meant that all the teachers could be retained?
@BCN-I take it back about banning you. very well said indeed.
Teaching is a hard job. I did some of it at NIACC in continuing ed. Teaching is a lot of work and preparation and the pay isn’t that good.
Teaching is a hard job Matt? Work 180 days a year and paid above the national average? While the average worker puts in 260 days or more? Doles out the ‘curriculum’ fed to them by the Federal and State government. Receives virtually free or nearly free health care and pension. All while State negotiators negotiate their pay with the State that’s funded in the end by the people who have no say in the matter. Resulting in never ending greedy pay raises, and whining about how tough their jobs…
You have no idea what a teacher does. First, teachers don’t work 180 days. Most school districts have a 200 day contract. Free health care? Only if you are an administrator. Districts usually offer to cover about 30%, the rest is the teacher’s responsibility. State fed curriculum? The state is trying to tell teachers what to teach, but not how. Nor do they provide lesson plans. Nor do they provide anyone to correct papers or assist with improving learning. You have liberty because of teachers.
It makes no difference what we say. Even though it is our money the elites will push it through as usual. Giving these people a raise of any kind is absolutely stupid. When you already have a budget loss of 40 million why on earth would anyone in their right minds sign up to get deeper in the whole. What the hell do they think they are Obama?
Thanks for the information, Matt.
One thing that came to mind that isn’t being spoken about enough is the loss of sales tax revenues due to internet sales.
While we are supposed to be reporting and sending in our own taxes on sales in which we weren’t charged the proper taxes, nobody does that.
This creates a shortfall to our state budget and lends incentive to not support our local retailers, putting additional burdens on our property tax payers.
Fix this to help fund our…
Not to mention the sharing (wink wink) usually called double dipping!
With comments like these, the district will never answer any of my questions again. Haha.
Less students, more money, this doesn’t make sense. I have have not received a raise for 6 years now due to the economy.
The district will just keep asking for for more money, we cam’t afford it, the school district is pushing more people out of town.
You know, if you work in the private sector, your employer can fire you, cut your hours, cut your pay, take away your benefits and retirement perks, fire you and then rehire you at a fraction of your old pay (See: Globe Gazette treatment of their employees, for prime example) and generally treat you like crap if they want to. But, if you work for the public, it is raise, raise, raise, no matter how dire the conditions.
any increase, with the condition of the district, is unwarented. Run it like a business!! Business is down, enrollment is declining. I am sorry, its time to act like the real world (private sector) and take a pay cut like 90% of us have. Show you understand how the real world works.
Wow…