Southern York County Life

There is a lot of discussion about the upcoming teachers contract.  What exactly do you think would be a fair outcome?

I heard that the teachers want over a 9% salary increase - is this true?

I think a fair outcome would include a lot of factors.  There should be more of an employee contribution to healthcare.  I would like to see exactly how the increase affects the rest of the budget, with any increase, will there be cuts to accomodate?  I don’t understand how you pass your budget then negotiate the main portion of it, doesn’t the new contract go into effect during the new budget?

I guess they had to budget something.....but 9%?!

What should they be paying in health care?

Would 9% over three years be too much?  That is three percent per year. 
I dont know the specifics of when the new contract would take effect. 

The contribution to health care costs is a serious issue.  There really arent that many jobs anymore that provide the level of health insurance that the school district gets, without substantial input from the employees.  On the other hand, if you review the statistics at the PASBA site, pretty much every district provides almost the same level of benefit. 

I guess I would just like to point out that this should not become an ‘Us vs Them’ sort of issue.  These are the teachers in our schools.  They are our neighbors and friends.  They have cars that need gas, and kids in college too.  And many of them are still paying on the loans it took to pay for the education they needed in order to teach our kids.

As far as the budget this year is concerned, I am wondering more about how the money the state kicked in will change that.  When will it be included in the budget?  Will the board treat it like ‘found’ money and try to purchase something that really isnt the best use for it.

C

JustPlainC - 09 July 2008 05:53 PM

Would 9% over three years be too much?  That is three percent per year. 
I dont know the specifics of when the new contract would take effect. 

The contribution to health care costs is a serious issue.  There really arent that many jobs anymore that provide the level of health insurance that the school district gets, without substantial input from the employees.  On the other hand, if you review the statistics at the PASBA site, pretty much every district provides almost the same level of benefit. 

I guess I would just like to point out that this should not become an ‘Us vs Them’ sort of issue.  These are the teachers in our schools.  They are our neighbors and friends.  They have cars that need gas, and kids in college too.  And many of them are still paying on the loans it took to pay for the education they needed in order to teach our kids.

As far as the budget this year is concerned, I am wondering more about how the money the state kicked in will change that.  When will it be included in the budget?  Will the board treat it like ‘found’ money and try to purchase something that really isnt the best use for it.

C

I think that 3% per year would be reasonable.  I wish it could be more, but heck Social Security is only giving 2.3% COLA increases.  Hopefully, in 3 years the economy will be in better shape and the next contract will include more of an increase.  Who knows where we will be next month much less in 3 years though. 

I believe that healthcare is a huge issue and it is something that must be addressed.  This contract should include some concessions on the part of the union to help absorb some of those rising costs.  How much, I do not know.  I just hope that the negotiator hired by the district and the union representatives are civil and can come to a fair outcome without too much pain on either side.

BevyJean - 09 July 2008 02:27 PM

I think a fair outcome would include a lot of factors.  There should be more of an employee contribution to healthcare.  I would like to see exactly how the increase affects the rest of the budget, with any increase, will there be cuts to accomodate?  I don’t understand how you pass your budget then negotiate the main portion of it, doesn’t the new contract go into effect during the new budget?

I agree employees need to contribute more to their healthcare - somewhere between 20% and 30%, not the 6% or so that they currently pay.  The teachers’ contract expired 6/30/08.  The new contract could be retroactive, or, it could be effective as of the settlement date.  The thing about having already passed a budget is there is only so much money allocated for salaries and benefits for the 2008-09 year.

How about on the healthcare, why don’t we pay the same for the employee, but have the employee pick up the entire cost of their dependants on the plan?  That’s what many companies are moving to, my company does this and after all, they are employing me, not my family.

I think paying more for the health plain is possible.  Contracts negotiations are largely based on the results of similar contract negotiations.  You can see this with the UAW and the big three auto makers.  The first contract sets the stage for the next two.  School districts are a lot like that.  The vast majority of school districts pay nearly 100% health care for employees.  Those that do require a contribution require a small percentage.  If the district was to decide that the union should bay 0 of thier health insurance costs, it could easily become a very contentious issue, and if it went to arbitration I am not sure that the district would win because of the precedent in other contracts. 

But this is all speculation.  None of us are completely aware of what is going on with the negotiations, and anything can happen.

C

The 9% was for only the first year not three years…

Hey Shawn,

You and Dragon seem pretty close- why don’t you ask her what she thinks is fair.  We haven’t heard from her in a while.

Shawn - 10 July 2008 11:54 AM

The 9% was for only the first year not three years…

And that’s ludicrous!

Shawn - 10 July 2008 11:54 AM

The 9% was for only the first year not three years…

Ok, that is insane.  What about the other years?  And why should the % be the same across the board?  There is a big difference between 9% of 70k and 9% of 35k.

pooch - 10 July 2008 12:19 PM

Hey Shawn,

You and Dragon seem pretty close- why don’t you ask her what she thinks is fair.  We haven’t heard from her in a while.

Funny how you would even ask this or care since you don’t live in this district or work for SESD anymore.

ProudParent - 10 July 2008 12:56 PM

pooch - 10 July 2008 12:19 PM

Hey Shawn,

You and Dragon seem pretty close- why don’t you ask her what she thinks is fair.  We haven’t heard from her in a while.

Funny how you would even ask this or care since you don’t live in this district or work for SESD anymore.

Pooch speaks out as a member of Teacher’s First, and the more I read from him/her the more I realize that he/she is probably looking for a tower to climb!

Surely whoever Dragon was has stayed away to avoid the flaming they received.
Pooch, you seem pretty quick to assign a name to Dragon when you won’t post yours......... and very interesting profile picture for an educator by the way.