Every single DPS teacher gets a pink slip

[old guy]

Why more people in this country aren't showing their outrage that we're closing schools and cutting back on teachers, while at the same time giving these huge subsidies to the oil companies that are strangling us, baffles me.

Have we all become lemmings? Something isn't right here, and I don't care what political persuasion you are, you know this isn't right.

[eastsidechris]

Det_ard:
Some interesting stats for you, courtesy of last week's union meeting--In the tri-county area, DPS teachers are the 3rd LOWEST paid staff. With a Masters degree and 10+ years, we top out at $72,000. At 38, it's a little disturbing to consider that if I stay with DPS I'm at my top earning potential with 20+ years to go. Ouch.

And as for health care, we've given concessions to the point where our district pays out $11,000 per year less in benefits than the average district in the tri-county area.

The bottom line is that the past 5 years or so, we've been squeezed...and squeezed...and squeezed.

[Baselinepunk]

Compensation will vary from district to district. You should look into the Administrator compensation for a real shock.

FWIW -- Teachers don't hire teachers; Administration does that. So who is really responsible for stocking a district with poor instructional staff? I've worked with more than a few instructors that perhaps should have been some place else but that was who Administration picked.

[bailey]

Why more people in this country aren't showing their outrage that we're closing schools and cutting back on teachers, while at the same time giving these huge subsidies to the oil companies that are strangling us, baffles me.

Have we all become lemmings? Something isn't right here, and I don't care what political persuasion you are, you know this isn't right.

yes we as a country have our priorities messed up but let's not pretend that a billion dollars given to DPS would solve a damn thing with the district. There are huge structural problems that aren't going to be solved by a simply shot of cash. If anything more money would simply enable it to limp along.

The simple truth is that much of what needs to be changed to make DPS a functioning entity can only be accomplished through an EFM. I mean who is going to right the ship? Reverand David Murray? c'mon.

[Baselinepunk]

"The simple truth is that much of what needs to be changed to make DPS a functioning entity can only be accomplished through an EFM. I mean who is going to right the ship? Reverand David Murray? c'mon."

What is Bobb called? Blaming contracts for his failure to right the ship is completely misplaced. Where is the knife going in Administration?

[Meddle]

You should look into the Administrations compensation for a real shock.

Like I said on the WSU tuition thread, cut from the top.

[Ray1936]

[the grammar of which I corrected] to "Every single DPS teacher gets a pink slip"

Hmmm. I assume married teachers did not get a pink slip.

Don't mind me. Just trying to make light of a horrible situation.

[Meddle]

The simple truth is that much of what needs to be changed to make DPS a functioning entity can only be accomplished through an EFM. I mean who is going to right the ship? Reverand David Murray? c'mon.

Yeah, it's looking like that concept is a complete and total failure in the name of B[[l)obb. Cut the fat, the head cheeses, the analysts, the pencil pushers and get down to business.

[Baselinepunk]

"Like I said on the WSU tuition thread, cut from the top."

I completely agree. While everyone's mileage will vary with all of the Administrators I have worked with only about 15% were effective and ran a good school.

[Searay215]

And so contiues the downward spiral of human society....this trend will contiue until there is a tipping point to where civil unrest will arupt.....mark my words freinds. The decline of our society is happening each day....take from the middle and poor and give to the rich.....from the Federal, state and city.....

[Vox]

The point that is relevant is that Bobb, until recently, did not have the power he has today. The recent passage of the "draconian" bills in Lansing have given him the power to unilaterally change the contracts in the district. While I don't like the way he will have to do it, the teachers and other union groups in the district will have to be prepared for some serious concessions.

And yes, also the administration should take a significant cut as well, including Bobb.

[bailey]

The point that is relevant is that Bobb, until recently, did not have the power he has today. The recent passage of the "draconian" bills in Lansing have given him the power to unilaterally change the contracts in the district. While I don't like the way he will have to do it, the teachers and other union groups in the district will have to be prepared for some serious concessions.

And yes, also the administration should take a significant cut as well, including Bobb.

..that's all I'm saying. Bobb now has the power to attack the structural problems instead of tinkering at the margins. Further...the DETNEWS article tells the rest of the story left out by the Freep and posters here....

The district also said it sent nonrenewal notices to all of its 248 administrators. And notices will be sent to other bargaining units by April 30, the district said.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110415/...#ixzz1JboDfz3u

So, again, it's not just the teachers getting the notices. which is a nice first step and at least someone is recognizing the ADMINISTRATION ranks need to be culled this time too.

[Vox]

..that's all I'm saying. Bobb now has the power to attack the structural problems instead of tinkering at the margins. Further...the DETNEWS article tells the rest of the story left out by the Freep and posters here....

So, again, it's not just the teachers getting the notices. which is a nice first step and at least someone is recognizing the ADMINISTRATION ranks need to be culled this time too.

At least the administrator problem is being addressed, to what degree that is, one will have to see.

[Danny]

Not every DPS teacher will get the pink slips. Some will keep their jobs as more of its schools closed.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET!

As I waiting for Superman.

Neda, I miss you so.

[Det_ard]

Det_ard:
Some interesting stats for you, courtesy of last week's union meeting--In the tri-county area, DPS teachers are the 3rd LOWEST paid staff. With a Masters degree and 10+ years, we top out at $72,000. At 38, it's a little disturbing to consider that if I stay with DPS I'm at my top earning potential with 20+ years to go. Ouch.

And as for health care, we've given concessions to the point where our district pays out $11,000 per year less in benefits than the average district in the tri-county area.

The bottom line is that the past 5 years or so, we've been squeezed...and squeezed...and squeezed.

Thank you for the info. I don't doubt that DPS teachers have borne the brunt of the system's financial problems. I still think a total revamp of the K-12 educational system is needed to get the poor performers out and allow the high performers to be retained and rewarded appropriately. I have no problem with $100K+ salaries for excellent teachers and I am willing to pay for that via my taxes. Just like in my business dealings, I am willing to pay for performance.

I have a huge problem with the current system that only looks at seniority and BA/MA/PhD without regard to how well a teacher teaches. Our kids pay the price for keeping poor teachers employed. As do the teachers the next year who inherit a poorly prepared student from that poor teacher's classroom. It is essential that that changes.

[Det_ard]

..that's all I'm saying. Bobb now has the power to attack the structural problems instead of tinkering at the margins. Further...the DETNEWS article tells the rest of the story left out by the Freep and posters here.... [248 administrators receive pink slip notices]

So, again, it's not just the teachers getting the notices. which is a nice first step and at least someone is recognizing the ADMINISTRATION ranks need to be culled this time too.

The mismanagement of the DPS is legendary. Both the system and the personnel need to be revamped. Given the restrictions put in place by union contracts, the only practical way to do this is by a EFM type like Bobb. I hope he's up to the challenge. It's time for a wise benevolent dictator to have his way with it.

While I hold the administrators in low regard, its important to note that they constitute roughly 4% of the total [[248 admin, 5,466 teachers). Even if all the administrators took a 50% pay cut it would only lower operating costs by perhaps 2% - 3%. The meat of the budget is still in teacher compensation. There's no way around that.

If, and its a big if, Bobb is able to replace incompetent administrators and teachers with competent ones it would go a long ways to stopping or reversing the enrollment decline. That would provide a bigger boost to the district's finances than cutting some already slashed expenses.

[Zacha341]

Um, er-uh what news release or web site are you pulling that 'fact' from?

For Neda's sake....

Not every DPS teacher will get the pink slips. Some will keep their jobs as more of its schools closed.

WORD FROM THE STREET PROPHET!

As I waiting for Superman.

Neda, I miss you so.

[muskie1]

Unfortunately I think that in the very near future we will see most city employees across the country hired as contract workers. As it will become more essential to run our cities like a business the cost savings will be huge for them. No benefits to worry about and a huge pool of the newly un-employed for the contractors to hire from, hey it worked great for the big 3.
I am affraid the days of good employees ,who care about and do their jobs well, being considered valuable are are long gone. Screw everyone while our leaders spend at will.

[Zacha341]

Yep. And as more people become more and more 'pressed' the wages can be lowered more still, with high turnover with the supposed employer vantage that there's always SOMEONE to take your spot... NEXT!

Unfortunately I think that in the very near future we will see most city employees across the country hired as contract workers. As it will become more essential to run our cities like a business the cost savings will be huge for them. No benefits to worry about and a huge pool of the newly un-employed for the contractors to hire from, hey it worked great for the big 3.
I am affraid the days of good employees ,who care about and do their jobs well, being considered valuable are are long gone. Screw everyone while our leaders spend at will.

[DetroitTeacher]

I received my layoff notice today. They thanked me for my service! It's effective July 29th. I'll be collecting unemployment the next Monday. I hate to do it but I'm going to get everything I can, while I can.

I really care about the kids. My kids got wind of the layoffs and they are mad! They say that they finally get comfortable with a group of teachers and those teachers are laid off or transferred. It's disruptive to their lives. I can't say I blame them for their anger. My kids need stability. They need someplace to call "home" when their real home sucks. They need caring people who make sure they get something to eat, clean clothes to wear, a winter coat/hat/gloves in the winter and a safe learning environment. They get that stuff, if they don't get it at home, from school and their teachers/administrators.

I'm just saddened to know that we care about these kids and it's all for naught when it comes to our employer. They don't care about the kids. If they did, they would give the kids a sense of stability and respect those who work with the kids each day.

If they want to know who the good teachers are, they merely need to ask the kids. The kids will be brutally honest about who is really teaching and who is just there to collect a check. I think Bobb needs to have a sit down conversation with the kids and really value what they have to say.

[lincoln8740]

I

BTW, I downloaded my district's compensation spreadsheet and union contract. Average teacher salary is just under $80K/year, with pay for coaching/extracurriculars some earn >$100K, family health coverage costs the district $20K per employee per year, and the health plan charges just $5 for office visits, no co-pay, no deductible, no payroll deduction for health insurance. Teachers gave up a 1% scheduled pay raise recently [[but still got their yearly step increase) and say they've given enough already. They say this to parents who've seen their compensation reduced 30% - 40% in this recession. I say it's time for a parent/taxpayer revolution to protect our kids.

80k for 9 MONTHS of work per year? Not a bad gig!!

[65memories]

The overall impression that Detroit is full of bad teachers is a myth. As a Detroit Public Schools educator who has seen both sides --- as a teacher and administrator for 42 years --- I can tell you that the majority of Detroit’s teachers are hard-working, dedicated and sacrificing individuals. And when you have teachers like English, Detroit Teacher, eastsidechris, etc., the special bond that forms between them and their students is immeasurable. Students know when teachers care…and they respond accordingly.
Detroit educators have already sacrificed well beyond their due. This didn’t start with Robert Bobb…it started with John Engler…but it has intensified under Bobb. Consistency means much in education…and when you have students who don’t know what school they will attend from one semester to the other and teachers who don’t know where they will instruct, chaos ensues. I was fortunate to have long terms in the schools to which I was assigned…15 years at one school, 20 at another, etc. and it made all the difference in the world. I had children of former students, students whose parents knew me, trusted me and supported me.
This is simply an assault on unions and collective bargaining, by going through the back door. And the destructiveness to the system causes many good teachers to give it up. Why live in an insecure state, receiving pink slips on a regular basis, when you can go somewhere else and find something more stable. And when that happens, who loses? Children.
Finally, let me assure you that Robert Bobb’s arrogant , condescending style, which leads many to believe he is an expert on education, is also misleading. Russ Bellant’s excellent expose on Bobb demonstrates that: http://voiceofdetroit.net/?p=5306

[bailey]

80k for 9 MONTHS of work per year? Not a bad gig!!

Received this email a few weeks ago from a teacher friend...

Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - babysit!

We can get that for less than minimum wage.

That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day [[7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan-- that equals 6 1/2 hours).

Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children. Now how many students do they teach in a day...maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day.

However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET'S SEE....
That's $585 X 180= $105,300
per year. [[Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

What about those special
education teachers and the ones with Master's degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage [[$7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an
hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year.
Wait a minute -- there's
something wrong here!

Somewhat illustrative. The issue is not the pay...it's the pensions, the $0.00 co-pays, the un-firable, ridiculous seniority rules, bloated administration...etc.

[Bham1982]

80k for 9 months sounds high to me.

I know it's a tough job, but most teachers have supplemental income [[summer school, sports, whatever). And no health care deductions? That's gold-plated insurance.

Teachers should be well-treated, but is that really the average pay for suburban districts?

So a household of two teachers with summer/afterschool gigs make a household income of 200k, with no medical deductions? I'd say that's pretty damn good for Michigan standards.

[old guy]

Some threads towards the top of the page today:

Every single DPS teacher gets a pink slip

Detroit library could close most of its branches

Hikes and education cuts at WSU

Wayne County to build new jail

This pretty much sums up what's going on anywhere in the country. Is there any correlation between the 1st three and the fourth?