NEA mad at our district

Not a huge educational deal, of course, but I found this interesting to read the NEA's reaction.

Be sure to read at least as far as what the premium will actually be for the teachers.

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20100921/NEWS04/9210330/-1/RSS

 

Are you kidding me? A whopping $7.19 a month and the NEA is involved? Is it cutting into dues or something? It's a good thing parents are supplying kleenex and hand sanitizer. Just sayin'.

(Actually, in my home 7 bucks is something to budget for. :lol: )

 

Here, too. But I would NOT freak out if I had to come up with $7 a month. Heck, if I had a 1-day garage sale I could cover the whole year!

 

They are talking like $3.60 a paycheck give me a break. Everyone is having to pay more for medical/dental. So what that their pay is frozen, dh is not getting raised either. They have not done raises in the past 3 years (stopped right before he was due to get a nice one since he completed his 2nd associates degree). We had a thing with a local union (not teachers) that went on strike because they would not agree to a wage freeze and no more pension for new hires (but an increase in 401 k match for new hires). The union folks are getting paid $5-7 an hour more than comperable jobs right down the street but they were upset they were not going to get a raise. Give me a break.

 

That is silly. I didnt' have a year go by while I was working that insurance premiums didn't go up or coverage didn't go down or both. And for us, what little raise we might have gotten, did not make up the difference. That's just the way things are!

 

They're whining over $7?! Yea, that's something..I'll admit, BUT DH works at the maximum security prison here in town and they are doing something similar. They are making the employees pay more for their insurance and their families insurance. So beginning Jan. 1 we will have to pay an additional $40 a paycheck, which occurs every two weeks. THAT is worth crying over! I mean, I woul dbe a little upset with $7, ut I think $40 is a much bigger problem. I mean...$80 a month is a good, healthy chunk of our grocery bill, or a 1/3 of our electricity bill, you know? Times are getting tougher, I don't care if ppl say teh "Recession" is over, i think it's just begun, IMO. We can expect to pay more for the things we need. :-(

 

Yeah, and this particular raise in premiums works out to about $86... a YEAR. That's a big difference than $80 a month.

 

Really!!
My dh's insurance is going up 20% next year -only $10 more for him, but $170+ a month more for families. We already cannot afford dh's employer insurance for our family!

 

$7 a month?? Seriously?? Maybe these teachers need to have a reality check. Um hello, everyones insurance goes up every year! We pay $15 a month for our premiums and that has gone up over the last 4 years since my dh started his job. Do I like that they raise them every year...no...but I don't complain because I know we need dental! Geez...

 

I'm sorry, as the wife of a teacher, I side with the NEA on this one. (Gosh, I didn't think I'd EVER make that statement, lol!!!) That $7 can really add up, especially if salaries are frozen.

 

That $7 adds up even more quickly for the district. You know I don't sympathize with ps too often, but if the employees don't pay it, budgets will get cut in other ways resulting in fewer teachers or higher taxes. Someone has to pay it.

 

I agree that it needs to be paid, but $7 doesn't seem like too much for a teacher to ask to pay for dental. I mean, I'd like to pay $7, that would work for me. I just don't think such a big deal needs to be made over such a meager sum as $7. I understand that their salary is frozen. I mean, DH doesn't get ANY overtime. Say he stays at work an extra 15 minutes to read a violation to an inmate, the next DAY is has to leave 15 minutes early so he doesn't get paid extra. They have completely done away with overtime in alot of places so I hear. Either way you look at it, no matter what side you take, It's apparent that it's going to be hard for everyone to pay, unfortunatly.

 

I hear you. But the teachers are already spending THEIR OWN MONEY for supplies. Yes, things like paper and pencils. Carl has even bought text books. That's a whole heck of a lot MORE than $7 a month. Plus all the "extra" time they put in after hours calling home, grading papers, etc. The teachers need to draw the line somewhere. And in our district, there's plenty of money wasted on top administrators. I'm not talking building principals who have a very difficult job of being in the trenches and appeasing the idiots at the Main Office, but those Educrats who have no idea of what it's like in the classroom, yet are constantly trying to tell the teachers how to do their job. Get rid of some of those idiots, and there'd be plenty of money to spend on insurance. And I'd bet those same teachers would be more than willing to put in that extra $7 if it meant they no longer needed to buy supplies.

I know you won't agree with me, and that's OK. Just realize it's more complicated than it seems. The teachers need to draw a line somewhere!

 

It is NOT as complicated as it seems. teachers have it GREAT. I only wish my husband was a teacher. He chose a different career and with that he started at HALF of what a teacher starts, with NO BENEFITS (unless you count the 150 they pay towards health in$surance with is like 1000 a month, not much help). Oh and he has a Masters and works 60 hours a week ALL YEAR long. I am tired of teacher's complaining. HALF of americans DO NOT have dental insurance, I am sure all of us would be so lucky to only have to pay $7 dollars a month. And many jobs you have to pay stuff out of pocket for your job.

Granted I agree with you on the wasted money at the top, our super gets 375,000ish a year.

Anyway if the teachers wanted to make more money they could choose a different profession.

 

Well, at least that much of your comment is right! Most teachers do what they do BECAUSE THEY LOVE KIDS. They are willing to spend their own money FOR THE KIDS. They are willing to put up with crap from students, parents, and administration because they have this strange idea that they can make a difference. They are willing to take a salary half of what they'd be making in the business world. And in that business world, they wouldn't have to buy their own supplies, either.

 

It will be difficult for anyone in the private sector to understand this since they pay gobs more money for health insurance then government (federal, state, or local) employees do.

I'm curious why you think most teachers would make twice as much in the real world? It may be that your husband does have specific skills that would be useful in the business world but most teachers I know don't.

I worked as a carpenter and I had to buy my own tools even though I worked for someone else. A lot of employees have to buy their own supplies. I'm not sure I agree with school teachers having to buy supplies considering how much I pay in property taxes (I would like to know where the money is going after all) and the fact that parents buy a lot of supplies at the beginning of the year but in the real world people constantly have to pay for work materials, supplies, licensing and education. Typically only those payed by taxes (military, state employees, school teachers, etc) have so much of their supplies, health care, and retirement taken care of for them.

 

I think that health care shouldn't be tied to employment at all. Everyone should just pay for it privately. This would change costs, benefits, marriage issues and all sorts of things. The money saved by employers would end up in employees pockets due to larger salaries. Wouldn't you rather have more money and the choice to choose which health care plan you had. It would change so much but it is not really a politically viable option at this point. :/

 

I SOOO agree with you on the health insurance going private.

 

Yes, I would much rather have the money outright and buy my own insurance. The only drawback is that we don't pay taxes (I don't think!) on what is put into insurance, and if it were paid directly as pay, we would be paying taxes.

My husband's area is computers. He could work as a consultant making more than he does teaching.

I'm not sure if you mean that you're not sure if it's true that teachers don't have to buy supplies, or that it SHOULDN'T be true. Believe me, it is true. And things vary from district to district.

 

I meant they shouldn't have to considering what we pay for education and supplies. In other words I think the money is being sucked away for unimportant things. Bureaucrats.

Your husband may be able to work as a consultant but most teachers I know couldn't. So I was just wondering about the "most" in your statement.

Yes, our wonderful representatives decided to encourage employers to give health insurance benefits by making contributions tax free. It definitely takes the freedom out of choosing health insurance though and has caused a lot of problems. I would rather see no health care deductions for taxes. We all have to eat but don't get to buy our food with pretax dollars. I would like less taxes for everyone but the worst taxes are ones that really change peoples actions often for the worse. It really destroyed the free market in health insurance long ago coupled with a few other things.