NEA mad at our district

Ah, I understand! You call them "bureaucrats", I call them "educrats".

True or not, most teachers I know feel they can make more in the corporate world. They teach because they feel they can make a difference in the lives of children/young people.

My complaint about health care is that it tends to change every few years. One year, the Union (and I am anti-NEA, btw!) contracts with Company A. Two years later they decide that Company B is a better deal, and we have to switch. Then two years later, we're back with Company A, and after that they go with Company C. That's fine if "your" doctor accepts all those companies!!! We've been with Aetna for about four or five years now; I rather like it best of all the ones we've had!

 

For what it's worth:

When DH got home and read this article he was furious. His store is near a school and many of his regulars are teachers. Many talked at the start of the school year that not only did parents have to bring enough supplies for their child's class, but the lists were written to include surplus supplies to be sent to the other side of town (where there are more lower income neighborhoods). So I'm confused as to why teachers have to buy supplies at all. I mean, our school lists included packs of construction paper, paints, etc. Supplies for ART CLASS!!!! Not just the normal stuff kids use every day.

Anyhow. He was mad because he is salaried and doesn't see a dime beyond what his base rate is. And there is no possibility of a raise for him, either. And the teachers make more than he does. And our Dental just went up to $15 a month (for just he and I). He didn't even mention it because it was insignificant enough (at $15) that he forgot. Ok, so those teachers that come in to his store can drop the gas station lattes and brew their own coffee (that's what he said).

He has to buy his own shirts. He has to buy his own ties. They are both company products, so they're way more expensive than the ones he could get at JC Penny. Plus any jacket or coat he wears has to have the logo, too. And he has to have special shoes. Add in the pencils and tape and staples and post its that he has to provide because the company does not see them as necessities and you have a small sum that we pay out of pocket. Oh, and then there are all the company errands that we have to shell out for gas for him to run (he gets $20 a month gas stipend, but he uses a WHOLE lot more than that). And the company lunches every month or two... at a buffet... where you HAVE to pay to get in.. even if you don't eat. But we don't complain about those things. They are just part of the job. So, yeah, he was ticked about the NEA griping about $7.

 

The weight of supplies in our district rests on the parents, Jackie. The additional classroom "bonus" supplies are often paid for by the PTO who gives the teachers a lump sum at the beginning of the year to use as they wish. The parents and PTO foot the bill for laminators and rolls of laminating stuff, supplies, books, playground equipment, signs, computerized stuff like the fancy things that replaced chalkboards/whiteboards. Sorry your family has to add so much of your own money to his classroom for necessary things. I don't want you to think I don't understand your situation.

And Amie, I hear you, too.

 

I would guess you're not in an urban classroom. When Carl first started teaching, he had kids who would come in and say their homework wasn't done because they had spent the evening lying on the floor because of bullets flying outside, and they weren't kidding. The parents live hand-to-mouth. Our PTO's are heavy on T's and very low on P's. They do what they can.

 

Yeah, we're pretty blessed where we live. Our "city" is rather small and has one of the lowest crime rates in the country. We also have one of the lowest cost of living, so there is less true poverty here than other places. Not that it's all glitz and glam, mind you, but it is a decent enough place to live. Like I said in a PP, the students who attend the schools on the 'right side of the tracks' (sadly, I mean this literally) are responsible for bringing additional supplies for those kids who attend on the 'wrong side'.

There are also 5 colleges in town turning out new teachers. Because of that, our district is like a jumping point for entry level teachers. By and large, these folks are young men and women who do not yet have a family to support.

If I were in your shoes, or even your district, I might take issues with that $7, too. Around here, though, it just makes the teachers sound like spoiled brats.

 

We are more rural than you could even fathom. :lol: Last year when dd was at the ps for about half the year, I served on PTO. There were about a dozen parents and one teacher.

 

There's going to be a big difference from district to district. I know that many of the southern Ohio districts, borderline Appalachian, are VERY poor. The pay their teachers next to nothing, and the parents/kids have even less.

 

$7 can add up, but teachers are certainly not the only ones going through this. My dh works for a non-profit that relies solely on donations. They've taken a hit with the recession and raises haven't happened. Yet his insurance (for him) has gone from $0-$60/month in TWO years. (That hit the household budget hard!) Family insurance will now be over $1000 a month.

 

Have you checked individual plans. If he doesn't make enough to pay taxes the tax break won't affect him and we found quotes for as low as $500 a month with an HSA for saving for the high deductible. We found that high deductible was the best even when we used the entire deductible such as when DH had surgery the same year I gave birth to number four plus some other less expensive things. It was still worth it. Of course, it's different in every state.

Walmart is starting to do some small clinic things that can save on your deductible too. Things like blood sugar testing, etc.

 

WHAT!!! I thought EVERYONE now was going to get FREE health care under Obamacare!!! :twisted:

 

I also thought there was supposed to be "hope."

 

Well, there's definately been plenty of CHANGE! :roll:

 

Wait!? You have plenty of change?!!! I barely had enough for the parking meter yesterday.

 

When dh got the memo about insurance going up, one reason listed was Health Care Reform. Yeah... look what Obamacare is doing for us...

 

And HERE'S the headline from Yahoo News:

AP - President Barack Obama sought Wednesday to reintroduce his signature health care bill to skeptical voters who don't like or understand it six months after it became law.

I guess if we don't LIKE it, it must be because we don't UNDERSTAND it....

 

....and thus the re-education camps were formed....

 

Our local news had a brief overview of the changes that go into effect tomorrow. In the article, found , they say this:

What I don't understand is that independent insurance analysts have been saying since day one that Obamacare would absolutely mean higher premiums for everyone. So... how exactly can gov't folks now claim that companies are "falsely blaming" the costs on Obamacare? Do they really think we're that stupid, or are they just grasping at straws?

 

Our most recent report on it is saying that Obamians are now having to divert the focus off of it saving money and focus just on spreading the amount of "coverage" because of all of the proof that this law is going to cost so much.

I just dont know how someone so openly decietful could still have anyone's respect.

 

I was stopped at a light yesterday behind an SUV with a bumper sticker that read, "That Obama sticker on your car might as well say 'I'm an idiot.'"

 

LOL!!!

And Carl was telling me this morning that within a year, we will be taxed on the employers' contributions to health care. He THINKS this is part of Obamacare, but isn't sure.