Voters pass half-cent sales tax renewal for Jefferson Parish public schools

yes, and throwing money at the problem is really not the answer!

The answer is not the teachers, or the grass cutters it's the administration, council members salaries are set by law! They don't even have offices. It is the Chief (the women at the top) that is OVER PAID! She is not leading the system in the right direction, replacing her with another overpaid executive or politician will not fix the problem. Where I want them to start is to shame themselves by publishing salaries, Not the teachers ones, (teachers are on line)! If everyone was doing their job, the system would work, but this is not a real business, it's a government agency that is out of control on so many things from ethics to spending, they need an IG, but no one wants one to come in and show the real budget! The Real Payroll! Cutting teachers and programs are the last things the system should do, but isn't that what is always put on the chopping block, or put out there for show? They love to threaten the public because they know voters are sheep!

you think the superintendent should make more then $280,000.00 per year???????

teachers salaries are set by a contract, office workers are at will employees and can get paid any amount of money! There is no pay structure!

what are misguided parish level purchases?

(1) the retirement has noting to do with teachers it is totally separate. retirees don't get the retirement check from the school board! And there are teachers that do not teach. But you don't sound like a teacher, you sound like a tea bagger with that anti-union bs!

and teachers don't make very generous salaries, i'm sorry i went look at their payscale and was surprised how much money they don't make!!!!!!

wow, so much to address.

A.) superintendent salary

read closely, sista sally. i said "the idea of them working for substantially less than they make now is not realistic," not "the superintendent should make more than $280,000."

that being said, there really are circumstances under which it would make sense to pay a high caliber individual that much in order to retain them, because such individuals could make much more in the private market. market price. you get what you pay for. hopefully, we will be able to hire an individual worth that much.

furthermore, you missed the point. the combined salaries of the top 10 folks in central office is less than $2 million. if $37M = ~9% of the budget, then the total budget runs somewhere close to $400M. Cutting all of their salaries in half (~2M ---> ~1M)would reduce spending by less than 0.25%. if you're serious about finding money to bolster schools, you're going to need to look elsewhere.

B.) teacher retirement
how does the return from retirement program have nothing to do with teachers? teachers can "retire," return, and receive both a salary for teaching and retirement benefits as determined by the length of their service. that is double dipping, straight up.

C.) "there are teachers that do not teach, but you don't sound like a teacher you sound like a tea bagger with that anti-union __"

i don't sound like a teacher because i'm calling out that minority (yes, small minority) of teachers who don't do right by their kids!?!...that's absurd.

can you think of anyone who'd be more angry with slacking teachers than a hard-working teacher? imagine pouring your heart and soul into teaching your kids every year, getting them on or above grade level even if they started behind, getting them excited about school and college and the ability to make a better life for themselves by pursuing education. it's amazing. nothing feels better. now imagine checking in with them 2-3 years later and discovering that, due to poor teaching, many of them are once again below grade level and are no longer excited about school. it's excruciating. nothing feels worse. now, next year do the same check-in. hear the same thing. do it again the next year. do it again. keep doing it. keep hearing the same thing. how do you feel about the people hurting the kids you've invested so much in, hurting the kids you love and helped raise?...well?

in the bad old days, the union was created so that teachers (discriminated based on gender) could demand fair salaries and reasonable work conditions. it is still necessary today to protect teachers from pernicious administrators and spurious charges leveled by angry parents and/or students.

it was not intended to make it possible for teachers to keep their jobs whether or not they work or are effective, or to make it possible for teachers to double dip on payment. unfortunately, these things have gotten mixed in...

i am a teacher and proud of it. i am a union member, and i'd like to be more proud of it, but don't question my credentials on either one.

out.

teachers pensions (TRSL) Is a retirement that teachers earn just like the public get in social security. it is not (in any way) a part of the school system, it is a separate plan, not even controlled by the jpss.

they may, as you call it, double dipping, but once the join the drop plan, then retire. they are retired and they are collecting money NOT FROM THE SCHOOL SYSTEM but a retirement plan they own. not public money! if they go back to work it is because they like teaching kids, not for the money!

I still feel you don't have a grip on how pensions work. and my gut feeling is that you are not a teacher in Jefferson Parish.

alright. i don't have a super great grip on the pension system, and you may be correct, though teachers can continue to teach for several years while in drop. point granted there - it sounds right, anyway.

on the others points, the last in particular, where do have you landed?

would you defend tenure? do you think that we appropriately evaluate teachers?

do you still think that slicing salaries at the the top would have an appreciable effect on the school system's budget (or can that one, at least, be laid to rest)?

somewhere i loss part of my reply....

alright. i don't have a super great grip on the pension system, and you may be correct, though teachers can continue to teach for several years while in drop. point granted there - it sounds right, anyway.

Teachers that retire collect their pensions, they own them it is run by a board in the state. School Boards CAN hire back teachers under contracts for 10 months, and they are not required to. these teachers come back and don't get benefits because they are getting them with their pension. It is up to the school system to hire them or not to. And I believe that teachers with experience in most cases or better then new teachers!
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on the others points, the last in particular, where do have you landed? get those from their retirement plan. so it actually cost less for those teachers and it is not mandatory for the system to rehire any retired teacher! So it actually cost less to rehire those teachers...
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