We are in crunch time of a ballot measure that has avoided controversy until perhaps now. On Thursday night, the Davis school board approved another 50 layoffs. It is not the way we want to do things here in Davis, but such a move reflects an all-cuts approach to cutting the school’s current structural deficit that remains even if Measure C passes.
A $3.5 million structural deficit is merely the tip of the proverbial iceberg. If Measure C does not pass, the Davis schools face a deficit nearly three times that, at $10 million. In the face of such daunting numbers, you would think we would be pulling together to work as a team – district personnel, teachers, community members.
Instead, Gail Mitchell, head of the Davis Teachers Association, put Measure C at risk herself, when she wrote an ill-advised letter to the editor.
She writes: “Recent items in The Davis Enterprise made a surprising call for pay cuts and a shortened academic year. Measure C results aren’t in, the state budget hasn’t been passed, and community input has not been sought – and, yet, district officials and individuals are already arguing that we have to look to the classroom for cuts first.”
“We’ve been down this road before. Last year, five fewer school days and higher class sizes led to lower test scores and cuts in essential curriculum. Pay cuts, which occurred at the same time as increased costs of benefits, were demoralizing and, in some cases, led teachers to seek employment elsewhere or even to leave the profession altogether,” she continued.
“It’s time to change the conversation. If we value education, we need to value the work of teachers,” she concludes. “We can’t solve a long-term structural deficit with short-term pay cuts that ask even more from the teachers who already have given so much.”
The response to this statement was strong, even from supporters of Measure C.
One person wrote on the Vanguard, “The DTA president’s letter was appalling.”
Another responded, “‘appalling’ might be correct, but I was thinking more ‘arrogant,’ and/or ‘lacking situational awareness.’ “
Still another wrote, “Obviously tone deaf and poorly timed.”
The timing could not have been worse. If you are asking the voters to take concessions in the form of a $320 tax – and $520 when you combine Measure A and Measure C – you have to reciprocate.
It is obvious right now that, even as the economy improves, it is not going to produce enough revenue by the time the district has to finalize its budget to change much from the $3.5 million structural deficit. It is unfortunate that the timing of state regulations for setting budgets is so early, but it is the reality that we have to deal with.
We can debate over whether and how much the economy will improve over the course of the next year. But that is a discussion for another day.
Right now the reality is that the district has to finalize cut lists. Young teachers’ lives will be disrupted and their futures uncertain.
There is no one I more strongly support getting improvements in their compensation than teachers – long underpaid and undervalued in our society, a society that will increasingly rely on quality and affordable public education to train tomorrow’s workforce.
As I noted on Thursday in my praise of the school district, we pay $8000 per year to educate students and $50,000 per year when we have failed to do a good enough job and have to incarcerate them.
In a nice and unexpected response, one of the team that helps my nephew on a daily basis expressed gratitude and happiness to be a member of a village that will give my nephew what he needs.
It is the concept of “village,” that should not be foolishly turned into a term of political contention, and that needs to reborn in our society.
We cannot survive a society where it is every member for themselves, sink or swim.
Instead, we must all work together for the common good.
The voters of Davis have been asked over and over again to step up and help our schools. We do this for the most part gladly. We understand, perhaps better than most communities, the importance of education and the investment that such a commitment makes in the future.
And while this community has stepped up in 2007, 2008, 2011, and hopefully in 2012 as well, it is a sacrifice that expects to be shared.
What good does it do us to save 78 positions through the passage of Measure C, if we have to cut 50 positions because we just could not find that last $3.5 million?
That is where shared sacrifice comes into play. I do not expect that the teachers will eat all of that themselves. It is not punitive. It is accepting the reality of the times and the situation.
I will be the first one, when we are in the black, arguing for more teachers, for better salaries and health care and other benefits, but we are not there right now.
We need the teachers and everyone involved in the district to step up, as the community has been asked to do time and time again, and we need them to lead the way to a better future and a better present.
I hope the damage done by this is not a lasting damage. I hope that Gail Mitchell will come forward and tell us that she was wrong, that we are all in this together, and that we can count on the teachers to do their part in helping the district remain afloat during these lean times.
If she can do that then we will all win. If this devolves into each side looking out for themselves and their own best interests – we will all lose.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
And one reason to not support mail-in or absentee ballots, although there are positives too. I have voted but the situation you describe may well have caused me to change my vote, but it’s already in.
Suggestions of pay cuts and a shortened school year shouldn’t be “surprising” to Ms. Mitchell or anyone else who is paying attention to our situation. Instead of shouting out an alarm about things that might be inevitable anyway, how much better if she’d acknowledged the crisis, pointed out what her teachers already have given and pledged solidarity with the rest of the folks seeking solutions by telling what else teachers can do to help?
The timing could not have been worse. If you are asking the voters to take concessions in the form of a $320 tax – and $520 when you combine Measure A and Measure C – you have to reciprocate.
why should they reciprocate or ever feel they have to? The DTA accepting concessions was never a condition upon which to pass the tax. Davis blindly passes all the school tax measures that go on the ballot. The DTA is going to act arrogant because they can always feel confident the tax will pass. So why should they ever worry? Strings are never attached to these taxes – we are simply asked to give more money, so we give, and we never stop. We got what we bargqained for, which is to say, nothing.
“which is to say, nothing.”
Unless you consider having relatively high achieving students, extracurricular activities unmatched by the private schools ( to which I can attest directly by my own children attending both private and public schools), and increased home values “something”.
“Unless you consider having relatively high achieving students “-
this is a college town, not the Ghetto.
[i]”What good does it do us to save 78 positions through the passage of Measure C, if we have to cut 50 positions because we just could not find that last $3.5 million?”[/i]
At least we know one thing: The District will fire the 50 worst teachers. The District is certainly not so bone-headed as to make the firing decisions based on length of tenure. The District will keep all of its best teachers and only weed out those who don’t measure up.
Thank goodness we have such great leadership in this District.
Oh, wait. Never mind.
[i]” I have voted but the situation you describe may well have caused me to change my vote …”[/i]
I understand this sentiment. It is one I have had in prior elections where I voted absentee and then some new (disturbing) information surfaced which made me question the wisdom of my vote. However, if you give this a little more thought, it really has nothing to do with all-mail ballots or (most of the time) with voting early. The very same situation could happen with a regular ballot. After that kind of vote–a day or a few days or a fortnight after the election–you could learn, for example, that the person who was elected dog catcher thinks that Pekingese are actually dogs and it was not a travesty that that furball breed won Best in Show at Westminster and what a complete rip-off it was that the Dobie did not win. Right?
[img]http://media.cnbc.com/i/CNBC/Sections/CNBC_TV/CNBC_US/Shows/_Documentaries_Specials/Westminster_Dog_Show/slideshow/Most_Successful_Dog_Breeds/westminster-dog-show-2012-winner.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.deseretnews.com/photos/midres/web-764991.jpg[/img]
After I read in the Enterprise that elementary students, apparently K-8,
end the school day at 1:30 on Wednesdays, I checked with DUSD admin.
Admin explained that teachers “collaborate” (“meet together”) on Wednesday afternoons,
and that Wednesday’s short schedule has been a fixture in Davis schools
for many, many years.
One would expect that “collaboration” would occur after instructional time. Priorities appear mixed up.
I have yet to see what the Davis district pays its teachers; are they
over paid or under paid for how many days at work?
Davis teacher pay: [img]http://davismerchants.org/vanguard/teacherpay.png[/img]
Eagle eye, Don & others…
salary schedules for teachers, staff and administrators may be found at: http://www.djusd.net/employment/salary
Specifically for credentialed teachers: http://www.djusd.net/employment/salary
For a teacher with 20 years of experience, A BA degree and 45 units of continuing education (less than 3 units/year)a teacher makes $88k/year (10 months, not counting winter/spring leaves and no classes during Thanksgiving week.
Movement up the scale is dependent only on time served, not expertise (differences exist between someone who has 20 hyears of experience, or one year of experience 20 times).
Although the teacher issue came up because iof the letter to the editor, it is still an open question whether the OTHER district employees are willing to make concessions. I do think it’s inappropriate for teachers to be asked for concessions that the Board doesn’t ask ALL district employees to make. Maybe even ask more of the top administrative corps.
[i]”I do think it’s inappropriate for teachers to be asked for concessions that the Board doesn’t ask ALL district employees to make. Maybe even ask more of the top administrative corps.”[/i]
I agree.
I think it is a shame that the District (or rather the Board of Trustees) does not try to get flexible contracts for all of its employees (including staff and top admins), which adjust the salary costs up or down somewhat when the revenues change. An alternate way of doing this would be to have one-year contracts in place of multi-year deals.
In their simplest form a multi-year flex contract could say that if total revenues declined by 5% from one year to the next, all salaries for all employees would decline by that same 5%. Or if total revenues increased by 5% from one year to the next, all salaries would increase by that same 5%.
The same type of deal could be done in a slightly more “progressive” fasion, where, if total revenues declined by 3% from one year to the next, all income above $40,000 per employee per year would decline by that same 5%. That way, a $40,000 or less per year member of the staff would get no pay cut. A $60,000 per year teacher would lose $1,000 in salary. And a $220,000 per year administrator’s salary would decline by $9,000 (i.e., $220k – $40k = $180k; $180k x .05 = $9k).
Although I think it makes most sense to have relatively short contracts–a year or two–I think they need to be flexible in the face of uncertain revenues. If there needs to be a mid-year correction, a flex contract can account for that.
If the District faces downward revenues for 3, 4 or 5 years (as it has), it may reach the point that it is unreasonable to expect staff members or teachers or admins to take further pay cuts, given their responsibilities. With much shorter contract terms it would thus be easier to accept that conclusion and lay-off those employees whom the District values the least (or not replace their positions if the current jobholders quit or retire). But on a year to year basis, in the middle of a contract, it strikes me as terrible management to have such a large number of (valuable) employees always riding on the razor’s edge of employment or unemployment.
TYPO: [i]a slightly more “progressive” fasion, [/i]
CORRECTION: [i]a slightly more “progressive” fashion,[/i]
Rifkin: [i]At least we know one thing: The District will fire the 50 worst teachers. The District is certainly not so bone-headed as to make the firing decisions based on length of tenure. The District will keep all of its best teachers and only weed out those who don’t measure up.[/i]
Keeping in mind the sarcastic nature of your comment, I observe that defining a good or bad teacher is about as subjective as defining what a good or bad parent is. You may get some general agreement on the end members of the spectrum, but plenty of disagreement in the middle of the spectrum.
WDF, your analogy works, only it eviscerates your point. We [i]do know[/i] the difference between good and bad parents and good and bad parenting. Likewise, everyone who is smart and paying attention knows who the good and bad teachers are. At the very least the principal in each school, if she is doing her job, [i]should know[/i] who the better and worse teachers are. I concede there may be principals who are bad at their jobs, also. The District should never employ a principal who does not keep on top of her teachers.
“We do know the difference between good and bad parents and good and bad parenting. “
Really ? And how would you define good and bad parents ? I am sure that at the extremes we would agree. I am also sure that there is plenty of gray area in the center where we might or might not agree. Do you really not believe that the same might not be true of teachers and
principals ?
[i]”how would you define good and bad parents?”[/i]
Perhaps this ([url]http://tweenparenting.about.com/od/relatingtoyourtween/a/Good-Parenting.htm[/url]) will help you, MEDS. And if you need more, read this ([url]http://tweenparenting.about.com/od/relatingtoyourtween/a/Good-Parenting.htm[/url]).
[i]” I am sure that at the extremes we would agree.”[/i]
Only someone who is daft or is prejudiced by self-interest would not agree. My point is not in the least bit controversial. We are talking about the extremes of good and bad. Yet the union policy that the District is following is just as likely to fire the very best teacher in the District as it is to fire the very worst.
Maybe you could put it in your own words, Rich, instead of linking twice to about.com.
Teacher layoffs can be done by inverse seniority, or the decision can be handed to the principals. I’m unaware of any objective measure of “good and bad” teachers, and I am uncertain how principals would decide which 50 – 100 teachers should be let go on merit. But I believe that is one of the standard ed reforms advocated by Michelle Rhee and others, so there must be some track record on this proposal out there. How did it affect test scores and other objective measures of student performance?
Rich
So far so good in terms of broad generalizations. But that kind of description avoids any of the controversial issues about parenting. A few examples, some feel that mild corporal punishment is completely appropriate. I see it as completely unnecessary and a good way to raise individuals who perceive violence as a legitimate means to get their way. Some people expect their children to demonstrate correct manners in formal settings from a very early age.
Some think that children should not be placed in such settings. Some parents take a very active role in imposing their belief systems ( religious, ethical) on their children, others prefer that their children learn to find their own philosophic, spiritual core. There are many ways to be a “good parent”. I am sure that there are also many ways to be a ” good teacher” but I am not sure that we have defined merit criteria so precisely as to be sure who to keep and who to fire. Your criteria would be ?
I make a motion to return to topic… should teachers (and slightly off-topic) administrators & other staff of DJUSD be willing to ‘come to the plate’ as they ask me, my family and the rest of us to do? Yes or no. The answers will assist me in deciding yes or no in the next seven days.
I believe that David and others already plan to ask that (‘coming to the plate’ with concessions) of city employees before they vote to approve a renewal of the Parks Tax, which [b]does not[/b] include a CPI adjustment.
In my mind, Mitchell & other DJUSD folks have some “‘splaining to do”.
I wonder if those of you who are so critical have ever been a teacher or a parent?
About seniority, some argue that it only takes a few years to become a high performing teacher so seniority should not matter much. The problem is that the salary schedules build slowly compared with other professions. Reforming one without the other is just one reason laying off the people with the lowest seniority is the fairest way to go.
I was talking to a friend yesterday who told me his base salary was $90,000 a year but in a good year he made $150,000. Isn’t this how the private sector works? You have your base pay then you get bonuses, stock options, profit sharing or other incentives. Nobody says oh you get this much and in a bad year you get less.
H. Pierce was that a typo? Or are you figuring something else in? A teacher with 20 years experience and 45 units beyond a BA in Davis earns $68,815.
Teachers are expected and rewarded for continuing training. The same teacher with 20 years who has 90 units $77,965. If you have a doctorate you get an extra $1500 a year.
When I got my credential teachers were required to get 150 hours of continuing education every 5 years to renew your credential. The education budget had funding to provide for the training. When Gray Davis had a $14,000,000,000 deficit when the dot com bubble popped he cut the funding for the training and consequently the requirement for the training to renew.
Of course when Arnold came in he cut the car tax creating the structural deficit that the state has not been able to overcome enough to restore the funding and the requirement for training. The only good years for state finances were the years around when Google went public and because of the structure of taxation in this state provided a windfall that Arnold spent on raises for state employees after attacking them in a special election that resulted in the failure of all his proposed reforms including the elimination of tenure.
One of my kids has an elementary teacher with a doctorate and she is worth every penny she earns. At Christmas the parents of the children in her class collected hundreds of dollars to give her gifts as a token of our appreciation for her efforts on behalf of our children. I have no doubt she could make more money and not be forced to stand around after school in a stupid red vest supervising children if she didn’t love the kids.
I don’t know where she is on the salary or seniority schedules or if her job is at risk but i do know the way her profession is disrespected by so many on this blog is disheartening. If measure C fails many wonderful dedicated people will be lost from this community as we abandon a generation of children in our community. Vote yes on C.
“should teachers….be willing to ‘come to the plate’ as they ask me, my family and the rest of us to do? Yes or no
Yes, and I would argue that they have ” come to the plate” year after year as demonstrated by their willingness to work for wages far below those of other professionals. Teachers also put in many hours outside of their classroom time. Many of my friends and patients are teachers. It is very common to see them grading papers or making up lesson plans while waiting for an appointment with me or manning tables after hours at events
that benefit their students. Add to that time spent in parent teacher conferences ,IEPs, decorating their classrooms, frequently with supplies they purchase themselves, and you have a lot of donated hours and money that I am not sure that folks not closely engaged with the schools are aware of.
So I would say “yes” teachers should remain at the plate, and we should continue stepping up to help them educate our students while continuously working to improve our system.
Thank you Medwoman. I read this blog often and comment on it rarely because as a teacher “in the trenches” in Davis I have been slammed for trying (and I mean trying) to educate the parents and the general public on the reality of teaching in Davis. I can’t speak for all the teachers, just my experiences. I have been called a great teacher and a bad one. Parents love me because I have high expectations for all my students; Parents hate me because I have expected too much from them. I have 31 intermediate elementary students in my classroom, 14 speak a different language at home, four are ADHD with only 1 taking medication. I have resource children, high achieving children, smart children, not so smart children. They all work to the highest of their potential. Lets not even talk about how I also have to deal with the child who gets abused at home or the one who’s father is incarcerated or the parent who is upset because their child was given a B and should be getting an A. (Nothing about how they “earned” that grade).
Yes I could be earning a lot more money with my two Masters, but I love teaching and I’m good at it. You know, I wasn’t when I started….. it does take time to learn and be good at the “art of teaching”. So those of you who think just because you have been in the trenches for a while doesn’t mean your not an effective educator. Young teachers are “energetic” but are green. That is why a lot of teachers give up after three to five years.
This weekend I spent yesterday grading four sets of papers (the usual Saturday activity) which takes about six hours (if I’m lucky). Today I’m constructing a PowerPoint that I don’t need to do but want to do since I want my students to get re-enforcement on a concept in which they are struggling to understand.
Tomorrow I meet with a co-worker to design some curriculum to enrich both our classes. I also need to go to the Dollar Store to get some supplies (out of my pocket) since my classroom money is gone because I have to buy paper for the photocopies I have to make since the District isn’t buying workbooks but black line Masters to copy.
Through all of this, I don’t see the Administrators giving up any of their pay to help the district. As far as I know, they didn’t last year when we teachers, custodians, secretary and other classified employees gave up 2+% of our pay. Rumor has it Administrators were given a pay raise…..do I know if this is true, no, but their contracts are not public so no one knows for sure. The District tells us one thing……we hear another.
Oh and by the way…. 31 elementary positions up for layoffs… that is a whole school and a half since most schools have 21 full time teachers. So which school will they eventually close since it is not economically feasible for a school to run under 500 students?
I don’t live in town because I can’t afford the rents. I do not have my own children on my health insurance because I can’t afford the premiums taken out of my paycheck. I pay into my own retirement; I will not get health benefits when I retire. I will not get any Social Security (even though I paid into it with my other jobs). STRS takes out any payments of Social Security from the retirement checks. So why do I teach? I love working with children, watching the wonder of them exploring and learning about the world. I just wish the Board, parents and state politicians would let me do what I’m trained to do…..TEACH.
So again, thank you Medwoman. You just energized me for today’s work. I just hope others in this community understand how much we put into our classrooms and how much we have given over the years to help educate the children of Davis.
[quote]STRS takes out any payments of Social Security from the retirement checks.[/quote]With all due respect, I think you have that backwards… SS will reduce your payments by your CALSTRS pension amounts.
[quote](from medwomen)Yes, and I would argue that they have ” come to the plate” year after year as demonstrated by their willingness to work for [b]wages far below those of other professionals[/b]. [/quote]What professionals (in the public sector)? Doctors? District Attorneys? DJUSD teachers, at top step, make as much or more than top step (non-management) public Sector Professional Engineers.
Thanks for your story, Classroom Teacher. It’s something that we need to be considering here, regardless of the tone-deafness of Ms Mitchell’s letter. Maybe DTA and the school board should be sending out working classroom teachers to remind voters what it’s all about.
The timing of your comments was personally interesting because we have out-of-state visitors, including one elementary teacher who spent her time between Old Sac and our other tours working on her class needs for her return next week.
In addition to the typical teacher prep and paper-grading stuff, we was preparing special, individual assignments for four students who are leaving school for week-long family vacations. However, the only discouraging word I heard was her observation that odds are that three or four of them will return without having done any of the work that took her two hours to prepare.
We’re trying to schedule some time to get together again this summer, but she can’t get anything locked in now because she doesn’t yet know what the school schedule will be for this July.
What a life you folks have. Too bad those in your profession have to get yanked around so much.
My mother, a special ed. teacher, went through repeated school bond elections (in Oregon) and loved her work enough to stick with it in spite of much lower real pay than similar teachers get now. At the time, teachers put up with low pay, anticipating a decent, “worry-free” retirement. She was pleased to get even by collecting on an adequate retirement plan, social security and health benefits until she was 93.
Ok… if the consensus is that DJUSD is in financial troubles, and teachers’ compensation is sacrosanct, are the teachers supporting making needed cuts/savings from admin &/or classified staff, that the state and local taxpayers should pony up ANY revenues to keep teacher, administrators and other staff intact (plus COLA’s?), or what?
Hpierce
I agree that my statement of comparison to other professionals was vague. I also feel that your limiting the discussion to what is made in the private sector is arbitrary and assumes public sector rates are the gold standard which is not objectively the case. So let’s compare public teachers to public teachers as the Sac Bee did.
The average teacher salary last year was $67,871, a decrease of 0.1 percent from 2010, according to new state figures. The average superintendent salary last year was roughly $159,000, also essentially flat from 2010. While average pay remained constant, districts slashed personnel. Combined teacher payroll for all districts fell by about $1 billion, or 5 percent. Teacher pay varies widely by district.
Updated with 2011 school year data on 12/29/11 …
DistrictCountyAverage Teacher Salary, 2011Teacher Salary Change. ’10-’11Teacher FTEs, 2011Teacher FTE Change, ’10-’11Super- intendent Pay, 2011
DAVIS JOINT UNIFIEDYolo$63,244-3.7D40.3%$178,000Details
Records 1-1 of 1
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/01/26/995141/see-how-well-your-school-district.html?appSession=635273558832109#storylink=
DJUSD does not even come close to the top in teacher salaries. We are not even in the top 50 districts statewide.
I am tired of supposedly educated people in Davis bitching about teachers. If they were all men, you’d support them, even ape and defend them against legitimate complaint. As it is, you need to get off your butts and get busy helping them. In the meantime, go blow.