jandar
05-22-2007, 12:25 PM
School is to start no earlier than 2 weeks before Labor day. This was a bill passed by the state and pushed for by the Hospitality and Theme Park industry.
They felt it caused a drop in revenue as in state residents did not have a "normal summer" break.
Regardless of your stance on this, read the following email.
As it stands now, one of our counties teachers will not get a paycheck come August 15th. This amounts to 1/24th of their income taken away. There is no make up pay. Its not being offered due to them starting school a little later this year (middle of August versus the beginning of August).
In mine and my wifes case, this is about 1600.00 that is not being paid to our family this year.
from an email sent to Clay County teachers:
Dear Educator:
Teachers are paid less than those who work in other professions requiring similar education and responsibilities. Low teacher pay comes at a high cost for schools and kids, who lose good teachers to better-paying professions. Some 20 percent of new public school teachers leave the profession by the end of the first year, and almost half leave within five years. Pay-related turnover is especially high for minorities, males, and teachers under the age of 30.
Having highly qualified teachers is essential to student success — but who will remain in a profession in which they are devalued by the school district.
The CCEA and its leadership have been meeting with representatives of the School Board since last September to reach an agreement regarding the August 15th dilemma which faces the teachers in Clay County. We were confident, after conversation with staff and school board members that there would indeed be an August 15th paycheck. We were extremely hopeful when we discovered that St. Johns, Duval, Columbia and Baker counties are all paying their teachers on August 15th. Clay is not!
The leadership and the bargaining team have offered several “solutions” to this dilemma. They have been received by the staff and the bargaining team of the county, but rejected by the school board and the superintendent. At the Strategic Planning meeting held by the school board on May 10th, the school board allocated $200,000 to pay moving expenses for NEW teachers to Clay County; however, they have not anteed up that same amount to keep highly qualified teachers in Clay County.
Yesterday, at our second bargaining session, the county presented a schedule of payment and their reason for not being able to pay teachers. The presentation had errors and your bargaining team had several concerns. The process is called “bargaining.” This means an offer is made and a counter offer is suggested. This process continues until an agreement is reached. I am concerned that at our first session, we made a proposal of an August 15th paycheck and expected a counter proposal this week; however, we got a “NO”. I don’t believe anyone could call that bargaining.
CCEA continues to negotiate for an August 15th paycheck. Now, we need your help. If you want a paycheck on August 15th, we need you to call your school board member and tell them so! The district needs to hear that more than the 6 people who sit at the bargaining table feel this issue is important. We return to the table on June 19th to discuss this dilemma again. If school board members hear from teachers a.k.a. voters, perhaps our priority will become theirs.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Constance Higginbotham
President
Clay County Education Association
Have a Great Day!
They felt it caused a drop in revenue as in state residents did not have a "normal summer" break.
Regardless of your stance on this, read the following email.
As it stands now, one of our counties teachers will not get a paycheck come August 15th. This amounts to 1/24th of their income taken away. There is no make up pay. Its not being offered due to them starting school a little later this year (middle of August versus the beginning of August).
In mine and my wifes case, this is about 1600.00 that is not being paid to our family this year.
from an email sent to Clay County teachers:
Dear Educator:
Teachers are paid less than those who work in other professions requiring similar education and responsibilities. Low teacher pay comes at a high cost for schools and kids, who lose good teachers to better-paying professions. Some 20 percent of new public school teachers leave the profession by the end of the first year, and almost half leave within five years. Pay-related turnover is especially high for minorities, males, and teachers under the age of 30.
Having highly qualified teachers is essential to student success — but who will remain in a profession in which they are devalued by the school district.
The CCEA and its leadership have been meeting with representatives of the School Board since last September to reach an agreement regarding the August 15th dilemma which faces the teachers in Clay County. We were confident, after conversation with staff and school board members that there would indeed be an August 15th paycheck. We were extremely hopeful when we discovered that St. Johns, Duval, Columbia and Baker counties are all paying their teachers on August 15th. Clay is not!
The leadership and the bargaining team have offered several “solutions” to this dilemma. They have been received by the staff and the bargaining team of the county, but rejected by the school board and the superintendent. At the Strategic Planning meeting held by the school board on May 10th, the school board allocated $200,000 to pay moving expenses for NEW teachers to Clay County; however, they have not anteed up that same amount to keep highly qualified teachers in Clay County.
Yesterday, at our second bargaining session, the county presented a schedule of payment and their reason for not being able to pay teachers. The presentation had errors and your bargaining team had several concerns. The process is called “bargaining.” This means an offer is made and a counter offer is suggested. This process continues until an agreement is reached. I am concerned that at our first session, we made a proposal of an August 15th paycheck and expected a counter proposal this week; however, we got a “NO”. I don’t believe anyone could call that bargaining.
CCEA continues to negotiate for an August 15th paycheck. Now, we need your help. If you want a paycheck on August 15th, we need you to call your school board member and tell them so! The district needs to hear that more than the 6 people who sit at the bargaining table feel this issue is important. We return to the table on June 19th to discuss this dilemma again. If school board members hear from teachers a.k.a. voters, perhaps our priority will become theirs.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Constance Higginbotham
President
Clay County Education Association
Have a Great Day!