9.9 percent average raise for Kelso school administrators
Thursday, August 21, 2008 5:19 PM PDT
By Carrie Pederson
Printable version
E-mail this articleKelso school administrators have received pay raises averaging 9.6 percent over the past year, during which the school board has slashed $2.6 million from the budget.
Some of the raises took effect last fall, when the principals’ bargaining unit negotiated pay raises to help put them on par with principal salaries in similarly sized districts across the state, according to Superintendent Glenys Hill.
Administrators also are getting the 5.1 percent raises the Legislature ordered in 2008-09 for teachers and other certified employees, Hill said.
Classified employees — janitors, bus drivers, teaching aides — are getting 4.4 percent raises in 2008-09.
When salary negotiations took place with the principals last fall, they were the lowest paid among all districts used in a salary comparison, Hill said.
Those districts were Walla Walla, Sunnyside, Snoqualmie Valley, Mount Vernon, Arlington, Camas, University Place, Stanwood-Camano, Yelm, Oak Harbor, East Valley Spokane, Bremerton, White River, Enumclaw, West Valley Yakima, Sedro-Woolley, Bainbridge Island, Shelton, Port Angeles and Mercer Island.
“We try to stay within the middle one-third,” compared to other districts, said Kelso School Board president Roy Parsons, explaining why the board approved the salary increases.
The board last fall also gave raises to other top administrators not covered by the principal negotiations last fall, including to Hill, business director Jim Biwer, human and student services director Mark Hottowe, elementary education director Mark Connolly and special ed director Tom Wyman.
The district was not expecting the Legislature to order such a large pay increases for this academic year, Hill said. It largely contributed to the district’s funding gap because the state is not paying the increases for staff funded by federal and local revenue, Hill said.
Top Kelso School District Salaries 2008-09
Staff person/position 2007-08 2008-09 % increase
1. Glenys Hill, superintendent $127,516 $136,121 6.7%
2. Jim Biwer, business director $98,805 $109,523 10.8%
3. Mark Hottowe, human resources & student services director $98,805 $109,523 10.8%
4. Adele Marshall, Kelso High School principal $97,550 $108,262 10.9%
5. Mark Connolly, director of elementary education $93,495 $102,492 9.6%
6. Tom Wyman, director of special programs $93,495 $102,492 9.6%
7. Elaine Cockrell, Huntington Middle School principal $91,048 $100,102 9.9%
8. Randy Heath, Coweeman Middle School principal $91,048 $100,102 9.9%
9. Nancy Gill, Catlin Elementary School principal $87,028 $95,185 9.4%
10. Don Iverson, Wallace Elementary School principal $87,028 $95,185 9.4%
11. Ronald Hutchison, Beacon Hill Elementary School principal N/A $95,185 N/A
12. Cindy Sholtys-Cromwell, Butler Acres Elementary School principal $87,028 $95,185 9.4%
13. Brenda Ward, Barnes Elementary School principal $87,028 $95,185 9.4%
Related articles:
Kelso schools forced to slash special ed (Aug. 17)
Kelso schools slash $900,000 from budget (July 29)
Kelso School Board makes second round of budget cuts (June 18)
Fuel prices draining school budgets (May 16)
Kelso School District to cut 17 positions to balance budget (Feb. 26)
Fewer students will mean less money for Kelso (Oct. 31, 2007)
Low enrollment may put squeeze on Kelso schools (Sept. 23, 2007)
Kelso schools to slash deficit (July 14, 2007)
tvstad wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:56 AM:
" I have a problem with these raises. We have lost some major employers for the longview/kelso area, which has raised our unemployment rate, and yet they are approving a 9.+ pay raise. Are those other districts they used for comparison experience the same type of unemployment? I think those raises are far above what they should have been. a 3-4% would have more on par for this area and if the Administrators didnt feel properly compensates...we could find others that would accept what we can AFFORD for this area. "
lexington mama wrote on Aug 21, 2008 5:40 AM:
" Are you kidding me? They cut special education programs and then give that much in raises just to administration! This makes me RAGE! My child will get less of the help he needs, but that's ok because the administration will be doing better financially. Seriously, and I spent the extra money to buy a house out here because I thought my children would get a better education in Kelso than in Longview. Wow, what was I thinking? Well, I hope that as they are out spending their nice salaries they remember the aides that lost their jobs and the children who are getting less help so they could have these raises. "
momto1 wrote on Aug 21, 2008 6:51 AM:
" Could someone please explain to me why these people have triple digit salaries and they are cutting special ed stuff? Did they happen to look into these other districts about the same size to see how much they were cutting from essential programs? Yes I understand they have schooling but how many people in our community have schooling also but are making half of what these people are? "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 7:45 AM:
" 9.9% pay increase for the administrators while the "classified" employees get 4.4%? I am glad to see the school board is concerned about keeping par with the other school districts for the administrative staff. Meanwhile, reduce cost by cutting progams and staff that have direct student responsibilties. Billie Holiday said it in her song. "Them's that got shall get." "
Blogger Jogger wrote on Aug 21, 2008 7:45 AM:
" Really? After threats of cuts to special ed programs, sports programs, you know, the programs "for the kids" the Kelso School District thought their upper crust needed more butter? Seriously, if this doesn't cause some concerned voices to be raised I don't think anything ever will. This is shameful. "
LJD wrote on Aug 21, 2008 8:38 AM:
" To columbian: hard to sleep at night? Are you kidding? How can it be hard to sleep when you are lying between silk sheets? "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:24 AM:
" Where to begin with you people? First of all, lay off the people making more money than you. They weren't offered the option of cutting there salary to keep other programs, or several of them may have done that. If you would like to be upset with someone, how about the people who gave them the raise? Second, how do you know they aren't worth their salary. momto1 complains that many people have as much schooling but make half as much money. Well they got the wrong kind of schooling don't you think. These people went to school for 4 years to get their Bachelor's Degrees, 2 to 3 more years for their Master's, and 2 to 3 more for their administrator's license. That's 8-10 years of schooling. If someone goes to school that long and is making half of what the Barnes Elementary principal is making ($47,592.50) I think they spent way too much money on their education. Even if they're making half what the Superintendent is making ($68,060.50) they must have mistepped somewhere. Do you know anyone who went to school for 8-10 years and is making less than $47,592.50 or $68,060.50? Another big part of that schooling equation too is that they paid for 8-10 years of college. Anyone know what that costs? Many doctor's don't go to school that long, and I'm pretty sure you people who are upset didn't either. "
LH wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:31 AM:
" Did I push the right buttons on the old Mickey Mouse calculator? $136,121/yr divided by 52 weeks = $2,617.71/wk divided by 40 hours = $65.44/hr. "
bmoc wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:36 AM:
" Okay, my kids aren't old enough to go to school yet, but this ticks me off so bad. BTW I'm moving out of Kelso School District so my kids can get a better eduction, not support greedy administrators and a blind school board. "
random wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:39 AM:
" There seems to be a lot of bashing of the Kelso school district lately. It seems like as soon as one article loses popularity with the commenters another one shows up. I've got to agree that those salaries seem pretty high. But on the other hand, if you have people who feel under-paid and under-appreciated working for the district you have other problems. All of the administrators are educated, some with masters degrees some with phd's. They've all put in the time and effort to get to where they are now. They work hard and deal with a lot of criticism from the public, who has no idea what they deal with on a day to day basis. I guess I would say that maybe it is too much to pay them, but if that's the going rate then that's the going rate. You can't under pay them or they will just move on to somewhere else and we'll end up with inferior administration, if we can get anyone to take the job at all. Think it through before you start bashing them, and realize that like most things in life you hopefully get what you pay for. I know some of these folks and they do a very hard job very well and earn what they get. "
Kalama Dude wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:45 AM:
" Mike Haas literally works for a company that has redefined the cost cutting model in Fibre, so how in heavens name can he support these kind of raises. The sheer nerve of making this public within a week of announcing their forced cuts in some feeble attempt to gain public sympathy. Biwer maybe can't do any better because he is already up to his glass ceiling of abilities, but for his part I would love to hear a Mike Haas or another concerned board member explain in this greater detail. The entire process is a major league joke. Congrats to all of you among the old boys club motive. "
Kem Cho wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:46 AM:
" Time to cut down 5 special ed teachers to pay for thes raises. How in their right mind they can be teachers. They sound like old business men trying to loot, what they can. "
greenbean wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:48 AM:
" Wow, I thought my raise this year of 4% was good, but these increases are ridiculous. No business would survive with theses salary increases, especially made in the face of cutting services. This is outrageous. "
Someone Who Cares wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:53 AM:
" Geez, maybe the Kelso School District should have looked at using this money to develop the road behind Kelso High School to help ease the congestion instead of asking the city to do it. KSD needs to really look at how they're allocating the district's money. To take away from special ed for raises is b.s. "
spedperson wrote on Aug 21, 2008 9:59 AM:
" well heck, I'm a sped teacher with more than 8 years of education and more than 10 years experience and I make about $55,000 (annual raises of 1-2.5%). My husband has degrees and makes less than I do. In one district i worked in, the teachers took a 5% pay cut so as not to cut programs and days for kids. The administrators CHOSE not to. So people can chose to refuse raises etc. Also, by my math those 12 admin folk each scored about 10 grand =$120,000. The avg. aide earns 14-19K per year. even at 18k that would pay for 6.5 aides, more than were laid off. If each of those admin guys donated back 1/2 their raises they could rehire 3-4 aides. Unless you work with or volunteer with sped kids, you have no idea how incredibly valuable those aides and their work are.They are heroes. "
spedperson wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:02 AM:
" One odd thing- look up Kelso's web site. They're posting jobs for 3 sped teachers, a speech pathologist and a school psych. what with the 5 IAs they laid off, looks like they lost most of their sped team. Hmmm... "
bones wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:03 AM:
" How could these people even accept these raises knowing (and they knew) that there would be people losing the little jobs they have???? What kind of people are these? To take this wage increase instead of putting back in to save others jobs is so incredibly selfish...People know who these people are too and I hope they get alot of grief for doing this. I said it before and I'll say it again..to cut just one of these high wage jobs would save 4-5 classified positions. This is where it should have started! "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:08 AM:
" The philosophy is if you pay higher you get a better qualified employee. This is the same justification that major corporations use for paying the outrageous salaries to the CEOs. What more then a few companies got was a high paid CEO that ran the business in to the ground. Can anyone say "Enron"? The said truth is paying higher salaries just means one thing, you have a higher paid employee. Pay is not a good indicator of ability or future sucess. "
concerned wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:08 AM:
" OMG I cant believe it first they take money away from our special ed programs then they give the administrators a 9.9% raise. Are these school board people mental or are they just that uncaring about our special kids????? "
columbian wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:30 AM:
" Ya castle rocker,they went to school for ten years.All paid for by mom and dad.took summer off,did manual labor,no way.and ended up doing the easest job on earth.6 hr.day,3mo.off.all indoors.how can you beat it. "
columbian wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:37 AM:
" ASK ANY TEACHER WHY THEY WANTED TO BE A TEACHER AND BE TRUTHFULL.ANSWER WILL BE EASY WORK AND LOTS OF TIME OFF. "
RV wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:38 AM:
" I can't wait to see what happens when the next school levy hits the ballot! "
75CB400FRider wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:38 AM:
" Its nice to see most people posting are upset as they should be!
I like the person trying to defend their raises, that must be one of the administrators!
For them to give themselves raises after cutting special ed stuff is appalling!
The salary they were making before the raise is a pretty good standard of living for this area...I'd vote if it wasn't enough then good riddance, good luck with your next job!
Just a hunch but I'll bet at least 90 percent of local residents would agree! "
I like the person trying to defend their raises, that must be one of the administrators!
For them to give themselves raises after cutting special ed stuff is appalling!
The salary they were making before the raise is a pretty good standard of living for this area...I'd vote if it wasn't enough then good riddance, good luck with your next job!
Just a hunch but I'll bet at least 90 percent of local residents would agree! "
random wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:38 AM:
" Quick question. Did anyone actually read this article, or did you just see numbers and get angry? The decision to give pay raises was made quite a while ago. As in before the state mandated a larger than normal raise for teachers accross the board, as in before the school knew they were going to be making a $2.6 million budget cut, as in before the cost of fuel skyrocketed and EVERYTHING became more expensive. It's not as if the administrators saw that the budget cut was coming and said "hey, we better act fast to screw the sped program out of money or we might not get our raise". You're making devoted educators out to be monsters. Their pay raises were in the works well before the budget issue even existed. "
rs wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:47 AM:
" Im sorry that we have to lay you off, Hey want to see my new mercedes "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:53 AM:
" All this salary stuff is relative. Parents who make minimum wage and earn $15k a year probably think that a first year teacher who makes twice that should give at least a quarter of their salary back to the school to fund more programs for the kids. Parents who make $50K/year think that first year teacher is well underpaid for dealing with 30 kids all day. It's all relative. People spend what they make. My wife and I made about $50K/year combined and didn't struggle but lived in a single wide trailor. After putting money away for retirement and for the kids' college we lived paycheck to paycheck. Now we make $90K combined. We bought a house and after the house payment, putting money away for retirement, and the kids' college, we live paycheck to paycheck. Our house is not extravagent, 3 bed 1 bath, 1,500 sq. ft. and nearly 90 years old. Our cars are nice but not luxury brands and we bought them used. When we made $50K I would have thought anyone making $90K was rich. $136,121 is not a huge salary in today's world. Comparing that to my family they probably don't have much more than us. Maybe one more bedroom and one more bath. Probably bought comparable cars to what we have but they were able to purchase them new. And the poor Barnes principle makes less than us. "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:56 AM:
" Columbian, just to get your facts straight, administrators don't get summers off. "
vet wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:56 AM:
" Re;LH, dont forget they only work 8 months out of the year. work 8 months and 4 months vacation. thats a good job for say 60,000.00 a year. = 7,500.00 a month for working months. and they are paid enough. "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:00 AM:
" Agreed, these increases have been in the pipeline for awhile. Now the question is, which of these administrators said,"Given the curren fiscal constraints I choose to decline the raise."? Which of these administrators just put their hands out and said, "More. More. More."? "
Viewpoint wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:02 AM:
" Kelso schools forced to slash special ed, Kelso administrators get hefty raises TDN plays to this audience like they were subscribers to the National Enquirer. Kelso did NOT slash special ed. Kelso was forced to cut its overall budget by about FIVE percent and the special ed program which had overspent had to cut their budget by about TWO percent. Kelso pays employees according to a STATE salary schedule and formulas derived from what similar employees and in similar districts pay in the rest of the STATE, not based on the local economy. If you had recalled the TDN article from LAST year you would know that the top ten administrators for Kelso will be getting on average LESS than what Longview administrators got this LAST year. Longview's new superintendent will be getting 20,000 dollars more than Kelsos superintendent. TO LH- I recently paid more than 65 dollars per hour to a plumber. "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:05 AM:
" Columbian, my wife is a teacher. Her parents did not pay for her college. We are paying on her school loans and have well over $30,000 to go just for her Bach degree. Then she went back to school for 2 1/2 more years to get her Master's, which by the way is a requirement now. We're still waiting on the bill for that one. And of course she has all her certification classes, and continuing education classes every year to remain a licensed educator. So that's 6 1/2 years, over $30,000 plus whatever is coming for the Master's, probably more than $10,000, and a requirement to continue taking classes every year just to keep her teaching license. Do you think she's overpaid. These people with what you think are huge salaries are beyond her by 2 to 3 more years of school and $10,000 to $20,000 more to pay for school. True, some of their parents may have paid for their education, and you think they should not be paid as much because of that? Interesting. "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:05 AM:
" castle rocker-your key phrase is "us". Taking that into account maybe you should ask how much do their spouses make. "
Billy Hill wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:18 AM:
" Again I ask.....how far down the list do you have to go to get to your first teacher. Simple words can not express my anger! Here it is for all to see....the unconscionable greed of the government elite. No different than the communist elite in China or Russia. They TAKE as much as they possibly can and could not care less, in the end, who eats or starves. Your tax dollars taken from you by the government at the point of a gun. Don't believe me? Stop paying your taxes and your property will be taken from you by the government or you will be imprisoned in a governmental institution. If you resist enough you could be shot in the process. These selfish, un-American leaches could not care less about the students, parents or tax payers. Their ONLY concern is their salary and pension.....AND NOTHING ELSE! I ask, how much longer are you going to lay down and take it? "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:29 AM:
" Billy Hill, wow, so much anger. I suppose if you were offered a 9.9% raise you would donate the extra money to Kelso School District. "
kelsomom1 wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:35 AM:
" Columbian, you need to educate yourself on exactly what teachers do through their "summer" break. Most go to classes, work summer school, all have to be back in their buildings by August and most of them really never leave the building. They spend their summers working on class curriculum so that students will walk into the classroom on the first day and the teacher is prepared for them. All of the teachers that I know go above and beyond what a normal 9-5 job is and yes, they are very much underpaid. The raises were delegated long ago to the administrators, teachers and aides. I dont disagree with having to make budget cuts I do disagree with the "bumping" of aides from one job to another, particularly in sped. Get your facts straight columbian what you wrote is wrong. "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:44 AM:
" Kelsomom1, we are not talking about teachers. We are talking about the few admninistrators. I don't think anyone begrudges teachers salaries or the nominal raises they recieve. But none of them will ever see a 9.9 pay incease. Unless they become an adminstrator. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:45 AM:
" Somehow the logic of this all escapes me. Break it down to the simplest level: Administrators 9.9% increase, teachers 5-8% increase, Special education programs cut 16%. There can be no excuse at all for that. Something is terribly out of reality here. First Da Tax Queen and her Liberal puppets in Olympia force unfunded teacher pay increases on the the district which is bad enough. Then the district forces pay increases for administrators on the budget. In the end the kids lose. How is that? I know if I were a voter in the Kelso School District I would be asking for a recall of some school board members. And you can bet if this happens in Longview I will be taking signatures. "
longview citizen wrote on Aug 21, 2008 11:49 AM:
" I in NO way support these raises but to clarify you can not calculate the wages for these folks on a straight 40 hour week. The majority of these folks put in far more than 40 hours per week and if not they should. They are salaried and their positions require a lot of after hours meetings (board etc) and after school functions they must attend. Once again I am not trying to justify these ungodly raises, especially when they are cutting positions. I really think they all need to look hard at what they are doing to these students that are actually the reason they have jobs. Are they not suppose to be there to help the kids?? I also think ALL school districts need to look at consolidating there weeks into a 4 day school week with teachers and admin. doing the normal 5 day week and eliminate all of these inservice days. This could make signifigant savings in fuel cost alone, not to mention driver salaries etc. "
mrsw wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:02 PM:
" You know all this scares me.... Regardless of who is making the cuts and giving the raises we are all suffering. These children are the future and they are the ones who need to get a good, quality education so that they can grow up to be self sufficient and have decent jobs to fund the social security system that their parents and former teachers will be relying on in the future. The way we are going now our kids are going to be lazy, and uneducated and our economy etc will just get worse! Have to say, as sad as it is, that I will be glad I won't have to see what this world is like in another hundred years. "
WorkingClass wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:09 PM:
" I think everyone should take a look at lbloom.net, it has a large cache of recent and past pay for public employees in Washington State. Now, if tdn censors this I will truly know they are weak puppets. "
Billy Hill wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:13 PM:
" castle rocker, I have not been nor will I ever be offered a 9.9% raise from Kelso school district so stop with the non sequitur. You do not know me......OR how much I give to charity per year. I will tell you that 1/2 of my earnings are confiscated by "the government" every year.....IS THAT ENOUGH? The people on "the list" are not educators they are bureaucrats ....they contribute NOTHING to education in the end. IF the teachers at Kelso were professionals and all conducted themselves in that manner, I make reference to the charges of misconduct of the past, then, in theory, if NONE of the above showed up for work your child's education would not suffer one bit. My small school in eastern Oregon had 1 principal, 1 secretary (with help from the students and parents for simple clerical matters)and 21 teachers and aids. It can be done. Funny.....student test scores started a downward trend soon after as "staff" numbers rose and government involvement went through the roof. "
Crystal wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:29 PM:
" Ridiculous administrative costs is not just a local thing...it's a national thing. The state gov't raises salaries to stay competitive with other states, otherwise, every administrator would leave the state and go where the money is. The national gov't needs to fix this, but all they do is claim it's the individual state's responsibility. We as a state can't do anything about it. "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:42 PM:
" Billy Hill, it was a simple question and you did a very good job of avoiding it. Whoever you work for, "IF" you were offered a 9.9% raise would you donate it to your local school district? "
salmonoid wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:45 PM:
" Carry Peterson you do a good job of stirring the pot but did you do any actual investigation? As it goes for the raises I would like to see a detailed time line as to when raises were given, who got them, and when it was decieded to make cuts and where those cuts were made.
As most people know or should know with some simple thought rather than reaction that the business department is responsible. I read in one of the the blogs that the head of the business department is in over his head. I agree and a 9.9% raise is alot but has everyone forgotten how much that pool cost in the high school. Why is it still running, shut it down! Lets cut sports too! That would put money into the general fund for the sped kids. Oh yeah what about no child left behind mandates with no funding? The issues are clearly larger than admin getting raises and where is the business departments accountablility in this? That department is ultimately responsible for finances where is their input? The author of the article did a poor job of balanced reporting...too once sided. Where is the ethics? "
As most people know or should know with some simple thought rather than reaction that the business department is responsible. I read in one of the the blogs that the head of the business department is in over his head. I agree and a 9.9% raise is alot but has everyone forgotten how much that pool cost in the high school. Why is it still running, shut it down! Lets cut sports too! That would put money into the general fund for the sped kids. Oh yeah what about no child left behind mandates with no funding? The issues are clearly larger than admin getting raises and where is the business departments accountablility in this? That department is ultimately responsible for finances where is their input? The author of the article did a poor job of balanced reporting...too once sided. Where is the ethics? "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 12:49 PM:
" Crystal-Let them go. The one thing I have learned is that when you become so self important that you think you are irreplacable you can andand will be proven wrong. "
LOUIE wrote on Aug 21, 2008 1:10 PM:
" Considering all the problems in education I find this incredible, unbelieveable amount to be a slap in the face to the rest of us hard working stiffs. Maybe they could pool some of those high salary increases and install a traffic signal where is is obviously needed. "
kelsomom1 wrote on Aug 21, 2008 1:12 PM:
" bert, you need to read the comments above me. I was responding to a comment made by columbian in direct reference to teachers that is why my comment is stated the way it is. This is not just happening in our area, these kinds of cuts are happening across our country. My son lives in New York and it is affecting their school systems also, not just here. Volunteers in the classrooms would be a welcome answer for any of you who would like to do so. If you want some answers go to the school board meetings where they decide which programs will be cut, which people get raises and so forth. These are hard times for all concerned, but most importantly for the children involved. I am sure that no one is dancing for joy at the district office over cuts, and this has been very difficult for everyone. "
viper wrote on Aug 21, 2008 1:26 PM:
" whats really great is they can't find the money for special ed programs But can sure find it for great pay raises !did they get some free trips to the galpoes to with that raise? I'am sure there is more then there saying It amazes me. and they can't figure out why our kids don't have anything at school and the school district has no money take a look here and you will see why ,looks like they are going to want more school bonds for there next raises : Viper "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 1:28 PM:
" kelsomom1-All I was saying is let's stay on topic. The subject, at as I see it, is a 9.9% pay increase for the top 13 people in the swchool district realistic and justifiable? Teacher's pay and the other school district employees pay is a whole other BLOG. "
Billy Hill wrote on Aug 21, 2008 1:35 PM:
" castle rocker, the only person that can give me a raise is.....ME! If I give myself a 100% raise it will be because I HAVE EARNED IT......NOT THE RESULT OF SOME DEMOCRAT GOVERNMENTAL AGENCYS MANDATE! It will be the direct result of risking my own money, not the taxpayers money, and lots and lots of HARD WORK! "
skeezix wrote on Aug 21, 2008 1:56 PM:
" Billy Hill,
In resposne to the question quoted in your post, "I will tell you that 1/2 of my earnings are confiscated by "the government" every year.....IS THAT ENOUGH?" Well Billy, that seems like way too much...in fact, it makes your story even less credible. If you are paying that much in taxes, I would make the following suggestions. A. Stop doing your own taxes because you clearly don't know what you're doing. or B. Fire the person doing your taxes for you since they don't know what they are doing. "
In resposne to the question quoted in your post, "I will tell you that 1/2 of my earnings are confiscated by "the government" every year.....IS THAT ENOUGH?" Well Billy, that seems like way too much...in fact, it makes your story even less credible. If you are paying that much in taxes, I would make the following suggestions. A. Stop doing your own taxes because you clearly don't know what you're doing. or B. Fire the person doing your taxes for you since they don't know what they are doing. "
skeezix wrote on Aug 21, 2008 1:59 PM:
" One question I have that has wasn't addressed in the story, nor brought up in the posts here....Are these figures salary alone or do they represent total compensation which includes benefits, etc? "
grizz wrote on Aug 21, 2008 2:12 PM:
" Billy Hill, I think you just made CastleRocker's point. Most people who are willing to put out the effort and risk earn the rewards. Those that sit in one job all their life and take no initiative or chances, well...they make less money and complain about those who make more, like the majority of whiners here. These administrators could just have easily sat in a classroom teaching all their life for less pay, but they chose to go for something higher, and got the reward. Good for them. And to those who say it's a slap in the face to the kids, c'mon, are you kidding? They've obviously dedicated their career to primary/secondary education (in public schools mind you), so give it a rest. "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 21, 2008 2:21 PM:
" Billy Hill, terrific, another way to avoid the question. Okay, the only person who can give you a raise is you. Great, so you must be self-employed, I applaud your entrepenaurship. I'm sure that's spelled wrong, please forgive me. Now, for the sake of this simple question let's just say you work for Jiffy Lube in Kelso. If they offered you a 9.9% raise would you donate the extra money to the Kelso School district? Please answer, we are all waiting anxiously to hear. "
kelsomom1 wrote on Aug 21, 2008 2:32 PM:
" bert, I understand we need to stay on topic for this blog, but slamming teachers isn't the way to do so. Having said enough on that topic, I can only say that these raises were approved by the Kelso School Board some time ago, and perhaps people should take their questions about these practices and procedures directly to the source. Holding people accountable is the only way to start making some changes. "
TDN Bad Boy wrote on Aug 21, 2008 2:36 PM:
" Salmonid -- I know you want to blame President Bush. However no child left behind was not a mandate it was a goal. The president does not write or fund legislation at the national level. That is the job of your congressman and senators. So please if you want to place the blame on federal funding, although that is like blaming the crime rate in Longview-Kelso on the FBI go ahead. It simply shows your partisan ignorance. Pelosi and Reid have used their Liberal puppets to short-fund everything they can that the president wants. They have created the mess our economony is in. Why do you think Congress' approval rating is even less than the president's, and he deserves his. As for this, this is clearly a state and local issue. Funding became a problem when Da Tax Queen and the Liberals in Olympia passed unfunded pay increases. All they had to do was fund what they wanted to pay the teachers. Still, these raises in the face of the special education cuts show that the district leaders are out of touch with reality. The voters in Kelso need to grow some brains and get rid of people responsible for this autricity. "
jj's girl wrote on Aug 21, 2008 2:47 PM:
" Well, I figured you wouldn't print my last comment, so I'll try again. Your article combined the salary adjustment from last school year with the 5.1% pay raise that administrators received this year, which was mandated from the state. Your article makes it appear like both increases are happening this coming year, when in fact last year's adjustment was made to put administrators in the middle third of comparable salaries statewide, and before any budget cuts were being considered. What is the purpose of this article? To help education, to divide the community, or ???? "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 2:51 PM:
" skeezix-
If you are not paying close to 50% of your earnings into taxes then you need to look over your shoulder for the IRS agents coming after you. When you take into account income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, gasoline taxes, etc., 50% of the average person's earnings goes justto pay taxes. But that is off topic for this blog. "
If you are not paying close to 50% of your earnings into taxes then you need to look over your shoulder for the IRS agents coming after you. When you take into account income taxes, sales taxes, property taxes, gasoline taxes, etc., 50% of the average person's earnings goes justto pay taxes. But that is off topic for this blog. "
Billy Hill wrote on Aug 21, 2008 3:22 PM:
" Thanks bert....you ARE aware of your tax burden. This article is not about ME it is about how much we are allowing government to reward the so-called educators to fill out forms, supervise teachers and our children. I think its way to much and way to many. I also pity those who have the mindset that Americans deserve a certain salary based only on the number of years they spent in school and not the value to the district their ability's bring to the job....WOW! No I would not "donate" one red cent to Kelso school district. And no if some other school district pays its administrators more every one qualified in the state will not migrate there and have a job waiting for them when they get there. Just done a comparison ... Washington property taxes to that in McCain country....THERE IS NONE! Man are we getting hosed. Arizona, here I come! "
skeezix wrote on Aug 21, 2008 3:47 PM:
" Bert,
Sorry to bust your bubble, but after deductions, which I have all the receipts for and are legal and legitimate, my effective Federal tax rate for 2007 was 15.2%. My State rate, living in Oregon was 5% following deductions. I don't pay sales tax, and I know for certain that my gasoline taxes and property taxes are not 30% of my income. I would be more than comfortable sitting down with the IRS and going over my return. I have every bit of documentation needed to support what is reported. I agree that this is off topic, but Billy stated that he paid 50% of his income to the government. If so, he's paying too much. If you agree with him, then you are paying too much as well. Donations to charity, church, etc., reduce your tax burden considerably. Most positive by this approach is others may benefit from your good fortune. Now, back on topic...JJ's girl raises a very valid point. Part of the increase reported was realized last year but is reported in a way that seems like a one time increase. That's a little misleading. "
Sorry to bust your bubble, but after deductions, which I have all the receipts for and are legal and legitimate, my effective Federal tax rate for 2007 was 15.2%. My State rate, living in Oregon was 5% following deductions. I don't pay sales tax, and I know for certain that my gasoline taxes and property taxes are not 30% of my income. I would be more than comfortable sitting down with the IRS and going over my return. I have every bit of documentation needed to support what is reported. I agree that this is off topic, but Billy stated that he paid 50% of his income to the government. If so, he's paying too much. If you agree with him, then you are paying too much as well. Donations to charity, church, etc., reduce your tax burden considerably. Most positive by this approach is others may benefit from your good fortune. Now, back on topic...JJ's girl raises a very valid point. Part of the increase reported was realized last year but is reported in a way that seems like a one time increase. That's a little misleading. "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 21, 2008 4:23 PM:
" Although reluctantly, Billy Hill has answered the question. If he were to get a 9.9% raise, he would NOT donate it to the Kelso School district. Now, I agree with Billy to a point that these salaries are too high. The point that I was trying to make was that we cannot be mad at the people receiving the raise because no one would turn it down. Any fault lies with those handing out the money. And to some extent there is very little fault there as well because they DO get what they pay for. I agree with Billy that these people have not earned the money based on the amount of years they went to school but that is certainly part of it. If it wasn't why would anyone go to college and continue their education after college. I think there are certainly people out there that would do the job for 35-45% less pay but when you hire them you have to wonder why they are doing it for $75,000 when Toutle Lake's Superintendent makes $100,000 and has 1/10 the student body and faculty of Kelso. We all just need to face the fact that we should have went to school to be administrators and get over it. I'm sure you can find a good one for cheap, but you'll just as likely find a bad one. "
Rosey Glasses wrote on Aug 21, 2008 5:36 PM:
" I don't feel that many of these administrators deserve the wage they are getting when they consider the reduction of special ed funding. There are some on the list that really don't deserve the wage they got last year. With that said... These folks need to take a good look at the schools and what the schools have had to sacrifice, then look at their pay and realize that the money they are getting as a raise, should be going towards the students, not the administrators pockets. "
bert wrote on Aug 21, 2008 5:42 PM:
" skeezix-According to the Tax Foundation Tax Freedom Day, the day that the average person has worked up to that date just to pay taxes, for 2008 is April 29th for Washington State residents. 119 days or 32.6% of their wages. Washington is the 5th highest State for tax burden. This being an average means that half of the people pay higher taxes and half pay lower. So when you question someone's crediabilty on paying 50% of their wages into taxes you should get your facts straight. "
nipsey wrote on Aug 21, 2008 5:55 PM:
" My school administrators have very few days off, often work until 8-9 pm, deal with hostile parents, difficult teachers and unreasonable community members. Each is responsible for managing a small "city" and deserve every penny. I'm a teacher and would not take an administrators job if they doubled the salary. Those complaining do not really know what these folks have to deal with. A lot of sour grapes up there in the land of rain and coudiness..... "
Crystal wrote on Aug 21, 2008 6:21 PM:
" Bert: you can let them go, but then we'll be stuck scraping the bottom of the barrel to fill in the positions. "
Im_not_saying wrote on Aug 21, 2008 7:57 PM:
" Must be nice that Kelso schools pay their administrators so well while the kids get the shaft. I wish I could get a 9.9% increase at my job! The big question here is what did they do for that increase? Are grades up? WASL scores better? More kids staying in school? If not, then the raises are unwarranted. Kelso parents - you want better? Refuse to send your kids there. have them sit out a week or two. Harm the district's pocketbook - it's usually the only way they listen. "
columbian wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:02 PM:
" CASTLE ROCKER:WITH ALL YOU BEEN THROUGH WITH SITTING UP YOUR FAMILY WITH A JOB I THINK ID BE HAVING THEM LOOK FOR SOME OTHER JOB .IT HURTS ME TO SEE ALL THE TEACHERS LEADING THE POOR LIFE THEY LIVE WITH. "
Commenter wrote on Aug 21, 2008 10:45 PM:
" The district was required by the state for part of the raises. I'm confused by some of the communities they compared rates with though. Some of those communities are 3 times the size of Kelso. Oh, and not to mention the fact that Nick Seaver was only making $6000 more than this when he retired from a larger district. Did anyone ever think about maybe stretching out the raise over a few years so there wouldn't be as many cuts? I know if I lived in Kelso and I had children in the schools, I'd be at the administrative building tomorrow complaining. Sitting at your computer complaining on the tdn website won't do any good. If you're involved with this district, you need to step up and make a stand. "
smiley wrote on Aug 22, 2008 1:10 AM:
" I wonder how many of these Kelso administrators and teachers live in the Kelso district and pay property taxes? "
getreal wrote on Aug 22, 2008 3:19 AM:
" Mabee they shuld have uzed the muney two divelup a nu proagram fore adults too go bak to skool and lurn to spell......purhaps sum uv yu bloggers shuld bee the furst ones tu sine up!
I'm not sure which is worse......the astronomical raises that are simply unheard of (or) all the ignoramous bloggers who cannot spell and/or proof their blog before striking the enter key. "
I'm not sure which is worse......the astronomical raises that are simply unheard of (or) all the ignoramous bloggers who cannot spell and/or proof their blog before striking the enter key. "
Amazed By Ignorance wrote on Aug 22, 2008 9:03 AM:
" We hear about teachers taking from their own funds to buy supplies for the children in their classes. So, why shouldn't the administrators follow the example? If they care so very much about education and the kids as most claim to do?, they wouldn't need an "option" to do this. They simply would. Just out of curiosity, exactly what does a school adminstrator do, that's worth over 100,000 a year? "
bert wrote on Aug 22, 2008 9:07 AM:
" Crystal, it is this "paying more means better quality" mentality that brings theses types of issues up. Many of the world's great people came from the "bottom of the barrel." Many of the great failures were brought on by people that were extremely well paid. As I stated in an earlier comment, paying higher only means you have a high paid employee. My daughter graduated from Kelso High School with a 3.6 GPA recently. She has poor spelling abilities. Has problems performing basic math. She tried to go to LCC only to find she was overwhelmed and quit within a short period of time. If this is the results of paying higher to get better canidates, maybe it is time to scrape the bottom of the barrel. The results couldn't be any worse. "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 22, 2008 11:24 AM:
" bert, I think you'd be shocked to find out how much worse they can be. Also, about 80% of learning happens outside the classroom. Teachers only have about 45 minutes a day to teach a particular lesson in the class subject. The learning happens with the studying at home. I would say Kelso School District has very little responsibility in the problems your daughter faces and you should take a little more. "
columbian wrote on Aug 22, 2008 2:04 PM:
" Castle rocker you state administrators dont get time off in the summer.we know better than that, also is your wife working toward being an administrator? "
bert wrote on Aug 22, 2008 2:06 PM:
" castle rocker, as a non custodial divorced parent with limited visitation rights there is only so much a parent can do. I went to every parent teacher conference. Recieved copies of all of her report cards. Talked to her regularly about school. All indications from the school and staff was that she was performing at or above expectations. This was bared out by her 3.6 GPA. I own a small business and the first I was aware of how poorly she was educated was when she came to work for me. If I were to provide as poor a product to my customers as the public school system provides(education) I would go bankrupt. If they are not educating the students the least they can do is be honest in their evaluation(grades)of the students ability to perform even the most basic functions. So if you have children in school and they are getting good grades, you attend all the parent teacher meetings and are told how well your child is performing and speak on a regular basis to your child about school work, don't trust you are getting accurate information. And who is the ultimate responsibilty to make sure you are getting good information so you can assist in your childs education? The administrators. Do they deserve a 9.9% pay increase? My evaluation based upon my daughter's education is a resounding NO!!! NO!!! NO!!!! "
skeezix wrote on Aug 22, 2008 2:10 PM:
" Bert,
I have to reference the following two comments you make above: "According to the Tax Foundation Tax Freedom Day, the day that the average person has worked up to that date just to pay taxes, for 2008 is April 29th for Washington State residents. 119 days or 32.6% of their wages." and "This being an average means that half of the people pay higher taxes and half pay lower. So when you question someone's crediabilty on paying 50% of their wages into taxes you should get your facts straight." Do the math Bert....32.6% does not equal 50%. And, it's credibility, not crediability. And in closing, from a statistical standpoint, if you refer to average, that does not mean that half the people are above and half the people are below. What you are referring to is the Median which may or may not be the average. I do have that fact straight. "
I have to reference the following two comments you make above: "According to the Tax Foundation Tax Freedom Day, the day that the average person has worked up to that date just to pay taxes, for 2008 is April 29th for Washington State residents. 119 days or 32.6% of their wages." and "This being an average means that half of the people pay higher taxes and half pay lower. So when you question someone's crediabilty on paying 50% of their wages into taxes you should get your facts straight." Do the math Bert....32.6% does not equal 50%. And, it's credibility, not crediability. And in closing, from a statistical standpoint, if you refer to average, that does not mean that half the people are above and half the people are below. What you are referring to is the Median which may or may not be the average. I do have that fact straight. "
bert wrote on Aug 22, 2008 2:41 PM:
" skeezit-The point is that to question someone's veracity because they state they pay half ot their income in taxes and to further infer they are ignorant because of their staement if it is true, says more about you then them. "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 22, 2008 3:16 PM:
" Columbian, my wife is not working toward becoming an administrator because she wants her summers off to be with our kids. They do work summers, you might want to look into that before you make statements otherwise. "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 22, 2008 3:25 PM:
" My point is still valid. 80% of learning happens at home. If you or your wife don't know that your daughter cannot spell or do basic math you need to look in the mirror because you obviously are not as involved as say you are. You say you go to all the parent teacher conferences. That great but being "PRESENT" is not as important or beneficial as being "ACTIVE." "
castle rocker wrote on Aug 22, 2008 3:27 PM:
" By the way bert, being able to tell the difference between mean (average) and median is something I would considr to be basic math. "
kelso mom1 wrote on Aug 23, 2008 5:38 AM:
" I hope these top administrators can sleep at night knowing that budgets had to be cut so they could have their raises. Special Ed suffered the most!! And then the top people say oh we love our kids....but lets cut the staffing, and lets make the kids pay a sports fee of $25 a pop...nice trick I must say...feeling the pinch of gas hikes..my foot..how about...we need to keep up with administrators pay!!! "
feistyone wrote on Aug 23, 2008 5:49 AM:
" In all the years I worked I never got a 9.9 percent raise and don't know of anyone that has. Why aren't they taking a pay cut like the rest of us have? We need new management in the city, state, and country. While everything continues to go up in price, these people are getting this kind of raise while I struggle on social security (which I might add, doesn't go up and if it does, medicare takes it) to make ends meet. "
Kelso Resident wrote on Aug 23, 2008 8:30 AM:
" They cut Special so these officals get a raise? it shows what's more improtant to them between our kids or money. "
bert wrote on Aug 23, 2008 9:51 AM:
" They did not cut special education for the specific intent of reallocating the funds for administrator pay increases. Part of these increases are mandated by the state. 5.1% of these raises were mandated by the state for "certified" employees. However, in addition to the 5.1%, the school board negotiated an another 4.8% increase last fall with the full knowledge that these administrators would also be receiving a 5.1%increase in the 2008-2009 school year. The responsibility for that additional 4.8% pay increase falls squarely on the shoulders of the school board. As I see it, the administrators have two options in this situation. First they can accept the increase and pass the buck and put the responsibility for these increases on the legislators and school board members. Second, they can decline the pay increases with the agreement that the issue of pay increases to be revisited when the school district is on a better financial footing. Their decision will say a lot about their true dedication to our children and the school district. What ever their choice is, the school board needs to be voted out for approving 4.8% increase with the fore knowledge that there was already a 5.1% pay increase mandated in 2008-2009. "
columbian wrote on Aug 23, 2008 5:02 PM:
" Castle Rocker only thing you made me aware of was it takes a lot of money to educate a person.And with a lot of those they still lack common sense . "
kelsomom1 wrote on Aug 23, 2008 6:14 PM:
" bert, you hit the nail on the head! People need to get to their school districts board meetings, where these decisions are made! Not only the raises but the cuts also. One thing that was not mentioned about the cuts is that the district had to follow the letter of the PSE employees union contract, if they had slashed five jobs from the bottom and then moved people around it would have caused less stress, kept qualified people where they mattered the most and saved a lot of heartache. In case anyone is wondering, yes, they are posting jobs now for special ed instructional assts. for Kelso school district, what a waste of time and sanity, people also need to go to their union meetings and if you want change this would be the year to do it, contracts are up for renegotiations! "
Kem Cho wrote on Aug 23, 2008 9:34 PM:
" Administrators are no worse than CEO's getting millions even their companies perform poorly. Our Education system is falling apart, but Administrators make more money!What a deal! Let us stop beating these poor souls. "
bert wrote on Aug 24, 2008 9:35 AM:
" We have this sad fairy tale, "Hollywood" notion that the teachers and administrators of our school districts are in the education profession because they want to mentor and teach our children. To be part of the team that prepares them to become a part of productive society. When the truth is this is not the case for the majority. Most are teachers and administrators because these are good jobs that are secure. The teachers that are truly there to benefit children are like salmon swimming up stream. To believe that all, or even most of these teachers and administrators are anything more than an employee putting in their 8 hours is like thinking that all prostitutes are Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. Nice notion, promoted by the Teacher's Union, but a far cry from the truth. "
kelsomom1 wrote on Aug 24, 2008 11:54 AM:
" bert, a job that you put in your 8 hours and go home in is nice, but that is not a teaching position. Most of the teachers that I know are dedicated to the education of their students and these are the majority not the other way around. Most of them are at school early, stay late, take extra classes (usually at their own cost), work at one thing or another through the summer and in the classrooms after school is over and before it starts again the following year. They put in far and above a normal 8 hour workday. I can't think of any other reason why except because they want kids to excel. As far as a good secure job goes, teachers are very underpaid in our country. In other countries teachers are well respected by parents, paid well, and are taken care of, particularly in Japan and Germany. To show a comparison between teachers and prostitutes shows the lack of education you have about the teaching profession. "
bert wrote on Aug 24, 2008 1:37 PM:
" Kelsomom1, you confuse pay rate with job security. The longer a teacher is employed by the school district the more security they have. Their success educating the children is not even taken into consideration. If teachers are as dedicated, as a whole, as you seem to believe and put so much extra effort into the profession but continue to graduate students that can barely read, barely spell and can not even do the most basic math, then they need to reevaluate what it is they are doing wrong. The analogy of Pretty Woman was only meant to demonstrate the major influence that media has on put perceptions. It was not to compare teachers to prostitutes. "
kelsomom1 wrote on Aug 24, 2008 3:20 PM:
" You know, I am getting a little sick and tired of teachers and administrators getting bashed. The special ed. director, Tom Wyman, was doing his job. Is it a pleasant job? No, and he would probably be the first one to tell you that. His job is dictated by whatever his supervisor (Dr. Glenys Hill) and the school board members tell him to do. I am sure he would rather be on a month long vacation in the Bahamas than make the cuts and movements that he had to do. As far as teachers go, bert, you own some of the responsibility of your childs education on your own shoulders. I don't care if you are a single parent, lots of us are and my job as a parent was to back up the teachers and make sure that my kids knew how to spell, do math and could function in todays world. Take some responsibility for you own lack of direction in your childs education. "
bert wrote on Aug 24, 2008 6:52 PM:
" kelsomom1, you can be sick and tired all you like. I was not a single parent. I was a non custodial parent. There is a major difference. As a non custodial parent you are "granted visitation". When my daughter's mother and I were together I read to her every night. Helped with homework and all the other things to try and make her a successful student. As a non custodial parent I was granted visitation every other week from 7pm Friday until Sunday at 7pm. Fairly standard for the non custodial parent. So when faced with this situation I depended upon the professionals(teachers) to keep me informed of my daughter's progress though report cards, progress reports and teacher parent conferences. As stated in an earlier comment, my daughter graduated from Kelso High School with a very respectable 3.6GPA. Yet when asked how she spells vowel her response was voul. She asked me one day how to spell why. So I have to assume that either the teachers were not teaching, or they were not being honest when they reported how well she was doing, or they have not the slightest concept of how to evaluate a students progress. The public school system is broken beyond repair. The public school teachers and administrators will not admit this fact. If it were not so poorly able to educate our children, then why is it that according to a recent national survey the profession with the highest percentage of children in private school is educators? They see first hand every day the failure of the public school system. And yes I am aware that may not be as true in the local area. But that has more to do with availability than desire. "
Kem Cho wrote on Aug 25, 2008 10:06 AM:
" Let us not feel sorry for teachers. Just because they are in noble profession, does not make all of them noble. Also, teachers working more than 8 hours a day is a joke.
I worked more than 8 hours a day on most of the days in private industry - it was considered normal. Also, I did not get 3 months of vacation every year. "
I worked more than 8 hours a day on most of the days in private industry - it was considered normal. Also, I did not get 3 months of vacation every year. "
Reality Checker wrote on Aug 25, 2008 12:20 PM:
" Growing up as a child of of a Weyco employed dad, I remember the negotiations and strikes for a cost of living pay raise.
It does not matter how long any administrator chose to attend college! The simple fact is they accepted a position in Kelso and should be paid a salary comenserate with this area. One of the districs in the comparison was Mercer Island, the home of several millionaires and expensive homes. If any Kelso administrator thinks they really deserve more money let them move to an area that can afford it! After all isn;t this district just a stepping stone for most school executives? "
It does not matter how long any administrator chose to attend college! The simple fact is they accepted a position in Kelso and should be paid a salary comenserate with this area. One of the districs in the comparison was Mercer Island, the home of several millionaires and expensive homes. If any Kelso administrator thinks they really deserve more money let them move to an area that can afford it! After all isn;t this district just a stepping stone for most school executives? "
jinxy wrote on Aug 26, 2008 12:15 AM:
" Hey Kem Cho, Teachers do not get 3 months vacation, we have a forced layoff. We are paid for 182 days a year. I take a second job for the summers to make ends meet. I also put in at least 8 extra hours a week during the school year and numerous hours in the summer getting ready for the upcoming year and spend well over $500 a year on supplies and extras for my students, we get a $95 dollar stipend. How much money do you think your grocery checker makes an hour? Not much less than I do and they don't have to continue their education their whole career. Most teachers DO NOT become educators because it is easy and they get summers off. By the way it isn't easy, come and give it a try. "
Kem Cho wrote on Aug 26, 2008 8:15 AM:
" Teachers who believe they are not paid properly should try other professions. Nothing is easy. People do what they want and can do. "
bert wrote on Aug 26, 2008 9:08 AM:
" Jinxy, so you earn a years salary in 182 days. That means you work 1/2 of the year to get a full years salary. Then you are on forced lay off which means that you get to collect unemployment for the remainder of the time since you are involuntarily unemployed. As for continuing your education, every time you complete another level of your education you get a pay raise. So you are reimbursed for your education through pay raises. Maybe you would not have to put money out of your pocket if we were not giving out 9.9% increases to the administrators. "
bert wrote on Aug 26, 2008 9:45 AM:
" Jinxy, so lets analyze your statement. You get paid for 182 days a year. There are five work days a week. 182 divided by 5 equals 36.4 weeks. According to the National Education Association, Washington State Teacher's pay range is $30,159 to $45,724. At the low end Washington State Teachers make $828.54 per week or at the high end $1,256.15. If you take these weekly salaries and multiply them by 52 you realize that teachers make an adjusted true annual salary range of $43,084 to 65,320. No wonder we pay so much for groceries. And you are right, you don't get 3 months off a year. You get 3.6 months a year off. "
longviewtransplant wrote on Aug 26, 2008 4:50 PM:
" As a former educator, salaries for administrators have ALWAYS been outrageous. Starting salary for an educator with a bachelors degree is around $26-$29,000. Can you believe that Principals make close to $100,000???????
THAT is what is outrageous. Yes, they have a lot on their plates, but so do teachers. They also have a LOT more "gophers" to do their bidding. Teachers have no one.
The deal with education is going to be actually reducing administrator pay, increasing teacher pay out of low-income territory and increasing the budgets for education. Strike the WASL and get a test that is a REALITY of where students are, and what they are learning.
9.9% increase? What a joke. Those school districts that they used to compare Longview with are WAY out of league with Longview. Mercer Island? Give me a break! I grew up there - and they are one of the RICHEST in the state.
It used to make me sick when I was teaching and getting paid poverty level wages, and it still makes me sick today. Geesh. "
THAT is what is outrageous. Yes, they have a lot on their plates, but so do teachers. They also have a LOT more "gophers" to do their bidding. Teachers have no one.
The deal with education is going to be actually reducing administrator pay, increasing teacher pay out of low-income territory and increasing the budgets for education. Strike the WASL and get a test that is a REALITY of where students are, and what they are learning.
9.9% increase? What a joke. Those school districts that they used to compare Longview with are WAY out of league with Longview. Mercer Island? Give me a break! I grew up there - and they are one of the RICHEST in the state.
It used to make me sick when I was teaching and getting paid poverty level wages, and it still makes me sick today. Geesh. "
Kem Cho wrote on Aug 27, 2008 8:21 AM:
" If Kelso school board wants to compare salaries with similar jobs in other districts, why not compare their school performance with same districts also.
Including Mercer District to compare against Kelso school district does not make sense. Does Mercer District include Kelso District in their comparison? "
Including Mercer District to compare against Kelso school district does not make sense. Does Mercer District include Kelso District in their comparison? "
bert wrote on Aug 27, 2008 9:10 AM:
" Kem Cho, HMMMM, performance based salaries. NOPE. NO WAY!!! We are only interested in how long we have been in our jobs and how much money we put in our pockets. We only want to keep up with the Jones materially not in job performance. As for Mercer Island, When they learn that we pay on par with them they will feel the need to pay more to get better employees. After all this is a well to do community. When they pay more we will need to pay more to stay on level. And on and on it goes. Like a never ending circle. "
columbian wrote on Aug 31, 2008 6:53 PM:
" JUST ASK YOURSELF WHY ALL THE SCHOOLS ARE UNDER PAR FOR LEARNING?WHY KIDS CANT READ AND MATH IS A LOW MARK EVERWHERE.DONT BLAME THE HIGH PAID ADMINISTRATORS ENTIRELY.THINK IT MIGHT BE THE LOW PAID TEACHERS? "
LongviewRez wrote on Sep 1, 2008 9:07 AM:
" So you think the administrators should have refused that large of (or any) raise because of the budget cuts and staff losses? Isnt' that exactly what Pallin did in Alaska with the overabundance they are offered when they enter office (selling jet, etc.)? And many of the same people were bashing her yesterday. I think it's refreshing that someone getting paid so much HAS actually refused all the perks they are offered. "
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