Raises for local teachers? I thought the world was coming to an end. What does this say for the racist, teacher hating, could care less about education republican legislature? It looks like they were right, the schools were not going to come crashing down, and education would survive the necessary budget cuts. Here is a clip from today’s Laredo Morning Times:
By Nick Georgiou
Laredo Morning Times
Published: Friday, August 5, 2011 2:38 AM CDT
Despite dramatic cuts to the revenue Texas school districts receive from the state, LISD’s 1,700-plus teachers may get a pay raise next school year.
The Laredo Independent School District Board of Trustees could also decide to give all other LISD employees, such as paraprofessionals and administrators, a pay raise.
But doing so would likely go against the recommendation of administration, which proposed at a board meeting in June to freeze salaries for next school year.
At the meeting, LISD Superintendent A. Marcus Nelson said the freeze would help the district avoid potential layoffs and balance next school year’s budget.
Remember last week when UISD said they had found a million dollars to spend so UISD employees would not have to make up the raise in insurance cost.
So, to those of you who said the world of education is coming to an end, what say you?
The United States has fallen from top of the class to average in world education rankings.To get a top notch teacher to come to Laredo or to stay in Laredo you are going to have to pay them. The Tea Party doesn't like what the teachers teach (they would prefer to go back to the 1950's instead of the high-tech world we actually live in) so they are willing to cut teacher pay hoping that more parents will home school. You get what you pay for Tom.
ReplyDeleteShow me one study that backs up your contention that per pupil spending equates to a better education. Do we pay more per child than China? Do we pay more than India? I would bet we pay triple or more per student. And in the United States, the price paid per student is widely varied. Yet, show me the correlation of cost versus results.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do agree we have to compete in wages and benifits for teachers. But where is the standard that measures teachers. Why pay Cadillac prices for a Chevy? One price fits all has not worked.
I see school districts wasting money right and left. How do you solve that? Cut their budget and the districts will find a way to cut waste and still pay teachers. That is what I have always said would happen, and it did.
And what did the Tea Party have to do with high tech. I have never heard anyone from the Tea Party not embrace technology. YOu should look at LISD and UISD (which are not controlled by the Tea Party in any sense) and see just how backwards they are on technology. They cannot even keep an accurate inventory of their assests, the most basic of technological advances, the spreadsheet. Let alone using technology to improve the teachers lives, like online testing, online reporting, etc….
Here is your study:http://febp.newamerica.net/
ReplyDeleteIn general, students in states where per pupil spending was highest in 2007-08 outperformed their peers in states with lower per-pupil expenditures on the National Assessment of Academic Progress (NAEP) tests in 2009. In the 10 states that spent the most per pupil, an average of 34 percent of 8th grade students scored proficient in reading on the NAEP and 36 percent scored proficient in math. In the 10 states that spent the least per pupil, an average of only 28 percent of 8th grade students scored proficient in reading and 31 proficient scored proficient in math.
You can't buy a Cadillac if you only have the money for a Chevy. Are you saying that UISD and LISD have an over abundance of well qualified cutting edge teachers knocking down their doors to come to Laredo? You can only get top level people to come to Laredo if you are willing to pay them wages not only on par with their peers but in the case of Laredo you will need to pay a premium!
The Tea Party talks more about bringing prayer back into school than they do the newest computers. Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation's Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state. Curriculum standards also will describe the U.S. government as a "constitutional republic," rather than "democratic."
UISD and LISD ARE controlled by the Tea Party because the Texas Legislature (not unlike the US Congress) IS controlled by a minority who believe that compromise is a dirty word. All two party democratic systems are based on the premise that compromise will occur. For one group or party to now say that compromise is wrong is to say that America was founded on a false premise and to me is unAmerican and undemocratic.
Boy you really hate the Tea Party.....
ReplyDeleteAs far as the study goes, when reviewing the data, you still see that it is not a given that more spending equates to better education. You cannot make that statement. Washington DC is the classic answer. Highest in spending, lowest in testing. The study just proves that there are many reasons for better scoring than just money.
I always have agreed that teachers in Laredo are not paid enough. Show me where I have ever said otherwise. What I have said, and continue to say it that school districts waste millions of dollars annually in Laredo. And that when the economy tanked (tax returns shrank) I agreed we should not raise taxes. That is, and always has been my position.
Back to the Tea Party and compromise. At least the Tea Party and republicans have never fled the state to stop a vote they did not agree with. The democrats make a habit of this practice, not only in Texas, but other states. Is that compromise? Remember how the health care bill was passed without the minority party, or members of congress even being able to read the bill? Was that compromise? Both parties, as well as the Tea Party have refused to compromise in the past.
While there are some extremist Tea Party members, as all other groups have, the Tea Party is trying to put this country back on course with less government, and more fiscal controls. That cannot be a bad thing.
In a week when the Tea Party kidnapped the good faith and credit of the United States, refusing to give it back until the TP got it's way, you are actually going to say that the TP is trying to put this country back on course?
ReplyDeleteWall Street certainly hasn't liked it, economists have said cutting expenses during a recession is dangerous, so what exactly is the course they have chosen for us. What they did to this country is a BAD thing. There are no excuses for what they did. They have made us look weak and yet they claim to be patriotic. The world can no longer trust the US to act like an adult financially.
And for all the TP's that want a balanced budget amendment - how exactly did they buy their last house or car - did they all pay cash? Maybe the drug king pins in Laredo can pay cash but the rest of us have to run a deficit and BORROW money.
Don't be duped - the Tea Party is NOT a grass roots movement. It is a movement backed by some very wealthy individuals and corporations that have an agenda.
You are right. We should have forget about the debt and just keep spending.
ReplyDeleteThe Tea Party folks I met in Laredo joined because of the wealthy and corporations.
Say what you want. The Tea Party is here to stay and will gain in strength as we follow the actions out of Washington DC.