At a meeting earlier this month to set budget priorities for the upcoming year, the K-8 school committee was noncommittal about the town’s request to submit a budget that is reduced by 1% over the current year, saying only that they would “present what is reasonable for the schools.”
For his part, Superintendent Charles Gobron said this week he is willing to fullfill the town’s request. Reports the Metrowest Daily News:
Gobron emphasized that while he’s willing to provide the information, in the end the School Committee decides what the budget will be.
“We absolutely want to go into Town Meeting with everyone on the same page,” he said, but the committee won’t advance a budget it feels can’t meet students’ needs.
Gobron said he still needs clarification from town officials on whether they are looking for a complete 1 percent reduced budget or more of a list of items that would likely be affected with a 1 percent cut.
In other school budget news, the Regional School Committee last night reached an agreement on a union contract for secretaries and aids after several months of negotiation. Like other school unions this year, the secretary union agreed to increase their health insurance contribution from 20% to 25%, but unlike the others, members on town health insurance will receive payments of $150 to $500 to offset the increase. Gobron said the payment is appropriate since secretaries are hourly employees and make less to begin with.
Members of the union will also receive cost of living increases totaling 4.8% over the course of the 3-year contract. You can read more about the contract here in the Metrowest Daily News.
Can’t help wondering what other similar occupations that don’t live off taxpayers get this kind of deal. Anyone out ther doing better? I doubt it.
Between 2009 and 2010 the average teacher salary in Southborough rose by 4.45% vs a state average of 1.79%.
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/teacher.aspx?orgcode=02760000&orgtypecode=5&leftNavId=815&
Between 2006 and 2010 the average teacher salary in Southborough rose by 31.70% vs a state average of 22.03%.
http://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/teacher.aspx?orgcode=02760000&orgtypecode=5&leftNavId=815&&fycode=2006
If you want to understand why your taxes are increasing this is really the only thing you need to know. School labor costs (salaries, benefits and pensions) account for about 1/2 of our total budget. It dwarfs the budgets under the control of the Board of Selectmen.
Its hard to argue with the costs around salary and health care benefits, and also the cost of living increases if they are truly tracking inflation. Anyone in the private sector would want the same. Its generally fair.
However, I’d like to gain a better understanding of the costs around the pensions and what the numbers would look like if it was instead a contribution/match to a private IRA. Has the budget committee considered such an idea?
Tim
From 2006 to 2010 inflation, as tracked by the Consumer Price Index increased 6.41%
http://www.inflationdata.com/Inflation/Consumer_Price_Index/HistoricalCPI.aspx
That implies that real, inflation adjusted wages for Southborough teachers rose about 25%. On average teachers in the Commonwealth saw their real inflation adjusted wages rise about 15%.
During the same period wages for private sector workers rose only 9.50% barely keeping pace with inflation for a real wage increase of about 3.1%
http://www.bls.gov/web/eci/echistrynaics.pdf
Anyway I have looked at the data, from a wage perspective, Southborough teachers have done much better than the rest of us, better than their peers in the Commonwealth and much better than those of us working in the private sector. They have also been completely sheltered from the economic storm that has impacted so many of us and have little or no risk associated with retirement which can start as early as age 55.
Moving from a defined benefit (pension) to a defined contribution (eg IRA) program might be desireable but would be resisted tooth and nail by the teachers union. I suspect that many municipal govt’s would also oppose this as there is a general belief that we have significantly underfunded our pension and retirement obligations. This underfunding could not happen assuming that each municpality would have to contribute each year an defined amount.
Unfortunately, municipal financial planning is a very short term process, much shorter than the often abused private sector. If it does not impact next years budget it is not even thought about.
When I went to the website you referenced and used the calculator it shows 14.18% inflation from January of 2006 to October 2011 and 11.06% from January 2006 to January of 2011.
Social security recipients will receive a cumulative COLA increase of 20.57% from 2006 to 2012 (4.1% in 2006; 3.3% in 2007; 2.3% in 2008; 5.8% in 2009; 0 in 2010 and 2011; and 3.6% in 2012).
http://www.ssa.gov/cola/facts/index.htm
Nonetheless, I struggle with the ease that our elected officials (BOS and School Committee) agree to raises. Is it that unreasonable to expect those with the job security, health benefits, and retirement benefits provided by the town to forgo raises in the current environment?
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I’m not suggesting that the average teacher salary you note is incorrect – but I am curious if it includes only the wage increases as approved?
Or does it also include the increases due to achieving graduate degrees, which I believe are not paid for by the town? And, does it include the increases based on the number of years of experience?
My understanding of these areas is admittedly lacking, but at a basic level I believe the thought is that teachers earn less early in their careers and more as they gain experience. And that absent turnover in which more senior teachers are replaced by those with less experience, the average will increase regardless of the approved salary increases.
Earl
I did make a mistake on the inflation number, I meant to use the 2006 and 2010 annual averages and instead mistakenly used the 2009 annual average. The correct number by my calculation is 8.1% Which means that private sector wages did not increase at all in real terms.
Your understanding is correct, Teacher raises are determined by steps, lanes, and across the board raises.
Your “Lane” is determined by your level credentials teachers get regular raises based on the time in service.
You can change lanes to a higher pay grade by getting additional credentials. I do not think these necessarily have to be degrees.
The the entire system us bumped up by the general raise.
In a system with declining enrollment, such as ours, we see ever higher average salaries as few new teachers enter the system bringing the average down. Regardless we are on the hook.
I for one believe that this system is broken. Nowhere is there any consideration of quality or results. It seem to me to be disconnected from the reality and unsustainable. If private sector wages are stagnant in real terms how can we continue to afford ever more expensive teachers.
Al,
What a joke. Gabron agrees to provide the effect of a 1% reduction in the school budget. Here is the typical script ” we will have to cut 100 teachers and the student teacher ratio will go to 50/1″ No talk about programs, efficiencies,future contracts (read Al Hamiton’s accurate post about teacher contract wage comparisons). The town could eliminate or cut police ,fire, and DPW budgets to the bone but real estate taxes will still go up while the schools increase spending on such things as iPads for second graders, laptops for all high schoolers, more professional days, more half day sessions (which count towards the tiring 180 day work schedule vs the 250 of the taxpayers), more holidays etc.etc. Drive by any school paking lot after 2:30 or 3:00 PM and see how many teachers cars are in the lot after a tiring 6 hour day. I am for teachers, good schools, good education. I am against the lucrative Contracts that the town agrees to. Go on line and read there contracts it will open your eyes to what the profession has become.
“anyone in the private sector would want the same”. Well, hello. Everyone wants more! But only the public service workers and their unions get it as gullible taxpayers continue to feed the bonfires that burn our children’s future. Except that in Southborough, folks actually vote to pay more. Beats me.
I wish you all would stop acting as though we are paying millions of dollars for babysitters. It’s getting tiring and increasingly rude.
Carl, what exactly is the point you’re trying to make? I guess you could care less what our taxes are. That is fortunate – for you. I do care. As do others. And principles don’t evaporate because of relative $ amounts.
Al, so long as we have a quaint voting system it will be manipulated by the teachers, their unions, and their supporters to show up en masse and intimidate naysayers. This happened in Wisconsin recently – the intimidation, although there it was violent. The unions, though, support lawless behavior – see the OWS fiasco. As the economy continues to tighten, and taxpayers are forced to do something to stop the spiral, their true colors will show. The teachers and their union have no interest I sharing the pain with the community. The parents who vote with them are simply gullible, believing that the extra money gets them better education. No, it gets them better off teachers.
I just came across this gem. If you want to know where the Teachers Union funds go – check this out. Particularly if you’re a parent. http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/11/21/teacher_unions_missing_funds_a_pattern_of_stonewalling.html