Recommendations:

• Salary credit should be provided only for those courses provided either as part of a regular graduate school curriculum leading toward a degree or where state mandated and not provided by either the District or BOCES.
• That excessed teachers should be used to lecture teachers in a sort of train-the-trainer program.
• NO salary credit be provided to teachers trained on District or BOCES property during school hours.

Background: Education today sometimes requires teachers to obtain additional certification and/or training for a variety of things not anticipated when first employed: drug, alcohol and child abuse awareness; concern for the rising incidents of suicide among children of school age; technology innovations; state mandated administrative procedures for example. Shortly, I anticipate a flurry of budget approval requests for training to meet the demands of Multicultural and Goals 2000 technology initiatives. Obviously, not all such offerings are required. Most proficiencies, in fact, are voluntarily sought at minimal cost to the teacher.

As the number of programs are reduced and excessed teachers are created, those so excessed should be used to train teachers, during regular working hours, in compliance with Federal, State or District mandates and/or needs.

When the District can arrange for the provision of any training at District or BOCES expense, particularly on district or BOCES facilities and/or during regular working hours, the TVCSD should not allow such time and training to be applied toward "Salary Credit" allowances resulting in 4% pay raises for each 15 credit hours of learning.

It is ludicrous that residents should first pay for the training and then pay the teacher 4% more because WE'VE produced a more informed individual.