Longevity (Step) Increment Comparisons - September 1996 versus September 1999
In 1997, the inept school board and their favorite contract negotiating law firm, in consort with Sheila Mac Fadyen, president of the local teachers union, managed to squeak through a deal giving teachers a staggering 346% raise in longevity increments to those with from 26 through 30 of service. Immediately afterwards, "senior" teachers, including Mac Fadyen's own husband, retired in droves.

 

Step	1996	1999	Increase	Increase
26	0	$273	$273	100%
27	0	$273	$273	100%
28	0	$546	$546	100%
2299	0	$546	$546	100%
30	$1482	$4966	$3484	235%
Totals	$1482	$6604	$5122	346%

They did so because the combined affects of these longevity increments and an average salary leap of 23% for the same period produced huge increases to the pension opportunities for all of them.

And, who besides the retired teachers gained from this? You? No way. The Board of Education and district administrators? Sure, they could smile because they had produced the appearance of lowering budget expenses. But, upon a teacher's retirement, the economic responsibility for their incomes moves only from our school to our state income tax burden. THEN, not to be forgotten, we must still pay the salaries, longevity increments and perks of their "178 workday-a-year" replacements. And, to the benefit of the Three Village Teachers Association? Well, they get: 1) new dues paying members, 2) continued collection from retired members, and 3) all the influence peddling capacity that money brings.

Year 2000 has brought with it a teat-chers contract revision - as opposed to renewal - opportunity. Download and printout this chart. Show it to your non-teaching neighbors who, like you, are paying incredibly high school taxes.

Check out the teat-chers salaries posted on this site.

Then, if you don't think the children would be better served by OUR own spending of all that money - perhaps, on luxurious summer trips to far away places and upfront exposure to cultural diversity for example - ...do nothing. You'll get and deserve everything your silence "asked for."

However, if you think such spending must come to an end, DEFEAT THE SPRING BUDGET, soundly. When the District resubmits it, vote it down again and every year until you get assurances that efforts will be made to contain the salaries and eliminate tenure.

To get something more of an understanding of the forces at play in these matters, please read the following Waking Bear articles: (1) Trouble, We've Got Trouble - Trouble with a Capital T(eacher), (2) A History of Teachers and Teaching in America, (3) Teaching Profession - An Oxymoron, (4) Teachers' Unions - Their Role and Influence, and (5) Public Administrators - Mixed Blessing and Personal Agendas.