It's a Three Village Central School District thing and remarkable indeed. Until recently, a well kept secret. To join, you need teaching credentials. Then, you get to keep the membership fees. Fees paid by local taxpayers. The digits in the "5-4-3 Club" title represent increases for breathing long enough to collect them, then for obtaining additional training OR education and then, finally, their salary increases, compliments of the District's Board of Education.

The first increase, five percent, is for longevity - aka: "breathing."
Called "Steps," these longevity increments are provided for each of a teacher's 30 year career. The first 16 years of employment most closely conform to the percentage increase formula. It equals 5% of what a newly employed teacher receives. However, as the salary for first year teachers goes up, the actual increase in each succeeding year is ALWAYS greater than that alluded to...for but breathing.

Lesser amounts are provided during employment years 17 through 25 but increase are still provided. Then, finally, between their 26th and 30th years, their salaries are again pumped up with a huge retirement incentive bonus!!! But, alas, the pillage does not stop even there.

Another increase of four percent for TRAINING, the public presumes is for educational achievement.
Every year, an additional 4% in pay raises is provided for the completion of each 15 credit hours of learning. But not just for taking accredited graduate school courses. Oh no! Unbelievably, credit is provided for program offerings furnished by SCOPE, CITE, NYSUT and such on-the-job training efforts as learning how to use Microsoft computer software or, honest to God, taking a Wall Climbing certification course at Adventure Experiences, Incorporated. [A memorandum provided by the district's Director of Humanities to John Lorentz, on June 23 of 1995, entitled "Graduate/Inservice Course Approvals" attests to this sort of lunacy.]

This means that, if a teacher acquires 45 such credits or a masters degree...something of a but presumed requirement after three years in the district, an individual's salary becomes nearly 30% more than that of a "newbie" with a baccalaureate. In addition, their longevity step increases jump from the original 5% provision to 5.6% thereafter. By their sixteenth year, their salary is 96% more than a new teacher walking through the employment office door this very afternoon.

Then of course, there is the negotiated three percent [ plus ] salary increase[S]
As though they haven't been milking enough from the community, the teachers commonly receive salary increases of at least 3% annually.

Bottom line
The impact of these increases is staggering but not easily seen.

Consistently, the local newspapers [Herald and Village Times] make little of these various increases. However, suspicious of the obvious and bored to death with trying to make the braindead amongst us realize the impact of the "5-4-3 Club," the Waking Bear recently entered the salaries of all fulltime employed TVCSD tenured teachers into a database. After analysis, we found that the AVERAGE such tenured teacher had but seven years seniority, took home $70,335 in the school year 1999-2000 and jumped to an average of $74,160 for the 2000-2001 period. This accounted for a wopping 5.96% average increase over but one year.

More on the this subject and the list of these teachers salaries will be found at in an article entitled: Comparison of TVCSD Teacher's Salaries - 9/99 versus 9/00

But, before you even consider reading that article, remember that none of these raises are related to either teacher or student performance. Isn't that great?

All that and TENURE, too!