Sometimes, teachers and government employees simply don't get it. It's the RECESSION, stupid.

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We are in a massive recession. Our president is burying us in debt that generations will not be able to pay... and government employees frequently act like they should be immune to the reality that the rest of us must contend with.

My business is down roughly 10%, with the possibility of further cuts looming. I do not complain because I understand that I WILL be feeling my client's pain. Unemployment in this county is over 9% and climbing, as it is statewide. In Oregon (to our immediate south) unemployment exceeds 12%, with more, perhaps much more, to go.

Yet the vast majority (Not all, certainly, but most) of the government employees and their unions seem to feel they should not have to suffer in the midst of any of that.

Governor Gregoire took pay raises off the table in the face of this state's roughly $10 BILLION deficit. What was the result?

She was sued by at least 4 different unions, because they don't happen to believe that the sacrifices must be shared by all. Oddly, President Obama relies heavily on the shared sacrifice model when it comes to jacking our taxes up, but unions don't seem to believe that a concept like that should extend to them.

The latest case in point?

Last night, one of the most "victimized" group of government employees that you can imagine, namely, teachers of the Vancouver School District, are whining, screaming and bitching like cut cats because the Superintendent, who had taken a 4.5% voluntary tax cut, asked the rank and file to take a ONE PERCENT pay cut.

As poster children, they used Carrissa Brown, described thus:

Carissa Brown, a music teacher with 10 years under her belt, said she takes home $2,400 a month — hardly enough to cover mortgage, health insurance payments and some child support, she said. With the 1 percent pay cut, she said she'd be left with $150 a month for extras.

Well, the Washington State Teacher's Data Base of 2007 (The latest I can get) indicates that Ms. Brown received $37,758 in salary and $13,931 in benefits for the 182 days she worked for us that year. Add in step increases and mandatory pay raises and there's no telling how much she's paid... but it's at least $52,000 in pay and benefits.

But does $2,400 monthly in take-home seem likely? And how much would she be impacted by a ONE PERCENT REDUCTION?

I'm, struck by how little teachers seem to know about their salaries BEFORE they take the job... OR who pays them.

Next up was April Stenger:

April Stenger, a 13-year kindergarten teacher at Minnehaha, burst into tears as she described how her husband doesn't have health insurance because she can't afford to put him on her plan and also pay for her student loans and child care.

"I have to avoid phone calls (from student loan lenders) because I'm already paying on my house and day care and food for my kids to eat," Stenger said.

The Data Base indicates she was paid $42,249 in salary and $14,629 in benefits... again, before the pay raises of last year are added. That's almost $57,000 a year in pay and benefits.

Marian Larson, described as a "36-year veteran," received $59,157 in salary and $16, 243 in benefits. She complained about her daughter's challenges as she "struggle to pays for ongoing schooling required of her by the state."

Besides the obvious (Is there some reason YOU can't help with those costs, Ms. Larson?) this goes back to the underlying fact of the matter: ALL of these teachers are college graduates. Were they not made aware, sometime during the process, as to what their salary and benefits were going to be? Did they somehow not understand that continuing education requirements were a part of the job BEFORE they became teachers?

Now, before people blow a gasket about me putting this information up, remember, it is ALL public information, as are the salaries and benefits of ANY government employee... including teachers.

I used the Googled result of "Washington State Teacher Salaries".

So, I ask teachers this: Why should we be any more concerned about YOUR salary then anyone elses? Why didn't you think about this stuff BEFORE you took the job? And with the rest of us paying for you in the midst of this huge recession, why is it that YOU think YOU shouldn't feel OUR pain?



Teachers make heartfelt plea
Vancouver school board may have to cut as many as 140

Tuesday, April 14 11:33 p.m.

BY ISOLDE RAFTERY
COLUMBIAN STAFF WRITER

Music teacher Carissa Brown is comforted by first-grade teacher Heidi Merritt as she describes her financial situation to the Vancouver School Board on Tuesday evening. Brown said that with a 1 percent pay cut proposed by the superintendent, she’d be left with $150 a month in discretionary income. (Zachary Kaufman/The Columbian)

More than 300 teachers and staff members filled the Vancouver Public Schools board meeting Tuesday night to share personal stories of financial hardship in light of the superintendent's suggestion that all employees take a 1 percent pay cut.

Later in the meeting, Vancouver officials unveiled potential cuts to aid a budget that has been slammed by the recession. It'll be the eighth year district administrators have had to trim the increasingly bare schools budget.

Carissa Brown, a music teacher with 10 years under her belt, said she takes home $2,400 a month — hardly enough to cover mortgage, health insurance payments and some child support, she said. With the 1 percent pay cut, she said she'd be left with $150 a month for extras.

April Stenger, a 13-year kindergarten teacher at Minnehaha, burst into tears as she described how her husband doesn't have health insurance because she can't afford to put him on her plan and also pay for her student loans and child care.

"I have to avoid phone calls (from student loan lenders) because I'm already paying on my house and day care and food for my kids to eat," Stenger said.

Some teachers spoke through friends because they worried about retaliation, teachers union president Ann Giles said. Younger teachers said their student loans make up 10 percent of their take-home pay, and others said they have part-time jobs to make ends meet.

Marian Larson, a 36-year veteran at Fort Vancouver High School, lamented that her daughter, a Columbia River High School teacher, is struggling to pay for ongoing schooling required of her by the state.

"I totally understand why they might want to leave," Larson said of younger teachers. "They're running teachers out of education — and that's their love."

Webb's pay cut

Superintendent Steven Webb announced in an e-mail last week that he would take a 4.5 percent pay cut to his total compensation of $214,000. He asked that teachers consider a 1 percent reduction as part of an overall sacrifice that could save $1.3 million. Giles said teachers already are losing pay, as they will likely pay more in health premiums, not get a state pay raise of 4.2 percent and also lose one or two days in pay.

After hearing from teachers, the school board told Webb to move forward with balancing the budget.

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