No raises for Fort Worth teachers means budget woes for educators

[white cloud]

By Steven Poole

Special to the Star-Telegram

In Friday's editorial, "No teacher raises = less budget woes," the Star-Telegram Editorial Board yet again tried to paint any efforts or discussion of raises for employees as "nonsense." What is nonsensical is the notion that a lack of a teacher raise has no impact on the district. It does, and it is a real and personal impact on every employee of the district.

The hardworking employees of the Fort Worth school district are facing two years in a row with no salary increases or acknowledgments of their efforts. Just like all other workers in our community, the cost of living continues to increase.

In addition, the state of Texas has passed on hefty health insurance premium hikes with more out-of-pocket expenses for medical care. The modest 1 percent salary increase proposed by Trustee Juan Rangel would have been barely enough to stanch the bleeding from employees' paychecks.

There is also a larger woe the district will experience for not providing any type of salary increase. Fort Worth schools will not have competitive salaries needed to retain high-performing employees or to attract the highest-quality teacher applicants. The district finds itself right in the middle of one of the most competitive regions of the state but only ranks 16th out of 31 area districts for beginning teacher salaries, according to our association's comparison.

A teacher in Fort Worth with five years of experience makes less than a beginning teacher in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford and Irving school districts. History tells us that more than half our current teachers will leave our district or the profession altogether by the end of their fifth year.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/07/09/4088402/poole-no-raises-for-fort-worth.html#storylink=cpy

[Sherman A1]

1. Certainly a good thing that prices haven't gone up in the last two years.....

oh, wait... They have.

[msongs]

2. districts view losing experienced higher paid teachers as a GOOD thing. nt

[sonias]

3. One day people will look back to this decade and say

That was the decade that teachers were attacked by some of the vilest members in society. Teachers that should have been valued and been sacred in society as the gate keepers of knowledge were destroyed. And that's when we knew civilization was crumbling.

Honestly, I don't know who will go into teaching anymore. Why would you? It's already a low paying job for the amount of training you put into it. And then to be only viewed as a tax burden?

[Abra]

4. The people being asked to pay for those teacher raises haven't had raises either

Many have had their salaries and hours cut, assuming they even have jobs at all.

Education is critical. And our teachers deserve to be paid well. Fortunately, compared to most folks these days, they are. The good news is that Fort Worth teachers, according to the blurb above, make the normal median wage for area districts.