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San Luis Coastal teachers demand new contracts

February 4, 2015

teacher-thumb-300x300San Luis Coastal Unified teachers attended a school board meeting Tuesday in Los Osos to protest an impasse in contract negotiations between the district and their union. [Tribune]

Nearly 300 people, mostly teachers, packed the Los Osos Middle School cafeteria to support San Luis Coastal Teachers’ Association President Paul Orton, who addressed the school board. Negotiations between the union and district have stalled over issues including pay; prep time for kindergarten through third grade teachers; and control over collaboration time for elementary school teachers, Orton said.

Teachers’ union members, who are threatening a strike if the dispute is not resolved, are currently working under a contract for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years. Last fall, they rejected a tentative agreement with the district.

In 2012 and 2013, the school board cut about $4.5 million and $4.2 million respectively in district expenses, which resulted in layoffs and cuts to programs, transportation and teacher training. In 2011-2012, teachers received a 6.6 percent raise.

Orton is one of 74 district teachers who have worked for more than 25 years and is now at the top rung of the salary ladder. The union president said his paycheck is getting smaller every year because he is stuck at the top step and health care costs are going up.

San Luis Coastal Superintendent Eric Prater said district officials are trying to have empathy but still do what is best for the long term.

Last week, Lucia Mar Unified teachers threatened a strike after district negotiators refuse to grant them a 10 percent bump in pay that they requested. Lucia Mar negotiations are currently stalled as well.


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I honed in on Orton’s comments on the cost of health care and rightly so. I am absolutely positive Orton supports Obamacare so I am pointing out his hypocrisy in complaining about the increased cost. Our income is over the FreeBee threshold and we got HAMMERED. Our costs more than doubled to $15,000 a year with a much higher deductible and 70% covered instead of 80%. We didn’t receive one penny more from our employers. Mr. Orton, your job as an educator is very important and vital for our society. But jeeze, if you vote for an imbecile like Obama and Capps don’t whine about the results.


Whether the teachers are due a 10% raise, I have no clue. That’s what the negotiations are all about. Remember, Diablo Canyon is contributing much less to the tax base. If the plant isn’t relicensed, the gravy train of property taxes from the plant stops completely. Again, I don’t have an answer for SLO but it seems like prudent planning by San Luis Coastal Union would be to control costs now.


Finally, what is Mr. Orton’s pay check? Instead of saying “It’s getting smaller” what is it? I have had jobs where, when times got tough, our hours were reduced or our pay reduced to keep the company viable. So, instead of some abstract comment, tell us what that pay check is so we can relate to your situation.


Should I hold my breath until I get an answer from M. Orton?


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I should have checked on-line. Here is the pay scale: http://www.slcusd.org/images/cms/files/slcta%20salary%20schedule%202012-13%20plus%203.pdf


Mr. Orton should be getting $91,225 a year or more. He wants a 10% increase, or $9,000 more a year. And I bet he has a huge pension coming to him. Does that change anyone’s opinion?


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Educators or Indoctrinators? Most Conservative teachers are forced out by peer pressure!


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The Teachers Union need to be Broken up like an organized crime operation….saddle up folks….time to smack these tax hungry union thugs down!


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A liberal teacher whining about health care costs? You voted for Obama, live with it. Remember when Obama was promoting Obamacare and how it would reduce health care cost and reduce the deficit by $1 Trillion? I doubt you do. But Obama was real elegant in his promoting Obamacare. Now, I’m not real political but I wanted to SCREAM at the TV when Obama was spouting all these things 4-5 years ago. How can you give people with “pre-existing” conditions a free pass and not drive costs up? How can you give people under $70,000 a year income free premiums (they still have to pay the deductible – boy are they steaming now that they find that out) without doubling the cost to someone who makes $100,000 a year? How can you lower the deficit when millions more are now eligible for welfare, I mean Medicare? The simple (and sobering) answer is ‘you can’t’. Orton is finding this out. Now he wants someone to bail him out. And he is supposed to be bright enough to teach our kids?


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JMO,


Very simply, what is the Republican alternative?


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Ted,

Great question. My hunch is that JMO doesn’t have one.


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Republicans are almost as disgusting as Democrats. The only alternative for both parties is grow government and entrench their power. That’s their plan.


Mine would be immediately dismantle the Department of Education.


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Heal, I gave you a thumbs up for your first sentence.


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Thanks!


Until people realize that all politicians are only self interested (and beholden to those who put up the $ so they can retain their power), and treat all politicians as pariahs, they will continue to divide Americans as they pick our collective pockets.


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Maybe the republicans alternative was to not break the system any further? Sometimes NO ACTION is better than ACTION.


10 years ago (heck, even 5) Healthcare was a gripe. Now it’s life-altering and devastating… for most everyone.


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r0y,


r0y quote: “Sometimes NO ACTION is better than ACTION.”


Really? Let me give you some of the IMPROVEMENTS over no action, okay? Are you ready? Here we go!


Medicaid eligibility is expanded in 26 states to 138% of the federal poverty level giving millions of Americans access to healthcare, large employers must offer coverage to full-time workers by 2015/2016. no annual or lifetime limits on healthcare, all major medical insurance is guaranteed issue, meaning you can’t be denied coverage for any reason, you can’t be charged more based on health status or gender…… whew!


Insurance companies can’t drop you when you are sick or for making a mistake on your application, you can’t be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions, the 80/20 rule and rate review provision help to keep insurers honest and keep rates down, you have the right to quickly appeal any health insurance company decision. you have the right to get an easy-to-understand summary about a health plan’s benefits and coverage.


r0y, give me a minute to catch my breath to show you more benefits relative to before, okay? Thanks………….


…………. whew, I am back, okay, let me continue; young adults can stay on their parent’s plan until 26, a large improvement to women’s health services, including many new free preventive treatments and screenings, reforms to the healthcare industry to cut wasteful spending, better care and protections for seniors, new preventative services at no-out-of pocket costs, essential health benefits like emergency care, hospitalization, prescription drugs, and maternity and newborn care must be included on all non-grandfathered plans at no out-of-pocket limit…… I am getting writers cramps, give me a minute ………


…….. okay, I am back, rules and regulations ensure that all major medical plans provide a minimum actuarial value and have a maximum out-of-pocket cost no more than $6,600 for an individual and $13,200 for a family for 2015.


r0y, I left the BEST IMPROVEMENTS out of this list, like the TEN ESSENTIALS OF OBAMACARE, but I am tired because of putting forth the ones above, okay? Let me know if you want to see the OTHER GREAT IMPROVEMENTS in addition to the aforementioned above that we DID NOT have before Obamacare, okay? Thanks.


Oh, obviously you will NEVER apply for Obamacare in your life, no matter what, correct? You don’t want to become a hypocrite, do you? No, you don’t.


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While I’m sure someone somewhere can appreciate your minimal copy-paste talking points efforts, the reality that many people are actually discovering (or have discovered) paint an entirely different picture: were you better off, healthcare-coverage-wise, prior to Obamacare than after.


It’s a simple question; yet, all the talking point highlights never seem to address that.


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r0y,


To show a certain element the benefits of Obamacare, and to save time, one has to copy the actual FACTS to present to them. It does not matter in how the FACTS are gotten and presented, but it’s the outcome of said FACTS. Get it?


It will become better for the ignorant when they trigger the new FACTS relative to Obamacare, and then they’ll see how much better off they are prior to not having these benefits.


Even if you have private insurance, tell them to NOT to initiate any of the Obamacare benefits that are now law, like for one, “no prior conditions,” even if it is useful to you in the future. Because, god forbid if you should be a hypocrite by using it!


Good day r0y.


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Why don’t you cry-baby WHINERS that disparage our teachers get right to the point? Face it, you would be happier giving teachers less than minimum wage, period! To make the WHINERS happy, let’s give teachers $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked. That would be approximately $19.50 a day relative to the times of 7:45 to 3:00 PM with 30 minutes off for lunch, which equals 6 1/2 hours.


Each parent then should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit and educate their children. What a deal! Now, how many students do they normally teach in a class, maybe 35 in their OVERCROWDED classrooms of late? So that’s $19.50 x 35 students = $682.50 per day paid to the teacher! Huh? Really?


WAIT, remember teachers only work 180 days a year. You WHINERS shouldn’t have to pay them for any vacation time or while they have their summer off. So this deduces to $682.50 X 180 school days = $122,850 salary per year. Uh, wait a minute, but the average salary of a teacher nation wide is $50.000 per year. HUH?!


Let’s throw this factoid into the mix, what about those special education teachers and the ones with Master’s degrees? Well, the WHINERS could placate to them and pay at least minimum wage of $9.00 per hour here in California. That would be $9.00 X 6 1/2 hours X 35 children X 180 days = $368,550 per year. WHAT? Holy cow Batman, that can’t be right!


WAIT A NEW YORK MINUTE! Something is wrong with my math shown above, because the average salary of a teacher, nation wide, is $50,000!

If we then take this said amount and divide it by 180 school days, this equals $227.77 per day, divided by a 6.5 hour work day equals $35.00 per hour. Taking the hourly wage divided by 35 students equals $1.00 per hour, per student, per day! WOW, this is a very inexpensive baby-sitter and teachers even EDUCATE your children too at this low wage! WHINERS, what a deal, huh?


What is more revealing to the above stats is that the average wage above DOES NOT, and I repeat, DOES NOT include any of that silly planning time for teachers, or any time they spend before or after school, or working at home, or going to required meetings, keeping their credential current, or spending their own money on school projects, or the psych hardship at times in being empathic to children of need that they can’t do anything about. With these unaccounted varying hours, it’s embarrassing to show what teachers REALLY MAKE PER HOUR in a given year.


Education and teachers should be the number one entity that one should show respect, and thank their UNION to at least fight for a decent wage at the resentment of others and their ignorance in why they shouldn’t receive a raise under the costs in todays economy!


The irony is that the WHINERS of the teaching profession relative to their salary could no more be teachers than being an Astronaut, but they want their kid’s education on the “cheap” nonetheless. God forbid, you pick which God, that teachers have a respectable living wage irrespective of other “business’ and professions” trying in vain to equal the teaching profession in what they have to do, so one cloth is supposed to fit all, NOT!

Remember the adage of “apples and oranges? Sure you do.


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Ted, excellent comment and analysis!!!

You forgot to mention the time that teachers must devote to cleaning their own rooms and dumping trash because the administration feels sorry for the poor “overworked” classified employees. After all they just get a paycheck to show up. We wouldn’t actual want to impose on them to do anything! That might cost extra.

To those of you who think teachers are over paid, I challenge you to spend as much time with your ” little darlings” as they do.


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i feel bad for teachers that get three months off from school a year.


i remember many of my teachers working summer jobs for extra money if they didnt live within their means.


libtard mentality of entitlement for everyone has erased those two facts from the face of the earth and now we feel sorry for teachers who only have three months off and dont live within their means.


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Since my kids go to private schools, and I pay the teachers their directly, can I opt out of paying these poor overworked teachers since they bring no value to me?


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achillesheal,


Do we really have to explain your erroneous notion of you having to pay for teachers that you don’t use because your kids are allegedly luckier to go to private schools? Really?


Do you also go around complaining that you have to pay taxes for a fire department, when your living conditions have never caught fire? Do you insidiously complain about the fact that you pay taxes for roads within our County that you never drive upon? Huh?


Wait, do you equally complain about paying for public parks that you have never used, or town or state run beaches that you never have walked upon? Should I go further? Okay, JUST ONE MORE OF MANY; do you complain in paying taxes that goes towards paying for a police department, if you don’t plan to call them anytime soon? Can you answer these questions and still not remain a hypocrite to your main premise?


Ponder this notion, how about wanting to pay taxes for public school teachers, whether you use them or not, so the upcoming generation and the citizens of the USA don’t have to live in a country with a bunch of stupid people. Agreed?


Contrary to your position, we’re ALL in this together relative to the well being of our country whether you like it or not.


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Actually teachers and fire departments were once effectively run as private institutions as they should be today. As recently as when I was a kid we had volunteer fire departments with 1-2 firefighters who trained the citizens of the community. We took care of our own communities rather than expecting it to take care of us.


Now we have 25 full time firefighters being paid 24 hr shifts to eat and sleep in the firehouse and wash the engines, and lift weights when there is no crisis.. After age 50. We pay them forever for not working.


Public schools were established to teach the illiterate rabble. As with anything, once government took the opening it crowded out the rest and now occupies the entire field and is completely incompetent and inefficient.


So bow to that piece of excrement Barack Hussein Obama, but don’t forget that socialism only works until you run out of other people’s money. If u don’t believe me, ask Greece.


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achillesheal,


Then by all means, don’t ever call the Fire Department if you’re that disgusted with their modus operandi, okay? You don’t want to be a hypocrite.


That scary word, SOCIALISM, was in our society long before you were born, and under many GOP and Democratic presidents, so to use Obama as an example for your weak argument is not surprising.


You didn’t mention the OTHER Socialist entities in my post to you, why is that? I have many more for you to ponder and to “try” and refute, okay?


Libraries

Military Defense

Postal Service

Student loans and grants

Bridges

Public Land Fills

CIA

FBI

Polio Vaccines

EPA

SOCIAL SECURITY ( That I am sure you will not take)

Museums

Prisons

Veteran’s Healthcare

Public Parks

Sewar Systems

Medicare

Medicaid

Court Systems

G.I. Bill

IRS

FDA

SSDI

Corporate bailouts

Welfare

Unemployment Insurance


Should I go further, or is this enough? I have more if need be, okay?


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I have no choice but to call the government fire department because government has eliminated all other forms of putting out fires except for me and a bucket of water.


I would be glad to opt out of ss if they would give me back the 15% that they confiscate from me every year.


Government creates and takes over entities. Soon you will be able to say you need to pay taxes – don’t you want to be able to go to the Dr?

I guess you plan on never being sick.


Cubans get everything provided by government. How’s that working out for them?


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no. please go further. List all of the things government “provides”.


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that 50% of us pay for to give to the those sleeping in our parks all day.


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achillesheal,


Yes, our government PROVIDES through the tax base, and the things that you DO NOT use at all times, the following entities;


City Metro busses

WIC

State Snow Removal

PBS

CDC

Welfare

Public Street Lighting

FEMA

Public Defenders

S-Chip

Amtrak

NPR

Department of Homeland Security (Thanks BUSH!)

OSHA

State and National Monuments

Government Scholarships

Department of Health and Human Service

Census Bureau

Department of Energy

Customs and Border Patrol

Secret Service

Peace Corps

Department of Justice

National Weather Service

The White House

Government


OMG, is this enough? I have writers cramp like I did with ol’ r0y in this thread about his hypocricy. You worked me like a “farm animal” to show your hypocrisy, thanks alot!


Care to refute any of the above SOCIALISTIC entities that you DO NOT use on a daily basis, but pay for nonetheless, relative to not wanting to pay for public school teachers? Huh?


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Tell you what, why don’t you give me $100,000 and I will “provide” you with $20,000 in services… deal? Not sure you’ll ever “get it” Ted.


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Please – there must be more.


I want to know where my $.40/$1 is going + all of the nickels and dimes they confiscate on the remaining $.60 when I save it, spend it, or invest it.


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Funny how you are getting writers cramp listing all of the “services” the government forces us to pay for.


Wasn’t the intent of the Constitution to have a limited government?


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“I pay the teachers THEIR directly,…”


Sheesh, good thing they aren’t home-schooled.


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Ted, I checked your numbers. Average annual salary in U.S. is $44,888. The average annual salary in California is $51,924. The average annual salary for teachers in California is $69,324. Teachers work 180 days a year. The rest of us work 250 days a year. Ted, how many days a year do you work? Is your income above or below the average? Would you be willing to unilaterally give more of your paycheck for teachers salary without expecting anyone else to do the same?


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The last time I checked, teachers in California had an education way above the average!! Nobody seems to have a problem paying correctional officers 2 or 3 times the average! Your logic is flawed!


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What logic? The numbers are what they are. I hope you aren’t teaching our children with such poor cognizant skills.


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“Nobody seems to have a problem paying correctional officers 2 or 3 times average”? are you kidding?, These are two problems with similar reasons, unions, both try to scare the taxpayers into doom and gloom if they do not give into their demands…..


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Kayaknut,


I’ll ask you the same question to JMO, what is the Republican alternative?


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No union and a 401K


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Kayaknut,


No UNION? Then like my treatise at the top stated, the WHINERS would only pay minimum wage with no benefits to the teachers. Surely you jest, right? Good one kayakrut, you ol’ jokester!


401k, really? The majority don’t have the wherewithal to give to a 401k subsequent to the Bush economy collapse because the extra money they have is put into healthcare, but at a reduced cost thanks to Obamacare.


Besides, what if another Republican president gets into office like Bush and takes this country to it’s knees again because of another fraudulent war, continuing “Trickle Down Economics,” that is hardly dripping, etc.? That wouldn’t be good, agreed?


No, you present just more “pie in the sky” in the hopes that the majority aren’t watching. Nice try, though!


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That sounds REALLY good to me! I don’t think there should be ANY UNIONS in the PUBLIC SECTOR. In the PRIVATE SECTOR: go for it!


I do not think the tax payer should provide pensions or any kind of retirement. EVERYONE should be able to have EQUAL ACCESS to the same retirement options: 401K / 403B is pretty decent now, and is the responsibility of the individual (with employer- matching contributions as part of the pay package while one works).


Why should the Public Sector union employees get so much better a deal than the Private Sector union employees or non-union employees? Why?


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Hold on teddy boy…


The teacher is getting $35.00 per hour plus health benefits, plus retirement… what’s wrong with that????? In case you don’t know…that’s a good wage.


Plus they have 80 Monday through Friday days off during the year which really improves their quality of life.(52 weeks x 5 = 260 = 80 days off during the week.


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Makes one wonder why Prez Orton committed his life’s work to a career with such an obvious salary ceiling.


I am sure he’s a great teacher and all, and I am believing some of the ed industry posters below who assert that teaching is a pain in the ass, but he is where he is because of choices he made.


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“In 2012 and 2013, the school board cut about $4.5 million and $4.2 million respectively in district expenses, which resulted in layoffs and cuts to programs, transportation and teacher training. In 2011-2012, teachers received a 6.6 percent raise.”


Translated in the progressive enigma machine teacher training decodes as paid vacation.


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First of all, get rid of the union. Next, get rid of tenure. Now, lets talk.


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At least change the rules that allow administration fire a teacher caught with kiddy porn or found to be feeding his students his “special sauce”, right now it so difficult to fire them that instead, just to get rid of them, they are allowed to retire, with full pension.


Change that first and then we will talk…….


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http://www.realcleareducation.com/2015/01/23/cuomo_rips_teachers_unions_as_selfish_039industry039_27886.html


Gov. Cuomo decried the education system as broken and charged that unions have gone off track from the mission of serving kids. ‘If (the public) understood what was happening with education to their children, there would be an outrage in this city,’ he said Thursday before the Daily News Editorial Board.


http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fr/sa/cefavgsalaries.asp


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