The problem is not paying the teachers, the problem is that our Board of Ed treats the teacher salaries as a lower priority. We should pay talent and retain talent. That is the heart of any great business, especially educational businesses.
The start of the solution is getting rid of the 35 people in that building on Franklin Ave. We have far too many administrators each of whom just creates the need for more administration, more secretaries and keep teachers from teaching kids. If the kids in Orchard and Somerville learn a little bit different stuff in math–WHO CARES? It will work out. They will be close enough by the time they get to HS. Use a simple curriculum outline and let the teachers teach.
Also, its enough with the bells and whistles. Make a decision about whether you want new text books or lap tops. You can read on a computer so you really should pick one or the other. Use the laptop and an older text book. They will get what they need.
We dont need rock climbing walls and the insurance that goes with them. Let them play dodge ball. What about considering the real costs of having Football–insurance, equipment, staff, etc. Get rid of the fat and focus on the mission of educating kids. To me it is simple, pay the teachers and let them teach.
The whole ‘get rid of the administrators’ argument is a red herring to distract from the real issue – teacher compensation and benefits.
Schools and universities have been bombarded with regulations from the feds and the state. Who is going to deal with all of those?
Comparing it to what things were like 30 years back is pointless. Government has grown, massively. You did not have paper regulations on bathrooms 30 years back. Now you do. As regulations increase, so do people who are requirement to follow and implement them, namely administrators.
It is bizarre to say the least that big government supporting unions are making scapegoats of the people hired to implement that big government.
I tend to agree with this. Too many non-teaching salaries.The trouble with laptops is 1) the kids will destroy them and 2) if they don’t destroy them, they become obsolete in 3-5 years.
but we can pre install The Ridgewood Blog link on the school laptops and get them used to fact based reality and existence.. lesson one.Money only grows on the trees in the high side of town..and at the board of Ed correction latter is other people’s money..
Teachers blaming board of ed salaries, yeah right. Like their own health benefits and accumulated leave boondoggle are nothing? Like 2.8% annual wage increases on top of the already highest average teaching salaries in Bergen aren’t crazy when inflation in Bergen is below 2%? That’d called trying to distract attention away from the real issues, and it’s a thuggish union ploy. We taxpayers have had it, enough with your greed outweighing the needs of our students.
The problem is he benefits.
We ALL know this.
But administrator salaries are out of control compared to the work being done – half of them are not even needed and could be consolidated