At this time, many of our teachers and other public workers are paid more than many of the residents who pay them. The long term teachers are in the high middle class and lower upper class, and are above the pay grade of many of the residents that pay them. When you add in the benefits and pension, the majority are well above the average Ridgewood residents. We all know that a certain percentage of our residents are “rolling in it” and receive some of the highest pay in the nation. We also know that the teachers, when striking, seem to be demanding to be in the pay range of these really highly paid individuals. We also know that the benefits and pensions that our teachers receive put them at such a high total income level that many of our residents only dream of obtaining. Many of our residents are also business owners or in business for themselves. These people have to pay even more for their employees insurance and the employees pay between 20-25% of that while having high co-pays and deductibles. A $10.00 co-pay is a joke in the real world. To top it off, Ridgewood’s quality is declining by a huge amount while the teachers who are apparently not teaching get higher annual raises. Many residents have not seen a raise or bonus in years. We really can’t cry for the “poor teachers”.
My sophomore kid has daily complaints about teachers and how they lack in teaching. I always take his opinions with a grain of salt but certain observations really tell me that there a lot of bad teachers who in fact do not teach. I keep telling him that he should try to succeed and not complain about teachers but keep working harder however this is not fair, not fair at all to the children and especially parents who work super hard to live in the RW “paradise”. The hype for this town is unbelievable. At some point it will blow over and everything will be exposed. Such a pity for this degradation in education. I really wish Fishbein & Co get replaced with competent people. Not holding my breath.
Years ago at Back to School night we were greeted by a teacher who was only concerned that the parents hand over money for a workbook the students needed. When someone questioned what she was teaching, her answer floored me. “I don’t have to worry about my teaching and I could not teach at all and it would be legal. I have tenure and I’m really not interested in bonus money so I’m just going to sit and do nothing until I retire.” And she did. Daily assignments to that workbook to be done in class was just about all she accomplished. This, incidentally, was the required second year of a language class in which they learned nearly nothing. The most horrible thing about this story from years ago is that some teachers in the system still feel that way and nothing has been done about it.
Guess you didn’t get the memo Ryan…its long blown over.
The creeps at VH and the unions that support over paid and over pensioned rank and file have long been unearthed. That’s why you see so many for sale signs in this overhyped “Village “. We’re outta here.
As we’ve progressed through the school system, the teachers (and curriculum) AS A WHOLE have gotten progressively worse.
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The pre-K/K/Grammar school teachers (while not perfect) are multiples better than the middle school teachers, who in turn are multiples better than the High School teachers.
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Please note we have encountered stellar teachers in each grade, but there are fewer and fewer of them as we have progressed through the school system.
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It has been very disappointing.
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Broga, Fishbein and Gorman are all incompetent and have failed our children. They should resign and take responsibility for their failure.
https://jobs.teacher.org/school-district/ridgewood-public-schools/
Check the average salaries for teachers, then check the cost of housing in Ridgewood. Most of Ridgewood’s teachers cannot afford to live in Ridgewood. With a salary of $75,000, you are not purchasing an average house here with costs in excess of $700,000. A cheap home in Ridgewood costs over $400,000. The complaint that Ridgewood teachers make more than many residents does not stand up to close scrutiny. Average income in Ridgewood is $198,000, almost triple a typical teacher salary. https://patch.com/new-jersey/ridgewood/ridgewood-named-12thhighest-earning-town-in-america
Agree with 3:15’a post, Tenure reform is needed as well as competitive annual reviews.
7:23 – you’re missing the point. Teachers are not necessarily “overpaid” on a base salary level. I’ll allow the exaggeration that 198K is “nearly 3 times” 75K and hope that you are not a math teacher. Moot point because your pension and insurance plans are bankrupting the state and municipalitty that pay you. Your contract is not sustainable. As the wealthier people are forced to move out you should be able to find a nice place in town for less than 400K. Except your taxes will be 40K per year. Enjoy!
7:23- Ridiculous! I was an accountant in manhattan for several years serving manhattan clients. I could not afford to live on my salary in midtown, so I lived elsewhere and commuted into the city daily. I don’t think teachers have to live in the same town where they teach, not do they have to be provided with a salary high enough to live in the neighborhood where their school is located. A very strange concept. It is the benefits that are causing this issue more so then the salaries. The unions have us trapped and we had a way out with Christie, but now he is gone.
RE: “Check the average salaries for teachers, then check the cost of housing in Ridgewood. Most of Ridgewood’s teachers cannot afford to live in Ridgewood.”
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7:23 – you are missing the point.
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Ridgewood teachers DO NOT have to LIVE in Ridgewood.
If they want to live in Ridgewood they should get a job that pays more.
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If I work in Manhattan, it DOES NOT REQUIRE that I live in a multi-million dollar Upper West Side Condo…
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Typical entitled teacher.
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8:59 . Look at which houses in Ridgewood have the highest turnover rates. Less expensive homes resell more often. People still move to Ridgewood, often from NYC, for the schools and leave when their kids graduate. Yes. Taxes are high, but they are far lower than the cost of private school tuition plus taxes in a town with lower rated schools. A year of property tax payments on an average Ridgewood home (Roughly $16,000) is roughly one third the cost of tuition at a New York City private school (over $50,000). That is the choice many parents have made. For a family with multiple children, the savings are even more substantial.
One family makes $50,000 or less and one family makes well over $300,000. The average of that is really quite high. So, don’t brag about all the millionaires who live here. Even a mean would be slanted to the higher end. Many of our residents live in small apartments so they can send their children to Ridgewood schools. They can’t afford that nice cheap $400,000 home. When the new apartments open, our schools are going to be overwhelmed with new students. So, yes, many of our teachers are paid much more than many of our residents. Even at starting salaries because they are getting thousands of dollars in free benefits that even our millionaires might find it tough to meet. Don’t forget, the salaries are not based on 12 months of education. Many teachers make a lot at their “summer jobs”. Ridgewood is fortunate to have very talented teachers who do inspire their students but we have almost as many who are sick of teaching and are just counting down to their very well padded retirements.
where are theses $400,000 home in Ridgewood?
James – https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Ridgewood_NJ
What about some of the administrators who collect salaries that are not worth their salaries?
Apparently James doesn’t know how to use the search feature on his computer 7:04 AM
I apologize for accidentally failing to include the administrators. Some of my previous posts have pointed out the huge increase in both the number of administrators and their salaries. It seems that every administrator requires at least one if not more “assistants” in order to do their work, and to be able to brag about being at the top of the administration chain as “I have more assistants than you do”. I was responding to an article about the teachers but I completely agree with 1:13 that we have many unnecessary administrators, too many assistants, and too much “help” in general in the administration and the schools.
What are the consequences of reducing the total compensation package for teachers (salaries and all benefits including pensions)? You have even more difficulty attracting the good teachers we all want. You end up with everyone else’s 5th or 6th choice because you can’t compete for the best teachers. The total benefit package for teachers in Ridgewood actually runs very close to the standard 25% of salary typical for most schools. Perhaps we should take our lesson from Finland, a nation with arguably the best educational system in the world. They pay their teachers well and they offer generous benefits. As a result, teaching is a desired career. Finland draws its teachers from the top college graduates, unlike the US, which ranks very low in the industrialized world for the college graduation standings of its teachers. Perhaps the conservatives who bash teachers and teacher salaries need to apply some of that worship for competition to the process of attracting the most talented individuals into teaching.
More on Finnish teachers versus those in the US. Finnish teachers are paid slightly more, on average, than are US teachers. Finnish teachers also have far better benefit packages, including health care and pension benefits. They are also treated with far more respect than here in the US. Those factors may help explain why many of Finland’s finest seek careers as teachers.
12:23. I believe you missed my point. The original article claimed that the long term teachers are in the high middle class and lower upper class and that they earn more than many Ridgewood residents. That assertion does not stand up to close examination. I pointed out the inability of teachers to live in Ridgewood not to claim that they SHOULD live here, but to counter the false narrative that they are wealthier than many of our residents. Many Ridgewood teachers, especially younger teachers, cannot afford to live even close to Ridgewood, with many commuting from Sussex County, often traveling an hour each way to be able to live where they can afford while teaching in Ridgewood. By the way. I live in Ridgewood, but I am not a teacher in Ridgewood.