file photo by Boyd Loving
Wake up teachers and your rotten unions. Time to pay more and your fair share. That is the real need here. You Gimme, Gimme, Gimmes are wrong and this why the intelligent BOE is right. Thank you BOE for doing your jobs and not rubber stamping these unreasonable demands. The parents and students should wake up and know these facts. When these reasons are known by all, the educated will support the students and the BOE. The upcoming meeting at BF will have bus loads of teachers wearing RED. While the BOE, Tax Payers should be SEEING RED! Enough is enogh, stop kicking the unions can and caving in. All contracts are shoot high and hope to reach a middle ground. No, not any more. Thank you to all o0n the BOE for standing up for us and the students. The teachers have ruined this year for all our students and we can’t get that back. Shame on the unions more than the lemming teachers. Not to be mean but to bring up an old statement. Those who can’t do teach….I’d like to add those who can’t negotiate for themselves stand behind their cowardly oh so powerful Unions…ugh, makes me sick
I sure hope the author of that run-on atrocity of a post didn’t go to the same schools for which we’re paying so much money.
$102million school budget for a system that continues sliding down in the rankings is just too damn much.As for the teachers make them pay more for health care like the over burdened taxpayer.
More like teachers run on demand that we pay your healthcare Cadillac penalties while you are all at the beach..great racket. Your unions supported obama care in all its let others play glory. but you want the towns citizens to pay endlessly..sorry that Game has been played too long and it’s over
ITS ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS 102 m x 10 years is a billion..have you no shame..
I Support Ridgewood Teachers – with my taxes. I also support that they accept the offer on the table, take their raises and get back to work. Movie time teaching is over, children.
Wow. This blog sure is an angry, inarticulate crowd.
We have fought against Valley and garages and numerous other issues in this town. It is time to fight for our children, but so many parents feel intimidated by these teachers. They will be marching in their red outside before you go into the meeting. They have put us down. They tell us we are not educated that we don’t know the facts. The FACT is that we can not open our mouths because as soon as we do, you crush our opinion. We all see the signs around town, but maybe the teachers and the BOE should be looking at the how many houses don’t have signs…Unfortunately only two scenarios exist…the first the contract is settled which means the BOE gave into the bullying tactics of our teachers and unions. The only benefit to us is our children won’t be punished anymore…The second scenario is the contract doesn’t get signed in which case we will be living through hell. The disrespect these teachers have shown the students and parents is unacceptable. The days of teacher appreciation are over.
On a recent Friday at RHS 33 teachers were “out”. 33 in one day! Holy moly! That is aprrox 660 kids without a teacher which equates to about 1 1/2 grades levels in the High School. Really?????????
The withering and abusive “behind the scenes” attacks on our elected BOE officials should be an embarrassment to all teachers. Why should teachers get better health benefits than the taxpayers who help subsidize them? Surely some of the things these teachers and the REA have pulled are cause for dismissals? Why not bring in some younger teachers who actually want to work with our kids and would be thrilled to teach here?
God forbid you don’t agree with the teachers’ demands. I hope the BOE takes a tough position. Agree that with the schools’ ratings sliding downwards and raises should be performance based. As for the healthcare plans – why would you think you are entitled to a better plan than the taxpayers who pay for yours? The teachers obviously do not care about the children or their profession as much as they care about the almighty dollar. They need to work a little harder and bring the school ratings up before any increases and either contribute more towards their medical insurance or agree to a less expensive plan. Yes, that means $25 co-pays and higher deductibles1
Thank you tonight BOE, for supporting Ridgewood properly. Not easy with all these teachers barking at you. The unions need to all be abolished. There was a time and place for these in the early nineteen hunfdeds. The kids are the real losers here. How can we have fair negotiations if every time it does not go their way. The sick outs start, the field trips are without teachers, and now after school clubs are being cancelled. So one sided and unfair. Shame on the teachers and their unions not the BOE. Some women had the nerve to say we will pay more taxes for these teachers…she is a party of one…even her husband won’t support that! Chuck talking about the bottom half of the county per student? Why weren’t you talking about your second shore home? That you are able to buy because of Cadillac healthcare and pensions we provide? Maybe it’s time for the truly aging overpaid teachers to go? Unions won’t allow it, That’s discrimination, etc. The fact is our teachers are paid fairly and must now use some of this pay to cover more healthcare. Same as everyone else. No one likes it but it has to be done. Healthcare is going to be the death of us all. Fact, I’d pay for the teachers healthcare premiums now if we could…my family now pays 20,000 per year, plus deductibles and $45 co-pays. Wake up teachers and know the facts not what the unions feed you. Enjoy your summer off, we”l be working to pay our very high taxes for you!
2:13 You know not of what you speak. BOE rejected third party, neutral, unbiased fact finder recommendations and refused to settle. REA was willing to compromise on several major issues and settle the contract. Teachers have been working without a contract for a full year and still performed all of their contractual duties. Why so many inaccurate complaints about teacher participation?
10:33 – Teachers have been “working without a contract” is not the same as “working without pay and benefits” as you make it sound.
Without a NEW contract means they are working on the EXISTING contract the promises platinum level benefits.
I know it will never happen, but expiration of one contract should lead to a slashing of benefits and pay till a new one if negotiated. As it stand now, teachers do not care.
2:13, property tax increases are capped at 2% a year. So why do REA members deserve almost 3% annual wage increases on top of the highest median salaries of any school board in Bergen already? Do you think we’re idiots? If you don’t like the deal, leave.
10:35, you don’t deserve better health benefits that the taxpayers who subsidize them. Period. And who pays the 40% ACA excise tax on ” Platinum” plans from 2020? Your union supported Obanacare, so why can’t they answer that question?
10:35, Ridgewood teacher salaries are among the highest in Bergen already. Why should you get above inflation wage growth and above 2% property tax cap wage growth in any years of the new contract? Give us a break, were being taxed to death and 65% of our Village property taxes already go towards the schools. Enough.
Like drugs we have to JUST SAY NO. BOE stick to your Positions.
All If we take a step back it all seem very clear. $100+ million a year for a school budget is just not sustainable and needs to be reduced quickly. We are at a point now where housing values in our town (and Bergen county) have stalled and in many cases are retreating. The high tax burden is taking a toll and will only get worse quickly without some real action.
The best way to do this is to reduce benefits, (healthcare, vacation, reimbursement, free schooling for teachers out of district children, retirement, etc.), change the package for new hires, and also attack administrative costs.
Homeowners and more important the children are getting shortchanged. Just try to get a teacher or guidance counselor to help with a college letter, direction, or just recommendations. There is certainly no passion demonstrated or doing anything above the contract.
We cant afford year after year increases, real no other way
Its time to give the teachers the same deal corporate america has and thats a 70/30 split in contributions. They pay 70% and the town pays 30%. Done deal. This all went downhill hill in the 70’s anyway when we broke the traditional public service contract. Public service use to be, you sacrifice now and we’ll take care of u later in retirement. When we broke that formula we kept the pension formula the same. As public servants salaries increased so did the pension obligations. Now the chickens are home to roost and the the taxpayer is footing the bill. Also please take down the friggin red signs its a marker of that homes ignorance.