Pinellas County teachers may face pay cut due to decreasing tax roll

The economic downturn may begin competing with Pinellas County taxpayers’ best intentions to give teachers a raise – but not if union officials have anything to say about it.

At issue is the salary supplement instructional personnel have received since voters approved a special half-mill property tax in 2004. In 2005-06, each employee received $2,625 of his or her salary from the referendum.

The amount increased to $3,284 in 2006-07, and $3,529 the year after that. Despite a tax roll decrease of 2.11 percent in 2008-09, the district held the supplement steady at $3,529 thanks to money left over from the previous year.

But now the Pinellas property appraiser is projecting a 10.68 percent reduction in the 2009-10 tax roll. The school district has eliminated some positions because of enrollment, thus reducing the number of people paid from referendum dollars.

Still, district officials say the tax won't generate enough money to pay teachers the same amount next year.

The result? The referendum supplement must decrease by $290, school officials say. District negotiators have alerted union officials that 11.5-month and 12-month instructional personnel will see less money in their paychecks as soon as July 1.

That’s not sitting well with the union.

Kim Black, president of the Pinellas Classroom Teachers Association, has referred the school district to language embedded in the salary schedule in the collective bargaining agreement that says the amounts agreed upon include $3,529 in referendum supplement dollars approved by voters on Nov. 2, 2004.

Declining tax collections should not affect the salary as stated in the schedule, Black maintains. She has asked the district to reconsider its decision to reduce employee salaries, adding that “this unilateral action … undermines the collaborative nature of our collective bargaining process.”

The district has not yet responded to the request.

Donna Winchester, Pinellas education reporter

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Comments

[??]

More scare tactics and now illegal activity. Sue the district ...
again? Teacher should be treated with dignity. Quit violating contracts. You got enough in the newly approved part of the contract. We are working for free in secondary. We need to have roofs over their heads at a home.

[Teacher with Morals]

I beg everyone to write to the Dept of Education at the state and federal levels. Please join forces and make this topic be reported on national media...constantly until our society can eliminate all of these worthless and heartless "things" (I can't even think of them as human beings because humans are compassionate by nature. These "things" are not.) with only enough heartbeats in them to continually commit 4 of the 7 deadly sins on a daily basis. Those sins are: gluttony, greed, sloth, and pride.

Until USA teachers are treated with the same respect as those in Finland and Singapore, then no non-instructional personnel should make more than $35,000/yr...regardless of seniority.

I am so sick of seeing fellow teachers fall victim to these selfish "things". These idiot "things" can't seem to realize that they're destroying our society, 1000s of students each year.

HELLO!!! idiots, you ARE going to be victims of MAJOR KARMA because you're allowing our school system to continuously produce high amounts of undereducated youths. We are ALL curious what fate has lined for all of you heartless pieces of nothing.

[anybody]

If I am to understand .... there have been new positions created for the Taj and coaching positions in the schools, in addition many ap's moved to principals and receiving $20,000. + in raises for this move and NOW they want to cut our already poor salary, for the kids, I can only say what the %*&%&(%(&%!!! I just can not believe it is like this in other counties. I for one will not vote for any of the board members in place now and if I could I would get Jansen or whatever her name is out too. The sad thing is too many people haven't a clue what it is like in a middle or high school and believe we have cakewalk jobs. I am sooo tired of hearing "for the kids", the kids I have encountered of late would spit on you and more, they don't care to learn. This county is a farce and laughing stock, and our union does not seem to do more than lip service for its teachers.

[??]

How is it that we now have less students, less schools and of course need less teachers yet they create new coaching jobs and new admin jobs?

[Wasted money]

Oh, BS!!! Who doesn't know Kim wants a TAJ job after her term is up??? She came out to my school and was "appalled" at some of the stuff going on and then never attempted to do a thing about it. In fact, she was never heard from again. She's just another politician. They (PCTA) go to Tallahassee and party on our dime. Lobby for 15 minutes and drink/eat the rest of the time. You on here sticking up for her are some of the partiers. If you really mean it, how about paying your own way to the parties (AKA "conventions") ? We haven't had a raise in forever and about to take ANOTHER cut!
Oh, but NO you would never do that!! Or better yet, stay in Pinellas County and study some of the "principals" and above they put in place who don't know their butts from a hole in the ground? Oh, but they wear nice clothes and like to order people around, but couldn't teach a class if they had to.

[Teacher]

As usual, the district is trying to balance the budget on the backs of teachers. And, as usual, PCTA is the ONLY force standing in their way.

And, as usual, some teachers (who ought to know better) can only complain about - PCTA!

O mores, O tempora.

[middle school teacher]

How is it that we now have less students, less schools and of course need less teachers yet they still say that we can't get paid a living wage? Something smells rotten!

[depressed]

'A toga and a fiddle...'?

Thanks! That image gave me the first smile I've had in months regarding much of anything to do with our local public school system's management.

[Referendum money is not to SUPPLANT the operating budget.]

Voters didn't vote to take the entire burden of paying teacher salaries.

I will sue the school district if they choose to supplant funds.

What the heck is wrong with Pinellas and when will they hit bottom? How many signs do they need to tell them they are mismanaging the district? Dead kids-check. Failing schools-check. One third of their schools on the state *&^% list-check. Dead teachers-check. Increasing drop out rate-check.

Really. When will they concede they have hit bottom and are ready to take responsible action to improve?

[Bob Largo]

Everyone wondering about Teachers Unions should read the book, "The Worm in the Apple - How Teacher's Unions are Destroying Education in America."

Its agenda is not to provide better teaching in schools; it is to provide more money and benefits for teachers
and, above all, for itself.

This is NOT a statement against our outstanding teachers in Pinellas County, it is a statement against the Union and what it really stands for.

[Frustrated teacher]

Come on! With all the money saving strategies that have been implemented,like the 7 period day in secondary, school closings, and reduction in force, there's not enough money to maintain the salaries we have? Is this just an mind game to lower our expectations then give us what we already have?

[despair= lack of hope]

I wish I could fight at the school board meeting sand etc. However, PCTA is the only recognized bargaining unit.

[No one]

How about making everyone over $70K take a minimum 10% pay cut? Most of them overpaid and under worked anyway.

[Ms. Pencil, scratching another line item off my personal budget]

hey Hope - maybe we should know more about what happens behind closed doors, then we could stop taking the doorknob in the behind everytime those doors get closed. I don't expect to get rich teaching, I know better, but how effective can I be when I'm homeless because I can't pay my mortgage? and I bought way before the craze, just so you know.

[disappointed]

I, too, would like to know what happened to the stimulus money!! I do know that the county is creating NEW coaching positions in the elementary schools. Why do we need MORE coaches? These people would better serve our students in the classroom. I was told that stimulus money was used for these positions. How can PCSB continue creating new positions when they can't fund the ones they have?

[Hope]

PCTA is holding jobs.That would come from someone whom doesn't know anything. If it hadn't been for PCTA/PESPA you wouldn't have 'Nothing"! Check your bulb. They are fighting everyday for us little people. If you could do a better job, I'd like to see your a** up at a school board meeting fighting for employees rights ! You don't know what happens behind the closed doors.

[??]

This is another example of the demoralization of teachers.

[Sick of fear tactics]

Let's sue the district, again.

[wtf???]

I know, I know- I should be thankful to have a job. But having to plan for and teach an extra class next year, along with an asinine idea to bring back early release days (which were done away with a few years ago because they were unproductive), and the probability of furloughs for 6-10 days on top of this is absolute CRAP. I'm tired of being told to make chicken salad out of chicken sh*t. How the hell does queen janssen get off on creating 3 new assistant super. positions all with salaries of more than $80k, then tell us to take it in the shorts because of the budget?
How f'd up is this place? If the voters of pinellas county re elect any member of this board, they are collective idiots. If the board does not reign in the queen, they are all idiots. Next I guess they'll ask me to purchase text books out of my own pocket for the additional class I have to teach. Oh but it's all "for the children." Is this what the fall of rome was like? Somebody get Janssen a toga and fiddle, because rome is burning baby.

[fire kim black and julie jansen]

Everyone in PCTA should give them self a $600 raise by quitting the association.

[terminator]

what happened to all the federal stimulus dollars and the .25 mill shift money?

school boards and school district administrations=oink, oink!