I'm putting this up here because it bears repeating over and over again. Don't believe the recruiters. This was the scene today from Dade County http://www4.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI112623/ This is the state of Florida today.
So, they want these people to work this year and not get paid until next year? Something's wrong with that....
Not if it will SAVE over 3000 jobs.....I would be on board if it meant that I, or any of my co-workers, got to keep our jobs.
I have heard talk of furloughs of school employees, on student attendance days so everyone would feel the pain. Parents too. Not usre if I want or could do no paycheck for awhile.
Furloughs are okay with me but not getting paid if I'm working is not okay with me. I couldn't do that.
I live in Florida and it is a mess. I hope and pray I will have a job next year, but am not certain. I live in a rural county and it does not look promising. Makes me sad after it took me 5 years to get through school and now I can't find a job. It just never occured to me that when I finished school I wouldn't have a job.
I agree with MATGrad. Florida is NOT the place to come for a teaching job. Cost of living is NOT commiserate with the pay scale unless you are a two-income household. This is a state that does NOT value education and because of our huge winter population, residents will ALWAYS vote to cut education spending in order to not raise taxes. They already raised their kids up North - why should they pay for Southerner's education? They're ignorant rednecks anyway - why bother? (That's a quote from the message boards on my local newspaper's website) Colleges are CHURNING out new teachers. CHURNING. And they can't find a job in this state because so many veteran teachers CAN'T AFFORD TO RETIRE. The weather is nice. I will say that. You can go to the beach in January. But don't expect to work.
Just out of curiosity, how much does Alberto Carvalho make? I always have an issue with this type of guilting. If you don't work for free then your co-workers will get laid off. In my school district, they have hired an additional superintendant but cut jobs for custodial staff and secretaries. Why should those making the least be hurt the most. Because let's be realistic here, even if the superintendants give up 2 days of pay it isn't going to break their families budget. However, if the secretary has to give up 2 days of pay it just might.
He's asking to defer payment, not lose it entirely. It sucks, but if the alternative is 3000 of your colleages, and possibly you, losing their job, then I think it's the better choice. Not only that, I'm sick to death of news reports saying that teachers here "aren't getting promised raises". The teachers union agreed to the contract that stated that teachers would get raises "if the money was available in the budget". Guess, what? It's not available, and we signed the contract, so we really have no right to complain. The county can't control the millions that have been cut from the budget, or the loss in property tax revenue as thousands of people lose their homes and the value of the homes that haven't been lost have plumeted. Carvalho has nothing to do with the mess Rudy Crew left for him. He's slashed all kinds of unnescasary spending, and he's going after more. He's underpaid for a person in charge of an organization this large, and he willingly let go of many of the perks his predecessor enjoyed. Does he have his faults? Yes. But he's realistic. If he doesn't do something drastic, the ship is going down and we'llall be out of jobs.
I've had that same discussion with my husband. He's absolutely ticked that he didn't get a step increase this year but as I explained to him the increase would have guaranteed that people lose their jobs. Now my other beef is that the legislature refuses to utter the dreaded "T" word. I was reading that Florida may have cut so much that we'll be ineligible for the stimulus money. Unreal! The kids are going to suffer. What kind of education will they be provided with?
Well, what they need to do is dump the current tax system and start over. They need to lower the property tax rate significantly and institute a state income tax. The old model doesn't work. The logic for the current system is that a higher property tax nails the people who have second homes here but don't work here, but even though we still have snow birds, the ratio of snowbirds to year round residents isn't nearly so large anymore. They could still keep some of that by imposing a higher tax on properties deemed "vacation" homes (a second home owned by an individual who claims permanant residence in another state or country), but we can no longer rely soley on property taxes to fund basic services. I know it won't be popular, but somebody's got to have the guts to do it. Whoever is brave enough to do the tough stuff is going to get slammed, much like Carvahlo is being slammed right now. He's making tough but nesacary decisions. I can't say I like everything he's doing, but I can see WHY he's doing it, and that if we have any prayer of staying afloat, these things need to be done.
I can't blame teachers for getting upset, but it was only two days worth of pay that they were asked to defer. I'm in private school in Palm Beach County and we get paid 20,000 to 30,000 a year less than public school teachers, so I can't really relate. (We don't have to put up with as much BS, though, so that is part of the reason we just deal with it. It is rather sickening, though.)
I think that in these economically difficult times, we all should be taking a hit. If this saves 3000 jobs, I think it's a good thing. It's not about guilting teachers, but realistically thinking, when teachers are cut, classroom sizes increase, and learning becomes difficult, if not impossible. In my district, our classrooms are already about 30-33, and believe me, learning right now is not an easy thing. It can get chaotic with that many in each classroom...
Can't afford to retire?? What is it they're spending their money on. (that's another issue altogether, but you have to consider if they are really financially responsible). If people could learn to cut back on their spending habits (not buying a new pair of shoes every week to "keep up with the Joneses")...then it would be a non-issue.
This is something that's new...but not ONLY Schools are doing this regular companies are doing this with their employees, "Take a day off without pay", but...of course, you're a teacher and you can't really take a day off, and the students still have to learn that day. The "Take a day or so off without pay" is becoming common in this recession. Though, I think it's just a band-aid.
You have a good point, but in certain areas of FL the cost of living is extremely high (and I'm taking the POV of single teachers). When your living expenses equal almost your paycheck, it's hard to save. Now that the housing market has collapsed, it's much easier to find an affordable place to live. Also, the FL state retirement system has two options - investment or just save. Many people chose investment (the 90s were good times) and took a hard hit when the market dive-bombed. A lot of people have less than half of what was in their portfolios two years ago. For someone ready to retire, they may not have enough left to live off of for the next 20 or 30 years.
A 3bdr house is the "cheap" area of my town costs $250K, and that would be in a not so wonderful area, though not too rough either. If you want something in a decent area, be prepared to pay a LOT more than that. The houses aren't even that wonderful. Typical houses around here are fairly small, with little to know yard. Property taxes are outrageous and homeowners insurance, with the required windstorm coverage frequently is more than the mortgage payment. If you rent, you can't find anything for under $1000/month, but typical is more like $1200-$2000. Gas prices are among the highest in the nation (only CA and NY have higher prices, that I know if). My car ins, with my squeaky clean driving record is $1000/year There's no keeping up with the joneses. We're trying to live. I'm insulted and offended with the fact that you immediately assumed financial irresponsibility without even botghering to check what the financial situation in Florida was really like. Just a 5 minute google search would have revealed that your comments are way off base and completely innappropriate.
I really don't have too much of an opinion because I am not in Florida and not knowledgeable enough of their budgets. This deferred pay plan makes me nervous, however, because of the precedent it could set. This year it is 2 days. If they need money next year, will they ask for a week? What if the economy keeps heading in this direction? Where will it stop- a month, a semester, a year? I'm not saying it would..but the possibility it scary.
I also take offense at the insinuation that being unable to retire = financial irresponsibility. I know of quite a few teachers in my area who have not been able to retire this year because their spouse lost their job, or because their 401k/IRA took such a dramatic hit because of the stock market. And these are simple, frugal people - but there are some things, such as food, and mortgage, that simply must be paid for.
When you retire in the FRS, you get 48% of your five highest years averaged. Firefighters/police get 85%. Most teachers I know were saving additional funds but with the stock market diving, they just don't have the money now.
I agree with you. I know many teachers in our district who will not retire just for that reason. they planned to retire but who thought the economy would tank!! I wouldn't retire either if I was close, who knows what the future holds!!
In fact, if I were in their situation, I would be hesitant to retire too - even if I were financially capable of doing so - why not work for a few more years and wait and see how this whole economy thing shakes out? After all, it's likely to get worse before it gets better...
My husband already works for the state of Florida, he hasn't had a raise in four years, but fortunately still has a job. (And that was before we hit financial rock bottom as a state...). We are a two income household and rob Peter to pay Paul every single month. Trying to put anything into savings is nearly impossible. I've been looking for a teaching job for two years now and don't see my odds improving this coming school year. I was born and raised here, wages have never stayed in line with the cost of living. Housing prices are the lowest they've ever been in the Orlando area, but good luck qualifying for a loan. Education comes in dead last anymore in regards to issues of importance in this state. And in the end, it's the children who are going to pay a heavy price. So if your planning on moving to Florida to find a great paying teaching job, it'd be wise to rethink your options...
My neighborhood has nearly 20% of homes empty/in foreclosure. We live in an older subdivision and it's so depressing to see all these empty homes but nobody wants to negotiate their prices. My next door neighbor has been trying to sell his place for 2 years now. He wants $140,000 for a 2-2-2 that's got 1200 sp feet and is 35 years old. He did a great job of maintenance but it's still very outdated. Who is going to pay that when the new ones are being listed for the same price??
PRECISELY! :thumb: There's that FSBO mindset of "I think my house is worth X amount of dollars and I'm not taking a penny less!" Then there are the bank owed homes and let me tell ya, for the big banks being so financially strained these days, they sure as heck won't negotiate. We had a home that was about 40 years old, needed a ton of work, the bank had it listed at $75K, we had an offer for $70K and they wouldn't take it. Two months later they had to lower the price to $60K...if they just would've taken the original $70K offer instead of being greedy they would've netted a larger chunk of change.
I agree about the cost of living. I'm 25 and I still live at home with my parents. Cost of living in my city is roughly as follows: $800 basic 1 br apartment $300 food $200 utilities (electricity, tv, internet) $50 phone bill $200 insurance (car/health) $60 gas (assuming a 10mile commute) $40 hygiene $100 clothing total=$1750 So basically, if you want to reduce living costs, you should have a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/roommate. Otherwise you will have virtually no savings as a teacher at the end of the month.
Homeowner's insurance is crazy here! We pay $2700/year on our little 1140 square foot home. The flood is around $1100. I pay a little over $400/month in escrow. I'm starting to see official lay-off numbers coming in. The legislature is "working" right now so we'll what they do.
I'm with Miss A - I finally moved in with my fiancee after two years of spending my ENTIRE paycheck on living expenses. It's not like I'm crazy or outlandish or anything - I was just paying the bills! And then I lost my job and he lost his and we spiraled down into the doom of Florida's recession, lost all savings we had built up, and ended up moving back in with our parents. At least the beach is still free. For now.
Florida's officially popping in at 8.6% unemployment today. They don't include discouraged workers or those collecting extended unemployment benefits in that figure.
And you didn't include a car note. And classroom expenses that teachers pay from their own pocket. And what about teachers with student loans they have to pay back? Or working teachers that are furthering their education and have tuition and textbook costs? I am a second-year teacher in Central Florida, who lives alone in a one-bedroom apt. I drive a Toyota Camry. I don't dress or live lavishly. And I basically just pay my bills and that's it. I am not able to save much at all. And the little I do save is spent every few months when an unexpected expense comes up, such as new tires for the car or a doctor's visit, etc. The only thing I have to look forward to as far as savings is the FRS Retirement Plan. And as for working in Florida, fingers are crossed that I get renewed next year.
Did you hear the next great news? Florida was denied stimulus money because of all the cuts they made. Here's a link to the article. http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/c...stimulus_0308.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=0 I got a call from a school district in North Dakota today. They even had openings for hubby. Maybe I should move to where it snows......
Wow, MAT. Would hubby move up to North Dakota? That's awesome that they contacted YOU instead of the other way around. Do you think FL will hold off on the cuts to get the stimulus money?
Well, that's Florida - "Cut education! It's over-funded! Kids can deal with it. Oh, crap. You mean we could have gotten federal money if we showed we cared about education? Hmm. How can we re-word this to show the cuts were actually a GOOD thing and we deserve federal money... but won't reinstate the cuts we already made?" I wonder how closely the federal government would police Florida's spending if they actually can find a back door to get money?
Well they are trying to see if they can rob the Florida Prepaid Tuition fund this year to help with the budget. I love Florida. I'm 4th generation here but North Dakota is just too cold. I have no idea of what to do when I see snow. I think anything below 70 is cold. I'm sure in the end Florida will get the money. We're too big a voting block to be ignored.
