And the award for this week's hottest teacher ...

[BABiscuit]

Is West Des Moines not large urban districts, how much do new teachers make at SE Warren, ADM, or DCG, not anywhere near $45k starting out. If you are in a 4a or 5a school after you have been there 15 years and have a masters without extra duties you may be able to reach the low 60's in salary. The big money in education is administration, not teaching. Most of us are paid a decent wage, but we sure are not over paid like some what to believe, and it takes years to get there. Most schools have their salary schedule on the web site, pick 5 to 10 2a schools and below around the state and look at the data. You can have a nice comfortable life as a teacher, but this is not a profession that you are going to make the big bucks just teaching.

You said large metro schools start at $30k. You said small schools start at $23-$26. I have provided links showing a large metro school at $45k and all other schools at a minimum of $35. If you want to provide a salary schedule for any school showing starting wages at $26k, please do so. I think I have provided enough evidence to back up my numbers.

 

[BABiscuit]

This is true. I have a brother in law who is a PT and he makes somewhere around 63,000. His wife who is a teacher (15 years in w/masters +15) is making somewhere around 55,000 and she gets from June to mid-August off. He works year around for that salary? Something doesn't add up, but oh well.

I have heard that IPERS won't be around when this generation retires? Is that true? I pay into myself, but our financial guy said reports and outlooks don't look good. So we started another retirement (Roth IRA).

My understanding is IPERS is in fine shape.

 

[Southerniowacy]

This is true. I have a brother in law who is a PT and he makes somewhere around 63,000. His wife who is a teacher (15 years in w/masters +15) is making somewhere around 55,000 and she gets from June to mid-August off. He works year around for that salary? Something doesn't add up, but oh well.

I have heard that IPERS won't be around when this generation retires? Is that true? I pay into myself, but our financial guy said reports and outlooks don't look good. So we started another retirement (Roth IRA).

I would say that is pretty typical, you said your BIL make 8 grand more than his wife, and she has summers off, would she not be making about the same as her husband if she worked during the summer, or if he took off those 10 weeks, would his salary not also be around 55K a year? Most teachers get the summer off, but we also make less money than people that work 50 weeks a year, so it does tend to even out.

 

[Southerniowacy]

You said large metro schools start at $30k. You said small schools start at $23-$26. I have provided links showing a large metro school at $45k and all other schools at a minimum of $35. If you want to provide a salary schedule for any school showing starting wages at $26k, please do so. I think I have provided enough evidence to back up my numbers.

I am telling you that the school that I work at, the school my children attend, neither pays $35 K for a beginning teacher. The program you are talking about is a voluntary program, the district that I am in will be in the first phase of it this coming school year. There were few districts that jumped into the program down here last year, most were afraid the money would not be there to push up the salaries. You want local control of schools, this is what you get.

 

[Hawk-A-Doodle-Doo]

Dammit! Could we have just one thread about hot, horny female teachers banging young, impressionable male students without it turning into some socio-economic or political debate?!? Seriously, if one of you f--kers mentions the word "bush" and instead of the PROPER context, it is in reference to the political family, Ol' Doodle's gonna lose it!

This is why we can't have nice things!!!

 

[SSG T]

Is West Des Moines not large urban districts, how much do new teachers make at SE Warren, ADM, or DCG, not anywhere near $45k starting out. If you are in a 4a or 5a school after you have been there 15 years and have a masters without extra duties you may be able to reach the low 60's in salary. The big money in education is administration, not teaching. Most of us are paid a decent wage, but we sure are not over paid like some want to believe, and it takes years to get there. Most schools have their salary schedule on the web site, pick 5 to 10 2a schools and below around the state and look at the data. You can have a nice comfortable life as a teacher, but this is not a profession that you are going to make the big bucks just teaching.

The district we live in (we open enroll the kids out) is one of the lowest paying districts in Central Iowa. It's a 1A sized school, around 420 students served. Including the TSS (Teacher Salary Supplement) from the state starting salary for a teacher with only a BA is around $32,500. They are considered a stepping stone job for most people. The highest their salary structure goes is $60K, that with 21 years and an MA+24, which is the biggest problem.

To put it this way, my wife is now an administrator in a DSM suburban district. Her last counseling job was 10 years ago in that district (she left to take an admin job then came back in the same role). Her salary then was higher than is even possible where we live now. Part of the difference is that she has an MA and a PhD with something like 60-70 post MA credits. The WDM structure went out to PhD, where we live now doesn't include that. The smaller schools can pay enough to attract new teachers, but many have issues keeping them because they can't offer the amount of raises nor the steps or levels the bigger districts can. Which is a big reason why the turnover rate where we live is horrendous, it's nearly 100% over the last 5 years. They have 38 teacher slots in the district, they've hired 36 teachers in 5 years.

All of that creates all kinds of other problems.

 

[SSG T]

I am telling you that the school that I work at, the school my children attend, neither pays $35 K for a beginning teacher. The program you are talking about is a voluntary program, the district that I am in will be in the first phase of it this coming school year. There were few districts that jumped into the program down here last year, most were afraid the money would not be there to push up the salaries. You want local control of schools, this is what you get.

From what I've seen in our home district, local control of schools is the worst thing you can do. Too many people involved that have no idea how a school district is supposed to work, including the superintendent. Which is why we open enroll out.

 

[Southerniowacy]

The district we live in (we open enroll the kids out) is one of the lowest paying districts in Central Iowa. It's a 1A sized school, around 420 students served. Including the TSS (Teacher Salary Supplement) from the state starting salary for a teacher with only a BA is around $32,500. They are considered a stepping stone job for most people. The highest their salary structure goes is $60K, that with 21 years and an MA+24, which is the biggest problem.

To put it this way, my wife is now an administrator in a DSM suburban district. Her last counseling job was 10 years ago in that district (she left to take an admin job then came back in the same role). Her salary then was higher than is even possible where we live now. Part of the difference is that she has an MA and a PhD with something like 60-70 post MA credits. The WDM structure went out to PhD, where we live now doesn't include that. The smaller schools can pay enough to attract new teachers, but many have issues keeping them because they can't offer the amount of raises nor the steps or levels the bigger districts can. Which is a big reason why the turnover rate where we live is horrendous, it's nearly 100% over the last 5 years. They have 38 teacher slots in the district, they've hired 36 teachers in 5 years.

All of that creates all kinds of other problems.

What you are talking about is happening all over the state in the small schools, if the state raises the minimum up to 36 k, good for them, but its not there in a lot of small schools. The state does not care for any school smaller than say 2a, and if they had their way, we would see a lot of county wide schools. Going county wide is not a bad thing, the school my kids attended is county wide, but the cost of bussing is eating them alive. Last figure I looked at it was second in the state in miles driven by busses each day. Few kids out in the countryside and the buses are half full of kids when they get back to the school in the morning.

 

[IowaHawkIT]

Just to get everyone back on topic:

 

[stout1]

From what I've seen in our home district, local control of schools is the worst thing you can do. Too many people involved that have no idea how a school district is supposed to work, including the superintendent. Which is why we open enroll out.

Sounds like your problems are school size more than local control related.

38 teacher sized districts cannot be operated efficiently or effectively.

 

[SSG T]

Sounds like your problems are school size more than local control related.

38 teacher sized districts cannot be operated efficiently or effectively.

I agree and would love to see them consolidate. The problem is that there is a group in town that contains a vocal, sizable number of people that not only think grade sharing or consolidation is unneeded, they also seem to want to separate the current consolidated district (done in 1983). Two quotes from one of the leaders of that little disaster... "consolidating with _____ will make the district way too big" (the district would be around 900 total students, around 275-300 in the HS), and this little gem "if we do too good of a job educating them, they'll leave"

I'm not kidding nor exaggerating, he said those exact words in a public forum. That is what the district is dealing with (that guy has two supporters on the school board).

 

[artradley]

Serious question, how does she get to be a teacher with public photos that are more a bit PG 13? Administrators getting desperate?

Oh and definitely would. If I was 15, it'd be the best 30 seconds of her life.

Insert teacherstudentsexmatrix.jpg

My son had a high school math teacher who really did work her way through college dancing at a topless bar.

 

[stout1]

I agree and would love to see them consolidate. The problem is that there is a group in town that contains a vocal, sizable number of people that not only think grade sharing or consolidation is unneeded, they also seem to want to separate the current consolidated district (done in 1983). Two quotes from one of the leaders of that little disaster... "consolidating with _____ will make the district way too big" (the district would be around 900 total students, around 275-300 in the HS), and this little gem "if we do too good of a job educating them, they'll leave"

I'm not kidding nor exaggerating, he said those exact words in a public forum. That is what the district is dealing with (that guy has two supporters on the school board).

I feel for you. I have spent nearly 15 years in school finance as both a consultant and day to day operator.

I've closed schools and consolidated schools. Local myopia is always interesting. I was closing 2 elementary schools and folding them into a third. An opponent said that he was uncomfortable because it would have 300 kids in it and probably would be the largest elementary in the state. Of course the largest elementary in my state is 1000 kids and most districts try to build 650 kid elementary schools for efficiency. They were about 900 kids total and I tried to explain that there was a school district that had their district grows by 1000 kids every year for the last 15 years. Admittedly they had the keep home with poor education as their last 3 valedictorians went to college and tested in to remedial math.

On that note I had a woman stand up in another district and say "Don't spend money on the schools those kids are just leaving. Spend money on me cause I am stuck here until I die."

 

[artradley]

I think it reflects more on the alleged "men" in the area. You can't get the job done so these women turn to kids? That's just f**king pathetic.

Yeah, that's the problem...

 

[SSG T]

I feel for you. I have spent nearly 15 years in school finance as both a consultant and day to day operator.

I've closed schools and consolidated schools. Local myopia is always interesting. I was closing 2 elementary schools and folding them into a third. An opponent said that he was uncomfortable because it would have 300 kids in it and probably would be the largest elementary in the state. Of course the largest elementary in my state is 1000 kids and most districts try to build 650 kid elementary schools for efficiency. They were about 900 kids total and I tried to explain that there was a school district that had their district grows by 1000 kids every year for the last 15 years. Admittedly they had the keep home with poor education as their last 3 valedictorians went to college and tested in to remedial math.

On that note I had a woman stand up in another district and say "Don't spend money on the schools those kids are just leaving. Spend money on me cause I am stuck here until I die."

The superintendent "quit" (basically forced out), then the state assigned an intirim. My wife had a meeting with him after he'd been there a month and basically told him everything she's told the community over the last 2-3 years. Things like the financial benefits of whole grade sharing followed by consolidation, what all of the test scores should be telling them (pretty much every average on standardized test is pretty bad), what the ramifications of not doing anything about their situation are, etc. He pretty much concurred with everything she told him. He also added that from a school board/superintendent perspective, it was probably the worst situation he'd seen.
At a recent board meeting, he basically told them that they have roughly two years to get WGS going, and 2-3 of that to work out consolidation, otherwise the state would get involved and gave them the basics of what that entails.

Lots of people not liking the intirim guy now. Problem is, none of the complainers have a single clue what they are faking about. My wife read enrollment figures to them once, they had brought up how much the school was growing, and confirmed the enrollment had dropped roughly 20% in the last 6 years and that over 100 students open enrolled out. She got those figures on the state DoEd website. They didn't believe her and a couple flat out called her a liar.

It's bad. I'm incredibly happy we sent out kids elsewhere and can't wait to get out of the town.

 

[stout1]

Never underestimate the power of mascots as well SSG T. I wouldn't be surprised if the old codgers once win a game against the logical consolidation candidate and don't want to give up their mascot.

Pretty common here.