Time to burst the salary bubble

[Jeanette_Smith]

http://www.app.com/article/20090521/OPINION01/905220344/1029

[size=14]May 21, 2009


[size=18]Time to burst salary bubble[/size]


To the category of "penny wise and pound foolish" ideas, add what has become known as the "bubble step" in teachers' salary guides. The practice was questioned at a Howell Township Council meeting last week addressing the school district's failed budget. Howell teachers receive a "bubble step" increment — a $30,000-plus salary bump — once they start their 13th year of service in the district.

It's one of those "seemed like a good idea at the time" concepts whose time has come and gone and needs to be renegotiated, phased out and finally ended. And not just in Howell, but in other districts where bubble steps are part of the landscape.

The goal when this started, back in the 1980s, at a time teachers began their careers working for a pittance, was to eventually reward them for remaining with a district. In Howell, for example, the starting salary for a teacher in the district was around $18,500, below the level of many other districts.

That was then. The starting salary today is more than $43,000, not appreciably lower than in other similar school districts. Regardless, the bubble is not the answer. It's a solution without a problem. You can tell that by the way people try to explain it and rationalize it. And rationalize it they must, given that teachers with a B.A. degree who were eligible for the bubble this year went from a salary of about $62,000 to $92,575.

Howell Township Education Association President William O'Brien says, "Bubbles are a problem in a salary guide" because they "delay compensation until the end of someone's career." Huh? Thirteen years is the end of a career?

District officials say the bubble step is a cost-saving measure because most teachers start out with lower salaries, and their pay remains lower for the first 13 years. Many teachers, of course, leave the district long before they are eligible for the bubble step.

Whether it's a cost-saver is debatable. If it is, it's in the same way as mortgages with big balloon payments. When it finally comes due, you've got to hock grandma's silverware to pay for it.

The bubble in Howell looks like a balloon now that 20 teachers are about to cross the 13-year Rubicon and get what amounts to a 50 percent pay hike. Howell should develop a bubble-busting plan that pays teachers a fair wage from the get-go and bases increases on results, not merely running out the clock.[/size]

[Jeanette_Smith]

I really don't get why the bubble started in the first place. According to this article it began in the early 80's when teachers starting salaries were about $18,500. My husband and I both graduated with BA's in the early 80's and that was a decent starting salary back then -- more than either of us started out making.

The other thing we should all know is that we have not hit our "balloon" payment.

The BOE has offered two early retirement packages in the last decade. There was an enormous amount of hiring done to replace those teachers. Additionally, we have opened three schools which also resulted in additional hires. Unless that bubble is addressed, we are really going to have to pay a significantly larger negotiated increases to cover it.

Of course we all know that we have no say in how contracts are negotiated, so I really hope the BOE has a labor committee that is working on our behalf. Interesting that the only member on the Howell BOE not associated with education or part of a collective bargaining unit, Tim O'Brien, isn't assigned to the labor committee. http://www.howell.k12.nj.us/boardofeducation_main.aspx

That decision speaks volumes as to where the BOE's loyalties lie. Do you think it is with the taxpayers?

[B. Sandow]

I just watched the 3/3/2010 BOE meeting on video from the web.  School Board member Mr. O'Brien and a few others attended a recent NJ School Boards work shop. Apparently there are services available from the NJ School Boards Assoc to towns like Howell whereby they could help us assess our district's salary guide which could help them better prepare for the upcoming teacher's contract negotiations which begin after this year in June.  Mr. O'Brien also stated he thought it a good idea to engage the NJEA to discuss ways to work together to avoid layoffs and other drastic cuts during these times.
I like how Mr. O'Brien is very proactive on the board!  Keep going Tim!  Help is on the way.

[James_Obrien]

I never did understand the bubble step. It offers some groups a slow growth to top salary but at the same time leaves others in a position that they may price themselves out of a job.

While I worked in the district I tried to convince our staff that the bubble could be the death of the department. I believe there is a solution but it will only be reached if all parties will sit at the table honestly work toward a solution.

This is one of the reasons I have chosen to run for the Board. I believe there are solutions that will not undermine all the work that previous Boards have accomplished. But as Mr. O’Brien stated it will only happen with open honest dialogue.

[Phil_Sanfilippo]

Mr. O'Brien,
                Actions speak louder than words. I wish you luck on your campaign, however until a few things changes I fear your wasting  your time. 1-Anyone who sits on a school board with any ties to education should not be permitted to sit.
                                                             2-Voting on school budgets are not necessary. We don't not vote on municipal, state or federal budgets. the present school funding formula needs to be scrapped and until such time that property taxes are are restored to normalcy we are headed for more fiscal problems. School elections in April are a waste of taxpayer dollars. all elections should be in November.
                                                              3-Term limits should be imposed on school board folks and all other elected officials. to many folks get elected and lose focus after one term.
                                                               4-Until such time as the school boards sit down and engage in serious discussion with the union nothing will ever get done. Contracts need to reopened,salaries need to be frozen,  and immediate hiring freeze need to take place and a 10% across the board cut should be implemented at all levels.                         5-A state wide consolidation of school districts need to take place.
                                                            Mr. O'Brien, the taxpayers of NJ need to look at history and recall how the state income tax was started. Back in the 70's the government threatened to shut down education if a state tax was not imposed. Well that same tactic is used by school boards if budgets are not passed, pass the budget or sports will be eliminated. Well NJ has had a state tax and we are in worse shape today than we were in in the 70s and what about Atlantic City. I hope our new governor sends a message loud and clear to day  that the time for run away spending is over and its time to get NJ back to the great sate that it is.
                                                                   good Luck
                                                                    Phil