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Dear disgusted taxpayer,

At 3:26am when I answered the last question, the last thing I wrote was "I will put more information up as I get clarification on the sick days and step information." It is now 11am and I have not been able to get any additional information yet. But I will provide it.

You are mistaken when you say, "It is an insult to say that teachers only got a 1% percent raise, when many receive the step raise!" Here is why:

About 75% of our teachers are at top step which means that 75% of the teachers would not get any increase without a raise. So approximately 75% received no raise last year, will receive a 1% raise this year and a 1.5% raise next year.

Here is how we will pay for the increases without raising taxes. The raise this year will be paid with any surplus from the previous year. We have approximately $600,000 from this year and can make a few cuts to make up the additional $200,000. Next year we negotiated for a change in the weighting at the Junior high school level. This will allow up additional reductions in staff so when teachers retire next year, we will not have to replae them to cover classes at the junior high level. We have a conservative figure now of a staff reduction after retirement alone that will give us a significant savings to pay for the 1%. By year 2, we have already began looking at which schools might close next as our number of students has dropped from approximately 30,000 in the 1970s to 12,000 presently.

I would also like to remind everyone that in the last 4 years the school budget has shrunk significantly and we have had a surplus in each of the last 4 years. Prior to my arrival on the committee there was a deficit 2 years in a row for a total deficit of $3.2 million. I have helped tighten the belt and made fiscally responsible decisions.

So, I can safely say that teachers that are not at top step would receive a step increase and a 1% raise and that number can not exceed 25% of the teachers. I will also say that every time a teacher position opens I question the step level of the teachers applying and receiving the job and have pushed for new teachers that will keep our costs down while at the same time making sure they can provide a quality education that our students deserve.

Finally, Teachers starting pay is really low. To come out of school after 4 years with possibly a $100,000 or more in debt or to have a master's degree after spending 6 years in school and make $40,000 with $150K+ debt is a reality for new teachers. That is why many choose not to teach. The ones that do decide to teach in Warwick have to work 4-5 years before they make what the custodian supervisor make who has 20 years on the job. How would you feel if you were a person who graduated from college after 6 years with experience and the custodian supervisor makes more than you and will for the next 4 to 5 years. It would be very difficult for me to be motivated for the first 4-5 years. I believe this is why many choose after the first 2-3 years to move on and stop teaching. College graduates who leave college with a master's degree leave and get jobs STARTING at 60-80K + benefits and after 5 years they make 80K-100K + benefits. It takes teachers with the same education 10 years to reach $75K + benefits.

As you can see, I am not avoiding the question about step raises. I do need to get more information on it, no one can be an expert on everything. The warwick teacher contract is on the warwick schools website. Page 42 has the step chart. Not every teacher gets a step increase because they are already top step. With the step system alone, 75% of the teachers would get no increase every year. I would prefer that over starting all new teachers with master's degrees at 60K-80K.

Patrick

From: Committee ratifies 2-year teacher agreement

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