1. I completely agree that ALL school staff deserve higher salaries. Arguing for higher salaries for teachers does not mean I don’t think classified staff and others shouldn’t get paid more. Again, that is the problem — public schools are shamefully, ridiculously underfunded, so the idea of CUTTING anything is shameful and ridiculous.

2. Teachers do get paid extra for some of their extra contract work as District Employee described. But they do not get paid for “every extra minute” by a long shot.

First of all, not all teachers take on an after school intervention group, and if they do it typically amounts to an hour or two a week for about twelve weeks or so. Even fewer teachers sit on committees for which there is extra pay available, though most do sit on committees for which there is no extra pay. Those paid committee hours for those few teachers typically add up to what — forty or fifty extra hours in a school year?

Meanwhile, I have worked at four sites in two districts, and at every site it has been my experience that teachers regularly arrive at work thirty minutes to an hour before the beginning the contractual day, and leave one to two hours after the end of the contractual day. Many teachers also work extra hours at home in the evenings and/or work occasionally on weekends at home or at the site. All of that extra time is spent planning, preparing lessons, collaborating, meeting in committees, meeting with parents, making materials, grading assessments, marking report cards, etc. We do not get paid for any of that time. We do not get paid for any of that time remember I am talking only about hours spent outside the contract — prep periods and PD meetings are inside the contractual day).

One extra our a day is 186 hours of unpaid work, which is already a lot, but in most cases were talking about 400, 500, 600 or more unpaid hours in a school year. This is to say nothing of an extra day or two in August and June setting up or packing up the classroom.

By the way, we do not really get paid for 6 hours a day for 10 months. There are typically more than 200 working days an any 10 month period — we get paid for 6 hours a day for exactly 186 days (give or take a day depending on the district). And we do not get paid for the holidays and vacations.

Anyway, like I said before, I agree with District Employee, that ALL of the staff at the school sites deserve more pay — way more pay. The whole situation is a scandal.

But do not compare your impact on the students to that of the teachers. Even the janitors come into contact with students. And you could argue that they do indeed affect the students in some way. But no way near the kind of impact the teachers have.

I don’t think anyone who works with young people is paid appropriately for the commitment and resiliency the work requires, in Oakland or anywhere. But let’s not kid ourselves – every single person on a school campus is deserving of higher salaries, not just teachers.

But, let’s not forget that the administrative assistant works in an office away from the students. Teachers, on the other hand, work directly with the students and influence these students positively or negatively for years, even forever.

Teachers do a lot more than work. They influence and inspire learning, and pass on the torch of education to the younger generation. That should be worth a little more than a starting salary of $35.36 an hour.

turner

For a starting salary (with just a BA, no additional credits or years of experience) of $39,456.21, a teacher is expected to work for 6 hours a day for 10 months a year, an hourly rate of $35.36.

At the top of the salary scale (with a BA, 90 units of coursework, and 26 years of experience), a teacher earns $70,933.93 for working 6 hours a day, 10 months a year, an hourly rate of $63.56.

In contrast, an administrative assistant (frequently charged with duties like ensuring accurate attendance at the school, managing all site-based purchasing, monitoring needs of the facilities, and providing support and information to students, families, administrators, teachers, and other staff) has to have a A.A. and ten years of experience to earn an hourly rate of $26.06 – the top of the pay scale.

In addition, teachers are regularly paid for any extra minute they work beyond their contracted hours. I know many schools invest thousands more dollars beyond the base salary in teachers who provide small-group interventions for struggling students and for teachers who participate in leadership at school or other professional development.

I’m the last person to suggest that teachers don’t earn every dollar they make educating our young people. I find it frustrating, though, that there is any suggestion that teachers aren’t valued or appreciated, just because the salaries OUSD pays (THAT OEA AGREED TO!!) are lower than neighboring districts. Everyone deserves to earn a liveable wage in Oakland, but OUSD doesn’t have any magical powers to overcome the disastrous state budget.

Michael L. Moore, Sr.
29 Year OUSD Veteran (…and still in love with Oakland!)

I hope you will keep reading the blog and responding to Katie’s postings. I find it easier to stick with that and try hard to avoid responding to people who hate teachers and hate public education. I believe that many of the hateful comments written by repeat posters are thinly veiled racism and OUSD and public education/teachers are easy targets.