Couldn’t money go instead to the programs that have been cut? I mean, if not the City budget, then at least the Schools & Children OFCY is supposed to benefit?

You simply can’t pay significantly less than neighboring districts and expect to recruit and retain the most promising or established teachers over the long haul.

Some teachers come to Oakland because of its “ghetto” reputation and others avoid it or leave for the same reason, but in the end salary is one input that will affect quality of teaching over time.

The current budget crisis does not change that fact that Oakland teachers are basically the same pay as a decade ago.

I also would remind you, with all due respect, that if you have 20 years on the ladder, you are making much more than I am — approaching twice as much — and you are unlikely to still be raising young children, as I am.

There has to be some relationship to local cost of living and the ability to modestly raise a family if you are going to get the best and the brightest to stick with this profession in this district.

As it stands, here is who should be happy with this salary structure: a) childless young people who can rent a room in a rough/hip neighborhood b) folks close to retirement with fixed or no mortgage payments looking to enjoy the pension provided by the teachers unions.

No wonder my school has almost no teachers between the age of 30 and 50!!!

OUSD Teachers– Lowest paid in Alameda County

We work just as hard if not harder than our colleagues in Berkeley, Hayward, San Leandro, and Union City.

The meeting is not going to be ONLY about a strike authorization vote, and based on the meeting last spring, it will likely be to consider a wide variety of strategies, of which the strike authorization vote is only one.

Also, authorizing a strike does NOT mean calling for a strike; it just becomes a possible tactic.

I will also go out on a very unpopular limb here and say this is NOT the time to be asking for a raise. If even one person (classified or certificated) lost their job due to budget cuts, then it does not seem ethical to me to give another group of people a raise, regardless of how many years it has been or what the comparable salaries are for service in nearby districts. I would not vote to authorize a strike (one-day or open-ended) for a salary increase.

And, just since I’m here writing something right now, I would like to address the question of “step increases,” which many people seem to think is such a terrible thing. Well, it equals EXPERIENCE, and as someone who has been seeking other work recently (due to my unhappiness with many things about OUSD, but not salary), EXPERIENCE has been a requirement in every posting I’ve read, and, in every case, more experience has equaled more pay. This is outside the district and in many different settings. I work with some wonderful, talented, relatively new teachers (2 to 4 years of experience). I respect their energy, passion and willingess to go the extra mile(s). Yet, not one of them knows more about teaching than I do (at 20 years of service), and every one of them will be a better teacher as they gain experience. Step increases are an acknowledgement of that experience. Of course, that’s if they stick around; about half of the 17 or so teachers on this staff are Teach for America, and, while, as I said, they are doing great work, I know for a fact, most of them plan to leave the profession soon.

I feel I am worth every penny of my much higher salary, because I know my stuff. And it’s taken me 20 years to learn it. If I stick around for another 15 years teaching (at OUSD or elsewhere), I expect to be even better at the end of my career. Yes, some people start phoning it in, in the last years. But most don’t. Step increases validate those years of learning. Because you can’t not gain experience year by year. And by and large, that experience translates into better teaching, better learning and an improved experience for all.

Over and over again Tony Smith says that he agrees that we are not paid enough. Measure L would have passed if OEA had supported it. Now we’re supposed to strike? Striking hurts kids and families and teachers but it accomplishes little.