Here's an idea for keeping young teachers. by Peter Delevett (Mercury News)
Here's another contribution from the world of business on how to address our current education budget crisis:
Delevett writes, "What if, for instance, every teacher agreed to a 10 percent pay cut--provided districts used those savings to preserve teaching jobs? We've seen people in other fields come together during our ongoing economic slump."
Delevett goes on to suggest later in his article, "Say a veteran teacher is a year or two away from retirement. But he or she is loath to retire right away, given the gap between what they're currently earning and what they'd get under their pension plan. Under a golden handshake, the school district retains that teacher as a "consultant," letting him or her work a few weeks a year in exchange for, say, $10,000 to make up the salary gap. . . instead of having to spend $70,000 to keep that teacher in the classroom full time, the district can pay half as much for a younger teacher -- who, after all, might also be more energetic and effective than somebody en route to retirement."
I'll admit that the thought of a 10% cut for all teachers, who probably don't make enough money to begin with, was a bit hard to read. However, the parent inside of me wants to hang on to the class-size reduction plans, at almost any cost. Obviously, each district has its own unique situation to deal with, but my agenda is to put as many ideas on the table and brainstorm about any new ideas that might be inspired by any one of these possibilities.
11:07:39 PM 
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