Notice to the School Board — Times are changing

I recently sent this message to our Board of School Directors  (excerpts only)

From Today’s NYT – worth reading as you ponder real estate taxing plans, merit increases and other compensation issues. The good news for your employees is that they all have a pension guaranteed by the state, so “saving for the future” is not a critical issue and you don’t need to look for creative ways to help them do it.    …..{somone on the board may be able to } help predict the impact of Wyeth on this area – the article suggests ~20,000 people will lose jobs as a result of the acquisition/merger {with Pfizer.  }

 

When GE and GE/ Space did a major layoff in the 60s, even local country clubs lost upwards of 30% of their membership – so it wasn’t just the “vulnerable” that were affected.

 

In the new teacher’s contract, people who DID NOT WORK FOR US when you negotiated it (i.e.they started on Step 1 this year) will get these raises over the term of the contract  if they do not change educational levels.

 

Bachelors 17.7%

Masters 18.0%

M+15 25.4%

M+30 29.5%

M+45 30.0%

M+60 34.0%

PhD 36.8%

 

…… Do you know ANYONE in industry that will get that kind of raise over 4 years?  It’s not always JUST the big picture.   These are the details that concern me.  The cost of health care is not under anyone’s control …{and that fact} exposes local taxpayers to inordinate risks.  Market driven issues cannot continue to be so important in compensation – as the market is likely to LURE people into education that would not really want to be there…. pre-tenure hires can be a waste of staff development resources….

 

Here is the link to today’s NYT article:  

 

BUSINESS / ECONOMY   | January 27, 2009
Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Companies across the board are resorting to mass job cuts, suggesting that employers expect a long downturn.

END OF EMAIL

I encourage readers to click on the link and read the article — though similar information was trumpted on the front page of USA Today and I’m sure countless other media outlets. 

The sky may or may not be falling — but taxing authorities will never run out of money (and we just might). The Federal government is considering spending trillions to stimulate the economy — a fairly loud signal that the economy is weak.  Locally, we need to be sure we don’t budget for what we WANT, but for what we truly NEED.  I believe our Board understands that — but we need to remind them when pressures from other factions influence their decision making.