Remember the House sent the Senate a budget that was about $500 million out of balance? Well, this week the Senate Committee working on the budget did the cuts of that $500 million and they are not pretty.
Thursday the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to eliminate the entire $37.5 million for the Career Ladder program that the House of Representatives had approved for next year's state budget. The program provides about 18,000 teachers who perform extra duties with salary supplements ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 a year. The program provides extra funding for teachers who do extra work. The program provides after school tutoring services and a wide range of services directly to students.
The state splits the cost of Career Ladder with participating school districts. Because the state pays its share a year in arrears, money in next year's budget would reimburse districts for expenses incurred in the current school year. As a result, if Career Ladder funding isn't restored in the final budget, the districts won't be reimbursed. The Senate committee eliminated the program as part of its effort to balance the state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Since the funding is in arrears the teachers who have worked all this school year may not get paid. Each district will have to decide if it can pay the entire amount even if the State backs out. So you can see why both teachers and administrators are upset about this. Educators love this program because it provides such direct educational help to students and we can expect a huge outcry about this when people start understanding what is happening.
This blog features observations from Randy Turner, a former teacher, newspaper reporter and editor. Send news items or comments to rturner229@hotmail.com
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Burnett: Big uproar coming about Career Ladder cut
In his latest capitol report, Rep. John Burnett, D-Kansas City, says there will be an uproar over the Senate's decision to eliminate Career Ladder:
The state has a contract, with these teachers, to pay this year's career ladder money. If the state tries to back out of their obligations and lawyers get involved, it could well end up costing the state twice what they would have paid. Attorneys fees can become expensive, quickly...and there will be plenty of attorneys wanting a piece of the states action!
ReplyDeleteAgain, Career Ladder is the most abused and bogus program ever to fleece taxpayers out of money. You can literally count almost everything toward "student contact time". Most of the activities counted doesn't do anything at all to support student achievement. It is about time this program went away. When young, hungry teachers enter the profession and see these so-called "veteran" teachers soaking up this money and getting away with the fictitious career ladder plans, it becomes very disheartening. WHAT A HUGE WASTE OF TAX DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete2:15... proof please? It seems obvious you don't understand career ladder at all.
ReplyDelete9:31 please tell me why lawyers might get involved...are teachers not willing to take cuts like everyone else so they run out and hire lawyers...further depleting the state funds...if so, they sure will prove how much they care about the state and the people who pay their salaries...the more I hear from teachers, the less I support giving them anything...
ReplyDeletethey need to sacrifice financially just like everyone else...enough of this me first..
When you do a job, you expect to be paid for it. Teachers have already done the work, now the senate wants to say "sorry, we aren't going to pay you for the work you have already done!"
ReplyDeleteI don't think so. That is why lawyers will be involved.
If the state wants to do away with the program, so be it...but pay what they promised for work already performed. Next year the teachers won't spend the hundreds of hours they currently spend doing extra work. We will then see what happens to education in Missouri.
But, in the meantime, pay the teachers what you owe them!
Teachers are the lowest paid professionals in America. Career ladder helps a little to rectify this inequity and the students win from the extra time with teachers. It is sad that our society values teachers so low as reflected by their incomes. We surely need to cut our state budget but this isn't the place to do it.
ReplyDeletewere not teachers warned there might not be any career ladder pay? But, if I recall correctly, people like Randy just bashed the messenger....teachers "took a chance" on pay or no pay...
ReplyDeletewhat did teachers do before they got their career ladder welfare? Those who taught many years without this handout didn't complain about "extra duty."
quit whining! Buck up like the rest of us?
Anon 10:39 a.m. NO, teachers were NOT warned. You have no idea how much extra work teachers put into career ladder, or you wouldn't make stupid comments. The paper work, alone, involves 30 or 40 extra hours detailing the extra work they do for this "handout". Before career ladder, teachers did not do this extra work, nor will they after career ladder (at least my wife won't) The amount she makes with the career ladder is barely minimum wage, when figured by the hour...but it did give her an extra attitude boost which made it worth it, in my eyes...take away the money and I guarentee at least one teacher, in the state, is going to quit putting in the hundreds of extra hours (my wife.)
ReplyDeleteYou either need to educate yourself about what is involved with career ladder or quit commenting...you sound like a moron!
What is the average hourly pay rate for career ladder work?
ReplyDeleteIf a teacher put in 10 hours a week extra for tutoring and to supervise after-class student activities at $10.00/hour and these extra hours are worked for 40weeks per year, it appears the $4,000 in not much money.
Career Ladder is underfunded for the hours spent each week by dedicated teachers.
Teachers in my family would prefer to be at home with their families but they were not working for the money. They worked because students needed the extra time to make their school days more productive and enjoyable.
My friends on various school boards are going to have to deal with this. I wish them good sense and good luck.