Protecting Teachers' Salaries While Local Governments Are in the Red and While Property Values Are Falling But Property Taxes Aren't (Updated 7/19/11)

Board of Education Approves Frederick County Teachers Association Contract That Sets Teachers Apart From and Above the Rest of Frederick County Public Schools Employees

July 19, 2011

Frederick News-Post - Although the Board of Education last week approved the contract negotiated between the board and the Frederick County Teachers Association, it was not with the usual unanimous vote.

School board members April Miller and Jimmy Reeder expressed their opposition to an agreement they said seems to set teachers apart from and above the rest of Frederick County Public Schools employees.

Miller acknowledged the work of teachers, but also acknowledged the efforts and contributions of support staff members, including secretaries, custodians, bus drivers and instructional assistants, and school administrators.

"The classroom is not isolated from the rest of the school," Miller said in prepared comments at the July 13 school board meeting, when telling her colleagues and the audience that the contract vote was a "difficult" one for her.

Reeder said the process has offended the sensibilities of the "hard-working taxpayers of this county."

At issue is the agreement that will pay FCTA members a 1.5 percent reimbursement of the 2 percent increase they will pay toward their state retirement plans.

FCTA was the only one of the school system's three bargaining units to get the one-year increase in pay. Employees in the other units -- the Frederick Association of School Support Employees and the Frederick County Administrative and Supervisory Association -- received equal financial incentives, including the one-year-only option of cashing in unused, paid leave time.

In citing other county residents and workers who haven't had pay raises in four years, have taken up to 20 furlough days or have lost their jobs altogether, Reeder said he had issues with the FCTA agreement that was "all dressed up as fair."

The request from FCTA "sets them above others," Reeder said.

Board member Angie Fish said the negotiating process "is not and should not become us versus them." She said teachers deserve to be recognized for their hard work.

"I hope the teachers of this county do know we appreciate their hard work," Fish said.

FCTA president Gary Brennan said his group isn't getting anything the other employee groups didn't get.

"We just chose to use the pot of money from the board in a different way," he said.

The school board president said the job of the board is to provide good schools, but in an affordable fashion that can be sustained. New Superintendent Theresa Alban said that one of the things that drives development and the economy is the strength of the school system.

The school board approved the agreement by a vote of 4 to 2, with Vice President Donna Crook, member Jean Smith, Fish and Young voting for the motion to approve and Reeder and Miller voting against it. Board member Katie Groth was absent.

Teachers Say Proposed Cuts Would Hurt Students

February 10, 2011

Frederick Gazette - Teachers, administrators, school support staff, parents and students packed the Frederick County school board's meeting room Monday night, and urged the board to protect education by not increasing class size, cutting staff or lowering salaries.

They said such cuts would lower the quality of education in Frederick County, directly impact students in the classroom, and could easily drive away the highly qualified professionals who make Frederick County schools a respected and successful school system.

And many criticized the school board for agreeing to return $5.9 million to the county so commissioners would not apply for a waiver to reduce the amount the state requires the county to give the school system. The $5.9 million would help commissioners eliminate half of the county's deficit.

"You were voted in to advocate for the school system," said Mark Cronk, a teacher at Walkersville High School [working 17 years for FCPS, his 2010 annual salary was $71,964].

The school board should not feel guilty about asking for the money it deserves from the county, he told the board.

"Frederick County is one of the best of the best," he told the school board. "I think the public likes what they are getting here, and they are willing to pay for it."

Cronk was among more than 400 people, estimated by school staff, who came to the board's budget hearing on Monday. The crowd [of mostly teachers, school support staff and administrators looking to protect their wages and benefits -- Editor's Note] packed the board meeting room to the point of bursting, and spilled outside the board's central office building.

The attendance led officials to open an extra room with a TV to fit at least 100 additional visitors to the meeting, which went on for more than four hours, from 7:30 p.m. until midnight.

School board members have made a commitment to put together a balanced fiscal 2012 budget request that does not exceed available funding from the state and the county, which is expected to be $506.9 million.

School board members have been working on a fiscal 2012 budget since the beginning of January, considering a staff-recommended $33.6 million increase over this year's $507 million budget.

The school board now is looking to trim some school system expenses, so board members have developed a list of 13 potential cuts to meet budget goals.

The hearing was aimed to help the board collect public input and prioritize items on the list.

The list totals more than $6.9 million in savings, and includes cut like closing Sabillasville Elementary ($566,000), increasing class size by one student ($4.5 million), increasing sports fees from $90 to $120 ($223,000), and reducing central office staff ($700,000).

It also includes items that the board will have to discuss in union negotiations, such as proposals for across-the-board salary reductions and furlough days. A 1 percent salary reduction for all employees equals $3.3 million, and a furlough day could save $1.5 million.

Many of the speakers at the hearing were teachers, school support staff and administrators who advocated against salary cuts, furlough days, class size increases and reductions in school support and maintenance staff.

But there were also dozens of parents, students and residents from Sabillasville Elementary who asked the board not to close their school.

Sabillasville is a model school that prides itself on being a small and nurturing community for students, they said, noting that closing the school will not be worth the angst that will create in the community.

Tristan Rice, a third-grader from the school, urged the board not to close his school and told board members that Sabillasville Elementary gave him the skills to address them in public.

He asked the board not to close his school so that his 6-month-old sister can also go to classes there.

"I would really like her to go to Sabillasville," he told the board.

Michelle Shearer, a chemistry teacher at Urbana High School and one of four finalists for National Teacher of the Year title [working 15 years for FCPS, her 2010 annual salary was $61,374], also spoke at the hearing and said her biggest concern is increasing class size because it would immediately hurt students.

"The students of Frederick County cannot afford to lose 80 teachers," she told the board.

Shearer reminded the board that increasing class size by one student could easily mean increases of up to five students in some classes, especially in specialized high-school level classes such as hers. Shearer teaches three advanced chemistry classes and she already has 30 students in each class.

"A 90-minute teaching block gives me three minutes with each student.

"And that is if I teach nothing," she said.

Frederick County, Maryland, Schools Predict Ending Year with $9.2 Million Surplus

February 10, 2011

Frederick Gazette - Despite dire financial predictions this time last year, Frederick County Public Schools expects to finish fiscal 2011 on June 30 with a surplus of $9.2 million.

But that is not entirely good news for board member Angie Fish.

Frustrated that the surplus could have helped avoid painful cuts the board made this time last year, Fish is asking staff to take a closer look at budget categories to ensure that they are accurately estimating school needs.

"If we were talking about this in typical budget times, I would look at this as acceptable," Fish said. "But we are looking at such serious and devastating cuts that I want our estimates to be accurate."

Fish has noticed that the school system has had a budget surplus every year since she was elected to the board in 2008.

According to school finance staff, the surplus was $1.2 million in fiscal 2007, $800,000 in 2008, $1.9 million in 2009, and $2.9 million in 2010.

And while the reasons have been different every year, she wants to make sure that staff is looking for any trends that may indicate that the school system may be over-budgeting in some categories.

This is especially important in difficult budget times, like last year at this time when the board identified $8.4 million in cuts, and trimmed more than half of the coordinators for Community Agency School Services program, which serves some of the neediest students in the system, Fish said. The board ended with a $507 million budget for fiscal 2011.

Fish doesn't want that to happen again this year, when school officials are facing another tight budget and are considering closing Sabillasville Elementary and increasing class size.

"If I had known [last year] that I will have $9 million today, I wouldn't have cut the CASS program," said Fish, when she asked questions and expressed her frustration at the school board's meeting on Monday.

But staff members defended their process, and said that that the school system's finance department re-evaluates budget categories all the time. However, expenses in certain budget categories — like snow removal or fuel cost — often fluctuate and are difficult to estimate.

Hal Keller [working 21 years for FCPS, his salary in 2010 was $140,665], the school system's fiscal services director, who answered questions about the surplus, and said in such cases he would rather over-budget and come to the board with leftover money than under-budget and have to ask for more.

Many unpredictable factors created this year's $9.2 million surplus, Keller said.

About $3 million comes from savings due to an unprecedented number of retirements among experienced staff members. The school system replaced those staff members with employees with fewer years of experiences and lower salaries.

But most of the retirements came late in the year, he told the board.

"It's not an easy situation to get on top of," he said. "All that occurred after July 1."

Frederick County teachers can announce retirements any time during the year. The board, however, submits a budget request to the Board of County Commissioners in March.

Another $3 million was designated in 2011 to prepare for increases in health insurance in 2012 — a move the school board discussed and approved last year, Keller said.

It is still difficult to pinpoint the expected increase, but the system now is expecting an increase of 9.7 percent in health insurance cost, Keller said.

"I don't know how we could have done that differently," he said. "I don't know how to shave it any closer than that."

Another $3 million of the surplus is from the school system's self-insurance health fund, which had lower than expected expenses. The school system increased co-pays that employees have been paying when they see a doctor, which created the surplus over the last four years.

Fish was not the only school board member this week who was concerned about the surplus. James C. Reeder Jr. said it is important that school officials to keep the public aware when they may expect leftover funding.

"We should have been seeing this all along," he said.

School board president Brad Young noted that a $9 million surplus is a small percentage of the $507 million budget.

"You can't budget everything exactly," said Young, who has years of experience as a financial advisor and planner.

What Are Teachers Making in Frederick County, Maryland?

October 25, 2007

Bob Carney (Focus on Frederick) - I cannot believe this information is available for everyone and their uncles to to see. The Frederick News Post made public all of the wages for all of the county employees. FCPS Employee Salaries. I understand they are local government employees. I guess someone feels that we are obligated to know where county tax dollars are going, but really!!! Employees aren’t allowed to discuss their wages with other employees…thats written in most corporate handbooks. Why should this be any different?

Funny how there isn’t a reporter listed nor a source of the information. Maybe somebody is upset that they weren’t hired by the county… There is nothing to lead us why it is even available. I am sure there will be a lot of talk around the water cooler on this one.

Teacher have enough to worry about in their classrooms and hallways. Why isn’t there a report on how much money we spend on Sheriffs or Police security IN the schools? I am sure there is something more important that this reporter can be doing. You know like reporting on how bad the real estate market is…I don’t think there is enough coverage of that going on, but that’s different post.

Now in the back their (teachers) minds will be “why don’t I make as much as him or her?” The teachers are one of the lowest paid professions around for the amount of responsibility they have…can you give them a break? They came here looking for a job just like you. They need to be focused on teaching our children.

Some people are going to be upset at what they see, some aren’t going to believe the are paid so little, but everyone won’t believe this is made public!

I guess if there isn’t any controversy, tragedy or a train wreck…there is no reason to write about it.

The Powerful, Politically-Connected Teachers' Union in Frederick County, Maryland

On February 3, 2011, on the Blaine Young Show on WFMD in Frederick County, Maryland, a public school teacher with 26 years on the job, and making $86,000 per year, defended the salaries of public school teachers and administrators. Let us compare his salary of $86,000 with that of the rest of Frederick County and the U.S. in general [and keep in mind that school teachers work only 10 months per year, so they should be making less that the average private sector and public sector salaries (the people who pay their wages) for their area]:

His Salary Minus the National Average for Federal Workers	$86,000	-	$79,197	=	$6,803
His Salary Minus the Average for Local Federal Workers	$86,000	-	$73,060	=	$12,940
His Salary Minus the Local Average for Teachers	$86,000	-	$67,150	=	$18,850
His Salary Minus the State Average for Teachers	$86,000	-	$57,000	=	$29,000
His Salary Minus the Average for Local Government Workers	$86,000	-	$45,344	=	$40,656
His Salary Minus the Average for Local Private Sector Workers	$86,000	-	$42,380	=	$43,620
His Salary Minus the Average for State Government Workers	$86,000	-	$42,120	=	$43,880

• The Frederick County average for public school teachers ($67,150) is $25,000 more than the national average for private sector workers ($42,380) and $10,000 more than the state average for public school teachers.

Flashback: Frederick County Teachers Demand More Pay--Ignoring Reality

February 22, 2008

Red Maryland - On Wednesday, the Frederick County School Board heard testimony about the FY 2009 budget. Among those testifying were Frederick County Teachers Association President Gary Brennan and Vice President Carol Dagan, both arguing for "competitive salaries" for county teachers.

Now don't get me wrong, Brennan and Dagan have every right, even the duty, to plead their case for more money for teachers. But let's take a look at some facts. The Frederick News Post conveniently links to a table of Frederick County Public School Salaries. With the FCTA arguing that teacher salaries are not "competitive" you have to wonder, what is FCPS doing paying our teachers poverty wages? Well, lets take a look at the teacher' salaries at three county schools, Ballenger Creek Elementary, Urbana High School and West Frederick Middle School.

[Comparing the salaries of the teachers at a elementary, middle and high school in Frederick County], the teachers at the three schools had a average individual income of between $57,250 and $60,500. The median income, again for these individuals, was between $53,886 and $61,061.

Economic data for Frederick County indicates that the median household income in November 2007 was is $60,507 and the median family income is $67,879. Using the lowest median teacher income for the three schools, teachers are making 89.2% of the median household income and 79.3% of the median family income--all by themselves with a generous benefit package.

In Frederick County, males had a median income of $42,378 versus $30,564 for females. In our teacher pool for these three schools, female teachers (146) are making a median income of $55,558 on a median experience level of eight years. Male teachers (60) make a median salary of $59,023 on a median experience level of nine years. Thus female teachers in Frederick County are making a 81.7% larger income than the general female population in Frederick County. Male teachers are make 39.2% more money than the general population of males in Frederick County.

In all of Frederick County there are 413 teachers employed by the FCPS making better than $80,000 a year.

Take note that these are cash compensation salaries and do not account for the substantial benefits package that teachers receive, including generous pension and health care benefits.

This analysis is done on just three schools in Frederick County. A larger county wide assessment is worth a look to examine all the teachers, full or part time, in the county, but I suspect the numbers would not be all that different.

For all the bluster about teachers not being paid a competitive salary looks to be pure bunk, particularly when compared to the incomes of the rest of the county. So if teachers are being well compensated with 413 individualsy making some 30% more than the median household income, why then is the School Board even considering more than a cost of living increase in salaries?

The union can ask for more money, but it seems to me that teacher salaries in Frederick County are not only more than sufficient for our area, they are more than competitive with the every other industry in the county.

Frederick County Maryland Teacher Salaries (Search By Name)
What is the average teacher salary in each state?
Directory of links to federal, state, county and municipal government salary and employee name databases
Federal Employees Database of Salaries

Maryland Teaching Salaries and Benefits

Teacher-World.com - It's often cited as incontrovertible fact that teachers don't get paid much. Take one look at Maryland teaching salaries, though, and you'll see that the facts are a bit more complicated.

In this state with just 24 school districts and 58,940 primary and secondary educators, teacher earnings are the fourth highest in the country (according to the National Education Association) and almost $10,000 higher than the average salary for teachers nationwide.

Maryland teachers also receive excellent benefits with their annual salaries, and we're not just talking about the rewards of sharing knowledge with bright young people. In Howard County, for instance, teachers receive competitive health and dental insurance, paid holidays and leave, retirement and tax-sheltered annuity plans, and tuition reimbursement, among other benefits.

Not only do benefits vary from district to district, but Maryland teaching salaries also differ depending on geographic location within the state. Below are the secondary teacher salaries for five of the largest cities in Maryland.

* Baltimore: $61,040
* Frederick: $67,150
* Gaithersburg: $67,150
* Hagerstown: $56,290
* Salisbury: $57,760

No matter where you work in Maryland, teacher salaries are going to vary depending on how much experience you have, whether you hold a master's degree or advanced certification, and what grade level you teach.

Preschool teachers, for example, earn an average salary of $29,350, while middle school teachers earn $65,325. Secondary school teachers in Maryland earn about $63,275 per year. However, as you climb up the employment ladder, Maryland teaching salaries start to increase sharply—secondary school teachers in the 90th percentile earned $88,610 in 2009-10, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

To take advantage of the generous salaries and benefits offered to teachers in Maryland, start researching teacher preparation programs right here on Teacher World.

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