In March of the present year, students and education employees engaged in strikes across our nation to protest “budget cuts, tuition hikes, compensation reductions, layoffs and privatizations affecting public K-12 schools and universities.” The reason behind the cuts: “They are a direct result of the housing bubble that was created by the reckless policies of the banking industry and the Federal Reserve, from which the financial industry profited handsomely.” (Singsen, 2010.) The unfortunate thing is that the federal government drops the hot potato onto the state budget, and the state pushes the cooked tuber onto the district’s plate, causing our schools' budgets to suffer, and our pockets too.
The irony in all this is that as the influx of money ebbs, the students keep piling in. There has actually been an increase in the amount of students attending public school because their parents can no longer cover the private education tab.
How does this affect a teacher’s standard of living? Less resources for education mean that teachers and other school staff will not get pay raises.
According to the Tennessean, state legislators "unanimously approved a $28 billion budget plan for the state [on June 4th], sending the measure to the governor for his signature," four months after Governor Bredesen had released his proposed budget.
Legislators had been discussing budget cuts to eliminate bonuses and career ladder plans for teachers, among other state employees. These cuts would not affect the 'cost of living' increases that teachers receive on a yearly basis, according to their pay schedule. (nashvillejefferson, 2010.)
However, what about the cost of living of classified employees such as myself, a humble special education teacher assistant? Nothing!!! Let me double-check... Nope, not a penny more! I guess cost of living has no impact on us...
"The Williamson County Schools Board of Education voted ... to submit to County Commissioners a tight budget for fiscal 2010-11, just shy of $220.5 million to operate 37 existing schools, open three new schools, while anticipating a net gain of new students. This represents a mere 3 percent increase over last year’s budget… The board’s goal was to eliminate the impact of a declining budget on classroom teachers." (The Williamson Herald, 2010.)
According to the Superintendent of Williamson County School District, Mike Looney: “This budget leaves very little room for teacher salary negotiations,” and “The WCEA reaction has been positive. The teachers respect that we are in experiencing lean times. They understand in the short run what has to be done.” (The Williamson Herald, 2010.)
Indeed, "cuts to personnel, programs and supplies” were significant. How do these cuts further affect teachers? Fortunately most schools in Williamson County boast extremely supportive parents who go out of their way to provide for the school community: students, teachers and classified staff alike. Nevertheless, teachers do spend quite some money in providing materials to make student learning more fun. Actually, it is quite surprising that only $250 of these out-of-pocket expenses are tax-deductible! (The Hill, 2009.)
So, how happy is your wallet lately? For many of us, the amount of money that we derive from the hours of labor is important to some degree. It determines whether we eat hot dogs or steak, and whether we can register our kids in competitive sports versus recreational leagues.
Becoming a teacher today is a compromise between economy and vocation. There are many people with vocation who are willing to forgo a certain economic status in return for the satisfaction of influencing the lives of our future generations, in many more ways than academics.
Indeed, studies have proven that "the importance of the classroom experience in teacher satisfaction confirms the conclusion that the gratification of higher-order needs is most important. Nonetheless, ... teachers felt that pay incentives would improve morale." (Bishay, 1996.)
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