Mullica teachers, as well as teachers and educators statewide have reason to worry. Times sure have changed. Because of the state of our economy we no longer can afford to live as we did in the past. I am speaking specifically about our school and municipal budgets. For both, these are dire times. But they are dire times for the tax payers of New Jersey too. Why is it that we have to live within our means, while schools and municipalities don’t? I can’t “raise taxes” to supplement my income, why can they? Why don’t the municipalities and schools have to tighten their belts too? I believe it’s time to send a message that “enough is enough.” We have been taxed to the MAX! Any school budget this year that contains an increase, even 1 penny, resulting in an increase in your property taxes should be voted down in April. Any municipality that raises taxes should have its members voted out of office in Nov. If you want your property taxes to stop going up, this is the first step. It’s not easy; there will be pains that come with it. It’s time to take control and say “enough is enough!”
Friday, March 19, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
15 comments:
Has everyone missed the point that teachers are tax payers also? Any increases in taxes are felt by school employees also!
We can no longer afford to pay their annual, very generous pay increases, and for their very costly Cadillac health care premiums. If the teachers truly are concerned about their taxes, they should tell their union no raises this year and let them start contributing a fair percentage to their health care premiums, just like the other taxpayers.
Dear Teacher,
When you help me pay for a gold-plated health insurance plan like the one you get for life and I am getting 4-5% raises, or more, every year, with retirement benefits, I won't mind helping you out too. Until then, let's not hear the cry "I'm a taxpayer too." It just doesn't fly.
RE: 2:57 PM
The teachers get their school tax back twenty-fold when you consider their salary and benefits.
If you can't have compassion for the rest of the taxpayers, we'd be just as happy to have you move out of town; somebody else will buy your property and pay your taxes.
I would request the the original poster give some really good suggestions about what to cut out of the school budget and the Municipal budget.
Because of the last Republican administration, we are stuck with contracts that give high raises this year.
According to the Press, Mullica will lose $120,000 in state aid,which is a loss of 19%.
Our school will lose $260,283,which is a decrease of 4.5%. That is a total of $380,283 that the town will not receive plus we had the extremely large bills of the snow and flood clean ups. I've heard there are a lot of roads that are damaged and must be fixed.
So where is the money going to come from? You can get a second job to supplement your income but the town depends on it's citizens,the state and maybe an occasional grant to pay it's bills.
Everything that Christie cut out of the state budget not to raise taxes is going to fall on the municipalities to cover.
Even low income people who never had to pay a NJ state tax will be hurting because the deficit is being thrown on property taxes.
So tell me, who or what should be cut from the town or the schools? We're not a town with a lot of luxurious services that can be eliminated.
I understand that the staff of the Mullica school compiled a comprehensive list of cost-cutting measures that were all in good faith. This list was presented to the administration and to the Board for review at tonight's budget meeting. Let's see how seriously these ideas were considered. Granted, there's a long way to go, but at least this is a step in the right direction.
The staff gave a list of cost-cutting suggestions? Unless those suggestions include pay freezes and/or more substantial contributions to their medical insurance, I'm not interested...
The NJEA reminds me of Audrey II in "The Little Shop of Horrors" and the plant's insatiable appetite to be feed the blood of the store's assistant. "Feed me, feed me", the plant said as it demands more and more of his blood every day.
Mullica teachers do not get to choose their health care plan. It is chosen for them by the BOE! It is a take it or leave it policy. Also, ask your administrators about their raises! They get the ENTIRE 4.5% raise to themselves. That's right- your BA just got $4,000 for one year in a raise on top of her salary. The teachers must spread any raise out over ALL THE STAFF. That 4.5% does not go to one person it gets divided up among everyone! Please learn all the facts before you blame the teachers on the faults of Gov. Christie. He's the one forcing taxes to be raised not the teachers.
The teachers also get step raises for longevity so their 4% annual raise could mean much more that that.
The 12:17 poster seems to be repeating the same misinformation given at a recent board of education meeting by Barbara Rheault. Ms. Rheault stated in public comment that not all teachers receive the full percentage of the raise. That much is true. WHAT MS. RHEAULT FAILED TO BE TRUTHFUL ABOUT was that some teachers, particularly those who have been employed the longest and earn the most, get a HIGHER PERCENTAGE increase than the lower paid teachers. So, if a contract is settled with a 3% increase, more recent hires may get only 1.5%, but teachers at the top may be getting 3.5% or 4%---a number higher than the overall percentage inrease agreed to.
Perhaps Ms. Rheault could spend a little less time trying push around the school board and a bit more time #1, being honest about how the pay increases work, and #2, educating our children---that IS what she gets paid for, isn't it???
While administrative salaries should be a concern of taxpayers, with relatively few administrative positions, the total of those salaries and benefits is small in comparison to the educators and related staff. The MTEA negotiation representatives continue to change the subject rather than address their own gluttonous ways.
In reference to the BOE choosing the health benefits, the language in the contract was better than or equal to which was changed to equal to. The current benefits are through state health benefits. When the prior joint insurance fund collapsed, the MTEA blamed the Board for changing health benefits. Although the board told MTEA that the board did not have a choice, it did not matter to MTEA and they grieved the matter. The board selected the state benefits because that was also what NJEA recommended and the Board had a grievance over its head.
The important issue is how comprehensive the plan is, how the benefits covers families and the fact that teachers, staff and administrators pay one low fee per year for full family coverage or single coverage. What is needed is something that is closer to the cost to the school district with family coverage as well as cost toward premiums.
As for take it or leave it, please teachers, staff and administrators, leave it and buy your own health benefits. The teachers, staff and administrators do not have a clue as to what the real world looks like.
3:02 PM post
This type of obfuscation, and others, have been and continue to be the
traditional methods that the union uses to try to avoid the issues and to sideline the debate. Its like a kid pointing to his or her brother's or sister's faults whenever the parents confront him or her on something, in order to distract them from discussing the real issue at hand.
The NJEA is lobbying hard to stop any pension reform in Trenton and may do so because this issue about pension reform is far from over. Everyone knows the pension system is heavily in debt and will stay that way. Everyone knows the State is bankrupt. The lobbyists and unions don't care cause they are greedy and could care less about anyone else. This is the mentality that is taking over the US. Its getting to the point some don't care if the US is indeed taken over by those who hold the loans as long as their provided for. Others think the Fed govt will continue to print money and then bail the states out and save the pension system. No one speaks of another scenerio where the State governments declare formal bankruptcy and declare all pension obligations null and void.The way many groups still demand money and benefits in these times is very scary and says a lot about what a nation we've allowed ourselves to become.
Post a Comment