As we approach another summer on Long Island, I put my Empire Pass on my car, booked a camping vacation in a New York State Park and prepared for summer camps and recreations for my kids; I began to think about all the money we pay in taxes and fees and where does it all goes to.
I’m not a native Long Islander, only living on the island for the last four years, so the idea of $10,000 tax bills and fees to use parks is still something I’m not used to. Attempting to be a fiscally sound person in these trying economic times, I began to ask, "What am I getting on Long Island that is so much better than everywhere else that my taxes should be so high?"
It’s a question that I have posed to my fiancé and other native Long Islanders over the last several years. And I seem to get the same answers: "Our schools are better than other places." We are safer than other places." We have a ton of parks that we can use." "We have a large public transportation system. "We
have amazing beaches …. all these things cost money." But when I pose the question -- "Do you really think your money is going as far as you think it does?" -- no one seems to have a real answer. So I began to do some research and what I found was just appalling.
Let’s start with the number one answer, and I think the number one reason why taxes are so high: the Long Island educational system. Long Island has been touted as having one of the best educational systems in the country, well by other Long Islanders anyway. Well, let’s take a look at some of the facts. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage for a teacher in 2011 was $56.59 per hour.
Let’s take a look at how that compares to other industries with high levels of education: Environmental Engineer $39.72, Chemical Engineer $38.88, Physician Assistant $37.84, Nuclear Engineer $35.23, Civil Engineer $33.06, Chemist $31.35. Should a teacher earn $21.36 per hour more than a Nuclear Engineer?
“But it’s so expensive to live on Long Island. If we don’t pay our teachers more, they won’t be able to afford to work here.” Is this all too often argument
actually true? Well, let’s look at the numbers again. According to LongIslandSchool.com, a website dedicated to promoting schools on Long Island, the average teacher’s salary in Nassau County in 2011 was $75,284 per year. According to the United States Census Bureau, the average wage in Nassau County is $41,387. I really wonder how the 1,324,701 people who live in Nassau County afford to live.
“But our schools are so much better than other schools across the country. After all, that’s why people want to live here.” Really, is that true? The average school in Nassau County spends $16,943 per student.
According to U.S. News and World Report, published in 2011, the highest ranked schools on Long Island are South Side High School in Rockville Centre, ranked 22nd nationwide, Jericho High School, ranked 94th nationwide, and … oh wait, there are no other schools ranked in the top 100. Considering the average national spending per student is $9,963 and schools in Nassau County spend on average $16, 943 per student, are we really that much better and are we really getting our money's worth?
It sounds to me like we need to start taking a harder look at our schools, our
teachers, and our administrators and really question if we are getting what we
pay for. I can’t understand how we can justify paying our teachers an average of $33,897 per year more than the average Long Islander? How can we
justify spending $6,980 per student more than the average and only have two
schools in top standings in the country? We need to stop listening to the Teacher’s Unions and start listening to common sense.
Over the next couple of blogs, we will continue to explore the expense on Long Island and tackle the other tough questions that face us. Feel free to follow along and comment.
I think your analysis opens some very useful thoughts for consideration, but I believe that some modifiers are at hand for its basis. I don't think that the national average spending per student is readily comparable to the average spent in Nassau or Suffolk, but would rather suggest that we look at comparable "rings" of other metropoli such as Chicago or Los Angeles, because their baseline costs and the nature of their regional economies should be more readily comparable to our own. Also, I think, unfortunately the root of teachers seeming to be paid "$56.59" per hour is that they work less than a full year. This is not meant to disparage those teachers who do earn their salaries during the summer, but I would suggest that if a teacher's salary were considered over an entire year, they would be paid an income which would seem more reasonable. Additionally, I would be interested to see what amount of teachers in Nassau or Suffolk have earned their master's degrees, which may further account for why in the pre-recession period school boards would have attempted to be intensely competitive over highly qualified teachers which could have led to an unsustainable salary structure post-recession. Unfortunately, even though school districts are non-profit entities, that does not stop them from competing in the market for educated labor to staff their schools, and once one school offers an increase, the others follow suit in order to not fall behind.
First, each Superintendent is the chief executive officer of a school district t; yes, he reports to a board of directors, the Board of Education, but they do not perform the duties of a CEO, that is the Superintendent & his/her central office staff. Second, in a few districts (happily, not in mine since 2003) there is an udue influence of the teachers union in BOE elections, and in some districts there is a palpable level of back room cooperation between the local teachers union & the superintendent, making it not only difficult to get objectively independent elections, but difficult to have true arms length negotiations when it comes to not only periodic labor contracts, but even work rules negotiations. Third, NY State has imposed a myriad of mandates and restrictions upon school districts, driving up costs (with ever-decreasing State aid to pay for some of those costs) but making it nearly impossible to obtain a future labor agreement based upon free exercise of rights by both the district and the union. One of the worst of these is the Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law which gives teachers unions a stranglehold on school districts in any contract negotiations. Joe is conveniently trying to blame the only part of the governance equation, the unpaid volunteer BOE Trustees, instead of all of the paid participants.
In some districts, the outside labor counsel may do the negotiating, particularly if it is a contentious negotiation. In most districts, however, it is the Sup't and sometimes the Ass't Sup't for Human Resources who do the negotiation. And in a very, very few districts, the BOE gets directly involved. But you make it seem like that is the rule, rather than the exception, when the reality is it is the other way around. Clearly you live in a district where you don't like the BOE, and others posting here live in districts which are non-candid and maybe even unduly secretive. But my experience is that a reform-minded BOE, as we have had since 2003, can be both responsive to residents as well as diligent in governance matters. And, based upon what I have witnessed in scores of other districts, whose BOE meetings I attended in a Best Practices exercise, most districts do a pretty good job with BOE governance. I simply reject your willingness to blame the only people who have no financial gain or financial interest in contract negotiation results, for any flaws in the system. Look for the smoke, and you'll usually find the fire, Joe. Just don't go painting all districts with the negative broad brush you are using.
However, I don't agree that it would be the end of a political career for anyone courageous enough to help with such a change. If the law is changed to be written only for those related to health and safety (WHLI's angels on the head of a pin argument aside), then it would mean that some public sector unions would contribute money to opponents of courageous legislators, but they do that now, anyway.
They may ask the super for his suggestions and input but LEGALY the BOARD is responsible.....What district are you in? .
What district are you in? By the way, I never said that our BOE (or others) gives no guidance, nor sets any parameters, for the Superintendent. What I said, Lorraine, was that in most districts the Superintendent does the negotiating, and sometimes legal counsel does it (usually with the Superintendent), but very rarely does a BOE do the negotiating. Therefore, you put words into my mouth (or fingers).
my utilities are through the roof. If I factor out the amt. of tax I pay for teacher salaries,, about $550 per month, I still HAVE a $3000 mortgage (for a relatively small house). We pay more here for electricity, groceries, sat tate and local tax, etc. If you think teachers live in luxury here you're wrong. Look what they drive. Go check out a school parking lot.
Kate Murray currently sends out about 25 mailings per year. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nzq67LIQ3dw for more information about Kate's mailings. Ask her to give up some of her mailings to help the residents of the Town of Hempstead that were devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Instead of cutting down trees to make paper for mailings, the Town of Hempstead should use that wood to make houses for the people that lost theirs.Please forward this message to everyone you know. Thanks, Felix Procacci PS also see : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t_gCTWuxAY
Town of Hempstead Residents watch the following video to see your TAX DOLLARS at work : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xMVJ7Qb5_M&feature=youtu.be. A Newsday reporter was at this meeting and her editor didn't let her report it. Newsday gets a lot of advertising money from the Town of Hempstead. It always seems that their stories are not accurate (or incomplete).
With no more elections to win, Obama has more flexibility to re-distribute our money as he sees fit
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-consumer-confidence-plunges-higher-150717970.html
http://data.lohud.com/labor/educator_pay12.php?frm_county=all&frm_name=&frm_location=patch&start=0&orderBy=grosspay_12&orderDir=1&orderBy=grosspay_12&orderDir=0