Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2015 5:39:48 GMT -6
So far, some of the biggest changes districts are implementing to save money and influence teacher performance include:
Changing health insurance options. Changing the carrier, altering plan design and increasing teachers' contributions to health care all have been considered by schools in an attempt to rein in higher costs of insurance. Officials at the School District of Greenfield will roll out health insurance changes this year that will require teachers to pay more co-pays or higher deductibles. The teachers in Greenfield already had a relatively high contribution to their health insurance - 10% of the premium - before Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, which asked teachers to pay 12.6% of the cost of the premium.
Reducing post-retirement benefits. Many districts have offered up to 10 years of post-retirement health insurance for retirees, meaning teachers could retire at 55 and rely on the district to pay that health insurance benefit until Medicare kicked in at age 65. A popular change is to replace an open-ended obligation with a promise to contribute a fixed amount of money to a health insurance fund for the employee, similar to in the private sector. But districts must also figure out where to draw the line on who is grandfathered in with the old benefit.
Ending tenure and layoff decisions based on seniority. Until now, most teachers who had their fourth-year contract renewed received tenure - a system that made it difficult for administrators to remove lower-performing teachers. Now teachers can be on year-to-year contracts, and nonrenewal decisions can be based on performance. When districts have to lay off employees for financial reasons, they also may use factors other than seniority in that decision.
For example, in Brown Deer Public Schools' new employee handbook, seniority is the sixth factor to consider in a layoff. Performance is first. Contribution to the school environment is close behind. But that also means schools need to be able to define what high-quality teaching looks like, and they'll need to get more consistent in using teacher evaluations to measure performance. Otherwise, experts say, they'll be open to lawsuits based on age discrimination.
Modifying work expectations. Teacher contracts traditionally specify a variety of work-related conditions, from the maximum number of contact hours with students, to the number of prep periods, to the length and number of work days. Some districts now are converting some paid holidays or extra days used for professional development to work days, extending the day to eight hours if it was only 7.5 hours before, reducing prep periods from two to one and/or requiring more professional-development time.
WEAC's Brey said teachers across the state have been most concerned with losing prep time, which can have a direct effect on the quality of lessons and student performance.
Changing teacher compensation structures. Districts are eager to get away from the traditional step-and-lane salary structure, which awards additional compensation based on education credits and years of service; but changing to a new system is complex and likely will require another year or more of work. Many administrators want salary raises to be based more on quality and performance than on years of service.
The traditional system didn't take student growth into account, said Conrad Farner, superintendent of Greenfield's schools. "The hard part when we change that is how to be fair."
Changing health insurance options. Changing the carrier, altering plan design and increasing teachers' contributions to health care all have been considered by schools in an attempt to rein in higher costs of insurance. Officials at the School District of Greenfield will roll out health insurance changes this year that will require teachers to pay more co-pays or higher deductibles. The teachers in Greenfield already had a relatively high contribution to their health insurance - 10% of the premium - before Gov. Scott Walker's legislation, which asked teachers to pay 12.6% of the cost of the premium.
Reducing post-retirement benefits. Many districts have offered up to 10 years of post-retirement health insurance for retirees, meaning teachers could retire at 55 and rely on the district to pay that health insurance benefit until Medicare kicked in at age 65. A popular change is to replace an open-ended obligation with a promise to contribute a fixed amount of money to a health insurance fund for the employee, similar to in the private sector. But districts must also figure out where to draw the line on who is grandfathered in with the old benefit.
Ending tenure and layoff decisions based on seniority. Until now, most teachers who had their fourth-year contract renewed received tenure - a system that made it difficult for administrators to remove lower-performing teachers. Now teachers can be on year-to-year contracts, and nonrenewal decisions can be based on performance. When districts have to lay off employees for financial reasons, they also may use factors other than seniority in that decision.
For example, in Brown Deer Public Schools' new employee handbook, seniority is the sixth factor to consider in a layoff. Performance is first. Contribution to the school environment is close behind. But that also means schools need to be able to define what high-quality teaching looks like, and they'll need to get more consistent in using teacher evaluations to measure performance. Otherwise, experts say, they'll be open to lawsuits based on age discrimination.
Modifying work expectations. Teacher contracts traditionally specify a variety of work-related conditions, from the maximum number of contact hours with students, to the number of prep periods, to the length and number of work days. Some districts now are converting some paid holidays or extra days used for professional development to work days, extending the day to eight hours if it was only 7.5 hours before, reducing prep periods from two to one and/or requiring more professional-development time.
WEAC's Brey said teachers across the state have been most concerned with losing prep time, which can have a direct effect on the quality of lessons and student performance.
Changing teacher compensation structures. Districts are eager to get away from the traditional step-and-lane salary structure, which awards additional compensation based on education credits and years of service; but changing to a new system is complex and likely will require another year or more of work. Many administrators want salary raises to be based more on quality and performance than on years of service.
The traditional system didn't take student growth into account, said Conrad Farner, superintendent of Greenfield's schools. "The hard part when we change that is how to be fair."
Are we rolling down hill like a snowball headed for hell?
With no kinda chance for the flag or the Liberty Bell?
Wish a Ford and a Chevy
Would still last ten years like they should...
Is the best of the free life behind us now?
And are the good times really over for good?
Attention teachers: YEPPERS! (...or...mama, don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys teachers..)
A tip of the hat to Mighty Merle and Waylon and Willie...
