One more…teachers do NOT get 15% extra for a teaching credential. Apparently (and this began after I left, so don’t know all the details for LAUSD), they get an extra 15% for National Board Certification. Here is more info about it:
What Is National Board Certification?
National Board Certification is an advanced teaching credential. It complements, but does not replace, a state’s teacher license. It is valid for 10 years, and renewal candidates must begin the renewal process during their eighth or ninth years as NBCTs.
National Board Certification is achieved upon successful completion of a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize effective and accomplished teachers who meet high standards based on what teachers should know and be able to do. National Board Certification is available nationwide for most preK–12 teachers.
As part of the certification process, candidates complete 10 assessments that are reviewed by trained teachers in their certificate areas. The assessments include four portfolio entries that feature teaching practice and six constructed response exercises that assess content knowledge.
Personally, I think it’s BS. They were talking about it when I was teaching, but there was no extra pay at the time (it was being debated). IMHO, this is more of the touchy-feely junk that teachers have to endure that is, for the most part, practically useless. I don’t think teachers should be paid 15% extra for it, but that’s just my opinion.
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Just a note about your comment:
So I’m with you if the Union’s will actually list out the real job positions with the real requirements and show the real base pay.
If you make 200% of you published base salary, there’s a problem. Either you work way to much, of you are on the clock way too much for not really working (on call), and that’s a management problem and a Union problem.
They do absolutely list the real job positions with the real requirements that show the real base pay. As stated above, the difference between base pay and what some (but not all) employees earn is almost 100% due to overtime. Yes, they might be “on the clock” for too long, but they’ve done studies to find ways to reduce overtime, and found that hiring more people would actually be MORE expensive due to administrative, training, benefit/pension costs, etc. Remember, these positions cannot go unfilled. These are not desk jobs where more paper simply piles up. Peoples lives literally depend on these positions being filled every day. In San Diego, they’ve tried to close some stations (the “brown outs”), and there have been some serious problems because of it, as response times are greatly extended. It’s not nearly as simple as some would like to believe.
