Posted by Allen, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Dec 10, 2010 at 9:14 pm

"The agreement also puts a cap on the amount of money the district will contribute toward health benefits premiums for teachers."

This could quickly turn from a raise to a net loss of salary if they raise the teachers' portion of paying for health benefits.

Give with one hand, take with the other (and screw the next generation in the process).

Posted by localmom, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Dec 15, 2010 at 8:02 am

Can I just say...O...M...G!! How many of you readers have gotten a 3% raise AND a 1.5% bonus this year, during the deepest, darkest recession since the 1930s? What is MVWSD thinking??? Big cuts are on the way thanks to Gov. Moonbeam (and the lousy economy, and our multi-billion dollar state debt...oh yes and the huge federal deficit) and there is NO WAY money will be available to support these increases in the near term. BTW, inflation is non-existant so there isn't even a REASON to give teachers (or anyone else) a "cost of living adjustment"...NPR just reported that inflation for Nov. was 1/10th of 1%. That adds up to 1.2% over the course of a year. This is pure gravy for the teachers, call is a giant bonus at the expense of the kids--their classrooms, their textbooks, their electives, their enrichment programs (such as they are), their technology budget...need I go on???

Posted by Incredible, a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Dec 15, 2010 at 6:29 pm

Don't forget that when the teachers get a raise, the administrators automatically get the same raise per their contracts! If you want to be real cynical, they gave themselves a raise by giving the teachers a raise. Pretty incredible. And then they will turn around and ask the teachers to contribute much more to their health care which proportionately would mean that the administrators are the only ones that walk away with a raise after a year. Just wait until Gov Brown slashes the budget for public education. There will be more teachers laid off and less teachers with more students per classroom. Administration staffing will remain the same. Mark my words.

Posted by localmom, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Dec 18, 2010 at 8:41 am

Just as icing on the cake, this was followed by a renewal of the Slater school contract with Google for "desperately needed funds"!! That is not a direct quote but a paraphrase of Craig Goldman's high praise for the arrangement...

Posted by PTA Dad, a resident of the St. Francis Acres neighborhood, on Dec 19, 2010 at 7:38 am

From what I hear, the negotiations with the teachers led to discretionary bonuses from Goldman to Asst. Sup. Stephanie Totter!!! Wow! And I thought we were in a recession!!?!!

It just never ends.