I thought teachers were supposed to be smart. If thats the case why are they still striking? A blind man with half an @$$ knows that you will never get back what you lose from a strike. Not only that but it makes you look awfully greedy.

How about this....

...when the school levy's come up for a vote, pass them.

...otherwise wqe are just giving lip service to the thought that kids and their education are a high priority.

For non city folks......have any of you seen what it costs to rent a studio aprtment in Issaquah?

IMO, its criminal that teachers are often left with no choice but FIGHT for fair compensation....

Yea H2O,
50000 or 60000 grand a year for there part time job just isnt fair at all

....ummm, the average teachers salary is well below that brother...

...and if you are going to try teaching and living in the same community, places like Issaquah are at a serious disadvantage because the cost of living...

...50, 000 a year will take you alot further in Forks than it will in Issaquah.

Paying a living wage to those that would educate your children isn't asking too much is it?.... In my mind, its just that what constitutes a living wage is different from district to district...

...40, 000 a year will get you alot more in Forks than it will in Issaquah, important to keep in mind when you ask yourself how much is too much.....

Youre WRONG it may even be a little higher. I looked it up before I posted.

Where did you get that $50-$60k figure?

WA state teachers average somewhere around $42k, start at under $30k, and are below the overall national average for salaries.

They are WAY up the list as far as number of students per teacher, like #2 or so, which is my biggest beef.

...post your source bro so I can see for myself.....

Source= 2003 wash. st. employees salary and job title.

I don't think that teachers get a raw deal. Teachers ***** and moan about $$ but they know what they are getting into when thay trained for and took a job in that field.

Not bad money for working eight months per year.

duroboat...linky, please?

Skywalker,
The mod's have removed this linc before and out of respect for there wishes I will not put it up. But if you do a google search with the info I stated above you will find it. And I will say I looked at Marysville and not all of issaquah.But they all seem pretty close.

"I don't think that teachers get a raw deal. Teachers ***** and moan about $$ but they know what they are getting into when thay trained for and took a job in that field.

Not bad money for working eight months per year."

That's the standard argument. What it doesn't account for are levy failures, increased class sizes (WA's biggest problem in my eyes), and budget cuts that reduce or eliminate increases.

I just looked at Last Stevens, took total pay listed, $18,844,03 divided # teachers 402=

AVG $46, 875.80 year (actually 8 months of work)

$46,87580 / 8+= $5857 per month worked

$5857 X 12 = $ 70,284 avg. working 12 months like most people.

BTW: May job has budget constraints, deadlines and higher work loads every year, thats life.

Again, they knew the $$ situation when the trained and took the job.

If you look in the thread "find out what state employees make"
There was a Teacher on there saying that Levys have no effect on wages they are for operating cost and maintaince only.

Coho: Here are some thoughts on your questions:
-School is not responsible for your child care at any time, if your child is sick you must make arrangements just like if they are on strike you must make arrangements for your childs care. Is it always easy or convenient, no, but it is still your responsability.
- there is no "cut date" for college enrollment, most people apply and many are accepted to college long before they finish their senior year of high school.
-High school athletics is an extracurricular activity. It is a privledge to play, not a right. You could not sue your school for lost opportunity to play any more than the school could sue you if your kid became ineligable and the team had a losing season because your kid couldn't play. Also most sports teams and thier coaches are playing even if the district is on strike. The schools think it is important for the kids to have the opportunity to compete, especially the seniors, even though most will never play after the end of high school.

As far as why teachers strike, well they do it for the same reason anyone strikes, to try to better their own situation. The fact that they are public employees does not mean that they shouldn't try and better thier own situation just like everyone else. They must think the market can handle a pay raise, smaller classes or what ever the demands are. I don't know if that is the case in this situation or not, but the market will decide.
I do know that in many parts of the country school districts are paying more than Washington and some even give substantial signing bonuses (as much as $50,000.00) if a teacher agrees to come teach in their district.

By the way I am not a teacher or nor have I ever been one.

Look, I don't like teacher's strikes any more than most people (look at my home port. I have two kids in school and I've been through it), but the issues to me are:

1) lousy conditions for my kids to be taught in
2) poor quality teachers (my apologies to the good ones that hang in there) because no one wants a profession that starts at <$30k right out of college. Some good people have a passion for teaching and stick with it despite the sacrifice. Some get into it and discover it's not lucrative enough to continue.

I suppose if you don't have kids, or don't give a rats @ss about their education, or make enough to afford private schools, then you might have a different take on it.

...so the message you want to send the potential future educators of your and my children is ......'don't teach unless you want to be broke'?

...better yet, 'don't teach in Washington unless you want to be broke'

Duroboat my comment w/levies is pertinent to operations, i.e., class sizes. They shut down a couple of elementary schools when I was a freshman in h.s. and moved the freshmen class to the high school. I had 40+ kids in some of my classes.

Anyone that thinks teachers in general have it good and shouldn't complain are out of touch. Starting pay scales suck, working conditions are geting more and more difficult, and on top of that they now have to worry about gun totting students. If you balance the responsibilities they carry, and the price they pay to have the job, you have to wonder why anyone would do it. How many teachers do you know that did it for the "money"?