I support the teachers-

it is unbelievable how many Teachers, aka not Professors, make over $65K/year, not including benefits .... WOW ... I had NO idea that Teaching was SO lucrative! Think about it ... PUBLIC employees, not subject to recessions, off-shoring of jobs, with AWESOME PEN$IONS, and not only health insurance, BUT ALSO receiving dental, vison, & LIFE insurance benefits in addition to $60K/year? These Teachers should be so glad to be employed, simply seek to renew their fabulous opportunities, and remain off the radar, but no they think solely due to their being college educated that they should be paid in excess of $90K/year while working, and get numerous vacation days, in addition to not working 40 hours/week - 52weeks/year! I bet there are enormous amounts of people who would be glad to get a college degree in order to have such a great job in the NEW MODERN economic reality.

I lived in Strongsville for 35 years and the community was never Pro-Teacher! Strongsville is now using the economy as an excuse! Put your priorities in order....do you have cable TV, go out to dinner 2-3 times a week, give the kids 50.00 - 100.00 bucks a weekend to spend, go on expensive vacations, etc.? Complain all you want, but most of you are taking a stand against teachers on rumor, not facts! How many times have I read on this site...."I HEARD the teachers want"...? Your lack of respect for the teachers rubs off on your children. The majority of you WANT the teachers to go out on strike. Your are crazy! Your teachers have worked without a contract for almost a year. Have given money back to the system in the last negotiations. Thank goodness I am out of Strongsville. I now live in a community that would rather put their money into schools instead of prisons. I support the teachers, but most importantly the students! Strongsville, if the teachers strike, you will quickly learn what you threw away: a dedicated and hard working staff. GOOD LUCK!

HUH we went from larry right to MO
well mo (teacher)

In response to MO (below): so you moved out of Strongsville and you really support the teachers. FIRST: It sounds like your are a teacher in the Strongsville Schools. SECOND: Why did you NOT stay in Strongsville and help pay for our schools? THIRD: If you are NOT a teacher, nor a resident of Strongsville, then WHY are you even bothering to get involved with this topic???? If all teachers were required to live in Strongsville and PAY TAXES here none of this would be happening. And the freeze on salaries after pay raise is untrue. Did you know that some of the teachers are also taking home their lesson planner. That hurts the children they say they care about. I support our School Board.

I thought the lesson plans were part of school property - work product while employed by the district. Therefore, to take that, would that not be theft?

Denise I am a resident of Strongsville, my son attends the high school and I am not a teacher of Strongsville, so I help pay taxes here and I also pay into RITA. Again the issue here is how to fund public education. Why aren't you complaining to the Governor about this issue. He is a public worker too getting great benefits. All politicians need to get there benefits reduced too; not just teachers.

As for lessons plans, the new "teachers" which again are being paid $180.00 a day need to do some work for their pay so they are required to create lessons .

my family strongly supports the TEACHERS in any and all actions they deem necessary against the board

lessons plans are not school property if one is not getting paid. The "sub" which is being paid $180.00 a day needs to perform the duty- FYI

Where does this $15,000 come from? Do you know the facts?

Seriously, a $15,000 raise. Get your facts straight.

we are now saying THESE teachers are not worth more !!! now lovesteaching I think your reply shows that you are a great teacher
a question for you does your school district make your entire pension payment for you??? or do you have to pay your share of it ???

Lovesteaching - I think we are struggling whether there is actually money in the budget to pay more. Based on some published numbers the district can not afford the current model much less a raise. Some of the actions that the teachers have displayed at school, telling our children that criminals will be "subbing" on Monday and just some of their negative campaigning has not endured them to the community. As a community we are at a loss because we do not have all the facts on both sides, the teachers say its not about money but have told my children at school while they were packing up their stuff they haven't had a raise in 5 years. As with any profession we are also plagued with teachers that are just collecting a large paycheck while another teacher who does go the extra mile is no getting paid what they probably deserve.

Lovesteaching- worth more? Aren't we all worth more? I haven't had a raise in several years. Many have had paid cuts. Many others have actually lost their jobs. Instead of whining about not getting a raise, I act like a mature adult and see the adult issues around me (ongoing poor economy) so that I go home at night grateful that I HAVE a job in these trying times, and that I haven't had a pay cut. But teachers? Many of the teachers instead ask for more, continually claim they are deserving of more.....and even MORE offensive is the fact that this "more" comes from the very pockets of the people who are simultaneously having to make do with less! Can you really not see how that entitlist attitude is received by others as insulting and offensive?! Perhaps there would be more support from the community if the teachers acted more professionally during this strike and had more humility generally, instead of continually acting like they are special.

Are teachers more special than anyone else? My job requires more education than yours, and I haven't had a raise in a long time. The military put their lives on the line every day! And are looking at cuts that potentially threaten their safety, for nominal income, to protect US. Medical personnel "kill" themselves to get TO work on snow days to save OUR lives.

(Cont.)

Private school teachers care just as much about "the children" and work just as hard to educate our future and yet make a lot less. They clearly do it for the love of the kids as opposed to the money/benefits. Because, they get in those jobs and stay there forever as well, even though they make a lot less.

Teachers love to say "you try doing this job." Well, I don't know many that would survive as lawyers. They surely couldn't be in the medical field because of the need to actually get to work in a blizzard. I'm not insulting teachers here. Many are very good at their jobs. The point being, we all have different strengths and weaknesses, which is why we gravitate to the jobs that we do. That doesn't make any of us special. It simply is what makes the world go around.

I think the teachers are not getting support for this strike for two reasons: their timing is atrocious because of the economy so they simply look ridiculously greedy and everyone else out there struggling thus has no empathy for them, and they have acted like children during this process instead of the professionals that they want others to treat them as.

This is not an emotional issue - it is a practical one. Salaries and benefits make up 81% of the school district's budget. If those of us who pay taxes to fund the district's budgets are experiencing pay cuts, a rise in cost of living and health insurance premiums, changes have to be made to reflect that.

As a card carrying union memeber for over 35 years, I laugh when see the SEA president refer to the substitute teachers as "scabs". Every year I see these her "good union" teachers out soliciting work to build decks for people or paint houses, how would they feel if the union carpenters or the union painters picketed and called them "scabs". Grow up lady and call a spade a spade.

James, I respect that. Doing what is right vs. what is popular.

Tina since when is giving a teacher more money a sign that we are showing teachers respect

another reason to not rehire any of these teachers

Larry-
I think that call to your home was a "CYA" action, just in case her words and actions violated policy.

There is no truth to that or many of the other things being told to the students to scare them. I'm sharing w/you a post I put on my Facebook page and I keep copying & pasting it every time a parent posts about the horrible untruths their child heard in school. I see numerous posts like that per day.

Strongsville School District parents- I encourage you to send an email to Mr. Krupinski, Mr. Ryba, Mr. Frazee with a cc to the rest of the board with any untruths (the subs will be criminals, there will be no lesson plans, absences and misbehavior won't count against you) or inappropriate behavior (packing up the class rooms, not teaching) in the classrooms this week. While in negotiations, all emails must be turned over to the attorneys- so this means all of this garbage will be on record. Do not be afraid to name names & give quotes.
What's happening is a tragedy- I get there's a contentious contract dispute going on but you DO NOT bring the students in on it; it's a form of bullying and unacceptable.
Here's a link to the district's negotiation news page with all the facts and you can also find all of the contact info there.
http://schools.strongnet.org/negotiationnews

let me see if I got this right. you want us to believe you are a cleveland gal, and not from around here, but yet you signed up in the STRONGSVILLE Patch ....oops

who are you trying to kid you are not from Cleveland , those words are much to large for a Clevelanders vocabulary

kim is correct and you have failed lakewood has their own patch .......you signed up for the strongsville patch out of habit ...............nice try soon to be unemployed teacher

clevegirl an interesting comment you made ..... now if You switch the strongsville teachers with the teachers in Cleveland, and what do you think the ratings will be? Cleveland rises to excellent and Strongsville falls to academic watch? And which teacher do you think would of had a more difficult job and deserves more?

then why are you on this site?

so you ALWAYS read only the strongsville patch,, since you knew lyn posts all the time but living in lakewood you chose to today finally sign up for the patch not in lakewood but IN STRONGSVILLE

you don't seem to have skin in the game for either side of the issue. must be a slow night in lakewood that you don't have anything better to do?

there is a disaster here ???? do tell

you can have an opinion. but, unless you have to pay the bills that this boe and teachers are racking up here in strongsville, your opinion really doesn't matter on this site. sorry.

i'm a strongsville property owner that has to pay my share of these school expenses. when you do the same i would be happy to hear your opinion.

What about the private school teachers? You know, the non-unionized ones that make a lot less and yet still work just as hard and work entire careers at the same school? How do you explain them? If you're in Lakewood then you have St. Ed's right there even. They seem to produce a fine product.

This argument could be made for any job. Teachers aren't special. Try the military, police, firefighters, political position, any medical field position.....law is a thankless position, but everybody sure runs to end when they need one.

*runs to ONE when they need one.....*

CleveGal - you are so right about us small minded, horrible, edu-hating, beneath you suburbanites. Please, please, PLEASE stay in Lakewood, spouting your infinite wisdom from afar and spare yourself from the atrocity of ever stepping foot into our horrible, cretin filled community. No soup for you.

and yet you are still here...

Pot/kettle/black.

Justine, I appreciate that information. In contrast, the elementary school teachers work their behinds off, make peanuts and many stay their entire career. I believe most if not all at Ignatius at least are phd's if I recall, based on the informational meeting I attended.

mariej they make an account......... they come in post 20 comments in 20 minutes ...run off and tomorrow make another account and repeat

thats great to here thanks Jo ..........since this is a openly anti democrat town ... we have got the right man for the job ....thanks for confirming it for us

Tom,

The average political affiliation of this community is obviously evident. One would just think that a man of his status would have the good sense of making his account private or not posting fat jokes about Kelly Clarkson for all of his constituents to see.

Just not a fan of our School Board President openly bashing our Nation's Leader for the entire world to see.

its good to see our city leaders speaking on our behalf

melissa from what we have heard from MANY different sources the teachers are asking for around $15,000.00 and if they get it no levy will pass ever again the schools will go broke and " No one will want to move to Strongsville"

agreed

Yes, no bullying that I have heard from my student. Maybe a little too much strike talk, and less teaching, but with all the uncertainty, that is not surprising.

I've heard about the permanent pay freeze many times lately... how is it possible for a 2-4 year contract to permanently freeze pay forever? if there is a pay freeze and/or a pay maximum, it would only be for the life of that contract. Each and every term of the contract is negotiable with the next contract.

I know the teachers are lobbying / working on the kids during class. my child is a student at the high school. they also do this when there is a school levy on the ballot.

Same from me...My student is at the HS and has said that the only times a strike has been brought up is when a student asks...and his teacher tried to deflect it but it led to more questions...my other little one in middle school said it is hardly being brought up. He also said that his teacher started a the next chapter in his history class and had a test in english...so he is being taught I called one of his teachers and asked if they thought it was right to clear out the rooms, and she replied that she is doing it during lunch because they are being lockjed out at 4pm...at least at the middle school. No Complaints just giving facts...there is still education taking place...at least as far as my students are concerned!

My daughter's elementary teacher has not appeared to cross any lines in terms of anything she has said or done either. I have been wondering how many of the teachers really support the SEA in this strike action. I guess we'll see.

Legally that cannot happen. Law prevails.

well said

Regarding students being "Pushed Through" my son's friend failed all of his classes as an 8th grade student...every subject! However this year he was at the high school....and was bragging about not having to go to summer school! Is this the teachers pushing him though or administration??

and yet our schools are ranked 83rd

Do you have a source as to where you got this information about the pay ranking within the state? Also, does the term "pay" include wages only or is their benefits compensation included in that calculation for purposes of that ranking?

are they the 5th highest with or without that 10.2% HIDDEN extra pension payment which turns a 80k teacher into a 88k teacher
(and before anyone cries NOT ALL TEACHERS MAKE 80K) 160 of strongsville teachers do make 79-80k so that is why i picked that top scale range

I don't know. I actually had the same question. "Jack Daniels" made that statement a couple posts above, without a source. Either way, assuming the statistic is true, that is incredible really. Fifth in the entire state, considering affluent areas of Columbus and Cinci as well. I'll post the question there too and see if he replies.

Dave, are you implying that the levy increase was in 2008/2009? I've seen a lot of teachers received a considerable bump in pay that year, and that would go along with my memory as to timeline. And I also remember us voting for it because they threatened to take away bussing, saying we couldn't afford it. Instead, the money went to pay raises?

Is that not the Union President? Her name has been quoted on here...that could explain the bump in salary....and if so that means that strongsville is paying for the lawyer in their district AND the leader he is negotiating against!!

Yes, that is her, and that could explain the bump. But I have seen a bump for several teachers in that year. That's why I was trying to get clarification on Dave's post.

Ok...Just Making sure....thank you svilleRes...as tot he other bumps....nothing i have research explains that....but i am sure someone can....its all public knowledge!!

I'm just troubled by the fact that the SEA website indicates that the last levy increase was in 2002 and am looking for clarification. I suppose my memory could be failing me in my old age, but my spouse and I both have a similar recollection, and I really hope their website isn't misrepresenting important information. Hoping somebody can clear it up for me.

Now, the other union also has made little to no cuts. This includes janitors, secrataries, bus drivers, and lunch staff. I am not going to talk about salaries and who should make what BUT it is ironic that the school board has family in these positions and they are never forced to make cuts. IF we are looking to make cuts, AND CUTS MUST BE MADE, it has to be accross the board. Would there even be talk of a strike if cuts had been made across all employee groups. The teachers have made cuts over the last 4 years and they have been the only ones: ask to see the last 2 contracts signed by the teachers and then by the other union, and then request salaries of admin, including the old treasurer who gave himself a raise, and there is an alarming trend!! If we want to save the school district from financial ruin cuts can be made by ALL THREE GROUPS which would lessen the impacts on all groups as a whole and this mess could have been avoided. Our anti-teacher school board...admittedly my opinion, but formed after conversations with mr. Micko and mr. Naso...has an agenda, and others with non teacher family in the district do not have savings in mind. Afterall cuts would hurt their family...so do whats best for you...and 40,000+ residents be damned!! My advice....Throw out the school board...open up elections and let them run, but with other qualified candidates, ones that truly love the schools and want them to succeed. Then we will see what a school district can truly be!

Richie,
I totally agree with you, the other union needs to take cuts also, and I hope the board will take the same tough approach when their contract is up for negotiations, I am pretty sure they have to wait till then to do anything to change the deal they have. I also agree that we need to cut the fat off the top, and my hope would be that the current situation is getting the residents to wake up and start paying attention and asking questions about where their money is going.

Ed,

A simple search on buckeye reveals that Karen Hollo the old HS principal made 84,000 a year....the current principal makes 107,000 a year...thats 23,000 more to make math easy!!over the last 4 years that is 92,000 dollars spent plus benies....and thats one principal as an example!! almost 100,000 could have bought a new computer lab....this is insanity!

Dave--Admittedly, i am new to strongsville. We moved from north carolina when my company opened up a research and development firm here in cleveland. Being in R & D, i love the "dirty work" and was able to find out alot. Thanks for the info regarding the other school board members...i just go by the available facts and they dop not always provide a back story. That being said...any answer on why the cuts arent made across the board. My company merged with another company and there were some "redundancies." Cuts were made....but they came from executives (Making 500,000+), white collar (Those making 64,000-150,000), and blue collar (28,000-65,000). I lost friends, and kept bosses who were not the best leaders....but cuts were equitable...so why, when dealing with our tax dollars, are cuts not made across the board....again yeilding a net savings, but not making the cuts so severe on one group so as to cause a strike. As i stated in an earlier post...CUTS NEED TO BE MADE...but employee cuts can be made without sacrificing programs and alienating one group. And yes, i realize the teachers make the largest group...but i send my kids to school to be taught....so that sort of is inevitable!

I see alot of people demanding a "Business World" approach to the schools....well we are Merging Middle Schools...i HOPE there will be only 2 administrators in that building...i would also hope to see cuts to the HS as well....3 Principals...That takes us from 9 to 5...assuming the principals make 90K a year thats 360,000 dollars...then deal with the teachers....not sure what cuts are there....but if a strike is eminent it must be significant....so lets say they give 1,000,000 in cuts...assuming that we lose some to attrition through retirement...and those stats in my research state that strongsville has gone from 425 to 385 in staff in 4 years...so lets say 10 retire...and by the numbers stated on here that saves an additional 1,000,000 we are at 2.36 million in savings. Have the last union cut 1,000,000 and you are at almost 4 million and that is a start....just a thought!

richie here is the hidden number that was posted earlier
strongsville teachers have an extra 8600.00 made by the taxpayer that is not included in their salary figure which is a 10.2% HIDDEN extra pension payment which turns a 80k teacher into a 88k teacher
(and before anyone cries NOT ALL TEACHERS MAKE 80K) 160 of strongsville teachers do make 79-80k so that is why i picked that top scale range

Be Honest....as my research points out...the admin get that as well....and the other union does have health in their contract....which is why i am saying cuts across the board....imagine if all ADMINISTRATION...TEACHERS...and PROFESSIONALS made cuts....off of your numbers and what i have found....we may be able to get iPADs like other progressive schools!! So SCHOOL BOARD....fair cuts all around!!

Well....thats 1 vote out of 40K...but i am afraid that if i was to run i would not be able to make these cuts....i am 1 out of 5....and from what i see....the current members do not do their due diligence when it comes to such matters....AGAIN...equal cuts across the board....saves money...alienates equally....avoinds 1 group getting angry enough to strike....and my first proposal that the board, including myself, take a 10% pay cut probably would not even get a second in the board minutes.

Richie - i agree and yes mgt should make cuts. there is a lot of nepotism throughout the district (all branches admin, teachers, support staff) , trust me it seems like everyone is related to one another.