Comments for Sycamore Taxpayer

Comment on 1.11School District Plays Efficiency Numbers Game by Administrator

Administrator — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:48:58 +0000

The Community Press (Northeast Suburban Life) refused to print this letter to the editor from a citizen and taxpayer.

Comment on Enrollment Lesson by Administrator

Administrator — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:37:21 +0000

The Sycamore preschool enrollment for 2009-10 was 82, per Beth Weber, Treasurer.

Comment on Enrollment Lesson by Administrator

Administrator — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:14:31 +0000

Sycamore’s 2009-10 school year enrollment continues a 15 year decline, now down 15% from FY96. (6119-5223 = 896)

Comment on 3.5 PENSION COST by Administrator

Administrator — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:35:59 +0000

“STRS has asked the legislature to increase public contributions to the (pension) fund from 14 percent of teacher and administrator salaries to 16.5 percent over the next few years.” Source: The Enquirer 8/13/10, C2

Comment on 3.4 HOURLY Wage Rates by Administrator

Administrator — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 15:44:07 +0000

Board approves employee contract.
District officials said the new contract is expected to increase the district’s wage cost for Local 243 members by about 2 percent per year.
Board President Adamex said the new contract allows the board to keep a promise it made to the community in 2004 and again in 2009 to keep a lid on employee costs.
Source: Community Press August 11, 2010

The reporter apparently didn’t ask and Adamec didn’t mention that the step raise was not frozen. Nor, that the employees are already paid around 30% higher than the market rate. There was no consideration of the current economic and financial conditions including 17% national unemployment.

Comment on Save by increasing student-teacher ratio by Administrator

Administrator — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:08:48 +0000

Sycamore’s reported student-teacher ratio, for the most recent year data are available, is just over 17:1. Increasing it to 20:1 would realize up to an estimated $2 to $5 million per year in savings in teacher salaries alone.

Comment on Save by increasing student-teacher ratio by Administrator

Administrator — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:51:25 +0000

Sycamore Students Per Teacher
FY2008 17.3
FY2007 17.7
FY2006 17.4
FY2005 16.9
FY2004 17.2
FY2003 16.8
FY2002 16.9
FY2001 17.1
FY2000 18.3
FY1999 19.5

Source: ODE

Comment on 2.5 Private-Public sector compensation by Administrator

Administrator — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:28:41 +0000

“Federal civil servants earned average pay and benefits of $123,049 in 2009 while private workers made $61,051 in total compensation, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.”
Source: Dennis Cauchon USA TODAY (The Enquirer August 10, 2010)

Comment on 2.5 Private-Public sector compensation by Administrator

Administrator — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 17:20:57 +0000

These excerpts were sent to the Community Press as a Letter to the Editor on August 2, 2010 by a local citizen.

Comment on 3.3 ADMINISTRATIVE SALARIES by Sandy

Sandy — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 23:13:15 +0000

The salary is only the tip of the iceberg. Many of these administrators (and some teachers) are double dipping.

The benefit packages are outrageous with health (some districts are now paying for a “health savings account”)
plans that cover dental and eye, most boards give a large
“bonus” (in addition to the salary) for the superintendent to perform his job, some districts provide a car with insurance and fuel, life insurance, annuities, “Y” memberships, double retirement packages, time off to speak or “consult” in other districts, travel around the country and sometimes the world, credit cards for travel and meal expenses and on and on.

The only way to obtain a true picture of the spending and salaries is to request: W2 reports, credit card statements, contracts, supplemental contracts and other financial reports. You can even get the check register to see how much they compensate employees. These are all public information and they have to give them to you.

It is also important to calulate the exact number of days and hours the teachers actually work. Some districts have as many as 14 sick days and 10 personal days. Some may have more. They are allowed to accumulate many of these days, but many take them. Most districts have at least a 30% absentee rate that requires that many subs. This means we are paying twice for the same position and the children are suffering from lack of continuity in their studies. At any rate they are working around seven months total. Compare this to the taxpayer that is working longer hours, year round with two weeks for vacation. I, personally, am sick and tired of their bullying and whining.

I would also like to say that Michael Clark of the Enquirer usually paints a rosey picture of anything going on in the districts. He has family “involved” in education and I have never read anything other than glorious reports about the
various districts. You should note that his name was not on the articles that ran state-wide regarding the “double-dipping” and “pension” crisis in Ohio and other states. He seems to perform little to no research for his articles. He puts out the latest scenario expressed by the superintendent. I have seen some districts hand out a written statement to the press. Makes life easier for the “reporter.”