From Harford Students Count on Us:
Teachers need your help. HCPS is once again holding your teachers salries hostage. Despite being one of the lowest paid counties in the state and having receive more new money than any time in the past decade; HCPS is again refusing to honor its negotiated agreement with our teachers.
Please email every member of the Harford County Board of Education this weekend with this simple message: “Do Your Part! Fully honor the salary commitments you made to our teachers.”
Alfred Williamson (Alfred.Williamson@hcps.org); Jansen Robinson (Jansen.Robinson@hcps.org); Joseph Hau (Joseph.Hau@hcps.org); Joseph Voskuhl (Joseph.Voskuhl@hcps.org); Laura Runyeon (Laura.Runyeon@hcps.org); Matthew Resnik (Matthew.Resnik@hcps.org); Nancy Reynolds (Nancy.Reynolds@hcps.org); Rachel Gauthier (Rachel.Gauthier@hcps.org); Robert Frisch (Robert.Frisch@hcps.org); Thomas Fitzpatrick (Thomas.Fitzpatrick@hcps.org)
Please also attend the Harford County Board of Education Meeting June 4th at 6:00PM in the A.A. Roberty Bldg. Make a sign. Bring your friends. Bring your family. Bring your kids. Help end HCPS hostage taking! Help us get our teachers the pay they deserve!
Do Your Part. Demand that the Harford County Board of Education honor our teachers’ contract.
What does salaries in other parts of the state have to do with Salaries in Harford County? Nothing…. this is a BS arguemenet. The same the SAO under Cassilly makes and the Sheriffs union. If teacher feel undairly compensated then go to another county. If they begin having a problem hiring they will have to address salaries. If not then it’s a non issue.
Oh they have no problem hiring…yet. While other counties have hired the best candidates from colleges and from other counties (ours included), Harford County is still trying to figure out it’s budget. They will hire candidates with 2.0 GPAs or what is left on the scrap heap. But to you, that’s probably fine. Just a warm body, right?
Personally its a matter of economics….If Harford County cant/wont get it then with time they will erode into backwater shithole. You all elect these people in charge. Instead of electing them based on whether you like them maybe you should examine the issues they really stand for.
I don’t allow my child to be impacted by Harford County incompetence. I took personal responsibility (what a concept) and Home School.
Must be nice to be compensated enough at your/your spouse’s job to consider home school as an option.
Guess neither of you work for HCPS, because you definitely couldn’t afford it.
Simple Math:::
Jane=Donald= a living amebias (Also called: amoebic dysentery). Done !
You have what two children? One named Crabgrass and the other named Dandelion? You cut your own weed too?
Wait amoebic dysentery don’t naturally reproduce, right, Gosh I hope not….
Oh they are. LOL.
The teachers should form a union and get a leader to negotiate for them.
You mean likeRyan “karma” Burbey?
No they don’t need someone busy endorsing little known people running for election they need a real leader. If he was doing his job this wouldn’t even be an issue. Now which Judge does Ryan endorse?
Ryden plays the entire field as it demonstrates his lack of experience and leadership
Diane Tobin was asked this one thing about her buddy Ryden playing both sides her FB page the other day, and funny, by somebody who even spoke to her in person, Friday night. He was there with his wife and son but didn’t say anything to her about it in public as not to embarrass her and she blew him off as being fake and baiting her,, then deleted his posts. Yeah, she’s who we want. Keep the two fine Judges the governor appointed, they are honest people.
Jane, you’re an idiot. No one is talking about Ryden in the comments to an article about the school system. Jean said “Ryan” as in “Ryan Burby” who is the president of the HCEA.
Unless, of course, you and Jean are the same person and somehow think that Ryden, Tobin, Peisenger, etc have something to do with teacher pay.
Kim, you’re exactly right, and as how Donald, his real name, not Jane would put it, “spot on” He is a perfect example of a living amebias (Also called: amoebic dysentery) that mutated from waste water into the shape of a human that mows lawns on APG but believes he is the “Great Almighty OZ”. He believes the entire world from the top down to his postal carrier are corrupt. And thanks, you made me laugh this morning.
There is a union. The union negotiates with the Board of Education. The union and the Board come to an agreement. The Board then presents its budget request to the Country Council who then decides whether to fund the budget request completely or partially. The union is not allowed to negotiate directly with the Council despite the Council controlling the money. Please learn the facts before chiming in with your snarky anti-teacher drivel.
My bad I didn’t realize there were no problems and apparently the article is fake news..
Wally your such a POS…..Apparently the Divorce Business must be slow, or clients know better than to hire you as counsel.
You keep being delusional my friend.
They already have 3 months off a year. Stop whining
Teachers aren’t paid throughout the summer.
Teachers receive a salary and benefits for working 9 months out of 12. The fact that they work only 3/4 of the time the rest of us do needs to reconsidered when their compensation is evaluated. If I make $80,000 annually, working 12 months with 2 weeks vacation, and teachers make $55,000 annually working 9 months with multiple vacation days and 1 week at Christmas then I would say that teachers are fairly compensated.
Actually, HCPS teachers work 10 months. They get paid for 10 months. Teachers don’t generally take vacation days during the school year. They have negotiated for “vacation” days which for the vast majority of teachers accrues unused until retirement or a major medical issue (like childbirth or catastrophic illness). You also don’t mention how teachers are required by the State to get advanced education degrees (at their own expense) in order to keep their jobs. Do you have to do this? You don’t mention the hours that teachers work. Most teachers don’t have 8 hour days. They don’t leave it all at school. They work at home during the evenings and on weekends. They are working 50+ hours a week. Do you work 50 hours a week for your $80,000 salary? You don’t mention that teachers often have to pay out of their own pocket for basic classroom needs. Do you, with your $80,000 salary have to purchase your own stationery? Are you restricted in the amount of copies you are allowed to make? Do you have to ask your clients to donate copy paper, Kleenex, and Clorox wipes to your office? If you have to take a sick day do you need to spend an hour the day before you are sick preparing directions to have someone else do your job?
Those who don’t teach claim to know all the solutions. You have NO IDEA what teachers do at their jobs. So just shut up and go back to you 3 bedroom rancher and enjoy your weekend on the deck while I sit at home grading papers.
Most of the top 10 counties in dollars per student happen to get the majority of those dollars from the state. It is important to understand that HarCo spends about equal amount local and state dollars on education. The higher spending districts get a wealth transfer from richer areas via a higher state contribution. Baltimore City for example gets over $12000 per student from the state, but spends only about $3300 per student from their local tax dollars. So when you pay your enormous state taxes, remember how many of those dollars go to support failing schools in Baltimore City. It is important to understand that education spending is not only done from local monies. Maybe we should have a more equitable distribution of state monies per student rather than supporting poorly run districts.
https://conduitstreet.mdcounties.org/2016/04/26/chart-shows-marylands-school-funding-per-student/
Teachers work 42 weeks with 3 days of vacation. Redo your math.
Ask a teacher what they have to pay out of their own pockets for school supplies and other necessities for the school year that the budget doesn’t provide. THEN ask them if they are fairly compensated. If you had to go to work and pay for office supplies out of your paycheck would you think that is fair?
The issue is teachers do nothing o stop this. All they do is whine and complain.
Either do something or stop complaining it has reached the point where no one cares you sound like charlie Browns teacher wonk…wonk….wonk. ….
Sack Up – all I can say is that I am glad that teachers cannot strike like in other states or they might take you up on “doing something.” The reality is that HCPS has them by the proverbial sack and they know it.
Now I am not saying we should give them huge raises, but I would like to see HCPS live up to the agreement that they made. As a parent, I want well-trained and professional teachers who are happy working with my kids.
It is a shame that we can’t assign raises on a teacher by teacher basis. Some teachers that I have experienced don’t deserve a raise of any type – they come in with kids and go home with kids. But some stay late, go the extra mile, sponsor clubs, write letters of recommendations for colleges, offer free tutoring after school, etc. They deserve raises, and large ones at that. Some teachers are worth their weight in gold. Others are just a drain on taxpayers.
Teachers cannot strike? You mean like in Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma and West Virginia where it is illegal to strike but the teachers did it anyway and when they did suddenly things changed? Teachers have crappy representation and until they do something to help themselves nothing will change.
There was a time I felt sorry for teachers but that time is long past.
You obviously don’t have a clue as to what teachers “3 months off” includes. Ignorance is bliss!!
For those who have negative thoughts about this, this only means that they are not impacted by a teacher. Someone that they know and care about. When it is your parents, your friends, your siblings, you’ll think differently. Perhaps though, it would be nice for those who go above and beyond for our children, to be treated better than going back on contracts, salaries, and health benefits.
If you dislike your job; quit and find something else. They’ll hire someone new to take your spot, no big deal.
I have no idea why people hold out waiting for whatever it is to improve in their employment only to waste away years of their life.
HCPS has some great teachers but it’s not like they won’t find an acceptable replacement for you. Lol
Good luck!
They have already.
The only ones left are trying. This county cares far less about us than we care about the kids.
Route 40 is full of teacher turnover and we get the bottom of the barrel of the college grads.
C u later. Most of you could care less about the children you educate. You care more about your pension and cola each year. Teachers cared at one point but not this generation of teachers. Quit if it’s that bad. You have off two months of the year. I just don’t get why you complain so much and 75%of you do as little as you can for our children, especially kids
With 504 or IEP issues. They are too much for you to handle and a big reason why we as a society have the issues we have.
That is painting with a broad brush and mostly not true. Sure, there are school employees who arent that greatest people alive
I always get the vibe that some teachers think they are irreplaceable at their job. Everyone can be replaced at their employer regardless how “great” you are. You’re just a spoke on the wheel.
You’re passion may be the education to the students but it all comes down to “all about me” in the end.
My advice: If you dislike your job as a teacher for one second of thought, quit and find something else. No sense in living in mental misery. You done your good service and time to set sail for something else.
” I just don’t get why you complain so much”- This statement means STFU you have no clue, why are you even commenting?
Dear Harford county teachers please do everyone a favor and either do something or quit complaining. JFC this gets old.
This isn’t about negotiating. This is THE LITERAL SCHOOL BOARD outlining what they wanted to pay us two years ago. We agreed, stayed and taught here, and now they’re reneg-ing on what they said.
Conveniently after other districts are taking applications. College kids have already gotten hired for most openings, the bait and switch of this is so intentional.
It’s a shame we care for the kids as much as we do, can you imagine if we treated kids like these bozos treat us?
Yep. Teachers don’t make enough. But then neither do police or cable guys. No one will ever make enough. Think about the mega-millionaire CEO’s. They believe they are underpaid too and you could teach a monkey to be a CEO in 15 minutes, 10 minutes of that being a review of the first 5 minutes. So, stop whining and do the profession you chose. If you don’t make enough simply move on.
If it is a negotiated and legally binding contract that guarantees the salaries of the teachers this article is alluding to, then obviously there is a breach of contract issue. We all know where this goes and the teachers should be contacting lawyers to draft the upcoming legal documents that will settle this issue in the Courts. Reaching out on the Dagger and asking people to contact members of the Board of Education is NOT going to do anything. You must do this the way of the Courts and if you think the Courts will be prejudicial in deciding your case then you ask for a change of venue outside of the 3rd Circuit. Do NOT let the matter be determined in Baltimore County as Harford and Baltimore Counties are the same district and will be just as prejudicial as having the case heard in Harford County. Completely remove the case from 3rd Circuit jurisdiction and you might get an actual decision that has not been compromised by the “Good Ol’ Boy” system. As others are pointing out, unless you do something of the nature I speak of, you are doing nothing but making useless complaints to a proverbial “brick wall”.
I think the problem is not whether teachers deserve a raise or not. The issue is that the county agreed to a contract and is now not wanting to live up to it. I think our teachers did very well living years without steps and COLAs while the surrounding counties continually rewarded their teachers. And when HCPS finally rewards them, they decide they don’t want to live up to the letter of the agreement.
If a teacher did not fulfill their contract, you can rest assured that there would be moves towards termination. Agreed, that termination would not happen until years down the line which is ridiculous. However if HCPS does not fulfill their contract, it’s no big deal. In fact, it’s the teacher’s fault.
Terminating the employment of a (local) government employee is generally very difficult with the exception of criminal violations.
Again…Nobody is forced to work there. Get your resume out.. Update it and start looking just like every other employee in this country does daily.
Unless of course your not marketable. I have worked for several companies over the years. Moved when I needed to and at no time have I been guaranteed anything except a pay check.
Perhaps they deserve a pay raise. I think I deserve a pay raise. If you cant get that then you move. It really is that simple.
Tell me I’m getting screwed in January so at least I can apply to other districts before all the college kids do.
None of those 9 on the board ever had this when they were in the classroom, the former teachers that are on there always got what was promised, and it was even competitive with the other counties. Now we get bottom of the barrel college kids or ones desperate from out of state.
Do we really have to be terrible in the classroom before we decide to fix this?
That’s really a disparaging comment towards people who are eager/inclined to come here to work.
Bottom of the barrel college kids and out of state desperate’s, huh?
See? This is why the general public laughs at the teacher drama, you all can’t even respect another human being who is going to be your co worker.
Are you really an HCPS teacher making comments like that?
Every other county in our immediate area has settled their budget and has hired their teachers. I highly doubt there is anyone out there declining an offer to Cecil or Baltimore Counties in the hopes of coming to Harford County. What’s left will be hired by Harford County after they settle their budget mess…whenever that will be.
Mowing Grass on APG
That’s for Jane….
Let’s face it, any warm body with a BA in Education can stand up in front of a classroom for 6 hours and grade papers. But a person who can reach out to a child and impact the course of that child’s life is a rare commodity. Rare commodities are precious and command a high price. If we, as a county are to attract and hold on to rare teachers, we, as a community, are going to have to pay for them.
Otherwise, we will have to send our children to private schools where they are able to pay a rare teacher what their time and talents are worth.
This means you, as a parent who sends their child to private schools, pay for your child’s education twice, once through taxes for schools you don’t use, and again for schools you do use.
I guess if you’re like me and can’t afford the double tax of private schools, you have to keep fighting with whatever tools we have (forums, courts, fake media) for better working conditions in the schools (including the teachers) we can afford.
Again, the job will be filled with someone just as qualified as the person who is leaving. That’s called the hiring process. As a teacher who is leaving you can take comfort knowing someone just as good as you taking over, deciding from your employers HR and supervisory staff.
I mean, how many YEARS of feet stomping and fist shaking yelling “Quality teachers are leaving Harford County” is going to happen?
It is difficult to find GOOD help in just any job/trade/profession these days.
The classroom is just a chapter for a young person, their ambition, goals, ethics, morals, achievements have to come from support of their family unit, religion et Al.
Good luck!
Teachers and police always complain about their low pay, and yet they are still one of the few occupations that receive a defined benefit pension plan. Tack on the fact that they will receive money not to work for anywhere of 15-25 years and their pay is actually very high. For example, a typical teacher retiring with 30 years will get a pension of around $50K a year. If they live for 20 years after retiring, that is $1 million they will be paid not to work. That is a boat load of money. Private sector employees have to save like crazy to have the same $1 million at retirement. For police and teachers, it is just handed to them. So, stop crying about your pay. In my mind, your pension makes you way overpaid.
Where do you get a typical teacher receives a 50K pension after 30 years?
Q: Where has it been reported that HCPS (or the Harford County Gov’t) is not going to honor the collective bargaining agreement valid through FY19? Did I miss a bit of news recently? (Honestly didn’t hear this; not being snarky). Over the last few years, HCPS and County Gov’t have largely been trying to honor that agreement in good-faith through multiple pay steps and COLA increases. My impression from Exec. Glassman’s recent FY19 budget request was that it included addition funding for HCPS to pay for teacher/instructional pay raises?
My understanding is that HCPS asked teachers to come back to the negotiating table because they will not fund the last year of the agreement. Glassman has done his part. The problem is that the executive cannot dictate how money is used. He can say, “This is for salaries” but HCPS can say, “We are using it for new furniture at the board.”
Or to hire an assistant to the vice – president of some meaningless department.
Lots of people thinking they know what it is like to teach. I say until you actually hold the position as teacher, you need to keep your ignorant comments to yourselves. Because you really have no idea what you are taking about.
Nobody is telling you what to do.
I understand the teacher profession is a very important part of our society and Im sorry your employment sucks ass. Do yourself a favor, quit and find something else that provides a service that means the same to you while getting paid better.
Get a grip and move on or deal with it. You’re not the only one with an important job to society who isn’t getting monetarily compensated.
Should you have to move to another job?? NO, but it’s presently the only real way to change.
People act like they are a slave and can never leave. LOL
Bro, nobody will miss you and you will be replaced with someone that does the job just as good, as the cycle has been for decades.
This is becoming more and more false. The work ethic among many new teachers is not what it once was. Or could that be a by-product of HCPS waiting until June to finalize a budget so that they can hire, taking only what’s left on the scrap heap???
The work ethic in EVERY job is not what it once was.
What world do you some of you live in? You think HCPS is the only place where people are miserable, take less pride, post “selfies” on social media all day? LOL
HCPS will always be here with people who are qualified for the job. READ CAREFULLY.
How that word “qualified” means 20 years ago, NOW, and 20 years in the future has a variance, mmmhmm?
Makes you wonder if the budget should be used for periodic drug testing.
What is HCPS guidence on employee use of medical marijuana?
Dilly Dilly – spare us the Velvetta cheese lemonade!
So a press release from a group with a fake name, making claims with zero to back it up, and 55 comments by people all who don’t want to be known or names
There is nothing more modern American than that!!
Honest question. I have lived in Harford County for the past 7 years, and have often wondered….why does Harford County consistently have this problem? It’s an honest question that I don’t know the answer to. I moved from Cecil County and we didn’t have these types of funding issues. I don’t see in the Sun or on the news about other counties having these types of issues, and when they do, they are minor in scope.
Is it a funding issue by the county itself? Mismanagement by HCPS? I just can help but wonder why this county has these same issues year after year. It can’t be a wealth issue. It can’t be a salary issue, since teachers are paid similarly throughout the area. So what is it?
Does anyone have an honest answer that isn’t snarky?
The answer is simple, and Board President Voskhul said it at the end. The county doesn’t give enough money to the system. If you look at the numbers most counties give about 46 to 50% of their revenue to the schools. In Harford that number is closer to 35%. It started with Craig and Glassman is better but still not coming close.
The average employee in HCPS might get a 2.5 to 3% raise. Glassman doesn’t even fund that. The wage package was roughly 16 million, and he gave 7.
There are also several schools that are significantly under-capacity yet we continue to keep them open….
https://www.hcps.org/schools/docs/balancingenrollment/Sept2017Enrollment.pdf
Well then. A few years ago the State said HdG HS was under capacity and Harford County should consider closing it. That didn’t stop David Craig from funding at new school anyway (which will have even more excess capacity once the new school is completed). Closing schools is alright as long as it isn’t in the back yard of powerful politicians. Some of the smallest elementary schools are in the northern part of the county. Why not close a few of the them and build one larger school? You know what I mean, that economies of scale argument. I think we all know why that won’t happen either.
The calculation of the wage package is nonsense. Why should every employee regardless of base pay or position get the same percentage increase? Are you aware that even the folks who do not belong to bargaining units at the very top of the pay scale all the way up to the superintendent have been getting the same percentage increase as the folks at the bottom who are making poverty wages.
I don’t have a problem with that. There isn’t any one group of employees in hcps that is more or less important than another.
That would explain a lot. I never knew that. Thank you.
I was in HCPS and took your advice and got out. We keep getting great teachers from HCPS so please…keep freezing their salaries and not honoring contracts. We love getting their best down here! And more are coming from what I’ve heard.
But, like, where and why are teachers from Baltimore County going?
If Baltimore County is so great, why is there (evidently?) a lot of job vacancies?
Have you ever been to Peru?
As a 27 year veteran of HCPS I have seen firsthand the slow and steady decline of a once great school system. When I came to Harford County 27 years ago, I CHOSE to come here despite several offers in other counties who were all competing for me. I CHOSE HCPS because at the time it was a highly regarded system with highly competitive salaries, in a desirable place to live. If I had known then what I know now, I would have taken my skills elsewhere. Moreover, while I am, by no means indispensable or exceptional from the many other great teachers in this county, I am truly outstanding at what I do. The consistently highly effective evaluations and highly qualified status, the numerous awards and recognition I have received along the way, my masters plus 30, the file full of letters from grateful students and parents are all a testament to my continued success in the classroom. And I LOVE my job and LOVE my students.
I’m coming close to the end of my tenure here as retirement comes closer. I will stay for my last years. I will continue to work as hard as I can every day to serve my students despite not having my contract honored again and being devalued and disregarded by HCPS and the COUNTY GOVERNMENT for yet another year. I do wonder when I go if there will be candidates competing to take MY place. It is clear from the comments here that many in Harford County place zero value on education and hold no regard for the teachers and schools. That is fine, but nothing will ever change until this mentality changes and county government and candidates and board members alike are held to task for not keeping their promises and fully funding education. For those in the classroom, it is a demoralizing way to end the year and certainly undercuts those many thank you notes from those who have had great teachers to see just how valued you REALLY are to the county and citizens of Harford County.
I am glad I have just a few more years to go, and though I am sad to see this steady decline of a once great system- I am thankful that my HCPS salary wasn’t ever enough to buy a home in Harford County (silver lining, I suppose,) and I went just north to PA where my own children will now attend schools in counties and systems that still value education and their teachers, and my own kids are getting the best quality education and preparation for their futures because in my small PA town- we actually understand that you get what you pay for, and we think education is a great priority and worth our tax dollars.
cool story but for those who TL;DR
“I am a school teacher who did nothing but complain for 27 years and it did no good.”
Right, you can’t afford to live in Harford County but you can in Pennsylvania with their school tax structure.
Sounds like you should have found another career. 30 years with a crappy pension. LOL
LOL. All these Dagger readers who have been here for years….old farts. You complain about teachers whining….you are all like my old, grandma they way you complain. HAH. First time back on this site in years and it’s the same old losers. Love it.
It is so sad that we are not able to pay our teachers and keep our good teachers in Harford County. Something is off in the Budget, look at the audits, money is being wasted. 2008 and 2015 especially. As a county, why are we not taking recommendations and instead hurting the teachers and students with these cuts. It has a trickle down to the entire community and future of our county.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/abingdon/ph-ag-hcps-financial-practices-0227-20150227-story.html
http://www.ola.state.md.us/Reports/Schools/HarfSchools08.pdf (page
http://www.ola.state.md.us/Reports/Schools/HarfordSchls15.pdf
It is so sad that we are not able to pay our teachers and keep our good teachers in Harford County. Something is off in the Budget, look at the audits, money is being wasted. 2008 and 2015 especially. As a county, why are we not taking recommendations and instead hurting the teachers and students with these cuts. It has a trickle down to the entire community and future of our county.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/harford/abingdon/ph-ag-hcps-financial-practices-0227-20150227-story.html
http://www.ola.state.md.us/Reports/Schools/HarfSchools08.pdf (page 19,40,43,60)
http://www.ola.state.md.us/Reports/Schools/HarfordSchls15.pdf
Because Cecil County gets 57% of their budget from the State, Harford get 47%. So to reach a higher level of per student spending the local government in Harford County (ie: taxpayers) must kick in at a high rate. So even though the County kicks in 7 million more, the Board of Education was asking for something like 24 million more than last year.
Harford County spends $13,489 per student, Cecil spends $14,027. Howard County spends $16,313. Calvert Hall cost just over $13,000 and is one of the best in the state. Gilmer, which is the overachiever school, is $24,000. Just for comparisons.