Delayed raises miff Detroit teachers (computer problems)

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http://www.detnews.com/1999/metro/9911/12/11120089.htm

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Friday, November 12, 1999

Delayed raises miff Detroit teachers District promised higher pay to end strike, but teaching staff feels wait is too long

By Brian Harmon / The Detroit News

DETROIT -- Teachers in Detroit schools are growing tired of waiting for the pay raises they were promised in September after their nine-day walkout. The negotiated raises helped end a bitter contractual dispute between the Detroit Federation of Teachers and the district's new leadership. Teachers came back to work Sept. 9 under the condition that their pay would reach a level competitive with that paid by suburban districts. Union leadership may seek arbitration through the Michigan Employment Relations Commission. District officials, meanwhile, said they hope to start paying the raises, including retroactive amounts, "by the end of the year." "All this is doing is building up more animosity," said Paul Danic, an English teacher at Osborne High. "It does affect me in the classroom. I'm really irritated." Howard Morris, chief financial officer for Detroit Public Schools since June, said payroll employees still are not fully trained on PeopleSoft, a computer program recently acquired by the district. "Our new system is a solid system, but we're still adjusting to it," he said. "There are various steps that have to be gone through to make sure we get everyone paid and paid correctly." The same software has been blamed for glitches that led to late paychecks for hundreds of school employees in recent months. Many other employees are owed overtime, in some cases dating back to March. The delay on the raises stems partly from unfinished business between the union and leaders of the 182,000-student district. The two sides reached a tentative agreement Sept. 6, but further talks delayed the official signing of the contract until Nov. 1. Some 11,500 school employees represented by the teachers union are entitled to the raises. Those at the top of the district's pay scale -- instructors with a master's degree and at least 10 years' experience -- are slated to receive raises equal to 5.3 percent of their annual salaries. Their average pay will jump from $58,000 to nearly $62,000. The teachers' three-year labor contract also required an immediate 2-percent raise for teachers at lower levels. The average annual salary of those teachers would go from $42,000 to nearly $43,000. Danic, a teacher at the highest pay step, has his fingers crossed each Tuesday. "Whenever they hand me my check, I ask: Did I get my raise yet?'" he said. "We're doing the job that the contract requires, but (the district) isn't fulfilling their end."

How teaching pay will rise

Teachers at the top of Detroit Public Schools' pay scale -- instructors with a master's degree and at least 10 years' experience -- are in line for 5.3-percent raises. Their average salaries will jump from $58,000 to nearly $62,000. Teachers at other levels will get a 2-percent boost, hiking their average annual salary from $42,000 to $43,000.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), November 12, 1999

Answers

"Teachers at the top of Detroit Public Schools' pay scale -- instructors with a master's degree and at least 10 years' experience -- are in line for 5.3-percent raises. Their average salaries will jump from $58,000 to nearly $62,000. Teachers at other levels will get a 2-percent boost, hiking their average annual salary from $42,000 to $43,000..."

HA! Now try to GET it!

(Is the concept of testing and training BEFORE "going live" lost on the administration of the Detroit Public Schools, or is this just part of their "new and improved" way of doing business?)

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), November 12, 1999.


These things take awhile. Training on software, conflict resolution, blood pressure feedback, etc. How much of the machine will gridlock due to strikes, refusal to put up with it anymore, before ppl realize how entrenchant it really will be?

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 12, 1999.

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