I love teaching. I'm good at it. Don't take advantage of me. Teachers are not "in it for the money" - that doesn't mean we should not be paid/compensated appropriately. Spend a day in the life of a teacher. Find out what really happens and what all we are responsible for, then maybe you will understand our frustration.

You make a great point. Isn't the school district (including "the Fund") audited each year? Is that audited statement available to the public? It should be. Actuarial values should be included there - and a host of other information. A detailed investigation of the audit reports going a few years back should dispel any questions we all have.

Trying to compare the "fund" directly to how it equates with salary cannot be done accurately without adding a couple of key ingredients.
Namely, an actuarial accounting as to the true value of the benefits and the true cost as it relates to that value.
The JSD can name whatever they want to go into the "fund", (which is not only for the self-funded insurance), but that doesn't mean it's a true and accurate accounting statement.
That's why without the actuarial information, it's like trying to make a three legged stool stand on only two legs.

The comparison would be valid if your husband took less money up front in pay that was negotiated at one point to “cover” premiums. In that case, the net effect is the same. Whatever. Wisconsinheat: think for a minute. If we know X (the amount of money directly paid to our teachers through the posted salary schedule), and we know Y (the total amount of funds going in to total compensation), then it’s fairly straightforward to figure out Z (the amount going into the plan). The school district is not a revenue generating entity, virtually all of its money comes from you and me and everyone else that lives in this school district. If the money doesn’t come from a referendum, where else do you suppose it comes from? Past history has shown voters are particularly strident about referendums. Leadership of the district claims cuts are needed because programs/staff are running the budget into the red. It has been clearly shown that the teacher’s health plan has been in the black for 8/10 years, and the current surplus is in the million+ range. Why the public doesn’t demand explanations on the use of the surplus, and why this isn’t investigated, I don’t know.

Courtjester and eetech seem to be applying my very narrowing comment to a broad range of topics. If you actually read my comment what I was clarifying was that you cannot compare private sector employees out of pocket premiums with the entire cost of teachers health insurance - apples and oranges. As for what private companies do while self funded insurance plans are excessively funded have you looked at what CEO's are making these days while employees continue to pay into these funds? We should all be outraged that programs are being started or cut while teachers are forced to pay a small portion of their health insurance - and yes it is a small portion you cannot include what your employer pays towards coverage as your funds - they aren't. I have yet to see anything other than blogs on behalf of the teachers to say that funds are being misappropriated, if they are then there needs to be a formal investigation not just hearsay.

TheCourtJester,
"Let's pretend that for years, your husband's co-workers and he have, as part of their pay, negotiated the amount going into their pocket and the amount going into a self funded health care plan."
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Is it a fact that the JEA actually negotiates "the amount going into a self funded health care plan."? Or do they negotiate the health care benefits?
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Just curious, because this is the first time I have ever heard it stated this way. If it is in fact true that they negotiate the actual amount of their contracted benefit that goes into the plan / fund, then it puts a whole different light on how I and I'm sure a lot of others look at the overall picture.
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If it is just the benefits that are negotiated, and not the actual cost paid into the fund, then that's a different story. Please clarify.

sbm_citizen:

Here’s the disconnect. Let's pretend that for years, your husband's co-workers and he have, as part of their pay, negotiated the amount going into their pocket and the amount going into a self funded health care plan. Emphasis on self funded. Let's also pretend that this arrangement is working perfectly eighty percent or more of the time. Let's continue to say that eight out of the last ten years his employer's self-funded health plan is in the black, by millions no less. Let's also say that the two years it was in the red, your husband and his co-working peers agreed to freeze their wages to "re-build" their health plan just so that they WOULDN"T have to pay future health care premiums. Now it's time to re-negotiate. His employer's health fund is well into the black, and has been for a few years, and senior management comes around saying that all of you employees are now required to pay extra, in addition to what you are already contributing for no real, valid reason. Let’s also say that times were tight, and senior management had to cut employee programs and staff while at the same time finding funds for pet projects. Getting the picture yet? I'm guessing that there may be mutiny at his workplace. So you see, there really is no disconnect. What you have is many, many, many, misinformed people spouting off when they really don’t know what they’re talking about. What’s further troubling is that these same people have fallen for the crappy power play tactic thrown out by the administration and certain board members with the SDJ. One board member no less that was a former teacher, since retired, and does not have to pay for their health benefits. What’s sad is that this extra money comes from everyone in this school district, and no one seems to care how the extra is spent. People will scream bloody h*** no to a referendum, but won’t say boo when funds “magically” appear for other things. Get “connected”, get informed.

sbm-citizen: Anything back at me? I'm sure I must have missed something. Teachers know going in they aren't going to get rich. On the flipside the benefits have usually offset the pay. If they keep taking away the benefits and keep their pay low the great teachers who can inspire our youth may lose interest. Where would that leave us? We are not talking about the typical factory job, engineering job, office job etc... We are talking about the very root of our society. All other jobs are possible because of teachers! Without teachers we would not be what we are as a society. Why is that so hard to understand? Why are you so "disconnected" from those facts?

newswacko: How have they been exaggerated? The amounts have been posted on the DPI (correct me if I'm wrong) website. Janesville has one of the largest "rainy day" or "contingency fund" or "whatever you want to call it" in the state. This happens to be not only the teachers money, but your money as a taxpayer. How can it not bother you that the JDS earmarks money for a particular fund then uses if for whatever they want? This is being dishonest with the taxpayers and is cheating the teachers as they keep asking them to make more concessions. If "x" amount of my money is supposed to go to a fund for health insurance then that is where it should go. It should not be used to fund anything else no matter how great the cause is. I am glad we have the new pre 4K program but it should not have come out of that money or at a time when other teachers were losing their jobs. The contract dispute was more about the dishonesty of the JDS and the school board, not the premium increases! Were the teachers unhappy about the premium increases? Sure, who wouldn't be? The JDS is taking our money and using improperly and that should bother you more than the JEA fighting for what they believe is right! You also seem to be forgetting that the teachers have been taking very small pay increase, even when times were good, just to help keep these insurance costs down. Why should they lay down and give the board what it wants? Wait....my bad, the recurring theme here is: "if I can't have then why should they". Well the world isn't fair and they have a right to fight for their benefits, especially since they don't get much for pay! They raise the youth of this nation, which shapes the future of this nations, why not pay them accordingly?

Thank you, sbm_citizen, for clearly stating what others have tried. Alas, it appears that it is being ignored.

I have tremendous respect for the work that teachers do. Regretably, they do have to raise too many children when parents are unwilling or unable to do so.

With that said, I grow very tired of anyone complaining about having to kick in for their health insurance. Every year, in every sector, the cost of health care goes up, and the cost to the employee goes up.

If people are unhappy with the benefits or salary they receive, they do have choices. If people are in the teaching profession for the money, then they are in it for the wrong reason.

I have a hunch that complaints of inefficiency and mismanagement of money may be slightly exaggerated, but they do exist. In an adversarial situation, it is common to throw out inflamatory accusations to gain attention.

ANY government agency is wrought with inefficiencies. At the end of the day, all taxpayers pay the price for this.

If Kinsohn pays 5 times that, and she is resposible for (let's say) 1/3 of her premium, then her emplyer is paying $430 for a total of $645. You're right. It's important to compare apples to apples. Looks to me like we're still talking about different sized apple barrels. And you wonder why fund 10 has gotten so large? Hmmmmmmm..... As I've said before, people like Kinsohn "could" put themselves through school, and join the ranks of the overpaid and over-benefited. But alas, they'd rather complain- how typical. Replying to a troll like Kinsohn validates those moronic posts. Try suggesting removal. I wonder where those suggestions go...

Caddy and Moco - You are both very kind to respond to kinsohn, who clearly isn't capable of "getting it". The ones who understand respond with knowledge and respect even if they disagree. Your patience is commendable.

I'm not sure why this is such a disconnect for the teachers but I'll try to make the point several others have made unsuccessfully. Every employed person with insurance benefits has that as part of their total compensation, whether you are in a private industry job or in a public sector. In very few cases would this money ever be turned over to the employee if they do not take the insurance - for example my husband's employer actually tells us how much their insurance costs per week (rough $250) of this they are going to pay $167 we would pay the balance. Now if you consider this part of his compensation when he changed to my insurance he should have gotten a "raise" of $167 a week right? NOPE, they do actually give him cash back for not taking but it's more like $30. To say that kinsohn is getting such a better deal than poor caddyshack who "pays" $1400 a month is just ridiculous - to even begin to make that comparision you would need to include what kinson's employer is paying. The point made was related to OUT OF POCKET payments.

kinsohn-It is obvious you don't understand their situation so don't comment on it. Just because you have crappy premiums doesn't mean everyone should. If you are a tax paying citizen in Janesville you should be just as upset about the money that the JSD spends as the teachers are. It is meant for insurance, it is overbudgeted and it gets used on other projects. If all of the people who told teachers to quit whining could step out of their own world of high premiums they might realize that it is also their money the district is spending improperly. If you can't comment without the "what's good enough for me should be good enough for you" attitude then don't comment.

I loved the flub in the headline last night:

"Contact ratified; can healing begin?"

Maybe proofreading--of the headline--ought to begin first.

Amen, Caddyshack!
I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall. Why can't people understand that our PAID FOR insurance premiums ARE part of our bargained for salary package? We give up salary raises to keep good insurance. It is an insurance we pay for, through bargaining, which has most recently meant accepting next to no raise whatsoever in order to keep the insurance. We understand that health costs have been increasing, which is why we've accepted disgraceful pay raises and budget cuts without major opposition. The problem is that the district keeps claiming increased costs and cutting our staff and/or student programs while the fund balance (which we can access through our own public right to this information) keeps growing, largely as a result of our surplus insurance funds. How the heck can they tell us we should be paying even MORE when they have enormous surplus year after year? Why do our public not hear that when we tell them over and over again? Why does this district keep taking from the teachers (and many times the students too, in the form of elective options and extra-curriculars) so that they can fund their pet projects like 4 yr-old Kindergarten, charter schools, etc.? We should ALL be angry with the way they are handling our money, and I'm tired of them looking at MY salary and benefits as an avenue to find funding to add to their plentiful $25 million plus Fund 10 balance!
I've always loved teaching. I love children! I used to love teaching here. Now, I'm SO angry I can hardly stand to even go to work each day.
I read today's paper, and though it was probably the best article written this year in terms of being objective, I just don't know how this district will EVER earn my trust. They've lied much too much.

kinsohn: Again, last year the JSD budgeted $1330 per month, $15,600 per year per JEA member for family coverage. Now that figure goes to $17,700. If the insurance were free, this money would be in my paycheck. It is tax money collected and designated for teacher compensation. You claim to pay "5 times that ($43)". That is roughly $200. I pay roughly $1400 per month, so that is 7 times what you have to pay.

Got an idea...why doesn't the SDJ organize a football team comprised of its teachers. Give it a decade or so and they will be one of the most beloved teams in the NFL - its that how the story goes in GB? This would be a gold mine - pay the teachers their salaries, plus charge them for their insurance, copays, and deductables, and make a profit off of ticket sales, apparel, and beer sales at their games and shuffle that money into a GENERAL EXPENSES fund........oh wait they already do that! :)

Teachers - We the community of Janesville (the sane ones that is) appreciate you!!!! Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication to our children! I truly wonder what people on these blogs will have to complain about now that this contract struggle is over. I'm sure its only a matter of time before the nay-sayers complain about your next set of contract negotiations (which should NOT be up for public discussion in my opinion). Best of LUCK in the next contract negotiations - don't back down to the administration.

Kinsohn - "Organized like meatpackers" - sounds like you are either intimidated by the union's strength or a PACKER-hater.

Kinsohn, I would never have dreamed I'd be "crying" about paying $43 a month into my health insurance. I come from a very humble background, and appreciate very much the perks of being a teacher. Please let me tell you what's wrong with it though. The district keeps handing us staff cuts, budget cuts, etc., and then they turn around and spend money that is largely coming from our excess insurance dollars. Then they ask us to put even more into that pot, when our health costs have already been getting paid in gross excess. This December, they already had a surplus of $1 mil. from our insurance fund. Remember, this is the same pot they want us to pay more into, even though we've had millions left over for them to pocket 10 out of the last 12 years. This is my post from another page on this site:
THIS is the reason we are reluctant to pay more premiums into our health insurance fund. We bargain the premium cost each year into our raises (which we've willingly kept low, because of raising health care costs). The district has pocketed MILLIONS in excess from our health care fund, and then they turn around and tell us we should pay more?
They tell us we have to make $2 million in cuts last year, and then turn around and give $1.5 million in excess back to the taxpayers? How about the new 4 yr old Kindergarten at a cost of 1.5 mil a year... oh, and oops... we should have asked for an administrator this year to plan for it... can we have $114K more for that? (And they get it.) This is largely out of OUR health insurance surplus, and they have the nerve to ask us to pay MORE into their pot?
Go to http://www.supportjea.com/index_files/im...

I would think that the 41% voting no are upset with the union not the School Board.

Waaah! Cry me a river. $43 per month, what a joke! I pay 5 times that! Plus, I have to work 12 months a year, and if I staged a "sick-out," I'd get fired, not a raise. If teachers stopped organizing themselves like meatpackers, maybe they'd get some more respect.

Thank you to the 59% of Janesville teachers that gave increasing power to school boards all over the state of Wisconsin. You have also crippled the ability for teacher unions across the state to stand up against unfair negotiating tactics by school boards. The public can sure be proud that their teachers in Janesville were "dragged kicking and screaming" to an unfair demand by the school board.