@ stoutt66..look at all the discussion this blog causes. It is a keeper.

Last I knew they went up the maximum 10 percent, if they did not then that is good news as far as my tax bill is concerned, however the administrators still took a raise just to turn around and ask the teachers to accept lower benefits.

mespl- MSD taxes did not go up to the maximum allowed by law. The school board underlevied by $500,000.

Keep the union activities out of the classrooms, hallways or anywhere else near the kids. That would be the mature thing to do. Now, as far as who impacted my student days many years ago, these were the winners (all from Beloit schools): Miss Jenkins, Mrs. Kohl, Miss Roberts, Mr. Uehland, Mr. Napper, Sister Agnes, Mr. Tjoa, Sister Angelica, Mr. Chekouras, Mrs. Street, and Father Lange. I never heard a complaint about wages/benefits from any of them, and each possessed infectious smiles, beautiful (and appropriate) bursts of laughter, and encouraging words. I was proud to have sat in their classrooms. P.S. Steve, I LOVE your blog.

Lets see, you are a highly educated teacher who is very good at your job. Your spouse has just been relocated to this area. You compare the school districts in the area and one of them pays 10-20% more. Where would you apply? And lets say you already work at Milton, you are highly regarded but making less than other districts. Do you stay, or try to better your situation? By the way the yellow is their union color, not because they give a hoot about an attention loving bike rider. They really need to take some blogs away from people.

Yeah, we went through all this on Tuesday, I believe. The teachers are not specifically "whining" about whether or not they will get a raise. They are more interested in keeping the benefits they have, and more importantly to your and my children, keeping conditions in the schools where they are now in terms of staffing (in other words keeping class sizes at reasonable levels) and the amount of prep time teachers are given during the day. Mostly the job actions are to get the Board's attention to hopefully do some negotiating instead of just making "take it or leave it" offers.

fit2tri: No one wants raises; they want to retain their benefits. The administrators got 4% raises and they want to take benefits away from the teachers. How does that make sense? Why is it that my taxes went up the maximum amount allowed by law and yet the school board is still asking the teachers to accept lower benefits?

@ Rocky

Consider what the kids actually get with the money. Programs are already being cut. X amount of dollars from the tax payer either way, sure. Can you say referendum? Provide raises to supposedly attract better teachers is ludicrous.

While it may come as a surprise to many readers, I work as a nurse. Yes, my pay has gone down significantly. Corporate health care is skimming our checks and gladly telling us that times are tough and they are hoping to not lay us off. I am not whining. Some have been laid off. Some have had their retirements froze. Lost insurance benefits. It is the way it is. Restructuring how things are done has cost many of us 400-800 dollars a month.

So when you come into my hospital, we are all still the same people. We make our rounds and ask all the usual questions and do all the same things we have always done as nurses. You can forget the propaganda. Just like teachers, we are essentially there for the pay. None has a halo. But they can increase the hourly wage. People fresh out of school will make that higher wage. Meanwhile, some very experienced personal will continue to proved the same service day in and day out. Money does not equal competence.

Fit2tri - I'm sorry that you are in a tough spot. But you miss a very important point. Cutting or freezing teacher salaries does not save the taxpayer anything. The district has already set the tax levy. Paying the teachers less just pads the pockets of the school district. It puts nothing back in your pocket. The question is really: how do I want those tax dollars spent? On new parking lots - or attracting and keeping good teachers for my kids? The teachers aren't asking for the district to tax any more, and, to my knowledge, aren't even asking for raises.

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Second - I question the sincerity of people who, out of one side of the mouth say "you chose to teach - don't be upset with the low wages - if you want to make money, do something else"....but at the same time criticize teachers and want to cut their pay just because they were smart enough to choose a profession that is not subject to the economic conditions. You can't have it both ways. Teaching is, indeed, a great profession to be in during hard times because kids always need teachers. It is a steady paycheck. The general public did not support sharing the wealth with teachers in the 90's and early 2000's when things were going well, so why should teachers expect to suffer along with the rest when things aren't going so great? Hypocrisy.

Ditto!

Thank you fit2tri. Very well said.

I thought they were showing support for SpongeBob Squarepants.

Mrs. Fox? Wow, she was my kindergarten teacher at Harrison also, 35 years ago, 1974. Shockingly enough, I remember her and Mrs. Plattater sharing adjoining class rooms. What a blast from the past.

Why don't you start by telling us how Milton teachers are doing with your kids.

Expressing frustration at contract negotiations? Projections are for 1 million jobless to lose benefits in January. It is a tough gig to drum up sympathy from people who have lost or are losing their jobs. From the displaced to people who took jobs with poor pay and benefits after losing good jobs.

And always,the constant play on emotions about how teachers care for our youth, therefore they should get a raise. Yep, most do. but I could name a few who were really crappy, too. Do they deserve a raise just because they are there with my kid?

Our kids are important. Giving raises to teachers does not ensure the ones currently teaching will provide quality instruction. And the ones that do a great job will continue to do it. I wish we could all have jobs and get raises. Big fat raises. I would like to give one to my kid's daycare provider,too. The school nurse, who has patched my kid up too many times to count. The people who volunteer their time to keep activities going for them year round. The minister of my church.

Don't know about the rest of you guys. My paycheck is way down. We still have food to eat and a place to live. Lots of folks don't even have that anymore.

Very doubtful prospects for a raise this year. We have made up the difference by saving less for retirement and donating less to charity. Much less leisure / entertainment, too. Not hard to picture the impact of that on others.

My point is, the cow is dry. You can't expect to milk it.