The Orion - Pensions may cause budget problems

The Orion - Pensions may cause budget problems

Pensions may cause budget problems

By Alexander Seymour

Published: Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Updated: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 20:08

Tyler Neumann

The Chico State registration portal is showing new scars − Chinese history, Middle-Eastern history, philosophy in social ethics and toxicology are all listed as “no sections available.”

This is a lasting product of the financial crisis and the 115 faculty members Chico State has lost since May 2009. Stopping the bleeding requires asking difficult questions, such as if the pensions of state employees and teachers are too generous?

When a university can no longer offer a sufficient ratio of teachers to students, large state employee benefits become a crippling liability to the California State University system. Since faculty and administration are paid by California, every penny used to provide a pension is a penny that can’t be used to provide a class.

There are two problems with California teachers’ pensions at the moment — one is rooted in the way pensions are

Teachers' pay: Is it enough? | battlecreekenquirer.com | The Enquirer

Teachers' pay: Is it enough? | battlecreekenquirer.com | The Enquirer

Teachers' pay: Is it enough?

Michigan ranks high, but some say still falls short

ANNIE MARTIN • THE ENQUIRER • SEPTEMBER 5, 2010

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Michigan teachers are among the highest paid in the nation, but state and local union leaders say pay isn't keeping pace with the cost of living.

Michigan has the 11th-highest average teacher pay in the nation, according to the National Education Association. The average Michigan teacher is paid $56,096, though salaries vary significantly throughout the state.

California boasts the highest teacher pay at $65,808 and South Dakota has the lowest at $36,674.

Though Michigan's average teacher salary is higher than most, the state is losing ground, said Doug Pratt, director of public affairs for the Michigan Education Association, the state's largest teachers union.

In most local districts, first-year teachers earn in the low to mid

Leonie Haimson: Parents Across America demand to be heard

Leonie Haimson: Parents Across America demand to be heard

Leonie Haimson

Executive Director, Class Size Matters

Posted: September 4, 2010 02:04 PM

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Parents Across America demand to be heard

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Last spring, a new grassroots organization calledParents Across America wrote a letter to President Obama, pointing out how parents had been left out of the education discussion at the national level. From the administration's "Race to the Top" proposals to their proposed "Blueprint" for revising NCLB, parent input has been either dismissed or ignored.

We wrote an article for Education Week, calledShutting Out Parents, about how this conscious disregard of the parent perspective was unacceptable, and must be reversed.

We explained how we wanted to see a quite different set of reforms, focusing on strengthening neighborhood schools rather than closing them down, by providing smaller classes, more parent involvement, and a well-rounded curriculum. Moreover, we pointed out how these reforms are