Kyle Mattson

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : 5:07 p.m.

We are working on a list JRW.

Wondering

Thu, Jun 20, 2013 : 2:23 a.m.

"The remaining retirees were teacher consultants (2), a community assistant, a director, a school nurse and an elections coordinator. " Teacher consultants are teachers. They are teachers who work with students who have IEPs, otherwise known as special education. They should be counted as teachers in the numbers.

Chelsea Hoedl

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : 7:05 p.m.

It is my understanding that those not included in the program either did not wish to be recognized or retired after the deadline to be included.

lynel

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : 6:33 p.m.

Why did they only honor 27 of the 37 that retired? What happened to the other 10? Dishororable retirees?

Chelsea Hoedl

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : 6:09 p.m.

Hi Fanny, We have just corrected those numbers to 16 teachers, 3 office professionals and 3 principals. The remaining retirees were teacher consultants (2), a community assistant, a director, a school nurse and an elections coordinator. We were not able to obtain a list of names and the positions of the full 37. Those listed above are the 27 that were honored in the ceremony on Tuesday. Hope that helps!

RUKiddingMe

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : 2:19 p.m.

Wow, something about this just isn't getting across. I'm not blaming teachers. Notice how I used the County issue as an example. I guess we'll just arch our backs and get our dander up, put our hands over our ears and shut our eyes and see what happens. There is no budget problem. Nothing has to be changed. Everything's fine. Sorry for attacking teachers, apparently, or whatever.

Jeff Gaynor

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : 2:01 p.m.

#1: Not to worry - teachers hired recently are now on a defined benefit plan -- you'll be happy to know they are as much at risk of an impoverished retirement as the next guy. #2: When I started teaching I had recently been living on $100 a month. At the time I figured if I made $20,000 a year I'd be ok. Well, I made $43,000 - the first 7.5 years of my teaching career combined. But I was committed, and kept at it. I just finished my 35th year of teaching and still am, despite comments like yours. Are You Kidding Me? #3: Yes, I pay taxes too. I like to see my children educated by well paid professionals.

grye

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : 1:37 p.m.

Don't blame the teachers for the package. If the intent is to get rid of pension programs, then salaries will have to increase to allow teachers the opportunity to create a self funded retirement program. Yes, pensions are a thing of the past but if individuals are going to be responsible for their own retirement programs, they'll need the funds to do so. It's just frustrating when bloggers blame the financial crisis on the teachers calling them overpaid, underworked glorified babysitters.

RUKiddingMe

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : 12:56 p.m.

Uh...you HAVE seen the multiple recent issues localy and around the country about retirement plans and benefits being a huge virtually unsolvable financial problem with multiple organizations, right? It kind of doesn't matter how stressful a job is and how great you are at it if the whole place goes down the toilet because of unmanageable benefits/retirements packages. With the county for instance, who will be BORROWING money to pay for these; the issue isn't the county workers doing terrible work on easy jobs. It's that the payout on these packages is becoming unmanageable. Try not to take things so personally, take a step back and be logical about these issues.

grye

Wed, Jun 19, 2013 : noon

Typical response from someone who is unhappy with teacher retirement programs despite high education requirements, low starting salaries, and being one of the top ten strssful jobs. Teachers are not gloried baby-sitters. Below is a good synopsis of why teaching is consdered a stressful job. "Most teachers deal with lots of job stress. They have to be well prepared every day, and they get very little down time -- none, really, while students are present. Many people think that teachers have good working schedules, but teachers take a lot more of their work home with them than other professionals. There are always lessons to plan, papers to grade and records to keep. In addition, the pay isn't much, compared to professions with similar educational requirements. Increasingly, public school teachers face additional problems of lack of respect from students, and even from students' parents and the general public. Because they're paid with tax dollars, public school teachers are always under scrutiny. Few professionals are judged as closely as teachers are. Emphasis on test scores finds teachers held accountable if their students don't improve each year -- even if the students may be hampered by factors outside the classroom." Teaching is one of the most scrutinized, criticized, and underrated jobs.