Cheers and jeers
CHEERS - To an award winner. Word is out that the current chairman of the Fulton-Montgomery Community College Board of Trustees will be bestowed an honor by the New York State Community College Trustees association. Gloversville resident Jim Landrio will receive the Trustee Leadership Award on March 12 at NYCCT's 56th annual conference in Saratoga Springs. The award goes to a trustee who has shown a significant commitment to the community college's mission through exceptional leadership, inspired vision and outstanding professional contributions in support of the goals and accomplishments of the local campus. Landrio will be the first trustee from FMCC to receive this award. He'll be representing our community and deserves a sincere cheer.
CHEERS- To talking. Next week, representatives from Fulton and Montgomery counties' economic development corporations will get together to discuss the possibilities of a joint effort on a new industrial or business park. We think these kinds of meetings are great, and cooperation and consolidation between local entities can be good for all involved. But let's put aside the secrecy, or the appearance of it. By being up-front, you might get some criticism or outlandish suggestions, but you are all professionals and should be able to back up your decisions with confidence. You are doing what anyone should expect - looking to the future of two neighboring counties - so put some trust in the large number of people who believe in these efforts and be as open as possible.
JEERS - To big pay raises at taxpayers' expense. Did you get a 5 percent raise last year? Probably not, yet the Empire Center for New York State Policy reported this week that total spending on teacher and administrator salaries by school districts outside New York City increased 5 percent, to $14 billion, in the 2008-09 school year. That's a $670 million increase from the previous year, and it came during a recession and when some of the property taxpayers who are footing the bill are barely making ends meet. If you're curious about how much teachers are making in your local school district, go to www.seethroughny.net. It includes a link for finding out each teacher's pay.
CHEERS - To a good gesture. Assemblyman Marc Butler made the announcement this week he has canceled his remaining $34,000 mailing allowance and will ask to have it returned to the general fund. In his words, "I realize the $34,000 isn't going to be a budget changer." Of course, his statement is correct, but he's right in the decision he made. Now, if he could get the other 149 Assembly members and 63 senators to do the same, we'd be talking about some real numbers.
CHEERS - To cheers from the public. It was nice to read the many positive comments that were posted on online comment sections, blogs and Facebook pages regarding the clearing of streets by the Gloversville Department of Public Works' snow-removal crews. We mention them specifically because of all the past criticism they've received after other snowstorms. We cheer all crews for their earnest efforts.
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shopfan
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03-08-10 8:14 PM
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Come on Pipster, just figure it out....lizzie is short for "elizabeth" isn't it???????
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GoGreen
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03-05-10 9:09 AM
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Well some state on here "If you can read this, you can thank a teacher". So, if one has poor english and grammar you can.... what's that again? One only knows what they are taught.
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pipster17
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03-04-10 10:28 PM
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I would like to know what lizzie's real name is. I am then going to let every Gloversville teacher I know (and trust me I know a LOT) that there is someone on the board of ed selling them out. If no one knows, or 'lizzie' wont tell, I will find out. I also wonder what people are talking about with 5% raises. People in Gloversville, B-P, and others LOST THEIR JOBS as teachers because their districts were CUTTING BACK. The only reason why cuts weren't made in Johnstown is because they CLOSED A SCHOOL. So stop attacking the teachers in this area. One interesting note. Most of the people bashing teachers here have poor grammar and spelling. Coincidence?
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laker88
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03-04-10 7:23 PM
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We can absolutely agree Lizzie about the role of parents in earlier yrs...it's sad that so many children have so little guidance from home. And Green, in some instances, not all, I agree about a Masters Degree...it can be a complete waste of time and money.
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laker88
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03-04-10 6:47 PM
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Lizzie, wow...you as a Bd member say you live in the real world...gee, I didn't know providing a child with an education wasn't the "real world". Have you tried teaching in today's world??? I haven't but several family members have, and I wouldn't want their job. Teaching has become so much more of a job than just standing in front of a classrm...in many cases, the best part of a child's day is when he/sshe is in school, and not facing his dysfunctional family, if he/she has a family. A classic quote by Rocky "We should all have become teachers"...should of, would of, blah blah...you hear that a lot from those who think the grass is greener. What are you waiting for, jump on the bandwagon and join the "fun"
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francco
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03-02-10 4:12 PM
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Thanks Joe, Green & Lizzie - good points
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GoGreen
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03-01-10 8:18 PM
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Franco - A master is not necessary to teach a student. The state put that uncalled for mandate into place. The fact that teachers without Masters are hired and put into a class room to instruct and allowed time to "work on" their Masters is proof that a Masters is not needed. Years ago it was not a state mandate, and I believe the teachers did a fine job, my parents are proof of that.
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JoePhillip
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03-01-10 7:21 PM
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No free periods....90% of the perks? Please produce some contracts from 40 years ago before you throw out such hyperbolic claims. The values of society have changed quite a bit in those decades - the teacher has become the scapegoat for all ills. Also, most teachers I know DO work 12 months a year, it's just not on the clock/in the classroom. Any teacher worth his/her salt is working all year, reflecting, planning, developing, revising, etc. Maybe you're just hanging around with or hiring the wrong teachers!
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lizzie
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03-01-10 6:55 PM
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Franco, years ago, when we learned to read and write, there was a true partnership between teachers and parents. The majority of parents cared and stressed the importance of education. If you misbehaved in school, you didn't worry about what the school did, you worried about what your parents would do when you got home. Forty years ago, teachers were lucky if they retired making the $35,000 a step one makes today. There were no "free periods" and 90% of the perks that exists in contracts today didn't then. We were better educated by teachers who made a fraction of what their contemporaries make today. Perhaps the problem isn't compensation.
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lizzie
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03-01-10 6:50 PM
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Sure John, because they work 12 months not 10.
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francco
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03-01-10 8:19 AM
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..opps I must have missed a class 'a' should be 'I' as in ..."I received"
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francco
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03-01-10 8:17 AM
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TO ALL OF YOU - I can write this and you can read this because of the education a received from the Greater Johnstown School District: teachers like Kenian, Gordon, Richman, and so many others. Education, like medicine and law, is a challening combination of science and art. It is practiced by professionals and that requires a master's degree. I do not begrudge them their compensation. The majority of them earn it.
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John1234
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03-01-10 8:17 AM
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Lots of sour grapes here..... I'm in the minority, and I agree with Franco. Personally I wouldn't be a teacher if the salary was doubled. I know many people with Masters degrees working in the private sector and they get paid much more than teachers.
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notgood
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02-28-10 7:51 PM
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BP teachers have thier co-pays paid for them by the school, and we are being sued by the retired teachers to pay for thier co-pays. Talk about not fair, What makes them better than us? Please don't tell me it's because they have thier masters.
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lizzie
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02-28-10 5:38 PM
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I should be defending the teachers? I live in the real world, whether I'm on the board or not. No one I know got even a 3% raise this year, and certainly no one I know who has health insurance doesn't have a co-pay. And, I know lots of people with Masters and it doesn't guarantee them a job forever. Personally, I think my job as a board member is to provide a quality education to the students in this district that the taxpayers can afford. My job isn't to "defend" anyone.
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shopfan
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02-28-10 3:13 PM
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Isn't "lizzie" on the Gloversville BOE?? Shouldn't she be defending the teachers in her district instead of implying that they make too much money for the work they do???
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notgood
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02-28-10 2:30 PM
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Could careless what they have, in these times they to need to take pay cuts or have a freeze just like most of the people paying thier salary. They also should have to pay thier own co-pay as well, come on they are no better than the rest of us paying are way..
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lizzie
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02-28-10 12:27 PM
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Here we go with the Masters degree again. You can get hired NOW without a Masters, and once hired, you have an additional 5 years to get one. A probationary appointment is 3 years, so you don't have to have a Masters to get tenure, any BOE can grant it to you without your Masters. Attorneys and MDs - last I knew, they worked a full year, and don't have any union representation. And Scarecrow, you're right - is a Masters really necessary to reach Kindergarten? Or, Phys Ed for that matter. That's a state problem.
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TiredOfTax
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02-28-10 10:44 AM
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Private sector jobs do NOT have the same pay or benefits that the public paid for jobs have. It would cost them their position and close their business if run with the same care and intent. Where in the private sector do people have the time off as in schools especially but also every government job? I have family members that work for school districts and I am happy for them but is it run with the intent to not waste money or even to get what you pay for? If so then why iosn't our school on the "thrifty" list?
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Scarecrow57
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02-28-10 9:56 AM
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franco, therein lies the problem. Why does a person need a Masters degree to teach first graders about run spot run? Perhaps at the high school level a Masters, at the Elementary school level an Associates degree is all that is needed., Junior High, a bachelors. FYI, many professionals and salaried people throughout the county took cuts in pay the last year. The only ones not taking a cut are the ones living on the tax payers dollar. The difference between the Government employee and the welfare bum is that the employee actually has to do something.
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Hilltopper
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02-28-10 8:39 AM
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Please, there is no comparison for the training a physican or attorny must undertake to ply their trades, compared to a teacher. Is there the anywhere near the same degree of liability for teachers ? What if malpractice or judicial misconduct could not be held against them, the same way poor test results can't be held against a teacher trying to get tenured ?
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francco
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02-27-10 10:44 PM
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Public school teachers have to achieve a masters degree to keep their state certication and to be eligible for an tenured position. It is a profession not unlike an attorney or a physician. Would we be at all concerned if any another classification of professionals, atheletes for example, had a 5% increase in income last year?? The compensation you receive is a function of your value to society. Teachers are not overly compensated.
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rocky1
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02-27-10 7:24 PM
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Maybe we all should have become school teachers!
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Discobulous
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02-27-10 7:15 PM
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If your salary got frozen, wouldn't your wallet be full of ice?
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Scarecrow57
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02-27-10 2:11 PM
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All Government employees should have had their salaries frozen. But listen to those teachers, they say screw the taxpayer, I want more..... If 5% is the average that means some got more than 5% at a time when my Salary decreased. They get very good salaries, it is a whole years salary for working 3/4 of a year. Seems to me they should work the whole year and not just 3/4. And think of the poor children, they get short changed because they only get 3/4 of an education.
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