EDUCATION Commissioner David M. Borja on Friday said that without “clear guidance” from the Board of Education regarding the Public School System’s budget shortfall, PSS management will have no choice but to enforce a “salary
reclassification” to cope with their limited personnel funding. Borja said the
move to suspend this pay increase is in line with the PSS budgetary shortfall
this fiscal year as a result of their budget of only $35 million and the
administration’s failure to return the $2 million it “borrowed” from the school
system.
This phrase "pay hikes" is extremely misleading, and from a PSS public relations standpoint is a disaster. PSS has a basic salary guide that some people were not participating in largely because they didn't meet the original Praxis deadline. For a while, they were getting $100 a day as substitutes, and some were upgraded to still much less than their peers. Now they've completed the tests and wanted to be on the normal salary scale when they passed, as PSS once promised when these people were ticked. PSS didn't comply in many cases. These also aren't bonuses or increases, this is the basic salary guide that's been in existence for a year and a half with Praxis as a qualifications requirement.
There are many things teachers put up with, but reclassifying their salaries lower and then not paying them for holidays midyear is not one of them. A lot of peple will walk mid-year, and it will be extremely justifiable. I am so tired of having my basic paycheck threatened every other week there isn't words. It's bad for morale. I'm so tired of this BS. Scores of people come to this blog to find out about teaching in Saipan. Here is my new answer: Don't do it.
55 comments:
Telling teachers not to come and teach here shows great concern for the CNMI. Many folks have come out to teach here and have never left. They love it here.. Roger Ludwick - 40+ years already, the Stahls-15+years, Mr.Kenney-25years (retired here), the MHS P.E. teacher and his wife-20+years, The Fosters-17+years, Mr. Talalemotu-17years, Ms. Tunoa-17years, the MHS Drama Instructor-13years, the MHS Voc-ed Instructor (fiberglass)-13years, Mr. Church-14years, Mr. Roberts-17+years.
..and many more.. I just don't know their names. On top of this, there are many local teachers, who've come back to teach here and have taught for decades.
Teachers should be at the forefront of setting an example. In this case, the example should be that everyone should pitch in and sacrifice a little for the community. If you're not going to, and you're only really here for the pay.. then maybe you're not the teacher we want for our children? (That's not aimed at you mister Turbitt. It's aimed at any teacher who is here primarily for the money.)
Like the CNMI cares about teachers. I can't recommend a place where they threaten not to pay you or cut your salary all the time. When the CNMI cares enough to cut the crap, I'll change my opinion.
Oh yeah, and your argument is crap. Work for free, cut your salary, it's for the children. Please. TRy that with any other profession.
I have tried it with other professions.. my salary has been cut on three occasions here over the last several decades in "across the board" cuts. So, there you go.
The issue is not the cut, its the fact that, PSS, under Federal mandate, implemented criteria for teacher qualifications and a new salary schedule was also created. Several things happened all at once. Some teachers, like myself, quickly jumped through all the hoops to maintain certification because that's what I would have to do in any stateside school dist., and once the salary schedule was implemented, I got a pay increase to match my years of teaching, Masters degree and PRAXIS/CNMI classes etc. Last year, PSS following timelines established by the Feds, cut teacher salaries down to the entry level 28,000 if they didn't have their PRAXIS completed. Those teachers were told they would get their pay back if and when they passed the test. Many did as they were told and are not getting their pay back as promised. Another group of teachers, mostly new hires, were told they'd be given a sub contract of $100 a day, no benefits until they get their scores in. Then they'd be given a contract with retroactive pay. This won't happen either, if Borja follows through with his threat.
This isn't about group sacrifice, which is a load of crap anyway. This is about following through on your word, honoring a contract and agreement made in good faith on the part of the teachers who did stick around even after the pay cut and restoring their pay. It is the ethical, moral and scrupulous thing to do.
A year ago, I was prepared to take the 10% cut. I was willing to lose a little to help make sure others kept their jobs. But every year a little more gets shaved off and then what's left? The everyone sacrifices for the common good line is starting to reek of self flagellation and an island of martyrs.
You can't honestly tell us that its not a problem for PSS to go to recruiting fairs in the US, paint a rosy picture, get teachers to move 6,000 miles from their homes and families, have no assistance finding housing, furniture etc. and then 4 months into their job tell them they won't be getting the salary they were promised. If new recruits ask me, I would say come with caution and look at like a Peace Corps assignment with better benefits. And you'll either love it or hate it. But no one I've ever met who teaches, goes into it for the money. That's laughable. My family frowned upon me being a teacher because it didn't pay enough.
...guess you're not a judge or a senator with the last name crisostimo.
I understand your frustration and share your concerns. However, I wouldn't go so far as telling people not to teach here. There are many wonderful things about our island and our public school system.
To me, teaching in Saipan is like swimming in the ocean. Sometimes big waves come and you swallow water. It doesn't feel good and you don't enjoy it, but you still don't get out because you love where you are and what you're doing.
It is not my intention to belittle your concerns or undermine your point, just to help you understand why some of us have chosen to "suck it up" and "ride the waves."
u funny brad:)
People have jobs and careers and educations to pay rent and put food on their plates. The island isn't the problem. It is quite beautiful and has many advantages, of which I've written about. The problem is the islands' priorities, and the threats it makes to the livelihoods of teachers that are unjust. People should know what they're getting into if they come here -- both good and bad. Given recent activity, I wouldn't advise coming here due to financial instability.
I think it is unprofessional, unethical, and unfair to have encouraged teachers to spend money and time in acquiring highly qualified teacher (HQT) status, and then deprive them of the very incentive you promised they would get. It also strikes as rather irresponsible for the commissioner to discuss this possibility openly with the public without first discussing it with the board. The media is the wrong venue to bring such matters before the board.
What, then, should be done? First, the governor’s office should return the money it “borrowed” from PSS. Second, the governor’s office should reinstate the original budget and budget request of PSS. If the governor’s office refuses to do either, then it should reimburse the federal government for NCLB funds that PSS has received because refusing to pay for highly qualified teachers is equivalent to reneging on NCLB.
Third, assuming that the governor’s office will do nothing, the board should work with the legislature to reinstate its original budget request and to secure an emergency appropriation. However, this will be difficult to do with a lame duck legislature. Hopefully, members of that lame duck legislature will have enough of a commitment to the public that they will use their remaining time to help PSS. After all, without reelection worries looming over their heads, perhaps now they can make some bold decisions.
Fourth and last (for now), assuming both the governor’s office AND the legislature do nothing, PSS has no choice but to look internally at what its options are. PSS and the BOE made a commitment to have highly qualified teachers and pay them as such. Now it’s time to live up to that commitment. I know that there may be nothing left to cut, but something must be done now before we lose good teachers or before a lawsuit is laid against the school system, a lawsuit that would sap even more cash from a cash-strapped system. And as I’ve said before, mitigation is so much more affordable, and preferred, than litigation.
I'm Chamorro, my maiden name is Reyes and my father is politically linked, but I am not getting re-classified for the 2nd time in my PSS career. It has nothing to do with who you are, so let's just get that out of the way here. I am very upset with the lack of follow through for people who only work to fulfill requirements set up by the system. It's up to everyone to handle it the way they see fit. Last week I was ready to throw in the towel. I left my young children many nights to finish my administrator's certification, I still owe several thousands of dollars for it, and I will not be seeing any return in the near future. Today, I have decided that I am an investment, regardless of whether or not I am reclassified. If there's something better out there for me and my family, I have yet to find it. This is the only job I could ever see myself volunteering for. Am I still going to fight it? Tooth and nail, and with as much dignity as I can muster, but for now, a very important job awaits me, an appointment I can miss: a date with 820 kids, 70 staff.
Many have made good points here. I agree, contracts should be lived up to. Unfortunately, this hasn't been the case across the table. A great number of technical and professional people have had cuts to their salaries over the last year. A greater number of incredibly low paid staff have also suffered greatly.
PSS needs to be absolutely honest when recruiting teachers. They need to let them know the facts as they are on the ground here. There are a number of sites out there that do this. I've come across several teacher related websites that are very honest about the pros and cons of teaching in the CNMI.
The CNMI is going through some rough times, you can't reasonably expect that these rough times aren't going to affect teachers. Because the reality is, they are.
The reality may be that in order to address an improvement in the economy, a whole lot more people will need to be affected and this may have to include teachers. The years may be rough, but these things may be necessary. You simply can't consider yourself somehow protected from the realities of the economic situation.
I think teachers should get paid as much as possible. If it was possible, I'd say pay them $100,000 a year. It's not. I say, remove air-conditions from classrooms, get rid of excess admin staff and parapros, and consider any other number of cuts before reducing teacher salaries.
We need to urge the Administration and Legislature to come up with a realistic and educated plan to address the entire operations and programs of the government. Determinations need to be made about what is truly important and what is not. Unless and until such planning is done, unplanned cuts should be fairly meted out.
Praxis pay for HQTs is not affected. This pay freeze only affects teachers who get masters degrees and/or apply for professional certificates (10 years). It also affects administrators like me who become Highly Qualified. Only two categories are frozen here. Praxis passers, regardless of teaching experience or degree will still be compensated.
There is so much more to this issue than I had understood, I'm really glad Jeff brought it to the forefront.
After the last principal's meeting my supervisor informed me there would be no further "reclassification" for those achieveing masters degrees etc., but those achieving HQT status would not be affected as money from their increases was already in the budget.
If this is not correct, and those passing praxis are not getting their promised raises...then I'm with Jeff, something is VERY WRONG with this picture! Only wish I would have realized this before our General Membership meeting on Friday. Any suggestions on what action, if any, ACT should take regarding this matter? (Can bounce your thoughts off the membership.)
wow, give the guy a seat on the board and turn him loose. i like this galvin character. he's like a nerdy bearded superman or something. go galvin!
you da man...
...and he spins music too!
Just like the austerity holiday, I don't think people are looking at what is actually being said. This means not just people "waiting" to be put where they should, but lowering the pay of those who met the way back praxis deadline and are being paid by the current scale. Read Borja's statement:
He said the planned reclassification and modification will not only affect those who are waiting for their test results, but also highly qualified teachers.
“This will affect those who have met the certification steps, and attained the years of service and the degrees. The affected number increases on a daily basis,” Borja said.
I hate to add fuel to the fire here, but we are forgetting a pocket of PSS employees, aside from teachers, who continue to get overlooked. Our support staff took their 10% cuts, they are the lowest paid employees. Along with them were central office staff and program managers who also received austerity pay and will not get any type of raise in the near future, HQT or not. Listen, all of us are affected, this isn't unique to the PSS anymore, it's government wide. The promise on the pay scale is not going to be kept, there is no money. What shall we do then? I proposed a long time ago, and shoot me if you want, that if any of us were going to sacrifice, we should do it as an entire PSS. Yup, all of us. Let's all take a cut or not give it to anyone at all. Extreme? You be the judge. I'm not going to play the game of who matters most, the janitor or the finance officer, the counselor or the principal, the teacher or the speech therapist? Who should get cut? Who gets the bigger bucks or who gets the least support?
All of us could be making more somewhere else, the point of the matter is that we are here in the CNMI. Tomorrow, when we walk into our campus gate, what are we going to do?
I implore the assistance of the Board. Let's sit down and take a look at the entire picture and determine how and where we have failed our people and work to remedy it. If my getting reclassified means that there will be no funds for operations at my school, then take my raise. I've graduated from a good school and I believe that it should be all our childrens' birthright to graduate from good schools too.
The commissioner knows how we feel about this issue. It's time for the Board to act. There are things that can be done, there is a new legislature forming. In the meantime, there are students who cannot be sacrificed.
I was talking to someone who follows this stuff closely and he said that the CNMI doesn't have a revenue problem, it has an expenditure problem. Zaldy was writing the other day how Tinian sends people to Hawaii for medical referral because they have a headache. The size of government just went higher. Why we possibly need this many lawmakers is absurd. If there is true frugality in all things, I agree with you Boni, and I'd happily do such a thing, but I find that hard to do given some of the expenditures and some of the priorities around here. I do agree that the lowest paid workers shouldn't be cut. How nice it would be if we got support for those children who need to be educated and not have this distraction. You said you would do this for free, but something tells me you aren't about to see your kids go hungry are you? I know I'm not. In the real world you need to earn a living. This isn't a hippie commune.
This is the only job I'd volunteer for, which means I could go elsewhere and get the same pay, but I would not feel content. I won't let my kids go hungry, no. I still feel validated, and that I am a valuable member of this system, and that is why I stay despite not being compensated properly. If I felt belittled, you bet I'd high tail it out of here. A hippie community has zero appeal to me.
I don't know Zaldy like you do, but I'd ask him to substantiate that claim about headaches. I know it took an act of God to get my husband a referral for his kidneys last year, and in the end, we left on our own. There is corruption for sure, but in the PSS? There is no money to spare, maybe if Zaldy thinks there is, he can point us all in the right direction.
Same here Boni.. I've not only heard some real horror stories about how difficult it is to get a necessary medical referral, my own family has experienced this. That "sent to Hawaii for a headache", is a bunch of nonsense. If it happened, it isn't the norm.
I'm not sure what the size of government is now. If it's larger, that's news to me. I am familiar with three offices in particular.. one has gone from 9 staff to 4 in the last two years, one has gone from 12 staff to 3 in the last four years, and one has gone from 27 staff to 14 in the past two years. I can't think of an office that's grown in the last two years? With the exception of course of some programs that are fully federally funded (including salaries) at a few departments.
First of all.. Thanks for the invite to the Tinian Boat dive Sunday, I had a blast.
Second, i hope you don't mind I placed a link to your blog on my blog.
Third. I am so happy to see that there are some people in PSS willing to voice their opinions on the status of the bureaucracy in which the CNMI is mired. It is most unfortunate that our so called leaders seem to make choices that are so detrimental to the morale of the people they are supposed to serve. This applies to both those we have elected and those appointed by said elected officials. I returned to Saipan, after living the majority of my life in San Francisco, 11 years ago and decided to stay due to the Sandy Beaches, Spectacular Sunsets, Awesome Diving and Friendly people...
Unfortunately the downside is having to work in an environment that is hostile to the people that provide services. Not just in education but in most industries, when was the last time there was timely, helpful, considerate, or gracious service at any Government agency? It is sad that the people most likely to make any decision to better the situation in the CNMI is wiling to do so ONLY if there is something in it for them. There are a few (a very very few) out there who seem willing to do more than talk but they are the minority and unfortunately that affects us all.
What this society needs is a shift of vision, leadership and spirit. A vision for the people (all of them not just the "family"). Leadership by the people of the people (we can all be leaders) Lead by example. Spirituality is such a "last resort" or "temporary" measure for most people but if you look at decision making based on spiritual (moral) ground maybe there will be less pilfering of the system, less rampant corruption and less inequality.
Apologies for the soapbox routine.
Nice to see boni's back. A voice of reason and praticality. A tone which has been missing this last week. No one talks back to the Principal, without a superior command of the facts and figures.
Well, I might, but I would be sure to do so under a noni. I probably wouldn't check the follow up comments for quite some time, and make sure I had some feel good money to buy tp for the student body of the school once defeat is admitted.
Wow, James, your having said this "when was the last time there was timely, helpful, considerate, or gracious service at any Government agency" makes me think that you have not been around enough or your mind made up already about public employees.
The cup's half full, not half empty!
Jeff and Boni, Tinian has sent someone on medical referral to some Asian country for cosmetic surgery. No health issue, just cosmetic. It is now being investigated.
That doesn't surprise me one bit.
sending "someone" to "some asian country" sounds like you have some hard facts there, anonymous.
save your rumors for the soap opera conversations when you ponder lances committment to tiffany over a pot of coffee.
"like sand through the hourglass..."
i heard a wise nocturnal hunter discovered the secret number of licks it takes to get to the center of a certain piece of candy.
it's being substantiated now.
"one, two, crunch. three."
all that said, i don't actually doubt the claim. i actually heard it was a botched hair transplant for a certain scooter riding teacher from kagman.
i pray the next procedure goes well.
Anonymous...
Thanks for the comment. However Blogs are for opinions and I'll stick to mine. I do not think that the average employee of a division is rude and unfriendly on purpose but rather that is the result of upper management fostering a work environment based on nepotism, favoritism and political favors. The day we see people being hired based on qualifications and through a hiring committee rather than the ultimatum of a political appointee because of favors he or she owes to another political "powerhouse".
Welcome aboard James, and good to go diving with you.
No, James, I do not dispute that it happens, everyday, in our government. But, the generalization "when was the last time there was timely, helpful, considerate, or gracious service at any Government agency" seems a bit unfair to the many who work hard on the job.
Whether in the NMI where political appointees get top jobs, or in the U.S. where the nominee for attorney general refuses to admit that the near drowning of detainees is torture, shit happens when it should not.
I'll put this out there then.. when is the last time you went to a School's front office and got a "friendly face" and a willing helping hand at the counter? I did once.. it was at MHS, a student was manning the counter. Aside from that, the myriad of times I've had to visit schools for one reason or another, I've usually gotten indifference or a bit of rudeness.
Now I can't say I'm all that familiar with PSS hiring practices, but I'd venture to say nepotism and/or favoritism doesn't have alot of traction there?
Vague rumors are one thing, but rumors that are specific about a particular person or business without any evidence won't be published here.
Okay, thank you.
i've always seen friendly faces at garapan elementary school. oh, and one hot teacher at san vicente (a lot of them actually. particularly hot in the group teaching second grade).
What's the starting salary for a teacher?
I will make that concession and correction Brad. I did once go to Garapan school and a man named Robert? was quite friendly. (I apologize in advance to the individual at Garapan School, whose name I just can't remember)
My experience with government agencies here has been usually pretty good. From getting a driver's license, to dealing with the Labor Department, Voter Registration, etc., I've found that most people there are trying to do the best job they can.
The problem is that they have to work with antiquated systems, half computer, half manual, and with rules that often seem to have put in place as reactions to some minor problem, so that you have to go through multiple steps that seem unnecessary.
So someone got sent to the PI for a boob job on the taxpayer's dime. That is supposed to convince me that there is so much mismanagement in the government and PSS that money actually exists for pay raises? We need to weed out corruption and we also have to take into account the fact that there is very little or no blood to be squeezed from this turnip. If the commissioner was responsible for solely balancing our budget, I would be able to blame him too, but there are greater powers in play here.
PSS has traditionally gone without proper funding. If anyone disagrees with this, I will gladly post my school budget. It's a shame to be expected to run a school on what our local government gives us.
No one is blaming Borja. My only beef with him is that he is turning to cutting teacher salaries rather than applying more public pressure to get the two million returned, and this word "raises" he uses is wrong. People had their salaries cut, and they were promised to be restored where they should be when they completed Praxis. I wouldn't say putting them where they should be on the guide is a raise.
Do you think the CNMI as a whole spends money wisely Boni? We really need two houses of a legislature (with 150,000 discretionary spending each), a mayor and council, youth congress, various affairs offices, a lobbyist doing Pete A's job, a public relations firm, $6 mill for MVA to fail miserably, mucho off island junkets for the old MPLA and law makers ad infinitum?
I just talked to someone at finance, all the teachers who become HQT are safe. It is again, only those who get their masters degrees, professional certificates and administrators like me who get their Highly Qualified status. ONLY admin who become Highly Qualified will not be reclassified, HQ Teachers are not affected.
The CNMI is lousy at allocating and using their funds wisely. We, not unlike other governments, also do a horrible job prioritizing and following through on our investments.
The simple fact is, no one really knows what is going on in leadership. Remember Oscar Babauta's comments on the new austerity bill. This place is fly by night.
http://turbittj.blogspot.com/2007/10/now-i-understand-not-really.html
If you're right, why did the COE say this yesterday.
He said the planned reclassification and modification will not only affect those who are waiting for their test results, but also highly qualified teachers.
“This will affect those who have met the certification steps, and attained the years of service and the degrees. The affected number increases on a daily basis,” Borja said.
Regardless, PSS opens itself up to a lawsuit paying two different groups different rates with the same qualifications. One of the best teachers at SSHS wants to resign over this disparity and I don't blame him.
A teacher can become HQ and then get their masters. They will get their HQ pay, but not a raise for the masters degree. He was talking about certification, years of service and degrees. All three affect me.
I have a sneaking suspicion that “one of the best teachers at SSH” is actually you. Is that your own performance evaluation of your alleged teaching prowess? If in fact it is you that you are talking about or if by chance I’m wrong, then my advice to you or this other person is to leave this “fly by night” island. Move on to greener pastures if this place is so bad. Stop the cry baby whining. Life is too short to be unhappy. Your blog is really becoming a bore. Enough already!
Let’s hear more about your alleged diving prowess.
I bet you don’t post this comment…..nothing wrong with a little censorship huh Jeff?
No jackass, it's jesse tudela.
If it's such a bore, why are you reading it? There are plenty of other choices.
Why don't you exit this blog and funny to get suggestions from someone too gutless to put their name to what they say.
Jesse and his wife will be an enormous loss if they choose to leave. They won't be the last ones either. One of our teachers is thinking of leaving. It makes me very sad.
He's not married, but his gf is a great counselor. He's understandably infuriated, and frankly, his situation, he's the son of the mayor, and yours, the daughter of a senator, show me that anyone can get screwed over here --island connections be damned. I've noticed that those realities don't fit the stereotype many people have.
My dad is a great parent, but a very poor political connection:) I love it. BTW, do you have a new rule for brown people?
It does go to show that there is at least no bias involved :) The fact is, there is simply no money, and thus, by that definition just about everyone is getting "screwed". Civil service employees haven't seen a payraise since 1999. Many had their salaries cut by 10% last year and are looking at more cuts and possibly job losses in the next month or two. Count your blessings.
Man! The island will lose a terrific teacher if Jesse Tudela goes. He has always given above and beyond, and was Teresa's all time favorite teacher. She even listed him in Who's Who of American High Schools. Is his frustration related to this HQT pay concern, and are we certain he will be affected? Please tell him to get in touch, there's anything ACT can do to assist.
And Brad, I'd like to think it isn't only 2nd grade teachers who make you feel welcome at SVS. I know we have at least one friendly administrator too! Careful how you repond...Friday night is not far away. ; - )
In case you didn't hear the governor this morning on Harry's show, when asked by Harry something along the lines of what do you say to the gov't employees and teachers who are upset about the cutting of paid holidays, his reply was something like, and this is a general summary because I don't remember word-for-word, "people here don't understand that a budget is just a (plan), that it is not final and if the money isn't there, we can't pay for something that we don't have money to pay for...."
I've come to respect the governor a bit more lately for many tough decisions that he's had the balls to make but his seeming disbelief that everyone won't accept this cut clearly proves that a contract with the CNMI gov't isn't worth the paper it's written on as the old saying goes.
I heard the show this morning. I had the same thought, that it really doesn't matter what my contract stipulates. I got a letter last year informing me that I had to complete my administrator's certification or be subject to non renewal. I did what I was asked to do, and now I will not be reclassified. If a contract with the CNMIG isn't worth the paper it's written on, what is the word of our leaders worth?
less!
sorry, betty. there are plenty of welcoming people at the home of the canaries. i was just talking about one in particular. you know, my sunshine on a cloudy day.
CNMI government contracts, in my experience, have clear clauses in them that permitted the last alteration, that being the 10% cut.
I don't know what PSS contracts are like, but I'd venture to say that they're not going to do anything that isn't allowable per the contract.
Maybe the contract is worth the paper it's written on.. it's just that all of the writing hasn't been read. If it's in there, and you signed it.. you accepted all of the terms of that contract. Even those terms that are not favorable to the employee.
How can non-highly qualified central office staff make intelligent decisions for highly qualified teachers and administrators?
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