There has, no doubt, been a lack of communication from the administration on how the new teacher salary schedules will work. The minimal communication in tandem with misleading charts and a complicated system to begin with has lead us to where we are now.
I think we made a difference here. Thank you DeKalb Employees for hanging in there! Get Schooled – DeKalb school chief: Teacher raise calculations flawed. We’re starting over.
“We need to recalculate the step process for everybody,” said Green. “We need to go in and correct the whole thing. We found some flaws in the algorithm. There is going to be a revaluation with an aim to put in steps that recognize their experience.”
Green said the district will hire an outside firm to conduct the analysis. And he concurred with what critics have long said about human resources in DeKalb Schools. The department could use major change.
Years of Experience Calculations
Dekalb Schools and all public school districts evaluate teaching experience in accordance with the Georgia Department of Education Experience Rule 160-5-2-.05. Where that places you on the Teacher Salary Schedule seems to be one of the big questions.
Teacher Salary Schedules
DeKalb County Schools
Gwinnett County Schools
Cobb County Schools
Clayton County Schools
Fulton County Schools
Atlanta Public Schools
DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton, Fulton and Cobb salary schedules seem to support having the same salary for the first few years. However, Cobb says “If an employee has satisfactorily completed 1, 2 or 3 years of verified experience in the State of Georgia, the employee will be placed on step 4.” APS salary schedule indicates that teacher salaries step up significantly every year from the get go.
How Did We Get From This To That?
I have submitted a number of questions regarding the new salary schedules. Hopefully the answer to this particular question will shed a light on many of our issues.
CC: Dr. Michael Erwin
From: Stan Jester
Dr. Gregory,
Can you explain how we got from the comparison salary schedule the board approved to the new posted salary schedule? I have included an image to demonstrate what I see as a discrepancy between what the board passed and what is posted.
.
Response From Dr. Gregory
From: Bernice Gregory, Chief HCM Officer
Question – Can you explain how we got from the comparison salary schedule the board approved to the new posted salary schedule?
Can you please tell me where the teacher schedule you have listed is posted, as I have not seen that scale nor approved it to be posted? We used the board approved scale, only, to place teachers on the step structure.
Question – Did we give teachers the new salary schedules and tell them what step they are on?
Teachers were told what step they were on in the pay plan they received. A copy of the board approved teacher pay plan should have been sent with the pay plan.
Question – Did each teacher get an individual pay plan?
Yes, pay plans started being emailed to employees yesterday.
Question – Have the new salary schedules been posted online?
They will be posted on our website, under the compensation tab.
Question – Do we have any documentation on how to calculate what step a teacher is on? I would like to know how to accurately and consistently determine what step any given teacher is on.
Teachers were placed on the current step structure according to the pay and experience they were already receiving for the years they currently are being compensated. For instance, a teacher with a Masters degree and 9 years of experience was previously paid 51,939.02. The new pay would now be $56,787, as we placed them on the scale at the next level, near their salary. The pay increase is 4,847.98, which aligns with the 1.3 percent increase, for step placement. The total raise that the teachers received this year was the 2.5 percent COLA and the 1.3 step increase, which was a total of 3.8 percent for the year. The teachers didn’t loose any experience or years of service with the current method of placing them on the scale. We followed the state salary guidelines to place them on the current scale. Next year, they would move up to the next step on the scale.
Most of the teachers thought that they would be paid for the 9 years that they didn’t get a step, but that would be impossible to do with the budget that we had.
.
Message from Deborah Jones, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators
I have received many calls, emails, and text messages about the raise/step increase purported to be a part of this pay period. I’ve spoken with Dr Green, Dr Gregory, and Dr Erwin. The explanations given to me from the district leave me disappointed. I, too, was under the impression that employees would be paid step for step and year for year. Dr Green and Dr Gregory said, “that wasn’t ever the case.”
While conversing with Board Chair, Dr. Michael Irwin, he asked that the employees give the district until February 15, 2019 to work out the logistics of this plan. I understand we’ve waited since January 15th, however; we have to work within the parameters that we have. I would suggest we give Dr Erwin this time to work with the district to work this out. At the same time, I would urge all employees to notify the BOE members with your concerns. Any changes or clarification will require a majority of BOE members. The Board has an obligation to make sure the district moves in the direction they approved, as they were the ones to who approved the step increases initially.
We will continue to work with the district to make this right.
Deborah Jones, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators
.
Documents Passed By DeKalb Schools Board in January 2019
FY 2019 Teacher Salary Comparisons
Salary Schedule All Staff
FY 2019 Counselor Salary Comparisons
Related Posts
Compensation & Classification Salary Adjustments
January 15, 2019 – From the Sharepoint Portal (Word for Word): DeKalb County School District (DCSD) has completed its most recent Compensation & Class Study, mandated by Board of Education Policy GCA.
Update On Phase 2 Salary Steps for All Staff
January 10, 2019 – On Monday, the DeKalb Schools Board approved the Salary Steps for All Staff – Phase 2-2a. Most employees will get a competitive raise and everybody will start stepping again. There are a few hurdles, however, with implementing said raises in a timely fashion.
2019 Salary Schedules And Comparison
December 29, 2018 – DeKalb Schools will implement a new salary schedule starting January 1. It will be discussed and voted on by the board on January 7th in time for January 15th checks. Here are the new teacher and counselor salary schedules and how they compare to the other Metro Atlanta school districts.
New Step Structures for DeKalb Teachers
December 24, 2018 – In June, DeKalb Schools board approved the plan for DeKalb teachers to get a 2.5% raise and start stepping. The administration has neglected to communicate with the teachers the Phase II raise they are supposed to receive in January. There are a number of open questions. Here is what we know.
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Stan,
I want to give a specific example.
I am in my 6th year of teaching. I am paid at step 5 because that is how many years of teaching I have completed at the start of this year. I hold a masters degree & was supposed to make $51,823 this year. The new pay schedule that was approved indicated I would now make $55,767. However, I was just sent an email from Human Resources and they’re now saying I’ll be paid $53,727.
This is the exact amount of people on step 3 with a masters. I need an explanation.
My husband is an attorney and I will be running all of this by him. I will NOT be downgraded steps. The communication efforts of this district are negligent, unethical & inexcusable. The employees of this district neeed to fight this immediately. This will be my last year in this district and as a top contributor at my school there will be a significant impact. I will be taking 2 other top teachers with me to APS. Shame on you DeKalb. You’ve wasted the talent and commitment of your most precious resource – good teachers. It is totally inexcusable the manner in which this school system is run. The state needs to be aware of it and overhaul leadership again. On Wednesday, I am not reporting to my school. I am going to go down to the office in person to demand answers.
Region 1 Teacher — Our salary is prorated from January 1st. Simply put, if my salary at the beginning of the year was 50k and then according to the new plan the schedule had me at 55k, I would receive 25k for the first half and 27.5k for the second half as it is beginning on January first for a total of 52.5k for the year. We are not being compensated with the new salary schedule for the first half of the year therefore our current yearly rate is 50% from the old schedule and 50% from the recently approved schedule. Hopefully this clears up any confusion! 🙂
Stan,
I think you are citing a rule that doesn’t apply to our strategic waiver district.
Please confirm that the district must follow this rule.
Stan, I anxiously await their reply to your question. I am all but convinced this matter will be the final straw for me with Dekalb. 16 years with the county, and I am tired of the lack of transparency, yet again. Teacher pay scale/salary should not be a behind closed doors then quickly slap it up on the website with NO explanation kind of thing.
Surely the administration saw the scale the board was presented at the board meeting. Surely they noticed those figures were, as I have been told by Human Capital, “too high.” Surely they could have said something MUCH sooner before the Board documents had a chance to be spread around the entire county raising the hopes of all the staff. But they sat silently, all along knowing it would never happen. Shame on them!
Waivers – While the school district is a strategic waiver district, all codes and laws are not waived. In any case, DeKalb Schools already pays over the state minimum. I don’t know what rule or law they would be getting a waiver for if they had one.
I understand that. That is not what is happening. I wish I could attach images here. At the top of the pay schedule sent, it lists my old annual salary and the new annual salary to be paid under the “increase”. The new annual salary is $2k less than step 5 would be. The district is putting us all on state salary steps. State salary step 5 is “actual experience years” step 3. I will NOT lose two years of teaching experience.
None of the metro counties compensate according to state salary schedule. ALL metro counties always pay well above the state schedule. This is ridiculous!
I am glad we know this now because there are SO many job fairs coming up in districts that are run by professionals! I will let my principal know why I am looking for a job. Employees need to get out now and have some self respect. Do not let this district treat you like this! DeKalb is so dishonest and looking to screw us over at every turn! I get offers all the time from other districts – I’m done!
Fellow Teacher,
There were NO pay jumps that went from 50K-55K on the new scale. Please make sure you are looking at the scale Stan posted above, NOT the green/red/yellow scale. That colorful scale is what the Board voted on, it is not what the county implemented.
Region 1 Teacher,
Are you saying that the step they are moving you to makes less than the step you were just on? You can email stanjester@gmail.com any images you would like me to insert into your comments.
I think there’s a lot to learn about how all of this went down. I’ve got a few responses to some of the posts I’ve seen over the past few days.
Legal recourse is an interesting move. I’m concerned that the language the county has used (or lack-thereof) could keep them out of trouble, especially since Dr. Gregory keeps repeating the same language about how steps will be determined based on years experience. That is not the complaint, I think we all know how to calculate years experience. We’ve been asking how to determine what step we’ll be on because there were 2 different columns for experience. Where the confusion has been is how we get from using the actual experience column to determine our pay, which I think most of us were using, to using the state exp column which has dropped most of our pay significantly from what we thought we’d be getting. Because of the lack of clear explanation from the county, we were all in the dark about what column they were using to determine our pay and waited cautiously over the past few weeks to find out, and that notice never came (until yesterday for some). For weeks or maybe even months depending on how long you’ve been watching this unfold, we thought one thing, the county used another.
My guess is more teachers aren’t outraged because they’re not following this blog like we are. All many of them know is that their pay is going up, even a little bit, which they might support. However many of them don’t know that we went from maybe having an $8k raise, to a $5k raise, and now a $1k raise. The regression from where we started last summer to now is terribly concerning and frustrating for those of us expecting to FINALLY receive a significant bump in our salaries. Mr. Jester has put this our there for us to see from the beginning, and I for one have been enthusiastic about what might finally be coming our way, only to find out that our once sizable raise has been depreciated to a fraction of its former self.
Stan, I’m thankful for this snow day so I can work on my resume and start networking. Actions speak louder than words. This whole process is absurd and communicates to us that the county could care less about their teachers. All they care about are food truck Fridays. I hope you’re prepared for this mass exodus that is about to take place.
Fellow Teacher, that is not the case. They are downgrading everyone’s steps and taking away years of experience.
It’s very obvious that Dr. Green does not value the teachers in this county. The board passed the new salary structure and those documents were released to the public. Teachers made plans based on those numbers that were released, only for Dr. Green to go in at the last minute and bamboozle everyone. This is the most pathetic showing of leadership I have ever witnessed. Then, to add insult to injury, he hasn’t released a statement on why the board approved step structure was changed at the last minute. Of course, he doesn’t care because he sits in an office all day while making a salary that ensures he’s not living paycheck to paycheck. That was a sense of peace he COULD have offered to his teachers, but he chose to slap us in the face instead. Well, Dr. Green, if you want to pay me a mediocre salary-expect mediocre work. NO MORE staying 4-5 hours after my contract day has ended to plan for lessons, events, etc., NO MORE coming in early to prepare for the day and get work done, NO MORE coming up to the school to work on weekends, NO MORE staying late for special events, NO MORE meetings with parents on my free time because they can’t make it to the scheduled parent-teacher conferences, NO MORE spending my own money buying supplies, food, etc. for my classroom. I’m tired of teachers being taken advantage of and being disrespected, and I’m taking a stand.
Stan,
If the board voted on the colorful comparison scale, isn’t that what must be implemented? How did we go from the colorful scale to the newly posted salary schedule?
WowJustWow … you hit the nail on the head.
Stan –
No, the new placement pays me marginally more. I got a $1k raise instead of $4k that I should have been paid on the correct step for actual years of teaching experience. My complaint is they’re paying me on a state salary step which is equal to a step 3 of actual teaching experience.
Can you encourage them to pay on a correct step placement? (ie actual years of experience as we have ALWAYS been paid on)? You will have outrage if you’re essentially taking away years of experience from teacher to reduce the “raise.” If this is final… do they really think teachers are this stupid?! Who would accept this?
After 10 years in DeKalb, I truly feel like I am Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. I am thinking that the Wizard is going to give me what I need, but I come to find out he is a fake and a phony. That is how I feel about how the drama of this step increase has played out. I am Dorothy and DeKalb is the Wizard of Oz. It is all show and no business.
Region 1, OK. From my perspective, the label of the step doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is how much you will get paid. I expect teachers will go somewhere else if they can make more money in another school district.
Stan,
It is easy to sit back and just comment on all theses complaints and not take action. Considering they defaulted to a non board approved pay schedule that would make it non contractual and illegal. All fund spending must be rubber stamped by the board of education before taking affect. This is where an emergency meeting needs to be called by the Board of Education and and proper oversight of School Administration needs to reviewed. Why is there a Board of Education in place for over sight if there is no accountability by the Board. This is why we put you in this position of authority. As of now the “tail is wagging the dog.” What good is a Board of Education if the they are being told what to do from beneath and inside the organization? Who is actually in control here? Obviously not our elected officials. Here comes the days of Crawford Lewis and Board removal by the governor again.
Stan,
You are absolutely correct. Good teachers will be leaving, and there already aren’t enough teachers who are willing to work in this county. I have started looking at positions in APS, and I am using this “snow” day to update my resume. I will not be shafted and disrespected like this. We are professionals who have multiple degrees. We work for pennies compared to what we are actually worth, and all we ask is for compensation that will help keep up with the cost of living and justify these expensive degrees that we have. I want to thank YOU for keeping us informed and reaching out to people on our behalf. Your site has been a tremendous source of information and transparency. The head honchos in the district to take a lesson or two from you about clear, open communication.
DeKalbTaxPayer,
As this post indicates, I’m investigating how the administration got from the approved salary schedule comparison to the posted salary schedule. I would love to call an emergency meeting if we could find 3 other board members that cared. I’m just one of seven board members.
We just completed a procurement assessment that indicated that DeKalb Schools has no ethics or integrity when it comes to procurement. Vendors are sending central office staff on vacations and flat out cutting them checks. The central office is keeping the procurement report under wraps. At the last board meeting, not a single board member would second my motion to release the procurement audit to the public. Don’t even get me started about how we are treating Dr. OD at HMES.
The board chair has asked the superintendent to expedite a response to my posted questions. I’ll pass along the answers when I get them.
It seems to me like the powers that be are really not here for the kids. Has anyone compared the latest CCRPI scores from district to district? If not, check here: http://ccrpi.gadoe.org/2018/Views/Shared/_Layout.html. If you do your data analysis, you will see that DeKalb is below APS and Clayton in some areas. This is driving real estate prices down. Why would someone want to invest in DeKalb?
If I were in control, I would try my best to make sure that I could recruit and maintain the top teachers to get my scores up. The salary that was approved by the board on 1/7/19 would have been competitive. The crap that was posted online yesterday is going to keep DEKALB at the bottom and decrease real estate prices because not many people will be checking for DEKALB if they are at the bottom.
I’m done! Dr. Green and the entire Deklab County central office can kiss my whole ass! I’m sorry for the language but I’m completely over it! They have shown us that they have no respect for, or value the teachers in this district. I’m tired of living check to check, because the cost of living in the metro area is continuing to rise however, my salary doesn’t. Too many teachers in this district have stuck by this continually failing system with the hopes that it would get better, and it hasn’t! It’s gotten worse every year. They want us to give our blood, sweat and tears, to the district and the children but refuse to compensate us accordingly. I have friends who work in other counties who are shocked and appalled when I tell them all of the tasks and duties that we have to do. When I tell them what my salary is they are in shock. If Dekalb wants to keep their veteran amazing teachers you need to pay us. We are taking our experience and the little bit of passion that we have left and giving it to districts that actually value their teachers. It’s clear that Dr. Green and his Board don’t care about the teachers, staff or students unless you work in the county office. This has led to me being even more motivated to plan my exit strategy!
Now this is has really gotten juicy. Nice catch, Stan, on the T-4 numbers. The current pay schedule on the website does not match the passed Pay Comparison pdf passed by the board. I swear I looked at that pdf and it matched the Pay Comparison file when I initially clicked the link. And it still does for T-5, T-6 and T-7. But maybe I missed the T-4s. That’s a big issue. But its also the case that the numbers outlined for T-4s in the Pay Comparison pdf are substantially above the other counties. APS comparison depends on whether their numbers are in fact correct.
But it’s the T-5s that are here complaining siting specific salaries. For T-5s the Pay Comparison pdf is correct. 5 years of experience should make $53,727, which is a $2,000 bump. Depending on whether APS salary information is correct, then that is either the highest or second highest pay in the metro area (and state) for a T-5 with 5 years of experience. The other counties appear to be correct to me.
For those looking to improve their salary, it seems like you need to go to the APS job fair. I find it weird that teachers will post that they made more in Gwinnett, but I don’t see how based on the public information. I hope people can be charitable with their intepretation of the events. I believe there is a real desire to improve teacher pay with this effort. It doesn’t strike me as odd that the improvement is only $2,000 and not $5,000.
Q&A Between Jester & Gregory (1/29/2019)
sent via email
Question – Can you explain how we got from the comparison salary schedule the board approved to the new posted salary schedule?
Can you please tell me where the teacher schedule you have listed is posted, as I have not seen that scale nor approved it to be posted? We used the board approved scale, only, to place teachers on the step structure.
Question – Did we give teachers the new salary schedules and tell them what step they are on?
Teachers were told what step they were on in the pay plan they received. A copy of the board approved teacher pay plan should have been sent with the pay plan.
Question – Did each teacher get an individual pay plan?
Yes, pay plans started being emailed to employees yesterday.
Question – Have the new salary schedules been posted online?
They will be posted on our website, under the compensation tab.
Question – Do we have any documentation on how to calculate what step a teacher is on? I would like to know how to accurately and consistently determine what step any given teacher is on.
Teachers were placed on the current step structure according to the pay and experience they were already receiving for the years they currently are being compensated. For instance, a teacher with a Masters degree and 9 years of experience was previously paid 51,939.02. The new pay would now be $56,787, as we placed them on the scale at the next level, near their salary. The pay increase is 4,847.98, which aligns with the 1.3 percent increase, for step placement. The total raise that the teachers received this year was the 2.5 percent COLA and the 1.3 step increase, which was a total of 3.8 percent for the year. The teachers didn’t loose any experience or years of service with the current method of placing them on the scale. We followed the state salary guidelines to place them on the current scale. Next year, they would move up to the next step on the scale.
Most of the teachers thought that they would be paid for the 9 years that they didn’t get a step, but that would be impossible to do with the budget that we had.
Stan,
With all due respect Stan, the label of the step DOES matter. You cannot pay teachers on a years of experience scale for many many years and all of the sudden change the scale without any notice and attempt to disguise it as a raise. The state salary step scale is a irrelevant, we have never been paid on that scale and should not be paid on that scale. This is a major metro district with a 1B budget. We are not paying our teachers like we live in Podunk Georgia. If we paid teachers on that state scale we could never hope to be competitive with any other major Atlanta County . Nice try Dekalb.
I talked to Dr. Gregory this morning. She said the posted salary schedule is inaccurate and will be taken down as soon as possible. She also mentioned that DeKalb Schools will do what Fulton Schools does … If an employee has a teaching certificate and has satisfactorily completed 1, 2 or 3 years of verified experience in the State of Georgia, the employee will be placed on step 4. They are feverishly working on getting communications out.
Lies lies and more lies. I have the email and I had to reach out to find out what step I was on. And the new pay scale says approved 1/1/19.
It’s obvious that she is clueless and at this point has no idea what’s going on.
What about the therapist? Depending on how they calculate the steps I’m making no more or maybe even less than a teacher with my years experience. Did we get a selerate pay scale as planned? If so is it posted anywhere?
Thanks
The pay plan that I received said MO8, and I have over 10 years of experience with Dekalb and in TRS. My pay plan showed $2,000 less than I was expecting based off of the data that was approved by the board. The facts are the facts. There was a bait and switch, and no one seems to want to own up to it. People talk about the American Government being bad, but local government can be way worse. We are the people. We are the republic. We need to take a stand. Why do they think educators are dumb? I have four degrees. I can read, comprehend, and analyze very well. I know when I am being bamboozled.
The new salary information that was sent this afternoon to me indicates that what you said is not so. After completing 1 year and having a teaching certificate (so a second year T5) the salary has been increased from $50,666.46 all the way to $50,667.00. I can’t make heads or tails of this nonsense.
Yet another example of a high paid none contributor to the education of students. And the beat goes on….
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/dekalb-schools-chief-demoted-after-health-challenges-gone/dShRJ5us9QprdNx4bGHC5L/
They’ve got me on a step that is 5 years under my current year. (Thank you, Stan, for posting a PDF will all of the salary schedules by grade. Nothing like that can be found of the DCSD website.) When I became an AP, I was making $0.10 (that’s 10 cents) more that my teacher pay while being asked to work longer hours and more days. I thought I was finally going to receive some compensation for all the nonsense they ask us to do/endure – from the long, rambling way they ask us to answer the phones (saying “It’s all about the children” means nothing when your actions prove otherwise, DeKalb) to the ice cold offices and classrooms at our aging schools (that they give lip service to correcting, but in reality have staff and students wearing hats/gloves/scarves/coats while in the building) to post-tests that are so non-sensical and utterly unconnected to the units of study that they asked teachers to place them in the “pre-assessment” category of their grade books which is weighted at 0%. 0%! Really, you demand that post-tests are given, but you place so little faith in what your academic district leaders have created (or paid others to create) that you place them in the 0% category? Shame on me for being surprised at this latest salary tomfoolerly.
So my Pay Plan says EO416 I am guessing that means I am on Step 16. The T4 pay has the greatest discrepancy from the Board approved scale and the county released scale. It’s a HUGE difference.
So, based on what Dr. Gregory said, I’m guessing my pay plan is also incorrect? My pay plan is based off the inaccurate salary schedule.
So I’m bringing home$25 more than I was….what a waste of excitement…….
What we all need to do is email human capital relentlessly and show up in person. It’s harder to lie to our faces. Stan is the only one in Dekalb leadership that is able to bring some accountability… show up people!
Pissed off teacher – I agree with EVERYTHING you are saying. We need to organize. The time is now. We are professionals and this is unacceptable.
I see the compensation plan has been taken down- how laughable! What a sorry Human Resources department we have. Post a complete teacher compensation plan! Your teachers will analyze it I can promise you that.
I hope are pay is not messed up Wednesday/Thursday with all of this nonsense. smh
FYI – I emailed Marlon Walker with the AJC (Marlon.Walker@coxinc.com) to ask if anyone was paying attention and going to hold Dekalb County accountable for this process. If you are a part of the system and willing to speak up – this is another way to let your voice be heard.
If teachers with 1, 2, or 3 years experience are placed on step 4, then why are they sending out emails today with salaries that don’t reflect that? This really shouldn’t be too difficult a thing to get right, but here we are.
To all looking for something to do about this other than commiserate on this blog,
Attend Monday’s board meeting. Tell the superintendent and the board why this is wrong and what you think they should do.
Replace the subject of salary schedule with graduation, post-test, Verge, hiring, scheduling, etc… Parents, be afraid.
Demand that the school district, GOSA, and the GADOE publish all evaluations and plans for the school district’s waiver. Many Dekalb schools didn’t meet their goals. Administrators get more resources in the form of assistants, coaches, specialists, etc… and more pay and more professional learning trips; teachers get more work, little compensation, and no say. Students get what?
Talk to legislators. The APS chief was talking about today’s nosnow closure this morning. She said that 8o percent of APS’s staff doesn’t live in the city. Decatur cited this same reason last year. Ditto for Marietta. Many school district employees in the metro area work in districts for which they can’t elect the board. Seems like the board process or the laws have to change.
Just fyi, Mr. Jester, my pay plan has NO indication of my step placement, contrary to Dr. Gregory’s response to you that is posted above. With no available pay scale and no information regarding step placement, I am left to believe the powers that be simply don’t want teachers to be able to present an argument that we are not being paid correctly. By correctly, I mean according to the information in the red/green/yellow chart that you have shared, and that the Board approved.
If anyone besides Stan can address this mess, it will be Walker, a very good man who can be trusted. Thank you both, Stan and Marlon.
I think every teacher reading this blog should make it their duty to spread the word. We should share links to this site and help those who are not informed! If HCM wants to get a handle of this situation the time is NOW. The news of this fiasco is slowly but surely spreading and more and more educators are speaking about drastic actions. Once lawyers, investigations and news agencies start getting involved it will be too late for some. I for one, will do my part! Teachers, stand up for your profession and demand the pay you deserve!
Teachers, you can all go online to https://www.trsga.com/account-login/ if you have been teaching in Georgia for your whole career. It will tell you how many years you have that are being accounted for in regard to retirement in Georgia. Also, you can see what everyone makes online at http://www.open.georgia.gov/openga/sta. Now, you can filter that information just like you do any other spreadsheet. Some teachers will show to make more because they may be getting supplements like coaching, department chair, professional learning liasons, chorus, band, CTAE perkins etc., but it shows everyone’s salary. You will be able to make great comparisons if you know how to follow the money and the names behind the money if you know what I mean. I hate that many people in Dekalb (that sit behind closed doors) want to keep us dumb and ignorant while they manipulate data and play games with our money. It is is foolery! This step increase fiasco is just the straw that broke the camels back in my opinion.
Stan,
I understand what Dr. Gregory is saying; however, what they gave me on the compensation notification is incorrect according to Dr. Gregory’s explanation . How can this be corrected?
Again the media needs to be involved to shed light on the pathetic value that DeKalb places on their teachers, I’m sure there are loop holes that will benefit them if these goes to court, but having this entire ordeal blasted in the media will help stop other teachers for making the same mistake we have , which is serving DeKalb County. This needs to be known before upcoming job fairs take place. What can we do to get this to the media?
We also need to help one another find out the benefits of other counties. Planning a mass exodus takes research and we need to fully understand the benefits of other counties.
The HCM department is in disarray. For right now, we’ll have to boil everything down to the basics. You should now know how much you’ll be paid each pay period moving forward. For right now, it is important that you are not scheduled to be paid less now than you were getting paid in December. We’ll have to make sense of everything else as it comes out.
Stan do you have a pay scale for the therapist? Are they on a different scale now?
School Therapist, I don’t have any other information than what the board passed earlier this month.
Documents Passed By DeKalb Schools Board in January 2019
FY 2019 Teacher Salary Comparisons
Salary Schedule All Staff
FY 2019 Counselor Salary Comparisons
What has to be shown is that the BOE approved a plan that puts us on the state salary scale for years of service which it sounds like Stan did not realize. If the BOE did not think that is what they were agreeing to, but rather that they were agreeing to the colored document that shows how Dekalb is number 1 at most positions then everyone should increase two steps from what is shown. The colored documents on the left most column said actual experience and that’s the key. Dr. Gregory commented on this blog that a 12’year teacher would be on step 12. Even she intended for actual experience to matter.
What needs to be changed is that 0 1 2 all making the same money. The colored documents on the left most column said actual experience. Nobody thought that was happening. That was a late edition bait and switch as far as I can tell and they can’t justify it. I realized quickly that there as not enough money to go around to give everyone the raises they had promised and this seems like how they made it up. That is how they kept us without raises for all these years. They would just keep adding another step to the beginning at the same pay. For some people to get a 20 dollar raise or even less is criminal. They sold this as a great thing for dekalb and they botched it hard.
Dr Gregory runs an HR department that has always sucked and seems to suck worse now that she is the head. This lady just does not understand – first she floats out a salary schedule that promises the world and then she back tracks it all the way to nothing. No teacher is surprised that the central office mucked this up. But they need to make it right.
I’m sorry but they have had almost a month to communicate to staff and haven’t done so.
When will we know what is going on? It is time to fire those that cannot do their jobs in HCM. I could run circles around these people. Get them out!
How was the posted salary not correct? Are we going to get a change in the payment scale sent? Or is that it?
I’m so confused.
It sounds like they’re going to make changes?
First, the posted file was just incorrect for T-4s. That’s good to know and would be an issue.
“The teachers didn’t loose any experience or years of service with the current method of placing them on the scale. We followed the state salary guidelines to place them on the current scale. Next year, they would move up to the next step on the scale. ”
State guidelines indicate that 5 years of experience is the third step (ie 3rd row in per Pay Comparison file). This explains the experienced teachers saying they lost 2 years or that they are short $2,000 from what they expected, which is the rough amount of 2 steps.
“She also mentioned that DeKalb Schools will do what Fulton Schools does … If an employee has a teaching certificate and has satisfactorily completed 1, 2 or 3 years of verified experience in the State of Georgia, the employee will be placed on step 4. ”
This is a go forward policy, not implemented historically. Whether you have 1, 2 or 3 years of completed experience, next year you will be on DeKalb Step 4 per the DeKalb Pay Schedule. First, it’s important to understand what Step system is being referred to. Dr. Gregory is referring to the DeKalb Pay Schedule, not the pay comparison file. So everyone will move up next year. Everyone steps, even teachers with 1 or 2 years of completed experience.
The statement about being on step 12 based on 12 years of experience seems to be at least slightly inaccurate. Going forward this will be true for new teachers starting with Dekalb. DeKalb Step 1 reflects 0 experience, then after 1 year you step, and step = experience. Stan says Fulton does it this way and this explains why Gwinnett says on their pay schedule that steps will sometimes be less than experience, but not always. Under my previous interpretation of their pay schedule, your step would always be lower than your step.
Slowly peeling the onion.
thanks, We are not listed ANYWHERE…..Its frustrating.
Stan are you saying the pay plan that was sent out today to some teachers were inaccurate and will be updated and teachers with 1.2, 3 verified years of experience will be placed on step 4? . I received a pay plan with in increase of two cents, literally, I was shocked to see they would even take the time to send that out.
Some teachers are coming to me with documents showing they are getting a decrease in salary … that is obviously inaccurate. An increase of a couple cents doesn’t seem accurate either. Dr. Gregory sent me that email today saying “The total raise that the teachers received this year was the 2.5 percent COLA and the 1.3 step increase, which was a total of 3.8 percent for the year.” So, it looks like they were shooting for a 1.3% increase for the teachers in Phase II (Jan 2019)
Phase 1- July 1, 2018-COMPLETE
2.5% across the board pay raise for Teachers, Counselors, Social Workers, Psychologists, Librarians/Media Specialists, OT (Occupational Therapists)/PT (Physical Therapists) /ST (Speech Therapists).
This also explains why a teacher moving from Gwinnett to DeKalb would lose pay. They stepped each year in Gwinnett. When they moved they got bumped back to the state step scale. Stepping in years 1, 2 or 3 is an incentive to keep you from leaving the system.
If all the systems revert to the state step schedule for new hires, then the Pay Comparison pdf is what you would conceivable be able to get. If Gwinnett or Fulton will give you full credit, then it’s not. Still curious about what step APS would put you on.
I’m not a teacher but this all sounds pretty lousy and complicated to me.
This is particularly puzzling:
Dr. Gregory says that “TEACHERS WERE PLACED ON THE CURRENT STEP STRUCTURE ACCORDING TO THE PAY and experience THEY WERE ALREADY RECEIVING for the years they currently are being compensated.”
Why do they consider the current rate of pay when deciding what step a teacher should be on? I thought the new step and salary was determined based on years of experience, not whether anyone was overpaid or underpaid in the past.
Is this confusion because some teachers, maybe those who are well-connected, were already being paid more than they should have and in order not to decrease their salary they had to be put on higher steps?
This mess is just so sad. I just don’t understand how this rollout has gotten so messed up. It reflects very badly on HCM and Communications, and I don’t think you can leave Dr. Green out of this either. I’m hoping that he is actively investigating this and will be honest with the teachers and the public.
“For instance, a teacher with a Masters degree and 9 years of experience was previously paid 51,939.02. The new pay would now be $56,787, as we placed them on the scale at the next level, near their salary. ”
Note that with 9 years of experience, the teachers on this site have been going to the Pay Comparison pdf and looking up the value as $59,847.
Shacklesoff, I have 27 years of experience, and my emailed form I got yesterday said I was M08, so I’m not sure what that even means! This whole thing is nuts. Dr. Gregory has no clue what is happening and I can’t even believe she is posting on here saying things like teachers are being told what step they are on when that is NOT THE CASE! I completely agree with the person who said that no one should do a single EXTRA thing (that we all know teachers do). Work your 8 hours and leave. Don’t take anything home (we aren’t paid for that). Don’t go back for programs or parent things that are not specifically stated in our contracts. Let’s see how they can run the county then.
This is what the school district says on its human capital management /misnomer page. Try to laugh. How many school districts are in the metro Atlanta area? Six were included in the comparison.
“DeKalb County School District offers competitive salaries — one of the top five highest starting teacher salaries in the metro Atlanta area. DeKalb County Schools also provides credit for prior verifiable teaching experience that meets state requirements, and a comprehensive medical insurance plan.
We invite you to share in the rich, personal satisfaction of belonging to a community of educators who are dedicated to helping children learn and live better lives. Our primary goal is to recruit, develop, and retain exceptional employees who are committed to promoting educational excellence.”
My credit union is showing my pending payment and it definitely doesn’t include the back-pay we were promised. I thought we’d see our back-pay right away, why in the world would I expect that?! And the disappointments continue…
With the “raise” and back pay combined I’m expecting less than $50 more on this paycheck after taxes.
How much did your gross income increase?
My pay plan says my base pay is increasing by $19.02 per pay period. I’m a T4 with 14 years experience. This is my 15th year teaching, all with Dekalb, unfortunately.
My real issue is that what is being implemented is not what was presented to and approved by the Board. The column of DeKalb salaries with all the nice greens and the number 1 rankings among the Big 6 is completely bogus when teachers are not paid on the step for their actual years of experience. Placing teachers using the state step negates the entire chart. However, the color chart is what the board approved. Is it legal for HCM
to implement a pay scale that has no consistent correlation to what the Board passed?
$1,125.93. $37.13 a paycheck before taxes.
News Flash – BTW: DeKalb County Schools will be in session tomorrow, Wednesday, January 30, 2019. We will have normal operating hours for the day.
This just sucks! What do we need to do to make it right? Remove move the entire cabinet? Many of us have been very loyal to DeKalb, we took pride in our work. We stood by them through the difficult times. None of us were in it for applause. But it seems a little one-sided when you have the people who do the most work — the ones who directly impact student achievement and social-emotional growth- get very little for their hard work and dedication. I cannot understand why the people who work in the school house get paid substantially less than the people who do not. I’m talking custodians, cafeteria workers, paras, teachers, APs, counselors, psychologists, principals, social workers, etc. We all contribute to the health and well-being of our students. They know us by name. They come to us for mentoring. What contributions do the District leaders make in the lives of the students? Parents do not know them, students do not know them, hell, many of us do not know them. Try calling any one of them to get an answer to a question. They cannot be reached– and they do not return calls despite what their outgoing VM says. What do we need to do to get competent, caring, fair people into those positions? Someone please let me know.
Stan Jester,
I wanted to take a moment to speak for the classified employees of DeKalb. Many of my co-workers received the dreaded email back in December that they had maxed out of the newly created step schedule before it was even released. How is that news to start your new year? These are the same dedicated employees that stuck with DeKalb during the rough years, when the powers that be drained the budget and the reserves. During the scandalous removal of the entire BOE. The years of furlough days. We endured everything right along with our fellow educators.
I did not receive that email. Sadly and more disappointingly, I did receive my new adjusted pay…drum roll please… My pay increased a whopping budget busting $6.85 per pay period-Ta daaaaaaaa!
My kids can officially throw in an extra box of Ramen in the shopping cart.
When I received that email I cried. I am disappointed in myself for not believing in my skillset enough to venture out and earn my worth. I am disappointed in the BOE that should represent all of DeKalb, as I am a resident in this hot mess County. I am just stunned. The energy that was wasted to send me that moral raping email could have been used elsewhere.
I will be at the next board meeting. I will stay informed of the board members and their re-election status. This is not my BOE. They do not have my children or my best interest at heart. My children will be in classrooms with subs next year based on the responses I am reading.
Just in case you are wondering let me give you a small glimpse of my daily job duties and responsibilities:
Security-I am the front line of defense for my entire school, I sit in the front office alone.
School Call Center-I answer 100% of all phone calls received in my building and dispatch them to their appropriate office or personnel.
Secretary to the Principal
Secretary to the API
Secretary to the PTC (our version of PTA) when needed
Social Worker to my students in need
Receptionist & Greeter
Event Planner & Organizer
School Registrar
Records Officer
Paralegal
Lunch Box & Projects Distributor
I am sure I could go on and on….
Long story short enough is enough. When someone or an entity shows you who they are BELIEVE them!
#PoorlyClassified
This is reminding me of HCM under Crawford Lewis.
My pending deposit is short and I’m pissed. Very pissed. Did they lie about the back-pay to January 1st? That means I should at least see a $40 increase. I’m making calls in morning to any hotline I can to start immediate ivestagations. Something is very wrong, I make just enough to cover living expenses and don’t have time for the back and forth.
I called HCM about the back pay, they said that the back-pay was calculated for this month and then equally divided amongst our remaining checks until the end of the school year.
Wow, back pay is divided among our remaining checks. You can’t give me my 19 dollars all at once? DeKalb is pathetic.
Somebody’s getting paid!
https://simbli.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=4054&AID=1007748&MID=68419
WOW what is $.48 a pay period. That is a BIG SLAP in the face for someone who has 31 years of teaching. I subtracted my last base pay with the one that will be in affect on 31 January 2019 and the difference… is a freaking $.48. And the district expects me to do all this stuff … don’t think so for sure now .
This is sad and where is my money from FIDELITY ? We are truly being robbed.
With 19 years of service, I’ll see an extra $35 before taxes each pay period – WOW! What a way to value your front-line employees while heaping on tons of extra work on a monthly basis, (i.e. the ridiculous Ignite U assignments) and other nonsense the Palace commands of us.
Dear Stan
Thank you for trying to get the answers to all of our many questions. Thank you for being willing to ask the hard question. It is unfair to you and to every employee that we have to try to find out information like this. It is so hard to believe that the calculations to figure the pay for each employee takes this much work.
Someone posted the link to the Executive Pay Recommendations. It is amazing to me that people who have no direct day-to-day contact with the school can be paid so much, without the input of the people that they are supposed to serve. In most cases, you cannot even speak to those “highly paid professionals.” Our Region Superintendent only comes to our schools for luncheons and special events.
On days like today our head custodian will go to our school to check the building. Our principal will have a million reasons why he cannot go to do it himself. But as the classified post mentioned those people have reached their maximum.
Also, why are the vendor payments such a secret. If budget will only allow a certain amount of pay increases, shouldn’t the school system be concerned about all levels of spending? If we are doing the right thing, why shouldn’t this information be clearly available. It seems that every BOE member would want to know that. Again, it is hard to understand why this information is not readily available. If all things are being done in the proper way, the school system should be glad to share the information.
Look at the great stories about our HR department. These are just two of many stories that speak to the dysfunction of DeKalb.
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/dekalb-schools-chief-demoted-after-health-challenges-gone/dShRJ5us9QprdNx4bGHC5L/
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/did-dekalb-schools-fire-teacher-who-lied-resume-and-walked-off-job/Pbp0HmXAuF7HDxTy4lJChO/
This is my list of questions that the administration needs to address. It sounds like Dekalb paid good money for a consulting firm to put together a pay comparison. They definitely need to be able to address the extent to which this pay comparison is accurate or not.
1) Confirm T-4 schedule is getting properly implemented.
2) Determine the extent to which Pay Comparison is not accurate:
a) What is APS policy on Steps/Experience?
b) What is other counties policy regarding step placement for experienced hires?
c) To what extent is Dekalb’s policy on step placement. Dr. Gregory’s example does not place the T-5 with 9 years of experience on the state step schedule. If they were on the state step then they would have made $57,807 associated with the 8th row of the plan passed by the board. She placed them on the 7th row. This is disconcerting as teachers are posting that they are 4 or 5 years below the step they should be on, whereas the state step should at most put them 2 years back.
Once Dekalb releases an accurate pay comparison, then we can start making assessments. But right now, its hard to say what all these greens actually mean. I don’t think its reasonable to expect Dekalb to make up for 10 years of neglect in one year. Hopefully, we can make good progress this year and the increased support from the state going forward will allow for continued increases in the next couple of years.
First let me thank you, Mr. Jester, for working to keep us in the loop. I just want to add another wrinkle to the problem. I taught in Cobb County for 8 years, and we moved a step each year. When I left Cobb, I was being paid on the state experience step of 10. As a result, I took a hefty pay cut when accepting a position in DeKalb, even though I did not know that I would lose those two steps when I accepted the position. Although I accepted a position in DeKalb in April and was officially hired in June before the school year began, HCM did not communicate my new pay to me until the end of pre-planning.
While I don’t want to seem ungrateful for a pay raise, if I look at the Cobb County scale that you posted, I am still making approximately $4,000 a year less. Each year that I stay in DeKalb, that lost income incrementally increases.
Communication from HCM is critical to help employees understand our pay, and their failure to do so will result, I believe, in more teachers leaving than ever before. When you add this to the fact that our classrooms are freezing (or sweltering, or both through the course of the day), the demands of non-stop, worthless professional development through Verge, and our overcrowded schools which result in unproductive teacher planning time due to the lack of a place to do said planning, it is easy to see that the best teachers in the district will leave.
The moral of the story is that the majority of the powers that be publicy say one thing to appear like they care, and privately they do another. The people who do the least amount of work get paid the most, and control the people who work the most. Basically, they want us to be so tired with all of our many jobs and tasks to the point where we don’t have time to raise concern about our pay or question them. If we are not members of their ellite group of people who make over six figures, they could care less about us. This is what I have noticed for the past ten years. If I am wrong, please, please, please show me something that will prove me wrong.
And now Fulton is giving their teachers an extra 2%
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/fulton-county-schools-give-raises-800-teachers/hQQ0d8dgRWOXfkUatE1VOO/?ecmp=norfu&utm_medium=social&utm_source=norfu_fb&fbclid=IwAR3pRLFjrgrSybXKmzbq_G81XPq7yeq5UKnCamMFXak1MyLIrVbqnwS8VO4
And now Fulton is giving their teachers an extra 2%
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/fulton-county-schools-give-raises-800-teachers/hQQ0d8dgRWOXfkUatE1VOO/?ecmp=norfu&utm_medium=social&utm_source=norfu_fb&fbclid=IwAR3pRLFjrgrSybXKmzbq_G81XPq7yeq5UKnCamMFXak1MyLIrVbqnwS8VO4
I have received many calls, emails, and text messages about the raise/step increase purported to be a part of this pay period. I’ve spoken with Dr Green, Dr Gregory, and Dr Erwin. The explanations given to me from the district leave me disappointed. I, too, was under the impression that employees would be paid step for step and year for year. Dr Green and Dr Gregory said, “that wasn’t ever the case.”
While conversing with Board Chair, Dr. Michael Irwin, he asked that the employees give the district until February 15, 2019 to work out the logistics of this plan. I understand we’ve waited since January 15th, however; we have to work within the parameters that we have. I would suggest we give Dr Erwin this time to work with the district to work this out. At the same time, I would urge all employees to notify the BOE members with your concerns. Any changes or clarification will require a majority of BOE members. The Board has an obligation to make sure the district moves in the direction they approved, as they were the ones to who approved the step increases initially.
We will continue to work with the district to make this right.
Deborah Jones, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators
Stan,
Sounds like an EMERGENCY BOARD MEETING needs to be held. All of this is deplorable. Pay implemented without board approval is ILLEGAL. Teachers were NOT made aware of the step they were placed on according to Dr. Gregory. There was no inclusion of steps with new pay scale. LIES! I smell a RAT! It sounds like HR needs to be SHUT DOWN! NO communication and inaccurate information disseminated to employees. Let’s look at COMPETENCE. Thank you for your service. Backpay being divided out through the rest of the contract. Just continue to beat us up and drag us through the mud.
Where did Dr. Gregory get the increase figure of 1.3%? I do not recall that figure ever to be mentioned in all of the proposed budget, revised budget, comparison study and budget that has been washed and finally added with fabric softener. Now the raises have been through the rinse cycle. This is so SAD! We the employees of DCSD have been put through the Heavy Dry Cycle!
Stan,
Can you find out what the compensation people in human capital actually do?
I’ve looked at the staff directory for human capital “management.”
“Dr.” Gregory appears to have a manager of compensation,and at least five “specialists” in compensation. There is also a director of employment services, an office “specialist” and a few assistants who work only in matters of compensation. Others deal with certification, retirement, etc…
We also have hiring managers and even a hiring “manger” for each of our seven regions. They have assistants. I guess the regional superintendents need pay raises because there are more people on a payroll that no one can manage or compensate or communicate with.
Thanks Stan for keeping us informed. As a liberal, I’m very disappointed that you are the only board member that gives us any information. What’s wrong with the other board members? Why don’t they have blogs and work to keep us informed? This salary situation is crazy.
Mr. Jester,
My pending direct deposit shows a DECREASE in pay compared to the end of December pay period. Just saying.
Disgusted By DeKalb, That’s probably wrong. Email your HR contact. Tell them your next paycheck is going to be less than what you were making in December. You should have a number of sources of documentation to show them what you were making and are about to make. Let me know if you have any problems. –Stan
I am so glad that I finally left DCSD after 20+ years. I highly encourage everyone to check out the other counties/districts and see what else is out there. Someone asked if I would return to DCSD b/c of the supposed raise- I would be making around $2000 more than I do in APS-nope! This question is now irrelevant because, once again, DCSD can’t seem to do much right. Beyond the numerous blunders is HR, DCSD has a real issue with the people they select for leadership positions- both inside and outside of the school buildings. For those interested in moving to APS, please start making contacts now—-they like to start the hiring process early. Also, their HR department is competent.
I will. Thank you for everything you are doing to support teachers!
Someone mentioned contacting Marlon Walker at the AJC .
Stan,
Are teachers covered under the Fair Dismissal Act from getting reclassified while under contract?
Under Title 20 of our current state law, there is a provision known as the Fair Dismissal Act (FDA). Once a teacher has signed a fourth-consecutive, full-year, full-time contract by the same employer, he or she enjoys a standing commonly known as “tenure.” Acquiring tenure rights simply means that one has a right to expect continuous employment in that school system. In other words, the school system must renew the tenured teacher’s contract year after year unless good cause to non-renew can be shown in a hearing that is afforded to the teacher under the FDA.
If I’m remembering correctly, one of the requirements of that whole state ‘take over’ was that DeKalb School System had to reduce the glut of central office positions. I do seem to remember quite a few of the “central newbies” being sent back to the schoolhouse. Then rumors flew about positions being removed per state request, but then those persons simply given other newly created jobs. In other words, the central office numbers were never reduced properly.
Has anyone created a 2018-2019 spread sheet that covers both the current number of enrolled students and the central office personnel, comparing/contrasting each of the “big six” counties? I’d love to see how many students Gwinnett has enrolled along with the numbers of central office personnel.
Yep, I sure would like to see one. I have a feeling that our central office numbers are higher than they were then.
Stan,
Please refer to Dr. Gregory’s email on January 2, 2019 at 4:57pm where she stated that steps will be aligned with verified teaching experience. I am not sure why Deborah Jones with GAE is being told something different. Please verify what was voted on by the board and the expectations for salary scales for employees.
What was the point of doing a new colorful step structure if we were only going to get 1.3%? They could have just said that your step increase will be 1.3% more than what you make now, and they could have told the board will you please include a 1.3% step increase for all teachers.
Also, some people do not seem to have even gotten a 1.3% increase. Some people said that they got a raise that was less than a dollar, so how can that be 1.3% of salaries that range from $42,000 to $95,000?
Do people in human resources have to take an accounting class or any math classes? I am a teacher, but I have worked in Human Resources prior to teaching, and one of my degrees is in H.R, and I had to take accounting and finance as part of my HR. Masters Degree program. I am going to need for the powers that be to require the compensation and management people to take accounting and finance as professional development course in Verge.
Also, why do they require people in Human Capital Management to have a Leadership Certification when they obviously don’t know how to lead? Shouldn’t they be good in math first?
I have worked in Title 1 Schools my entire 16 years in DeKalb county and it has and continues to be ROUGH!! I once believed that I stayed because I believed that those children with less advantages than their more affluent peers deserved a Highly Qualified, Certified, Knowledgeable teacher with High Standards and High Expectations; I thought that the “step increase” was an indirect show of gratitude for my hard work and dedication, but NOPE. The $38 more I get for the 16 years and Ed. S degree goes toward the pencils, paper, and treats I have to constantly purchase in order to CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE I CAN TEACH. — And the county still expects for us to do more and more and more and more to pull up test scores and carve out extra time for “transition” students who never should’ve made it out of the previous TWO grades.
I will NOT sign my contract and SAVE $38 in gas and find a job in the county in which I live.
Is it me, or does it seem like “they” are trying to ruin the school system like “they” did in APS with the teacher “witch hunt” testing scandal. Does it seem like there is a secret plot to take over property closest to the belt line? Notice how the demographics of APS are changing. Dekalb is right next to Atlanta, so why not initiate a mass exodus through mass confusion? It seems like the inner city is becoming the suburbs now. There is more poverty in the suburbs and fewer resources. Pretty soon, all of us will be mad and gone while “they” restructure and raise property values. It is funny that certain people seem to be put into high positions to help the powers that be send in the floodgates of chaos so that the strong people will get mad enough to leave. Read the “Art of War,” and you will understand what I mean. This situation is just one of many examples of life imitating art. I think this confusion is by design. First, “they” get us excited by the draft in July. Then, they switch everything up midway through the year. Next, they postpone the surprise. Then they act clueless. They had over 6 months to get this script together, but they are acting like they don’t know what is going on. WE ARE NOT DUMB!
Stan,
I’m very concerned about the procurement issue. People went to jail (not so long ago) for not disclosing procurements. I hope the BOE and AJC keeps a light on this issue and pushes for full disclosure.
Thank you for your service
For those interested in procurement issue….look up Jan.10, 2019 article by AJC Marlon Walker.
8:40 Am, 1/30/19, is the salary schedule on the county website down? I can’t seem to get it to load.
Most teachers do not have any idea about these issues. You should spread the word at your schools by referencing this site at your school’s teachers lounge/e-mail. Pass the word along to as many teachers as possible!