Thanksgiving is Coming!
Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Red and gold leaves, sweaters and a chill breeze all lead to thoughts of roasted turkey, steaming stuffing and smooth pumpkin pie - but then comes the dinner conversation. You know what that means. It may start like this: "Hey Joe, you're a teacher, right?" or "Sally, let me ask you a question." And before you know it, you're on the ropes, fighting off indigestion and trying to defend the teaching profession, especially tenure and pensions. So here are some talking points you might want to keep handy:
Tenure- Tenure does not guarantee a job for life. What we call tenure is actually the right to due process. A tenured teacher is entitled to a fair hearing if she's charged with incompetence or wrongdoing.
- Teachers can be fired for insubordination, conduct unbecoming a teacher, inefficiency, incompetence, physical or mental disability, neglect of duty, failure to maintain certification or immoral character.
- Almost half of all teachers leave in their first five years.* Teaching is challenging and not for everyone.
- Tenure is not automatic. Tenure must be earned. Teachers in New York State must earn tenure over a three-year probationary period. Teachers are observed by administrators multiple times, must pass certification tests and meeting professional-development requirements.
- In addition, teachers must earn a master's degree, complete 175 hours of professional development every five years and undergo annual professional performance reviews (APPR).
- Tenure is not unique to the teaching profession. State, county and municipal workers, including police officers and firefighters, as well as many workers in the private sector, also have this type of due process right.
- Unions do not grant tenure. Administrators do.
- Good teachers need tenure. Tenure is not about protecting "bad" teachers; it's about safeguarding good teachers. It allows teachers to advocate for their students and speak out against policies that hurt education such as over-testing and program cuts. It protects academic freedom. It prevents a teacher from being fired arbitrarily.
- Tenure does not cause low student achievement, poverty does. Poorer districts have students with the greatest education needs but the fewest resources.
- Tenure does not protect sex predators. Anyone found guilty of certain sex crimes is automatically fired without recourse.
Pensions- Taxpayers are not shouldering the burden of lavish public pensions. Over the last 20 years, 86% of the teachers' retirement fund comes from investments. The remaining 14% is made up of teacher contributions and employer contributions.
- Over the last 20 years, the teachers' retirement system took in $13.9 billion but paid out $54.4 billion while the fund's assets doubled. The retirement system pays out much more than it collects!
- Our pension is not bankrupting our employers. The amount of money the employer must contribute is currently dropping and projected to drop to approximately 1% by 2046.
- Tiers 5 and 6 have increased the age requirements and employee contributions and reduced benefit factors to meet the lower employer contribution projections.
- Switching to a "Defined Contribution" plan such as a 401(K) will not save money. Our current "Defined Benefit" system achieves higher investment returns (the average rate of return has been 8.5%, and 18% in 2014) and costs less to manage.
- The average 401(K) cost $1.25/$100 or more to manage while the teachers' retirement system spends only 7¢/$100.
- An individual in a Defined Contribution plan must invest wisely, consistently and be disciplined over the long term to expect to accrue enough money for retirement.
- The New York State Teachers Retirement System (NYSTRS) is ranked as a top 10 retirement system not because it pays lavish pensions but because it is well-managed and fully funded.
- Fully funded means that there is enough money in our retirement fund to pay benefits to all retirees and current members.
- The average teacher pension is a "lavish" $39,000.
- Pensions don't just benefit retirees; they also benefit communities, local businesses and create jobs. Every $1 paid in benefits has an economic ripple effect that creates $10 in economic activity. An estimated 61,000 jobs have been created from the economic activity of retirees.**
- 80% of all benefits paid by NYSTRS stay in New York.
- NYSTRS paid $467 million to retirees in Nassau County.
- NYSTRS paid $1.3 billion to retirees on Long Island.
- Pensions mean that there are 4.7 million fewer retirees living in poverty nationwide.
- Pensions allow retirees to live with dignity.
Finally, the question to ask is not why teachers get a pension. The question should be, why doesn't everyone get a pension?
Happy Turkey Day!
*nea.org
**nystrs.org |
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