Michigan Votes Forum

Indexing teacher pay to what the state legislature earns seems kind of... random.    Same with superintendents and the Governor.  I can appreciate the intention of controling costs, however I think that the pressure to limit school wages should come from the taxpayers of the school district, not from the state via some arbitrary cap.

 Its about time!  When a superintendent makes a whopping $150K per year and has several assistant

supers making 125K per year its time the state steps in.  Also at some intermediate school

districts we are paying career tech center instructors 105,000 per year now.  They get the summers

off, spring vacations, christmas vacations and paid snow/sick days to boot.  They work less than

40hours per week during the school year.  Or maybe we should all have the summers off mandated just

like they do in Germany and other european nations.

Ridiculous, small minded and mean spirited legislation.

 Ridiculous, small minded and mean spirited legislation. ????

That coment has to be from a superintendent or teacher of a public school.

It is a simpleton remark and one from another person who leeches off the taxpayer and thinks they are superior and entitled to the money of the non government worker whom they consider a mere peasant.

jercommm:

 Ridiculous, small minded and mean spirited legislation. ????

 

That coment has to be from a superintendent or teacher of a public school.

It is a simpleton remark and one from another person who leeches off the taxpayer and thinks they are superior and entitled to the money of the non government worker whom they consider a mere peasant.

You are ridiculously wrong on every count, and abusive as well.

I hold to the time-honored American belief that it is wrong to use the force of law to reduce or restrict opportunity for others to enjoy a decent living or even prosper.  That is exactly what and all this bill proposes.  Your reference to public employees as leeches tells the world a great deal about those who propose and support this kind of legislation -- they are small minded and mean spirited, indeed, and have lost touch with the true American spirit.

 Recalling some tax abatment applications for some corporations in a small west michigan town.  In the fine print wages of hourly workers were capped at a little above minimum wage.  All those hard working people paying a huge property tax bills, most over $1,000 per year.  They can be fired for anything "at will."   If they get diabetes? oh well out the door!  Talk about "mean spirited!"  Now the poor souls and their families are on unemployment for 79 weeks getting free or reduced lunches.  Property values have went down but not the tax bills!  "talk about mean spirited?" No health benefits either. Legislators have some accountablity- they can get voted out.  Superintendents I have dealt with have not demonstrated any accountabilty, integrity, or credibility.  The money is gone. People are filing for 'hardship exemptions" at their local boards of review.  Intermediate School Boards are not popularly elected officials- but appointed from other school boards.  It is a system that needs to be looked into and scrutinized more by some people/voting public.

JohnWesterling:

... Legislators have some accountablity- they can get voted out.  Superintendents I have dealt with have not demonstrated any accountabilty, integrity, or credibility.   ...

That simply is not true, about superintended accountability.  Your beef is not with the superintendents, but with your school board.  As a school board member I have helped "engineer" the exit of two superintendents in my local district whose job performance failed to meet expectations for effectiveness.  Both certainly were held "accountable" for the shortcomings in their service.

 This is clearly unconstitutional.  The legislators need to have their pay capped at minimum wage for a maximum of 30 hours per week with no fringe benefits.  That would save quite a bit of taxpayer money.  Paying legislators to play solitaire on their computers, throw paper wads at each other, and cruising for food isn't worth more than that. 

If all of that doesn't happen, make each legislator a substitute teacher five days each year, one of which must be in a Special Education classroom for students with severe cognitive and physical impairments.

 Perhaps Mr. Patterson should come down to reality.  He must be from outstate.

 This bill could  have the opposite effect of what the author is trying to accomplish! Teachers unions may support pay increases for elected officials in order to get higher wages for themselves.

Further, what happepens if we, as we should, cut legislators pay in half? Would teachers also have to take a pay cut? There should  be relationip between elected officials pay any the pay of any other workers.  

These legislatures are part time workers.  That is a steep pay for part time work wouldn't you say?  Don't the legislatures get their pay for the rest of their life?  Teachers are there every day- 5 days a week- for 9 months of course unless they are sick.  Some teachers (NOT ALL) stay well after the hour of 3 pm and do hours of work at home.  The teachers do not get their salary for the rest of their life.  The do get a nice retirment and what is wrong with that as they are teaching future voters for America.  HOPEFULLY THE FUTURE VOTERS WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE and be well informed as to what people who are running do prior to them entering into the office for the people.