There goes my raise and then some. I got a 2.3% raise. My school taxes are going up 3% percent. I have to figure out what to cut. Too bad the board refuses to live like that. And the really really frustrating thing is when I hear the unions complain healthcare for them is going up. Seriously? Join the real world, and maybe the rest of us won't have to pay for you. Union benefits remind me of welfare.

Yipee...can't wait to pay more in taxes! Live within your means...like everyone else in the "real" non-union world!

we need to fight this. They increase our taxes because we don't fight them. We have to speak up.

I just sent emails to the board members and suggest you do the same. Start contacting others so we can stop the increase.

Actually you need to contact Tom Corbett who slashed the education budget last year. He is also cutting it again this year. The teachers and staff took a pay freeze last year so no one would get furloughed. The district cut Kindergarten mid day bus service, and the Parent Faculty Organizations now have to pay for field trips in order for the children to go on trips. He can only cut things so much until our children start to suffer and the difference needs to be made up somewhere. It's not like the school is sitting on money somewhere, and yet they are trying to thrive within their means, partnering with All Clad so the students can learn problem solving skills at the high school level. I think the district is doing a great job and everyone needs to see how the operating expenses work out before sounding the alarm.

A pay freeze? Research that one. They will be getting it this year. As for the gov, I applaud him for trying to force School boards to live within their means. I don't know about your kids but mine have never gone a real field trip. Sorry a tour of the giant eagle your parents shop at is not a field trip. The difference needs to be made up my making teacher and administrators benefits match the real world. Healthcare cost must increase for them. $25 a month for a family is beyond ridiculous. I paid more for an antibiotic this week ( doesn't include the office visit). And yes I have insurance!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_789571.html

Canon-Mac is not alone in it's struggle. Above is an article of school districts requesting an increase.

The teachers did in fact take a pay freeze as referenced in the article below:
http://canon-mcmillan.patch.com/articles/cm-teachers-agree-to-wage-freeze-furloughs-averted

As far as a field trip, my children have gone to a local dairy farm to see how milk is produced and how a farm works. If your children do not take field trips my best advice to you is to become a member of your school's PFO/PTA and make a suggestion. There are countless hours that myself and other PFO members put in to make our school year a good one, and this includes suggestions on how to make next year even better than this one in our economy. We pay for assemblies, bring in the book fair, provide the Holiday shop, fund raise for local needy families within our school, plan and execute our Fitness Day, Teacher Appreciation Week, all the holiday parties, fund talent show, decorate for school concerts, and hold monthly meetings to keep other parents abreast of the goings on in our school.
I see what our teachers try to do in their classrooms, much of which they do with their own money. Every day I am thankful for the good teachers that our kids have.

This really isn't about field trips, or what teachers are doing or not doing in the classroom. It is about a board who lacks any type of budgeting sense to keep increasing outer taxes while not decreasing expenses. It just doesn't work.

Teachers took a partial wage freeze last year....
http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/education/visit%20http:/korns.org/turkey-foot-rd/s_742371.html

Wonder what they get this year?

WE have to budget money and live within our means. WE don't have the opportunity to borrow more than credit will allow. The government as well as schools should be required to do the same. Higher taxes, higher homeowner's insurance, and higher interest rates this year, all while attempting to be a responsible individual. More money to pay out while making less money. Disgruntled Canonsburg resident...

You can't ask the school to function at less than the rate of inflation. Books go up, paper goes up, pencils go up, everything goes up. Corbett asked them to go back to 2009. It's 2012. So teachers took a partial pay freeze last year. They also had to pay more into their health insurance.
My point in explaining about the organizations within the school (the PTA and PFO, etc) is to put it out there that there are places that are available to initiate change at a school level.
I think everybody thinks that schools are just throwing money around......here, let's give the teachers a $5,000 bonus apiece......oh, and let's not forget the secretary who works over her 40 hours, another $10,000 apiece, but it's really not like that. I am in my kids school at least three days a week, and let me tell you, the outlook is bleak.
Should we never raise school taxes because people get miffed?

Jen, it isn't about 'people getting miffed'. it is about living on a budget. do you live on a budget? if your income was decreased would you continue to spend as you do today or decrease your spending? I would hope you would decrease your spending. HMM, the outlook at the school looks like the outlook at my work. Difference is THEY cannot be fired, and THEY practically get free healthcare, and awesome pensions w/o contributing. THAT is what people are frustrated over.

Individuals who work for the schools should be the happiest people on earth but they are not. Why? they get greedy. Oh my, I might have to pay more for healthcare? More than the average family of 4 would pay to eat out?

When should the school district be able to raise taxes? The board will never answer emails. If you have a beef you must go to a board meeting to air your concerns. Additionally, pensions are contributed by both the employee and the state, it is not just the state that gives people their retirement. Additionally, as tax payers, we have the option to move out of the district. Have you heard how 'great' of a district Pittsburgh Public is?? What about Uniontown when the kids kept getting sick from the stuff in the air in the schools? I'm sure they'd be more than happy to accept your lesser tax contribution. If you want a good school, you have to pay for it (according to this article, if your house is worth $50,000 your taxes would go up about $40 annually, which works out to $3.33 a month). To me, I'd be glad to bear that small burden so that my children can get a quality education by hiring quality teachers, maintaining quality buildings to obtain a quality product in the end. School districts are a non-profit. They do not MAKE money, they spend money to make sure our kids have a good education. They're not asking for 20 mills, they're asking for the rate of inflation.

Mana,

You should check you facts before posting a comment. Teachers most definitely do contribute to their pensions. Please educate yourself:
http://www.psers.state.pa.us/NewtoPSERS/contributions.htm

In addition, your earlier post about healthcare costing $25 a month is highly inaccurate. The actual cost is $80 a month for coverage other than individual and $65 for individual. Teachers agreed last year to increase their contributions by $50 a month ($600 a year) to avoid more cuts that would hurt the students.

Furthermore, I have no idea why some of general public is under the notion that teachers cannot be fired. They have been in the past and will be in the future if they are not doing their job appropriately. Building administrators are required to conduct formal evaluations of ALL teachers regardless of seniority or tenure. If a teacher is consistently not performing up to a satisfactory standard, actions are taken to dismiss them.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. That being said, before posting information for everyone to read, please do the general public a courtesy and make sure it is accurate.

Jen, how come the schools can't function on less then the rate of inflation but most Americans do. We would love to have the money coming in our homes match the rate of inflation and sad to say we don't. The government and the schools always want more taxes and this simply can't be the answer. It's a spending problem and not a tax problem. Get the spending under control and let the teachers live in reality like the rest of us.

Jeff, how about those of us who not only pay hundreds each month for a family insurance plan but we also have a $5,000.00 deductible on top of a $5,000.00 out of pocket. This is reality and the teachers have better plans then this and pay less in premiums. I have a hard time feeling sorry as well as feeling like I need to pay more in taxes. Raises in the real world are hard to come by in this economy. Folks are happy just to have a job and get tired of the government and the schools crying poor.

Lori,

In regard to healthcare premiums, I am not saying that other professions don't pay more or less, or that teachers pay an unreasonable or reasonable amount. I was simply stating that $25 a month presented by Mana was inaccurate and misleading. The teachers pay much more than this.

Please remember that Governor Corbett's extreme cuts to education at the state level is the reason why so many schools are struggling with their budgets. In addition, a large chunk of the budget goes directly to meeting the state and federal mandates.

I honestly don't like paying taxes, but it is a necessary evil. Out of all the taxes that I pay, I don't mind paying the tax that provides a service for my local community by improving the quality of life for our children (our future). I’m amazed by the ignorance that some members of the general population have towards education. If you don't fund your district, the result will be citizens that will end up becoming a drain on your community. They will be uneducated and will suck up more of your tax dollars through state and federal assistance programs because they are unable to support themselves.

So if teachers took a pay freeze last year, which raise will they receive this year since their increases are written into their contract?

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/education/visit%20http:/korns.org/turkey-foot-rd/s_742371.html

The contract is very interesting, seems like teachers get extra pay for everything including mentoring their peer to home room duty.

To the comments made above regarding Gov Corbett's cuts in funding ...

You are right, cuts were made, and rightfully so. For most of eight years, the Rendell Administration grew the funding at rates far above inflation or any other measure. Spending was on a steep curve upward. Then the Fed stimulus money came down the road, and a spike in funding was felt by most districts. The outcome of the rapid rate of funding by the Rendell Administration, followed by the spike in funding from the Fed money, districts were feeling good about finding ways to spend the money. With the loss of the Fed money, and a tightening by the Corbett Administration, the districts deluded themselves to think the flush of cash would continue. Any loss of money would be deemed a "cut," when, in reality, the new levels of funding were in line with funding before the Fed money, and before the end of the Rendell sprees.

The comments about "funding hardly keeping up with inflation" are indicative of thinking that "we surely couldn't do with less." It means that sacrifice is good for others, but not for us. As stated, others live within budgets, and have no magic cache of cash (yes, intended) in the back room (e.g. tax hikes).

More money does not mean better education. Private schools and home schooling shows us plenty of evidence.

I agree that school districts need to take steps to keep their budgets under control and save money in the current economy; however, there are many factors that people outside of education probably do not consider. For example, the cost of transportation is constantly rising with the price of gas. How would tax payers respond if the district cut transportation, which would make the parents responsible for bringing their children to and from school? I am bringing this up because there is more to the budget than the teacher component, and I think the Canon-McMillan board is clearly justified in raising taxes.

Also, it was stated that private and home schooling provides a better education. While there are some great private schools, the research and data proves overall private schools are performing at the level or BELOW that of public education. On top of that, private schools can set criteria for enrollment which would statistically give them a benefit because they can pick and choose their students. Public schools educate ALL CHILDREN regardless of their home life, family support, or economic means. Still, public schools are doing as well or better than the private sector overall. It is sad that politics have had such an effect on Pennsylvania's educational system. If anyone would like to see this argument from both perspectives, backed up with thorough research and evidence, please read, THE DEATH AND LIFE OF THE GREAT AMERICAN SCHOOL SYSTEM, by Diane Ravitch.

Jeff, define 'rich'.? Can you provide your link about private and homeschooling? Don't forget about cyberschools.

This really is a silly debate. The school boards won't do anything to fix the budget or cut costs. Teachers expect to be paid for ever little thing they do.

Listen, can we all just acknowledge that Mana is right, we're all wrong, all teachers are Communist drains on Mana's hard-earned tax dollars and we need less government and more Fox News in our lives?

Quoting: "More money does not mean better education. Private schools and home schooling shows us plenty of evidence."

Sorry, Jeff. The statement does not say that private schools and home schooling provide better education.

Just saying the School Districts need more money does not make it the right thing to do. With the significant increase in Districts spending over the Rendell Administration, and the surge in available money from the Fed stimulus, the size of the stream has taken a new norm. Sometime it has to stop.

Rather than whining now about cuts in funding from the previous year, there should be huge thank-you for the extra money having flowed down in recent years.

Actually, my initial point was to encourage people who do not go to the board meetings, to go and express their opinions. Yes there was a surge in federal funding, but like I mentioned before, schools deteriorate, need to be repaired, books become outdated, and the state introduces a brand new set of tests that the students must pass. They have to roll out a new curriculum called The Common Core, and yes the state of PA has no money to fuel the Keystone Exams, so students and teachers are left to flip flop, and wonder what they will have to do to graduate (for those who are in grades seven, eight and nine). This takes away from students as well.
I would not want their jobs as school board members!

Mana, how was that a personal attack any more than the sniping comments you leave? If you can't stand the heat, stay out of the Patch.

I want my country back.

Example for Mana: "Individuals who work for the schools should be the happiest people on earth but they are not. Why? they get greedy. Oh my, I might have to pay more for healthcare? More than the average family of 4 would pay to eat out?"