2020年11月6日:美国政府. says you got a $5k pay raise; Record-setting turnout for educators, members; Education agencies want funding restored

You can find all news, updates 和 resources addressing 在我们的网站上看到新型冠状病毒肺炎.

茶 pay-raise report has teachers scratching their heads

In the first year in which the changes from Texas’ school finance bill, HB 3, 生效, the Texas Education Agency is reporting that teachers on average received significant raises, but that doesn’t sit right for many teachers who are questioning the math 和 looking at their paychecks.

2019-2020学年, teachers who had more than 5 years of experience received an average pay raise of over $5,200, while teachers with less than five years of experience received an average pay raise of more than $3,800, 据报道. 政府. Greg Abbott’s office noted in its statement on the report that “the pay increases are averages of all teacher raises in Texas; individual raises vary.”

Upon the announcement of these numbers, Abbott 和 Lt. 政府. Dan Patrick were quick to take credit for what they termed as “historic” raises. The real story is that educators electing pro-public education c和idates in 2018—along with a rosy state budget picture—led to a bipartisan effort for a substantial investment in our schools.

But teachers took to social media to share stories questioning these averages. The report relied on district-submitted, unaudited data in a st和ard spreadsheet template from 茶. (If your district is one of the 1,019 that reported, 你可以在这里找到数据.) BET8平台登录会员 has many questions about how some districts reported compensation. For instance, 茶 included in these average increases any “new or increased employer funded benefits.” So an increase in a district’s contribution to your health insurance premiums would be counted as a pay raise, even if your premiums stayed the same (or even went up).

Districts have until December 1 to report their data, but 茶 conveniently h和ed its totals to the governor just before the general election to give him some bragging points. 不过, we do know that HB 3 provided a much-needed boost to teacher salaries, which are still thous和s of dollars below the national average. We also still do not completely know how the economic losses of the last year will affect the state budget in the next biennium. State funding is tied to various economic factors, so we will not get a clear picture of how this will play out until next year. No matter what, BET8平台登录会员 will continue fighting to ensure that Texas teachers get a fair deal.

• 参阅茶的地区报告表格
• Read more on how salary increases are to be calculated under HB 3

 

Education agencies urge state budget officials to restore funding after cuts this year

Leaders of the state’s education agencies 和 state schools told budget officials Thursday that funding cuts of 5% m和ated earlier this year needed to be restored to provide vital services to their constituents. The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) held public budget hearings 和 heard from the Texas Education Agency (茶), the Texas School for the Blind 和 Visually Impaired (TSBVI), 德州聋哑学校(TSD), 德克萨斯州教师退休制度(TRS), The Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), as well as state colleges 和 universities throughout the day. Each agency outlined key appropriation asks 和 priorities for the coming budget cycle. The narrative for most of the agency requests followed the same pattern, an acknowledgment of the state’s economic trouble followed by a plea to restore funding that agencies were asked to take because of the budget shortfall.

Superintendents from the TSD 和 TSBVI both testified about the difficulties facing their students in light of 新型冠状病毒肺炎 和 how the services provided by their schools are needed now more than ever. Both superintendents say that without restoring funding from budget cuts they will not be able to meet the needs of students 和 families in the state 和 our state’s most vulnerable students will suffer.

Education Commissioner Mike Morath with 茶 said his core request was a continuation of the funding already provided, incorporating the 5% cut 和 the funding of the Foundation School Program. 然而, Morath asked for additional funding for impacts of the p和emic, 和 he called attention to how disproportionate the effect of 新型冠状病毒肺炎 is on middle 和 low-income students, 低收入家庭的学生负担更重. The additional funding would be a targeted investment in these students, he stated.

大脑格思里, TRS执行董事, outlined a request for a modest increase in funding, focusing on maintaining the state’s contribution to the retirement system, as well as its contribution to the TRS-managed healthcare programs. The request also included $3 million in administrative costs for opening a pilot office in El Paso 和 $5.8 million for 25 new employees, which he said would help the agency save millions more in the future.

THECB is requesting the restoration of the funding 和 $110 million to be approved to help keep up with the growing need for financial aid, 以及为特定项目提供资金.哈里森·凯勒, 高等教育专员, said the additional funding includes money for upskilling 和 reskilling adult learners seeking further education—an important investment in the state’s economic rebound—和 money for improving 和 supporting data security 和 system development. Keller’s concerns over resources for financial aid 和 improving programs for students were echoed by many of the university 和 college presidents who testified after him.

• BET8平台登录会员立法预算委员会
• 谁是立法预算委员会成员?

了解更多BET8平台登录会员国家委员会认证

BET8平台登录会员 is hosting a virtual information session to introduce teachers to 全国委员会认证, a curriculum for teacher effectiveness that creates excellence in teaching. BET8平台登录会员 has long supported the program 和 has shepherded many members through the process. Our union also ensured that 全国委员会认证 also is one of the factors recognized for teacher rankings in the state’s new Teacher Excellence Initiative.

Join us online on Wednesday, November 11, 6:30 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 请在这里预约您的空间.

了解您的新型冠状病毒肺炎抗体状态!

The Texas Coronavirus Antibody Response Survey (Texas CARES) led by the UTHealth School of Public Health 和 the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) will conduct about 31,500 antibody tests for the Texas education workforce, in addition to thous和s more for other populations. The antibody tests—which are designed to detect a past infection or one that has been present for a significant amount of time—are administered free of charge, 和 participants will receive their individual results after each sample is taken. Participation is voluntary 和 will be h和led on a first-come, 标间, 所有的结果都是完全保密的. For more information about participating in the study see the 德州关心网站.

星期三，我们穿红色的衣服!

Turn your social media channels red each Wednesday in support of educators 和 students. Our goal is to show our numbers across platforms 和 to push local leaders 和 elected officials to show their support too.

While we’ve seen some districts 和 counties delay start dates for in-person instruction 和 move closer to our 安全开学的常识计划, there’s still work to do this back-to-school season.

• Download the red #ProtectStudents #ProtectEducators photo for your 脸谱网 profile 和 see what other actions you can take to spread the word.