Monday, August 01, 2016

NOBODY KNOWS TEACHER'S CHOICE AMOUNT FOR 2016-17 BUT KEEP THOSE RECEIPTS

The NYC fiscal year starts on July 1. We know there is an increase in Teacher's Choice agreed to by the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio so teachers can spend a little more on school supplies for their classrooms this year compared to last year's $122. How much is the increase?

We don't know even though the budget year is well under way. Read the email below from the UFT that I received this morning. We can spend our unspecified amount and start saving receipts today.

Let me see if I get this? The city has a budget but one full month into the fiscal year the Department of Education can't figure out how much individual teachers get to spend and won't know until September. This looks like just a little more DOE incompetence.

Why isn't the UFT criticizing the DOE on this matter?



Dear James,

We hope you are enjoying your summer. We want to remind you that today,
August 1, you can begin purchasing materials for your classroom using
Teacher's Choice funding.

Thanks to your advocacy efforts, we won a 27.5% overall increase in Teacher's Choice 
funding in the new city budget to help cover your out-of-pocket expenses in the 2016-17
school year. Through social media and member lobbying, you helped to show the City
Council the direct impact of Teacher's Choice on student learning.

Last year, teachers received $122 in Teacher's Choice. We won't know the precise 
amount that each teacher will receive this school year until September. The increase
this year will help to offset some of your spending on school supplies.

Remember to save your receipts! As in previous years, you will need to submit
receipts as proof of purchase along with the DOE's Statement of 
Purpose/Accountability form in early 2017.

To learn more about Teacher's Choice please see the Teacher's Choice section of 
the UFT website.

Sincerely,

LeRoy Barr and Ellie Engler
Staff Directors

17 comments:

  1. I find it kind of funny that so many teachers are talking about the "increase" in Teachers Choice. Let's be real here, It is not going to be some massive increase. I am guessing that it will still be way south of $200.00. The bigger fish in the pan right now is our evaluation system. What is the current status of the evaluation system? How many observations are we getting and how many will be formal vs. informal and announced vs. unnannounced? These are the questions the teaches at my school have been talking about all summer.

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  3. I believe they have an extension to come up with an agreement under the 2015 law that the Regents agreed to. No post as we have no further news.

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  4. Omnibus bill passed in June that says that New York districts have until DECEMBER 31st to come up with plans on how they will evaluate teachers. This is crazy since there may be 2 different evaluation systems we have to contend with. Will any evaluation made from Sept to Dec 31st "count" if a whole new system is put in place from Jan-June? This is really the biggest deal facing teachers this year. Teachers choice is chump change in comparison. (Pun intended)

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  5. I couldn't care less about Teachers Choice. The UFT uses a spoon to give to their members and collects with a shovel. We get a notice like this is some big deal, meanwhile they wouldn't return a phone call or email to let us know the odious ATR discrimination clauses were allowed to expire. They think we are all morons.

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  6. We keep voting them in. Whose fault is that?

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  7. 8 kids, 33 years old, and a Mercedes. Sound familiar?
    A man was shot dead and his girlfriend wounded as they sat in a double-parked SUV in Brooklyn early Tuesday, a police source said.

    A gunman walked up to the black 2007 Mercedes Benz parked outside 675 Halsey St. near Patchen Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant at around 1 a.m. and opened fire, according to cops.

    The male driver, identified as 33-year-old Ernest Brown, was rushed to nearby Interfaith Hospital with gunshot wounds to the head and torso, but he did not survive.

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  8. 10:03,
    No one I know voted them in, especially ATRs and new teachers. Look for fault elsewhere.
    4:06

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  9. Someone you know voted for Mulgrew/unity- they received 75% of the vote- stop being so righteous. James, Arthur, Norm, everyone knows someone or much more that voted unity. Just because you dont like them and or your friends agree with you, doesnt mean when behind closed doors, your friends arent voting unity, because they are. It is the same people tellling you "no one i know voted for the contract", because yes they did

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  10. ATRs do a whole lot of bitching, but no real organizing- complain and complain you need daddy portelos to lead you sheep to the wolves. Stand up for your-selves stop begging James, Portelos or Amy for help. Stop commenting on blogs.

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  11. You are the one who should stop judging people and looking for someone to blame. This isn't your blog and no, I will not stop commenting. You have a lot of nerve speaking for other bloggers and insulting the one you don't like. If you don't like me commenting, too bad. I don't beg anyone for help, especially Amy! You're an idiot.

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  12. Im the idiot, Im not the one crying on blogs- "Mulgrew this"/"Unity that"- if we were so bad why do we win, elections, contract, you name it we win and all you do is complain. Unity has more active educators than any caucus, we represent all colors, genders, ethnicities and no we dont sit around writing blogs or begging, we take actual action.

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  13. Take some action and go F-CK yourself, idiot. Unity does nothing but collect our money.

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  14. "Unity does nothing but collect our money." Oh so true.

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  15. You can't say MORE doesn't do anything. Look how hard we fought for resolutions at the DA! Now that's "Highly Effective" leadership! Social justice all the way!

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  16. A hardened turd on the side of the road does more than Unity, and smells better too.

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  17. Funny and basically true.

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