Last year, I heard over and over how new teachers were being assigned as day-to-day substitutes even though they were teaching full time with the responsibilities to plan lessons, teach the classes, then grade the students, and even contact the parents. They essentially were substituting for themselves.
Unscrupulous principals hide vacancies and just list the day-to-day sub as covering for an absentee every day of the year. If they have to, the administrators list them as covering for a different teacher for a day so as to break the 30 days in a row rule that gives the sub higher pay. Principals hide the vacancies for the whole term so as not to follow the rule that requires that the teacher be hired with full pay and benefits if they are there for the semester teaching an actual program.
A starting teacher is supposed to earn $61,000-$76,000 per year (depending on education) plus benefits and they can earn more if they have outside teaching experience whereas day-to-day substitutes make $199.27 per day. If that is added up to 170 days, it comes to less than $34,000 for the year and does not include health or welfare fund benefits, paid sick days, or summer vacation pay.
This little administrator game of hiding vacancies and filling them with day-to-day subs at cut-rate pay with no benefits is of course a violation of the UFT Contract (see Article 7V) but principals save from $50,000 to $75,000 on their budgets by pulling this stunt that has been going on for years. Adding a new teacher costs the same on a school budget as veterans as schools are charged a school average even in Fair Student Funding; previously it was a district average. Day-to-day subs are a whole lot cheaper.
The UFT will fight for day-to-day substitutes as far as I know only if they come forward and challenge the principal. How many new people just employed are going to stand up to their boss and demand their full pay and benefits? Some have asserted their rights and we salute them. I was at a UFT Solidarity meeting in the spring and several substitutes were there who came forward. One teacher was stuck in this status for multiple years. UFT Solidarity helped them to get their rightful pay. Other day-to-day subs who are really teaching full programs are lucky enough to be in schools with robust chapter leaders who will not put up with this. Strong trade unionists have told their principals that they should be ashamed of themselves for cheating new teachers out of pay and benefits.
I recently heard of this situation occurring this term and the Chapter Leader is attempting to advocate for the new teachers. In the current DOE-UFT climate, I am guessing that for every day-to-day substitute who is moved to the regular payroll because he/she asserts their rights, there are probably multiple others who grin and bear it and lose their money plus benefits rather than fight the principal.
If we had a better union, the UFT would use their access to the Department of Education's computers to audit every school to make sure this unscrupulous practice was halted immediately and forever. This is just one of many reasons why you should vote for United for Change in next year's UFT election.
This is also a way for principals to give jobs to their friends who do not have a teaching license or who consistently do not pass the teacher certification exams.
ReplyDeleteYes, what you write is true. However, can you blame the principals for this? It is not their fault that they have to follow the fair student funding formula. If principal budgets for teachers were the way they were a long time ago, this problem would not exist.
ReplyDeleteWe should make a list of all the principles you do this throughout the city and share it as widely as possible. It should go to the media and it should go to motivate the union to take some serious action.
ReplyDeleteViolation of the contract, fraud and criminal mismanagement. But no consequences for the criminal conduct by the principals who engage in this fraud. Zero accountability where it really matters in NY city public schools.
ReplyDeleteLets call it racism because it is racism. This practice would not be acceptable in white suburban public schools. But in the warped world of DOE criminal mismanagement, this is criminal conduct is acceptable.
Not true. Principal of Fort Hamilton hs was fired for just this thing. The DR heard rumors about it and asked the chapter leader, who was in New Action. He denied it. Later it came out. Big scandal and it would have ended years earlier but for corrupt chapter leader.
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ReplyDeleteIt happens everywhere regardless of race . Call it as it is , a crime .
This shit goes on all over the fucking place.ing place. I very much doubt DOE fired someone for this practice that is widespread.
ReplyDeleteYou doubt? Well she was forced out. Had enough seniority to retire. I forget her name. It was around 2012. The cl was Alan Something. A real loser. Someone on here might remember. She had been the P for 20 years.
ReplyDeleteFort Hamilton hs principal Jo Ann Chester was forced to retire as a result of scandal. School had to pay back hundreds of thousands in pay to subs.
ReplyDeleteThe Chapter Leader was Alan Fried. New Action. He covered up the scandal. DR wanted to investigate, but he gave his word there was nothing there. When it came out, the DR asked him to step aside. The new CL was also, NAC, but he was honest.
ReplyDeletePutting the NY city school under mayoral control is racist because it disenfranchises people of color. It takes away their voice at the community level and silences their participation in the running of their local schools. Children of color, unlike white suburban children, are placed in crowded classrooms and are forced to make long commutes to their "corporate themed" schools. The power granted to the mayor is power taken from impoverished folks of color. Their voices do not matter.
ReplyDeleteClass size limits of 34 students do not exist in the suburbs.
This is racism and this racism is sanctioned by recent NY city mayors. When you analyze the racial segregation NY city public schools together with the disappointing achievement of our children then you are made aware of disparate outcomes for children of color compared to white children. The racism of NY city schools under Bloomberg and de Blasio has been blatant and callous. Mayoral control is the problem, not the solution
The silencing of the voices of folks of color was and is enforced by the Panel for Educational Policy. And you all know this or should know this essential fact,
ReplyDeleteWait. It is December. Didn't the strongest union in the coubntry promise us a spring break 2020 resolution?
ReplyDeleteSome on here like to call teachers scabs who feel they were wronged by the union and the union isn't worth what they charge. Many complain about the uft all the time. James constantly posts about how the uft isn't doing their job.
ReplyDeleteIs this a loafer? $175k government funded salary but can't pay her own loan back?
She's a perfect example of why we shouldn't forgive student loans. She makes 175,000 a year and wants the tax payer to assume her debts? No, pay your bills you deadbeat. Student loan forgiveness is upper class welfare.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib: "I worked full time, Monday through Friday, and took weekend classes to get my law degree. And still, close to $200,000 in debt. And I still owe over $70,000 and most of it was interest."
This has absolutely nothing to do with the topic and I disagree that anyone should start out with $200,000 debt. I printed it. Let us not keep this going. Back to the new teachers getting ripped off please.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to get by on $33,000, with no benefits or real security or path forward, anywhere, especially in NYC.
ReplyDeleteTlaib wants to rip off the tax payer who then pays the teacher salary.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to get by on $100,000 With benefits in NYC or Long Island for that matter.
ReplyDeleteThe democrats who control nyc sure are screwing the population they claim to care about. You get what you vote for nyc. The most progressive mayor of nyc and his progressive chancellors are a clown car. Clown Meisha gone. Next clown on the way.
ReplyDelete@645 "upper class welfare"?! Are you stupid? Upper class people don't have loans !!!!*****
ReplyDeleteDon’t borrow money if you don’t want to pay it back. Not the taxpayers fault you were conned into getting a useless degree in a field of study where no good paying jobs exist. It shows me you’re a sucker and I have no interest in bailing out suckers.
ReplyDelete955. Tell that to the bankers bootlicker
DeleteStudent has shown up about 8 times so far. What do they do? They take him out of my class and put him in another class giving him a clean slate so he passes and graduates in January. The first 3+ months are gone. But honesty and integrity and college and career ready.
ReplyDeleteBloomberg just dropped a cool 750 million into charter schools I guess he has an office in the new mayors quarters...750 mil will get you access...however have we not learned about bloomberg yet? Here is a guy who got lucky in life and earned a huge amount of money. WE had him here at the nycdoe for a long 12 years and I can tell you that I do not know anyone who works at the DOE who has anything positive to say about bloomy.
ReplyDeleteTHis was confirmed during the presidential debates when midget mike stood up on the podium and exposed his moronic mentality and was wiped off the stage in a laughing stock matter. Bloomberg then went into hiding but unfortunately he is back to haunt our schools one more time.
Someone please tell Bloomberg stop wasting his money as charter schools are a combination of mirrors and smoke trying to oust the REAL public schools with their hand picked students. The other day we had a small bus load of students dropped off at our school from charter schools that did not want these students cause of their behavior and academics. Well duh, get with the program charters this is what we are paid to do. Take under performing kids and teach them not move them around like pawns. Oh the charters are such a piece of work.
Yes and remember how Eve Moskowitz bragged about the entire 13 students in her first graduating class from Success Academy a few years ago. She didn't mention the 40+ students who dropped out of the program or were kicked out but she made a big difference.
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