Wow,
I will start by saying that I do not mean to offend any teachers. So here we go. You live on Marco Island or teach here which beats the he!! out of Chicago. You have many days off. The summer free. So you want more money?

You deserve it! But you live in Collier county where old people rule. None of these old fcukers want to pay for schools. Hence Lely being a dropout factory. What did you expect?

Teachers deserve to be paid higher salaries. Alot higher. When we see results.

To comment on one of the above.. Lely is not a drop out factory. It is not the teachers fault that over 20% of the students have english as a second language. Maybe teachers need more money to take spanish lessons in there little free time that they have so they can teach the 10/30 kids in the classroom that don't understand what they are saying.
This is all sad to me because what about the next generation of kids. All the teachers fighting for higher wages now are going to retire in future years and who is going to replace them? I am currently going to college to become a teacher and there are fewer and fewer people next to me every year.
In my opinon I think teachers and firefighters are some of the lowest paid jobs that people need the most.
All of those old people that rule marco now went to school when you learned just english and math. Now teachers have to teach english, math, science, social studies, art, music, social skills, behavior, and anything else that the parents are lacking on.

In response to both joey and strike3:
It is really sad to see the ignorance of some as to the reality of the teaching profession. Please allow me to educate you a bit on two issues that the public does not seem to have the correct facts about- daily duties and time off.
First, teacher hours are not as they seem. The 7:30-3:00 hours are simply the time they spend with your children. During this time teachers are expected to counsel and listen to the children who may need someone to speak to or a hug of reinforcement or an encouraging word when their family is breaking up or a parent is very ill or in trouble with the law (it happens all the time- yes even in paradise), or maybe because their parents are just too busy themselves. During the day teachers must also complete lesson plans, do research for best skills to individualize instruction for each child, grade papers and input grades, have meetings with parents of children with special needs, make calls to parents, order materials, make sure the classroom and bulletin boards are updated and appealing, have numerous school related meetings scheduled by adminstration, and much more. All this expected to be accomplished during a 50 minute "planning" time. This is why teachers take work home at night, go in to school during the weekend and on those holidays and days off that many of you speak of. This is also why teachers find the need to come in before their scheduled time or leave late in order to speak to parents about the needs of their child or offer special one one help to a child whose parent can not afford tutoring (it is a misconception that all parents are wealthy). Oh yes, and the summers. Well, this is usually when many teachers have to take additional classes or take on summer jobs to make ends meet.
Bottom line, no one knows what a teacher's job encompasses or how much time it involves unless they are a teacher or a relative of one. They give 100+% because they love "your" children and want the best for them. None of them take the job to get rich but do expect to be appreciated and paid enough to live and support their own familes.

These teachers need to stop whineing about their GREAT jobs. There really part time baby sitters that get summers off, spring break, winter break, professional days, and to many other holidays to list off. Not to mention the wonderful benefits package. Try getting a job in the real world!!

Ignore "Joeywalnuts" he is a moron, he lives to blog and he is mean spirited. He certainly has not attended formal education.

On the issue of teachers, the teachers at Barfield could not be better. I have 2 children in the school and these teachers deserve more. Please send the following email to Donovan and his email address as follows;

donovast@collier.k12.fl.us

Dear Mr. Donovan: It is unacceptable to offer a one percent raise to the teachers of Collier County after two years with no pay increases. These people spend more time with our children than most parents do. They are shaping character as well as educating our children. Do the right thing and compensate them commensurate with the contribution they make to society. Tone down your rhetoric in the media and come to the table with your good faith hat on and make a fair proposal.

Tom Tierney
columbus way

Chicky, you abviouly went to a school that was professional babysitting, you are a fool!

Joey, do you have grandchildren or do you know children? I have 4, one in radiology school, one a senior in college and twins in Barfield. Children are the most innocent in society. You must have no idea how much goes into being an excellent teacher. They don’t get paid for the summer like most people think, they just spread the salary over 12 months. They are there at 7 am to 3 pm every day and work at home. You would never do what they do for the money they make. I apologize for the insult, but your above blog smacks of ignorance. We are losing the best and the brightest in the profession to early retirement and other careers over a few thousand dollars. We all pay Joey and you do get a benefit from it. The value of the community is increased from great schools and most of all; the end result is an educated society. That is worth paying for.

If you want change there are only 4 people you can vote for:

JOE BATTE
BUTCH NEYLON
ROGER HALL
ANDREW GUIDRY

Know the names. They have already proven they care about this community and our environment and are willing to do what it takes to give this island back to the people.

JOE BATTE, JOE BATTE, JOE BATTE, JOE BATTE
BUTCH NEYLON, BUTCH NEYLON, BUTCH NEYLON
ROGER HALL, ROGER HALL, ROGER HALL, ROGER HALL
ANDREW GUIDRY, ANDREW GUIDRY, ANDREW GUIDRY

Thanks Joey, that is exactly the issue. I appreciate your opinion.

Tom

I think some missed my point. Yes, teachers are under paid. To Marco_Girl who said Lely wasn't a dropout factory. Do the research. It was reported by local NBC that Lely graduates only 60% of it's students. And I should give them a raise? If you gave me 100% of your money to invest and at the end of the year I only had 60% left. You would fire me. Certainly not give me a raise. Hence my point. If you pay minimum wage you get workers that really don't care and are not the best in their class.

One more question. Whre the he!! does all the money go that we give the county for education?

One more thing Marco_Girl. The fact that 20% of the students speak english as a second language. Will that hamper my child from getting a top notch education from this school? I think it might? How about you? The teacher could spend the summer learning spanish. However crazy that may sound.

I have a better idea. There will be 1 language spoken in all USA schools. Whats wrong with that? Who thinks that is unfair? Someone will say that it is unfair and I will ask that person this. If I send my child to a public school in your country will the teachers take the time to teach my child the language. The answer will be NO. So why should our teachers have to take the time out from our english speaking children? Parents should demand that the English language is the only language spoken in our schools. The other kids can learn at home or however else before they attend schools in the US.........or go back to the mother land to learn in their own language.

Strike3: The money you give does not go to the Collier School Board. By State statute, money collected by local taxes go to the State and then re-disputed by them to all counties in Florida. Collier County gets very little back compared to other counties in Florida. Wealthy counties like Collier, Dade and Sarasota subsidize the less affluent counties. Even if you started your own school district on the island, you would get no more from your taxes that you get now.

Strike 3, your beef is with the immigration laws or lack of in the US. Teachers cannot be expected to know 2 languages fluently. I would love to see the break down of the drop out rate. Can you speak Spanish fluently? I bet not. Teaching a class is not like any other profession where you measure results on accomplishments. Almost every teacher my children have had was a dedicated passionate professional. They have to be, or how could they spend all day, 200 days a year with up to 26 kids in a class room. I would be ready for the window ledge.

capt1black, thanks for the info. I did not know the state redistributed all the funds. That explains alot.

columbusway, you are correct...almost. First off yes the immigration laws are the root of many problems. Here is a bigger problem. If all the parents demanded the schools adopt a one language policy you could solve this problem. That simple. I never said we needed teachers to speak 2 languages. That should not be needed.

The school system needs competition. State vouchers given back to the parents to use as tuition to send their kids to private schools is one step in that direction. The great state of FL doesn't give parents that option. My point here is, teaching is a profession that can be measured on results. Just like in every profession there are good employees and not so good employees.

Anyone can have the facts, but having an opinion is an art. I feel the teachers deserve more!

I would like any whiny teachers who live in paradise who are complaining about a "measly" 1% raise to come to Michigan where it is currently 20 degrees and work a FULL TIME job - 8+ hours/day, 12 months/year, with no pay raise in several years because all the companies up here are on the verge of bankruptcy, with no job security, and then see what reality is. A 1% raise to work a whopping 7:30-3:00 job 8 months a year where it's always warm sounds really good right now.

I have two children at Tommie Barfield and I believe that the teachers I have had the pleasure of working with have done an extraordinary job teaching their students. That being said, this job is not a teller job at the bank or a fry cook at McDonalds.

The teachers are going to “stop posting bulletin boards, stop holding parent conferences after hours and stop making comments on interim reports” and start to do more videos and seat work. This is something that negatively affects the students (and the students’ learning ability) that they claim to “love”. I am outraged.

I’m sure it is safe to assume that the teachers are not too dense to realize the plight of our local economy. The fact that the school board is able to offer any raise to the teachers is surprising. One of the last articles written on this subject stated that the total cost of the proposed settlement to the teachers was $5 - $6 Million. What do the teachers want the county to spend $50 Million? Where do they expect that this money will come from?

If you can’t make ends meet at $39K + a year – while only working until 3:05 PM only nine months a year – get a second job, or find another career. It’s a harsh reality, but that’s what the real working world does when they don’t have the strength of a union protecting their jobs.

I hope that the teachers wizen up and realize who they are hurting here (and FYI it is not the school board) and get back to doing their job – which is to teach our children.