Posted by Second Look
a resident of Portola Valley: Westridge
on Mar 21, 2017 at 8:14 pm

You keep on giving them money and they will keep spending it. If your Child's education is really that important to all of you then maybe you should take a look at what you are really spending and for what. If you sat down, took a breath and ran the numbers on how much you REALLY pay for your child's public education you will find that your so called "public education" is really a Trojan Horse. It is fast becoming an unsustainable model that already is leaving lower income families in the dust and will soon rival the cost of a private education with half the results.

Posted by Jack Hickey
a resident of Woodside: Emerald Hills
on Mar 22, 2017 at 11:27 am
Jack Hickey is a registered user.

SB 807, which proposes to exempt teachers from state income taxes, offers a solution to the teacher retention problem. The text in SB 807 explores the cause of the retention problem. Web Link

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1. (a) This act shall be known and may be cited as the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017.
(b) Pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 41 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, the Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) Research demonstrates the most important in-school factor affecting pupil achievement is the classroom teacher. Pupils with effective teachers are more likely to earn higher salaries, attend college, and save more for retirement and are less likely to be teenage parents.
(2) Over 30 percent of new teachers in California leave the profession in the first five years. According to the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, teachers leave the profession at a rate six times greater than other public employees, and 50 percent faster than first responders.
(3) The shortage of teachers in California is reaching critical levels in a number of teaching disciplines and geographic areas of the state and is projected to get worse with the oncoming wave of baby boomer retirements.
(4) Aspiring teachers in California often report the path for completing requirements for a preliminary credential, induction, and clearing a credential is uneven and costly. Some teachers face unexpected mandatory paycheck deductions and program closures for training required to clear a credential and legally teach in California, making it unnecessarily difficult to remain in teaching.
(5) Teacher shortages affect turnover within and across districts; and, on average, high teacher turnover rates have a negative impact on pupil achievement, and the effect is more pronounced in high-minority, high-poverty schools.
(6) The Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017 structurally addresses the current and growing shortage of teachers in schools and districts across the state by addressing challenges of entering the field of teaching, supporting novice teachers, and incentivizing effective teachers to remain in the classroom, recognizing the significance of their contribution to the children and the people of the State of California.

It has been reported that SB 807 would be the equivalent of a 4% to 6% raise in pay.

The District could ask for changes in SB 807 to include a revenue neutralizing element to offset the 4% to 6% benefit arising from teacher exemption from state income tax. An across-the-board salary reduction could effect that neutralization. This would make for a significant reduction in the unfunded liability of the CalSTRS pension fund.

Unfortunately, that does not address the issue of current retirees who are retroactively receiving subsidies to fund their 24K gold pensions.