In today's Newsday, on page A14, Newsday's education reporter, John Hildebrand, has an article titled "Teacher's pay posted on Web." You may also access the same story, though with a diffrent title of "Central Islip, East Islip school district wages posted," on newsday.com.
Mr. Hildebrand quotes from data which has been posted to the internet by a conservative think tank, the Empire Center for New York State Policy. They provide some startling information on wages paid to several teachers in the two districts, and these are just wages, without the accumulating value of pensions or current and future medical benefits.
Now, anyone reading either the article, or the data posted by the Empire Center, should recognize that there are probably still some teachers on Long Island, in some districts, that are underpaid; but, it would be irresponsible for anyone to ignore the excessive compensation outlined, and it points out the need for taxpayers in all districts to understand the compensation structures in their own school districts.
It sounds like it will soon be easier for residents of all districts to do that, since Mr. Hildebrand notes that the Empire Center "eventually plans to add similar information for all other school districts on its Web site: www.seethroughny.net."
You will already find some fascinating data, including labor contracts and payroll information for various school districts and other NY governmental entities.
Now, in the article, Mr. Hildebrand also provides comments from a representative of New York State United Teachers, who points out that the Empire Center is an arm of the nationally-known conservative think tank, the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
Naturally, I would be no more likely to blindly accept the views of the Manhattan Institute, or its local arms, than I would blindly accept the views of the NY State United Teachers, or its local teachers unions.
But you and I have a right to factual information, so that we can understand the realities, and not be misguided by the myths, of compensation in both wages and benefits of our own school districts.
Take every opportunity to gather those facts, and make your own informed judgments about them, and do not let anyone try to cover up that information or mislead you by saccharine-like statments or by plays upon your emotions.
Jerry Hannon
About Me
- Jerry Hannon
- After a thirty year career at Chase, serving as a Managing Director and Global Relationship Manager, I took early retirement in the summer of 2000, and that enabled me to become active in community, school district, and town activities. Since 2004, I have been a member of the Elwood School District's Citizens Finance/Budget Advisory Committee, and since 2005 I have been a member of its Audit Committee, and serve on three other committees of the district. During the 2006/07 school year I was President of the Elwood PTA Council, and I remain active in PTA activities. In the community I serve as EVP for Community Affairs of the Old Chester Hills Civic Association, and served the Town of Huntington as a member of its Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee. For thirty five years, I have been a Director of the NY Council of the Navy League, and currently am Chair of its Audit Committee. A Vietnam Veteran, I retired as a Commander in the US Navy Reserve, and previously commanded two Naval Security Group reserve units.