Schools asking employees to help pay utility bills

[proud2BlibKansan]

They take my coffee pot and fridge away? - I'm outta there!

Schools limiting personal appliances
Officials: Power for mini-fridges, coffee pots busting budgets

Wednesday, November 30, 2005


ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) -- Teachers in budget-stressed schools are accustomed to shelling out for paper, glue and pencils. But the staff here wasn't ready for this: a new fee for having coffee makers, microwaves and refrigerators in classrooms and offices.

While school districts around the country are placing limits on personal appliances in an attempt to hold down energy costs, St. Paul's pay-for-plug approach appears to be unique.

In announcing the policy this month, interim Superintendent Lou Kanavati described the $25 per appliance annual fee as one in a series of steps to save money. He said the district's energy costs this year could exceed $6 million -- far more than the $3.6 million officials budgeted for.

For now, the district is asking for voluntary payment before deciding how to enforce the fee. People who pay it will get a sticker to affix to their appliance.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/EDUCATION/11/30/school.appliance.fee.ap/index.html

[Canuckistanian]

1. In a way, I agree with this

Everyone should be aware that energy consumption has a price.

But I think a more realistic price scheme should be used. A fridge uses much more energy than a coffeemaker.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. In most businesses,

there can be a central location for these appliances. But not in teaching. I am literally a prisoner in my classroom for 4 to 5 hours at a time. So yes, I am going to make it a comfortable environment.

We had to get rid of our microwaves a couple years ago. I reluctantly did so. But the thing that made me mad about that is that if they were really concerned about energy costs, they could spend some money to make the schools more energy efficient. My classroom is either 90 or 60 degrees. I am in a 95 year old building with no a/c and radiator heat. There are no storm windows - not even screens. So when we open the windows in the warmer months, we dodge bees and flies in our classrooms.

Now wouldn't it make sense to modernize the heat and a/c and save some REAL money on energy? Surely the savings from getting rid of small office sized refrigerators isn't close to what they would save if the heating and cooling systems were more energy efficient. Not to mention the first time a kid with an allergy gets stung by an insect, the lawsuit would cost more than a few dollars.

[Canuckistanian]

31. Why don't they just get energy audits?

I suspect you're right about the real waste of energy in schools.

An energy audit will tell you exactly where you're wasting real energy. And the changes needed can easily be justified by a professional report.

Targeting the small energy wasters is a step in the right direction, but also seems to be punishing to those who need the amenitites.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. Well that would make sense

School districts don't operate in sensible ways.

I am still waiting to receive supplies I ordered in SEPTEMBER. Three months. I have a new job this year working with new levels of kids and I needed to order age appropriate materials I did not have. But I still don't have them. So guess who has been buying things for the kids I work with?

We also adopted a new reading program. Last week I got an email reminding me to turn in test scores for my first round of quarterly assessments using this new program. But that would be tough, since I still have not received any materials for this new program.

Now do you understand why I am NOT going to help them pay their fucking electric bill? :)

[Canuckistanian]

36. I hear ya...

My wife used to be a teacher and got frustrated at the increasing number of resources that would be cut every year. And from what I hear, it's much worse down there.

And it's not like you have a big disposable income on a teacher's salary.

[GreenPartyVoter]

35. I think the feds should pay to help all schools go solar/wind powered

[msongs]

2. how about a fee to sit on the chairs - nobody NEEDS to sit .

or how about an abuse fee for the superintendents, or a hot air fee for the school board members. or maybe teachers should just starting working their legal contracts and quit being suckers and going overboard for the
government.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. LOL

great ideas.

[MADem]

3. Well, that seems a little unfair to me

A coffee maker doesn't pull the same amount of juice as a fridge, or a microwave, so why make them all pay the same price? And heaven help the teacher with, say, an undocumented curling iron!!!

This teacher has a valid point: "I've been universally hearing from members who are frustrated at the least and insulted at the most," Ricker said. "They say, 'We bring papers home to grade and we don't charge the district for electricity at home."'

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. Sometimes, I am tempted

to bring my laundry that needs folding to school. I can't tell you how many times I didn't do housework because I had so much school work to do.

[Love Bug]

41. There's more to it than just taking papers home

These teachers spend a lot of money out of their own pockets each year to help their students and make their classrooms better. Maybe they should start asking to be reimbursed for these expenses.

[proud2BlibKansan]

43. I tried that

They laughed.

[havocmom]

4. If the folks at the district office and the school board members

and all others at municipal facilities are charged the same....

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. School board members don't get paid

So maybe we should let them pass on the fees.

[havocmom]

19. nah, they tend to use the position as a starting point for political caree

and gain ;) They can buy their own coffee.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. Our board has had several retired teachers on it

Sometimes, they make darn good school board members.

[havocmom]

34. Your community is very lucky

and probably not the norm ;)

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. No it is just a large urban area

with a larger pool of candidates for school board positions. And not all teachers make good board members. A few of them have been really bad.

[goddess40]

32. They do in my city

They voted to pay themselves several years ago and have since given themselves a raise.

Most of our board stay on the board until their kids are done. Our gifted program lasted until the board members kids were done with it then it was cut.

[SmokingJacket]

5. That's totally reasonable.

Mini-fridges in the classroom???????????

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. I use mine for the kids to have cold water

I buy water bottles and keep them cold for the kids.

[SmokingJacket]

38. No water fountains? nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. Yes but the water is hot

WHEN they work. The one outside my room sat broken for over a year.

[Don Claybrook]

14. No. This is anything but reasonable

Do you have a coffee maker at work? I do. I'm afforded the conveniences of life where I work and I'm fortunate enough to make a hell of a lot more money than a teacher does. And as the article mentions, these teachers are already paying for school supplies.

I'm an advocate of treating teachers with the same respect that other professionals are given AND fully funding schools. If they can't pay the light bill, it's time to raise taxes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Thank you Don

It's nice to see that YOU get it.

This is such a crock. If my district did this, I seriously would probably take early retirement and leave. It's bad enough that we can't go to the bathroom when we need to.

It's also another one of those things that other employers would never do. Yet, we think it is okay to charge teachers for electricity.

[Norquist Nemesis]

20. Agreed!

I've always been torn over teachers' compensation and school district budgets, in general. I have to constantly remind myself to reject our own personal bad experiences with a few teachers and administrators so as not to paint a broad brush over all of them. There are many SUPERB teachers out there, a majority of above average, and then there's the few who cause outrage with calls for overall reform with less tax dollars.

I don't think teachers are well paid. I also don't think it can all be blamed on teacher unions (as much as some would like for that to happen). The majority of teachers go into the profession because they feel a 'calling' of sorts...certainly not for the money. It's not something I could ever have the patience and fairness to do.

Corporations will pay mega bucks to have a self-promoting "expert" come in and give a talk to 20 employees for half a day. The compensation for those few hours can amount to a month's salary for a teacher.

[ProfessorGAC]

24. Um! How Can The Majority Be Above Average?

I'm just sayin'.
The Professor

[Norquist Nemesis]

26. Well

It's a skewed bell curve... :P

[ProfessorGAC]

27. Distribution Is Too Large

The median will converge at the mean in ANY distribution as it approaches infinity. There are LOTS & LOTS of teachers in this country.

Don't try to outstat a statistician. (Of course, i'm just jabbin' at ya! Anyone who loathes Grover Norquist as much as me is ok by me!)
The Professor

[Norquist Nemesis]

30. LOL!

Replys taken in good humor. :)

(And of course, the specificities keeping me in line are appreciated :hi: )

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. My cousin is a doctor

Her malpractice premiums are more per year than my yearly salary.

[SmokingJacket]

37. I was a teacher, and there was a coffee maker in the breakroom.

That worked fine. Frankly, if there's a coffee maker in the classroom, perhaps the students should have a coke machine, too?

I left the field because of a lack of professional respect, actually. I wasn't allowed to choose my own teaching materials or have a say in the curriculum. Having to buy reams of paper was the least of my troubles, though I certainly did that, too. Money was tight; my students were poor and their parents couldn't pay higher taxes. I'm glad my school didn't waste its resources on appliances. All our lunches fit into one fridge.

I went back to school and taught college instead, where my ability to think for myself was valued.

That's the kind of respect teachers need, not mini-fridges.

[Don Claybrook]

39. Is this a reply to me or to someone else?

If you're replying to me, you've not comprehended what I'm saying. I never suggested schools should purchase refrigerators, coffee makers, etc. I did talk about how schools should pay for the electricity it takes to run the things. Surely you don't begrudge the teachers an electrical outlet.

[SmokingJacket]

42. Yes, I'm talking to you: It adds up, is all I'm saying.

A fridge running all night is enormously draining, and if a district is paying for all that electricity and simultaneously cutting the library budget, er, yes, I begrudge the outlet. One coffee maker and fridge in a break room should supply the needs of the teachers. If they're so addicted or snackaholic they need it on hand, there's nothing wrong with making them pay for it.

In a perfectly funded world, perhaps every classroom its own snackbar would be okay. But then again, I'm someone who's turned off my central heating and put in a wood stove to reduce my bills. I think we should do all we can to use less power -- "professional respect" doesn't include the right to be profligate with energy, IMHO.

[proud2BlibKansan]

47. So I take it you could walk down to that breakroom anytime

you wanted for a cup of coffee. We can't do that where I work. I am with kids for 4 hours without a chance to go refill my coffee or go to the bathroom. So I make my room as comfy as possible.

[SmokingJacket]

50. Er... no. I worked in rural Louisiana.

Often I got away from the kids only at lunch. But you fill up your coffee cup in the morning, go get lunch, refill it then. What's the big deal???

Sheesh, I don't remember my teachers in school having a coffee pot either.

[proud2BlibKansan]

52. Well, you see, I use my voice all day long

while I TEACH. So I need to keep something to drink handy. Cold coffee doesn't cut it. I drink coffee in the morning and then juice or water (which is chilled in my fridge) after lunch.

Now if I just gave my kids busywork and didn't actually TEACH, then I could probably get by without drinking anything.

And you know, when I was in school, I don't remember any teachers being pregnant. You don't remember coffee pots. Funny how times change.

BTW, I DO remember my dad, who was a teacher from 1949 - 1989, filling a thermos every morning to take to school. So he must have used his voice too.

[noamnety]

57. That sounds like me

I start work at 7:20am, and I don't get a break at all - not even a chance to pee, and no lunch break - unless I leave my classroom unattended, until 2:30.

I'm in a classroom with 21 computers throwing off heat, a glass wall facing the sun (think greenhouse), and no air conditioning. There are days when the room is in the 90s. On days like that, access to a bottle of chilled water during the course of 7 hours shouldn't be considered a luxury. It's not like I'm asking for time off to eat a snack-bar or a sandwich. I just want some water so I don't dehydrate, and I'd prefer if the water wasn't the temperature of bath water when it's already so hot I have sweat pouring down my forehead.

I would think the school would prefer that a teacher uses two dollars a month in electricity, rather than leaving their students unsupervised to wander down to a fridge on the other side of the school during class time.

[proud2BlibKansan]

59. You know what blows my mind?

I just read over this thread and I am STUNNED that there are actually DUers who think it is okay for a school district to:
A. ban appliances in classrooms
and
B. ask employees to help pay the electric bill

WTF??? If this was any other type of business, would we even be having this conversation? Why do we expect teachers to roll over and play dead while they are treated so badly?

My god, you don't even get a break for lunch?? That is wrong on so many levels. But here on DU, some probably think that is okay. :eyes:

[noamnety]

60. I don't get a lunch break because I'm serving lunch

It's somewhat self-imposed. The school couldn't afford the lunch program anymore, so they completely cancelled it. I didn't think that was right, and also I had a severe funding issue (100 photography students, 2 cameras). So I created a lunch program out of thin air, basically, with students helping me for community service hours. So all the lunch proceeds go to my equipment needs. (a dozen cameras, camera cards, banks of battery chargers, video tapes, projection screen, cables, card readers, etc. It may not sound like much, but I try to keep prices cheap since a lot of kids ought to be getting free lunches. Today bowls of chili were 25 cents, usually homemade potato parmesan soup or spinach turkey lasagna is 50 - 75 cents.)

So that's an extra hour before school starts for prep time, and my lunch hour down the drain because I make sure the kids are getting fed instead of me.

Originally, I was scheduled for a free hour in the morning, but so many kids were waitlisted for my classes for the last two years that I volunteered to give up the prep hour and teach an extra section. It's a brutal schedule. The last hour of the day was supposed to be hall monitor, but I had it switched to kitchen duty so I can wrap the salad bar properly and wash the pots and pans. I'm usually working in the kitchen another half hour or so after school, and then buying fresh produce and fresh bread for the next day on the way home. Teaching 6 classes a day, and running food service for an entire high school turns out to be a lot of work.

(But, you know, God forbid I should take advantage of the tax payers by demanding access to an occasional bottle of water that's below 80 degrees.)

[proud2BlibKansan]

62. You are a saint

I know it and so do most of the others who read your post.

BLESS YOU!!

We are problem solvers and take charge people. It takes a special person to figure out a way to solve two problems, as you have done so beautifully.

The ironic thing is that teachers like you are actually saving the district money. Yet, we have people here who think it would be okay to make you help pay the electric bill so you can have that cold water.

In an earlier post in this thread, I told about waiting for supplies I ordered in SEPTEMBER. I have spent an amount I am embarrassed to admit on supplying my classroom while I wait for the stuff the district is supposed to pay for. This would NEVER happen to anyone but teachers. Why do we allow the people we work for to treat us this way?

[noamnety]

65. I feel for you with the supplies

Last year I bought ten cheap digital cameras out of my own pocket, and bought cables and spliced and soldered them myself so we could download the images (they were the kind of disposable digitals that you aren't supposed to be able to download yourself, but we bodged it together).

This year I wanted more than point and shoot because that's no way to teach photography. I ordered 10 cameras in June, and they finally arrived after the first report cards went out this year (a quarter of the way through the year!).

Technically, I'm not allowed to have a slush fund, but the principal is looking the other way because she knows I didn't have any other options. The cameras I ordered the "right" way took 5 months to receive, and cost 50% more than the ones I was able to buy from the lunch money at a discount. When it takes 5 months to push an order through, you can't buy anything on sale. Ever.

And yes, I'm saving the school money. They lost $20,000 last year on the lunch program. This year, I'm doing it without costing them anything except (here's the ironic part of my post) the cost of running the fridges in the cafeteria.

I'm not trying to make myself out as a saint - the reality is that every teacher does something like that, in their own way. It might be the math teacher giving up her lunch every single day to tutor math students, or the English teacher giving up his lunch to run the poetry club, or the social studies teacher running foreign movies in the evening to raise money for the model UN class. Every single teacher where I work does more than what's in their contract. One year we voted unanimously to continue teaching our full schedules, despite being laid off half way through the year from full time to 5/6 of our schedules. If we accepted the cut classes, all of the honor classes would have been cut. It was the wrong thing to do, we all knew it, so within less than 24 hours we had a spontaneous meeting and voted to continue to teach the cut classes for free.

I'm not at a school that is begrudging us an outlet to plug in our own coffee pot or our own mini-fridges (these, by the way, are the little fridges that are the size of a toaster, not like dorm fridges). But the fact that people think we're scammers trying to get away with murder here by wanting to plug something in is insulting, to be sure.

[proud2BlibKansan]

66. We all have our standards

and I REFUSE to give up my duty free lunch. Most days it is the only time I have free from kids. I need it to regroup and destress. I will come in early, stay late, give up my planning time, work at home or teach on Saturdays, but my lunchtime is SACRED. Some days I sit at my desk and read LBN on DU. :)

So YES, I think you are a saint for doing this.

[ulysses]

67. another thank you.

:)

[msongs]

58. Put the kids on electricity generating pedal bikes all day so

they can pedal while they learn and the school can sell the energy to the utilities and we can make a PROFIT off the kids!

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[MADem]

68. Ha!!! Well, that would take care of gym class, and probably lower

the rate of childhood obesity...talk about multitasking!!!

[1932]

7. I think the school should have a fund

and tell teachers that that is the fund for electricity. At the end of the year, whatever they don't spend will go to a bonus for the staff.

That way there's an incentive for the teachers to increase their own salaries rather than increase energy company profits.

The community will be better off with the money staying locally in the form of employee wealth rather than going to the energy company. If the staff then want to use the money to turn up the heat at home, fine.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. LOL like there would be anything left?

No way would greedy administrators allow one dime of any such fund to come back to the employees. They would figure out a way to spend it. Trust me on that. :)

[1932]

18. The adminstrators would get the bonus too.

All you need to do is tell everyone they spent $X on electricity the previous year and they want to spend less this year (say $Y) so, as an incentive, they'll distribute .9(X-Y) to staff in the form of bonuses and they'll have a committee which will implement policies and procedures to encourage energy savings.

If you want people to either make sacrifices or do small things to save money, then give them a financial incentive to do so.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. Well, if the buildings weren't so old

and non energy efficient, I might think this is a good idea.

Like I said in a earlier post, if they REALLY want to do something about energy costs, then they would focus on the cost to heat and cool (and plumb) ancient facilities.

[lpbk2713]

11. Pay toilets are next.

I mean, after all, it really is a service the school board provides and the taxpayers have to pay for....... :eyes:


And a fee for the teachers parking in the school's parking lot.


Looks like the local officials are pandering for votes.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. Most teachers would NEVER

use the kids' restroom. So those pay toilets would make some money.

[Norquist Nemesis]

17. The first sentence says a lot

Teachers in budget-stressed schools are accustomed to shelling out for paper, glue and pencils.

Personally, I think the district is being ridiculous. If they're serious about it and want to conserve/reduce their electrical expense, then pool the resources and put one or two big pots, a toaster, microwave, refrigerator(s), etc. in the teachers lounge. Restrict food and beverage fixing to the lounge. :shrug:

[TallahasseeGrannie]

21. We are moving backwards. Read this!

Actual Rules for Teachers (circa 1915)

1. You will not marry during the term of your contract.
2. You are not to keep company with men.
3. You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. unless
attending a school function.
4. Your dresses must be not be any shorter than two inches above the
ankle.
5. You may not travel beyond the city limits unless you have the
permission of the chairman of the (school) board.
6. You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he
is your father or brother.
7. You may not dress in bright colors.
8. You may under no circumstances dye your hair.
9. You must wear at least two petticoats.
10. You may not loiter downtown in ice cream stores.

[TallahasseeGrannie]

23. Teachers have always been second class citizens

and I'm not sure why. Maybe the female thing. But in my district we are not allowed to use cell phones in our rooms! Or use AOL IM.

I have a phone but it goes through a switchboard and I can't use it during class hours.

I do have a small fridge and microwave, however.

But before I'd pay my district a dime I'd bring in a cooler, keep ice in it and bring a thermos of coffee and a sandwich for lunch.

BASTARDS!

[Norquist Nemesis]

28. Some districts provide the fridge and micro in the classrooms

Did you have to provide your own?

[TallahasseeGrannie]

29. Yes, they are mine

[proud2BlibKansan]

48. I have never heard of such a thing

Must be some RICH district.

Or maybe a school board member is related to a guy who sells mini fridges and microwaves. LOL

[proud2BlibKansan]

53. Why don't they just block AOL IM so your computers can't access it?

Our blocker is so ridiculous - you wouldn't believe the sites we can't surf to.

No cell phones? That's bad. The reason most of us got cell phones in the first place is because we had no phones in our classrooms. We just got them in my school last year. I can still remember the first time a cell phone salesman came to school. We were laughing that he did so much business at our school alone he could have retired a wealthy man. We sent him to a school a few blocks away and then that staff sent him to another school. The guy made a mint in just a week by selling phones to teachers. LOL

And how much time does a phone conversation take? That is so stupid. If I am testing or don't want to be disturbed, I call the office and ask them not to put any calls through. It is MY decision, not the school district's. But I do know principals in my district who won't allow calls to be put through to classrooms. I am so thankful mine isn't that controlling.

[tammywammy]

55. The last two years I was in high school

The school gave each teacher a handheld phone. It only worked in the building. It was connected to the switchboard and you could call directly to it as well.

The teacher could always turn off the phone if they didn't want to be disturbed (like during a test), and they all had voicemail too.

[Davis_X_Machina]

61. Filtering software...

...don't get me started.

I have a projector, laptop, and T1 connection all school-provided.
OpenOffice on the laptop to make presentations.

And every image search engine is blocked. As "Pornography". At the state level.

The bottomless slide cabinet of the gods -- the Internet -- right there. And no index.

I actually download the images at home, on my dial-up, and the text at school, on the T1 line.

Makes a lot of sense....

[proud2BlibKansan]

64. One of my kids wanted to do a biography on

Evil Knieval. (sp?)

He had to choose another famous person. Can't surf to any site with the word 'evil' in it.

Yet, I cannot allow the kids on the internet without watching them closely. They can get to every stupid cartoon network and video game site on the net. And the Disney Channel - which is the dumbest site! I asked for software to block sites I select. But that is apparently too complicated?

[seabeyond]

40. gonna come back to proudlib, cause you and i are together on

this......and.......all the money a parent now has to put out for these schools to educate their children. too too much money especially for the low income. period. bad bad

my kid started a newly built school, still had paint smell first month of school. i GAVE them a hundred dollars to the pot just cause. i bought a 30 dollar homemade charity pecan pie. i buy book scholarship everytime to donate money, and book fairs.

it is wrong.

i do it because it is needed and i know there are many that cannot. so it is throwing in for other families too. it is asking too much. this is what pisses me off most of bush, and texas......and repug as a whole that uses the system. i am also seeing all that is required of schools with govt demand, lack of fund, and messed up families ergo kids.... all over the place. i am seeing such kick ass stuff in this school like i have never seen before. so from what i am seeing, though they lack, in so many ways, they are doing a lot.

[proud2BlibKansan]

49. That is good to hear

That's what it's all about - local support.

Glad to see you get it. :hi:

[tammywammy]

51. When I was in high school

in the last 90s, only one classroom that I was in had a fridge. It was in the journalism teachers office, because they kept the film in it. Other than that, no one of the teachers had coffee makers or fridges or microwaves.

I never went into the home ec classes, but I'd assume they had them.

We had 1-1/2 hour long classes and the teachers managed to fill up their coffees in the 8 minutes between classes.

[MountainLaurel]

54. Elementary schools don't have time between classes

And if they do, they're responsible for getting students from one class to another.

[tammywammy]

56. I didn't think of that

Thanks for the input.

I understand that the district is cash strapped, but I think $25 is a little much. A coffee maker doesn't use nearly as much as energy as a fridge.

[MountainLaurel]

63. It's a problem

A friend of mine who was a special education teacher (no break because she would have kids for multiple periods) has bladder control issues and spent hours in agony, even with medication. Now she's in middle school teaching regular kids, so I think she can go more often. Also, drinking water regularly throughout the day is recommended for weight loss, but that was always impossible for the teachers in my Weight Watchers meetings. And having to hold it in all the time can lead to kidney problems.

[LWolf]

69. I have two appliances in my room.

The microwave belongs to the school, and kids are allowed to heat up their lunches brought from home in it. Not many do; they only get a 30 minute lunch, and don't want to spend the whole time waiting in line for the microwave. 3-5 kids a day, on average.

The "hot pot" is mine, and heats water for hot tea.