You read that correctly. Wauwatosa, WI teachers are upset that they got an across the board 3.8% increase, so they’re doing less around the schools.

Did you get a raise this year? How much was it? I’d put money on it that it was something less than 3.8%, but the teachers are still crying.

I’ve written in the past about the lavish wages and benefits handed out to Milwaukee Public Schools teachers. And teachers in Wauwatosa aren’t under any hardship either. Debbie Brent, president of the teacher’s union, made $60,051 in salary and $31,003 in benefits during the 2006-07 school year for teaching at Whitman Middle School. Over $91,000 for a part time job? Not bad.

And then add to that the increase during the 2007-08 year. I can’t find the amount, so I’ll be conservative and estimate 2.5%. Then add this 2008-09 increase of 3.8% on top of that. Suddenly, Brent’s compensation for this school year totals $96,876. Underpaid? Hardly. But reason for her to do less for the students in her mind.

You can check out the compensation levels for other teachers using this database. But if you look at all the employees in Wauwatosa, you see that the lowest paid teacher made $45,883 in salary and $28,277 in benefits in 2006-07, for total compensation of $74,160. Add last year’s estimate of 2.5% and this year’s 3.8%, and that teacher is at $78,902 in compensation for this school year.

And we’re supposed to feel sorry for these part-time employees? Before you tell me that I’m wrong about the jobs being part-time, take a look at this study. At the most, teachers work 36.5 hours a week, and that figure includes all time (both in and out of school) and pretends that all breaks/lunches are spent working. And obviously, we all know that teachers work about 9 months out of the year when you factor in summer and all of the breaks during teh school year.

Let me just put this all in perspective for you. Teachers work 36 or 37 weeks a year, but I’ll use 40 just to be conservative. 40 weeks x 36.5 hours per week = 1,460 hours worked per year. Using 2006-07 compensation figures:

$91,000 total compensation = $62.33 per hour

$60,051 salary only = $41.13 per hour

$71,000 total compensation = $48.63 per hour

$45,883 salary only = $31.43 per hour

Clearly, the teachers weren’t underpaid in 2006, and they’re not underpaid now. But their union, the Wauwatosa Education Association, hasn’t agreed to a contract with the school district. So in the absence of an agreement, the teachers get a default increase of 3.8%. That’s the way it works.

What’s so bad about that? Nothing, in my book. In fact, I’d be in favor of no increase at all, so I think they should be happy with that increase. (Don’t forget that the teachers can get additional raises automatically by earning more college credits.) But the teachers apparently wanted more.

How do the teachers respond to their raise:

Brent said a lot of teachers are cutting back on volunteering for after-school activities and writing letters of recommendation for students.

[snip]

Brent said during the first couple days of school teachers were not in the building past their contract times.

“I’m sure that’s the way it’s going to be for a while,” she said.

[snip]

Teachers passed out pamphlets to parents during open houses warning them of the possible cutback in activities.

“We are going to communicate what we are doing and why we are doing it,” Brent said. “No one likes surprises.”

I looooove it when teachers cry about how everything they do is for the children. No, it’s not. It’s all about their personal benefit, and situations like this prove it.