Letter: PR Teachers Have Contributed Their Fair Share to Pension Plan
Letter writer Butch Santicola, field director and communications specialist for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, says some PR residents are making conclusions based on inaccurate information.
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Butch Santicola, field director and communications specialist for the Pennsylvania State Education Association, is the author of this letter to the editor.
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Where do we begin?
These are difficult times for everyone, our members included. One thing for sure is that some Pine-Richland residents are coming to conclusions based on wrong facts. Under normal circumstances, one could ignore their innuendos and calls for action.
But we can no longer sit back and permit misinformation to bring down the morale and standing of the special place Pine-Richland School District and Community has become.
It was recently reported that Pine-Richland School District will face rising pension costs. A group of taxpayers gathered to discuss the situation and, as is popular in this day and age, the brunt of their anger pointed to the teachers.
The surprising aspect of this gathering is that individuals who served on the school board hosted the meeting. They know teachers are not responsible for the pension spike.
Maybe they don’t want to admit that teachers and other public employees have done their fair share from the very beginning. In fact, public employees like those in Pine-Richland are the only ones to contribute their fair share.
From 1986 until 2001, teachers contributed 6.25% of salary into their pensions. In 2001 that contribution rate increased to 7.5%. In 2011 new employees contributed 10.3% of salary.
Simply put, the teachers have contributed their fair share from the first day they became Pine-Richland School District employees. But when this law passed, the school districts were given options. They could keep contributing to the pension fund or reduce their contributions.
In 2001, most school districts applauded the change in the law that gave them the right to lessen their contributions. That was a mistake. Most school boards took advantage of this law and spent what would be a pension contribution on something else.
The danger of changing the contribution rate of school districts—giving them the right to lower their contribution—was seen by many. Even the Pennsylvania School Boards Association warned the PSERS Board that when the rate dropped, school districts would live to regret it.
PSBA was 100% right!
Butch Santicola, Field Director and Communications Specialist
Pennsylvania State Education Association
Do you agree or disagree?
Tell us in the comments.
Stephen
9:58 am on Thursday, August 16, 2012
Teachers should contribute more to their pensions, and the school district MUST spend less! The economic norm has shifted and neither the spending nor the pensions can be sustained. It is time to get back to fiscal reality and tighten our belts across the board... if not, our children will live to regret our fiscal illiteracy!
Parent of 2012 Grad
2:22 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012
Butch,
I have heard you on the radio numerous times touting the difficulties that teachers endure. I hope that you will take a moment to address the taxpayers of PR and their concerns.
Your opening proposition, "these are difficult times for everyone, our members included" is contrived and, moreover, a faulty premise. It essentially illustrates how detached and isolated you are. A work force that continually bemoans contributing to health care discourages any cooperative discourse.
Parent #2
10:42 pm on Thursday, August 16, 2012
Butch- this letter is sophomoric at best. What facts do these taxpayers have wrong? What misinformation do they have? You assume they don't understand the situation because you don't want to face the reality of what they are asking the board to consider. Kudos to this group of citizens, who are doing this on behalf of the silent majority of PR taxpayers.
Nelson D. Noel
12:06 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
Butch - The only one here working with misinformation is you. i've never worked in the "public sector," so I don't know what its like to have my employer obligated to contribute to my pension. Other than profit sharing, which normally runs in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred dollars a year, I am responsible for 100% of contributions to my pension. When you say "In fact, public employees like those in Pine-Richland are the only ones to contribute their fair share," you obviously have no clue what a fair share is! I can understand why you want to keep such a sweet deal, but lying to us is not helping your case in the least.
Richard
7:49 pm on Friday, August 17, 2012
Although I might not agree with the pension system, Butch is correct in his letter. If PR contributed 3% instead (while teachers put in over 6%) of around 1% for a decade then we would not be in this situation. Not the teachers fault...they didn't create the system.
Cindy Cusic Micco
2:35 pm on Monday, August 20, 2012
Marilyn Reed of Taxpayers Concerned in Pine-Richland wished to respond to this letter, but her comments were too lengthy to post here.
I suggested she put her thoughts in a Letter to the Editor. To see that letter, click on this link:
http://pine-richland.patch.com/articles/letter-a8543f93
If anyone else wants to write a Letter to the Editor or blog on this issue, simply email the editor at cindy.micco@patch.com