CAT Tracks for September 14, 2009 SPECIAL EDITION...UPDATED

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The first new payday arrives TODAY, September 15th.

For that reason, I have "bumped" this August 17th "Special Edition" to the top of your CAT Tracks reading list. It provides the tools to figure out if your check is right.

For you newbies, a recurring, well-advised refrain in Cairo School District Number One is...

"CHECK YOUR CHECK!".

It was brought to my attention last month that I had omitted one group from the discussion below...the folks who are beyond the posted salary schedule, those folks getting paid for 30 years or more of experience.

The bottom line here is that ALL returning teachers are getting exactly the same raise over last year...the only difference being whether you possess a Bachelor's Degree or a Master's Degree.

(Reminder: You part-time folks no longer possess a Master's in the eyes of the Cairo Board of Education AND the most "experience" you can have this year is 29 years. However, I'm sure you feel all warm and fuzzy at having saved the financially strapped school district! Never have so few given so much...)

Back to the full-time folks...

If you are being paid for BS or BS+16, then your raise this year is $1510 (or $62.91 per check...before deductions.) If you are being paid for MS or MS+16, then your raise this year is $1650 (or $68.75 per check...before deductions.)

Since you may have misplaced the 2009-2010 TAXABLE Salary Schedule that was attached to the "Special Edition", it is now posted at the bottom of this updated edition for your convenience. Again...THIS is the salary schedule that is used for computing your paycheck...NOT the one printed in the Contract.

If you have any further paycheck questions, feel free to e-mail me.

If not...then you've been "getting out" entirely too much. You need to stay in, sit down at the computer and type the following address into your browser...

Bookmark it...add it to your favorites...then you won't find yourself asking your more informed colleagues..."How do you know all this stuff?"

With the rare exception of this "back-to-school" special edition, you will NOT find CAT Tracks in your school mailbox...and don't even think about the U.S. Mail. You can find it in your e-mail box...IF you sign up at our website.

No, CAT "went green" back in 2002...when "extenuating circumstances" caused the "launch" of our previously obscure website. With all due modesty, CAT Tracks is now read near and far...coast to coast...even outside the United States. The wonders of the Internet...

This year shall be no different...

Contrary to what Kermit may say...it's much easier (and cheaper) being green!

That said...

Since this is a new year, with new teachers, and a new address, it seemed appropriate to deliver a "hard copy" as an introduction/reminder.

And, the questions have already begun...

Curious CATs are already inquiring...when do we get our new contracts, and, more to the point...how do we know what we get paid this year???

Answers...

You will receive a copy of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) this morning. You would have received them (as promised) last Friday, but due to circumstances beyond our control...

When you get your contract, do not bother looking at the salary schedule...it will NOT tell you what you should expect to receive in your first pay check on September 15th. The attached "old editions" of CAT Tracks will explain why. (June 4th and June 8th)

Not to worry...

Included in this "Special Edition" is a copy of last year's salary schedule (which you never received due to the extended negotiations period). Also attached is the "taxable salary schedule" for the 2009-2010 School Year...the one "banned" from the CBA. THIS is the one that shows the amount of your "gross pay"...taxable pay before deductions...for federal tax, state tax, your share of health insurance premiums, etc.

This schedule is attached as the "last page" so that you can easily remove it and keep it for reference.

Find where you fall on the salary schedule. Again - as explained in the June 4, 2009 edition of CAT Tracks - if this is your first year of teaching, you are at Step 1. If this is your 16th year of teaching, you are at Step 16. Take THAT number and divide by 24...the number of paychecks in a school year. THAT is the number that you should see on your September 15th check as the "starting point"...the aforementioned "Gross Pay". After subtracting your various deductions, you will arrive at your "take-home pay".

Bottom line: If you were a teacher is CSD #1 last year, you will make $1510 more this year than you did last year (if you were in the BS or BS+16 lanes.) If you were in the MS or MS+16 lanes, you will make $1650 more this year than last. If you were not a teacher in CSD #1 last year, well...what you see is what you get!

That's it!

We sincerely hope that everyone has a GREAT YEAR!!!

See you on the Internet...