It appears that we are entering the Twilight Zone again here in Woodstock as we seem to do every budget season. For your consideration- Lindsay Paul’s public statements over the last couple of months:

Villager QUOTATION OF THE WEEK 4/10/09

“Our teachers have earned every dime of their salaries. We can’t single them out alone in the educational community in Connecticut to bear this burden. I feel our teachers agree to concessions every day working in Woodstock Public Schools.”

 — Lindsay Paul, chair of the Woodstock Board of Education, reacting to questions from the town’s Board of Finance regarding why Woodstock Public Schools’ teachers did not take pay cuts to balance the 2009-’10 budget. She also cites that teachers in other districts across the state are paid at or above the market average, whereas Woodstock teachers are not.

And from page 11:

...Paul rebutted, saying the Board of Education’s data indicates that Woodstock teachers are paid lower than the market average...

BOE FAQ’s Published in the Villager 2/13/09 (Typos corrected)

Q. How does our teacher compensation compare to other districts?

A. The Board looked closely at comparative salary schedules during our teacher negotiations last fall.  Our compensation scales are fair and generally tend to be near averages for both Windham County and DRG E.  Our negotiated contractual increases over the next three years are 1.57%, 1.78% and 2.32% per year. Including step increments, the increases are 3.85%, 3.95% and 4.0 % for 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12, respectively. Statewide teacher settlement averages are 4.4%, 4.53%, and 4.47% (as of October 2008). Our recent teacher settlement adds two instructional days from teachers’ professional days, and increases the instructional day by 10 minutes. In general, our teachers are committed, hardworking and effective, and many spend far more hours than are contractually required.  The Board remains interested in exploring potential alternative compensation structures which better recognize teachers’ knowledge and skills in their contributions to educational success. Our new contract provides for an annual stipend for teachers who attain National Board Certification, and for tuition reimbursement under certain conditions.

So Lindsay which is it? It appears that you will say whatever is expedient for whomever your audience may be. 

Here are the facts:





Source: CT SDE [Full Spreadsheet -HERE-]

Other facts for your consideration:

Teacher/Pupil Ratio WPS (‘09/10): 895 divided by 74 = 12.09
Teacher/Pupil Ratio WA (‘09/10): 1164 divided by 81*= 14.37

*Further clarificaton of the 81 at WA: Of the 81 faculty, 4 manage the curriculum coordination along with 11 others who manage the departments. The Coordinators do teach, however, they are given one less class each semester and are, therefore, considered as 2/3 of a teacher. Each of these faculty members continue to have teaching responsibilities of which three are part time for a full-time equivalent of 79.8- which equates to a teacher student ratio of 14.58.

State Averages:
 
In 2005-06, Connecticut had a 14.5 to 1 teacher/pupil ratio and the national average ratio was 15.7
Source: CABE (2008)

Connecticut currently ranks 3rd in the nation for average teacher salaries behind California and New York.
Source: NEA