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Education Funding, why so low? Educational Crisis in US

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by qtlaw, Apr 1, 2018.

  1. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Are they talking about keeping the defined benefit plans for current teachers, but switching to 401k's for the new ones going forward? If that's the case, fine. I can see your argument.

    But if they are talking about switching it for the existing teachers, that is a problem. Those teachers agreed to jobs based on that benefit. They accepted smaller salaries or passed on other benefits to have that in place. They already gave on their end for years. Why is it fair to take away what they got in return?
     
  2. Alma

    Alma Well-Known Member

    I think the state will do that, or has.

    At any rate, defined benefit plans, going forward deep into the future...if a person could retire at 50 and draw a defined benefit for 40 years, that's just...not happening for much longer. Nor should it.
     
  3. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    That sort of change is coming. There are schools at all levels that have made the move away from traditional textbooks to digital materials and it is a trend that makes sense. At the college level, the expense of textbooks can be a real burden for students already struggling to pay their way through school. At the lower levels, schools can put their resources into other materials.

    But there are problems with that approach. It is expensive up front. Somebody has to pay for those devices. They have to pay for the access to some materials online. Often, school districts have to pay to upgrade the Wi-Fi in their buildings.

    There are also issues once all of that is in place. What happens when the technology fails? What does a student do when there is a problem with his or her device? What if the network goes down? A full day or more of instruction can be disrupted or lost entirely if everything is online. Also, what about the research supporting the idea that human beings retain more information when they read on paper than when they read online? What about the potential for misusing tablets, Chromebooks and Kindles to look at materials other than what is assigned?

    Again, I absolutely get what you are saying. Overall, I agree with you and I think that is exactly where education is headed, but there are some serious obstacles in the way.
     
  4. outofplace

    outofplace Well-Known Member

    Sorry folks. We made a deal with you, but now 10 or 15 years into that deal, we're going to take away the benefits you have been working for all this time. Too bad.
     
  5. DanOregon

    DanOregon Well-Known Member

  6. tapintoamerica

    tapintoamerica Well-Known Member

    True. It can't. Retirement at 50 is preposterous these days. A relic of when 65 was the beginning of the the end.
     
  7. tapintoamerica

    tapintoamerica Well-Known Member

  8. Just the facts ma am

    Just the facts ma am Well-Known Member

  9. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    Military people regularly retire before 50, after their 20 years.

    For example, the pension for Mike Bellotti, the University of Oregon’s head football coach from 1995 to 2008, includes not just his salary but also money from licensing deals and endorsements that the Ducks’ athletic program generated. Mr. Bellotti’s pension is more than $46,000 a month.

    Bellotti is an outlier, and the PERS terms that enabled him to cash in have not been in effect for more than a decade. If he coached today, Oregon could not include outside income while figuring his state-obligated pension benefits upon retirement.

    Benefits have been significantly reduced since Bellotti's era. He was a Tier I PERS employee, as was the OHSU employee cited in the linked story. Anyone hired after 1998 or so was hired, and will retire, under an entirely different system used to figure his benefits.
     
    Last edited: Apr 14, 2018
  10. doctorquant

    doctorquant Well-Known Member

    At half pay ...
     
  11. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    Which is more than most people get in their retirement pay, after working twice as long.
     
  12. HanSenSE

    HanSenSE Well-Known Member

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