I teach K-12 Art. This is the third year I have been at this job. We have a 7th grade class with 20 students and there are four that have serious behavior problems. There were no fights or anything like that but these guys will screw around over and over and leave on their own or get kicked out and come back in. Then there’s a couple others that are ready to go off any minute and a few more subtle troublemakers. It’s impossible to teach unless the worst behaved students are removed and they got removed a lot.

My principal came into the room several times for the entire class to get the situation under control which worked but even he kicked a kid out a least one time. Thankfully, 7th grade art ended three weeks ago and now I have the 8th graders who are a wonderful group. So I’m very grateful for the help and the input the principal gave me but now, five weeks before the end of school, I get my contract for next year and I do not have the typical $1000 pay increase. What the —???? So I ask some questions of the superintendent and I discover the principal’s observations of my class was his evaluation of my performance !!! This class is what my performance was evaluated on and now I’m on an improvement plan for next year (still don’t know what exactly that all entails) and I don’t get a raise because I was found to be in need of improvement. If I don’t improve, I may be terminated. Guess what, I have this same group of students right at the end of school next year. I’m not confident any amount of training is going to make a huge difference in managing this class’s behavior. As far as my other classes go, I don’t see that there’s a problem.

I’m wondering if the administration wants me to quit? This seems like a setup somehow. There were two teachers out of about 20 that were forced to quit at the end of my first year here. There were nine teachers that quit last year. One of the new hires this year, the HS special ed teacher, was told she had to quit or would be fired. This is her first year teaching. I can’t see that she could be that bad. I might expect that if a person misses a lot of work or if they come in with a hangover but that’s not the case. I have a hunch newer teachers that were made higher than average offers for compensation get squeezed out and that might be the real reason I’m under the gun.

WTH is going on here? How do I know something like this won’t happen again in the future? I can’t plan for the future like this. I already sent out one application but I need to get my contract in to my current job in the next couple weeks or I will have no job. Once the contract is signed, I’m stuck. Would be $5000 for breaking the contract and there could be other damages. Cool new job not so cool now. What should I do? Should I just quit at the end of this year? I think I could get a new job, maybe before the end of summer.

Any advice?

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Morning to you too, Rook. I have an excuse. I wrote that about 10pm and fell asleep at the wheel. Woke up and hit send, went to bed and here I am with a career change in the making?

With the turnover rate at that place it looks like leadership not the teachers are the problem. I mean, short of maiming them so they can't move around and make trouble, you sure can't tell the parents they have a problem. "My child? How dare you!' is the comeback, right?

If you first invested in yourself, you could have that nest egg flowing over to the point to tell your boss to shove the job up his ass. With the old proverb, 'don't throw out the baby water until' you can fill it up with a new job, there is your catch22. You'd think the troublemakers would change and grow up more next year, but management remains the same and those 9 that left, probably had a penalty paycheck worse than yours no doubt.

Maybe in the local newsletter the city tosses on your driveway, 'Summer Art Lessons' for said month(s) run before school starts... this is your 'invest in yourself money.' Call Vanguard. I'll assume both Q's are the same. But this buy point is under that buy point. That's one share of a QQQ.

You call the shots how you invest your cash at Van. They are not a hand hold kind of company. https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/stocks/snapshot?Ticker=QQQM
This is without the M, where I'd have to call and ask what is the difference, but it's a basket of tech companies either way.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/QQQ?p=QQQ

Short of buying all/some of those in the basket(s) as an individual stock and grab the dividends to reinvest, you get the compounding going for a few decades, you'll be in the catbird's seat and tell the world to go fuck themselves.

Kind of high risk, high reward money at this time in your life. I wish privateer was still around. That guy has to be loaded. He can read the books, where I throw darts and take the risk that way. Still, privateer is no billion dollar manager picking stocks to beat the averages. Most big name managers can't beat the market, so your best bet it to stick with the ETF's. They track a sector like the S&P500 or the Dow30. So more or less run a 1/3-1/3-1/3rd of those 3.

You could go 50/50 bonds and ETF's. Van can tell you the more conservative side. This would be the GNMA (Jenny-May). So Van would have this and if you said the ETF's and Jenny-May's you are interested in, this one just remains a floating 10-11 dollar float, or steady as she grows.
https://investor.vanguard.com/mutual-funds/low-cost

As far as the situation, you have a job, but with a pay cut. Beats an unemployment check, right? Eventually that stops coming in, but the job now is steady income. You're going to have to cut some things like... make a list. Do you really need trackday and piss that entry fee, gas there and back. One day of play is one share lost. No return on a trackday but instant gratification. Same money doubles every 7 years for argument sake.

So I'm still an eater. I don't have the bankroll to turn my head and stop eating shit the job brings. That's my suggestion. Keep the job. Create a side job. Pay yourself first with each paycheck. Instant grad is on hold. I don't know, challenge those asshole kids with something they like. Draw what they are thinking? Hey, they draw a potato head with Jenner's balls and they became culture cured, you didn't suggest the art. Tell the boss to call the parents and say you need a raise bringing the creativity out of their child, so pay up!

* Last updated by: Hub on 5/1/2021 @ 7:32 AM *

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Is this a legit school or an indoctrination camp?

Thanks for the support 144u. It is a legit public school. I don't think it was concerns about classroom management skills that got this all rolling although that's what it's being presented as. Could have been a parent complaining and I got blamed for it with no way to defend myself. It all happened without my knowledge.

Morning to you too, Rook. I have an excuse. I wrote that about 10pm and fell asleep at the wheel. Woke up and hit send, went to bed and here I am with a career change in the making?

That's pretty much the same way my evening went too!

you sure can't tell the parents they have a problem. "My child? How dare you!' is the comeback, right?

The one's that are really bad, I think their parents know their kids are really terrible in school, they don't know what to do about it though.

If you first invested in yourself, you could have that nest egg flowing over to the point to tell your boss to shove the job up his ass. With the old proverb, 'don't throw out the baby water until' you can fill it up with a new job, there is your catch22.

I've saved up 10Gs since I started. Hate to kiss those BST rims I've dreamt about since 2013 goodbye but I might have to if I take the KMA route.

True, it's a little hard to find a new job without having the current job and I can't take a new job if I have the old job. That's how I'd explain it simply but in reality, I might have a chance of finagling a deal. The band instructor just up and left at years end in 2020 without a new job and he found one.

You'd think the troublemakers would change and grow up more next year, but management remains the same and those 9 that left, probably had a penalty paycheck worse than yours no doubt.

These guys got worse since last year. I don't think they'll be better next year and they just got one more kid who I believe will be a tough cookie. Maybe I can get his big brother to beat him up a little at home. I don't see these guys simmering down until they get more separated from their immediate peers in high school...at least I would hope by then if I'm still there.

As far as the 9 teachers who made an exit last year, they all had jobs lined up so there was no need to sign the contract for the next year, they just fulfilled their existing contract and moved on. Covid shutdowns left a lot of time to job hunt. I guess I was foolish for actually keeping pace in my work when we had virtual classes. I was still getting paid so I worked. I haven't missed a day since I've been here. Three years. It's not that hard of a job that I need a day off. I get lots of time off already. ...but when you are job hunting, you'll cash in those sick days.

Maybe in the local newsletter the city tosses on your driveway, 'Summer Art Lessons' for said month(s) run before school starts... this is your 'invest in yourself money.'

Good suggestion. We have a summer camp here. I would need to be taking days off to do interiews though. Same catch 22 as working for the school.

You call the shots how you invest your cash at Van. They are not a hand hold kind of company. https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/stocks/snapshot?Ticker=QQQM
This is without the M, where I'd have to call and ask what is the difference, but it's a basket of tech companies either way.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/QQQ?p=QQQ

LOL I let Ma do my investing for me. She had 100k rolled up before the market went sour recently. She's working on it for me. Good ol Ma, hey? You gotta love your Ma. Supposed to be a downpayment on a house so I don't want to spend that.

I could actually live in a tent in the woods here for the summer and nobody would even know. Go swim in the lake every morning, nice and clean. Take a dump in the woods. The animals do it, I could too! I met a guy who told me he tents it all summer and finds a place to rent for winter. I'd hope to have a new job by the end of summer though. My landlady is so nice, she'd probably let me stay here free a while maybe for a little work on her farm.

Short of buying all/some of those in the basket(s) as an individual stock and grab the dividends to reinvest, you get the compounding going for a few decades, you'll be in the catbird's seat and tell the world to go fuck themselves.

Might just do that as it's getting less likely owning a home will be a good investment for me at my age. Ma's little nest egg might hatch into a big fat chick one day. In a couple decades, I'll be 75. That's not as good as telling the world to go fuck themselves as it would be at 45 but any age is a good age if you can do it.

Still, privateer is no billion dollar manager picking stocks to beat the averages. Most big name managers can't beat the market, so your best bet it to stick with the ETF's. They track a sector like the S&P500 or the Dow30. So more or less run a 1/3-1/3-1/3rd of those 3.

Ma has been successful day trading for years. Of course she had a good amount to start with. She gave it up a few years back but this is her one last hurrah. GO MOM!

As far as the situation, you have a job, but with a pay cut. Beats an unemployment check, right?

Yes, I thought of that. It would be better to stick one more year out here and make pretty ok money because UI will be half. Matter of of act, I wouldn't get UI unless I got fired and maybe not even then. I choose not to sign 21-22 contract, I forfeit work, I get no UI. School employees generally can't get UI even hourly workers unless they are dismissed on good terms. Sticky. I got it once when Milwaukee cut every single substitute teacher. Half pay went on for a long time getting cut every few months and eventually wasn't worth keeping track of how much I working underemployed and how much I got from UI.

You're going to have to cut some things like... make a list.

Oh I can cut way back when money is scarce. Money is scarce usually means a lot more time to hang out and relax. I don't need much when I'm relaxing. I don't even need to spend a lot on food. Good food is a reward for doing all the things I wish I didn't need to do. Potatoes are just fine. All of that is fine as long as I see the light at the end of the tunnel and I'm pretty sure its right there. Relax and find a new job.

So I'm still an eater. I don't have the bankroll to turn my head and stop eating shit the job brings. That's my suggestion. Keep the job. Create a side job. Pay yourself first with each paycheck. Instant grad is on hold.

Keep the old job, get paid the big bucks for a year, postpone the smaller bucks I might have to accept with the new job. Hope the old job doesn't decide to can me before year's end if I don't have a new job by then. If they do, I'm ready as I can be. Creating a side job here? Nobody has any money. I'm one of he well heeled dudes about town here.

Ma did some snooping on line. She found some tables showing I am the 15th highest paid school employee here. There's teachers with more experience getting paid less. I was lucky once in my life. I was on my way to sign a contract for another employer when my current boss called me to make the offer. He asked me what the others were payong and it was pretty good being it was the end of summer and they were on the spot a little. I really think I put on an impressive showing for them too drawing the VP while he interviewed me. Well the other employer offered me a thousand more because he was desperate too and I took it. The other three people who were hired at the same as me were paid 20-25% less than me. It's all online now. Public record. I know for a fact one of these coworkers hates my ass and now I think I know why. Oh well, in all sincerity, I feel for them. I only saved 10k in three years. They must be saving squat. I'm not sorry for being lucky once in my life though. Now I'm not so lucky. Goes that way. A good number of teachers there are making 15-20% more than me too and I know they must have gotten more than the usual $1000 raise to get to that level. I'd have work 15 years to get to their pay....well 16 now because I won't be getting a raise next year.

So this is the Catch 21-22 and I already take a dump in the woods having runners trots at times. I guess I won't be coaching the cross country team but I can rough it when I need to.

* Last updated by: Rook on 5/1/2021 @ 8:18 PM *

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The PIP is the management process to the next move if they want to or have to go there. Take it seriously.

They probably will want you to be proactive and set up your PIP - lazy bastards, but the evil HR bitch loves this slow painful method. Unfortunately you may need to exceed the bastards unrealistic expectations.

Ive had to go thur this with staff engineers who were just jerks, which you are not, and it sucks. Worst thing to do is get defensive, it never goes well

One bit of advice I always give people is the evil HR bitch is there to protect the school from the employees, not help the employees.

Hope this is really nothing, but someone got the boss to look in on you. Only upper management can help, if you have someone you really trust and could work with on this it could help.

You can get thru this

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The PIP is the management process to the next move if they want to or have to go there. Take it seriously.

Oh they went there. I haven't seen anything yet but unless they reconsider (which I've already asked them to do and laid out a good rational for my request) I'll be on it by next year.

They probably will want you to be proactive and set up your PIP

I've already been warned not to set up my own improvement plan. I'd be documenting my own need for improvement. I won't do that because I have no needs to improve that are serious enough to require my dismissal if I fail to improve in those areas. I already have improved vastly and this pattern as well as the increase in class sizes and students who are taking art for the second or third time foreshadow another highly successful year for me. I honestly think any school that cares about art is foolish to let me walk away. Unfortunately, most schools don't care much about art. That's why I'd like to get double certified for math. Again another huge plus they'd be turning their back on.

Ive had to go thur this with staff engineers who were just jerks, which you are not, and it sucks. Worst thing to do is get defensive, it never goes well

You know me rude, I'll tell it like it is when I really feel I need to. There is no reason to let my bosses call all the shots. I have something to offer, if they don't think it's good enough, I'm free to go. There's no need for anger. Things end if they're inadequate. Works that way from both sides of the table. They will need to interview art teachers, how ever many they can get, I will need to interview at schools. They have a school they can't move, I have nothing permanent to guard. My pay is not so great I will sacrifice my principles. I'm at an advantage here, not them. They've put themselves in a spot not me.

One bit of advice I always give people is the evil HR ----- is there to protect the school from the employees, not help the employees.

Yes I've considered that. HR is the principal in this case. I will never know the whole story but the story aint I'm a teacher that isn't good enough. It's something else.

Hope this is really nothing, but someone got the boss to look in on you. Only upper management can help, if you have someone you really trust and could work with on this it could help.

Yes, that someone could be a concerned parent. I'd be a concerned parent too. It's all a matter of who takes the fall and this time it's me. I don't think this is really nothing given the signs I've seen over the years. If it is nothing much, they took the wrong course of action to point it out to me and haven't backed off a bit. It would take a heck of a lot to restore my trust but I can't put anyone on an improvement program.

You can get thru this

Thanks, rude. Been through a hell of a lot worse and more than once. This time, I have some big advantages with very few small disadvantages. There is no reason to stay here except commitment. Commitment is a two way street. Once it becomes a oneway street, it's gone and it's awful hard to regain the trust.

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Needing to worry about a job lasting defeats the purpose of that job. It becomes without longterm value, perhaps even short term.

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G'Day Rook,

Sorry to hear of your concerns and challenges.

Apart from your initial post, I haven't taken the time to read all that has been written in this thread so sorry if I double up but here is a few points to maybe consider.

Don't make any rash or emotional decisions.
Take the maximum amount of time available to you. It's amazing how a hasty decision made today under duress and with emotion can be extremely costly tomorrow.
Just remember these people will not loose one minute's sleep if you suddenly decide to resign. You have to look after number one. Yourself.

Grab a piece of paper and write down all the pro's and con's about your current position.
Sometimes seeing the detail in black and white can provide a distinct way forward and it may not be the one you thought it was.

You've told all here about your concerns. Have you considered talking to your Principal?
When I was back in the corporate game and wanted to talk to a senior manager about a sensitive issue, I'd call a private one on one meeting and start with
"Thanks very much for seeing me. There is something I wanted to discuss with you. However how would you like me to approach this? The politically correct way or be extremely direct and forthcoming?"
I don't know of any manager that would ever say "Politically correct please".
The point being that if the manager says you are out of line for any reason during the meeting you are covered by your initial question. And as long as it's done respectfully and not in a negative or challenging manner, you may just alert your Principal to something he was not aware of and come to some sort of understanding.

I hate Unions. Once upon a time they did amazing things for workers. Now they are just thugs who protect the guilty on the condition they are Union members. That and make unreasonable demands. I have dealt closely with them in the past from a management perspective and have never had a decent experience.
But are you a Union member and if not should you consider joining?
It might just give you some semblance of support and protection.

As tempting as it can be, don't discuss your situation and concerns with your work colleagues. Nothing surer it will get back to the very people you wanted it kept from.

Keep all your options open. You never know what the future holds and the direction it might take you.

Lastly if work related uncertainty, stress, or anything negative starts afflicting you, don't sit around and mope on your time off. Spoil yourself with something you really enjoy. Look after yourself and get yourself as ready as you can be for the potential challenges to be faced.

Anyway, just throwing a couple of idea's your way.
Really good luck with getting this sorted mate...

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Take the maximum amount of time available to you. It's amazing how a hasty decision made today under duress and with emotion can be extremely costly tomorrow.
Just remember these people will not loose one minute's sleep if you suddenly decide to resign. You have to look after number one. Yourself.

Yep, I'm not planning on signing my contract for working here next year until I know what's going on. I don't even know what the PIP is yet.

I've mapped it all out in advance too even before the current job trouble came up. It already is not in my best interest to stay here if I'm not happy with the job. There are too many negatives surrounding owning a home here and I consider owning a home a must. If the job causes me stress, there's no reason to be here.

and yep, I'm sure the administration has already calculated that I might quit and has a plan too cover that contingency. I do too.

You've told all here about your concerns. Have you considered talking to your Principal?
When I was back in the corporate game and wanted to talk to a senior manager about a sensitive issue, I'd call a private one on one meeting and start with
"Thanks very much for seeing me. There is something I wanted to discuss with you. However how would you like me to approach this? The politically correct way or be extremely direct and forthcoming?"
I don't know of any manager that would ever say "Politically correct please".
The point being that if the manager says you are out of line for any reason during the meeting you are covered by your initial question. And as long as it's done respectfully and not in a negative or challenging manner, you may just alert your Principal to something he was not aware of and come to some sort of understanding.

Already talked to the principal and the superintendent. The story is we want to educate our students so they are successful and we want to do the same for our teachers, yes, you've improved as a teacher but along with that comes higher expectations. In other words, they're not backing down at all.

I like your choice of words for asking about a politically correct conversation v a direct one. I may use that.

I hate Unions. Once upon a time they did amazing things for workers. Now they are just thugs who protect the guilty on the condition they are Union members. That and make unreasonable demands. I have dealt closely with them in the past from a management perspective and have never had a decent experience.
But are you a Union member and if not should you consider joining?
It might just give you some semblance of support and protection.

I feel the same about unions and I'm happy to say we don't have one in Wisconsin anymore that I need to pay any dues out of my check to. No regrets even now.

As tempting as it can be, don't discuss your situation and concerns with your work colleagues. Nothing surer it will get back to the very people you wanted it kept from.

Too late. I already talked to three but I didn't make any disparaging comments. I got some valuable info too. I don't care if my bosses find out what I feel. I already told them and I will probably tell them more if I need time off to interview. If I take a day off now after I never missed work in three years, they will know it's for an interview. Why not be upfront? If we're parting ways, might as well make it as friendly as possible.

Lastly if work related uncertainty, stress, or anything negative starts afflicting you, don't sit around and mope on your time off. Spoil yourself with something you really enjoy. Look after yourself and get yourself as ready as you can be for the potential challenges to be faced.

Thanks, Yan. I have the ball rolling now and there's no reason to stop it.

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No changes here since I posted this. I had a look at Wisconsin art teacher vacancy openings soon after wrapping my head around this and there's a good number of jobs available right now. There just so happened to be one in the community where I grew up and I had my resume in just a day or two after it was posted but someone else was hired probably chosen before they posted the opening. I don't think they even did any interviews. I interviewed Friday at a high school about 30 miles from where I am now and that looks hopeful. I should know by midweek.

* Last updated by: Rook on 5/16/2021 @ 10:50 AM *

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Great you have some options!

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Update:
Have sent out 5 applications.

The first and most wanted right in my hometown community had the person they wanted to hire lined up before they announced the position being open. No go on that one.

Second, 30 miles from here, had interview, went well but I believe they are looking for someone with more of a computer background. Still up for grabs so there's a slight possibility I could get it if they can't find a suitable person (that's how I got the job I have now).

Third and fourth, they hire their elementary art teacher to this high school position but that left the elementary art position open. I have an interview scheduled for Tuesday morning.

Fifth, a suburb of Milwaukee near where my kids live. Completed perceiver test Thursday night. Maybe I will hear from them soon.

Pretty good response considering only 5 applications made so far. I still need to sign my current contract very soon or else accept being out of work and hoping I can find a new job before the end of summer.

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Just found it, I need to sign my contract with my current employer by June 15 or I'm out of work.

If I didn't have child support to pay, I think I'd consider not finding a new job by the end of summer a good risk. There's always going to be someone backed into a corner without an art teacher at the deadline. That's the best time to cut a deal. Worked for me three years ago. I just never thought of teaching as a high risk, high stakes, jet setting occupation. It's not high stakes!

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Those were the good old days if she was working in the 70s. It's not so good in Wisconsin anymore. I still like it though.

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Difficult situation. Maybe staying put for now and putting your shoulders into it and next year getting a great review will lead to an unexpected opportunity in your future. I've been on both sides of this BS. If you end up doing what you feel is right and righteous, no matter what happens you will be at peace with your decision and will hold your head high. Head held high cause you did right is the best way forward no matter which path you take.

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Thanks, rudy. My interview went fine today but I think they will hope to hire someone with more elementary experience than I have. I would agree, I'm better suited to high school. Also, I would definitely want more money if I were to be offered this position because they deduct from wages for insurance and where I am now doesn't. I still have two weeks and I could even ask to be released from the contract if something comes up pretty soon...or just pay the $5000 to get out of it. I'll see what I can do otherwise, I probably will stay put for another year.

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I will most likely stick with the present job. Two of the things on my improvement plan have already been resolved. Two need work and I agree they need work. I think a serious discussion would have been better than threat of termination but whatever. I'll keep looking at other jobs but I'm not applying for everything I see. If I can get a high school job in a reasonable sized city, I'll probably go with it...assuming they would cover the $5000 fee for breaking my contract which they probably wouldn't. The awful 7th grade class I had didn't have anything to do with this. This is all actually due to complaints by the elementary biddies to the school board and the principal has to follow the school board. The principal said he's in my corner. So screw those beotches, I'm improving in grand fashion and I'm asking for that thousand bucks I missed out on at the end of the year. If I move on, Ill let you all know. It's bound to happen at some point. I like the job but I don't like the old biddies.

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A busy half of the summer and now halfway through the current year, I've come to a decision: time for somebody to shit or get off the pot and it's going to be me.

I’m planning to write my letter of resignation this weekend. Of course I intend to finish the school year but if I don’t find a new job by summer, I want to have that time to keep looking.

As for the improvement plan, I haven’t heard a peep from my supervisors. I’ve done my best to do everything I planned to do according to the general outline that was provided to me. To tell you the truth, I set up more for myself in the classroom management department than I can really handle at this point but I don’t see that there was much of a problem in that area in the first place. I have ALL of my lessons scheduled and I have more planned than the students can handle. The lesson planning has been a big help to me this year. I also dove into Adobe Creative Suite and have learned a lot about new softwares that I am teaching. The lesson planning and software would have been my priorities without even having the improvement plan so I guess all I had to do was to do what I normally would have chosen to do as a part of my natural development as a teacher. It helped to have a fire lit under my butt because I had a lot done in advance of the year starting so now, I am able to focus on teaching.

I will hand deliver my letter of resignation to my superintendent on Monday as well as send it by certified mail. There will be a school board meeting on Monday night. I assume my resignation will be important enough to put on the agenda at the last moment. If they want to keep me along with all of the experience I’ve gained through working for them, they will have to ask me to negotiate. I’ve decided to resign instead of ask them to negotiate incase their answer might be, “we were not planning to renew your contract anyway.” If I resign first, I beat them to the punch and they have a whole semester to decide if they want to ask me to stay… while I’m looking for a new job, that is.

I expect they will accept my resignation. If they don’t, I’m asking for a 20% increase in pay. The increase would actually be about 15% of the salary I would have had had I not been denied the standard pay increase of $1000 for the current year. It sounds fair to me, my value has increased and I must also protect myself against the possibility of ever having my less than COLA increase be denied again. I’m ready to move on. If the job isn’t good here, there's no reason to stay and that has been born out for decades by the number of students who have left never to return.

They’ve ensured that I’m a more valuable employee. It’s time for them to pay or let me walk. They put me in this position. If I ever have a contract not renewed for reasons other than my program being eliminated, I must report that on all future job applications. I will do my best to approach everything in the most positive light possible from now until the end of the year. That’s one reason I decide not to ask to negotiate next year’s contract. If they want to, they can do that themselves. If they don’t, it avoids a big sore point.

Thoughts?

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I haven't thought about leaving Wisconsin but there's no reason not to. If I can get certified for Tennessee without any additional college credits, I'd go in a heartbeat!

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Good Luck Mr Rook and hope the best for you.

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Hope it all works out well for you! -bg

Thanks gents. I'll let everyone know how it all turns out.

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My outfit is hiring.

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G'Day Rook, sorry you find yourself in this unstable position.
I wish I had the magic answer for you but only you can make the call.
Only you know the full details of your situation.

My only 2 cents worth would be do not make the solution worse than the problem.
Things like:-
- Before any decision are you financially solid enough to withstand not finding another job for an unexpected and extended period?
- Is there a possibility that your current situation could improve and resolve?
- You are not doing this on emotion to teach those who have let you down a lesson.
- You are completely okay with upending and moving your life elsewhere to a new town or state if a new opportunity presents itself.
- Would you accept a complete change of career path if necessity demanded it?

If it has to be done do it.
But if doing so puts you at any sort of untenable risk perhaps some more thought is required.
Is it possible to safeguard yourself and keep working while looking for a new opportunity elsewhere?
Is there an opportunity to transfer within?
Is there anything you yourself can do to improve your current situation?

You are the number 1 priority Rook and your decision should benefit you and yours.
However life dictates your call might be the right or wrong one.
Just make sure your decision is not to be regretted due to lack of contemplation regarding outcome.

Really good luck my friend...

* Last updated by: yannih on 1/16/2022 @ 11:14 AM *

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- Before any decision are you financially solid enough to withstand not finding another job for an unexpected and extended period?

I have 27k saved. A couple thou will go to my kids yearly out of pocket medical expenses right away. I told them I had to give them a pay cut this Christmas compared to last. They're great kids, they understood. If I come out ahead on this job deal, I'll make good on it for them. If not, Dad's gotta take care of himself first. I can last a year on 20k even paying my child support which is not very high.

- Is there a possibility that your current situation could improve and resolve?

Yes but it could also get worse like if they don't hire me for next year, then I have to explain that to future education employers.

- You are not doing this on emotion to teach those who have let you down a lesson.

Nope, I've been thinking it through since the beginning of last summer. My quitting probably wouldn't be much of a lesson. I don't think anyone cares that much.

- You are completely okay with upending and moving your life elsewhere to a new town or state if a new opportunity presents itself.

Sure. This place is a crappy place to make a longterm commitment to. Expensive, lots of travel to get groceries, health insurance has a $3000 deductable, it would be a long long time before anyone ever bought your house if you wanted to sell it and the nice cabins that someone might want to buy for a seasonal home are financially out of my reach. I rent a 500 square foot dump but it's cheap and the owner is very nice. Nobody I would marry lives here. All there is is school and if that's not good, there is no reason to stick around. Too many deer, that's for sure!

- Would you accept a complete change of career path if necessity demanded it?

Sure, if it looked promising, I'd do it.

Is it possible to safeguard yourself and keep working while looking for a new opportunity elsewhere?

Nope. They don't have to fire me, all they need to do is not renew my contract for 22-23. That would put a serious black spot on my teaching record...and I was told last year I could be fired if I don't inprove. Personally I don't think they would do that because I'm not that bad of a teacher. They would cause themselves more problems than they would solve.

Is there an opportunity to transfer within?

The closest thing to that is find a new Wisconsin Public Schools job and that's what I'm doing. I'm looking for a larger city and high school only. Right now I'm K-12.

Is there anything you yourself can do to improve your current situation?

Already did it. I've followed through with the improvement plan. I haven't recieved any feedback from anyone. It's like it never happened...but it did.

Thanks, yan, I'll be ok. You just wait.

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My outfit is hiring.

Are they looking for artists? Actually, I was planning to learn CAD software as part of my digital art program. I could be a master by the end of summer. You got any big paying jobs for CAD designers?

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