School not paying on time

amother

Black

Wed, May 08 2019, 3:45 pm

amother [ Scarlet ] wrote:

The school I work at just paid us for February- not easy

Same. The hardest part is that I still have to pay my babysitter, transportation, etc. on time.
So my job ends up being an expense. And although I love my job, I am not working for “fun” as do many assume all teachers do. I really rely on my paycheck.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Wed, May 08 2019, 3:49 pm

amother [ Black ] wrote:

Which teacher works for fun?? This is ridiculous. What keeps you motivated to actually do the work, calling parents, showing up, doing report cards etc.

groovy1224

Wed, May 08 2019, 3:57 pm

My husband has worked in half a dozen schools in the trip state area, not one has ever been late with a paycheck.

There is a bais yaakov type school near me that has been paying teacher's late. My friend is single and she's last on the list to get paid because by their cheshbon, she needs it less than the married teachers. Horrible.

amother

↑ Crimson

Wed, May 08 2019, 8:15 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Which teacher works for fun?? This is ridiculous. What keeps you motivated to actually do the work, calling parents, showing up, doing report cards etc.

I don't work for fun, but I'm not so money aware, and I really enjoy my job...
So that's why I said my husband around be the one to forbid me from stirring if chas veshalom I want getting paid.
Showing up and teaching is the best part of the job!
Calling parents and doing report cards, ich.
But truthfully, if I wasn't getting paid, I wouldn't think twice about being absent, handing in firms and report cards, etc. I hear you.

amother

Chartreuse

Wed, May 08 2019, 8:35 pm

Just curious what kind of schools are paying late? Are these mainly chassidish or lkwd schools where tuition is a fraction of the cost? I’ve been working in the business office of schools for the past 15 years. The first was a big oot school that had boys and girls school k-12 and they always paid on time. The second was a big boys school in tri state area that had k-kollel and they also paid on time. I now work in a boys highschool also tristate area and for the first time ever I am not paid on time but they were never more than a week late.

amother

Green

Thu, May 09 2019, 12:18 am

It's horribly frustrating: Definitely affects morale. I hope they get back on track real soon, but I don't know how much you can bank on that. It has become somewhat standard in many struggling schools.
The school I worked in had very few paying parents. Pay came months and months late, and checks were postdated. Often bounced, resulting in fees. There was very little gov. funding. Money mismanagement thrown into the mix. One year teachers were contemplating some sort of 'strike'. I can't remember if it was not giving in reports or not showing up, but they definitely planned action. It was a different dept than I was in so I can't remember if they actually did it and what results were. I do remember that they asked a shayla and were told not to do anything which would adversely affect kids, but I don't remember the parameters of that. To their credit, the school paid everyone up within a couple of YEARS-even teachers who had been gone for a while. Yes, I still credit them for this because schools are always struggling and they could've found a million and one excuses to forget about teachers that they were no longer contracting.
I ended up leaving teaching for a more lucrative field with way more potential. I was and still am the primary breadwinner and it just didn't make doing sense to continue-even if I weren't the primary breadwinner. Couldn't be happier with my decision. I'm discouraging dd from going into teaching.
There is a shortage of teachers. My old principal calls me every year in Sept. to tell me she's still short of teachers. She ends up taking lower caliber teachers sometimes.
Sad for schools, sad for teachers, but I -and many like me - can't afford to teach.
Good Luck with your own decision making.

amother

↑ Taupe

Thu, May 09 2019, 4:11 am

groovy1224 wrote:

My husband has worked in half a dozen schools in the trip state area, not one has ever been late with a paycheck.

The more left you go, the more likely the pay is on time. There is also a hierarchy of pay in some schools. Men are family breadwinners, they get paid first. Next up are women who are family breadwinners, next married women, then singles.

amother

Seagreen

Thu, May 09 2019, 5:42 am

jmom1 wrote:

That sounds horrible! I am not a teacher but a parent of kids in school and if I knew that my kids teachers were not getting paid on time I would be horrified! I sure hope this is not common and I definitely think something should be done about it just don’t know what

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that all parents would agree with you. My dh and I both work as tutors and very much rely on the income to pay our bills. Yet most of the parents make us chase them to get paid. This happens month after month. We technically make more than we spend BH but when people don't pay on time we end up borrowing money to get through the month until the money comes in.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, May 09 2019, 10:21 am

jmom1 wrote:

I really appreciate your validation!

sarahmalka

Thu, May 09 2019, 11:01 am

jmom1 wrote:

Same. I am almost sure this is not happening at my kids' school. OOT, mixed MO and yeshivish. But I am going to ask some teacher-friends to make sure.
This thread is eye-opening, in a bad way.

amother

Natural

Thu, May 09 2019, 11:15 am

unexpected wrote:

Many schools do not pay on time (or sometimes at all) because they can get away with it.
DO YOU KNOW THAT FOR A FACT? OR THATS YOUR OWN ASSUMPTION?
If you are in NY, with the amount of programs available, every school should be able to pay their bills

PLEASE LIST THE PROGRAMS, my DH is involved with a school in NY he would be very delighted to get your info. The school is strogling because the real tuition price should be about $850 and the school parents can't afford to pay it. The school administration is in this constant struggle & pain with no end in sight. They are working literally 24/7 with real Mesiras nefesh more than humanly possible, I understand that a teacher is frustrated about it but they should understand what the situation is, nobody is just trying to get away with it. Than to have an outsider who never shoulderd that burden and start to judge why & how the school is not paying on time.

L25

Thu, May 09 2019, 11:53 am

natural- what would you like the teachers to do? Are you ok with them quitting because they need to put bread on the table? Not everyone can afford to not get paid. It doesn't always matter that the administration is working with mesiras nefesh to try to fundraise, people still need to pay their bills...

eta: I reread your post, natural. I think you are just saying that you just don't want people to say it's malicious or you don't care? Frustrated just didn't seem a strong enough word for me. I'm frustrated when there is traffic, this is waaay worse.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, May 09 2019, 1:28 pm

amother [ Natural ] wrote:

While I sympathize the administration took on this achrayus...I did not. There a reason I don't run a business...I don't want this headache. Not getting paid causes more than frustration it means my bills aren't getting paid....must I elaborate?

hotzenplotz

Thu, May 09 2019, 1:37 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

I'm in a new and unpleasant situation in which for the first time in over a decade of teaching (more than one school) I am not getting paid on time. This from a school who always prided themselves on paying on time. As the months go by the checks get later and the excuses longer.

We (my co-teachers and myself) are incredibly frustrated and stressed from this situation. The school feels 'bad' but makes it clear that this is normal/accepted practice.

Is this true??? How can that be? I don't understand how it can ever be okay for someone to work and not get their check. I run out the door every morning, pay my children's morohs and devote myself to my work. After all of that I have to wonder how I will pay my bills because I have not been paid for work that I did. Honestly, I feel that the parents should be aware of this travesty so they can understand why their child's teacher no longer has the excitement for her job the way she used to - it reaches a point where motivation flies out the window.

For teachers and those who know - is it true that this is an accepted practice in tristate area schools? How is this justified (halachically, ethically, morally)? What can we do to stop this terrible practice in its tracks?

This is sad, but an age old Jewish problem.
In England, America, Petach Tikva, Teveria, Tel Aviv, South America and the world over there are beautiful shuls built by enormous sums of money and energy. At the same time Talmud Torahs were in delapidated conditions or non existent and today many of the mispallelim have non jewish grandchildren.
Tuition is high but the bulk of our tzedakas should go to Jewish education.

↑ jmom1

Thu, May 09 2019, 5:18 pm

I can't say for sure because I don't know your relationship with administration... but I think if I were in your position, I would approach the administrator (or whoever takes care of paying staff) EVERY SINGLE TIME my paycheck was late.
You work, you get paid. It's really simple. You are not there for "cheesed" or recreational pursuit (although you may love your job)... and you deserve to get paid.
If your contract has specific payment dates outlined, that are not being met, all the better! You use that to your advantage. And I would most likely try to communicate via email - something with a paper trail is always nice to have in case it's needed in the future. Hopefully doesn't come to that....but...
and It doesn't have to be confrontational - a professional email will do (factual, never emotional).
Good luck!

(If it's one of my kids' schools - I would raise such a ruckus on the teachers' behalf!! Punch

)