As someone else said, if $120k isn't good enough for them, fine, don't let the door hit 'em on the way out.
Frankly, I can't think of any job that doesn't risk life or limb that's truly worth $120k a year (especially when I consider that there are hard working people out there making less than $15/hour, in some cases MUCH less). And I'm assuming that, being a civil service job, the position would come pretty good bennies as well. Is a library director or school superintendents' time really worth that much more than a short order cook, a librarian, or a school teacher? Do they really put that much more effort into the job? Is there time worth that much more than a police officer, a fireman? I know the officer and fireman put a lot more on the line. A director or superintendent may make big decisions, but those decisions are worthless without a hardworking staff to support them. Lower the roof and raise the floor. I got an idea. Take $40,000 and train two local people who have some qualifications, high potential, and are passionate about the Twin Cities and the library program. During training, pay them $40,000 a year and then after training, start them off at $55,000 a year. We could just train one and start them at $60k or $65k. Make sure the contract stipulates a certain term of service before the training is "paid off" - early departure requires paying off the prorated value of the training. During the learning process, they could take the necessary course work and then perhaps go to a library system who we would like to emulate and get on-site peer training. Is there really no one in the library system or in Minneapolis who would take that opportunity and do well at it? Tell me you can't make a pretty darn good life based on a salary of $60k with civil service bennies and job security here in Minneapolis. Make the pay rates of the rest of administration reasonable as well, and use that money to ensure that anyone making a career in civil service makes enough money to buy a house and raise a family in our city. I can't believe that some cops and teachers have to work second jobs to make ends meet. If we want to compensate them more generously, add in some goal based bonuses, but if you do, bonuses should be available through the whole structure of the organization. As a note regarding "Enron-itist", I read somewhere that if minimum wage had kept pace with CEO wages, it would now be in the area of $25.00/hour. > And it did when we looked for a Park Supt. a > couple of years back and it certainly would if we > look for another Supt. any time soon. You should > see what Park systems are offering around the > country for the head honch(a) - it is embarrassing > for the #1 Park system in America to be held back > by this salary cap situation we are in. On the Park Superintendent, again, I really doubt the "impressive resume" factor makes them that much better at the job than someone who is dedicated and enthused about the job and to whom 30 or 40 dollars an hour plus bennies seems like a pretty reasonable compensation. I remember during the dot.com craze, a lot of companies I consulted for were trying to bring in a big name advertiser or designer or whatever. They did a lot of things to try and make themselves look good. The companies I worked with that took that approach are now dead and gone. The companies that survived looked for people who were smart, dedicated, and hard working. Some of them failed as well, but others are doing ok and poised to great as the economy takes off. Someone who really thinks they're worth that much more than the average professional is unlikely to be the best choice for the job. They may sound impressive, but they're unlikely to be as hard of a worker or as dedicated as other candidates. I know they're not worth more than my mom with her masters degree, decades of social work and public education experience, and her expertise in working with disabled children in a Head Start program. I seriously doubt they'll work harder or care more, but maybe I'm biased. For that matter, I doubt they'll care more or work harder than my friend's wife who teaches kindergarten over in St. Paul. She teaches all day and then spends hours at night working on prepping projects and whatnot. I guarantee she doesn't make close to $120k. As a side note on the whole education thing. Coming from the perspective of having a parent, three aunts and a number of friends who are school teachers, the main thing getting in the way of good teachers providing a good education are school administrators and the teacher's union. Although I'm sure my buddy's dad is a great Principal and would be the exception to the rule. Don't get me wrong regarding the unions, the teachers I've spoken to on the subject appreciate many of the things the union fights for on their behalf, but the union also makes it very hard to get rid of bad teachers, reward good ones, or distinguish the difference. Don't even get them started on "education" degrees. From my experience, the best teachers got their degree in something else and then got education credentials tacked on top. I still cringe recalling the poor math skills of some of the elementry ed teachers I tutored in college. Call me old fashioned, but all teachers should have the three "R's" covered as well as their focus. Responding to a side thread that was brought up: > THE LIBRARY OF THE FUTURE IN ON THE INTERNET. > YOU CAN BUY AN INTERNET READY COMPUTER SYSTEM > AT WAL-MART.COM FOR $399.72. I'm pretty good at internet research, and I use it a lot for digging up facts and short articles. However, if I have to read more than a page or two of text, my eyes start going buggy and turning square. I really have yet to see anything that replaces a book, especially for entertainment and self-improvement or educational reading. IMO, the "library of the future" as proposed is much more than just a place for research - it is a civic and social hub. The computer and the internet are useful tools and have their place, but they don't replace a library. - Jason Goray, Sheridan, NE [Who seriously looked into going back to school to get ed credentials after the dot.com crash last year but realized I couldn't pay my mortgage (even without the overhead of a car payment) on a teacher's starting salary. I'd enjoy teaching jr.high or high school science, but I really think that doing so shouldn't require working a second job to make ends meet. Good thing there's a lot of things I enjoy doing.] __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Faith Hill - Exclusive Performances, Videos & More http://faith.yahoo.com _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:mpls@;mnforum.org Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
