Saugus teacher: Salaries more than meets the eye

SAUGUS – The public perception of teachers is often skewed to look like a group of people who work short daylight hours for less than 10 full months per year, but for many that couldn’t be further from the truth.Jane Osgood doesn’t argue that according to the salary list of town employees she is sitting fairly pretty ranked 69th and making a reported $86,959, however, she said that is not her actual salary.”A true representation of my salary would be about $10,000 less,” she said. “A lot of other things are going on.”Osgood likened a teacher’s salary to public safety salaries, except she noted that the money patrolmen get for detail work is always listed separate from their salaries. That is not the case for teachers and, while they are not paid for overtime per se, there is a lot of detail work that goes into their jobs.”We’re all coaches, mentors, advisers,” she said. “That’s all extra but it’s included in our salaries.”A number of the teachers on the salary list are also retired, which is not noted. Osgood said the reason Elizabeth Masucci appears so high on the list is because she retired and the money she received for the sick day buy back benefit was included in her salary line. As it was, she added for a number of other teachers.”Linda Gaieski is listed as a classroom teacher, she’s a also a vice-principal,” Osgood said. “(The list) is not a thoroughly accurate picture.”As for Osgood, she isn’t simply a classroom teacher either. She is the English Department Head for grades six through 12, she teaches two SAT classes each of which run for 10 weeks, she is a mentor for a new teacher, which is a state mandated program and she’s been an advisor to the Student Council for more than a decade. And for each of those added responsibilities she receives a stipend.A salary scale that includes financial incentives for graduate credits also helps Osgood and her colleagues boost their salaries. Communities across the commonwealth offer salary bumps for teachers who take 15, 30, 45, 60, or in Saugus’ case, 75 credits beyond their Master’s degree. Osgood said she has topped out with 75 credits, which technically gives her the equivalent of two masters on top of her required Master’s degree.Saugus, Osgood explained, is possibly the first community to offer teachers an incentive for plus-75 credits, but she explained that was given during a contract negotiation in lieu of an increase.”It’s an incentive and it’s reflective of our education,” she said.Osgood said she is aware that most people look at teachers as people “that work 7-2 for nine months of the year.”But we do a lot before and after school,” she added. “There is a lot more that goes into being a teacher.”