$ Don’t Break the Piggy Bank!

“268 Collier County School Employees are Triple Dippers are receiving over $51.9 million of pension cash bonuses and collecting over $20.6 million in salaries at the same time, and are the only public employees who do not pay 3% of their salary $619,392 into the Florida Pension system transferring personal responsibility to taxpayers. said Dave Jaye, Researcher, https://tripledippers.org/

But Collier taxpayers are forced to pay 21.12%[1] of the Triple Dippers School Employee salaries to fund pension cash bonuses compared to 13% for regular employees.  See https://tripledippers.org/fl-2023-09-collier-county-schools/   Taxpayers also pay 7.65% of  School Employees Salary for their Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Kamela Patton, the last Collier School Superintendent took a pension cash bonus of $685,6565[ https://tripledippers.org/fl-2022-collier-county-schools/ ] and salary of $308,154 . Now Cheng Ang, Collier School’s Exec Director Acct & Data Management is is collecting a $437,416 Pension Bonus, a salary approximately $164,752 and not paying 3% of  her salary $4,942* to the Florida Retirement System shifting personal responsibility to taxpayers. The full list of 268 Collier School Employees collecting a Pension cash bonus and a salary at the same time to do the same job is listed at https://www.facebook.com/CollierCountyTaxpayersAssociation

“Collier School Bureaucrats have a spending problem as this is the fifth time bureaucrats are asking voters to transfer approximately $55 Million from Student’s Building fund to the Operating budget previously 2020, 2016, 2012, and 2008[1],” noted  Dave Jaye.   “We homeowners would not spend our Capital Savings,: mortgage, retirement,  college savings and rainy day funds on daily grocery, gas and operating expenses and neither should schools.  Collier School’s liberal School Board members keep breaking the Kid’s Piggy Bank (Capital Savings Account for Buildings) and raising taxes almost every year! In 2023 Collier Schools raised taxes 10% in 2023  10.66% above inflation!  Despite damage from Hurricane Ian, property values up more than 18.5% in Collier County. Collier County’s property values are up by more than 18.5% over last year. This year the just value – or market value – for all property rose to more than $219.6 billion, up from about $185.3 billion in 2022[2].

 “We could and should save approximately $30 Million by privatizing non education support services. Collier Schools Privatized Janitorial services in 2008 saving over $5 million that first year[3].  “By letting private companies run food services we could save $6 million, Transpiration $7.3 Million, AC/Painters/Plumbers, maintenance and operation of plant $14 million, IT $1.6 million.  Religious, Charter and Private Schools in Collier County and the USA have realized cost savings, less wasted food as students are happier with private restaurant catering. More savings can be realized by privatizing Drivers Education, Secretarial, Legal Services; and Substitute Teachers as Lee County Schools  has done[4]. observed Dave Jaye.

“Cutting the bloated School Administrative Bureaucracy which consumes $41.4 Million of our school budget by 10% would save another $4.1 million. Keeping $55 million of the Kid’s Building Fund  in an interest-bearing account for the next 5 years instead of spending our tax money on pennon cash bonuses would save approximately $11.6 million which could mean not borrowing for new buildings and possibly lower taxes! noted Keith Flaugh  of  FLC Action affiliated with Florida Citizens Alliance based in Naples, FL.

“This $52 million in taxpayers paid Pension cash bonuses should be used for tutoring services to help students, not to fatten the paychecks of School Bureaucrats who are failing to properly educate our school children,” said Keith Flaugh. ” More than 42% of Collier High School Students are not work-ready (can read), fewer than 25% are college-ready[1] yet 90% receive a too often worthless High School Diploma!

Collier Schools Triple Dippers are listed by Name, pension cash bonus, Salary and job title at https://tripledippers.org/fl-2023-09-collier-county-schools/ “The cherry on the top is that these Triple Dippers cash out unused days off at their final highest salary, not the salary when days off were earned artificially taking more money from taxpayers and artificially boosting their last year’s pay which their pension is based on ” reported Dave Jaye, a researcher for https://tripepledippers.org/

“Replacing the 268 Triple Dipping Collier School employees with freshly trained and newly educated entry-level people would save taxpayers approximately 40%, $8.3million each year in additional money without cutting a single School job[2] !” said Dave Jaye.“New employees are better educated, and healthier  than Triple Dippers who take pension cash bonuses. These 268 over-paid, most over 65 years old school “retirees” also receive supplemental pay, cashing out of unused days at their highest salary, not salary when days off were earned and some get take-home cars. Give young women and men a chance at these jobs instead of just fattening their paychecks of overpaid school employees who are not educating our children successfully”.  “Only approximately 94/268 = 35% of Collier County School Triple Dippers are traditional classroom teachers.”.

”There is a $39 Billion unfunded Florida Pension and health liability[3], a $1,725 liability for every man, woman and child in Florida”, noted Dave Jaye.“Collier Schools is a money-making machine for School Employees. Don’t Break the Kid’s Piggy Bank or the School Building Fund!