Working for a school district and the cost of living
September 14, 2018 11:33 PM Subscribe
Has anyone worked for a school? Not as a teacher but as other staff. Did they offer you health benefits? How do I estimate salary asks? Also, if you've lived in the place below the fold, could you give me insight for cost of living?
The place is Fort Collins, CO. I will be coming from a city on the east coast. I actually think living in this city has not been supremely expensive compared to other east coast cities *cough DC*. I pay $1200 for a one bedroom with washer and dryer.
I just don't know how to compare it to Fort Collins. The internet indexes don't make sense to me. From what I've heard, it's a maybe expensive city? One person who lived there told me it wasn't too expensive, but then reddit threads say it could cost upwards of $1500 for a one-bedroom that's in ok condition?? And then they said on the other hand, food isn't too expensive.
I may take a pay cut for a job out there. It's for a school (K-12). I think I know about how much the job pays (it's hourly) but I'm confused as to how to translate that to compare it to my current salary.
If I'm FT hourly, does that mean I don't get benefits? Or that I get overtime? I'm new to hourly outside of my old college jobs and those definitely didn't have benefits.
The job also is only contracted for 219 days out of the year. So... do I calculate the hourly wage x 219? I thought normal working days were 260. I'm guessing this means I'm either going to be paid less or that I won't have get off holidays because I work a shorter year, or oh no can't take paid sick leave/PTO? (I'll have to ask this to them directly I suppose but I'm trying to grasp my head around it.)
[Lastly, if anyone wants to hope me on diversity in Fort Collins, please do. I found meetups in Denver for POC but have not found the same there.]
The place is Fort Collins, CO. I will be coming from a city on the east coast. I actually think living in this city has not been supremely expensive compared to other east coast cities *cough DC*. I pay $1200 for a one bedroom with washer and dryer.
I just don't know how to compare it to Fort Collins. The internet indexes don't make sense to me. From what I've heard, it's a maybe expensive city? One person who lived there told me it wasn't too expensive, but then reddit threads say it could cost upwards of $1500 for a one-bedroom that's in ok condition?? And then they said on the other hand, food isn't too expensive.
I may take a pay cut for a job out there. It's for a school (K-12). I think I know about how much the job pays (it's hourly) but I'm confused as to how to translate that to compare it to my current salary.
If I'm FT hourly, does that mean I don't get benefits? Or that I get overtime? I'm new to hourly outside of my old college jobs and those definitely didn't have benefits.
The job also is only contracted for 219 days out of the year. So... do I calculate the hourly wage x 219? I thought normal working days were 260. I'm guessing this means I'm either going to be paid less or that I won't have get off holidays because I work a shorter year, or oh no can't take paid sick leave/PTO? (I'll have to ask this to them directly I suppose but I'm trying to grasp my head around it.)
[Lastly, if anyone wants to hope me on diversity in Fort Collins, please do. I found meetups in Denver for POC but have not found the same there.]
These are all really questions you'll have to ask the employer to be sure, but here's what I would expect in your shoes.
If I'm FT hourly, does that mean I don't get benefits? Or that I get overtime?
Hourly vs salaried has to do with the kinds of responsibilities you have, and doesn't impact whether you receive benefits. Some hourly employees do, some don't. If you are hourly, you legally should get overtime if you work more than 40 hours a week, but that doesn't mean that you'll be allowed to work more than 40 hours a week.
The job also is only contracted for 219 days out of the year. So... do I calculate the hourly wage x 219? I thought normal working days were 260. I'm guessing this means I'm either going to be paid less or that I won't have get off holidays because I work a shorter year, or oh no can't take paid sick leave/PTO?
It is pretty normal for school jobs to only run during the school year. Sometimes schools will spread your pay for those 219 days out over 260. Sometimes they don't. It means you will be paid less, since you are being paid for fewer days of work. You'll need to ask about holidays and PTO, but I wouldn't assume they aren't offered just because you're on a school year rather than year-round schedule.
In terms of cost of living, I'd be looking at Zillow or Craigslist to see what actual apartments are going for there. I wouldn't expect food or energy costs to be dramatically different than anywhere else.
But I have to wonder - do you want to move to Fort Collins? If so, why? An hourly, school-year-only job that would mean taking a pay cut doesn't seem like a compelling reason to move across the county.
posted by jeoc at 9:43 AM on September 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
If I'm FT hourly, does that mean I don't get benefits? Or that I get overtime?
Hourly vs salaried has to do with the kinds of responsibilities you have, and doesn't impact whether you receive benefits. Some hourly employees do, some don't. If you are hourly, you legally should get overtime if you work more than 40 hours a week, but that doesn't mean that you'll be allowed to work more than 40 hours a week.
The job also is only contracted for 219 days out of the year. So... do I calculate the hourly wage x 219? I thought normal working days were 260. I'm guessing this means I'm either going to be paid less or that I won't have get off holidays because I work a shorter year, or oh no can't take paid sick leave/PTO?
It is pretty normal for school jobs to only run during the school year. Sometimes schools will spread your pay for those 219 days out over 260. Sometimes they don't. It means you will be paid less, since you are being paid for fewer days of work. You'll need to ask about holidays and PTO, but I wouldn't assume they aren't offered just because you're on a school year rather than year-round schedule.
In terms of cost of living, I'd be looking at Zillow or Craigslist to see what actual apartments are going for there. I wouldn't expect food or energy costs to be dramatically different than anywhere else.
But I have to wonder - do you want to move to Fort Collins? If so, why? An hourly, school-year-only job that would mean taking a pay cut doesn't seem like a compelling reason to move across the county.
posted by jeoc at 9:43 AM on September 15, 2018 [1 favorite]
I can’t help much on the pto or anything but I live in Fort Collins, I grew up in PSD and now my kids are in it.
Housing keeps getting more expensive here. I think it is very hard for a lot of people to live here on a single income. Many are having to move outward to Windsor, Wellington, Loveland and Berthoud. Even those are not inexpensive. My mom had a two bed apt in a better complex (fancy pool and things) and it was $1400 per month, and included trash.
The high number of students here mean rentals don’t have to be cheap.
Search for articles in The Coloradoan, there have been a lot in the last year about housing price.
Have you visited here? PSD is a great district, hard to go wrong. This is a vibrant community but also getting congested - traffic is awful. Downtown is great but full of college students. We are not close to skiing so if that’s an interest know you will drive hours to ski.
posted by ChristineSings at 5:28 PM on September 15, 2018
Housing keeps getting more expensive here. I think it is very hard for a lot of people to live here on a single income. Many are having to move outward to Windsor, Wellington, Loveland and Berthoud. Even those are not inexpensive. My mom had a two bed apt in a better complex (fancy pool and things) and it was $1400 per month, and included trash.
The high number of students here mean rentals don’t have to be cheap.
Search for articles in The Coloradoan, there have been a lot in the last year about housing price.
Have you visited here? PSD is a great district, hard to go wrong. This is a vibrant community but also getting congested - traffic is awful. Downtown is great but full of college students. We are not close to skiing so if that’s an interest know you will drive hours to ski.
posted by ChristineSings at 5:28 PM on September 15, 2018
And diversity - outside of the csu student population it is pretty negligible. A growing latino community for sure, but not much in the way of African-American poc. You really do need Denver for that. Sorry. I speak as a white woman who may not be in the loop completely, but diversity has never been big here.
posted by ChristineSings at 5:31 PM on September 15, 2018
posted by ChristineSings at 5:31 PM on September 15, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
I’ve worked for a school district in California in a non-teaching position for ten years and can tell you what this job looks like from here...that contract looks like you will not be working in the summer or whatever the district equivalent is. You may or may not be able to get work through the district in the summer. (For us, summer work is a huge gamble.) Find out if the district has an arrangement where you get paid 12 months a year because setting aside three months of expenses through the school year can be a real pain.
My job ends every June but I still get 10 vacation days, paid holidays, and PTO. If school is closed, people are generally not working, although I don’t know if our IT department is cranking away during the breaks. Overtime is unheard of. Public schools really, really do not want to pay overtime because they are budgeted for a specific amount for each job position and overtime tends to mess with that.
Most hourly employees in my district get benefits. The ones who don’t are the ones who work fewer than 25 hours per week, I believe. But so much of this depends on the district itself and the good thing is that the district will have very specific answers as to hours and benefits. Memail me if I can help at all!
posted by corey flood at 2:50 AM on September 15, 2018 [4 favorites]