Below is a breakdown of teacher absence costs for the Southside Academy Charter School. These numbers were reported to various Federal and State agencies in 2011-2012. To our knowledge, they have never been compiled in this manner. Individual district results can vary widely with some being very normal and others seeming to be completely out of normal. In some cases, teachers may be very sick or on disability leave. In other cases where up to 100% of the teachers are taking 10+ days off, there may be a serious systemic problem. Statewide concerns should be addressed directly to NY education officials and legislators. As always we encourage parents and taxpayers to share this information.
Thoughts to consider.
The results below should be higher as they only include information on fulltime Southside Academy Charter School teacher absences. A more accurate and much larger number would also include absences of the administration and other employees plus other costs such as health/welfare insurance. Additionally, our breakdown is based on the reported number of “10 or more days” and does not include exact absences beyond 10 days or amounts for teachers taking less than 10 days. We ask that you treat these numbers as a starting point for a discussion with local district officials if you feel the Southside Academy Charter School results are abnormal.
| Item | Southside Academy Charter School | Statewide Public | Charter Schools |
| Total Teachers | 36 | 205,497 | 5,019 |
| Student : Teacher Ratio | 18:1 | 13:1 | 13:1 |
| Avg. salary | $50,399.66 | $69,341 | $57,570 |
| Avg. pay per day | $280.00 | $385 | $319 |
| Teachers Absent 10+ days | 9 | 68,387 | 462.42 |
| % of teachers absent 10+ days | 25.0% | 33% | 9.2% |
| *Cost of absences | $40,049.83 | **$421,739,779 | $2,156,981 |
| *Absence costs as a percent of spending | N/A | .08% | N/A |
| *** Classes contracted for but substituted | 450 | 3,419,331 | 23,121 |
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Average private sector sick days taken: 4 days or less per year. USDOL 2013 |
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* Includes costs for 10 days of salary, substitutes (NYC rate of $165 per day) .
** Includes pensions as most charter schools use 401k’s or do not report.
*** Based on 5 classes per day
Data Sources: US Dept Of Labor, NY State Education Department. All data compiled and totaled in MS Excel using simple math commands. If the numbers above contain significant “No Data” results, that is because the district or NYS did not report the information at the time the datasets were compiled.
