<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16711" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY style="WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space" bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Chris,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thank you for clearing that up.  All that is very good to hear, and it sounds like it might be a very nice place to work.  And bear in mind that the "flurry of emails" really is just more discussion of frustration of what we've seen out of all of these position announcements.  That particular salary just kind of brought it all back up again.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>But I must ask.  Is the swimming pool tender's salary (which was reported to be 60% higher than that of the piano tech) not also then advertised at minimum? </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2> Just more perspective.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It is well and good that tuition deferment has worked for you, and I know it has been beneficial to a handful of others.  But I would wager that it is not a benefit taken into account when one school which doesn't offer that benefit looks at the salary being paid to the technician at a school that does.  Tuition deferment is also a benefit that many who would become FTE cauts would have no need for. I would trade tuition deferment for a salary adequate for me to invest for college any day, me thinks.  </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>And remember, tuition deferment is not available everywhere (SC doesn't have it), and when it is, (as I have understood the language of the few I have read about) the family cannot then attend the school of their choice.  What your child may choose to pursue may well not be offered at the campus where the FTE piano tech position is, or there may be a better program at another institution that would better prepare them.  Not to mention the concern of whether or not the student can get accepted at that particular institution.  In the case of UGA, the admissions standards have increased dramatically because of lottery scholarships.  I have heard of students who ranked high at prestigious private high schools not getting accepted.  In fact, I understand it may be easier to get in as an out-of-state student than an in-state one.  Wouldn't it be frustrating if you found out that out of state kids got accepted with lower standards than your kid who just missed the cut?  </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>So, tuition deferment is one of those benefits that can easily fall into the "that looked a lot better when I took the job" category.  </FONT><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kind of like retiring with 180 days of unused sick leave.  It isn't really a benefit that is a legitimate reason to cut the salary.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Regards,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Jeff Tanner</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>