By Kyle Olson
EAGnews.org

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Tina Ratliff, a fifth-year teacher at Grand Rapids Public Schools, spoke before the Grand Rapids school board recently and claimed that she “brings home $555.39 for two weeks” which “currently qualifies” her to receive a state Bridge Card for food assistance, according to the Grand Rapids Press.

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Ratliff was one of several Grand Rapids Education Association members who spoke at the board meeting as part of a public relations effort to help her union obtain a larger salary increase.

Knowing how union pay schedules work – automatic raises based on longevity and the number of graduate credits earned – we found her claim to be remarkable and more than a bit suspect.

A review of public records suggests the GREA member’s claim is not true.

Education Action Group Foundation submitted a FOIA request for Ratliff’s three previous W-2 statements which detail her income, taxes and deductions for retirement, health care and union dues. A PDF of the school district’s response can be found here.

According to Ratliff’s 2012 W-2, she was paid $40,830.89 for the year by GRPS.

Her withholdings included $4,548.10 for federal income tax, $1,714.92 for Social Security, $592.08 for Medicare, $1,453.59 for state income tax, and $550.93 for Grand Rapids city income tax.

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Ratliff also paid $846.16 in GREA union dues.

Not counting against her income for tax purposes were health care and retirement contributions of $2,235.91 and $1,259.05, respectively.

Ratliff’s gross income minus all those deductions equaled $27,630.15 in 2012. That works out to $1,062.69 every two weeks.

That’s far more ($507.30 to be exact) than the $555.39 Ratliff claims she is currently paid every two weeks.

How do you account for the huge discrepancy between Ratliff’s public comments and her W-2 form?

Like her fellow Grand Rapids teachers, Ratliff is currently making retroactive payments to the district for her health insurance premiums – as mandated by the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act of 2011.

Those retroactive contributions are certainly resulting in lower paychecks for Ratliff, but they don’t fully account for the $507.30 discrepancy.

According to the Grand Rapids Press, “Given the cost of benefits and the remaining 10 pay periods to recoup insurance costs, teachers and other professionals will owe the district about $85 if they have individual coverage, $110 if they have family coverage and about $300 if they have couples coverage.”

If Ratliff is temporarily paying $300 every two weeks for last year’s missed health insurance contributions, $207.30 is still unaccounted for.

EAG also questions Ratliff’s other claim, that a proposed so-called “pay cut” would qualify her for a Bridge Card.

A simple look at the requirements for food assistance shows there is a cash and/or property asset limit of $5,000, according to the Michigan Department of Human Services.

According to public records, Ratliff purchased a home in early 2011 for $134,500 in Comstock Park. She obtained a mortgage, along with Derek Ratliff, for $131,089. It is the same address listed on her 2012 W-2.

How can this union member own a $130,000 home and qualify for food assistance?

Ratliff’s claims simply don’t add up.