Contract Extension

I was corralled by a teacher at the PTSA Foundation event inquiring why I voted no on the contract extension. The story in the Observer did not elaborate on my position or cover the meeting when the vote was taken. This meeting was not televised either and there was good discussion about many things witnessed by no one. I am more than willing to explain my votes to any one who cares to ask. As far as the no vote on the one year contract extension. This vote was tie barred to another ERI (early retirement incentive) so if you voted yes on the extension you were voting yes for the ERI which I do not support. The contract also contains language that does not allow Athletic Directors to hire who they want to coach teams in their school. It is written in a way that if a teacher wants a coaching job they get it because it is contractual.If Tiger Woods wanted to coach the golf team the AD would have to tell him sorry the social studies teacher wants that job. I believe the coach of any student endeavor should be the most qualified person for the job whether they are a teacher in the building or the district or not. I am not saying teachers should not coach, I just think they should compete on a level playing field for coaching positions. There are many other things in the contract that I feel need to be discussed. Why are teachers burdened with bus duty, lunch and playground duty and a myriad of other chores that certainly could be done by others? Teachers need to focus on planning and teaching, the job they were trained to do. This current contract is a compilation of so many things piled up over so much time that I am not sure how many teachers are aware of all it contains. Labor negotiators tell me after so many years you need to start fresh and bargain for what really matters. Most of the teachers I talk to want a good benefits package, particularly health insurance, and a fair wage as well as support from their building administrator. Nothing more , nothing less.

Vision Community Meeting

I attended the vision meeting at Franklin tonight and was disappointed. The districts latest PR piece was shown featuring Randy and other administrators talking about the process that led to our shared vision from several years ago. Why was John Hiltz on the video?This meeting was heavily orchestrated and controlled by the moderator Donna McDowell. The attendees were asked to fill out a bubble sheet survey that asked things they would not have knowledge of. If you want to know what the stakeholders are interested in you have to stop talking and listen. This meeting was proof positive that Vision means nothing without action.

Webster Fire

I posted the pictures of fire damage at Webster because from the front it does not look that bad. Note the smoke damage and water in the hallway that was in the entire building. This fire was devastating. I certainly hope someone will come forward with anything they have observed or heard about who may have done this. Although we are insured I am certain when the final bill comes due this will cost the district plenty. My concern is if the person or persons are not caught they will become emboldened to strike again.

The real damage to Webster