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.