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Distributed from District Administration – Part 2

More, oh my.

Community Relations

Schools provide opportunities for the community to look forward. This makes no sense.

Schools are the future of the community. Not especially.

All schools have the financial resources to provide for students and faculty. Perhaps for the moment, certainly not long term.

Schools should drive growth in the community. How, precisely?

Every citizen should be <able to be> proud of their schools.

Taxpayer dollars are not an endless resource. Exactly.

The community has an obligation to help us land on a consistent direction for our students. Why? Students’ and their direction are the obligation of their parents and of the school district.

We have an obligation to produce children who have the capacity to lead. If all students ‘lead,’ who and what will they be leading?

Community to support the schools and its learning process Bring objective criticism when necessary along with support. Oh, right. My best guess is we’ll take the support; the objective criticism not so much.

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Distributed From District Administration

Not quite sure how to approach this clearly. Let’s try this: Statements put forth by the District are typed; what I believe they should be and additional comments (mine) are in italics in red.

Obviously the time and effort WASTED compiling this inane list initially could have been put to far better use. It takes mere minutes for me to comment. My sense is that the photo here is how this all started (or concluded), quite possibly with several additional administrators contributing. I mean really. And to what purpose?

Teachers and Teaching

All teachers <must> have high ethical standards.

Teachers must be held to highest principles, abilities and morals. Agree – but who determines these?

Teachers should be respected. Must earn respect (shhh – don’t tell the children).

Teachers want to do their best for student learning. I should think so; is this even necessary to list?

I (who?) believe teachers have a passion for creating an environment to bring out the best in students. Common Core is deleting the passion and creativity.

Great teachers recognize and capitalize on “teachable” moments, are creative and inspire. They have SEL (Social Emotional Learning) to help them!

It’s all about the relationships of students, teachers and learning. D’ya think?

Great teachers produce great students. Not necessarily and rather simplistic.

Teaching needs to be a transparent action.  Oh, but too often it is not.

Teaching is not easy; True it is complicated. Not really.

Teachers should want to teach. Brilliant.

Teach to a student’s ability. But do they?

Teachers need the tools and information to their best work. Education & experience are the ‘tools,’ and ‘information.’

All teachers respect their students’ diversity. Probably not.

All teachers can engage their students. If true, why so much excessive, costly curriculum development?

Teachers have lost their “center” through compliance. Really. The way school board members have lost theirs through State compliance?

All teachers can teach. Not necessarily.

All teachers can instill high academic standards. Can be set, not instilled.

Teachers and teaching should always be improving. Or be/hire the best to begin with.

Teachers should challenge. Don’t they now?

Teachers (and teaching) should put students first. Right – guess we’ll see at contact time.

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Teachers’ Unions – Part Two

Apparently, each school district has a ‘union president’ representing the teachers’ union. Often this ‘president’ has been a long time teacher, familiar with the district and its policies, administration, staff, other teachers and board members. He or she attends all board meetings, from time to time presents citizen comments asking the board to consider this or that. Each school building, too, has a union representative with whom the union president maintains contact, keeping each up to date re union concerns.

You would expect the union president to be paid by the union. Probably the case in most instances, but not in all. In our district the president’s salary is paid half by the district – what? – and half by the union. Moreover, the district provides her an office including related expenses. At a meeting when I question this the longest, or second longest board member claims it is right to do so because the ‘president’ is so helpful to us/the district. Whatever that means. My sense is that it is altogether inappropriate. The ‘president’ represents the union – the board represents the district, oh and its taxpayers. In effect then, we are in opposition. At least we are supposed to be. It can and should certainly be reasonable and respectful opposition, but opposition nonetheless.

Policy makes clear that political activity is not to take place during district hours, on district property (albeit her office is on district property) or utilizing district equipment of any kind. Seems clear and simple enough to me. And to the State. Though not to some others.

Often when a parent, reporter, potential contractor or whomever will file a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) lists of these appear on the Board Meeting Agenda. Members seem to ask with some regularity about the response to these so the administration determines to add the responses. Good move. Except one day I am reading through these, not even sure why, and come across something rather interesting. Remember, another district/union policy is that union members at whatever level are not to discuss politics during district hours, on district property, or utilizing district equipment of any kind.

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Teachers’ Unions – Part One

There is a time during our history when we need unions.  Many early employers care little and take terrible advantage of workers. So, workers organize in order to negotiate better working conditions, salaries, eight hour and sick days, and paid vacation time. These are reasonable and right requests.  Then, for a time, unions almost overtake employers demanding far more than is necessary and causing some companies to close. Somewhere here, there must be a middle ground.

Public service unions – policemen, fire fighters, first responders, certain health care concerns and air traffic controllers might unionize but are required to go to arbitration because they ought not put the public at risk by striking – which isn’t the case in all states. Some other government workers, including and possibly especially teachers gain more and more and are accountable for less and less. We pay far more into education than ever while our children’s level of learning remains flat lined. What then, is the precise purpose of over funding educators? Wish I knew.

I know how it happens, I just don’t comprehend why we allow it.

Public sector administrators such as school superintendents have incentives to see their subordinate employees paid as highly as possible because their own and their immediate staff’s salaries tend to rise in tandem with those of their unionized employees. This is something of which I am altogether unaware until serving on the Board.

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LEADERSHIP

Do you consider the members of your district School Board leaders? Or, do they accept all that is sent to them, especially policy wise, from the state (from the federal government)? If so, is this okay with you?

During the time I am chair of our Board ‘policy committee,’ I am consistently told that this or that must be our new policy. Why? Just one example is a new listing of what consists of ‘bullying.’ We are expected to simply delete current wording within our policy manual and insert the wording provided us. No.

Especially since this ever expansive list of what is considered bullying opens the district to ever expansive lawsuits. Think it through. Everyone knows what bullying is and what it isn’t. Growing up I am often tormented by the proverbial ‘boy next door.’ In one class he sits behind me and using his long legs continues to lift my desk up and down, annoying. Once he pulls my thumb with such force it requires my wearing a splint for three weeks. His favorite, chasing me with snakes. Does he get into trouble for any of this? No. Do I survive? Absolutely. Boys will be boys and some kinds of bullying, I suppose, is part of their make up.

Most importantly no parent goes to school to complain. It is the responsibility of school to educate us – and it does. Easier, surely, without all of this extraneous nonsense.

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Lunch, anyone?

Once school districts determine, as most have, that outsourcing food service saves money on salaries and benefits for such district employees, board members must consider applications/bids from ‘cafeteria management’ or ‘food service’ companies who will take on the job of providing nutritious lunches that meet federal requirements, provide food students will want to eat and therefore will purchase. Seems simple enough.

Really, though, it isn’t. A very long time ago when I attended grade school, district cafeteria employees cooked a variety of lunches throughout the week, usually two options on any given day from which we are allowed to choose – all taste good, made from scratch with fresh ingredients with a cake square or ice cream bar from the freezer for desert – we eat our lunches, happily. I don’t recall the cost but it is reasonable as my grandparents are far from well off and I always have lunch money; time given to eat was reasonable as well since I am and have always been the slowest eater on the planet and I manage to finish my noon meal. It seems, too, that we have time to talk with one another e.g., socialize. Simpler times, to be sure.

Fairly recently read about a child who brings lunch from home and his teacher won’t permit him to eat it because it doesn’t follow NSLP (National School Lunch Program) requirements so the child, who doesn’t have lunch money, is not able to eat lunch at all. Disgrace writ large. And, sad, because his parent knows what he will like to eat and so he will eat it, rather than as in too many instances with government and district primarily paid for lunches most often end up in the trash. I’ve a friend whose wife works in one of our school cafeterias (for the food service company with whom we are currently contracted) and claims the amount of waste is ‘unbelievable.’ Except I believe her. Let’s remember, too, that federal, state and district funding isn’t. It is our money.

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In the News – Back to Excessive Pension Spiking?

This is my friend’s next door neighbor. His wife must be shopping – she shops a lot. My friend often returns home, driving from the airport during Friday rush hour traffic after two business trips during a week to see them both relaxing in or at their pool. My friend is their age and is still working like crazy. Her neighbors are retired school teachers.

How does this happen? It’s called pension spiking and this is how it works. When a teacher, or administrator, gives advance notice that he or she will retire in four years, the raise he or she receives the first year is 6%, the next another 6%, the next, yep, another 6% and the fourth year yet another 6%. This is referred to as a ‘quad six,’ the result being a significantly high ending salary upon which his or her retirement payments are based.

This practice while beyond lovely for retirees is what is putting states into near bankruptcy.  It’s unclear whether states can actually file for bankruptcy, but doing so is the only possibility of getting out from beneath the outrageous financial burden of such contracts. I think at one point the IL legislature (and likely other states) cap the ‘spikes’ at 3% but have been reading there is some reconsideration of this lower percentage. Are these legislators crazy? It’s rhetorical.

When, as a board member so district taxpayer advocate, I ask what possible fiscal sense this makes here is the answer: “Well, if we know four years ahead of time which teachers and administrators are leaving we can plan.” Do they think I’ve an IQ of one above plant life? Plan for what precisely?

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Everyone Has a Personality – Part Two

Seated to my left, he has been a board member for a time. He is quite large and seems to be eating throughout most if not all board meetings which, to my mind is rather rude. When he isn’t eating, he is adamantly opposing every suggestion I make, and votes against every vote I take. That’s okay, members are neither elected, nor required, to be friends. He makes his dislike of me obvious while I tend not to show my reciprocal feelings. His focus for the district is athletics. High intellect.

The car he drives is plastered with the name of the company for which he works. There is just something not so classy about this, but if it’s essential to his employment it is certainly not up to me to judge. Two years into my term he is up for reelection and at the conclusion of one night’s meeting he shoves his petition at me saying, “Sign this. I’m running again.”  Despite my inclination not to do so I am somewhat taken aback and he is, despite his attitude, a ‘colleague’ so I sign. Later I mention this to the Board President and he, too, is appalled.

Next, to the left of Mr. Large is the other newer member. Slight in stature and mostly quiet I presume that is why we rarely speak. Sweet relief. As an architect he likely has his reasons for seeking a board seat. His only child is still an infant so it isn’t about curriculum. Maybe, I think, he thinks he will at some point be hired by the district but in any instance, he is able to provide input on various building related concerns at issue and this is a good thing.

When I drive from the parking lot on more than one evening he and the perennial candidate are chatting, chatting, chatting. I wave, they don’t. Both are politically in opposition to me which is all they have in common – don’t bring that here. Anyway, if they are talking about me they are leaving someone else alone. Perfect.

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Everyone Has a Personality – Part One

School Board members run in non partisan municipal elections, except for very large cities, usually every two years when either three or four members are up for reelection. This makes sense because there are always the remaining three or four members with experience so Board work can continue with relative ease.

Surely when a new member or two or three are elected there is some adjustment. New members are learning the (usually) volunteer job responsibilities and issues with which the remaining members are already familiar. There are new personalities, too, with which to deal. All members may get along great with one another – or not.  Each are here for a common purpose and so strive to remain decorous while at the Board Table. Doesn’t always work that way.

Directly across from me, for example, sits the member whose very validation seems to come from being a fixture on the Board and spends much of her time throughout the weeks at the district so is knowledgeable – and makes certain we are all aware of this. She is nice enough, I like her personally; what I don’t appreciate is that she tends to rubber stamp administration requests so lessens the impact of a Board who is there to make independent decisions. She is most often quoted in the local newspaper (her quotes are kind of boring) but she does seem to want to work with everyone, especially the Teachers’ Union. Surprisingly, she actually votes with me on occasion; rarely, but still.

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Driver’s Education Should be Part of Education

It isn’t on the Agenda. More likely it’s on the expense list. Maybe we’re reviewing the Student Handbook – don’t ask. Somehow though I notice that our high school students nearing driving age must be earning a ‘D’ in order to be permitted to take Driver’s Ed. A ‘D,’  really?

You do realize I don’t take some of these things well. “Why,” I ask, I guess to anyone on the Board or from the Administration who might be able to answer, “Don’t’ we require a B- or C at least from our students before allowing them to take Driver’s Ed?” Crickets.

“Seriously, wouldn’t that make some sense? Wouldn’t that significantly encourage our young people to work harder at their classwork, to improve their grades since we know they all want to get their license to drive, if possible, on their sixteenth birthday?” This makes perfect sense to me. Apparently not to the Board or Administration. Or anyone willing to let me know.

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