Monday, December 11, 2006

Dream On

No it’s not an ugly rumor. The CF BOE actually had federal mediators come in (for free!) to help us learn how to function together. You see some of us are concerned that the constant friction present is doing this school district no good. I want to see us move into the 21st century. Follow global trends. Send kids into the world prepared for life, not just college. We have another meeting with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services in January. Just enough time to ponder what we’ve discussed thus far. To try and sum it up- we all come from different places. Different morals, ethics, beliefs, and backgrounds. Besides looking for flaws, look for some positives, some strengths that person has and appreciate them.

An interesting conversation took place among friends the other day. Do we have enough family time during the school year? I think complaints about homework have been around since homework has been issued. But today there is a valid argument that too much is coming home. We have after school sports and church and girl/boy scouts and music programs and practices, not to mention family activities suchas birthdays and shopping and doctor appointments and the rest of life. And most teachers do not plan homework and assignments around these things. I’m not saying they should but the amounts of homework that come home can be overwhelming. I hear of 2 hours and more and I’ve experienced it myself. My son had 3 reports dues in one weeks time. That’s a lot for a fourth grader. I like the 10 minutes per day and day per week rule. That means in first grade you have 10 minutes of home work once a week. In second grade you have 20 minutes of homework 2 days per week. But it should never exceed 4 days per week. Homework should not come home on Fridays in my opinion. Weekends are my time for family. School work should not dominate peoples lives. I have actually read about districts that issue no homework! Can you imagine that? I’m not necessarily saying that is a good idea, but it’s worth looking into. I’d revamp our whole system if it were up to me. Core classes would be 50 minutes. Art and music would be 45 minutes every other day. Gym class would ½ hour every day. That’s right-every single day. Obviously the high school would have to be different. But the focus should be on future trends not past practices.

That’s the end of my day dreaming today. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the policy committee will consider looking into some of these items next year. No meetings this week. What will we do with ourselves? I’m planning on shopping. Only 13 days left!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

How good do you have it?

The Plain Dealer did us a favor. If you haven’t seen Sunday’s PD you must check it out. It has a list of every districts pay scales in our six county area. The article points out that our teachers don’t have it so bad. In fact a new teacher in CF makes the same annual wage as our city’s medium income. Add in the benefits and time off and we have first year teachers out pacing the average taxpayer paying the bills by 50%. It also says that there is not a teacher shortage. One of the lowest paying districts in northeast Ohio had over 150 applications last year. The article also says to me that our pay is on par with our community. The higher the community’s medium income, the higher the teachers pay. Ohio is 14th in the nation for average teacher pay. Not bad.

I often hear the argument of what is a teacher worth. I’m the first to admit that it depends on the teacher. Some teachers are worth their weight in gold. Others aren’t worth the paper their degree is printed on. So instead of trying to decide what a teacher is worth at this point, let’s discuss what people are worth in general.

Most of us come out of college or technical school in debt to some degree. And I hope we can agree that most professions have their own unique challenges and levels of brains needed to perform. Most of us pay out of our own pocket for continuing education. Many of us must get our C/E hours on our own time as well to keep our licenses. Most of us take work home. Most of us work 238 days per year. (I gave everyone weekends, 12 holidays and 2 week’s vacation.) Most of us can’t demand a raise because we feel cheated in pay from the profession we chose. Most of us don’t have free insurance. In fact most of us pay 50% premiums or more. Most of us can’t earn $5000 to $15,000 on top of our wages with supplemental and extra duty contracts. Most of us don’t have tenure. Most of us have to prove our worth through performance to keep our jobs. Some of us have mandatory overtime. Some of us must take vacations when the shop shuts down for maintenance. Some of us haven’t had a raise in years. A few of us have taken pay cuts, layoffs, elimination of positions, wage freezes, and no benefits at all. Some of us are held to 30-hour workweeks. Some have had their names on the delinquent tax list. Most people live paycheck to paycheck and carry some debt. If you think any of this is off base, let me know.

Someone asked about the survey. The survey has been put on hold. With the holidays here and the hustle and bustle of all that comes with it, it was decided that it would get lost in the junk mail and Christmas cards. I have been asked about the cost. It seems some board members have been spouting about the huge expense of this survey. Let’s put it this way. It cost $10,000. That’s less than the raises and benefits this same board member handed over to our top two administrators. Hardly an amount to sneeze at yet in the scheme of things it’s really a drop in the bucket. I can guarantee we will get a better idea of what this community want’s from this survey than from the people who got raises. Another reason it was put on hold is the board cannot agree on a direction the survey should take. Some want it centered on the “Plan for Excellence”. A plan most people who pay taxes here know nothing about. OK. Let’s waste ten grand asking people about a plan they don’t even know exists. Another smart move from the Cuyahoga Falls Board of Education.

Speaking of the Plan for Excellence, I have an update. A third co chair has been added to the redistricting committee. Cuyahoga Falls’ Molly Benedum was asked to join the two Silver Lake chairs. Thank goodness! It will be an uphill battle for equity but I have faith in Molly. She knows the numbers in this school district better than anyone. If you have never looked at her blog, you really should take a peek. She puts the numbers, facts and info behind all the things I complain about. She also has a vested interest in our district for at least the next 20 years with generations W, X, Y, and Z at her house.
As for the board meeting this week, should be long but informative. Part 3 of school finance from our CEO. A presentation on the 07/08 program of studies for the HS. The regular business of appointments and such. Approval of an agreement for a property tax valuation reduction from 15 million to 11.3. Hope to see you there!