WTF are you guys calling for Arne Duncan's head over

[Perky]

He did not order the firing of all those teachers

A duly constituted School Board debated and voted to approve the recommendation of the system's superintendent with the blessing of a duly constituted State education commissioner. They did so in in open session.

All Arne did was applaud the decision of the local authorities. HE WAS NOT INVOLVED IN THE DECISION>


The local authorities had the right to do what they did.

The teachers are not more important than the the quality of education received by the students.

[Dinger]

1. UNREC (nt)

[Perky]

3. Given you posted the poll I am not surprised

but I stand by what I said

[Dinger]

4. Well O.K. Then

We understand each other.

[Jim Sagle]

42. We all understand scabs pretty well by now.

I predict further enlightment as the situation ripens and decays.

[proud2BlibKansan]

18. Amen

[soleiri]

107. Another unrec

Actually, my very first unrec.

I have the feeling that there will be many more if the anti-teacher trend continues here.

[lamp_shade]

2. Rec and thank you for this post.

[madfloridian]

5. Let us fire all the teachers. A Democratic president is privatizing schools.

Right now. Let's fire the public school teachers.

Let us turn all the schools over to the corporate management companies that are not regulated.

Yes, let us do that.

:shrug:

Duncan is doing what Obama wants....he is privatizing the schools. It took decades and it took a Democratic president to complete the job.

[Dinger]

7. Fucking SIckening

Watch these same people blame teachers in 2010, or 2012 when Dems lose their ass.

[Doremus]

8. Moving fast now. nt

[Blue_Roses]

9. this is a stretch...

:eyes:

[Hannah Bell]

65. no, it's not.

[Perky]

11. Oh gimme a break

one school board acting on its own authority and with in it own autonmy did something. How does that equate to privatization.

[activa8tr]

26. It does NOT! and

Some people who post here are not rational.

[tonysam]

89. It's NCLB and RTTT

and Obama and Duncan support both. This rogue superintendent probably won't get away with her antics, which remind me much of what Reagan did to the air traffic controllers.

Why do people think that because both Obama and Duncan are Democrats, that it is okay to pursue Republican policies?

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[activa8tr]

28. Agree n/t

[madfloridian]

30. What an insulting thing to say. Who is "you people"??

[activa8tr]

39. Um, maybe, it's the "you people" who claim this is an unfair labor practice?

just a guess.

Either teachers can give another 1/2 hour a day, or they cannot?

Were they asked to work more than 8 hours?

Were they asked to give up pay and benefits?

Tell me how this firing had ANYTHING to do with being treated unfairly under any and all labor contracts in America.

Research that out and get back to me, OK?

[proud2BlibKansan]

44. I am assuming you understand what a contract is

It was violated.

THAT is how this mass firing is related to this labor contract.

Hope that's simple enough for you.

[Dinger]

49. *Snap*

:rofl:

[Hannah Bell]

67. it's a good deal more than 1/2 an hour per day, not that facts matter to "you people".

since you don't even seem to get basic principles of contracts.

[WhiteTara]

17. now you've got the right idea

Remember when Reagan fired all the traffic controllers? We see how well that worked out. Privatizing education is a recipe for even a worse disaster.

[activa8tr]

31. Here's a lesson in equations that you SHOULD HAVE LEARNED IN

school.

Reagan fired federal employees. Obama DID NOT TOUCH these local town employees who refused to do the jobs they were asked to do!

Where is the equation your brain cooked up here?

There is NONE. Please, if you want to be a Democrat, try to be logical, that's all we ask.

[proud2BlibKansan]

45. "we"???

:rofl:

Enjoy your stay.

[Dinger]

50. No Shit

:thumbsup: :hi:

[Hannah Bell]

58. If you think national policy had no influence over what happened in central falls, you're blind or

dumb.

[WhiteTara]

117. Thanks for donating to DU n/t

[Hannah Bell]

22. like it took a dem admin to bust the autoworkers, "reform" welfare, give away the public airwaves,

etc.

coming up soon: social security.

[LWolf]

99. + 1,000,000

[GiveMeFreedom]

101. Can I give my recommendation? Can I? Please?

Oh, oh, I know which corporation should takeover our public schools....


No.. not Wallmart


Nope... Not Goldman Sachs either








--- we have a winner ---

[Oregone]

6. No, but like an under qualified political appointment, he stuck his nose into it

Shouldn't of touched it with a 10 foot pole. His job is to smile, look cute, and challenge Obama in basketball

[Perky]

10. Have you looked at his resume??? Sheesh you act like he is another Brownie!

[Umbral]

23. Naw, Mike Brown was just a fallguy, Arne Duncan is more like John Bolton. nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. What resume?

The one that shows that in 10 years in Chicago, his 'leadership' didn't do squat to raise test scores? Or did Arne leave that little factoid off of his resume?

[Hannah Bell]

47. his resume? he's an upper class twit whose education was entirely in private schools.

he got a harvard soc BA.

he played basketball semi-pro.

then he got a job working at a private "test-charter" project funded by a well-connected black wall streeter who was also a b-ball buddy.

and when i say "connected," i mean willliam blair & co/mccormick $$$, some of the folks who run chicago, + parents in national & local government & chicago pols.

in 1995 he got a henry crown (another person who runs chicago) fellowship from the right wing aspen institute.

With this plethora of public school experience & education under his belt, daley appointed him dep chief of staff for chicago public schools in 1999 & ceo in 2001.

His main accomplishment was chicago's charter schools initiative.


His main "qualification"? Being born into a connected family, going to a good school, & having influential friends. And no scruples about privatizing public education.

He's a rat-bastard. Fuck him.

[hay rick]

96. You had me at

rat-bastard. Thanks for the bio/resume.

[Dinger]

51. Heck Of A Job arne!

:sarcasm:

[brentspeak]

13. Other than officially endorsing the policy of union-busting, Duncan's a great guy

What part of your a$$ and your head did you get backwards? :crazy:

[Jennicut]

14. It is a tiny poor town in Rhode Island. Many of the students come from immigrant parents.

I am torn because I hate seeing teachers just outright fired without trying other things first. But they refused to do extra tutoring of the students without being paid more and in a town like that one there might not be any more money to pay these teachers. It is a unique place in that many student's first language is not English and hence the poor test scores, grades and a 50% graduation rate. Many more factors are involved here then just someone not liking Arne Duncan.
There are some towns in CT like this but the graduation rate in Central Falls, RI is more then Hartford. And it is a small town, less students. They really needed to rethink HOW they taught these students but firing all the teachers may not help.

[mzteris]

19. they did offer to pay them more

but the union officials decided it wasn't enough. I think it was something like $30/hour and the Union was demanding $90 an hour.

I don't blame the school board OR the teachers. I blame the arrogant idiots in charge of "negotiating".

[janx]

34. And what percentage of the $30 an hour would the

union officials take? ;-)

[Jennicut]

35. 90$ ?? I wish my husband could get that an hour when he was teaching.

No way. That was ridiculous. Obviously the town could not afford to pay them that much. Bad negotiations.

[Hannah Bell]

57. & it's not true, either, no matter how often the propaganda is printed.

but it's bait for the knee-jerkers.

[Jennicut]

73. You are correct. I looked it up.

The teachers were paid 90$ an hour for regular time and could be paid $30 an hour (if they got a grant) for the extra responsibilities. I think if the negotiated longer, they could have reached a better deal. I think the superintendent jumped the gun. Apparently there were four models that the Superintendent could chose from. Originally went with the model that would change things slightly to know being able to only hire back 50% of the staff. I think this can actually make the kids nervous, firing their teachers.
Thanks for setting the record straight.

[Hannah Bell]

77. I'm not sure what you mean when you say $90/hr regular time. Link?

[Jennicut]

80. It was from this:

http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/02/central-falls-rhode-island-fires-every.html

Actually, it was someone's comment. I think the salary is $72-78k and not hourly. Sorry.

[Hannah Bell]

82. no, that's only what the superintendent who fired them said. she's not a trustworthy source.

step 10 = $71K. ten years experience & over.

additional ed & certifications can raise it about $10K.

[proud2BlibKansan]

94. That salary would result in about a $40 an hour rate

Not even close to $90.

[Hannah Bell]

54. no, they didn't, no matter how much you repeat the propaganda.

"Gallo said she could only afford to pay teachers $30 per hour for some of the extra responsibilities — $1,800 for two weeks of training in the summer, and POTENTIALLY $1,620 for weekly 90-minute afterschool sessions, IF SHE COULD SECURE GRANT MONEY.

Teachers, Gallo said, would not be compensated for the other changes: lengthening the school day by 25 minutes; formalizing a tutoring schedule; eating lunch with students once a week; and submitting to more rigorous evaluations starting March 1."

http://www.projo.com/news/content/central_falls_letters_02-19-10_2DHGHET_v36.3a65dd5.html

$30/hr for extra duties is already IN their contract - but for a 185-day school year.

Gallo wanted to add two weeks to the school year (two week training) + 3-5 additional hours/week to the regular school year.

The only guaranteed pay offered was the already-contracted $30/hour for a training session that added two weeks to the teachers' school year.

You're full of it.

[harkadog]

68. You were pretty selective in your editing from the link

"Union officials said they wanted to be paid for more of the duties and wanted to receive a higher pay rate –– $90 per hour." Why did you leave that one out?

Because you're full of it.

[Hannah Bell]

71. um, i left it out because it had nothing to do with disproving the poster's assertion

that the teachers were going to be compensated for their extra time, genius.

THE POSTER'S CLAIM WAS FALSE. FALSE. FALSE. THEY WERE NOT GOING TO BE COMPENSATED.

and you can repeat that $90/hour claim until you're blue in the face; a negotiating position is completely irrelevant to anything. It's a negotiating position. And it was taken because the superintendent ($140K/year plus benefits for running 7 schools) offered NOTHING as her initial position.

They wouldn't accept NOTHING, so she fired them. That's what happened, no matter how much you hurl the propaganda.

In blatant violation of contract. I hope they sue her within an inch of her life.

[harkadog]

98. They were beinng offered what was in their contract, genius

The students were failing and she wanted the teachers to do their job and help prevent that. It is a LIE to say they would not be compensated. They were going to be paid $30 a hour. They wanted $90 a hour to keep the kids from failing. Goodbye to "teachers" who want to let another generation of kids be denied a decent education because they couldn't get $90 a hour. Propaganda is the only weapon you have and you have shown you will use it at any opportunity and hope people don't know the facts.

[Hannah Bell]

104. They were not being offered what was in their contract, genius. they were being offered

$30/hr for 10 days in excess of their contracted 185-day year, & NOTHING for the rest of the hours they were supposed to put in.

Got it? NOTHING FOR THE REST OF THE HOURS THEY WERE EXPECTED TO PUT IN, WHICH WERE A *MINIMUM* OF TWO EXTRA WEEKS WORK, + THE TWO EXTRA WEEKS OF TRAINING.

The only lies around here are yours & your friends'.

They were NOT being promised compensation for ANYTHING EXCEPT THE TRAINING WHICH ADDED TWO WEEKS TO THEIR CONTRACTED YEAR. The superintendent states this quite clearly.

You & your buddies are the propagandists.

You keep harping on the $90 because it's red meat demagoguery.

Even though it was a NEGOTIATING POSITION, even though it was initially reported as a PER DIEM, even though the superintendent REFUSED TO NEGOTIATE & SUMMARILY FIRED NOT ONLY THE TEACHING STAFF, BUT THE PRINCIPALS & OTHER STAFF MEMBERS AS WELL. In complete violation of the existing contract & existing labor law.

scabs, corporatists, & shills.

[JVS]

120. Fuck Central Falls, the scabs they hire, and the citizens who send their kids to scab school!

[emilyg]

15. Rec - thanks

[Hannah Bell]

79. big surprise, the walmart promoter likes summary firing of contracted teachers.

[emilyg]

102. go away - you are boring. Ever hear

of live and let live?

[Hannah Bell]

105. you're boring too. busting unions & running down wages ain't "live & let live," sorry.

[emilyg]

108. I don't care for rigid bullies - so to

save myself from any further encounters with you, I'm putting you on ignore.

[Hannah Bell]

109. that won't stop me from answering your posts. too bad if you think challenging your support

for union-busting = "bullying".

your heroes are the biggest bullies on the globe. murderers, liars, parasites, in point of fact.

[activa8tr]

16. Central Falls Rhode Island is a symbol of ignorance run amok

in the USA.

If some of the areas of Watts, Harlem, and other inner city areas could have voted out their teachers, they would have.

Central Falls is an accident of politics and demographics, a town that has lots of poor folks, lots of social problems, much like Watts and Harlem, and so many other places in the USA.

What's different here is that the political structure of Central Falls allows for that school board to take these radical steps. Shame on them for not supporting and working with their employees! They are obviously too power hungry to do that! Defending a Superintendent who fires, rather than works with her staff, not much you can say, other than fools get what they deserve.

Hey, I'm NOT going to defend the teacher's union here, either, which obviously thought they could win in the courts, bad judgement to risk it all.

The town of Central Falls Rhode Island is a microcosm of local politics and power, (both on the Superintendent and union sides) run amok.

Good teachers there, they will find other job in a year or two, if they want to continue in that profession, bad teachers probably can become waiters and waitresses somewhere, or advise teachers' unions as to what NOT to do, unions need to be reasonable, not arrogant, they represent employees, not the employer. They can ASK for standards, the need to work to give employees fair conditions of employment, not dictate ultimate conditions for the reasons they employed.

When I was a kid, 50 years ago, teachers worked 50 hours a week and took off their summers, and called it a good deal, making less than my father made, and he was the sole wage-earner for the family for 12 years. If unions think teachers should work only under 40 hours and take the summers off, those unions are losing their mission. They will NOT be around 3 years from now. My own opinion

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. Which union thinks teachers should only work under 40 hours?

Do tell.

[activa8tr]

33. Tell me which union allowed these teachers to lose their jobs...it's

THAT ONE!

[proud2BlibKansan]

38. Hello. The union didn't fire the teachers. The supt did.

The union did its job, which is to protect the teachers and insist their contract be adhered to. It is lunacy to blame this on the union.

[Thrill]

52. Were the Kids getting quality Education with the Results to show for it?

If not. I see nothing wrong with this

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Wow. You really don't get it, do you?

The policies created by Bush and endorsed by Obama and his hatchet man Arne are what ALLOWS this mass firing to take place.

A Democratic president and his administration are not only willing participants but cheerleaders applauding the destruction of a high school in RI.

And if you think that's okay I don't know what to tell you. And if you think firing every teacher will actually improve that school I don't know what to tell you.

[activa8tr]

25. Here's a news flash, mass firings take place every day!

Just think, millions of Americans out of work, why would we complain about auto workers fired because of Bush policies?

Oh wait, teachers DESERVE their jobs because they won't work another 500 hours a year, and get 10 weeks off in summer?

PLEASE. The union failed these teachers. Please ask any dedicated teacher to work 10 hours more a week for 40 weeks and so THAT DEDICATED teacher say "no" and ask to be kept on!

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. LOL great logic!

It happens in other places so it's okay here.

I guess you don't realize how stupid that sounds. Or how much that violates the principles of the Democratic party. The party that values workers and unions.

[activa8tr]

37. The Democratic Party does NOT support

people who put their union membershit at risk of losing their jobs over simple requests.

Please, unless, you have an inside knowledge of how this union failed their membership, or can present a cogent reason WHY these teachers cannot work extra hours as they were requested to do, please stop with the blanket accusations, and get some facts.

[proud2BlibKansan]

40. And I would ask you for proof these teachers are NOT already working extra hours

I'll wait.

[mzteris]

63. uh -

maybe the failure rate has something to do with it?

You think they just pulled the "work one lunch", do a tutoring session after school once a week, etc - out of their @ss or something? Oh wait, you probably DO think so. Far be it that ANYONE should just MAYBE have put some thought into the plan that might work best - not only for the students, but for the teachers and the communities - UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES that we now face in THIS ECONOMY!

No, p2bl - this is just wrong. The teachers aren't to blame - that is NOT what I'm saying, but I'ma thinking that something had to be done - even you and IGNORED would admit THAT, I hope! - and they tried to work out an EQUITABLE SOLUTION. What part of those PARTICULAR union officials screwed those teachers out of their jobs don't you understand?




Disclaimer: this post is in no way meant to imply that Unions in general nor their members, nor teachers specifically are BAD and should be gotten rid of.

[Hannah Bell]

70. your disclaimer is soooooooo convincing.

[activa8tr]

116. Great post, exactly what I am thinking!

This should never have been allowed to get to this point, and some union and some administrators are over the top on this one.
I'd hate to have children going to schools in that town for the next couple of years.

[Hannah Bell]

21. "All Arne did was applaud the decision" - the decision to fire an entire school in violation of

contract.

fuck him. he's a corporate shill.

[janx]

29. I agree with you, Perky.

The public school system is set up in that way. I don't care who applauds or who doesn't applaud.

[billh58]

36. Actually, Arne Duncan

DID order the firing of all of those teachers with his recent mandate for all states:

"Duncan has mandated that each state's worst performing schools either be closed, converted to charter or charter-like schools, reorganized around a longer school day, or have the entire teaching staff fired. In the last case, a maximum of 50 percent can be rehired in the fall."

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2010/02/24/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry6239681.shtml?tag=stack

Whether that mandate is in the best interests of the students remains to be seen, but appears to be a heavy-handed application of funding criteria at the very least.

[activa8tr]

43. Yeah, and what did he specifically have to say to teachers' unions that

refused to allow their members to work more hours for no more pay?

Try a bit of relevance? Or is that NOT on your agenda?

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. Never mind

Waste of time.

[activa8tr]

56. FACTS are a waste of time?

So much for your contribution to DU!

[mzteris]

66. the only "facts" that aren't a waste of time

are those that support particular posters' POVs...

Now for the REST of us - we embrace ALL facts and try to apply logic and critical thinking without regard to CYA...

[activa8tr]

74. Can you please explain how ONLY SOME FACTS make a difference to

YOU?

I want ALL the facts.

What did the teachers do to get fired?

What did the UNION do to get them fired?

What did ANYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET do to get these poor teachers fired?

[billh58]

83. I suspect that

ALL of the "facts" will be hard to come by, unless someone inside the local school comes forward. What is apparent, however, is that in order to secure a portion of their eligible Federal funding, the school board relied on Arne Duncan's "mandate" for guidance in making their decisions.

They first tried to negotiate longer school hours, and when that fell through, the board resorted to the last option in Arne's mandate: fire all of the teachers, with an option to re-hire 50% of them in the Fall.

If the local school board, the teachers and their union, and the parents had been left to their own devices without the threat of withholding Federal funds by Mr. Duncan, perhaps a more equitable solution could have been achieved. "Starting from scratch" is a questionable tactic, and right up there with re-inventing the wheel.

[mzteris]

87. see my post below:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=196028&mesg_id=196322

The "SIX THINGS" -

[billh58]

92. The Four Things

that were "mandated" by Arne Duncan (from another DU thread) are listed here by Nikki Stone1:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7788178&mesg_id=7788757

"Duncan is requiring states, for the first time, to identify their lowest 5 percent of schools — those that have chronically poor performance and low graduation rates — and fix them using one of four methods: school closure; takeover by a charter or school-management organization; transformation which requires a longer school day, among other changes; and “turnaround” which requires the entire teaching staff be fired and no more than 50 percent rehired in the fall."

Now look at this: the choices are closing the school (teachers get fired, lose jobs); PIRATIZATION by private company; longer school day and more hours for teachers (ostensibly at same salary); Firing all teachers (teachers get fired, lose jobs)

Now, if you're a public school teacher, half of Arne's options involve you losing your job. The other half involve you working a lot more hours than other teachers in the country for LESS pay. "Transformation" holds out the only chance for a little extra cash for your time. The Piratization option means you will work more hours for NOTHING.

Gallo followed Duncan's "mandate" almost to the letter, and any ensuing lawsuits will be interesting, to say the least. "Facts" become nebulous depending on how they are presented, and by whom.

[Hannah Bell]

111. except that gallo's a plant.

[mzteris]

86. hey slow down, hon

I'm on YOUR side!

I was trying to explain the "other side's" way of thinking!

:hi:

The idiots working for their union who don't know how to negotiate properly are the ones at fault!

[Hannah Bell]

110. sure you do. "hon"

[proud2BlibKansan]

95. I've been here 6 years and have contributed plenty

You - a few weeks.

But go ahead and criticize my contribution to this board. Then explain how that contributed to this discussion.

[billh58]

64. As far as I know,

Duncan has said absolutely nothing with regards to what teachers unions did, or did not do. He "mandated" several options for poorly-performing schools of ALL states, and firing ALL of the teachers was one of the options, along with longer school hours. How is the firing option NOT relevant in this particular instance?

[Perky]

53. He did not order anything

the path chose was at the full discretion of the board

[billh58]

59. Sorry, but you

may want to look up the meaning of the word "mandate." In order to receive full Federal funding, "firing all teachers" of poorly-performing schools was one of the choices Arne gave ALL states.

Saying that Duncan had no part in the firing of these teachers (rightly, or wrongly) does not make it true. He holds their purse strings, and his "mandates" carry weight on local decisions.

[Jim Sagle]

41. K&U this scab thread into oblivion.

[activa8tr]

48. Thanks for making this thread MORE important! I certainly think most intelligent Dems'

will THINK before having knee jerk reactions to this firing.

What is the situation? Why should Dems ALWAYS defend teachers who don't produce, but condemn police who don't produce?

Should we ONLY defend members of teacher's unions, men and women that work 40 or so hours a week, never have to confront criminals, 99.9% of their work time, but slam police for being union members who have have lawyers defend them for poor decisions they made when confronting possible criminals?

By the way, Police work 40-50 hours a week, 48-50 weeks a year, on holidays, summers, no long breaks.

Teachers, I have YET to see a teacher who works more than 50 hours a week, for more than 44 weeks a year, and has EVERY NATIONAL HOLIDAY OFF from work.. unlike police and fire personnel.

[Jim Sagle]

55. In a completely fucked up way, you comment actually makes sense.

Cuz if we trash teachers and schools thoroughly enough, we'll surely need a LOT more cops.

Not an America where anyone even half human would want to live.

[activa8tr]

62. NO, cops work as hard as teachers, probably more so

And teachers should NOT be facing firings because their union required them to reject working harder.

When did you think that police were not as much a victim as teachers?

Did you think that folks lucky enough to go to 4 years or 5 years of college should be paid more, given all national holidays off, and never have to face criminals, drunks, and idiots on a daily basis?

Let's remember, we are ALL in this together. Police would be FIRED on the spot if they refused to work the hours that were needed for their job. Teachers should be no different.

[Jim Sagle]

75. Policing and teaching are wholly different functions.

One function is event-driven, the other isn't. And that's why your bullshit non-argument that teachers should work any damn crazy hours management demands, IS bullshit. But hey, you already knew that.

[Hannah Bell]

78. I think we should apply your logic to cops. I don't think they earn their money --

not by the crime rate in *my* town, anyway.

I think they need to put in 5 extra hours a week for free & cancel 15% of their contracted time to do more training. & get paid less than straight time for the training.

I'm sure you & they will support my plan.

[brentspeak]

60. I would certainly think that most intelligent Dems could detect you are a union-busting bot

pretending to be "a fellow Democrat".

[mzteris]

69. there are plenty of "intelligent DEMS" on DU

who agree with this.

To criticize an act of idiocy is not to denigrate all Unions nor it's members.

[Jim Sagle]

76. Those who agree may be intelligent, but they're still fake Democrats.

[mzteris]

88. I'm no FAKE Democrat -

and other people I know on here to be GOOD AND REAL DEMOCRATS - also happen to agree.

Don't get all "you have to believe my way" on this. The Democratic Party is a big tent, remember?

No one here is saying "all unions are bad" - These particular idiots in charge of negotiating for the Central Falls teachers just happen to be bad. You don't think ALL "union officials" are perfect, do you? Of course not. These made as mistake - a seriously BAD mistake. That's the problem.

So please stop having hysterics over "anti-unionism" and "union-busting" -no one is advocating that. But fire those idiots who f'd this up? Helz yeah!

[Jim Sagle]

93. The teachers and their unions fucked up NOTHING. They stood up for an agreed-on contract.

It's called rule of law. Check the fuck into it.

[mzteris]

103. never said the teachers did

I said the negotiators who are working for the union did.

Not UNIONS. Some people. NOT TEACHERS. got that?

How would you handle a $1.7 million reduction in fundns for schools AND try to improve a failing school that has been given SEVEN YEARS to turnaround?

[Hannah Bell]

106. NO. The union attempted to negotiate for its members. THE SUPERINTENDENT REFUSED TO.

She fucked up, & I hope they sue her.

[Hannah Bell]

112. more wanking. wank wank wank

[Hannah Bell]

81. i see a bunch of union-busting wingers posing as democrats.

but that's just me.

[Hannah Bell]

61. .

[MadHound]

118. Wow, you must not know many teachers

Let me tell you what our local teachers' schedules are like.

Get to school at seven am to get ready for class, set up classroom, get supplies, etc.

8am classes start.

Around noon, have a twenty five minute lunch, in the student cafeteria.

Somewhere in there is a block that is reserved as planning time, team meeting time, etc. etc. It isn't a break, it is simply doing some work that needs to be done.

3pm school lets out

4pm Teachers head home

At home teachers generally have another 2-4 hours of work to do, grading, lesson plans, etc. etc. Throw in another six hours or so on the weekends on top of that.

This doesn't count the mandatory after school activities that teachers do every single week.


Generally it works out to be somewhere between fifty and sixty hours a week, most are on the high end of that figure.

As far as holidays go, yeah, they get six-seven holidays during a school year. Much of that time is spent playing catch up, or working ahead. Just because they work at home doesn't mean that they're not working.

And those vaunted summer holidays, well most of those are taken up by mandatory teacher training and education. The rest of the time is, in many case, taken up by some other job, since they're paid so shitty to begin with.

Your assessment of a teachers work week is far, far off the mark.

[tonysam]

91. +1,000,000

Promoting scabbery has NO place on a Democratic board.

Neither does trashing public education.

[FrenchieCat]

72. Cause they can.

[mzteris]

84. some more general info -

Budget plan would deeply cut aid to schools
February 3, 2010 By Jennifer D. Jordan

BUDGET CUTS ". . . Central Falls, which is financed almost entirely by the state, would lose $1.7 million." http://www.projo.com/news/content/carcieri_budget_education_02-03-10_QHHAT02_v32.605f05.html

***********
High school teachers in Central Falls, RI could be out of a job
Teachers in Central Falls, Rhode Island could soon be out of a job. The Superintendent is threatening to fire every high school teacher unless they spend more time improving their teaching.
. . . In the poorest community in Rhode Island, the challenges are great.
Fran Gallo/Central Falls School Superintendent: "We have made some incremental growth, very tiny steps, and it isn't strong enough."

The school district has been as consistently underperforming and has been in corrective action for now 7 years. Only 48 percent of kids here graduate, and the superintendent with the backing of the state's governor and commissioner of education is set to start over.

Fran Gallo/Central Falls School Superintendent: "No way are we allowed to remain status quo and so we need to make some strong decisions and major changes."

http://www.necn.com/02/11/10/High-school-teachers-in-Central-Falls-RI/landing.html?blockID=179276&feedID=4215


**************

City fiscally stressed
Sunday, 31 January 2010 By JIM BARON

PROVIDENCE — Property tax payers and city officials in Pawtucket probably didn’t need a committee report to tell them so, but now it is official anyway: their city is the most fiscally stressed of Rhode Island’s 39 communities. Central Falls and Woonsocket are not all that far behind, but they are better off, at least slightly, than North Providence and East Providence.

The task force, which Carcieri established by executive order last August, used three basic measurements to assess the stress of municipalities.
One is financial position – this included general fund balances as a percentage of revenues; municipal and police and fire pensions, and total cash and investments divided by loans, notes and other liabilities.
Second is financial flexibility – including state aid as a percentage of the municipal budget; state education aid as a percentage of the school budget; property tax levy as a percentage of the total budget; employee benefits as a percentage of revenues and the growth in municipal and educational costs since 2004.
Third is tax capacity – including personal exemptions (for the elderly, or blind or homesteaders) as a percentage of the tax levy; statutory exemptions for colleges, hospitals, parks and non-profits as a percentage of assessed value; owner-occupied property tax rate, commercial tax rate and median family income.
Of those three factors, financial position was weighed twice as heavily as the other two in establishing a stress ranking.
With 5 as the highest possible score – that would mean they were at the highest stress for every factor included -- Pawtucket came in at 4.17. Central Falls scored 3.92; Woonsocket, 3.60. Providence got a score of 3.58. Of the local suburban communities, Cumberland scored 3.31; Lincoln, 2.84. East Providence, a ring community hit the 3.95 mark. Among the rural communities, Burrillville’s stress was rated at 2.36; North Smithfield, 2.62, and Glocester, 2.13.
The overall statewide ranking is 2.83.

[mzteris]

85. What the fuss is all about . . .

Six conditions Central Falls High School teachers must accept

12:01 PM EST on Thursday, February 11, 2010

KEY POINTS

Six conditions Central Falls High School teachers must accept by Friday to keep their jobs:

Increase length of school day by 25 minutes to provide more instructional time for students.

Formalize tutoring schedule so struggling students have extra help for one hour before and after school.

Agree to eat lunch with students one day a week to build stronger relationships.

Attend two weeks of professional development in the summer at a rate of $30 an hour.

Stay after school for 90 minutes one day each week to work with fellow teachers analyzing student work and test data and discussing ways to improve teaching at a rate of $30 an hour if Gallo can find grant financing.

Accept more rigorous evaluations by a third-party starting March 1.

http://www.projo.com/education/content/projo20100211_cfhighschool_keypoints.1094bb3d0.html




********

Gist may support cutting teachers in Central Falls
01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 12, 2010 By Jennifer D. Jordan AND lINDA bORG

". . . Gallo wants the high school’s 74 teachers to work longer hours and take on additional responsibilities — some for extra money, some for no extra pay. (**Note - those "longer hours look to be 20-30 minutes a day). "Those are among six conditions she says are essential to reversing the academic decline at the 800-student school. The other conditions include lengthening the school day, offering tutoring to students before and after school on a rotating schedule and eating lunch with students once a week."

(Note: the $30/hr vs. $90/hr argument I guess it came down to about $3400.00 a year per teacher for that "extra work"

. . .Weighing in on the standoff, Governor Carcieri expressed support for Gallo and her initial plan to transform the high school, calling the six conditions “reasonable” and urging the union to agree to them.

But Marcia Reback, president of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers, said that the union accepts the concept of transforming the high school, but does not agree to the six conditions that Gallo says are essential.

http://www.projo.com/news/content/central_falls_reacts_02-12-10_RMHE7K2_v34.37cd95d.html

********

[Hannah Bell]

113. uh, no it didn't, "hon" as about 2/3 of the figure you cite was "if i can get some grant money you

might get paid".

and even then it didn't cover the hours.

wank wank wank

how many times are you going to lie about this particular point?

[MadHound]

119. On top of what are, I'm sure, already busy schedules

You're another one who is making the mistake of assuming that teachers only do their work at the school. That simply isn't so. Teachers usually have anywhere from 2-4 hours of work that they do, unpaid, each night when they get home, not to mention the work that they do, unpaid, on the weekends and holidays.

This is also coming on top of other duties that they have, after school clubs, coaching, working various events, etc. Virtually every teacher I know works nine hour days at the school, plus the work they do at home. Horrors that these teachers want to actually spend an hour or two with their families:eyes:

Oh, and the problem with having two weeks in the summer isn't so much the money, but for many this is going to be interrupting their training and education schedule. Say you're in a Master's program over the summer, what are you going to tell your prof, "Ooops, sorry, I can't attend your Writing methods class for the next two weeks because I've got to attend "professional development"?

This is simply more busting of teachers' unions, getting rid of experienced, well paid teachers and bringing in a bunch of new teachers who they can pay much less. That's really going to help students now, is it.

The super is over the top on this one, and Duncan is hell bent on busting unions and privatizing our school system. And when all of this is said and done, and our public school system is in shambles are our kids aren't being educated, who do you think that the public will blame? Oh, yeah, the teachers:eyes:

[Malikshah]

90. School boards are desperate for scraps from the govt and the govt (Arne Duncan)

is tying so many wrong-head strings to federal monies as to make him look like an NCLB cheerleader.

Charter schools are the corporatization of education. Lock-step standards stifle education. Not addressing the socio-economic factors that hinder the students, but placing the blame solely on teachers is the height of lacking in intelligence. Not holding the parents of said students accountable, but focusing on unions is missing the picture in a big way.

Maybe one should actually look into the educational system with open eyes and not that of a myopic statistician will help.

[philly_bob]

97. 1) Doesn't support public education 2) Lost Obama the teacher vote. /nt

[Cha]

100. That's not true..I know teachers in this town and

my sister is one them who support President Obama.

[PVnRT]

114. Another proud unrec

[JVS]

115. Because we don't like him and his policies.

[Perky]

121. but that is a a different issue then blaming him for what happened i this instance.

[yurbud]

122. Arne is the point man for testing, charter schools, union busting, and the same attack

on public education that the Bush administration pursued.