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1.) Mr. Joseph, a PE teacher at Park, started in ‘06/’07. The data Lennie reports as ‘07/’08 shows his years of service at 1 and his salary at 33,442; the starting salary in CCSD46 on the ‘06/’07 salary shedule Lennie had before he reported this myth.

2.) Ms. Johnson, an ESL teacher at Avon, started at Prairieview in ‘05/’06. She went to Avon in ‘06/’07. The data Lennie reports as ‘07/’08 shows her with 2 years of service when in fact, ‘07/’08 was her 3rd.

Now that’s just to prove the inaccuracy of this interpretation and his inability to properly collect data. The real problem is his rediculous notion that taking on extra duty should somehow be sematically phrased as a “raise”.

Not to sound like I do not appreciate them ‘teaching’, but that is their JOB!, why should they get special perks that the private sector does not get?

Perhaps what is fair is their “perks” should be placed into a referendum. I would love see how many remain after the public is through with them. I surely would not allow 200+ accruable sick days, nor would I allow all the institute days the teachers like to take. Use it or lose it, is how the world works for the rest of us.

Let’s put this into perspective, when was the last time a teacher had to work on a holiday, or at midnight and still have the expectation to work the next day placed upon them? When was the last time a teacher was interrupted on their kids’ weekend birthday party to take care of work issues? Realistically speaking here, this is what folks in the private sector do day in and day out. We don’t get summers off; we don’t get spring break or winter break. We do this every single day for the paycheck we signed up for. This is an employer’s expectation.

As a Grayslake Taxpayer, I am the employer of the teachers. The last time I checked, the teachers KNEW their jobs and what they were getting paid for. I find it hard to believe that their jobs have changed so dramatically that they DESERVE a large annual increase. Face it folks, most people don’t even get cost of living increases every year. Most folks are lucky to get 3%, where average is 1.75%- 2%.

I would make a motion that if they don’t teach, I don’t pay school taxes. To me that sounds fair. Why should I pay school taxes for a service my kids aren’t going to be receiving? Perhaps that should be on the next ballot.

I’m sorry to sound unsympathetic, but try working in the private sector. Average 10 – 12 hour days along with some weekends, 5 sick days, 2 weeks vataction, and the usual 3% raise every year. If you work through lunch, too bad. That’s it. That’s all there is too it! No spring vacations, no long summer vacations, no possibility of having 200 sick days, or institute days etc.

Okay so looking at the 2008 – 2009 Calendar, here’s roughly how it breaks down:
7 days no kids (no student attendance)
4 half days ( = 2 days off)
6 Legal hollidays (columbus day, etc – which the private sector ususally does not take)
18 days school shut down (winter break, spring break, etc)

Totals:

23 days off (non summer)
7 days less workload due to no student attendance
74 days of summer

104 days total (not including sick days or personal days)

Add the 3.67% raise (which is the LOWEST it’s been in years) on top of that, and this is not acceptable?!?! Here’s what’s not acceptable… Paying the highest property tax percentage in Lake County IL (more than Lake Forest, Highland Park, or Libertyville) and then having my intelegence insulted by people who work nearly 1/3 less the entire year that we do telling us that this salary schedule is not acceptable. And this is based solely upon only the benefits that is listed in this article might I add, not to mention that the teachers want to strike. I think the teachers need to take a good look – especially in todays economy, and realize that they have it really good.

Regarding questioning how much our teachers care about their students, I’ll ask a few questions.
Do you know that teachers frequently miss their lunch break planning for the next part of the day? It makes me very thankful for getting an hour for my lunch break

Regarding getting paid too much: Take a look at the parking lot how many 10 year old beaters do you see in the lot? Look at the clothing of single teachers (not to say they look shabby), but I’d never mistake them living in the lap of luxury.

Btw, when you go pick up your child do you notice how tired many of them look? Imagine having a party at your house with 27 children, and only you to take care of them. Now multiply this by 5 (Monday-Friday). Remember, no bathroom break while the children are around. How would you like to have to hold it all day long? I wouldn’t take their job for 100K/year!

How about having to work in an office where it can get up to 95 degrees or more on the hot days, but you still have a dress code? I would pass out! My child already has passed out from the temperature!

If it isn’t for the love of our children and their job, why else would these teachers be here? Also, regarding teachers salaries, how many people do you know with 1 or more masters degrees that get paid less than $50,000?

Regarding taxes: I’ll ask the first question, why do we pay such high taxes? At first glance some might say, its all because of teachers!!! Look around us, where is the commercial base, where are the malls, other tax generating sources. Instead of jumping on teachers, we should be focusing our ire on people that are managing our money in the first place. Imagine how much lower our taxes would be if we had companies or malls to help shoulder the financial burden.

One last question regarding basing salaries on the CPI. Perhaps if our teachers salaries/total compensation package was the same as other districts I might be more agreeable. But the fact of the matter is that our teachers could make significantly more in other districts. Do we want to let our best and brightest teachers flee our schools because we refuse to pay comparable wages. What is the net result? Lets say we stick it to the teachers, who loses? Not the good teachers, because they say, “I don’t need to put up with this job for the pay.” Honestly, would you stay at a position you really enjoy, even with good co-workers, but you could get paid 40-50% more elsewhere? I’ve done it myself.

I support our teachers, and in turn support our children.

I think that teachers should not be allowed to go on strike! I sometimes wonder what would happen, if all the teachers that went on strike, were fired and replacements were hired. What job lets you not come to work because you don’t like their salary (because that is what it is really all about, not about the kids) and lets you come back to work like nothing happened AND get rewarded for it by getting a larger raise than the national average?

I think it’s time that the district says enough is enough and the parents should get behind the school boards.The parents need to realize that if they force the district to settle, then they are asking for a tax increase (by way of referendum, because the schools can’t afford their salaries) and our district will be in poor health because no one can afford to live here! Our taxes are way out of control and the district and teachers need to live within their means. PERIOD. They need to attach their salaries to the CPI and quit asking for more of what their community doesn’t have!!!

Teacher can have unions, but they should not be allowed to strike because the parents do not have a choice like in the real world. Public schools are a government monopoly.

Some history: Schools started as community schools paid for by the community with many being Protestant. This lead to anti-Catholic bigotry that was written into many State Consitution, like Illinois, called Blaine Amendments. Shall I continue?

There are some very good teachers around and there are some very bad teachers around. The good teachers need to stand up to their unions and stop them from protecting the bad teachers. They also need to quit using our children as pawns.

“teachers work throughout the year and are compensated not nearly as much as a businesses compensate their employees”, See the report by the Wall Street Journal debunking this myth: http://educationmatters.us/2007/02/02/are-public-school-teachers-underpaid/

Read this post and you’ll see my solution to paying teachers more: http://educationmatters.us/2007/07/13/money-is-not-the-answer/

Nice! You were a teacher???

Just curious, Former, how much pension do you make from the district? Was your salary bumped up just before you retired?

Oh, one more thing, no one forced you to come on this site, and the administrator didn’t have to post your comment. Just something to think about.

If the school had offered the appropriate testing upfront, this column would never have been written.

The argument that colleges accept home school transcrips is hollow. You must show proficiency by passing standardized tests. After that if you fail, it’s your issue not the schools. How many of us see reports about how many students started a particular college and graduated? You pay your tuition bill and it’s up to you to pass. If you don’t there a waiting list of people to take your place.

As a former employee of District 46, I find this site absolutely appalling. You are greatly misinformed and only highlighting negatives of the district. The district has repeatedly asked the community for more money, not because they mishandle money, but because of the growing number of students the district MUST educate. Yes, I agree that there is a problem with the salaries that were inflated, however I wonder how many times that happens in corporations!?!

I would also like to address the following quote:

“Now we know why unions make the contracts so complex. It is to confuse and help allow teachers to make more money
than they are supposed to make. How many school districts do not make the teachers repay the mistakes?”

Again, you are incredibly misinformed. Do you believe that plumbers, construction or electricians do not deserve a union? The teachers union is there to protect what LITTLE teachers get in terms of money. We are not eligible for Social Security when we retire (whether it is our OWN or our spouses!). How can you honestly think that people who are educating YOUR CHILDREN should not be given some job protection? PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT TO BE RUN LIKE BUSINESSES. That is the point. Instead of bashing the schools, teachers, administration–spend some time looking at the philosophy of public education and it’s history.

Furthermore, how dare you accuse teachers of not trying to do the best possible for your children. Your site sounds like a 7th grader who is mad at their teacher for giving them homework on the weekend. Perhaps you should get a job as a teacher to see the time, effort, and emotion that goes into this job. Teachers DO NOT work 9-3 and get June, July and August off. Thanks to ignorant people such as yourselves, teachers work throughout the year and are compensated not nearly as much as a businesses compensate their employees. If it is your goal to see the schools run more as a business, what are some solutions to compensate teachers more? Walk in my shoes for one day as a teacher. You would think very differently about the profession. Perhaps you would gain some respect for what we do!

If you people think that teachers/”government” schools are so poorly run, get your kids out of the system and home school them. Then you don’t have to worry about us “corrupting” them.

Just as John McCain did in the last debate, thank you for completely devaluing the teaching profession. I hope that your children do suffer as a result of your ignorance.

There are other questions as well related to the Illinois School code and issues that home schoolers and non-public schools should be aware of. These issues, that I mentioned above, allow the unneccessary gradual intrusion of the government into the registration of students and the daily operations of non-public schools.

He left the link for everyone to read for themselves. I’m not sure why you are saying to him to that he needs to print the whole content.

She also wrote: “This section in no way takes away our rights to homeschool – nor can it unless there is another law passed that says all private schools must be certified. That would certainly be objected to by a great many!”

No, it doesn’t take away our rights, it just insults us greatly. After all, no one can do it better than a public school can, right? They are, of course, the higher authority over our children and their education.

Look, if the state of Illinois can classify homeschoolers as a viable way to educate children, then districts should recognize that too and transfer transcripts like they would between two public schools. If the child doesn’t do well, (that could very well happen between two public schools… because it happens all the time. I have personally seen it) than they make adjustments and have their stupid conferences with the parents. Please let us not assume that just because a child comes from a different public school district, that their education is superior and make the homeschooler/private schooler jump through all of these stupid hoops.

I purely think it is frightened, intimidating arrogance that is just insulting to any homeschooler/private schooler.

Don’t you think it’s about time that parents stop believing that no one else could love you child as much as government public schools do? That they ARE the experts. Many European nations are like this and some to the extent of Homeschooling being against the law.

I understand the thought that if we just keep quiet, then they won’t know we are here… but I don’t agree with it. That is how rights get taken away. Teacher’s unions are loud and powerful. Don’t kid yourself into thinking they don’t know we are here. The only reason they are tolerating us, at all, is that they still get money for our children even though we don’t use the system. I think I could use that $5K to educate my child. Couldn’t you? But, education is free, right?

I just wish this family didn’t feel the need to send them to public schools. Whatever their reasons were.

I have never seen a school not grant credits when the student had done the work. Sometimes this was done with testing, sometimes through other means as described in my previous emails. However, the options for getting those credits takes time and energy – they will not be just handed out like candy at a parade. That is why those credits are actually worth something!

If credits were just handed out to anyone who walks in the door then why on earth would they be worth anything? Why would the high school diploma be worth anything if they were simply handed out to anyone who wants to walk across that stage?

As to CLC accepting the homeschool credits, of course they do. CLC is not certifying high school level work was done. CLC is only offering her the opportunity to do college level work. CLC will offer a certificate or a diploma when she has enough COLLEGE credits earned and verified to qualify her for her chosen program.

(Mind you, that means classes 101 and above. Classes taken at colleges below the 101 level are high school level classes and will not qualify anyone for a single college credit. But they WILL count toward high school diplomas which is why I have now mentioned CLC twice.)

This section in no way takes away our rights to homeschool – nor can it unless there is another law passed that says all private schools must be certified. That would certainly be objected to by a great many!

I understand that it may have been sent to you as the snippet it is, but reading only the little snippet does not help anyone. Please post the entire section so peple can read it in its full and proper context each and every time.

Thank you!

The hypocritical thing is that they pass and give credits, all the time, to children who are not proficient in a given subject without blinking an eye. Yet, they hold homeschoolers or private schoolers to a higher standard.

I guess it’s different when they are the ones who produce the child that can’t really make the grade. They just dumb down the scores, grade on a curve, or they give them make up work, like dumping the trash for the teacher for a week. Then the kids will pass and they can put that on their districts report card. You’d think that they would be thanking God… oops, sorry, I put down the “G” word referring to a public school… their higher power… for homeschoolers and private schoolers since they will help their district’s report cards!

Logic should have prevailed that portfolios (or tests) could prove public school ‘worthiness’. Our school district did that when our kids went back into school. That was the right thing to do for anybody.

The ISBE site shows an informational link about the state code definition of “non-public school”.
http://www.isbe.state.il.us/research/htmls/np_entity.htm

“1. Section 2-3.25o of the Illinois School Code defines a nonpublic school as any non-profit, non-home-based, and non-public elementary or secondary school that is in compliance …..”

It doesn’t look like the worst policy in the world. It does allow for testing, but of course,…at the discretion fo the admin.

I would be jumping up and down that the evaluation wasn’t being performed. I am in KL,and out of the district in my IL home, so I don’t think it’s sppropriate to call and rant.

What are they being told about the testing option? It’s hard to understand what’s really going on from this. Is there a cool head in the process? If not, I would strongly advise it.

we just had colleagues visit us form Lake Forest. they have 2 children with Learning issues. they have had to have an attorney by their sides through every meeting wiht the school regarding their children’s needs. as a result, their son has spent 4 years in a special school for dyslexics (SP?) and their daughter 1 year. it’s a great program, but I saw elitism all over that since they only had access after they paid for attys.

There are other private advocates that specialize in this also. do they have contact with anyone like that? I am concerned that it is necessary in today’s climate. Of course, the injustice is useful to a reform message, but I fear for the child in the mean time.

Illinois is now mandating eye exams before entering kindergarten. This is ridiculous. When will we stop electing people who keep raising our taxes and forcing us to spend money whether we need it or not?…

Al Sharpton joins the boycott of Chicago Public Schools. They want more tax payer money going to a broken public school monopoly. Money is the answer, the solution is to fund the child….

I have been doing some research as well into one of your competitors. Here is a comparison of Premier-RS system versus your Fieldturf product.

1.  Premier-RS – 44 ounces of yarn per square foot with a 2” pile height and is tufted on a 3/8” gauge tufting machine.
    Fieldturf – 33 ounces of yarn per square yard with a pile height of 2.5” and is tufted on a ¾” gauge tufting machine.
    Conclusion – Premier-RS has 25% more fiber per square yard by weight and has twice as many yarn ends since it is tufted on a 3/8” gauge tufting machine. This provides a heavier, denser, more durable and consistent playing surface, which is critical for sports like field hockey and soccer.

2.  Premier-RS – perforated at the factory with 3/16” holes every 4” on center. These perforations provide and ensure consistent, long-term drainage capabilities throughout the life of the system.
    Fieldturf – not perforated at all.     Conclusion – This is totally inconsistent with the concept of positive drainage that is inherent in the design and construction of these types of fields. There is a Fieldturf installation in Stamford, CT, that floods every time it rains which is attributable to the lack of perforations in the carpet.

3.  Fieldturf – made with two standard, woven polypropylene backings and less than 17ounces of urethane secondary coating per square yard.
    Premier-RS – constructed using the TTC Thiobac Pro three-ply backing that is composed of over 60% polyester. This backing is manufactured by TTC, the world’s largest manufacturer of slit film polyethylene yarns and was specifically designed to provide the highest degree of backing strength and dimensional stability for these types of loose laid systems.

4.  Premier-RS – uses a rounded, coarse, uniformly sized silica sand for the sand component of the infill and also uses a higher percentage of rubber infill than Fieldturf.
    Fieldturf – use a much finer sand component and has many more angular shaped particles
    Conclusion – Use of angular shaped particles has caused some Fieldturf fields to get harder over time, whereas the Premier-RS rounded sand will not compact nor will it be abrasive to the fiber or the athlete providing a more consistent and lower G-Max ratings over the life of the field.

5.  Premier-RS – installed system will have only 1/4”-3/8” of fiber exposed above the rubber/sand infill and topdress the field with a full 1 ¾” of infill. This level of infill and less fiber exposed above the infill provides a much more consistent surface as it relates to ball roll and ball speed. This is critical when it comes to sports like field hockey, soccer and lacrosse. This level of infill also ensures that the polyethylene fiber will remain upright and will not lay over as will happen with fields like the Fieldturf product that have ¾” or more of the fiber exposed above the infill.

6.  Premier-RS – G-Max rating of 160 during the life of the warranty.
    Fieldturf – G-Mas raiting of 190
    ASTM unsafe rating – 200, meaning Premier-RS should be safer throughout it lifetime.

I am sure you have data that you will provide to try and prove why this research is incorrect. Feel free to do so.

I have seen this now in 2 Illinois school districts where they have chosen your product with is much more expensive to the competitors. To me this is not an investment in children, but more of a “I have to have the top of the line because the high school down the road has this turf”.

Your reputation as being the top of the line could very well be just reputation only because of being a market leader and not based on the facts. This happens in many industries. In databases, people buy Oracle because they are the market leader even though they do not have the technically superior database. Everyone buy Microsoft products as well for the same reason.

I understand this is somewhat subjective. But spending the taxpayer money in excess just to make sure you buy the market leader in no way helps the children’s education. It is investing in your company to the detriment of the children in the district and to the wallets of the taxpayers. Fieldturf is not an effective use of taxpayer monies.

Second, if your company truly believes in a “Fund the Child” concept, feel free to commit a certain portion of you earnings from the installations to efforts to make that happen.

In order to effectively “Invest In The Child” it is essential to make decisions today that will positively affect tomorrow. By selecting FieldTurf, the school has not only made an investment in the physical well being of their students, but they have effectively prevented the unnecessary allocation of valuable resources which would have otherwise been spent on the maintenance of a natural grass field. With a natural grass field, each passing year represents over $50,000.00 spent on field maintenance instead of the child. Although initially more expensive, FieldTurf and its reduced maintenance requirements, when broken down over a ten year period have proven to be substantially less expensive than natural grass. As it turns out, by “Funding The FieldTurf” the superintendent has “Invested In The Children”.

What about at school? Public or private? Should teachers be allowed to beat, I mean spank, a child?

Over ten years ago, when FieldTurf created the world’s first infilled artificial turf for sports applications, a decision was made to invest in quality. Today, as a result of that decision, FieldTurf features the highest grade materials and only implements the most meticulous of installation methods. Due to that dedication to quality and durability the initial price of FieldTurf tends to be higher when compared to the competition and natural grass. However, when broken down over time, the durability and performance of the FieldTurf product has proven to be the most cost effective sports field surface in the world.

With an average sized natural grass field, maintenance costs with regards to mowing, reseeding, resodding and watering can amount to over $50,000.00 each year. Compared to the virtually maintenance free FieldTurf product, the cost of maintaining a natural grass field over a ten year span has proven to be substantially more expensive than the price of a FieldTurf field.

When compared to the competition, FieldTurf’s patented product has been proven to last the test of time. Despite several other cheaper turf alternatives, FieldTurf has never compromised on quality for price. In the artificial turf industry, history has demonstrated a direct correlation between quality and longevity. With the highest quality materials and the most amount of infill per square foot, FieldTurf has remained a step above. Unfortunately for several schools who decided to roll the dice on a cheaper artificial turf product, their fields have been plagued by costly field breakdowns and have often failed to last more than 5 years.

FieldTurf understands that the true test of a product’s quality lies in its longevity. For a school, that longevity translates directly into additional money for school related expenses. The Amarillo Independent School District is just one of many satisfied FieldTurf clients who have already experience the incredible savings promised to them by FieldTurf. Athletic Director Tex Nolan decided to install FieldTurf 10 yeas ago. Today that same field continues to be used non-stop by hundreds of students and community members.

“By choosing to invest in FieldTurf which is a higher quality product with a history of durability, our school board experienced tremendous savings. As it turned out, by investing in a FieldTurf field we were able to free up a lot of money for other school expenses that would have otherwise been reserved for natural grass field maintenance. Our FieldTurf field, which lasted 10 years, was significantly cheaper than natural grass in the long run and provided our schools with additional finances which we used to invest in education. It is safe to say that FieldTurf has had a direct and positive impact on our students, both on and off the field.”- Tex Nolan

Results like the ones seen at Amarillo are not uncommon. When it comes to durability, FieldTurf is the only artificial turf company on the market with fields (50+) over the age of 10 that are still in daily use.

With more than 2,500 installations in the ground, FieldTurf is the most trusted name in artificial turf. Thanks to a commitment to quality and longevity, the FieldTurf product has been helping more schools save more money for education than any other sports related surface in history.

Sean Adelsohn
sean.adelsohn@fieldturftarkett.com

The idea that home education is incompatible with educational excellence was long ago disproven, and there are countless statistics to prove that homeschooling works. Naysayers just don’t want to know it.

That is really what Kahlenberg is asking in that false dichotomy he sets up, but he can’t say it so directly or people will realize what he is really saying…simply that the state knows better than you what your child needs.

I wouldn’t have even known about their silly poll, or their uninformed article if my husband hadn’t shown it to me. In spite of that, I wasn’t going to vote. But…I caved and went to their inane site anyway. Then, being the loudmouth that I am, I was going to comment – but you had to “join” their site. Yeah, like I’m going to sign up with that site only to be spammed by hawkers of “therapeutic” miracle slippers and anti-wrinke remedies! I still wish I could get my .02 worth in to them, but the ones that did looked like they were handling things pretty well!

http://educationmatters.us/2007/04/20/teacher-panel-calls-for-overhaul-of-pay-across-profession/

Guess you have to pay them to get them to say what you want…Hear the latest news yet?

Scientists will generally not acknowledge unscientific ideas posed as science.

The problem with ID is that it is an unscientific idea, and its proponents are ignoring the scientific method and the hard work it is to do actual research, and are instead launching political PR campaigns in order to force their idea on the scientific community.

If ID is allowed to skip the scientific process, then we must also allow Alchemy to be taught alongside Chemistry, Flat Earth alongside Geology, Holocaust denial in History classes, and that God does not exist in churches. It’s that simple. If this unscientific idea (ID) is given special treatment, why shouldn’t the same be the case for other unscientific ideas?

Now, you may wish to counter this by claiming that ID is science, but the fact is that even a conservative christian judge – Judge Jones (who was appointed to office by Bush on recommendation from creationist senator Rick Santorum), had to rule that ID is religion. If you want to know the specifics look up the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial, which shows all the dirty details on how the ID community is just the Creationist (God did it) community with a new name. There is no doubt about the fact that ID is religion, and the fact that they have not produced one single piece of new, original research says it all. As long as they do not provide us with this research, they do not belong in science books.

And if you claim that anyone who questions Darwinism is shunned, then I recommend that you read this:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=ben-steins-expelled-review-michael-shermer&page=4

Read from “Questioning Darwinism”, and it continues on page 5. These scientists question Darwinism, but they are doing actual science. Unlike the ID crowd (including the Discovery Institute) which only deals with politics and religion.

Kudos for that. It gives you credibility, and does not make you a hypocrite like all the other pro-Expelled blogs out there who expell anyone who disagrees.

This is a false claim. Scientists know a great deal about how life could have come about.

However, Evolution/Darwinism does not deal with how life first appeared. It only deals with what happened once it was here.

So it seems that Expelled is very confused and unscientific in nature?

“The movie also explores why anyone who questioned Darwinian Theory using scientific evidence, publishes an article by someone in the Intelligent Design Field or even writes an article about Intelligent Design they are fired or forced to resign.”

The movie is lying:

http://my.opera.com/WayOfTheDodo/blog/2008/04/21/expelled-no-honesty-allowed-part-2

None of the claimed victims of expulsion were in fact expelled. Sternberg, for example, had resigned at his own request six months earlier.

“One major argument from the Darwinist is that Intelligent Design should not be taught in schools”

Intelligent Design is not science, so it should not be taught in science class.

Our family briefly considered homeschooling when a discipline problem at our son’s private school became a chronic disruption. Fortunately the school resolved the issue (one of the benefits of private school), but while we were working with them on our son’s behalf we were also talking with every homeschooling family we met. The motivations for homeschooling were as diverse as the approaches to it. Unfortunately the results were equally diverse.

We met quite a few families that were very successfully preparing their children for college and/or employment. However, we also met more than a few families who were quite candid that their own math and science skills were not adequate and did not allow them to teach their own children. Unfortunately, it is their children who will pay for that inadequacy, and we had to seriously consider our own abilities as we considered the homeschooling option.

The question was – and is – how and if we should hold homeschool teachers accountable (as we should public and private school teachers)? We certainly have the right to raise our children as we see fit, but we do not have the right to cause them injury or to deny them basic need such as adequate food, shelter or education.

I think there has to be a middle ground between certification of all teachers – which does not always guarantee good teaching – and no oversight.

From our friends over at Education Matters.us

I received the email below today from a resident of District 15/211. This was sent out by the PTA from my understanding.

The PTA, Teachers Unions, and school officials are hosting a meeting on…

From our friends over at Education Matters.us

I received the email below today from a resident of District 15/211. This was sent out by the PTA from my understanding.

The PTA, Teachers Unions, and school officials are hosting a meeting on…

From our friends over at Education Matters.us

I received the email below today from a resident of District 15/211. This was sent out by the PTA from my understanding.

The PTA, Teachers Unions, and school officials are hosting a meeting on…

1. Teachers contract from the districts you claim record salary differently with page references
2. Salary data for several teachers from the district offices as reported to the ISBE
3. Data from the ISBE for several teachers you claim are incorrect

I think I stated at least twice that the data from ISBE and posted on The Champion is correct. What is erroneous is the statement by the Champion, “This salary data does not include the cost of employer-paid health insurance.” It’s a shame neither you, or the Champion, will address it. Don’t you care if the sources you site are accurate?

1. Teachers contract from the districts you claim record salary differently with page references
2. Salary data for several teachers from the district offices as reported to the ISBE
3. Data from the ISBE for several teachers you claim are incorrect

And finally, the same teachers data from The Champion News. See, no paystubs needed.

I’m not certain that anyone could provide you someone’s pay stubs as proof, but here’s the facts; let Champion dispute it.

In the Woodland Elementary District #50, salary data does not include employer paid health insurance premiums. FACT

In CCSD #46, salary includes the cost of health insurance premiums. FACT

I think it’s unreasonable to expect someone would send you their paystubs to prove it. Any other suggestion?

Confused, please provide some examples so we can see what you are talking about. Secondly, the Chanpion posts the salaries as the district provides them to the ISBE. If the numbers are incorrect, then you probably want to speak with the district staff providing the data.

“This salary data does not include the cost of employer-paid health insurance.”

But the salaries for CCSD 46 teachers that are reported here DO include employer paid health insurance. What does that say about the sites credibility? How can these data be used effectively if they are described erroneously? How can a district that doesn’t report employer paid health insurance be compared properly to one that does?

Isn’t that apples and oranges?

“These are basically diversionary tactics to the real issue. He is trying to setup straw man arguments to discredit my argument that teachers and their spouses, on school boards, should not be allowed to negotiate or vote on contracts relating to salary. Also, I believe it is a conflict of interest for teachers to actually be on a school board. This school board argument in no way limits teacher’s or any other government employee’s ability to lobby government on their own time or with their freely given monetary gifts.”

I like how you explained that. Very helpful. Thanks.

Mike Harmon

In response to the salary freeze. I love that the principal got a 5.5% increase. Mine last year was 2.9%, HOWEVER, no one seems to care that my taxes went up. OR that my daycare costs went up. Or that gas went up. But by god, the principal got 5.5%? And there’s apparently TWO of them needed in one school? So you mean to tell me, not only will my children only get a half day of education, I STILL pay for full-day daycare once they start school, my raise still will never match cost of living increase despite the 4+ years I spent in college, they get no lunch time (only a snack), and because taxes go up, now my home value is going down. Nice one Big Hollow. Gives me a great incentive to move despite the housing market slump.

I came from a poor school district in the south, but they somehow managed to give me a great education, lunch time and playground time, a building to learn in, never once charged my parents registration fees each year, and I was still bussed to school FULL TIME. Sure, there were 30 students to a teacher, but guess what, I survived. Keep it up, and eventually every parent will opt to pay for private education because it will cost them just as much as sending them to part-time PUBLIC education. Then the district will truly lose money. Then what? “I’m sorry, we can no longer afford to offer kindergarten.”

Ask them why they won’t tell the parents about it, and have actually forbidden faculty from doing so.

It’s a travesty

This site has no need to attend meetings or participate in direct dialogue…it can single-handedly save the world just by reviewing the financials with no 1st hand involvement.

It’s intentions are not the best interest of the district, but rather, to rable-rouse.

Thank you.

Just ask them to “redirect” it to you and yours.

The latest and greatest wastes of mind power and money in the American Public School System:Oh, criminey. Just what American high school students need: “Less homework, more yoga”Welcome to 21st century public education in the US, where one in 10…

I FOIA and post the data I receive and at times I post my analysis. I have discovered items they would have rather the public not have known about. I opposed their referendum a few years back because the data I received did not support their case.

The first FOIA I ever made to District 46 was incomplete. That took place at the start of this website as I was asking questions and researching data to find out if I should support the referendum or not.

I guess if asking questions about how the district spends the taxpayer monies they receive is inappropriate or irresponsible, or if providing this data to the public at large is inappropriate or irresponsible, then I have been both. When nearly 70% of local property taxes go to the local schools I have the right to ask questions and to disseminate those answers. The school district have a duty to provide this information and yet they make the process cumbersome and sometimes expensive to to find the data and the answers.

Thanks,
Kevin Killion

–Maverick

I had already addressed Paul’s concerns in my post about the union dues. I addressed his question about teacher lobbying and his statement about public schools needing more money in my comment.

Schools do not need more money to improve quality. Schools Choice saves money and more effective at raising standards.

Further, I disagree with your point that union dues (even involuntary ones) should be considered taxpayer money. As members of the union, teachers are able to affect the manner in which that money is spent, and even whether it is forced to be contributed. Therefore, it becomes their money when it is dispensed to them in a paycheck. Mr Ferriter’s point is valid: At what point do salary monies paid to a person become the property (and responsibility) of the employee?

I am not familiar with the policies in Illinois, but I am curious about your statement that teachers are being allowed to lobby lawmakers on “school time”. Are these teachers’ classes being taught by substitute teachers? Don’t teachers have the right to take days off and utilize that time as they see fit? At what point does a teacher’s time become his own?

I recognize your argument that unions have more motivation and more money to push for teacher’s issues than the public at-large has to lobby for the opposite viewpoint, but this is true of all public issues. Our taxes continue to grow because the groups that benefit from increased government spending have more to gain than individual taxpayers have to lose. Any interest group that wants hundreds of thousands of dollars in government money for any cause can argue that it will only cost the average taxpayer a fraction of a penny in increased taxes. My point is that teachers (and their unions) do not have any special ability to squeeze more money from the public. But, the public needs to see that improvements in our education system require more money to improve the quality of our teachers and our schools.

If you want to go with minimum wage ($7.50) per pupil, then the same calculations would give you $11,200 per pupil. I think minimum wage is a pretty good bargain considering you’re getting actual education instead of just babysitting. This price still only covers basic textbooks and supplies and does not include extracurriculars, technology, and special education requirements.

Now let’s look at the state average….we’re a little shy on minimum wage. You could argue that education isn’t one-on-one education, but my response is that many schools only have half of the minimum wage calculation I just made.

Adam, the parent here is providing this information. It is their right to do so as the parent. The school on the other hand is the one bound by privacy laws not to discuss this child’s’ medical issue with the public.

As to this comment, “I can’t agree with your viewpoint that respecting the privacy of children must mean that the school districts are manipulating us all for financial gains”, I am not sure what you are claiming. I am assuming that you mean schools are secretly hiding behind privacy laws to keep the public in the dark while taking our money. I don’t believe they are hiding behind privacy laws. I believe they are manipulating the system in two ways here. First, they are intimidating parents to drug their children so they fit into their one-size-fits all system. Second, by having more kids with an IEP, they receive additional State and Federal funding. The idea about using this to increase our taxes, I can only assume, is about the referendum. If the school district uses special education costs during a referendum campaign, then yes they are using this to attempt raise our taxes. Overall though, the main reason nearly 1 in 8 kids are now using Ritalin like drugs are because the government run school monopoly wants the kids to fit into their one-size-fits all system.

As for the comment posted against your Big Hollow editorial, the school has an obligation to deny access if the parent refuses to follow a doctors order; anything less might put them in a position of extreme liability. It was a doctor that deemed the regiment necessary, not the school. As mandated reporters, the school personnel are bound by law to report a parents neglect and if a doctor writes an order, and a parent refuses to follow it, that’s neglect.

You are correct that schools cannot write prescriptions. That is clearer in my previous article. I wrote both with an assumption that there was a general understanding by intelligent people that schools recommended and parents felt compelled to follow those instructions. If that was not clear, then I apologize.

I am also unsure of where you are claiming schools should discuss individual IEP decisions with the public. Schools do have a general obligation to discuss generalities of IEP programs because they are reporting these to the State. Large increases in certain IEP classifications should be documented and understand by both the State agencies and the public.

Schools do intimidate parents to see a doctor. In this local example, it was the threat of not educating the child; “Big Hollow could not educate my child because I refused to put her on stimulants”. In another case it was, defining parents as child abusers; a similar threat of child neglect that ended in the death of the child. In Oregon, the practice was so well known that State law was changed to prevent schools from recommending Ritalin type drugs. These are just a few examples of many. Search on Google or Yahoo and you will see more facts than you would wish to see.

It seems pretty drastic for you to assume that the school district is automatically at fault here and also hinting that school districts are able to write dangerous perscriptions. I don’t see how discussing private issues such as medical history or individual education plans for special education students with the public is realistic or even legal. You may want to check out a book or two on school law before making such broad and misinformed statements about this kind of thing. It isn’t a matter of not wanting to communicate with the public, it is a matter of law as to what can be discussed and not discussed. There are legal restraints (and common sense ones) for not sharing EVERYTHING with the public, as you probably are aware of already.

I’m all for spreading information to the public via these wonderful websites, but it would be nice if you were to spread a larger dose of factual information rather than this kind of misleading attack.

Nicely done!
The Tempered Radical

I’m going to have to find a cool spot to begin going through all of these postings. It’s hot, hot, hot here in Dixie!

Thanks for hosting the carnival and for linking to me.:)