A (open) letter to the Board: K. Daniel (9/27/2010)

Each of the board members acknowledged the receipt of 18 to 20 e-mails at the last board meeting. A fellow teacher on my campus shared hers with me as well, and with her permission, I share it here:

September 27, 2010

Dear Board Members:

In the first unit of the 6th grade Lit book the Big Question is" HOW DO WE DECIDE WHAT IS TRUE"  Students are taught to confirm, determine, examine evidence, test and investigate to determine what is true.

In chapter 8 lesson 9 of the math text the title is Misleading Statistics.  Students learn to identify biased displays and misleading statistics.

HOW DO WE DECIDE WHAT IS TRUE?  That is the same question I'm asking of you now.  

How do you explain an average third year projection that is 540% off?    How do you reconcile the enrollment numbers?  We know exactly how many students are filling the seats of our classrooms. Do you?

We have an 18% reserve, far more than needed.  And finally, the Job's bill is coming.

All these facts can be checked and verified as being true. It is wrong to lie to us or at the very least "Handle the truth recklessly", as my mom would say.

At times it seems that you forget or lose sight of the fact that you are dealing with educated, intelligent and articulate people.  How is it that the students of Lowell Joint became "Distinguished"?

It is your responsibility to check and verify the facts , as we have done,  Stop taking Dr. Howell at her word.  She doesn't tell the truth. She is building an enormous reserve on the backs of dedicated teachers.  This will not stand.

Thank you for reading this letter.

Kari Daniel

Life at the DO

The following is a guest post from Melissa. She couldn't leave a comment, so she sent me an e-mail. With her permission, I share it with this reading community.

Thank you, Don, for the post on the definition of a Superintendent. I tried to post this reply on your blog, but don't have any of the accounts listed.

As you may know I worked at the D.O. p/t from Nov 07 to June 09 as Rosie's Asst. Unfortunately, as I read all of the posts from the teachers and you, I am sad to hear that it wasn't only at the D.O. that morale was so bad, but that it has affected our teachers and staff at our schools so pervasively, as well. The stress level at the D.O. when I was there was palpable! We were all on pins & needles, and no one would speak out but for some, quietly, for fear of retribution. I have learned this sadly hasn't changed. It was virtually impossible to give your best there under such conditions no matter how hard you tried! This just shouldn't be, not when our kids are involved! Honestly, though I was there to help my family financially, I was so relieved to have been laid-off! It makes me angry that this is happening to our wonderful district with so many dedicated teachers and staff that have created and fostered this incredible district that has kept so many through the years moving to our area or transferring schools just to be able to attend us!

As examples, leaders, and mentors to our children, we must be able to make their school environment one that as a family continues to promote the joy of learning and discovery, but how it's so difficult to do in the midst of stress, strain, and frustration! I truly believe that with my experience working directly in the Supt's office, and being involved in the PTA at EP and now at Macy in various positions, and as a business owner, not to mention plenty of time on my hands right now, I can be a voice that stands against the injustices and help force a turn-around, taking back our great district and making right the wrongs that have gone on for too long now! We need to change the long-term effects as well as deal with the short-term issues by challenging and changing the manner in which we are currently governed. I hope to have the opportunity to lend my time and voice to this imperative task!

Thank you for your voice, Don.

Blessings...

Melissa Salinas
Macy Parent

(Thank you Melissa for providing a window into "Life at the D.O." It's not a pretty sight.)

Those who cannot remember the past...

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana

Recently I asked Mary Jane for some background information on when the last time Lowell Joint had gone to impasse. Mary Jane went the second mile and provided this background information. It was helpful to me. Maybe it will be helpful to you, the reader. (Note that "In the Know" has had its bias for years.)

Enjoy!

Well, it was a trip down memory lane after school today. I wanted to really research the dates for impasse.

Our first impasse occurred in 83-84. We started negotiations with the district in May 1983. We filed for impasse in December, 1983. The mediator came twice and we reached agreement with the district by February 29, 1984.

Our second impasse was in 2007. Howell was hired July 1, 2006. During the Spring of 2006, Ron would not negotiate the contract which was to expire June 30, 2006 since he was interim Superintendent.

So after Howell started in July, 2006, Julie Mayhew and I went to her in August, 2006 and offered to rollover the contract for a year since she was new to the district and we were in such a financial mess. Her response was a definite "no" because she had concerns about our contract. Part of her concern was the fact that we were to get a funded COLA that year if we rolled over the contract and she was opposed to it.

So we started to negotiate in Nov. 06, which was the soonest that the district was ready. We had 10 meetings, mostly after school hours for us, and then impasse was declared on March 30, 2007. We met with the mediator on May 8, 07 and June 1, 07 and officially reached an agreement on Thurs June 28, 2007.

So we were without a contract for one full year. It was devastating to read IN THE KNOW for all those months. I have kept the copies and they are all the district's point of view. Also remember that she used district money to communicate with the parents. We were getting In the Know frequently and we then had to publish our own information to combat her point of view.

It was truly ugly and no wonder I blotted out all the dates and information. Our contract for that period was for 2006-2009. In Spring of 2009, Howell did agree to roll over the contract with the MOU for freezing step and column since no one really knew about the crisis in the state budget. So we are at the end of our one year agreement and trying desperately to negotiate another contract.

Hope this helps with the "perspective" and now you are up-to-date with all the correct dates.

Mary Jane

(Special thanks to Mary Jane for letting me share this with you.)

Guest Posts: An Invitation

One of the goals/purposes of this blog is to provide a forum for others in Lowell Joint who want to contribute pieces to puzzle. If you have information or a story, or even a good question that you'd like to pose in a post... then type it up and submit to me at evansjrdon@sbcglobal.net

My belief is that the more information available, the easier to define the problem(s), and the easier to see viable solutions.

If you're interested in providing a guest post or posts... let me know.