Is DeKalb waiting for a “budget fairy” to wave away its money woes?
I hate layoffs but am not sure DeKalb County Schools is serving its employees by pretending it can avoid them in this dire budget crisis.
As one parent said after the school boarded 5-2 last night to instruct Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson to find $20 million in cuts elsewhere, “What are they waiting on, the ‘budget fairy?”
The problem is that it is near impossible for the county to cut $20 million without layoffs at this point.
“If they don’t do it now, at some point during the school year, the numbers aren’t going to match up,” Herb Garrett, executive director of the Georgia School Superintendents Association, told the AJC. “It’s going to be pay me now or pay me later.”
The layoff proposal would have affected 120 paraprofessionals, or teachers’ aides, an unpopular option among some parents especially with a school board election around the corner on July 31.
But DeKalb schools may be out of options. It’s unlikely enough teachers will choose to retire or quit to get to the number needed to balance the budget. The district has already agreed to $60 million in cuts to support staff and programming, and may not be in a position to absorb more cuts.
“She’s got to come up with a different plan, one that does not include reduction in force,” board chairman Eugene Walker said before the 5-2 vote against layoffs. Only Tom Bowen and Jay Cunningham voted for the layoffs, with Pam Speaks and Paul Womack absent.
Throughout the budget process, administration officials had been telling board members that they hoped to avert teacher layoffs. Typically, far more retire or leave voluntarily each year than the number of positions cut from the budget.
Walker and other board members said they didn’t think they’d have to lay anyone off when they voted for the budget. But board member Jay Cunningham said he understood that layoffs were a strong possibility. It’s “common sense,” he said. “If you vote for this, this will happen.”
In recent weeks, teachers have been leaving at a rate of about 20 per week, too slow to meet the requirements of the budget cuts. Laying off teachers once school starts will be more difficult emotionally because children and parents will have developed relationships with teachers, Garrett said.
Some teachers who attended Monday’s meeting praised the board’s decision. So did Lisa Lake, whose child attends a Montessori program affected by the teacher cuts. “They’re saying we need to stop and re-evaluate now,” she said.
Avoiding layoffs, however, is just wishful thinking, said David Schutten, president of teachers advocacy group the Organization of DeKalb Educators. He said the board gave false hope and that he expects layoffs eventually, or else the school system will spend money it doesn’t have and wind up in debt next summer, unable to make payroll.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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270 comments Add your comment
Frustrated Dekalb Parent
July 18th, 2012
8:20 am
So it is obvious many, many DeKalb parents and taxpayers are fed up with the entire DCSS, especially the Superintindent and BOE but what can we really do? We have elections coming up but that may not swing the Board to common sense. Is there any true recourse with the state, SACS or any other entity? We need corrective action, not just our justified complaining.
Entitlement Society
July 18th, 2012
8:29 am
@Once Again – I agree with you completely. Why wait around for “fairies?”
Dunwoody Mom
July 18th, 2012
8:34 am
@Frustrated, SACS should have stepped in a long time ago, but just continued with the hand-slaps leaving the BOE to believe they were performing their jobs – which of course is as far from the truth as one can get. The Governor can only step in if the system is put on probation. It’s frustrating to feel helpless. At this point, we, as DCSS community members should just step up and help our schools as best we can.
Where are you Cerebration?
July 18th, 2012
8:59 am
Total threadjack, but I am lamenting the demise of the original DSW. Perhaps, Cerebration, you left because you could not deal with the thoughtless demeanor of those who now run DSW2? I probably would have too…
Frank Candor
July 18th, 2012
9:09 am
@Dekalb Teacher: The “powers that be” have more nerve and gall than a brass-a$$ monkey!!!! How dare they even fix their mouths to ask teachers to work two late-nights without pay!!! Teachers’ salaries have been cut another 6.25%, Dekalb teachers have not seen a “step” increase in over six years, Dekalb stopped matching funds for teacher retirement, additional furlough days have been put in place, medical and dental insurance subsidies have been eradicated, contracts have not been returned to teachers, classroom sizes are projected to be overcrowded, and yet Dekalb H.N.I.C.’s can still “fix’ their mouths to ask teachers to work extra unpaid hours for a “Curriculum Night” and an “Open House Night” ?? Once again, these buffoons are trying to put the “cart before the horse.” They need to deal with balancing the budget and putting money back in the teachers’ salaries. If the teachers could take a brave collective stance vs. the “machine” and go down to Central Office in mass droves and declare that they refuse to be treated like indentured servants, then maybe—just maybe—some real attention can be brought to this heinous situation…or in the words of an old Ethiopian proverb :’When the spiderwebs unite, they can snare a lion.’…… Or better yet, Phillipians 4:13: ‘ I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.’
dekalbite@married
July 18th, 2012
9:21 am
“For example, one DSW2 analysis uses “Security costs per-pupil” and compares DeKalb against affluent suburban counties (Gwinett and Cobb)…. while completely ignoring the demographic differences. ”
Not true. The analysis was done for ALL metro systems INCLUDING demographically similar systems. Wouldn’t you say that APS, Clayton, and Marietta City are at least as poor as DeKalb and have just as many minority students? Yet their cost per pupil for Security is so much less than Dekalb? Every per pupil dollar you divert to Security means one less dollar to pay for teachers who instruct the students.
Here is the link again for you to compare DeKalb to APS, Clayton County and Marietta City Schools (demographically similar systems):
http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/dcss-spending/the-cost-of-security/
“My feeling is that DCS *should* have much higher special education costs because DeKalb is more likely to have children that need those services.”
But the numbers don’t show that. Gwinnett has 17,600 special ed students to DeKalb’s 8,000+students yet we have 4.5 times as many NON TEACHING special ed admin and support personnel and spend 4.7 times as much ($8,000,000) as Gwinnett ($1,700,000).
Look at the achievement rates for DeKalb ($8,000,000 in special ed admin and support) versus Gwinnett ($1,700,000 in special ed admin and support). We have poorer outcomes for more money spent:
Look at the stellar results that Gwinnett has with their 17,600 special education students:
http://archives.gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=105&PTID=44&CTID=83&Source=APR%20Math&PID=38&CountyId=667&T=1&FY=2011
(click on APR Math and then on APR ELAR)
Now look at DeKalb’s results with 8,000+ special ed students:
http://archives.gadoe.org/ReportingFW.aspx?PageReq=105&PTID=44&CTID=45&Source=Elementary&PID=38&CountyId=644&T=1&FY=2011
(click on APR Math and then on APR ELAR)
And yet they want to eliminate special ed teachers and paras in DeKalb while they want to keep all the highly paid non teaching special ed administrators. We are so not focused on the students.
You must not be clicking on the links to read the data. All data has links to credible sources. What is your data? Can you link it to credible sources? Readers can look at the data and its source and then make up their minds.
Source for Special Education administrators:
state Salary and Travel audit – 2011
Sort for Special Education Specialists
Fred in DeKalb
July 18th, 2012
9:50 am
@Married with (School) Children, that is the point that I made to those at DSW, especially dekalbite many times. Yes, there is a LOT of data available however additional research is also needed to understand the context. dekalbite wanted to compare this school district with Marietta City Schools based on demographics. That school district has less than 10,000 students. I pointed out that their superintendent, Emily Lembeck made over $250,000 in 2010, using the same source as dekabite. If you factored the cost per student for the superintendent, this is extremely high compared to paying Dr. Atkinson $275,000 for 98,000 students. In fact, if you look at cost per student for most of the large school districts, the superintendent compensation is a bargain when compared to the salaries for smaller school districts. Obviously with this example, it shows you can make data say what you want.
I also pointed out to dekalbite that the student/teacher ratio was lower in DeKalb than Marietta, once again using data that dekalbite presented. It was about 17 students to 1 teacher using simple arithmetic. Again I got crickets. What this does not factor in are the government mandated student/teacher ratios for special needs students. Didn’t we read this weekend that one enterprising parent was able to secure a dedicated para for their student? Situations like this can skew those ratios. I also mentioned how *some* parents game the special needs program with specialized IEPs and was accused of making things up until several teachers confirmed what I said with examples.
We miss you Cerebration. At least you allowed differing opinions and insights. Now the hosts of the new DSW simple censor those that don’t share their agenda. I think Dr. Trotter, with his law degree, would have a hard time there also.
Dunwoody Mom
July 18th, 2012
10:05 am
@Fred, I’ve been going through all the 2011-2012 HR reports to do some analysis. It seems in a couple of instances, the same employee was given 2 different “field” assignments. I hope they didn’t get paid twice.
Fred in DeKalb
July 18th, 2012
10:13 am
Good job, Dunwoody Mom! Hopefully you’ll come up with additional questions as a result of your analysis that can address discrepancies. Thanks for being a voice of reason in this sea of legitimate discontent.
Bobby
July 18th, 2012
10:15 am
The large school systems in Georgia such as Dekalb, Gwinnett, Cobb, etc need to be broken up into smaller school districts so there is more local accountability. For instance, Dekalb should be at least three separate districts with more local control. Just as people are incorporating in to smaller cities to get control the same thing should be happening with these Mega-districts. What would it take to move to smaller districts?
Dunwoody Mom
July 18th, 2012
10:22 am
Fred, thanks for the link to the job reclassifications above. So, Title 1 goes under “Teachers” Category. Does that meana Secretary assigned to Title 1 also goes under Teachers? That does not seem right to me.
Dekalbite@fred
July 18th, 2012
10:46 am
Enter your comments here
MB
July 18th, 2012
10:47 am
One thing is certain regarding security: if the resource officers are on 12-month contracts, that should be changed except for any needed to cover central offices…(One of the places Fulton cut early was SRO staffing, then the amount of OT created by poor scheduling practices.)
The staffing audit adjusted for per FTE differences and found DCSS with wide ranges in salaries and supplements. The report is long and detailed, but it may have information you can use in conjunction with the DCSS state allotment sheet. http://dekalbschoolwatch.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/full-report-phase-i-dcss-audit-jan-2012.pdf
Dekalbite@fred
July 18th, 2012
10:54 am
I just post just data Fred with links to credible sources. Readers and commenters of this blog and DSW2 can read the data for themselves and make up their own minds. If you think it is erroneous, the. post your data with links to credible sources and then readers and commenters can weigh the data and reach conclusions. Most readers and commenters of an education blog are pretty astute.
BTW- I don’t know any of the people who run DSW2 so I don’t know why they banned you. As Cerebration suggested many times, you guys need your own blog.
Jo
July 18th, 2012
11:21 am
@Married with (School Children), 7:25 AM
RE: “I would like to see an analysis done by school clusters — it would be great if someone could compare the costs for DCS schools in Dunwoody and Brookhaven against the costs for schools in south Gwinnett.”
How about if that “someone” is YOU?! You already have a lot of information — build on what you already have.
Pardon My Blog
July 18th, 2012
11:41 am
It is time for (1) the State to step in since SACS and others will not and appoint individuals with proper backgrounds to run the system and (2) split the system into two systems. This has gotten to be such a debacle and is an embarrassment for us all. It will affect the students when they apply for colleges this year, it will affect housing prices, and it will affect the county’s ability to attract businesses, etc. It is bad enough that people think of DeKalb County as “little Detroit” given all the crime but now all of this!
bu2
July 18th, 2012
11:42 am
@Frustrated Dekalb Parent
As long as Dekalb voters continue to believe the problem is “other people” and other people’s representatives, the problem will continue. Throwing out Speaks, McChesney and Womack and making sure Bowen’s favorite doesn’t get elected to his seat will go a long way toward changing things and sending a loud message. Make sure you vote on July 31, or before. Early voting is open at 4380 Memorial in Dekalb County from 7-7.
Frustrated Dekalb Parent
July 18th, 2012
11:58 am
@bu2 – Who is Bowen’s favorite?
Fred in DeKalb
July 18th, 2012
11:58 am
Dunwoody Mom, I don’t know the answer to your question. One would assume secretaries would be considered school support. It does not make sense to assign them as a teacher. Yours in the kind of question that helps to clarify the vast amount of data we are seeing.
Dekalbite
July 18th, 2012
12:15 pm
Bowen’s favorite would be Melvin Johnson, former Deputy Superintendent of Dekalb Schools and a long time insider. Also, a high ranking New Birth (Eddie Long’s church) member. Looking at his website he promises low class sizes and step increases for teachers, but no specifics on how to pay for them. Does anyone think he will cut the friends and family? He is backed by many powerful former highly paid DCSS administrators who are retired now but still wield a lot of influence.
Fred in DeKalb
July 18th, 2012
12:15 pm
@Dekalbite,
**Most readers and commenters of an education blog are pretty astute.**
I can agree with that. I’ve also agreed with you on several points though the same acknowledgment has never been returned, even when verifiable information is provided. Blogs can be self correcting when they allow differing opinions and insights, especially when they can be substantiated. When certain posters and opinions are censored for merely having a different point of view, it raises questions about the intent of those running the blog.
For example, I shared information from the Student Code of Conduct Handbook (which has been updated), with links and section, regarding a policy on the use of recording devices. This was done to a comment from the blog host soliciting recordings of students misbehaving. While the intent is honorable, I merely pointed out that doing so was in violation of the policy and the person could be subjected to harsh penalties. I was attacked for pointing this out as a balance to the request?
Also, who are you guys? People that have insight to education law and compliance then merely share that with people? You do realize some of the personnel requests cannot be fulfilled due to privacy laws? It seems those types of comments are not welcome however wild accusations and speculation can find a home there.
Truth in Moderation
July 18th, 2012
12:21 pm
OOPS!
I forgot to add the link to the NYTimes article
“Come On, China, Buy Our Stuff!”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/29/magazine/come-on-china-buy-our-stuff.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all
Dunwoody Mom
July 18th, 2012
12:37 pm
Also, what is the difference between Category 660 Teachers (which includes Magnet) and Category 104 Magnet Teachers and Extra Activity….
Fred in DeKalb
July 18th, 2012
12:48 pm
Dekalbite, you were rightly critical that DeKalb Teacher salary schedules were not available online. Perhaps this was loaded recently,
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/human-resources/teacher-salary-schedule
Please share this on DSW since I obviously cannot…
bu2
July 18th, 2012
1:09 pm
@Frustrated
I don’t know who his favorite is. Its not my district or I would have tried to figure that out. I do know that Dr. Johnson has a lot of ties to the old guard. Ms. McGill, Ms. Walker and Terrilyn Rivers-Cannon are the other candidates.
Very Sad
July 18th, 2012
1:33 pm
I come from a school system in Europe where the assistant principals are full time teachers. The principal still teaches a class. They all know how hard the job of a teacher is and do not have time to create extra work for the teachers.
I am still ( I have been fearing for my job now three times the past two years) a teacher in Dekalb and I am soo upset with everything that has been going on. Mr. Deal is right— good teachers are the heart of good education. The whole situation could have been used to make the schools better—let the bad teachers go. Instead, very good teachers had to go at our school just because they were one year less in the county than their colleague, teaching the same subject. But the one being there longer is by far not as good as the teacher they let go. Who suffers???? The students!!
Young, energetic teachers had to go and will be lost for the system.
The climate in the schools will be horrible when we will go back. Teachers are tooo scared to say anything, just being happy that they have not been fired.
Internet-Libertarian
July 18th, 2012
1:33 pm
DSW2 blocked me all together for asking Denise McGill what in the world she was talking about with her press release rant. That rant was just crazy.
nanayh
July 18th, 2012
1:44 pm
Fred in Dekalb, thanks for the link to the salary schedule. Check out this link for the salary schedule in Muscogee County in Columbus, GA:
https://www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/Employment/Pages/Salary-Schedules.aspx
The teacher salary list on this page includes the state salary scale so the public can see just how much Muscogee County is contributing to teachers’ salaries. In the case of Dekalb County all employees with a Master’s degree with between 6 and 12 years of experience will be making less than what the state pays. How is that legal or possible? Can someone please explain this?
Dunwoody Mom
July 18th, 2012
1:45 pm
I’m not sure what the answer is with DSW because I believe that we as DeKalb Schools stakeholders need to keep the conversation going and that conversation must include all voices. We can only continue to grow and learn if all sides of an issue(s) are heard and respected. I know that I learn from those who I disagree with and at times have changed my point of view on items due to data being brought forward.
DCSD Parent
July 18th, 2012
2:21 pm
The BOE members have put up their own interactive blogs. Wouldn’t hurt to hit them up. They seem to be relatively responsive to comments.
Fred in DeKalb
July 18th, 2012
2:23 pm
nanayh, thanks for sharing the Muscogee County salary schedule link! That is great evidence of being transparent for multiple positions in the school district. It is a great layout. DCSD should take a note from them. I think I will suggest to whomever is left in HR to use that format. Greater the transparency could result in fewer open records requests and lower staffing needs to address them.
bu2
July 18th, 2012
2:25 pm
@Dunwoody Mom
That’s what education is about. Learning to evaluate various data and opinions and forming your own conclusion. Group think and political correctness are the anti-thesis of education. Unfortunately, by our choice of professions and friends, we tend to be around people who think just like ourselves. Its stimulating for adults, let alone children, to hear different viewpoints.
GotBusted
July 18th, 2012
2:28 pm
Employees at dcss just got slammed again… by the superintendent:
To: All DeKalb Employees
From: Dr. Cheryl L.H. Atkinson, Superintendent
Subject: Freeze on All Positions
Date: July 17, 2012
Effective immediately, the DeKalb County School District has ordered a hiring freeze on all positions as the School District continues to work through the FY2013 budget process.
The freeze applies to all positions, as well as the utilization of staff augmentation or other forms of procured human resources.
Any positions that need be filled to perform essential School District functions must be reviewed by Deputy Superintendents or Chief Divisional Officers, and will be subject to final approval by the Superintendent. ~
In addition, the School District will continue to restructure departments and consolidate positions until salary savings included in the FY2013 budget are met.
Please direct any questions regarding positions to your direct supervisor.
A friend just called to say …. “I’ve had it”
dekalbite@Fred and nanayh
July 18th, 2012
2:46 pm
“Dekalbite, you were rightly critical that DeKalb Teacher salary schedules were not available online.”
No. That is not what I said. I have the old and the new salary schedule. We are paying our teachers less than ever as we have cut their pay.
What I said is we only have he salary schedule for TEACHERS. We do not have ANY salary schedules for NON TEACHERS even though non teachers make up most of our staff.
Taxpayers cannot see the position titles of the non teaching staff in DeKalb or their salary schedules so we can’t compare our non teaching staff salary schedules with other counties. For example, we can’t compare the salary range for Assistant Principals to other metro Assistant Principals or a secretary to another secretary. EVERY other metro systems publish this information as a matter of public record because the public pays their salaries.
Look at this link. NO salary schedules are published except for teachers:
http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/human-resources/
Now look at Rockdale County school system:
http://rockdale.k12.ga.us/about/fs/hr/employbenefits/Pages/default.aspx
And Fulton County school system:
http://portal.fultonschools.org/departments/Human_Resources/Pages/Salary_Schedules_12_13.aspx
Can you see the difference in the information DeKalb REFUSES to provide and other metro systems?
Thanks nanayh for adding the Muscogee webpage. That is transparency. DeKalb has been repeatedly asked to post the non teaching position titles and their pay scales, but they have not done so.
https://www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/Employment/Pages/Salary-Schedules.aspx
What a difference in your school system’s administration and DeKalb!
Bill
July 18th, 2012
2:59 pm
More pay to play and close the fernbank. We really need to look at all options, before we hurt the basics of educating Dekalbs’ students. We need to make sure the schools are safe and educating the students first. Fernbank and sports are secondary. Sorry.
Can someone help?
July 18th, 2012
3:04 pm
I am a teacher for DCSS. I have been in Pre-K for many years now and not by choice. I am repeatedly told that I am so good at my job they can’t risk losing my expertise by sending me to another grade level. Last year I was promised to go to first grade but a change in leadership squashed that and I was told that it is the principal’s building and I will teach the grade level she assigns me to. This was told to me by both H.R. as well as, O.D.E. I was told the last week of this past school year that my teaching assignment for 2012-2013 would be Kindergarten and was given a room assignment. As of today I have been told that I will be returning to Pre-K facing loss of pay and benefits. This is due to instructions from the county office. My question is, I sign the same contract as every teacher in the county which states I am an employee of D.C.S.S., not I am an employee of Pre-K. I have seniority over the majority of the teachers in my building so why is it that I am facing the pay cut and not someone with less years and less experience. All of my evaluations are outstanding and I also am a past Teacher of the Year for the county. O.D.E. is truly a joke and David Schutten has NEVER wanted to help teacher’s who are in Pre-K, not to mention that he is in favor of making cuts to the teachers now! I would appreciate any and all help!
dekalbite@Dunwoody Mom
July 18th, 2012
3:21 pm
“I’m not sure what the answer is with DSW because I believe that we as DeKalb Schools stakeholders need to keep the conversation going and that conversation must include all voices.”
The difference in the Get Schooled blog and DeKalb Watch or now DeKalb Watch Two is that Maureen gets paid (handsomely I hope) for this blog while DeKalb Watch run by Cerebration and now DeKalb Watch Two run by a group of concerned DeKalb citizens is done for free. In fact, it sounds like some of them have other jobs (Cerebration did), and judging by the number of comments and website hits, they must take a lot of time from their jobs to moderate DeKalb County School Watch.
I have been body slammed more than a few times by one of the moderators because I questioned the efficacy of Fernbank Science Center. The moderator was obviously a FSC supporter (I am too – I just think they need to be self sustaining) who wanted no budget cuts at the science center. That was okay with me. I just kept posting data and providing credible links.
This is what happens when a diverse group of people run a blog. When one person runs it, the tenor is pretty much the same day to day. But when a group runs it, the tenor may change with the post or comment. That happened to me. While commenting on Fernbank, I was told by dekalbwatch that he/she was tired of people like me who did not know what they were talking about and provided no data and I shouldn’t bother to comment anymore. That added a bit of levity to my day because data is about all I ever post. It was doubly confusing because one dekalbwatch comment would support Fernbank and another would say it needed to be rightsized.
I saw where you ran into that the other day with one dekalbwatch moderator saying they didn’t mean to be rude and the former dekalbwatch moderator being rude to you.
Personally, being body slammed doesn’t bother me too much because DSW2’s posts are generally on point discussing the issue de jour that affects students. They have brought many, many problems and issues that negatively impact students into the light of day and into the public realm of discussion. DeKalb School System for years has been the most opaque school system in Georgia. Things have worked just fine for those who run the school system even while this same system is failing our students. I’m glad that DSW and DSW2 is there. It has been a way to show the general public and intrepid taxpayers what’s happening and what’s not happening for our kids. I’ll put up with a few body slams any day for that.
GotBusted
July 18th, 2012
3:34 pm
@dekalbite…. you need to go to open.georgia.gov If you know the name of the person you want to look at, go to the county (DeKalb) and type in that person’s last name, otherwise it’s in alphabetic order. Take a look at Tekshia Ward-Smith, Ramona Tyson, Tony Hunter, Jerome Francis, Terry Segovis, Marsha Cunningham. You can also look by job titles. I’m not sure if the board members are there. Never thought to look.
Married with (School) Children
July 18th, 2012
3:35 pm
dekalbite@9:21 am: “Gwinnett has 17,600 special ed students to DeKalb’s 8,000+students yet we have 4.5 times as many NON TEACHING special ed admin and support personnel and spend 4.7 times as much ($8,000,000) as Gwinnett ($1,700,000).”
That does not convince me either. You assume that a “special ed” student in Gwinnett needs the same amount of resources as a “special ed” student in DeKalb.
My impression is that the demographics in Gwinnett mean that Gwinnett parents are more likely to be involved and get their children into “special ed” classes than in DeKalb. (In other words, I suspect that an autistic child is more likely to be identified as autistic if he or she lives in Gwinnett than in South DeKalb.)
I am not trying to be argumentative, just explain why you are not convincing me — which I hope will ultimately help you make a more persuasive case to the board, superintendent and others who actually can make changes!
Fred in DeKalb
July 18th, 2012
3:41 pm
dekalbite, sorry for misquoting you earlier regarding the salary schedules. I wholeheartedly agree with you regarding the need for greater transparency in this area for non teachers. One can only speculate that Dr. Atkinson is still completing assessing the positions actually needed in the school system, based on the results from the HR audits. I recall the BOE during Lewis’s tenure voted not to have a personnel audit performed, despite having qualified responses to an RFP. We all recall the audit requested by Brown never seemed to turn up when requests were made to see the results. Regardless, I’m sure you will continue to request this kind of transparency for citizens also.
You mentioned about you will *put up with a few body slams* however what would you do if you were banned from DSW because of your comments regarding FSC? While I agreed with your overall point on FSC needing to be self sustaining, I thought you went overboard with some of your comments. Like you, I provided verifiable links and data also though it seemed my perspectives and insights were not welcome. As I did with this post, I was willing to acknowledge if I was incorrect or not clear in what I said. From several other posts in this blog, it is interesting to see that I’m not the only one banned.
Married with (School) Children
July 18th, 2012
3:43 pm
GotBusted @ 2:28 PM —
To me, the most amazing thing is the timing: the hiring freeze in announced on July 17, a mere three weeks (to the day) before Teachers come back to work on August 7.
Hiring for the coming school year should have been finished by now!
GotBusted
July 18th, 2012
3:53 pm
Now that I have been FORCED into leaving the system…. I feel sorry for anyone that still works for them! Indeed.com and snagajob are my best friends right now. Food stamps, unemployment, etc, etc!
Married with (School) Children
July 18th, 2012
3:53 pm
Can someone help? @ 3:04 pm: I read either here on Maureen’s blog or on DSW2 that DCS’s plan is to screw you Pre-K teachers by slashing your pay down to the level that the state fully reimburses the district.
My recommendation to you is to find out which lawyers have successfully sued DCS in the past (over personnel matters) and hire one of them.
dekalbite@Internet-Libertarian
July 18th, 2012
4:14 pm
I thought they blocked you because you kept asking the same questions over and over even when given the answer.
Ms. McGill’s “rant” challenged District 6 DeKalb voters to ask themselves if they want to maintain the status quo or do they need new blood on the BOE. She also sparked a discussion about the disparity between north and south Dekalb schools. I have seen comments by Ms. McGill that she admires the fiscal responsibility and budgetary interest of Nancy Jester. It would appear that we need some people on the BOE who are interested in fiscal responsibility and want to dig deeper into these budget recommendations and implementations that have resulted in the highest taxes and worst student achievement in the metro area. Here is a link to her post. If you have ever taught in south DeKalb or live in south DeKalb you know she is on target:
http://dekalbschoolwatch.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/press-release-from-denise-mcgill/
Melvin Johnson is probably the best positioned to win Mr. Bowen’s seat because he is a former Deputy Superintendent and administrative insider who is backed by the power elite in South DeKalb. The friends and family members are backing him so this race should be interesting. I hope Ms. McGill who has children in the DeKalb system has some strong supporters and a good grass roots organization. I don’t know too much about the other candidates in her district. I am busy in my own district trying to get my neighbors to elect someone the polar opposite of Paul Womack.
nanayh
July 18th, 2012
4:15 pm
@Can Someone Help…I, too, am stuck in Pre-K and extremely worried about what next year has in store for me and the family I am supporting with my already low pay. The problem we face is what most teachers face with public perception about teaching in general. It is not a respected profession and Pre-K is even less respected. Unless you have worked as a Pre-K teacher, you have no idea how much work is involved. I was actually hired to teach a different grade level and moved to Pre-K at the request of my principal. There is much more paper/computer work and bureaucratic red tape to cut through in Pre-K than other grades. It is not easy and you have to truly love young children to teach it well. Pre-K positions are difficult to fill because you have to have the P attached to your certificate to qualify to teach it. In addition, the Dekalb rule has always been that you must have 3 or less years of experience to start teaching Pre-K. Due to the Great Recession there have been such a small number of new hires in the past 3 years that getting out of Pre-K has been next to impossible for many of us.
dekalbite@Married
July 18th, 2012
4:25 pm
Most or maybe all metro systems have gone from a Pre-K model in the schools to a Pre-K model in the private daycare centers so I’m not sure what a lawyer can do. DeKalb has been the last holdout in the metro area to pay Pre-K teachers on par with the other grade level teachers, and really the last holdout to have Pre-K within the schools. In addition, DeKalb does not get any monetary credit towards facilities cost from the state when they house Pre-K. That is one of the reasons the other metro systems do not house Pre-K in their schools, but rather let the daycares handle Pre-K with teachers certified in Early Childhood.
DeKalb should not be slashing so many Kindergarten positions (24 to a class without a para and 29 with a para) and then GotBusted would have been able to stay in the Kindergarten position. Of course DeKalb should not be slashing teaching positions anyway. We lost over 600 teaching positions under Lewis (275) and then Tyson (300+) and now we are losing hundreds more under Atkinson. It seems the employees that are truly expendable are the teachers. I think they would RIF the students if they could figure out a way to do that.
dekalbite@Fred in DeKalb
July 18th, 2012
4:34 pm
“…what would you do if you were banned from DSW because of your comments regarding FSC”
DSW2 is not my blog. I don’t put the hours into running it although I admire anyone who runs a busy blog on their own time and dime. That the thing about a blog. It’s not straight news. It’s an opinion forum, and the person(s) that run a blog have the right to filter any comments they want (that’s why they are called the “moderators”). If I was banned from DSW2, I would not lose any sleep over it.
can someone help?
July 18th, 2012
4:39 pm
Nanayh, Have you been told by your school adm. that you will be receiving a letter once the DCSS legal eagles figure out what they can/cannot do with the Pre-K teachers? I really do believe we teachers in Pre-K have a case. How can they cut pay and benefits of people who have been assigned to Pre-K not asked to be in Pre-K. At this point I am being forced to teach this gr
Internet-Libertarian
July 18th, 2012
4:39 pm
dekalbite,
Denise and DSW kept saying things were different. They would never say how they were different or give an example of which schools they were different in. AP, advanced, regular and remedial classes are different from each other. BUT … what two schools have a different curriculum for AP?
I keep asking the same question because they keep saying things are not equal and I don’t understand how. Sorry … I’m very frustrated
Inequity between schools is the cry of the uninformed. It drives me crazy. I’m going to go check my blood pressure.
MB
July 18th, 2012
4:44 pm
Fulton cut pre-K staff to state pre-K salaries (also Pre-K parapros – to around $13K) a couple of years back. (Elimination of pre-K general fund.) http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2010/03/10/fulton-schools-these-cuts-will-be-felt-by-students-and-parents/ Then they cut the number of days pre-K was offered and pre-K teachers left in droves. http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2011/10/11/pre-k-teachers-leave-in-droves-georgia%E2%80%99s-reputation-as-an-early-childhood-leader-is-tarnished/
Someone I know could literally walk to her job as a pre-K para in east Roswell, which was great because her kids were at the school and the health insurance was needed by her family. In the great Fulton RIF of 2010, she was assigned to a school in Hapeville or East Point with her salary cut from $18K to around $13K. Luckily they weren’t in a situation where she HAD to get the health insurance, but for those who did HAVE to have a job – horrible!
I contend that our contracts should be titled agreement to indentured servitude, not employment agreements. They basically say that we agree that we can lose our certification license if we reneg but they can assign us anywhere in the system our certification can be used OR, if economic conditions merit, they can cancel their commitment to employ us. Reasonable, yes?