Soon through the new 131 website you will be able to look up policies with a simple click. Until then, to answer a few questions and put to rest misconceptions, I will give a few brief points on the recently amended Policy No. 500.112.
This is a very abbreviated outline. Do not make assumptions until you are able to read it in it's entirety.
"The Board" wants to recognize administrators who have long term service in the District and are eligible to receive pension benefits through the Teachers' Retirement System of the State of Illinois (TRS)
Requirements are- at least 8 years of continuous F/T certified employment as an admin. with E/A D131 immediately preceding retirement.
Must be eligible to receive pension benefits through the TRS of Illinois at the time of retirement from
131, and must actually retire with TRS at the time of retirement from the 131.
If an eligible administrator gives the Board an irrevocable written notice of retirement by March 1st- 1-4 years prior to the year of retirement, the Board shall pay him/her a 6% retirement incentive, inclusive of all other increases in TRS creditable compensation, for each of his/her remaining 1-4
years of service.
No more than 2 administrators may participate in this program during any given school term. If less than 2 apply by the cut-off date, the difference shall be carried over to the following year, increasing the maximum for the next year.
There is no guarantee the early retirement program will continue for any particular length of time.
Adopted: June 4, 2007 Amended: March 3, 2008
79 comments:
Sorry I was late in creating a new posting. I have added the last few posts from the previous blog to this one for the subject referenced by Dee is the subject of this post. Hope this doesn't confuse anyone :o)
dee weaver said...
to anon 3/4 7:46,(in previous blog) Yes unfortunately the NEW administrative supplemental early retirment program 500.112 did pass.
Here is why I voted against it, I hope you will let me know what you think:
First, we never received any data or information of any kind supporting this policy. I asked for the board to discuss this policy and besides a couple emails from Juanita, nothing was discussed. Never discussed publicly.
Secondly this policy is offering 6%retirement inentive for up to 4 years. This means that an administrator that makes 100,000.00 that submits a request 4 years prior to retirement date would receive 6000.00 increase year 1, 6360.00 year 2, 6741.00 year 3, and 7146.00 year 4. This totals 26247.00 or a 26.2% increase in pay in 4 years.
No more that 2 administrative employees may participate in this program during any given school term. If less than 2 apply the difference will be carried over to the next year. There is no cap to carry over so if we do not have any eligible administrators apply for this for the next 3 years we could possibly have to carry the burden of 6 administrators receiving a 6% increase all in one year and possibly continuing for 4 which would put the burden of salaries increases to 104988.00 a year for 4 years. That is the equalivant of at least 3 TEACHERS!!!!!!!!!!
I tried comparing this policy with the early retirement policy for the teachers but it seems as though the teachers policy is tied to their union contract and I do not have that information. That said, even if the same program is offered to the teachers they:
1. do not make as much per year
2. if only 2 teachers can apply in a year that leaves a much smaller percentage of teachers the possibility of benefitting from this program.
3. teachers pay for a portion of their benefits, administrators do not.
Seems o me this policy only benefits the administrators in this district. I cannot see where the students nor community benefit by offering this policy to the administrative staff. Or superintendent and some board members feel we will not be able to attract and keep qualified administration if we do not offer this program. Our board president feels we are "mandated" to offer this policy (her words not mine). No one has shown me any information that substanciates these claims. Quite simply, this is just another way of spending this districts money on something other than the education of our students.
Lastly, I cannot understand why this policy needs updating again, when it was just first adopted 6/4/07. Of course in the first policy adopted in 2007 they could only claim a % (unnamed) for only up to 2 years. I suppose when the state DID MANDATE that districts had to hold all increases to no more than 6% a year (instead of the typical 20% they had been giving) it was necessray to find another way to "pad" that "less than most districts" salary.
Seems quite contradictory to me that here we are saying we don't have enough money to balance our budget and we'll have to reduce our teaching staff, educational programs, and extra curricular programs that we are offering a VERY long term program to our administrators that will cost our districts MILLIONS for the next 10 years or more. But then again, what do I know, after all I am just an office worker.
March 6, 2008 7:10 PM
nanci said...
To Dee Weaver,
Thank you for answering the question on the early retirement package.
Like the other poster, I also was wondering.
Thank you for looking out for the best interest of the students, teachers and members of this community.
I thank Rayanne also.
No matter what coffer anything comes from, it still comes from the taxpayers.
Until the rest of the board does something to rectify the current situation, I and many others, will not vote for this referendum.
Your office job has done you well!
March 6, 2008 7:41 PM
dee weaver said...
Thanks Nanci I appreciate that!
I have taken some time tonight to read some of the posting here and at openlineblog. Interesting statements.
For the students, teachers, and parents of Waldo students, you are in my prayers. Your concerns have not fallen on deaf ears but as you well know, the wheels turn slowly. Remember there are strength in numbers!
To those of you that are no so happy with my presence on the board and my comments thus far, that's okay. I believe in diversity in life and in life, speech, thoughts, and expression. It is thru diversity we learn. The world looks different from my eyes and by hearing you describe what you see, I learn, so thank you.
March 6, 2008 8:05 PM
Anonymous said...
waldo has become a complete mess...its worse than what you see in the movies when kids go wild in schools! i would never want my child to go there, and after working there for many years need to get out asap! it is a scary place to be. it is basically run by the rude students, and it makes the good ones seem like they aren't even there. only one admin knows what they are doing, and what a surprise...she is new to the district this year and with no direction whatsoever there isn't much she can do alone. i would be surprised if she came back next year! its sad but many teachers including ones that have worked there for a long time are looking to leave if the principal doesn't. about 20 people left last year so who knows how many more will go now. barnes needs to go back to cowherd since they need a principal there and that is where she came from...she calls waldo cowherd all the time anyway so she needs to go back.
by the way, did anyone ever hear that she hired an assistant principal at the end of last school year withuot doing a background check??? she sure did! he came to a staff meeting and was introduced as our new assistant principal. came and spent time at school at the end of the year. was at summer school for a week or so as admin. and then they find out he shouldn't be working with kids because of something in his past!!! how irresponsible and dangerous is that?!? and then earline even had an intern calling references when she has hiring new people...that is also a big no no, but then again everything she does is a big no no.
March 6, 2008 9:16 PM
When you initially hear "early retirement program" and see 6% it is a little shaky. But at least it is "inclusive" of all other increases. So if the usual increase for administrators in a given year was 2%, then 4% would be the max allowable. At least it's not 6% on top of anything else. I'm a teacher in the district and we have a similar incentive, with a cap of 6%. Our increase this year was 4%, so that means the incentive was only 2%.
The administrators getting a 6% increase what a joke. We are in a recession people are losing the roofs over their heads. The low income people of D131 must be struggling with high gas, mortgage and food prices. Yet this administration and Board feel it necessary to increase taxes. How can Carol Farman and Roberts sleep nights. I got and idea. If you feel the referendum is so necessary take the amount that you will be taxed and send it directly to the Fifth Ave center. Put you money were your month is. Lets see how many are willing to do that.
That is a good idea and we can start by donating all the money the referendum committee will shake down local businesses for. It can be a programs fund. Them all the referendum people who do not live in the district can also donate.
Thanks, Rayanne and Dee for the clarifications. It is still a bit confusing but it says to me that the administration is still taking money that should be going to the students. I did not get a 4% or 6% raise last year, did you? We got 2% across the board for everyone from a $20,000 clerk to a $100,000 middle manager. It does not come anywhere near to what we just gave the Administration of a School that is failing to educate our children.
The Admin does not deserve a raise because they are the same people who put the District in trouble. They should get a decrease
The administration will say that the monies used for this early retirement plan, superintendents and asst. superintendants raises, laptops, cell phones, blackberries, workshops, etc. comes from other coffers.
What they do not tell you is that these monies can be transferred to be used for the students education.
Everything is for the administration and most of the school board, not the students education.
I will think of this when Lisa Morales, Roberts, Farum, Wells, administrator, etc. and their families are enjoying their vacation in Florida on the taxpayers dime.
I will also remember that Roberts says he can override school board policy in these instances, such as the Chicago workshop.
After all, he is their one and only employee and he certainly has the right to tell his employers what to do.
Wrong!
Employees answer to their employers, not the other way around.
Employees do not critize, discipline and put down what their employeers do.
Roberts does this with only certain board members.
Shame on the board for allowing this to happen.
Especially shame on Carol Farum as she is the board president and wants to be in control and is not.
No, he doesn't have that right. It is hard for the Dee and Rayanne to do what they are doing when there are five others who are allowing this to happen.
I hope everyone thinks about all of this when they go to vote about the referendum.
I posted the above. For some reason it would not let me post with my name.
When the next election comes for the Board people need to clearly identify themselves on the ballot and run in a party group called No supporters. This way when voters go to the polls to vote no like they did in the past election they will vote for these people. The Board will reform because people who show a common interest will reform the Board. Carol Farman and group will now become the minority. Dee and Rayanne did not want to do that in the last election that is why they are facing the problems they are. They thought they could reason with these people. Carol should have been exposed. It is time to take the gloves off and expose this Board for what it. Carol is a puppet for Roberts. Notice the big raise they voted in. It was never about the kids as they say. It's about themselves.
I voted "no" to the ERO- (early retirement option) for the district administration. I did a bit of research on how other districts handled this retirement benefit. Although, I found pros and cons to this monetary benefit. The negatives were enough to send up red flags, to me. Especially, in a district that cannot bring the budget in line without taking from the childrens programs.
My thoughts were- this option should not be offered to admin, whose higher salaries will require bigger retirement payouts. A majority vote in favor of policy 500.112 has now put the likelihood of an ongoing burden on our future budgets.
I'd appreciate constructive criticsm/ comments. Below are just a few of the websites I read. I was happy to see, some newspapers actually relay information in detail, so the community can feel more informed about the decisions being made on their behalf. We can only hope for change on that point.
Check them out, and share with me if during your web search you find more info-pro or con- and your thoughts on this topic.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/feb/28/keep-teachers-classrooms/
http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/19990606teach4.asp
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19251888&BRD=1142&PAG=461&dept_id=567522&rfi=6
I know most will not go and read the articles Rayanne so I'm copy part of one.
With the hunt already on for the thousands of new Clark County teachers needed for the 2008-09 school year, the last thing Chief Human Resources Officer Martha Tittle needs is a district policy that adds to the problem.
That’s why Tittle, at the direction of Superintendent Walt Rulffes, will ask the School Board tonight to consider eliminating an early retirement incentive program. A vote is set for March 27.
In addition to reducing vacancies, ditching the program would cut costs — more than $2 million annually in retirement credits and health insurance premiums, according to the district. The savings are needed to help the district comply with the governor’s call for a 4.5 percent budget cut to K-12 education over the biennium. That amounts to $66 million in Clark County.
It would be a small amount, but a start - how about the main office people working the 40 hours they're paid for, not getting shortened hours during the summer, christmas break, spring break, etc. Their work week is less than 40 hours during these times, yet their pay remains the same. I'm sure there are some that work more than 40 hours, but these shortened days hourly secretarial staff in this building as well. Take all the hours not worked but paid during these times, multiply by the number of staff in the building. That's a lot of hours being paid that are not being worked! Just an idea.
I would like everyones comment on Bill 730 in the Illinois Legislature.
It shifts the burden from the property tax owner to a State income tax to fund schools as well as different service taxes. It sounds like like a fair way to distribute the tax burden.
In a way this bill does sound good. I would like to know more about it.
We have a right to vote on a referendum. We do not have a right to vote on State income tax increases.
Our State income tax is already very high.
This state cannot balance a budget.
With the current govenor pulling the things he has been, it makes me wonder if this is the solution at this point.
What is going on in this State at this time reminds me to much of what is happening in D131 and this city.
I see the band kids went to solo/ensemble contest this weekend. I am amazed that we have over 13,000 students in this district and we only had one soloist and six ensembles go to the contest. Of those, only two received a Division I rating. One even received a Division III. I can't even begin to tell you how pathetic a showing that is. It's a complete embarrassment to this district. Even the choir who I thought were completely underrepresented at least sent 9 soloists. The band director only sent ONE SOLOIST. One soloist in a district of 13,000 students.
I don't fault the kids, I am sure they are trying their best but as a school district something needs to be done. We can't keep failing the children like this.
I was reviewing the websites and most of them seem to be related to teacher retirement which would be part of Union negotiations. I did find an interesting article from Neenah, Wisc. dated 2-25-2008
www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080225/APC0101/802250471/1003/APC01
Here are the highlights, copied from the article
“At one time, the Neenah Joint School District's early retirement program saved money for taxpayers. That's no longer the case, and it hasn't been for years. The school district will dish out nearly $4.4 million in early retirement benefits this year. That means more than 5 percent of its total budget will be spent on people who no longer work for the district.
Beyond that, the school district has an unfunded liability of $48 million for early retirement benefits earned as of Jan. 1, 2007.
No one can recall for sure when the scale tipped from a cost savings to a tax burden, but it will be years, if not decades, before the scale tips back. "It worked for quite awhile," veteran school board member Scott Butler said, "but it's gone the other direction on us. The (cost of) health insurance has thrown it way out of whack."
Lehman said Neenah's benefits must be brought in line with those in the private sector.
"We can't expect private citizens to fund this level of benefit when they don't have it," he said. "They are saying, 'Enough is enough.'" “
The superintendants and many of the the administrators, etc, health benefits are free.
Their salaries are to high already.
Now this new retirement package.
The monies in the coffer for the above CAN be transferred for the students education, books they desperately need, band, etc.
It is time for all the wrong to stop!
Dee and Rayanne cannot do it alone.
There is myself and someone else doing something that they are not
aware of.
This is now a total of four that I am aware of.
I am not afraid to standup for what I feel and know is right!
I am not afraid of apologizing if I am wrong!
"Enough is enough".
Does anyone know why Waldo was surrounded by the police at 7:30 this morning?
Call the police and ask them.
Anita you are right. Most of this bosrd and superintendent do not look ahead for what might happen. They say they look at other districts and how they do things but which ones? We cann't benchmark with districts that get more than us we need to look at ones that make the same.
As far as some of the board members having family that work in the district voting on raises they shouldn't vote on contract items because of a conflict of interest. But this board doesn't see it that way. Just like the superintendent negotiating the teachers contract when he knows if he gets them a good deal he will get one also.
As far as waldo I hope nothing bad has happened but maybe this will be a wake up call for the administration. Is Roberts even trying to look into this.
No, I guess I'll just wait for the bad news to come out in the papers as it always does. Unfortunately, that's the way it usually is. We get more information from the local news than from administration. It just makes a person wonder if it was safe to send your kids to Waldo today.
I think the story about waldo is like the one about clayton getting another job something to throw people off or to see if the people who post on the blog just sound out. I do believe some people just like to sound off but there are times when they put things on that are true or make you look into things like this with the early retirement.
They were doing a random search at Waldo so the police were there helping out. There were three police so I would not call that surrounded. They also reportedly did not find anything.
Has anyone ever heard of the Fourth Amendment? It states "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized".
In short the police (or other state actors such as Principals and Teachers) are supposed to have probable cause before conducting a search of anyone. There must be a compelling public interest. Every child at Waldo just had their constitutional rights trampled today. What a great education they are providing at Waldo.
Maybe they did have a right to search but didn't say what it was. With what I have heard that is going on at Waldo maybe it is time for this. With what is happening in schools and colleges you have to be careful and with the administration they have at Waldo I think it is about time. With the district going for a referendum you would think they would be more honest about things but I guess it is the same as usual.
The problems at Waldo have to do with a lack of leadership and discipline. Violating the students constitutional rights is not going to solve the schools problems.
It is also a ridiculous notion that there could possibly be probable cause for searching hundreds of students. The fact that not one illegal item was found proves that there is not a widespread problem that justifies violating the rights of hundreds of students.
The district is supposed to be educating the students of their constitutional rights, not violating them. This is just one more example of the district administration having no regard for the law.
Well put!
"The fact that not one illegal item was found proves that there is not a widespread problem that justifies violating the rights of hundreds of students"
Yet all the students attending everyday must deal with all the outside interferences distracting from their right to an education.
Put Mrs. Barnes in charge of a Magnet delinquent academy.
All those who do not want to do what they are expected whether it be student or administrator would then all be in one building.
This is in response to March 10@10:00pm in regards to the Band Solo Contest.I went to the Band Director and asked him about the competition. Here is his response.
"This voluntary solo & ensemble contest was a great experience for those students who attended. The students were able to work with professional musicians and college professors in a mini 10 to 15 minute lesson after their performance to help them hone their skills and perfect their pieces. This contest also featured a recital in the middle of the day from Western Illinois University and VanderCook College faculty. After the recital the faculty from those colleges put on masterclasses for the students to attend. It was a great solo & ensemble experience."
I believe this to be the truth because last year my daughter participated in the one at Nequa and it was similar, more of a learning experience than a competition.
Thanks for bringing this one up
How do you know that maybe something illegal was found before that that made them do the search. From the things I've heard from parents that go to that school maybe the police should be there all the time.
Anita's right--this was a great clinic/learning experience for the few students who attended (my neighbor's daughter sang a solo and she said she learned a lot from her judge). It's my understanding that Mrs. Nadel chose to send the kids to this event instead of the "official" IHSA solo &ensemble contest this year. Good call, Mrs. N!
Too bad Clayton Muhammad chose to "spin" it as a competition, saying that East High "sweeps the music contest"! I sure hope the next community relations director for the district gets the facts straight, instead of presenting everything like it's a competitive sports event.
To Anita:
Thank you for helping make my point. The solo and ensemble contest is a wonderfull experience for children to partake in. The problem is that there is only a small handfull of students from this district that go. Other districts send hundreds of kids to this competition, we send about ten. It's a disgrace that a district with over 13,000 students can only send a few students.
If this were part of a school report card, it would read that less than 1% of the school meets or exceeds standards in band, that more than 99% of the school is failing to meet band standards.
You are focusing on the positives of an area wide solo and ensemble contest, you need to look specifically at Aurora East's part in it. When you become an informed consumer, you will realize how badly your child has been shortchanged.
Here is an easy way of really getting informed fast. Get tickets to this springs band performances at Waubonsie HS, go see their concert, come back to East and see their performance. I gaurantee if you do, you would not be supporting this districts band director. You will be leading the call to have him replaced.
I went to a high school with a total of 350 students in it. 325 were in band and most of those went to the solo and ensemble contest. I can't believe when I read here that in a high school of what 3,000-4,000 students, only about a dozen went to the competition. If this is true, the band director is not doing their job.
I went to a high school of 4,000 students in Chicago Public. Almost a thousand were in band. I and almost everyone else in band went to contest every year. It didn't matter if you were a beginning player or more advanced. The band director selected music that was appropriate for your level and you were judged at your level. No one ever got a Division III. If the band director selected music appropriate for your ability level, no one ever should get a III. The only way a student would ever get a three is if their director gave them music that was way to advanced for them and they simply couldn't play it. This band program is an embarrassment.
I graduated from East High in 1967.
Our band was huge. Choir-which I was apart of-was huge. We had a graduating class of 500. I have no idea how many did not graduate. At that point the biggest in the history of East High due to baby boomers. Band and the Choir were excellent and there is no excuse for what is going on now. We made floats for homecoming and had so much fun that these students do not have now, besides not getting the education they need and deserve. And it was not due to a referendum passing either, because they didn't. The only referendum I remember being passed was the addition to East due to the fact of the baby boomer explosion and not due to anything else that is going on like today.
Found this on Openlineblog:
I heard through the teen grapevine, a bullet was found in the school. 2 days later they do a search.
Just like when a student was accused of having a gun. They wait till he had time to dispose of it then check his locker. Surprise no gun.
Now they wait 2 days to check for guns in the school and tell parents it is just a safety precaution. They don't mention what brought on the random check of students.
Where was Mrs Barnes precaution when she put students out in the middle of severe weather watch.
As if students aren't already unsafe inside this school she puts them out in the storm.
When the danger is inside, she welcomes them with metal detectors and bag checks.
What has happened to our school on Jackson? Something has gone very very wrong!
Parents speak up and out! Tell what you know and make someone listen. A random call is not as effective as 20 angry parents.
Be heard and don't let incompetent administration ruin our neighborhood schools.
3/11/08 9:32 PM
In this district, it does take at least two days. That way the administration can announce that they are going to do a check tommorow and it gives the students ample time to remove any inappropriate items. Why do you think they never find anything? Even the "Best" schools find a few drugs and weapons, only 131 never finds anything.
Too many people want it both ways on this blog. Some say don’t compare us to other school districts that have more resources and don’t have the high poverty rate that we do. While others, particularly those who comment on the band program do want to compare East to other school districts. You can’t have it both ways. If you’re a poor district, have a lot of foreclosures going on, can’t afford higher taxes, etc. than I wouldn’t expect students and their parents to be able to afford instruments or private lessons as is common elsewhere. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t cry poverty when you don’t want to pay more and then express dismay when things aren’t to the level you expect. It’s called making an investment and before some of you start saying that under Kaisershot things were much better, remember he hasn’t left the district and if he is doing such a wonderful job Simmons should be supplying tons of well trained band students to East every year, clearly that is not the case.
If all that plaques East was the performance of the band that would be wonderful, but the reality is that there are much more systemic and deeply rooted issues that need to be addressed first.
7:15 said "the band director selected music that was appropriate for your level"--that's SO important for a successful contest experience! I remember that Mr. K. used to write or arrange pieces for the high school ensembles to play, and lots of kids were eager to go to contest and did really well.
Too bad "Serial Bully" Radakovich, his Minooka pal Rick Johnson, and their old-guard school board cronies decided that the kids deserved something "better". We can thank them for the current situation.
I am so sick of the excuses made over money. Here's a reality check for everyone. The children of this school district will be competing with the children from every other school district around when they get into the real world.
The band didn't send only ten kids to contest because of money. They didn't go because because of a lack of commitment to these kids from administration and foremost their director. There are at least a hundred band kids between the three middle sent to the high school each year. That means if you are a halfway decent director you can have nearly four hundred kids in band without training beginners. The fact that only one band student did a solo is beyond ridiculous.
Replacing with Kaisershot is really not the point. The high school band needs a real director and they need it now.
The problem is that the administration likes having their non-tenured whipping boy. He follows their directions even at the expense of the students. The last thing administration wants is an intelligent, experienced teacher who might challenge them to do better.
At times I swear the administration does things on purpose to make these children fail. There can really be no other explaination for the decisions made in this district.
I heard there was a bullet found somewhere in the school at Waldo. Instead of doing an immediate lockdown (you know...what is SUPPOSED to happen), it was determined that there would be searches held the next day. Bravo, admin, put kids and teachers in danger and don't do anything about it until the next day!
11:45 you're absolutely right--it had nothing to do with money. The band is in sorry shape now because a few years back certain administrators chose to support a personal vendetta instead of listen to the community.
And those same administrators are wondering why the community won't support a referendum??
Wasn't there a school around the area that found some bullents in school or on school grounds and they locked the school down right away? That is what should happen. As long as they let the kids run the school this will still keep happening until someone gets hurt. This is poor management of the school and the district and it needs to stop. So far this year I've heard that they have had kids with pot in school, kids fighting and taking over class rooms and kids having sex in that school who is running that mad house.
This is in the Beacon online not the paper as of tonite.
New: Paintball gun causes school lockdown
March 12, 2008
BEACON NEWS STAFF
Four Oswego schools were briefly put on lock down Wednesday morning after a man with a paint gun alarmed some people near the schools.
At 10:15 a.m. police ordered Oswego East High School, Plank Junior High, Churchill Elementary and Brokaw Early Learning Center locked down after a report for a person with a gun on Harvey Road, just east of the high school, according to a press release from the school district.
After a police investigation, officers determined that a nearby homeowner who lives in an unincorporated area of Kendall County had a paintball gun.
In a press release, Superintendent David Behlow praised the students and staff for responding quickly to the situation.
“At no time during the 10-minute lockdown were students in danger,” Behlow wrote in the release. “The safety and well-being of our students and staff is always a top priority.”
Yet Waldo finds a bullet and it is said that a gun was in the school also and what does this administration do but wait a day to do checks of lockers and students. If they keep this kind of thing up how soon will it be before someone gets hurt.
I like the part about the superintendent saying something.
WHAT IF ANYTHING HAS OUR SUPERINTENDENT SAID ABOUT ANYTHING?
YOU ARE REALLY PAYING THIS GUY TO MUCH MONEY!
What I heard about Waldo was:
A bullet was found in the gym by the maintence worker.
The police were at the school Monday night because of a fight and charges were filed.
Admin decided to search the school on Tuesday after issuing a memo notifying everyone yet there were items found but denied by admin.
Can you FOIA police reports? If I had a child at Waldo or a loved one that worked there I would tell them to get the heck out before soneone gets hurt.
Check out West's board minutes and agendas. They even list the NASTY ISSUES for discussion!
Go figure. Maybe d131 should just follow their format.
AGenda by number. Minutes by number. Independent thought!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have looked at the west side minutes and I must say they are good. I even saw something from Ryland about wanting another tax increase and explaining it which was very good. Not so with this district how sad.
It seems some districts let their dirty laundry out to let the public know what is going on and how they are doing their best to keep the children safe in their district. Not so with this one.
I want to know if we who are against the referendum will have equal space of the districits website. This is only fair as we pay for that website. I also noticed that it is the first in line in the section it is in.
At this point it might be that parents might have to keep their children home with the "administration, superintendant and certain school board memers do not care for the safety or education of the students, only early retirment plans flu".
If you really love your kids, get them out of the district. By the time any positive changes are made (if ever), it will be too late for your children. For those who don't care, so what. We still need uneducated people to do the jobs no one else wants to do.
looking at karen leonard's salary....
114,000 approximately
and she is just a librarian basically
ridiculuos... any one care to argue?
Anita - thanks for the posting with the response from Mr. Liska. My son is in the band. I have older children who were in Mr. Kaisershot's band. ALL of them have had great experiences. My son talked to me about solo and ensemble, said it was optional, and he chose not to go, despite encouragement from the director.
Also - from the press release forwarded me regarding the event (yes it sounded like a sporting event or something from the write up!) I noticed that there were more band than choral students. My point? 1. No one seems to look at that fact, but we continually hear about the band faults 2. It points to a larger, systemic problem of the arts in our middle and high schools.
My youngest is in the 7th grade. They have much less time for the arts and exploratory classes than did my older children. This has to be an issue with the numbers who then continue with the arts in high school.
I completely understand that the band issue is personal for many. And I am a parent who is happy with the band program, as I was years back. Let's look at the bigger picture and make sure the arts are supported all the way down to Kindergarten. When you see the "big" programs mentioned, they have a solid elementary and middle school music program.
The bands are not drawing as many students at the middle school levels. Our district is so focused on the "No Child Left Behind" issues that we are not giving enought time and focus to the Fine Arts on all levels. There are students that want to play but dont' have or can't afford instruments, much less private lessons. We can't compete with other schools, that is true.
Remember, the Fine Arts are one of the areas that is considered "optional" and could be cut at any time to balance the budget.
All in all, our directors are doing a great job with what they have to work with.
I just wish that more parents would get involved in Band Boosters, PTA, etc so that some real differences could be made and our voices could be heard.
When the middle school added Math Lab a few years back, it took away from the fine arts and vocational classes the kids used to take. Now, they have one period a day where they had to choose between band, choir, or a quarterly rotation of classes including art, music, careers, life skills, spanish, foods, sewing and tech lab. Next year, the district is eliminating tech lab to do a reading intervention class. When they go to high school, they choose between Band, PE or ROTC for one class and then they can pick an elective. Students who are considering college are encouraged to take keyboarding or a foreign language as their elective so many opt out of fine arts or voc classes. Even at the middle level, you see students who opt to drop band so they can take the rotational classes and get exposed to more areas. It all comes down to test scores and No Child Left Behind. That is why you see the decline of students in the fine arts and voc classes.
Where it needs to start is the elementary schools. If you get the students reading properly and learning the basics of math when they are supposed to, you won't need these extra math and reading classes later. The kids can't read because they wern't taught, and they wern't taught for one of two reasons; they had a bad teacher, or they have parents who don't force them in to good educational habbits early.
I remember that last year the current EHS band director was criticizing the previous program, saying that Mr. K didn't assign challenging enough music and that the kids were poorly prepared to play in college bands.
Seems to me a LOT more East High band students participated in solo/ensemble contest a few years ago, and many are currently playing in college.
If the new director wants to know why people compare him unfavorably to Mr. K., maybe it's because of his own negative comments. And displaying a plaque falsely claiming a "superior" rating won't soon be forgotten, either.
The discussion that is going on now is really informational.
Thank you Anita and everyone else for doing this.
I have a better understanding of what is going on now.
It would be helpful if parents would go to the school board meetings and state these things.
Try to spin it an way you want but the facts are these. There are over 13,000 students in this district. The high school band director sent only one instrumentalist to solo contest. I understand not being able to reach every student but when you can only reach one, there is a significant problem. He simply is inspiring nobody.
I am also sure that the reason the plaque said Division I instead of Division II is that the plaque maker had never made a plaque for a band in this area receiving a Division II before. No bands but ours ever receive a division II. It's either that or Liska flat out tried to lie and got caught.
Many in the community will also not forgive or forget the way the plaques and trophies that they earned legitimately in past years were so easily discarded by Liska. As most people already know, Liska cleared the trophy case of all the old awards before displaying his false trophy.
Of course these are just the things that have become public, it makes one wonder what hasn't been made public yet.
According to TheChampion.org Brian Liska made $46,540 for the 06-07 school year, this was his second year teaching.
According to the teachers contract a second year teacher makes $34,672. Of course there is the stipend that a band director makes which according to the contract is $1,880. Add those together and you get $36,552. Brian made $46,540. What can he possibly be doing for the extra $10,000 he received? To put it in a little more perspective a teacher with a bachelors degree like Brian Liska would have to teach in the district 16 years before receiving an equivalent salary.
Brian Liska received $46,540 and sent only one student to the solo contest. Where can I get a job that pays $46,540 for doing next to nothing. These are your tax dollars at work.
Sorry, one correction. The high school band director stipend was $5,200 not $1,880. That still leaves about a $7,000 question about the salary.
Once again the administration rewards those that kiss their a$$.
Once again, address the school board and let them know. Tell them you want it put in the minutes when your address them. That new reporter does talk to the ones who address the board at this point.
I too, find this a very information blog, but there are some incorrect statements. My wife teaches in district so after reading the 8:48 posting I went to check the contract. The salary mentioned is correct but the stipends are wrong. The stipend mentioned is for a middle school band director. High school band director last year would have been a higher classification with a stipend of $5200 according to the contract. Then there is the musical, which is also listed - $3776, which I think he did the pit for. So there's 8900+.
If you're taking the salary off of the champion website, my wife's is off by almost $5000 - listed higher than what it really is.
Take it for what it is worth.
To me? Training ensembles for a contest is probably more difficult than a soloist. But I'm just an engineer who can't even play the spoons.
Saw on Weaver's calendar that there is a magnet meeting on 3/18 but says unsure at this point. I know this is not her fault, but it sure is nice that there is a meeting and no one knows where it is at, but it does have the time. Since this is Fri. and this meeting is on next Tues. this is really no notice. Or, is it that only certain ones will be informed, as usual? Just found this interesting. Did not see this on the D131 calendar and I checked that before checking Weaver's. Maybe I missed something on that one? Doubt it, though.
Sorry, it should have said unsure where it will be at, at this point in the above statement.
I'm sorry but this district has more to worry about than the band problems. Although band is a good thing we have schools that have trouble in them and low test scores that need to addressed. Get over this thing with Mr. K.
The person in charge of the musical might get $3776. No band director gets $3776 for pit work.
The band is always one of the biggest PR opportunities and source of pride for a community. Now we have poor test scores and a terrible band. It's no wonder this community is such a mess. Even the most obvious things are beyond the board and administrations grasp.
9:55--"this thing with Mr. K", as you put it, is just one major example of what's wrong with District 131 right now, and why some of us don't want to support a referendum.
It wasn't that long ago that we were being assured by administrators that a new band director at East High was necessary to "improve the program". Well, it's been three years--where's the promised improvement??
And these same administrators (and old-guard school board members) expect us to overlook or forget about it? I don't think so!!
What I'd like to know is, how many classes per day does the high school band director teach, compared to the number of classes taught by middle school directors.
How bout some things that are good about this district for a bit?
Did anyone hear how well our scholastic bowl team did last month? Academics.
What out our middle school spelling bee? Academics.
How about our ever improving math and reading scores at the elementary schools? Academics.
What about the upcoming Freshman Open House to which all 8th graders were invited? I'm bringing my daughter.
What about the support our district community and families give when one of them has a tragic fire, or accident? Our community always reaches out.
Yes, we have problems. Yes, our test scores need to improve at the middle and high school. But if you attend PTA, concerts, athletic events at any level, you see pride from parents and hard effort from students. Celebrate as well as work on what needs improvement.
3/14 10:53am
AMEN!
And on another positive "note"--the band concert last night at Simmons was terrific!!
What do you expect, Kaisershot was the director. Of course it was terrific. I especially liked the original pieces that Kaisershot composed for the different bands.
I've been going to concerts at Simmons for twenty plus years, the bands sounds much better now than they ever have. I know that Kaisershot really belongs at the high school but I am sure glad we have him at Simmons.
We'll be happy to keep him for as long as the administration wants to keep their heads up their a__.
From the new website. They must not of proof read.
Front Row: Dee Weaver, Juanita Wells,Samory ( Secretary ), Carol Farnum ( President ),Rayanne Carlson Back Row: Bob McCue ( Vice-President ), Fernando Salinas, Samory Liggins
( Student Member ), Ken Maurice.
Also for email the school it still goes to info@d131.org which doesn't really tell me if the school board is getting it or Clayton, Lisa or Roberts who are not on the school board. I did check the west side and when you click contact the school board it brings up your email and the address is schoolboard129.org. I believe the same group is updating our website same as d129 so why the difference?
Yes, the same company is doing the 131 site that did the 129 site.
Oswego board has their Name address, phone number and email listed on their website. There are many options. 131 board has to agree on what they prefer.
It was discussed, the 131 website, once complete, will possibly have the capability to email each board member.
Since the taxpayers are really the ones paying for this, I feel that we should have the right to email the school board directly, without it going through everyone else. I heard that a community member emailed the scholl board one time and Clayton got it but never gave it to the school board. Why would something like this happen, and this certainly does not give us trust in this school board. What if we were emailing about Roberts, Clayton or whomever might get this email? If what I heard is true, then I know that the school board would never get it. Do we have the right to have a spot on the district website for the referendum also, or will we be able to state what information on the spot that is showing now?
If anyone wants to get a comment to the board, I am unsure at present how you may be guaranteed to do that.
I know the board has received letters, addressed to each individual board member c/o of the 5th Street address. People have come to the meetings and hand delivered things they wanted the board to see.
Obviously, all board members live on the southeast side of town and I know a few board members are listed in the white pages. You can find me under R. Carlson.
Any communication, to be taken seriously, would need to have a name and address or phone number for a return response and to validate the sender.
Oops! I meant to write- board members "live on the East side of town", I live on the s/e side :o)
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