I was sitting at my daughter's soccer practice last night at Kozaks, and heard a conversation between a few Randolph parents. There has been a lot of arguing going on about the proposed budget which includes letting go 38 teachers. Last night there was a meeting at the HS. Apparently someone brought up a discrepancy - if they were laying off 38 teachers, why weren't funds to the sports programs being cut at all?? The meeting last night was to discuss the possibility of dropping one assistant coach for each HS team as well as instituting a fee for any child involved in athletics. Some parents were very upset about the thought, some seemed to take it in stride. The question I was asking myself is - do we have our priorities in order if we are cutting education before we are cutting athletics? And what message are those priorities sending to our kids?
I think as a district some decisions need to be made - and the fact is that they aren't always going to be popular ones - but the public needs to decide how to move forward. Are we going to raise taxes? Cut teachers and support staff? Cut athletic/music program costs? Cut administrative costs? Each option comes with its own pros and cons - the question is what direction does the majority of the public want to go?
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Annette,
ReplyDeleteWould you have voted for the REA contract if you were on the board?
Anonymous
Unfortunately, I can't really answer that question. As I've stated in postings on this blog - I don't make decisions without knowing all of the facts - and in this case I don't have access to the facts. Negotiations for the contract went on for 2 years behind closed doors. The way I understand it the Morris County average teacher increase was 4.5% - our teachers received between 4.3% and 4.7%. The medical insurance change results in a $300,000 decrease. So it appears as if a compromise was made - which is what negotiations are all about. That's the best answer I can give. Sorry if it sounds non-committal - and I do appreciate you wanting to know how I would have responded - but I would be lying if I said I could give you a definite answer about how I would have voted.
ReplyDeleteI think what "Anonymous" was getting at was do you think the 20% (in total) raise was a good idea or a bad idea. Obviously you can't know what went on behind doors, but what is your opionion of their raise during this recession?
ReplyDeleteAgain - I really can't say. I don't agree with Monday morning quarterbacking and I don't agree with saying something that is a complete speculation. Not only was the contract a lot more than the raise, I have no way of knowing how much it was going to cost the district in legal fees to continue negotiations. I repeat my original answer - I don't have all the facts.
ReplyDeleteSo, there is at least chance that you would have voted NO for the REA contract...
ReplyDeleteI'll repeat - I can't say how I would have voted because I don't know the facts - so yes, that means I may have voted yes or I may have voted no. If I was privy to the details that went on for two years I could be more specific - but without those details I really can't.
ReplyDeletewhy do you delete valid questions?
ReplyDeleteI will delete any questions that aren't asked in a respectful and honest manner.
ReplyDeletethat is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThe joy of it being my PERSONAL blog. If I want to demand respect here, I can do that. And if you want to demand an answer to your ridiculous question that I have answered ten times over you'll need to ask it in public at a board meeting. Then again, you wouldn't do that, would you? Because then you couldn't hide behind an anonymous screen name. Respect works both ways - you'll never get it if you don't give it. I always give it to anyone who deserves it, so I demand it for myself.
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