Budget

School Board Candidate Responses from Various Sources

Posted by jcpswatch on October 23, 2016
Posted in: Accountability, Behavior/Discipline, Budget, District Boundaries, Privatization of Public Education, Teacher Shortage. Leave a Comment

Dear JCPS is in the process of aggregating responses from school board candidates as they respond to various groups in the district, as well as endorsements they receive. We will continue to add them here as they are brought to our attention. Be sure to check back after the candidates school board forum hosted by the 15th District PTA on Wednesday for a link to that video, as well. Our questionnaires and formal endorsements will be forthcoming. If you have a question you would like school board members to answer that you do not see on these sites, please email them to moderator@dearjcps.com.

Below are candidates for the upcoming school board elections, and links to their websites.

District 2
David Jones Jr. – Incumbent
James Fletcher
Chris Kolb

District 4
Benjamin Gies
Keisha Allen

District 7
Chris Brady – Incumbent
James Sexton
Scott Majors
Fritz Hollenbach

Below are organizations who have received responses from candidates:

FOR’s Aim Higher subcommittee advocates in Jefferson County Public Schools for improved outcomes for low-income students, immigrants, students of color and other marginalized students. As part of that work, we asked this year’s candidates in the three school board district races about their positions on important issues of policy and use of JCPS’ human and financial resources. Six of the nine candidates responded.
 

Go to https://louisvillefor.org/school-board-candidate-responses/  to find the 13 questions, background facts, the candidates’ responses, and what school district you live in.

For the last two election cycles, GLI and the Business Leaders for Education (BLE) have collected and shared information on candidates with our members and whoever wishes to access this information on our website. We believe this is a very important race and that it is critical that voters know the stances of all potential school board members. 

While GLI is active in public policy and in education, we do not endorse candidates. We have posted candidates responses verbatim here and encourage our members and community members to read them. 

A map detailing Jefferson County’s school board districts can be found by clicking here.

GLI 2016 JCPS School Board Elections

From JCTA’s Website

Endorsements from some groups, such as Bluegrass Institute, cause concern:

Two years ago, this story from WDRB, revealed that corporate interests may be driving some endorsements, and Dear JCPS encourages proceeding with caution when considering these endorsements.  So far, they have backed David Jones and Fritz Hollenbach. This is a red flag to our group.

If your organization has endorsements or candidate questionnaire responses you would like to see added to this page, please send an email to moderator@dearjcps.com.

The Main Thing

Posted by jcpswatch on September 27, 2016
Posted in: Behavior/Discipline, Budget, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020. Leave a Comment


Dear JCPS,

Why are we here? I mean, what business are we in?

Education, right? That’s the main thing.

If we think of the student as our customer, and teaching is the main thing, Who, then, is the most important person in the district?

Teachers!

And this should be doubly true for our persistently low achieving schools serving our most at risk students? Right?

Yet, our priority school lost another science teacher this week. A school that already has the highest teacher turnover in the district. A school that also has some of the lowest test scores.

Is the correlation of high turnover and low test scores a coincidence? No. Relationships matter. Momentum and institutional knowledge matter. Promises and goals matter. Like Christy Rogers said, “I’ve been with you for the past 3 years. I know you, I know your momma.” Teachers who stay know where students struggle. And they can help students achieve their futures.

Why did we lose this teacher? Did she quit? Was she fired? Did she move to teach in another school or district? NO. She was one of the good ones, in a key content area in a struggling school, you know, the main thing. You still with me?

To show her how much we appreciate her as a teacher WE PROMOTED HER out of the classroom.

Why are we rewarding the best teachers with “promotions” to leave their teaching positions? Seems counter intuitive. Paying them more to do less of something they are actually good at. Teaching. What we need the most of. Teachers.  We are a school system. Our primary function is TEACHING. Those should be our highest paid jobs in the district, not the admin jobs.

And while I’m on the subject. The state audit revealed that our district is top heavy in high level district level admin jobs and so far, our district leaders have attempted to freeze teacher and staff salaries, eliminated numerous essential mid-level district staff, but as far as I know they have not touched the top heavy positions that the audit identified. In fact, by my calculations, they have added to those numbers. WHEN can we expect to see high level positions identified in the audit addressed?

Let’s remember to make the main thing the main thing. Let’s treat teachers like the mvps they are. Let’s reward them by paying them well to stay IN THAT ROLE. Let’s provide them the tools they need to be successful IN THAT ROLE, such as smaller class sizes and supports and interventions when their students struggle. Let’s create an environment that fosters collaboration over competition. Let’s give teachers voice and autonomy. Especially in priority schools. Let’s recognize them for the hurdles they’ve overcome, not demoralize them for the test score that didn’t move because of factors beyond their control.

If we make the main thing the main thing by putting teachers at the heart of what we do, then as a district we can get back to building relationships and reducing teacher turnover (which also generates costs savings, despite what was factored into the budget).

When talking about actual salaries vs cost to onboard new teachers. Does not take into account cost to relationships. Cost to momentum of programs. Cost to student learning successes. Cost to achieving vision 2020.

Shortsighted to only look at spreadsheets and not classroom dynamics. Without asking why these increased incidents are occurring. Without seeking teacher input, you are missing some very important nuances. If we preemptively and proactively spend money on tools and supports teachers and students need to be successful up front, we won’t have to spend even more money on things like metal detectors and other punitive measures.

Thank you.

Broken Promises

Posted by jcpswatch on September 2, 2016
Posted in: Budget, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020. Leave a Comment

Dear JCPS,

First, you took away the bonus you promised me for being a National Board Certified Teacher. I had to fight to get that money back.

Next, you took away my step increase, which was agreed upon in our binding contract. I had to fight to get that money back.

Now, you are refusing to pay me my extra service pay on the dates promised (half in December and half in May). I guess I’ll have to fight to get that money in December, since I counted on it for Christmas shopping. To my knowledge, no reason has been given for this change. December is 3 months away. You really aren’t going to have my money by then?

I’m starting to notice a trend. I keep doing my part by teaching students but you don’t feel it’s necessary to do your part by paying me what you promised, when you promised (the fact that you also aren’t supporting me in other ways is a topic for a different letter).

Do you feel this is a healthy working relationship? Are there other respected businesses and organizations that treat their employees like this but have amazing success? I hear the words you say about how important teachers are and how much we are valued but your actions are saying a very different thing. In a few years, when you have a serious teacher shortage, please don’t act surprised.

Sincerely,
Anonymous Teacher

Penny Wise, Pound Foolish

Posted by jcpswatch on September 1, 2016
Posted in: Budget, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020. 1 comment

Dear JCPS,

I’m a former Lunch Office Assistant. My first placement was the elementary school where my daughter was a student.

A big chunk of my day was spent in the cafeteria, monitoring the lunchroom, I helped younger students open milk cartons and ketchup packets, I cleaned tables and swept floors, and did my best to kept the cafeteria on schedule. During the mornings and early afternoons I prepared materials for 4th and 5th grade teachers, and assisted the office with various tasks. The copy room had three outdated copiers that jammed daily. Repairs were a constant issue. If all 3 were down, some copies could be made in the office where the newest copier lived.

It wasn’t a fancy job, but it gave our family some additional income. I enjoyed seeing my daughter and her peers every day. I enjoyed the creativity demonstrated by our teachers. I really loved preparing the materials they’d use to teach students various subjects. It was also a very workable schedule and allowed me to pick up my middle schooler at 2:30. (The middle school was closer to us than our resides school by nearly 5 miles but transportation wasn’t provided….another frustrated email entirely). I made $11 per hour and worked roughly 18.5 hours per week.

One day about 2-3 months prior to the end of the ’14-15 school year the principal informed me that the school chose not to fund my position. He said there were other things the school needed. He explained this, along with the overstaff process while I was in the cafeteria cleaning tables after the lunch period. While the plant operator swept floors and nutrition service workers closed up the kitchen and all were in ear shot. I was humiliated.

A few weeks later the office installed a Mack daddy bad-ass copier. I was thrilled because I assumed the office’s old copier could scoot on down to the hall to the copy room and be the New Copier. Except it didn’t. The copy room didn’t have the electrical support for that copier. Who knows where that one ended up? Certainly not in the copy room where a reliable machine could benefit teachers, who would need it more than ever because the person whose job it was to make copies and prepare their materials was overstaffed. It could have helped the instructional assistants who, in addition to their normal duties, were now tasked with cafeteria duty to cover for the newly-eliminated LOA.

Dr. Hargens and the Board’s short-sighted management culture of poor-planning and deferred maintenance is trickling down to every role and copy closet in the district .

Those little part time jobs like mine used to be available at district schools were largely staffed by parents. Parents who are involved. Who might get to work a few minutes early to put in some time in the PTA office or stay a few minutes late to volunteer at an event. Those piddly 18 hours I worked saved 6 dedicated teachers about 2 hours each per week. Those extra dollars every month made our family just a little more financially secure.

But hey! That school figured out a way to save elevens of dollars a week.

Thanks,
Frustrated Parent

Copier Repair Needs by School

Posted by jcpswatch on August 31, 2016
Posted in: Budget, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020. 1 comment

Dear Dr. Hargens,

At Tuesday night’s community conversation, I brought to your attention that there were a number of schools that were having problems getting their copiers serviced. At your request, I have compiled a list of schools that we have heard from in just the past few days.

Added since original post:

Dixie Elementary

  • All three copiers are down and with no end in sight. This particularly affects special ed and ESL students who have trouble transferring what is written on the board to their blank piece of paper. It’s ridiculous to be a district without copiers. Hope Dr. Hargens and her close friend David Jones Jr. are happy with their ‘savings.’

Trunnell Elementary

  • As of yesterday, Friday, September 2nd, we have one working copy machine. The office machine is down, the upstairs copier is down, and one of the downstairs copiers are down. The only working copier jams often and there is a line of people waiting to use it all day long. Once the remaining copier goes, the office won’t be able to make copies of sign out logs, sub sign in sheets, afternoon announcement sheets, weekly parent newsletters, etc. Teachers won’t be able to make copies of assessments or assessment answer sheets, nor all the little booklets made for students who have no reading material at home.

First, some history:

Toni Konz published a list of eliminated job titles:
https://twitter.com/tkonz/status/732656651392720897

http://www.wdrb.com/…/jcps-to-cut-central-office-jobs

 NEW: @JCPSKY says cutting 25 central office jobs will save $1.7 million https://t.co/kKfNgEExOE #JCPS…

In addition, an STC in the district sent us this letter to clear up any confusion: Copiers in Need of Repair Districtwide.

Please also read this letter from a former JCPS lunchroom office assistant: Penny Wise, Pound Foolish.

All Schools

  • Copy repair folks were eliminated. They learned this from a letter signed by Dr. Hargens. Some of them were rehired as “field service techs,” thinking that they could address widespread issues. Did Dr. Hargens not realize what she was signing? What did district execs who made these decisions think would happen with chronic copier issues? Is this simply an effort to force teachers to try to find digital solutions to broken copiers? What about parents who do not have reliable technology at home?
  • Please note that many elementary students do not use textbooks for lessons. (This is not due to teacher’s choice.)For example, our math resources are online.Or, some require worksheets to supplement a text, such as Social Studies Alive . We are not just using copiers for “busywork”.
  • My understanding is that if your laminator stops working, the school is responsible for scheduling and paying for a service call from the company who makes the laminator. It’s ridiculous. Lamination helps protect displays, manipulatives, and center activities which are often hand made or bought with personal money! Obviously the people making these decisions haven’t put any thought into the instructional impact of their “money saving” choices!
  • All work in our building. But aren’t they required to provide teaching materials by contract? I would think grievable …..
  • Agreed! This should not be your responsibility and it should not be any teachers responsibility to have to travel and pay even more to have the basic resources we need for our students!
  • And this (picture) is supposed to be the “back-up plan” for bigger jobs for teachers. matpro
  • My belief is that JCTA should insist that the CBA be followed to the letter. If not followed and not grieved, JCPS could argue that a specific provision of the contract has been waived by common practice.

Atherton

  • We had no copiers at all the first two weeks of school. I took my syllabi to Kinkos. We have one copier out of four that pretty consistently copies front and back and staples. The others jam non-stop. Our STC came in this afternoon while I was using the good one and was trying to fool with the other one. Keeping this thread in mind, I asked him if he was now in charge of copiers and he laughed and said somebody had to try and keep them running. We have one color printer in the library, but we have to email our librarian and ask her to print whatever and she usually says it’s too much ink and asks us to send it to Gheens instead.
  • This definitely seems like a working condition issue. I try to use class sets and a document cam/projector as much as possible, but paper and copies are just a necessity.

Barrett Middle School

  • We were informed Friday that we will no longer have a laminator-because JCPS will no longer service them.
  • Not only pay out of pocket but drive across town to Gheens for the privilege

Breckinridge Franklin Elementary

  • Our entire teaching staff is operating with one working copier.
  • And our highly used laminator is broken.

Chancey

  • In regards to our copy machine situation at my school, we have 4 that are currently working, however have been told they will not be fixed or replaced if they break. Our only color copier is about to die and it will not be replaced.
  • We were told that once one of our copiers quit working it wouldn’t be replaced. The same with 2 others.

Coral Ridge Elementary 

  • We had only one machine working up until last week too. Seems like they weren’t working more than they were…can’t wait to see what the situation is like this year.
  • Copiers are still going to be serviced by IT. Laminators, VCRs, tube TVs, and duplicators are not. IT is looking for vendor to service Laminators. STCs are NOT responsible for fixing any of these items.
  • Got out of faculty meeting a few minutes early, so went to make copies in an attempt to differentiate work for some of my learners…all 3 in our workroom are out right now
  • ..no white paper for a while either…smh.
  • Someone needs to put in a HEAT ticket.
    • oh I’m sure they have, but how long will that take now that the trained repair people are gone??
    • And I quote, “We are working as fast as we can to answer the hundreds of work orders ……” maybe 2-3 weeks! That’s how long it took for warranty to come out and fix a computer that I cancelled the ticket 2 weeks before…..!
  • From the head of IT…..
    Last Friday in the weekly principal email the following was sent out from operations. Nowhere does it say that STCs are now responsible for Laminator, Duplicator, VCR or TV repair. And nowhere does it say that JCPS no longer repairs copiers. We will continue to repair copiers and are working hard to reduce our backlog on copier tickets.
  • STCs are not responsible. They are still servicing copiers but they cut their staff so they can’t keep up with tickets like they used to. That’s the problem.
  • They are still servicing but they cut the staff so they can’t keep up with all the tickets.
  • Our principal also mentioned that JCPS will no longer service laminators. Apparently they are considered “outdated technology”.
    • so what do we replace lamination with?? there simply is no replacement!
    • I have no idea. She mentioned it Friday afternoon. Laminators along with tvs and VCRs (which I agree are both outdated). I’m not sure what replaces the laminator.
    • Glad I have my own laminator…though I can’t do anything other than regular page size, and as XXX reminded me, pay for out of my own pocket.

Foster Elementary

  • all 3 copy machines are down. 2 of those have not been working for at least 2-1/2 weeks. The third one stopped working this week.

Frayser Elementary

  • At my school we only have one copy machine that we can actually print to, and that has been out for two weeks I think. The other two copiers have been out as well, very frustrating! We are supposed to have all of these detailed lessons that engage the students and we can’t even get copies printed for them!
  • They were finally fixed yesterday, but our only copier with printing capabilities is still acting up

Hawthorne Elementary:

  • We have 2 copiers that teachers are allowed to use. They both went down during the first week of school and were not fixed for over a week. Our principal made daily phone calls, but they just did not get fixed. Not a good first impression for parents.

Iroquois

  • None of theirs have worked for a while. The attendance clerk’s works and they can get permission from an administrator to use that one, but obviously there is usually quite a line of people wanting to use it.
  • No homework or classroom work that can’t be done on the smart boards

JCTMS

  • One of the two office copiers are down. Teachers submit their originals with a request and our office staff runs all copies in between all their regular duties. Having only one working copier for the whole building is sure slowing things down.

Johnson Elementary 

  • One working machine for more than 60 teachers….several broken in building….ridiculous.
  • We had an email from our principal about having a small allowance for copies set up at gheens. I’m not sure when we are supposed to be able to go over there.

Kammerer

  • This is why we don’t have a copier?
  • All of our teacher copiers are down
  • There is this really slow one the office staff allows the teachers to use… The other morning one of the office staff ladies let me use their big fancy one..

Liberty High School

  • Only one copier for all teachers.  It has been unable to double side for more than a week.  This means we are using twice as much paper.  There is no alternative when it goes down.
  • Office copier also awaiting service.

Luhr Elementary

  • ours says call 3552
  • That is the district help desk. I first reported to that as well. They said copy repair was “a couple weeks out.”

Maupin Elementary 

  • Oh wow! I didn’t realize that! Both of ours have been broken and we haven’t been able to use the one in the office.
  • We’ve already had the board called on us for not sending home a hard copy of the class newsletter and weekly spelling words. The lead teacher was trying to send everything electronically. This mother apparently doesn’t have access to email. What exactly are we supposed to do? We wrote a note explaining that we didn’t have working copiers to her after she complained to the school, but she called the board anyway. I wasn’t even aware it was a bigger problem than just our school until this post. So maybe that call was a good thing.
  • When asked for a copy of a child’s work-sorry no copy machine. When asked for a copy of anything-sorry-no paper. DO NOT buy any. It’s time we stop and let parents and the community know- Dear mom-sorry I can’t send you a copy of ______. we have no paper or a working copier.

Noe Elementary

  • My school got literally the last laminator service….our STC teaches full time, so our Librarian is going to attempt to take care of the copiers and laminator. I believe we have four machines and they are all currently working, though there was a time a couple of weeks ago when they were all down. They are old cantankerous machines.

Ramsey

  • Guess my art won’t be getting laminated.
  • We have 2 all in one copiers that we print to. One per floor. We have two ricohs that are mass copiers. We have 2 laminators.
  • We have 1 stc who teaches tech who is brand new to it this year.
    We are energy efficient therefore not allowed to have our own copiers.
  • Mind you most of us are smart enough to unjam it but when it cannot be a work order must be put in.

Rutherford Elementary 

  • OMG copier repair guy was at my school once or twice a week. No way a teacher can keep up with this.
  • We have three broken in our copy room and we were able to get a copier and rizo repaired but the days are numbered for when they will go out again. We have had one in the room since last year that has a sticker on it stating that it is “beyond economical repair.”
  • I am STC at my school. I have no training in copy machines. I am a full time teacher of all K-5 students in my building and can barely keep up with the printers and computers and other duties. Typically the office is the one who is supposed to fix a jam or whatever. Although our office staff is changing so not sure they know either. We just got ours working this past week after having any (including office) working for over a week! They happen to be working at the moment.

Seneca High School

  • Duplicators, laminators, and tvs won’t be serviced… That is still a huge impact to many schools. Also they went from 9 people who service the machines to 3 so the wait time is crazy now because their workload is so large.
  • I’m really at a loss:( I’m in the library and now knowing they don’t service laminators or duplicators is a huge problem! We just started a copy center and I’m terrified that this will hit us hard☹️our stc is a full time teacher so there’s no way he can fix those machines. Even if he had time he doesn’t have the training.

Shacklette Elementary

  • Teachers have access to 2 copiers.
  • They are old. They jam. Don’t copy correctly. Always require service. Service takes forever.
  • When both copiers are down (which happens all the time). We are not allowed to use the office copier that is brand new and high tech. Teachers go to stores to pay for copies or print duplicate copies of what they need on their home printers,  which is very time consuming and costly. Ink is expensive!

Shawnee High School

  • We have two broken copiers and also computers that are still waiting to be imaged with flight software. In this high-tech day and age, the STC needs to be a full time, dedicated position.
  • Just went to Shawnee copiers out
  • Now I know why our copiers aren’t working! We also don’t even have anyone who is willing to fill the STC position within the building…
  • It needs to be a full time job.

Southern High School

  • Not only down a copier, but all copy paper is on back order…had to buy my own…again…and again…and again

Wellington Elementary

  • We have one working copier for our whole school.

Western Middle

  • Oh great, our laminator just died. Guess we won’t be getting a new one
  • Oh my goodness, we had ONE copier working for two weeks, and that one was in the office. TWO WEEKS. Office staff was scared to death that that one would die. STCs are not equipped or taught to do serious work on them. My clerk and I can un-jam and clean and simple stuff, but we’re not trained to break them down, or know when to order parts and so on.

Westport Middle

  • This new plan for copier repair is terrible.
  • Westport has over 1200 students and over 70 teachers sharing 1 copy machine that works. We have 4 more that are all broken. 1 more might be operational but it is unavailable during the day because it is in a conference room.

15th District PTA

  • All I know is that the copier for the 15th District PTA went out this week. I’m not a copy repair tech, but I played one this week. After a call to the district help desk and the knowledge that copier repair was “a couple weeks out” I watched a YouTube Video.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We will continue to update this list should we continue to hear from other schools.

Thank you,
Gay Adelmann

Note: If your school is having copier issues and you are having trouble getting them serviced, please send an email to moderator@dearjcps.com.

Also, this list was compiled at Dr. Hargens’ request. If anyone who submitted comments receives even the slightest bit of negative consequences from doing so, please let me know.

Copiers in Need of Repair Districtwide

Posted by jcpswatch on August 31, 2016
Posted in: Budget, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020. 1 comment

To Dear JCPS,

I’m an STC at a JCPS school and I prefer to remain anonymous but I would like to clarify the STC and copier issue:

At a recent STC meeting we were told that due to department cuts, Technology Support Services would no longer be servicing VCRs, CRT TVs, duplicators (different than copiers) or laminators. We were told an email would be sent to our principals on Friday. This is the content of the email:

Operations Division

From Michael Raisor, Chief Operations Officer

·         INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY — DISCONTINUED SERVICES

Information Technology constantly reviews its technology services repertoire in an effort to improve the service to its customers. We have added some new services in the recent past, but we have also identified certain services that have to be discontinued in order to keep up with changes in new, cutting-edge technology. Effective September 1, 2016, we will no longer service the following non-IT/outmoded equipment.

1) Laminators (this includes refilling laminators)
2) Duplicators
3) Televisions with CRT
4) VCRs

STCs were not given responsibility for servicing these items. It was mentioned that they are working on a bid for people to repair laminators (the one at my school and the one at my wife’s school are currently not working). They will also be sending out a video on the proper way to refill a laminator.

I just wanted to suggest the story not be about STCs or Technology Support Services. It looks like these cuts come from the top (I heard they cut the copier repair guys from 8 to 1). JCPS is once again putting the cost of doing the things necessary to teach on the schools and the teachers. They know the dedicated teachers will go to Kinkos for copies and Gheens for laminating (at $1 a foot). And they know these teachers will pay for this out of their own pocket because it’s become too difficult to get reimbursed (laminating at Gheens can be billed to the school with principal permission).

I hope this clears up the issue. Keep up the good work.

Thanks,
Anonymous STC

Dear JCPS brought this concern to Dr. Hargens and Ms. Porter at last night’s community conversation. At Dr. Hargens’ request, we are collecting a list of schools that have copier repair needs to send to her. Please email your comments, which will be kept anonymous, to moderator@dearjcps.com.

Do The Right Thing

Posted by jcpswatch on August 16, 2016
Posted in: Budget, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020. Leave a Comment
Dear JCPS,

As Jefferson County Public School Board of Education members, I hope that you are aware of the extremely negative consequences of Dr. Hargens’ latest ploy to gain finances at the detriment of the teachers.  For years, a teacher’s retirement pay included compensation for unused sick leave.  For many retiring teachers, this is a substantial contribution to the pay schedule that the teachers will depend on for the rest of their lives. Central Office offered this perk to teachers to encourage them to attend school every day, without using the ten sick days allotted each year.  A substitute teacher is necessary on many occasions, but most would agree that the level of instruction with a substitute teacher cannot compare to that of the classroom teacher.  Also, Central Office must pay the salary of the substitute in addition to the salary of the regular teacher.  So in terms of both quality instruction and salary outlay, Central Office benefits when the regular classroom teacher is present.  This is a win/win situation.  Instruction remains on its highest level, and those teachers who came to school every day even through illness and personal turmoil are rewarded for their loyalty.

If you were at retirement age, would you continue if you thought your retirement pay would be drastically diminished?  Very few could afford it.  This is your LIFETIME salary.  I know many teachers who are beyond retirement age, but they love their jobs and prefer to keep educating children.  However, I personally know two who regretfully retired or will in the next few months because they do not trust that their sick leave salary will be available in this contract.  Why should they trust???  They entered a school year with no contract!! They agreed to work without knowledge of their payment.  How many workers in the work force would agree to this?  The JCPS School Board and the Central Office were aware of the first day of school.  Why weren’t the proper meetings held to insure that the contract was settled?  And because of that lack of trust, JCPS is going to lose the wisdom, the experience, the carefully- built program leadership of loyal employees who would prefer to work but don’t trust the leadership to continue to do the right thing for the students and the teachers of Jefferson County Public Schools.

You must do the right thing and stop any consideration of the termination of the sick leave reimbursement.  Dr. Hargens says in the Courier Journal : ” The whole reason for a district, the whole reason for being, is learning.”

I wonder. . . . . . . .

This letter was submitted via our Open Letter Form. Their information, while known to Dear JCPS, is kept anonymous for their protection. Board members may request to be put in contact with these authors at any time.

Chomping at the Bit

Posted by jcpswatch on May 24, 2016
Posted in: Behavior/Discipline, Budget, Teacher Shortage, Vision: 2020. Leave a Comment

Dear JCPS,

I was 17 when I started teaching summer school. It was minimum wage so my paycheck was tiny. We were expected to wear dresses (with stockings) every day and we were called by our last names. Students respected me and I walked taller just knowing that I was changing lives.

I loved it. Loved the kids, loved the lessons, loved planning the lessons, loved learning how to keep kids on task and how to help them be their best selves. . . I had found my home.

I was hooked.

Degrees followed, along with experience navigating the horrors of No Child Left Behind (I paid for so many tests), a master’s, a Rank I, more training and a few more endorsements onto my awesome teaching certificate (had it framed in my classroom I was so proud). I am good and I love what I do.

After 11 years, I was ready to move to a district that would afford me opportunities for advancement in my specific area. As mentioned above, I am qualified above and beyond the average. I’m also a fireball teacher.

As I looked around the state, I considered a few different districts. JCPS offered me a competitive salary in an area with relatively low housing costs while providing the opportunities for advancement that I wanted. I made the move and began teaching in my new home.

I’ve been bit, hit, kicked, slapped, called a motherf#$king b!$ch (and lots more things out my name), tripped, been used for target practice (white boards leave bruises, FYI), spat upon, had death threats (credible ones), and generally been abused to the point that I’m wondering if the bullying policy might apply to teachers being bullied. I’ve had shots for hepatitis B and tetanus and I’ve had to pee in a cup to ensure that my kidneys weren’t bleeding after I was punched so hard that I went down. I’ve compared bruises with other teachers that have been obtained from the same student. I’ve been screamed at by parents and I’ve had administrators blame me for not “holding him” when I was being beat up.

I’ve been called to the carpet for being at fault for being bitten (not the most recent bite for those who know me) and I’ve pretty much decided that I need to be more vigilant when it comes to kids’ ability to inflict pain upon me.

My friends in private school say we get “hazard pay” and that they’d never go over to the “dark side” and teach in the public school system. I can tell you this, I’m really good at what I do and I can work anywhere in the world. Without that hazard pay, I’d be hard pressed to stay here. I mean, the allergies alone. . .

Furthermore, in response to the teacher candidate who has expressed her desire to never work for JCPS, we’re bad, but if you can handle it, if you can stick with it for a bit (or a bite), you can work yourself into a 100K job in the board office and tell everyone to duck faster.

I’m checking the jobs board now.

Sincerely,
Ophelia Payne

NOTE: While the author’s identity is protected here, they are not anonymous to Dear JCPS. Any board member wishing to address the concerns shared here can contact our administrators to make a connection.

A Central Office POV

Posted by jcpswatch on May 24, 2016
Posted in: Budget, Vision: 2020. Leave a Comment

Dear JCPS,

I am a JCPS staff member who is considered a central office administrator. I have been reading letters and articles bashing central office and administrators for their salary, but I felt the need to speak up because some of us are being blamed for things that are not our doing. Even though I am considered a central office administrator, my office is in a school. I provide mental health services and assessment services to ECE (special education) students. If I understand the study correctly, my role group is underpaid compared to the market. I am not complaining about my salary, although I would like to point out that my step has been frozen multiple times, so I do not appreciate the implication that I have been getting 3-4% raise every year, Mr. Tom Hudson. Shame on you for trying to shift the outrage the community feels towards your close to $200k salary onto the teachers and staff.

I do want to bring attention that in most counties in Kentucky, our role group serves 2 or 3 schools. I serve five. We are woefully under the recommended ratio for our role group by almost 100 staff members. And due to continued elimination of positions, more and more is added to our plate each year. Louisville is my home and the only place I ever wanted to work was JCPS. However, under Dr. Hargens’ “leadership”, I have begun to question whether or not this is where I want to continue working. It is disheartening to see how little she respects and cares for the teachers and staff that are truly the heart of the school system.

I just wanted to let the public know that some of the administrators that they are blaming for the issues at hand support the students, staff, and community. We provide much needed mental health services to some of our most vulnerable children. I love my job. I love working with the students and I wish I had more time to do more therapeutic services with them, but there is just not enough hours in the day. Please do not lump all of us into one pile as being an issue. We are as frustrated and unappreciated as you are.

Sincerely,
Central Office Staff Member

NOTE: While the author’s identity is protected here, they are not anonymous to Dear JCPS. Any board member wishing to address the concerns shared here can contact our administrators to make a connection.

A Possible Solution

Posted by jcpswatch on May 24, 2016
Posted in: Behavior/Discipline, Budget, Teacher Shortage. Leave a Comment

This letter was submitted via our open letter form. It does not necessarily reflect the views of Dear JCPS.

Dear JCPS,

Listening to the top administrators at JCPS has made one thing perfectly clear to me…they are completely out of touch with what is actually going on in Jefferson County Public Schools.

Anyone who spends time in our schools would know that we need improved methods in dealing with student behavior. The answer to this problem is not less consequences. Anyone who spends time in the schools would know that the staff who work with students on a daily basis deserves a raise, not a salary freeze.

Then I saw the news about JCPS cutting central office jobs and it hit me…close down all of the offices at Van Hoose and Gheens. Any employees or administrators who are still needed could set up an office at a school. There was a time, before current technology, when administrators needed to physically be in the same building, but that time has passed. I’m sure most communication is now handled through email, Google docs or Skype. All of that can be done from offices at the schools. This would allow administrators to make decisions that are best for the students, teachers and schools by allowing them to see first-hand what is actually going on in the schools.

I have a small room connected to my classroom. I would be more than happy for Tom Hudson, Chief Business Officer, to set up his office there. This way he can show me what he does all day to justify his $176,000 salary and I can show him why I deserve to not have my salary frozen. He would also get to experience challenging student behavior first-hand, and be more informed when making decisions about the code of conduct for JCPS students.

I hope JCPS listens to my suggestions. Not only will it help decision-makers be more in touch with what is happening at our schools, it could also save JCPS and taxpayers a lot of money.

Sincerely,
A teacher that unfortunately must remain anonymous

NOTE: While the author’s identity is protected here, they are not anonymous to Dear JCPS. Any board member wishing to address the concerns shared here can contact our administrators to make a connection.