Money rules the world, no doubt about it. But I didn't really see how far its arms extended until today.
I'm an editor for my school paper and for this issue I had to write a story about a new state-of-the-art lab being built at our school. Along with the lab the school is going to undergo various other changes, mostly for aesthetic appeal rather than anything necessary. But all the construction costs are covered by a grant so its all good.
However, as a result of these changes 14 support staff members are being let go. Why? Well the administration refused to answer that question. After repeated attempts to get some sort of explanation from the principal as well as the superintendent I got some vague off-the-record mumbles about how they couldn't comment and how "it was none of our business."
And tonight, after hours of digging and pleading with union leaders I was finally able to get a statement from the Support Staff Union. 10% of the support staff was being fired simply because the district decided to "reassess" their necessity to the schools. Its not a matter of money because the district has $38 million dollars in the bank with another $2 million on the way from the stimulus plan.
Instead of saving jobs, we're cutting them , that also for no reason. Having spent countless hours hunting for a source when I found out about this I was furious, to say the least. Teachers and union members were scared to comment, even anonymously, simply because they feared for their jobs.
What is all this new money going to be used for? Just to line the wallet of our new superintendent. After all we are the district that landed on the front page of the Chicago Sun-Times for having the most highly paid superintendent. $411,500 + $20,000 extra as well as health benefits for him and his family for ten years. And on top of that our school has to pay a $100,000 fine to the state board of education for letting him retire early.
Perhaps I'm just cranky after my 17-hour day but I just needed to get it out. Kind of a bum that my first blog is such a downer.
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This is slightly unrelated, but this post reminded me of what has happened here on my campus.
We have this beautiful new Aero Engineering Building, but the building's primary use is to try to bring in more money to the university. Evidence:
- half of the classes in the building are nursing classes to increase the female presence in the building -- add diversity
- the Black Engineers Society has a nice big room in the building with big windows so all those on tour can, once again, see the diversity in the school
- there are only three study areas in the entire building, so when tours come through with potential donors, they will see how hard working all of the many students are in the building who quickly fill up the available table space
- this building gets (needlessly) polished every night, top to bottom, to keep it clean for sponsors
- John Deere spent $1M on an interactive wall to engage young people when they come in (I could think of a million useful ways to spend that million dollars)
- there is a lab for an organization on the first floor: the entire lab is glass windows so people can, once again, see all of the hard work we do in there (the projects rarely get touched because a glass lab is not a decent place to do any wood or metal work)
So, the school turned this beautiful building into a $45M advertisement for more money. Despicable.
Nice post. It sounds a lot like a situation at my university, where they are building a $100 million football stadium, but the year before construction started they athletic director cut 6 sports and countless courses and teaching positions. BEFORE the economy blowout. They're still building the stadium, but are cutting out the student seating and mostly just doing the pricy box seats. It's so sad that schools lose the priority of serving the students and local economy, just for aesthetic changes or a few bucks.
Sadly in our school the administration reads everything we print if its negative, even if we don't quote them. They've nixed entire editorials before!
Nick - In this case the unions have no power. The teachers union has joined the support staff union to protest these actions but have gone unheard. Both union presidents stand firmly against the administration but right now their voices don't matter. I'd say the administration is the bad guy here.
Jason - The grant was issued for the lab, the state allocated money specifically for the construction of this lab. It has to be used for such a project within three years otherwise it'll be taken back. Next year will be the last year which is why the administration has been in a rush to spend it all now. Part of the money, after the costs of the lab are factored out, will be used to make these aesthetic changes. By closing down some resource centers the administration is trying to justify the firing of 14 women. These women have worked here for decades, they come into daily contact with students and play a big role in our school. Most of them don't have another job or a degree to fall back on, for some of them this is their only form of income. However, the administration tires to explain it away by saying that they would have to be let go in a few years anyway, ignoring to comment on the fact that our school has more than enough money to pay them. Its ridiculous and saddening because I know some of these women very well, and I can't imagine a school year without them. Sadly, construction begins next week so there isn't much we can do at this point.
Great post! I live in Small Town New Hampshire. In our local community, many school administrators are comped at well into the six-figure range. As a state with no sales tax and no income tax, monies are raised by steep property taxes... (mine have doubled in 10 years...) Just another example of yet another flawed system.
This is happening all over. Like the banks who keep the money & not lend out their stimulus funds (what they were given it for), other entities are hording it too. My employer is acting like your school. They will let go 2/3 guys that work in the field, claiming things are tight, then hire a new # cruncher at corporate who will make decent money & get perks. The bottom line is some of these places have money, are making money. But, the profit margin is down, so people like your staff or my coworkers get let go on the account of the top tier's take HAS to be bigger. Even more sad, is that my execs & your school management will most likely get bonuses for "magically" making the #'s better. All the while blaming the economy. It's a good excuse for business as usual.
You'd be surprised how public a lot of this information has to be in many states. First, I'd attempt to contact the local school board to discuss the climate around this reassessment of expenditures and for the presentation of a coherent vision the board and superintendent have for improving schools in your district. Support staff is one area where not just K-12, but also higher education, has seen huge increases over the last 20-25 years relative to former operating practices. Quite often, support staff is necessary for daily adequate functioning, but nearly as frequently support staff is found doing the jobs of teachers, administrators, or other staff members.
While I feel for those losing their jobs, they should be subject to release if they truly represent redundancy or inefficiencies in the current structure.
I'd be extremely surprised if a local district was able to carry over so much money from year to year by state law-- many states place major restrictions on how taxes can be set/raised in districts that kick in if a large portion of the money raised is not spent. K-12 schools don't get endowments, and even most non-profit organizations that have endowment have required spending rates.
I'd also be interested in the grant that was received by the school to do aesthetic work, particularly one that appears to be over-funded. Can you please link to you article and information about your school and the grant it received? Sounds like something fishy is going on and I'd be interested in following through on this.
I just think this shows the power of the Unions- that's scary to me. Like you said, teachers were afraid to comment even anonymously because the union decided to reassess their necessity. At my school, there is a physics teacher who has yet to have a kid pass the A.P. Physics test. These are smart kids, the only one who passed goes to MIT. However, he is a department head in the school system and as a member of the teachers union...good luck finding an excuse the all-powerful union finds legitimate...