WAB: Business as Usual With Bernetta?
On the night Mrs. Bernetta Houston resigned from the school board she made it a point to vote for an extension to the school directors contract then immediately after that she resigned with the statement she was taking a job out of the county. Now we find a possible payback for that vote, a new position with the school system making over $30,000 a year, not counting benefits, as an assistant to Mr. Ron Shirey. I hope teachers are satisfied with salaries. I suppose if they're not satisfied they could always apply to be assistants to someone in the main office. Oh well, I guess it's more important to make kids go to school than to teach them after they get there! Allen Barrett
posted by J. Kendrick McPeters | 7:48 PM
37 Comments:
There are too many teachers in the system we need more administrators and assistant administrators. Build a new wing on the new building and staff it, what's another half million dollars more or less?
Was this position advertised, if so when and where? Was Ms Houston the only applicant? Did any classroom teachers apply or even know about the position? This really smells.
WAB said:
Now we find a possible payback for that vote, a new position with the school system making over $30,000 a year, not counting benefits,...
That sounds like chickenfeed, compared to what "administrators" are making, and it's less than "classroom teachers" earn, too. Still and all, it's just almost certainly another deadweight job that nobody needs to be doing, much like the "15.5" secretaries employed by the School System.
What's that? Am I being "mean-spirited" when I suggest that it's a waste of money to hire school secretaries? No, I am not. Thanks to the ravages of globalism and downsizing, corporate heads now generally type their own memos, and answer their own phones. But I guess we shouldn't expect goverment owned and operated "Skools" to keep up with the times, should we? No, as long as they don't have to turn a profit, like a "real" business, the only incentive they have is toward bloated payrolls, which translate into more patronage jobs, and, thus, a greater and greater "lock" on the local electoral process.
...as an assistant to Mr. Ron Shirey. I hope teachers are satisfied with salaries.
Why wouldn't they be? Classroom teachers have probably the highest paying jobs in this impoverished county -- normalized over 12 months, they make $51,149 per annum -- and benefit from the ironclad job security that only a unionized govermment worker can ever expect to see. Plus, they are absolutely never held accountable for the work they do, either at an individual level (ie, you and I both know incompetent teachers that will never be fired) or at the institutional level (ie, the school system keeps getting increasing amounts of money shovelled into it, no matter how poor a job it does educating kids).
I know that a lot of people will read this, and want to accuse me of "teacher bashing." But the truth is, I think teaching is one of the most important professions around, and, if I was named dictator, one of the first changes I would make, would be to raise teacher pay to where it was comparable to lawyer pay. (Make me dictator, and I'll also, in a heart beat, cut pay for shysters, but that's another story!)
Even though I'd like to see teachers paid more, and feel it is a shame that some of the really good teachers I remember from my school days, were never paid enough for the work they did... the fact is that teacher pay will never go up, as long as they remain mired in a government run monopoly, paid equally no matter what their performance.
Only if the schools are privatized, will teachers (the good ones, anyway) ever see a major pay increase. Right now, Giles County teachers only get 36.4% of the $7,465 spent per year on each student...
If the schools were privatized, they could operate without worrying about frivolous "civil rights" lawsuits preventing them from enforcing real discipline. Effective discipline would mean that classroom sizes could go back to 32/class, as they were back in the 1950's.
Given that there are 4,269 students to educate in Giles County, that means that we only need to employ 134 teachers. In turn, this means that we could give all the current crop of teachers a rigorous competency test, keeping 134 (the top 44% of those now employed), while laying off the remaining, less competent, 168.
Now for the fun part! We multiply the "Expenditure per Average Daily Attendence" ($7,465) by the "Average Daily Attendence" (4,269) to get a total school expenditure of $31,868,085. Now, we divide that gargantuan figure by the number of teachers (134) and come up with exactly $237,821.53 per teacher. (Which would be equivalent to working a $317,095.37 year round job... which is much better than most lawyers haul in!)
So, I have one simple question for all of you school teachers out there: If I paid you $237,821.53 for you to teach 32 kids, whom you could discipline in whatever manner you saw fit... would this be worth it to you? Obviously, you'd have to pay a mortgage and utilities on your one room school house. And, you might be out of pocket something if you chose to furnish hot meals.
Suppose the county floated a twenty year bond to pay for the construction of 134 one room schbols, distributed all across the county, so that no bussing would be required. Suppose further, that the county divided their bond payments into 134 equal amounts, and charged them to the teachers, who would own their schools outright after twenty years. It's likely, in that case, that the mortgage would run only $1,500 per month, with utilities running another $1,000. That's only $30,000 per year, which would leave each teacher almost $208,000 per year as take home pay. (Okay, maybe hot lunches would be catered for 32 kids for $100 per day... given a 180 long school year, that would subtract another $18,000; leaving $190,000 in net pay.
Please note that, under my proposal, the kids would be taught with only the "cream" of the current teaching staff, and would (assuming a $190,000 net) be paid over 495% of current "classroom teacher" salaries. That sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me, although it would mean that every teacher would be divested of union coddling, and would have to "root hog or die" on the free market.
But, really, that's the best part! Because, if parents are given an "education stamp" voucher, and the teachers are all independant entrepreneurs competing with each other to get those vouchers, then the "hidden hand" of capitalism will inevitably lead to ever higher performance, both by the teachers, and the students. Indeed, under a system such as I've proposed, I expect that Giles County children would be the best educated in the United States, if not the whole world!
We have only our children's chains to lose, and a whole world of excellence in education, to attain. Why not do it... now, before any more kids have their intellects sacrificed on the altar of bureaucratic socialism?
All you "pro-government" and "non-whiner" types out there, I dare you to challenge my figures, or to come up with a better way to spend $7,465 per kid per annum on K-12 education. Go ahead... take your best shot, and let the chips fall where they may!
Anonymous, August 08, 2007 8:50:00 AM, said:
There are too many teachers in the system
As a matter of fact, between the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 school years, the number of classroom teachers increased by 4.2%, while, at the same time, the number of students declined by 1%. Right now, we have 1 teacher for every 14.13 kids. So, yeah, it sounds like we have a few more teachers than we really need.
we need more administrators and assistant administrators.
Boy, I sure do hope that you are joking! Administration costs a fortune, and contributes pretty much nothing, in terms of education. If ordinary moms with no degrees are capable of doing an excellent job homeschooling their chillun, then I believe that the "best and brightest" of our current teaching staff could do a fine job, teaching in one room schoolhouses.
And going back to the "one room" way of doing things, means that we can dispense with deadwood administration drones, principals, assistant principals, secretaries, bus drivers, lunchroom ladies, custodians, maintenance staff, and probably much, much more. If we spend the money primarily "in the classroom," then the remaining teachers will benefit handsomely, and the kids they instruct, even more. Again I must ask, "why not scrap the expensive, low performing socialist dinosaur that currently devours our tax money, and move to a system that is lean and mean, totally responsive to the demands of the parents, and guaranteed to do a superior job educating the kids?"
Really, if anyone has an objection to my plan, I'd love to hear it!
The situation is more than ridiculous. Imagine, needing an advanced degree in socialism as a requirement to educate a normal healthy 5 year old child from a hardworking loving family environment. Imagine mommy gettting the knife out to slice a cucumber for Sunday salad! The kid will be out of school before they get around to teaching 2 + 2! Chances are high the youngun will be swimmin home, ozoned out on Ridiln before the week is done.
The whining never stops, does it?
Pathos is pathetic situation humour. Many of us are not in your snare & can sit back and laugh at you - a lot like the adventures of Larry, Curly, & Moron.
Anonymous, August 08, 2007 5:23:00 PM, said:
The whining never stops, does it?
I dunno... that would depend on your defintion of "whining," I suppose. Personally I don't think it is "whining" to bring up, and discuss, unpleasant but nonetheless true facts about things going on in the county, such as, say in our beloved government schools.
One thing I'm absolutely sure of, though: the rational debate never begins at least with the defenders of the Statist Quo, all of whom seem to regard the "ad hominen" attack as the very apex of logical persuasion. "Laughing, here..."
Kendrick..
There's no need in my attempting to match wits with you over semantics here. As usual, you (and those like you) are always right and we who differ with you are always wrong. And, isn't that just about right? Laughing here as well.
Ms. Houston was a shoe in. She doesn't have the intelligence needed for this position but like the other 3 on the board IT'S PAY BACK TIME. Was the position posted, Dont't think so. And guess what? The woman that Tee has been going nuts over to be his assistant if he could get rid of Jackie just got a new position, and a $13,000 raise. Yes, Bill Davis now has an administrative assistant. Sheila Middlesteadt is newly titled and making to much. Just like Mrs. Williamson has an assistant that is making more than teachers aides and secretaries and she brags about doing less now than when she had one student to work with as an aide.
One might ask what the limits are, but why ask? There are none. There is no credibility. There is no accountability. There is no restraint. It's as if the free people think freedom begins with a chain around their neck. The people could stop it, but it seems we've been dumbed down to the point where believe this crap is normal.
No, but there's plenty of whining and complaining.
how is bring wrong doing to light whining & complaining?? please explain this constant post to breaking the law.
thanks.
Take it to the proper authorities if you have something. Otherwise, it IS whining and complaining.
What you call whining & complaining sure does pick your ears up, doesn't it?
Are the hounds on your trail? getting nervous?
Maybe if more citizens of this county showed up for the school board meetings the school board would actually think of the students first, and the central office staff further down the line. I saw Mr. Barrett at the last school board meeting. Where were the rest of you? And you wonder why "consulting teachers" become supervisors, which puts them into a higher pay schedule? Then, the assistant to Mrs. Williamson. Now, she went from special education assistant to become assistant to Mrs. Williamson. Her salary more than doubled! Do you think teachers were thrilled about that? Are you thrilled about that? Check the article in the Aug. 14 "Citizen" regarding the school board meeting. Or better yet, come to the meetings. I am sure Mr. Barrett would enjoy the company and maybe, just maybe, the school board members will start thinking more about the children in this county and less about having the highest payroll for the central office staff (and it keeps climbing) Have you counted how many positions have been added at the central office level since TJ became our esteemed director/dictator?
This is part of a letter to the editor in the Citizen 08/15/07...
all i could think of was how much this sounds like the exact intent of that little power play...to keep people in their place & afraid to speak up...or like George Orwells' Animal Farm...Some are more equal than others...
___________________________________
I’ve wanted to attend the Board of Education meetings, but from the last incident when two citizens were jailed for trying to voice opinions, I thought maybe that’s not a good idea. It seems if you bring up or question anything that is done, you are deemed a trouble maker.
Martha L. Hargrove
11041 Garden Meadow Drive
Pulaski, TN 38478
Martha,
School fees & computer paper: Pitiful! Silence in the rectory!
Instructional supplies (Account 429 @ $253,000) are less than 1% of the budget. They were cut by $15,000 from last year (2006-7). It's a little item that shuts things down when cut off. (plot)
Administrative salary expenses were $2,106,186 in 2003-4. They increased by $1,019,674 (50+%) to $3,035,860 for 2007-8. They increased by $106,00 this year, while teacher & their support function salaries were cut $9,400. Huge expenditures of insignificant real value. (friends, relatives, & influence)
Total general education funding increased by $6,465,795 (28.9%) since 2003-4, and there is no telling how much they will add to it when they disclose some more of the hidden funds on Monday! They aren't going to get the property tax they requested; so, they are going to have to come clean on some of the things they didn't tell us about. How many millions will it be?
Ask what account is used for the fee money. (teachers get it on their own time?) Drive by the little new Admin. addition to the old dumpy admin. building - can you see anything worth a fraction of the $500,000+++ that will be wasted there? It's a boondoggle by a big money machine that refuses to count change to provide pencils & paper for children they are supposed to be teaching!
Atnas ain't Santa, & when he sneaks down your chimney & out the front door, the silverware, family jewels, and TV will be gone! He does it every year.
don m
Martha wrote the letter to the paper not the above post...that was a copy & paste
uh....Martha....
I understood they were jailed for exposing their rear ends and for creating a disturbance.
Just shows how faulty your understanding is.
To Anonymous Aug. 19, 12:47:00
You could never have understood anything more wrongly!! My husband has NEVER exposed any part of his body that you suggested in public. Shame on you for spreading such vile rumors. As for the "disturbance" he was found Not Guilty.
I think that exposing their rear-ends was a figure of speech. And...I've heard that he has exposed his rear-end on many occasions.
Mrs. Winkles..
Ok, I will concede that your husband was not exposing his rear end if you say so. But, sadly, he was with someone who is an expert at exposing his posterior. Perhaps I assumed he was guilty by association. My apologies.
Well what you have heard is NOT true. Do you always repeat unfounded gossip? Now thats what I would call a "troublemaker"! Incidentially, your "figure of speech" is totally out of line. Find some other words to express yourself if you must. (No, I am not Mrs Fred Winkles).
8-20-345\
A typical low life who hates good people. You're one of the reasons children can't read or write. Passing your whizdom on to a child is like short curcuiting a battery - a flash, then nothing!
8/20 3:45
She knew you weren't being literal. Just, as most of us are, tired of the bashing and wanted to point out how dangerous you people are with your insinuations and tale-telling. Since you say "I understand" and "I've heard" you show you have no first-hand knowledge of what goes on in this county. Why don't you bashers come to the meetings?
8/20 3:45
There you go, "guilty by association" - terribly wrong of you. And I bet there are other situations in which you judge everyone to be "guilty" in your eyes, maybe just because they are maybe friends/associates. Am I correct?
Ms. Houston is making $39,500 a year on a 12 month salary. Just ask a teacher where they stand. Don't and some won't ever make that kind of money. Did she owe Tee a favor when she left? Don't know how much of a degree she has but she never has shown to be the sharpest tack in the box.
Okay, I have been to the meetings. Mrs. Winkles doesn't act half as badly as as Mr. Barrett. During the arrest Mr. Winkles was actually pretty quiet. Barrett on the other hand protestly very loudly and made quite a show of it, which is what he wanted to do. Barrett actually could have done quite well in the theatre from what I have seen of his acts. The punch me again was worthy of a Oscar!!
Bernetta Houston is making 39,585.00 from the At Risk money. This is money that is suppose to help lower class room size help students graduate. Bernetta didn't even have to fill out an application. It was excepted with just her name on it. Done deal. And yes a teacher did apply. And she got screwed, but will her husband change his vote on the board from sucking up to doing the right thing in voting what is right and not what Tee tells Kathy Norman to tell the three men that have family members on the board. We'll see at the next board meeting so people show up. Tee promised Mrs. Young a better job but she got to be a lab coach for At Risk students with teacher pay. Bernetta is making more money than most teachers will ever see in Giles County. Same with Melony that does the books, poorly, Sheila Mittlesteadt who Bill Davis would problely kill to have a good time with but she is to good of a person, and At Risk assistants making more than teachers ever will. People think teachers have it made, but you should set behind the desk and hear the crap the kids dish out and aren't allowed to defend themselves. Tee Jackson has gone wild with the BEP money and the teachers aren't going to see a damn dime of it. Tee is using the money to hire women and coaches. Board members if you see this get your head out of your butts and do some serious voting and watching the budget.
Mrs. Norman has announced that new board members are to elect new officers next month. What you wanna bet Kennedy, Young Lindsay and Norman vote her back in to do Tee's dirty work.
If people could have gone to court and saw how Tee crucify Mike Gonzales during his testimony. He will do the same thing to Norman, Braden and Shirey. He has his fall guys set up and will always come out clean as a whistle.
Teachers take a stand! Parents take a stand! and school board members take a stand.
I personally like Mr. Jackson and believe him to be a man of integrity and decency in spite of all the hurtful things that have been said about him on this blog.
I now have to wonder if my comment will get posted in this "free speech" forum. After all, I didn't say anything negative. We shall see.
Anonymous..
That was a low-down and nasty insinuation you made about Bill Davis. I think you owe him a huge apology!
Par for the course on this blog, isn't it?
I suppose Mr.Davis will not get that apology. Shame on you!
fwioMr. Barrett:
It just occurred to me that you called Stoney Jackson a name on this thread. In fact, you wrote the thread.
I just find it amazing that you would be that bold in calling him a name like that. I would think you would be just a little more careful with the name-calling.
One of these days I'm afraid you are going to call the wrong person a name like that, and they will drop by to visit you. Just a little food for thought in a spirit of trying to help you see the potential peril.
You are absolutely incredible!
To anonymous of the 15 Jan post
My name is on every one of my post and my phone number and address is in the phone book, I am at most county committee meetings and commission meetings and I am not hiding out. I have said very little I could not back up and nothing I did not fully believe to be true. I have called no one a name on this blog that I have not said to their face. Allen Barrett
wab
So you told Stoney Jackson to his face that he was an outlaw? He's a better man than I am if he allowed you to get away with it.
One of these days you just might call the wrong person or his/her spouse a name. When that happens, it's not going to make any difference whether you have the "truth" or not. I'm just trying to get you to appreciate the potential for peril when you recklessly go about calling names and making accusations. There are people out there who will not tolerate it at all! Don't say I'm not looking out for you.
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