Daivd Williams balancing budget issues on the backs of KY kids........

[cammando]

To me the problem with education is all we do is throw money at it and expect the money to magically fix the problem.

Agreed !!

[Dlbdonn]

Here's just one example from New York City: It took years to fire a teacher who sent sexually oriented e-mails to "Cutie 101," a 16-year-old student. Klein said, "He hasn't taught, but we have had to pay him, because that's what's required under the contract."

 

Only after six years of litigation were they able to fire him. In the meantime, they paid the teacher more than $300,000. Klein said he employs dozens of teachers who he's afraid to let near the kids, so he has them sit in what are called rubber rooms. This year he will spend $20 million dollars to warehouse teachers in five rubber rooms. It's an alternative to firing them. In the last four years, only two teachers out of 80,000 were fired for incompetence. Klein's office says the new contract will make it easier to get rid of sex offenders, but it will still be difficult to fire incompetent teachers.

 

When I confronted Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, she said, "They [the NYC school board] just don't want to do the work that's entailed." But the "work that's entailed" is so onerous that most principals just have just given up, or gotten bad teachers to transfer to another school. They even have a name for it: "the dance of the lemons."

Ok I agree. In my Union if I wanted to fire someone when I was a supervisor , foreman Etc . They were gone and the union would back me up , and they were idled for a while with no unemployment compensation . Usually the people that got fired had a history of this .

[Dlbdonn]

To me the problem with education is all we do is throw money at it and expect the money to magically fix the problem.

To me the problem with Public Education is that its FREE. Parents should pay tuition even if it is nominal from the first day of Kindergarten to HS graduation

[True blue (and gold)]

Here's just one example from New York City: It took years to fire a teacher who sent sexually oriented e-mails to "Cutie 101," a 16-year-old student. Klein said, "He hasn't taught, but we have had to pay him, because that's what's required under the contract."

 

Only after six years of litigation were they able to fire him. In the meantime, they paid the teacher more than $300,000. Klein said he employs dozens of teachers who he's afraid to let near the kids, so he has them sit in what are called rubber rooms. This year he will spend $20 million dollars to warehouse teachers in five rubber rooms. It's an alternative to firing them. In the last four years, only two teachers out of 80,000 were fired for incompetence. Klein's office says the new contract will make it easier to get rid of sex offenders, but it will still be difficult to fire incompetent teachers.

 

When I confronted Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, she said, "They [the NYC school board] just don't want to do the work that's entailed." But the "work that's entailed" is so onerous that most principals just have just given up, or gotten bad teachers to transfer to another school. They even have a name for it: "the dance of the lemons."

 

I thought that we were talking about education in Kentucky? I know of "here one day, fired the next" examples of sexual misconduct in situations similar to the above. Do you have any KY examples?

[True blue (and gold)]

To me the problem with education is all we do is throw money at it and expect the money to magically fix the problem.

 

I agree with you to a point. There are many problems that can be fixed without money. However, there are some that can't. Perhaps I'll post some specific examples later.

[acemona]

Here's just one example from New York City: It took years to fire a teacher who sent sexually oriented e-mails to "Cutie 101," a 16-year-old student. Klein said, "He hasn't taught, but we have had to pay him, because that's what's required under the contract."

 

Only after six years of litigation were they able to fire him. In the meantime, they paid the teacher more than $300,000. Klein said he employs dozens of teachers who he's afraid to let near the kids, so he has them sit in what are called rubber rooms. This year he will spend $20 million dollars to warehouse teachers in five rubber rooms. It's an alternative to firing them. In the last four years, only two teachers out of 80,000 were fired for incompetence. Klein's office says the new contract will make it easier to get rid of sex offenders, but it will still be difficult to fire incompetent teachers.

 

When I confronted Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, she said, "They [the NYC school board] just don't want to do the work that's entailed." But the "work that's entailed" is so onerous that most principals just have just given up, or gotten bad teachers to transfer to another school. They even have a name for it: "the dance of the lemons."

 

I didn't realize we were in New York? Do you have a basic understanding of the KEA? Do you know how little power it actually wields, and I am a member. If you break a law in regards to money or kids, you are going to be fired in Kentucky, it is pretty simple.

 

So, instead of firing off talking points and a NYC example, show me where the waste and excesses are in public education in Kentucky.

[cammando]

Kentucky school districts have a higher than the national average administrative cost... Lots of waste and excesses in that department.

[CoachBuckett]

To me the problem with education is all we do is throw money at it and expect the money to magically fix the problem.

 

The real problem is Education has never been fully funded.

 

Training of Teachers is tough to do when there are no funds. So what happens they send a couple of teachers a few days to be trained 1/2 way. They then come back and only give half the info back to teachers in their district that they are required to train.

 

Ky has always been behind fudning of education.

[True blue (and gold)]

Kentucky school districts have a higher than the national average administrative cost... Lots of waste and excesses in that department.

 

Just because the costs are higher (I will take your word for that, but I don't know it to be true) doesn't mean that there is waste and excess. Enlighten us.

[cammando]

http://mycn2.com/politics/ky-school-districts-must-cut-administrative-costs-commissioner-says

[True blue (and gold)]

http://mycn2.com/politics/ky-school-districts-must-cut-administrative-costs-commissioner-says

 

I wish that the article has some specifics in it. Also, I'm a little unsure of what this means:

“What I’m worried about quite often is sometimes paraprofessionals — teacher assistants — are very valuable … but are we sure we’ve got the right dollars in teaching because that’s the priority,” he said.

[acemona]

http://mycn2.com/politics/ky-school-districts-must-cut-administrative-costs-commissioner-says

 

What this actually means is that since we don't have the money to hire certified staff, we have supplemented/helped the teachers who have classes that are too large, by giving them instructional assistants. This article is not referring to Supers and Central Office. You can hire a teacher for 30,000 or you can give a teacher more students and hope that a classified assistant can help in the instruction. If we had enough money to hire enough teachers, we would have fewer administrative assistants.

[Dlbdonn]

Kentucky school districts have a higher than the national average administrative cost... Lots of waste and excesses in that department.

Tell me about We live in Southgate a one school ( elementary ) district and it has both a Superintendent and Principal .Seems to me those jobs could be combined . Waste of money .

[Jim Schue]

Kentucky school districts have a higher than the national average administrative cost... Lots of waste and excesses in that department.

 

I'd be willing to bet a very significant chunk of that is transportation.