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Tecumseh Public Schools finalize layoffs, board member resigns as steps for recall petition begin
By DEB WUETHRICH
With most of the seats taken, some by Tecumseh Public School staff whose jobs were on the line, the mood at the Tecumseh School Board meeting Monday night was somber as Board President Debbie Johnson-Berges read a series of resolutions detailing positions that would not be renewed for the coming school year. As she read each “Resolution of Layoff and Termination of Service” for various staffing areas, Johnson-Berges noted each was “based on declining enrollment.” The action included positions for professional teaching staff; maintenance and grounds support staff; instructional assistants; computer technicians; secretarial, and a reduction in hours for several library assistants.
“These are not things we want to do, these are things we have to do because of our economic position and the fact that with the decline in enrollment, we don’t have sufficient students to support the staff,” said Johnson-Berges.
Toward the end of the meeting when board members were asked if they had any comments, Gary Urban spoke.
“When I took this position a couple years ago, I thought this was something I wanted to do, but I’m frustrated,” Urban said. “It feels like the last couple of years, all it seems like we’re doing is dealing with financial issues more than education. It’s to the point where I just don’t know if I’m making a difference, so I’m going to resign my position, effective immediately.” Urban hesitated then said, it was just frustrating and the state situation wasn’t going to get any better, referring to the regular updates provided by Tecumseh Business and Finance Director Bill Wright, who keeps the board informed as he monitors the financial situation. “We’ll be going back at this next year and there are going to be twice as many layoffs,” Urban said. He added that he knew his action would come as a shock and apologized for that. “But I look out there and see the young teachers we have to let go and I just don’t know what to do. It’s just frustrating.” Obviously overcome with emotion, Urban then rose and left the room.
“It’s been difficult for all of us and something we looked at long and hard,” said Johnson-Berges. “Those who are interested in school financing should realize we are subject to what the state gives us. Please write your congressmen and representatives. We’re very limited by how much we can do and the fact we have to have a balanced budget by July 1 every year when we don’t know how many students we’ll have and how many dollars.”
Board Secretary Karen Januszek said she hoped that perhaps some of the positions could be restored next fall if the enrollment numbers improved.
“This isn’t just happening in Tecumseh, it’s all over the state,” Januszek said, adding that around 80 percent of the schools in Michigan are facing declining enrollment, which means a decline in the need for teachers and other staff. “This is not a happy time for anyone and it’s very sad that this has to happen but we don’t have any other choice.”
Some members of the audience felt the board president moved a little too quickly through two public comment periods before and after the meeting when some of those present were hesitant to be the first to speak. When tenured special education teacher Jennifer Etherton-Govro, who has taught in the district for 18 years, attempted to comment, Johnson-Berges informed her that the comment period had passed.
Etherton-Govro did speak to the Herald following the meeting, however, addressing a few points she said she had hoped to make during the meeting. Her husband, Dave, a TPS computer technician for 10 years, lost his position during the cuts. She said it might look as if she were speaking up with ulterior motives because of that.
“But I have been here long enough to know how technology affects what we do in the classroom,” she said, adding that when it doesn’t work and teachers have planned their lesson around it, “all your good planning goes by the wayside.”
“And to me,” she said, “that affects children.” Etherton-Govro also brought up the fact that the board had approved the seeking of outsourcing for technology given the position cuts. She said she understood that there would still be people fixing computers, however, last year the district outsourced lawn care and snow removal due to custodial cuts. She pointed out that when questioned recently on a $100,000 expenditure at a board meeting, Wright had acknowledged that the cost reflected an increase in costs for lawn care and snow removal incurred by the district.
“It’s already been proven that something outsourced will cost them more,” she said. “I would like to know why they don’t think this is going to happen with technology, too.” She said she also has concerns about turnaround time when tech assistance is needed if it’s outsourced, especially with the fact that even the order for new textbooks reported to the board Monday night included technology components such as CDs and DVDs.
While Etherton-Govro’s position survived the recent cuts, she said two of the four special education teachers at the elementary schools were eliminated which she said means the two remaining teachers would likely be moving around or some students might have to be bused to a site where they could receive that help.
“I’m just concerned that the lowest functioning kids with the most educational issues might have to face that, and it carries over to social issues,” she said, pointing out that some of the students who have made progress have done so after building trust with specific routines and educators, students who find changes difficult.
Etherton-Govro also noted that two of the teachers, Joe and Carrie Northrup, are newlyweds with a baby. “They’re not tenured and they both lost their jobs,” she said “I don’t know what they’re going to do.”
Tecumseh resident Jim Anderson also attended the meeting with his wife, Emily, and said he came to listen and may have made a comment had the opportunity been there.
“We’ve attended a number of board meetings over the last few months and I think my main concern is no one seems to be interested in the kids these days, just their own little parts,” Anderson said. He said he finds it difficult to hear in the board room, even when the speakers are using microphones, and a better sound system might help the board better communicate with its constituents and help audience members to express their concerns.
Why am I not suprised to
Why am I not suprised to read that the public comment time at the last school board meeting was closed ! THE BOARD didnt listen to the community when they voted the sports complex down. THE BOARD didnt listen to the community when they out sourced the work for the sports complex. THE BOARD didnt listen to STATE REP MR. SPADE nor the L.I.S.D. Superintendant over that HOUSE BILL. THE BOARD didnt listen to the community when we told them people where leaving the district at a alarming rate. THE BOARD didnt listen when the community told them they wanted education over sports.
Seems to me this SCHOOL BOARD has not been listening to this community for along time now !!!
Shame on the board for going
Shame on the board for going for the new sports complex, which directly resulted in all these folks losing their jobs! I repeat, which DIRECTLY RESULTED in these folks losing their jobs. Yes, the economy is bad all around, but the board's poor decision(s) exacerbated the matter. Shame on them!
Educate me
I need to be educated here and, since education is obviously NOT something the Board is interested in, I need to ask in this forum. Why am I reading the various Board members are in the initial stages of a recall petition, but I do not see McAran's name on the list? Is he not subject to recall? I truly don't know, but really feel his name should top the list. Could someone possibly explain in brief how the process works?
Answer
Kevin, McAran is under contract until 2012 and Ive been told his position is not subject to recal !!!! Thats a shame because Id trade all the rest inorder to remove him !
McAran
Recalls are for elected officials-- it's a progressive-era innovation allowing us to remove innefective, corrupt, or criminal politicians before their term of service is up, to prevent them from doing further damage.
Mike McAran is the superintendent, a hired position. The electorate never had a role in selecting him, so there's nothing to recall him from. The only people with the authority to terminate his contract are the members of the school board.
All of that said, I don't get why people want to recall the school board. Talk to them some time. They know what they're doing is hurting people, and they aren't celebrating. It's a tough time across the state, and they're doing the best job that they can. Do I agree with some of their decisions? Absolutely not. But I'm pretty sure that a lot of the more vocal critics-- especially the ones who don't understand the rules that the Board of Education has to follow-- would just screw things up worse.
McAran
Thanks to you both for the 'education', I did not know exactly how he came to power and appreciate your responses. The people who hired him should also be taken to task.
But TD, I must ask, are you kidding? Without sounding like I'm being rude to you, have you not seen that this Board voted to proceed with a $2.1 Million+ Football Stadium in these "tough times" you speak of? Did you not see that the popular vote was AGAINST this stadium ... twice ... and this Board ignored that? Can you not 'get' that if this Board could find $2.1 Million, why could they not have found it in the favor of Education instead of an unnecessary 'playground' for a few athletes? This is the same Board that can not provide enough books yet they can find enough to build a state-of-the-art sports complex.
The "Rules" the Board has to follow is to do what is right for the students and the community ... not run the district into the ground and risk a State takeover because they can't pay their bills. That is why we want a recall ... not because we "don't understand".
I wouldn't suspect they are 'celebrating'. I would suspect they are running scared because they realize how badly they have messed up and yet are too arrogant to admit it. Try talking to them? Exactly how do you propose that take place when they run the meetings like they do? They don't want to hear what the general public has to say. They didn't listen to our vote, they won't listeen to our voice either ... but they will listen to a recall.
Mr. McAran
It is too late for this board to realize that they were taken blindly down a path littered with misinformation, deceitful practices and a leader whose ego supercedes his sense of right and wrong. Someone believes the parents of this community put education second to entertainment. As he so often says to other people......Mr. McAran, what DON'T you understand?
This Is Crazy!
What a fiasco this has turned into. And yes, what about McAran? If you're going to recall, start at the top. I wasn't at the meeting but it sounds as though the board wasn't going to give anyone a chance to speak. So what was the point of being there?
Homeschooling is looking better and better to me. I definitely don't want my children paying the price for this mess.
TD
TD, We have tried to explain our concerns to the board and have gotten nowhere ! Gary Urban said next year twice as many cuts will come yet the board continues to ignore facts. When everyone else is pinching pennies the board spent 2 million dollars and make no mistake the general fund will be where the money comes from to keep that new sports complex running. That spells out further cuts in education to our kids. I respect your opinion but I dont share it .
Why the wait on the recall?
While I do not disagree with the sentiment being expressed about the decision to build the stadium, my only question is where has everyone been for the past 9 months? We voted down the bonds last May. While my time line may be off here, it seems like in July '08 they announced their plans to pay for the Stadium. Why did everyone, including Govros wait until he lost HIS job to start the recall. The trouble started a long time ago.
Good luck with the recall, but remember, you still need to find 5 replacements [including Urban's seat] if you are successful in your recall efforts.
Also, someone should check on who has to pay for this recall effort. If there is a special election, and the school has to pay, be sure you have your "slate" of replacements. You might just end up jumping out of the pan and into the fire.
Givemeabreak
Point is well taken !
Where was everyone? The
Where was everyone? The public was stunned from running into that brick wall of non-listeners. If not that, those who are emplyed by TPS were STUNTED by threats of being replaced should you publicly voice an opinion contrary to HIS.
McAran is a bully!
A friend of mine is a teacher at TPS. He told me that McAran came to his building, along with all the buildings, and gave each group of teachers a pep talk, right before the election for the football stadium. He gave the "Build it and they will come" speech. They were told, or perhaps strongly implied with a hint of persecution if you didn't, to tell everyone they saw how wonderful this was going to be. He even had them going door to door in the community doing a "knock and drop" drive to talk to people or leave info at their homes.
Later he was conversing with another administrator who told him that no matter what his opinion was, he should keep it to himself if it wasn't pro-stadium....for the good of the district.
More than once I have seen or heard when an employee of TPS was courageous enough to be outspoken, that they suffered for it in the end. I've been here nearly my entire life....it's not the first time this has happened...it won't be the last.
Antistadium
Did former Governor Engler honestly bust the teachers union down so bad that they cant file a charge against this NAZI behavior ???
School Board
I have lived in this town 60+ years and never have I known of such misappropriations of money by our school system as is happening now. The continued misuse of taxpayers' money and waste is truly an embarrassment to the City of Tecumseh. The backbone of a great educational system is slowly being wasted away with a budget that is out of control and overlooking the importance of a quality education.
In the past we had a school board that was made up of professional people that took the job of using taxpayer's money seriously and always had a budget that reflected pride in the community. Now we have superintendent and school board that do not have a budget that is for the best of all students. The budget should be based on the basics of education and what would give our children the best future. Privatizing or charter schools will be stronger option in the future for families that will demand quality education for their children.
Our city had an election that clearly voted down the football field and the board still went ahead building one that was not necessary in these economic times. I fail to understand how a new field can bring a return for the schools and the students in it.
I would support and hope that the citizens of our community will request an outside audit of the school finances and also the truth about the condeming of the football bleachers. Tecumseh needs to return to a sound school system and leave the road to bankruptcy behind.
Tecumseh Public School Board decisions
I agree with BL. For me the issue is not about the stadium being built or for that matter how it is being funded. It is the fact that by definition a school board is suppose to be representing the citizens of their district when making decisions. The citizens of Tecumseh spoke loud and clear when they said "NO" to a new stadium, not once, but twice when we turned down the bond issues allocating funds for it. The Tecumseh School Board basically circumvented the vote of the people, which shows complete arrogance on their part. I have two children in this district that both participate in one sport or another each season, but the people in this community spoke with a resounding NO to the new stadium and their voice was ignored!
The People Spoke
Playing Devils' Advocate, the people also voted down the Bond proposal for the money to fix the roofs and boilers - should the board not have fixed those items?
Devils Advocate
Had the Board not played games with the "all or nothing" bond issue Im sure they would have got it passed. How they gonna pay for future issues ? The same way the will take care of that new field TAKE IT FROM THE GENERAL FUND who needs books and computers anyway its only school . LOL
Why Not Start At The Top
I'm unsure of why the administrators of the district (superintendent, principals, directors) are not setting a good example for the rest of the district. Why start eliminating teaching positions, the administrators should be taking a pay cut of 5-7% to ensure that students are not affected yearly by the various layoffs. The direct contact positions should be the last to let go, non-direct staff such as administrators should voluntarily reduce their pay in order to keep the essential staff working the children. Leadership needs to wake up, your not the essential staff at this district, the schools can run without you, but this district cannot run without students, the ones leaving Tecumseh Schools because of stupid decisions made by the leadership!!!!!
Good idea - but why stop there?
I like it - but why stop there. According to McAran, depending on which time he speaks, between 80--85% of the budget is payroll and HR expenses. Why not treat the entire school like a business. Cut wages, cut benefits and everyone do more with less. Probably a good idea for the State Government as well. But alas, I live in the real world where the only ones to give up anything is someone else.
Cut, Cut, Cut
You should run for the board. Sounds like you are on the same page. Keep cutting teachers, teachers' salaries (who have had no raise, not even cost of living in years), healthcare (it has already been suggested by a member of admin that you not go to the emergency room on the weekend but wait instead to go to your family doctor on Monday - even if it is serious, like chest pains).
Teachers on average are not rich and never intend to be, but it would be nice to be able to pay regular bills, feed the family, take your sick child to the doctor without it threatening the monthly budget, and maybe rent a movie once in a while. Teachers have taken cuts. Would you work a job for a few years that never gave you a raise but added more responsibilities and the cost of living keeps going up? Would you do work you were once paid for (overtime responsibilities) for free? Well, teachers do in Tecumseh.
What you should be worried about is the number of students who will be in a class next year. Even if you lose a 100 students next year, at the HS they lost 6 teachers. That is at least 30 students per room X 6 teachers, which is about 180 students. These students now need to be divided into the remaining classrooms because the 100 students are not all going to be lost from the HS. In reality, when the count comes in next year, I would be shocked if the HS has even lost 10 students, which would be a dramatic increase from last year. What you should be thinking about is why there were no cuts in the physical education department (football coach would be the first to go). You should think about why there are now more physical education elective classes offered than any other subject when only one semester of physical education is required for graduation. Students should not be forced to major in phys ed just so the coach can keep his job. Too bad the coach is not an art teacher, foreign language teacher, industrial tech teacher, or music teacher. Just think how those departments would be protected. You might want to think about the fact that Tecumseh offers Advanced Body Condition in the phys ed department and are proud to tell everyone. Who needs the arts when we have that kind of class offering. I'm sure the school of choice students are going to flock here for that.
Side note: If you think there wasn't already a division in the high school between the student athletes and the non athletes, the decision to cut non athletic course offerings and build a football field has sent the non athletic students a clear message. You are not that important because you do not play a sport but we hope you stay so we can keep your funding money and use it to support athletic programs.
Welcome to the real world
Dawn - Your points on class size are duly noted. We all want to see smaller classes and more course offerings. Problem is, we don't always get what we want. While the new stadium is costing us all acedemically, even if it weren't built, we would still be making 75% or more of the changes. Its sad, but true.
As for your points on pay, see the header. First, teachers do get step raises based on years of service to the system. So even when they're not getting an annual raise, they pay increases. Please stop perpetuating the myth that these don't occur, and that the current TPS teacher contract doesn't also, in addition provide for a raise. It does. I'm also not sure if you've looked around to your friends, family and neighbors, but probably almost all of them have done, and are doing more for less in their job - IF THE JOB STILL EXISTS.
Finally, on your "side note" - just remember that "nerd" the athlete picks on today, will be the athlete's boss tomorrow.
Raise clarification
Yes, teachers do get step raises but only for the beginning years of service. Those end.
I can also state for a fact that the current TPS teacher contract does not, in addition, provide for a raise.
.
Confused
I'm a little confused. In another thread, givemeabreak said she wasn't a board member, married to a board member, a teacher or married to a teacher. I'm just wondering where she is getting all of her factual information then. I'm not being nasty about this, I really am wondering how she knows this???
Antistadium
Yep, I asked and Givemeabreak refused and thats suspect ? I will tell you this, I know for a fact that other schoolboard members from other districts do read and continue to monitor this situation and use this blog to do it ! I also know that the L.I.S.D. is doing the same so I would not be suprised to learn our school board is doing the same ! And I would like to add to any current Tecumseh School Board members, "If you think your doing whats best for our kids then you should have no worries when it comes to putting your real name on your posts."
What about this?
Maybe she's a COUNSELOR, or an administrator, or a support staff at TPS, or married to one? It's easy to say "I'm not a teacher or a board member, or married to one." and be truthful about that...but that's lieing by omission if she is an employee of the district...or married to one. At this point....she's not going to tell us. Though the other day...I heard someone I know ( a school employee) say, "Give me a break" and realized just how often this person says that......hmmmmmmm, I wonder.........
This is kind of fun...it's like playing "Where's Waldo?"
Antistadium
Honestly I dont understand why if you feel so strongly about what your saying on here you wouldnt just use your real name ? Givemeabreak seems to be PRO BOARD so no worries about being canned if a school employee. I always use my real name because I stand by what I think regardless who likes it and who doesnt ! ! !
I will...someday
Mike, I hope and expect that we will meet someday real soon...maybe during a recall drive or sporting event (I'm not antisports, I'm antistadium). THEN I will explain to why I don't use my name. I think you'll find it very interesting.
Antistadium
I also hope to meet you and look forward to that story.
Antistadium
My comment was not aimed at you it was more toward SCHOOl BOARD MEMBERS who hide behind those names !!!! Didnt mean to make it out like it was an attack on you so sorry if you took it that way.
I thnk you are so right
I thnk you are so right about the PE "curriculum" being severely padded and protected. And if that doesn't keep their coasches safe, then they reassign people to bump them out of their professional expertise to protect coaches' jobs or the jobs their wives mysteriously landed. There are so many strange happenings that stem from coaching needs.............................and they are NOT in the best interest of students.
Core Classes
There is an obvious double standard in regards to course cutting that isn't being addressed. These teachers that are being cut are largely from outside of the "core" classes. They are arts, tech, music, language, and not the math, science, and english. If the state is making such a large push to better the core subjects, and reduce the non-core subjects, then why isn't physical education being treated the same as art, music, industrial tech??? That is a rhetorical question of course, because we all know why PE isn't being cut like the other subjects.
These decisions are not only limiting the upgrades in technology and books to students, but it is limiting their exposure and opportunity to learn and appreciate the "non-core" subjects.
teacher lay-offs
Just curious, Did you graduate from TPS?
A MEN
To that! But again you’re talking about the very people that can not make a simple decision right. I for just being one person on here am very sick of all of this crap! Very sick of it, this current problem with the football field was crap! McAran tried to get us to say ok to it. That did not happen, so look the old bleachers are now condemned. WOW really, you mean NO one checked that before?
Can't take a pay cut
The reason the administrators will not take a pay cut is because they are padding their retirement. If they take a cut, their retirement amount is based on their last salary.
Side note: Since many of the administrative employees have already retired and have been hired back, (H.S. prinicipal, Human Resource Director, Payroll/Accountant, Security Guard, to name a few) they are collecting retirement pay and the maximum amount allowed to continue to receive their retirement benefits. When you have so many employees retired, what is their true state of mind? Retired people aren't worried about their jobs, they just make sure to not create any waves. Wouldn't have been financially smarter to hire new employees at a starting salary wage instead of this?
The real poop
Here's the rest of the story...
Actually retirement is based on the last three years of an employees salary. Which brings me to the topic of retirement.
It is very possible that some of the laid off teachers will be brought back. Why? No, not because we suddenly have more money, but because a few more teachers will retire this summer.
Most don't know this, but the cut off date for turning in your retirement is April 1. Last year, we had an administrator in the district who did like she was told, and turned in her papers for retirement by April 1. Fast forward to the last week of school. It suddenly becomes known to her and everyone else in the district, that several other people, including the assistant principal at the middle school and a custodian (I can't remember who all...but there were more) were offered a buy out of $30K and $15K, respectively. As I recall, the others were $30K too. Needless to say this administrator who had done what she was supposed to, was left out in the cold. When asked could she get the buy out too, she was told no.
So guess what is going to happen this year...and every year for as long as this story is told at TPS....no one is going to retire until the very last minute. Maybe they will retire after June 30th when the budget is finalized. Maybe they will wait until the day before school starts. Who knows. But who could blame them? Would you take the chance of telling them you were retiring if you knew tomorrow they might offer you $30K to leave?
How do you spell stupid? I spell it, "B O A R D of E D U C A T I O N". They set up this deception...now they (and a lot of laid-off teachers) have to lie in it.
I think people forget that
I think people forget that what we voted down was a "package" and not a sports complex (not just football, but soccer and lacrosse as well). What disturbs me more is how few people turned out to vote at the recent school board election, or the fact that only 2 people ran. And then when Mr. Wolfe did not to run again, we did not even have a candidate to replace him. Recalling these board members will do nothing but set our school back even farther. Let your vote at school board election time do your talking. And let us all now stand behind what decisions were made and build our school system UP!
Parent
I can and do respect your position. The problem is the the new sports complex has to be maintained and we have no money to do that with ! The GENERAL FUND will be where the School Board goes to get that money and that is the same money we use for books , computers , etc... Still trying to figure out how to build the school up with out any money ?
Stop All The Negativity
Though we may disagree with the decisions that have been made, they have been made and now we have to go with them. Stop all the negativity towards our school, help bring in kids through schools of choice by being positive, and if you are so unhappy with the current board, let us see your name on the next ballot! I will be proud to sit in the stands and watch next years Indians teams play on our new field. Sports is very important in many children's lives, there is a huge percentage of kids in the high school that do participate in sports at some level. Let us please support the kids now
Parent
I understand , my son is a Varsity Football player and Im always excited to watch the boys play ! What Im saying is MY SONS education is suffering because we have no money for books , computers , teachers , etc... MY SON goes to school to get his EDUCATION and football is for fun not the other way around ! MY SON took Home Improvement 2 years ago and got an A even though all he did was watch ESPN because the budget didnt allow for the materials needed to do the projects ! MY SON took NUTRITION and got an A but never cooked with meat because the budget wouldnt allow for it ! NOW its about BOOKS and COMPUTERS the very tools he needs to suceed with but the School Board spent its money on a football stadium ! Sports will not get MY SON a job but a solid education will !
Mr. Bailey
I hope to see your name on the ballot for the next election:)
Parent
Thank you for your support !!! However, you will never see me on the Board with Mr. McAran as the Superintendant I will assure you of that. My POLITICAL CORRECTNESS has limits and Mr. McAran makes it very hard for me to "PLAY NICE".
REEALLY?
And what support do I offer my daughter who is not a sports "nut" and instead is gifted with arts and muscial interest, or my youngest son who has needed extra reading and speech help for the last three years he has been at Tecumseh? I guess the only one I should be supporting is my oldest who is an athlete and a 3.82 student and has no need of any academic help!
Reeally
I got the same problem !!! My fiancee has a 15 yearold son who has special education needs and the cuts to those programs will be felt even more so this next year . He also plays sports but considering the cuts how long will he be eligable to play ? Considering he will now be in regular classes how much crap will he take ?
Concerned....
We have the same issue, my soon to be new kindergartener this fall has already not shown much interest in sports, he'd rather be building legos and robots. At the mall this past year they had a Lenawee County Schools Fair, I tried to talk to some of the teachers/school people there and one lady told me, after meeting my son... kids like my son (and it sounds like your daughter) would be better suited elsewhere and to try and get him into Washtenaw County Schools. This coming from someone who works with the Lenawee County ISD. Needless to say I was shocked. As a new kindergarten parent, I was not thrilled with the experience at Kindergarten Roundup either, which I commented on under one of the editorials here under HMatthews.
After reading all of this with the experience of the Preschool program in the public school (which we pulled our son out of), Kindergarten Roundup, the stadium fiasco, teacher layoffs, and the lack of "Education" being taught I have some serious reluctance of sending my son to school here and have slowly begun the process of looking elsewhere. Maybe I'm asking too much of a small town education system? seeing as how I've never lived in one before and some aspects of small towns are new to me..like the preoccupation with sports?
H.
Hold on !!! Please remember that your reading all of this stuff because other parents have the same concerns that you have and we have said "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH". "Small town preoccupation with sports" that your not used to is happening because the School Board realizes the REVENUE it generates in a small town with a limited tax base. At the moment we have a rogue school board that has put sports before education as a means of survival due to the economic down turn . People pay to watch sports and they do not pay to watch COMPUTERS 101 ! ! ! We must find a better way to meet the educational needs of our kids and I know a football stadium WILL NOT help anymore then parents who take there kids to another school district . I realize it makes no sense at all to build this stadium inorder to bring in afew kids while at the same time we lose your son and others over classes that are to big, electives that have little to no funding , the trade off is to high . We cant go back and whats done is done ! Now its all about finding balance and we will. Please think long and hard before you and others pull your kids from our schools ???
Thanks Mike
I love reading your comments on this forum!
I recognize your concerns and see your point (thanks for pointing out the revenue and the sports...I didn't think of that) , but if my child isn't going to get the education that I think he needs, that I thought he would get from researching Tecumseh Schools before he started kindergarten before this bruhaha all started, why should I keep him in a school district that isn't going to supply it? I'm not planning on sacrificing my child for the good of others, sorry. That may sound selfish, sorry, I truly am. Sorry that this school system and it's "uppers" couldn't see how they are destroying the community with the decisions they have made. Maybe families leaving the school system might be the wake up call that the board needs. They wanted to build this bed, they can lie in it and the loss of student funding from parents like myself and others. I'm sure there are plenty of quiet families that aren't even "announcing" they are leaving, they just are, because of the disappointment of this school board. We have lived in Tecumseh for almost 10 years and have loved every minute of it..up until now.
As for paying for sports and not for Computers 101....sports is not going to help children find a job (unless they are one of the lucky few that make it pro, but how often does that happen) in this day and age of technology, you need to know computers as much as possible. You can't even apply for a job by paper anymore, everything has gone online, trust me I help people in my job everyday...who have no clue how to work a computer. We really need to find a balance of both sports and academics and right now, I don't see this school board projecting an image of doing that.
H.
What can I say to that ? I cant argue what the board has done and I dont blame you if you pull your child out of our school system . What makes me angry is the Board has put you in that position and me in the position of having no way to tell you its wrong !!! I hope your child is young enough to perhaps come back to our schools once we have fixed the problem ?
Computers 101
Read through some of the other threads related to TPS and the football stadium, recall, costs, etc. Someone said that they let go of the computer guys and that some of the computers are really, really old so they don't work all that great. How can we have computers 101 on computers that don't run right...or at all? I'm just wondering.
I guess we'll all sleep better at night knowing that the handful of football players will have a new football field to play on, huh?
Frustrated ???
Sleep at night ? Im to worried about all that vital information I gave the school as a parent that is now in a system that outsourced its comuter tech jobs to the lowest bidder ! Does the word IDENITY THEFT mean anything to you ? I wonder if the SCHOOL BOARD will give us LIFE LOCK this next year !!!
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