For those of you who do not receive DCPS e-mails, Chancellor Rhee sent out a brief message this evening along with the WaPo's editorial regarding the (nonexistent) surplus.
I hope everyone can appreciate the egg on the face of the WaPo board given that Rhee did not consult with the CFO over the contract proposal. ("Fact No. 1: Ms. Rhee does not control school finances. The office of chief financial officer, headed by Natwar M. Gandhi, keeps her books and runs her payroll; she relies on the office for critical fiscal information.")
Why would you forward an editorial that further underscores a major blunder after the public bitchslap Gandhi handed out today?
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24 comments:
This is like an episode of LOST!!!
Sphere: Related ContentI'm sure the ride is far from over.
Sphere: Related ContentLove it!! Good correlation...LOST.
Sphere: Related ContentDee - waht does this mean to your vote? are you leaning "no" now?
Sphere: Related ContentHey Dee... we are back in the game again... She found $34 million!!! I knew she would, I just knew it!
Sphere: Related ContentSeriously,
Sphere: Related ContentJust how does one "FIND" 34 million dollars in a budget that overall is 500 million dollars in the hole?
I know, you don't even care where the money is coming from...just so you can get your hands on it.
AWFUL!
Why is it awful to want to be paid a "fair" amount of money for a job that really deserves more? We should be paid like any other professionals! This is why the teaching profession always gets left behind, people like you. You have got to be kidding me...YOU care where the money comes from? If all this news stuff wouldn't have broke, would you have inquired about WHERE the money was coming from? I don't think so! Just trust Rhee and know that a lot of the stuff she has to go through is because she is dealing with a bunch of idiots! She has to face the City Council, all of whom have no idea how a school or how a school budget is run. They are always asking things and saying things that make that soooo clear! I mean come on people... Gray isn't an angel! He just got in some trouble for NOT paying his bills and now has building code violations! Marion Barry, I don't even have enough space to list all of his "ISSUES!" These are her "go to people???" Oh and then she has Ghandi, Dines, and all those other nuts telling her something else! She has to become a miracle worker every time she wants to do what is right for DCPS! I feel for her. She is trying to make a change. She is trying to make DCPS a good school district. Change is hard but all worth it in the end. I am STILL voting YES! I want change to happen in DCPS!
Sphere: Related ContentGive me a break!!! You are new to DC are you not? You only know about Barry and Gray from what you read in the Washington Post. Gray didn't get the right permit for a fence, Fenty just fleeced DC for millions, yes you read that correctly - millions to his frat. buddies. Fenty and Rhee are just slicker about things, but I guess that's ok with you, it's the fence you have a problem with, hmmmm!
Sphere: Related ContentI notice you didn't touch Marion Barry in that comment!!! Ha ha ha! Can't say nuttin' bout that, can ya? New to DC? Hardly!!! Oh so Gray can hire his people and not pay them until he gets investigated but Fenty can't hire LEGIT workers because they are his frat brothers? That doesn't make any sense to me! And where do you get your information? You are condemning me for reading it in the Washington Post... What? Are you their neighbor or do you know them personally? You obviously read about Fenty in the WaPo!!! RHEE IS MAKING CHANGES IN DCPS! WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING HER?
Sphere: Related ContentVOTE YES FOR A CONTRACT WELL DESERVED BY TEACHERS!
Well, I don't know how "legit" Sinclair Skinner is as an engineering consultant...but that's another argument.
Sphere: Related ContentWhat really scares me are the people who say they want to go back to the pre-Rhee days. And that was so much better?? Stop making her the issue, the story and the focus (don't get me wrong -- she could help by muzzling herself more often) and start focusing on fixing the schools.
Anyone who thinks these past three years have done nothing to improve education for DCPS students has to be insane.
Love her or hate her, she's moving education for our kids in the right direction.
Kat, thank you! I thought I may be the only one out here! You are so right and said it so nicely! Rhee has fixed many of our problems in DCPS. We can't give up now! I don't want to go backwards! I want to go forward and can't wait for the day that the media only has positive things to report about our schools and our teachers!
Sphere: Related ContentPlease continue to post on this blog and keep spreading your beliefs and thoughts!
Why is it if you are against some of Rhee's proposals and the contract, or criticize Rhee that it automatically means you want to go back to the old days. Why can't you not support Rhee but still want a better future and a better leader for our kids. This should not be an anti-Rhee vs. Pro-Rhee debate, she is one person, education reform is not all about Rhee.
Sphere: Related ContentThe reason for that is because many that are against Rhee are voting for GRAY and SAUNDERS... that, my friend is going BACKWARDS!!! So far, there are no other choices out there.
Sphere: Related ContentStick with Rhee and continue to move forward or vote for Saunders and Gray and go back to the old days!
@Anonymous April 18, 2010 3:08 AM,
Sphere: Related ContentI do not automatically lump all Rhee critics in the category of those who want to go back to the old days. I try very hard not to view issues as B&W/either-or, because very few truly are. (Admittedly, I failed with my "insane" assessment. It's not always easy.)
My comment refers to statements posted on other DC education blogs. People have insinuated or outright stated "we need to go back to the pre-Rhee days."
I find that opinion, at best, an example of what my mom always called "cutting off your nose to spite your face." At worst, it's a horrifying thought.
Sadly, Rhee needed to come in and bust some heads. It's not what I would have advocated; however after seeing DCPS from the inside, I have to admit it was necessary with some people. Unfortunately, there was some "friendly fire" as well. Sad, but it happens.
So despite the inevitable charges of "Rhee-plant" (who the heck came up with that lame term?), I also believe that the time is coming where this brash and bold leader will need to step aside and make way for a different kind of leader, one who can successfully lead the next phase of reform. However, this can only be done when the loss of Rhee won't cause a backslide to those "good ol' days" I keep hearing about. And I don't think we're there yet.
Annonymous April 18, 2010 3:08 AM,says:
Sphere: Related ContentOk Kat, I hear what you say and I agree. I'm unhappy with Rhee, the over reliance on TFA (nothing against TFA, but you can't run a school with only new teachers and I hate the way veteran teachers have been berated and deprofessionalized), and the blatant divisiveness of some of her policies. I've lived in DC for 15 years, I really care about our kids and absolutely do not want to go back to the "ol days." I don't always agree with you, but on this one - I appreciate your comments.
We must keep in mind that Chancellor Rhee was a poor choice from the beginning. She did not have the leadership, management or educational experience to handle the transition of DCPS. Mayor Fenty selection of her was political.
Sphere: Related ContentShe has only been able to accomplish what she has so far only because she did not have to deal with the level of bureaucracy of previous superintendents. She has the power that most of the former superintendents needed to make sustainable change.
Unfortunately, the way Chancellor Rhee is going most of her changes will not be sustainable nor long lasting. One can not alienate the very people you need to support and sustain one's mission and goals.
"Unfortunately, there was some "friendly fire" as well. Sad, but it happens."
Sphere: Related ContentIn the fog of war, perhaps, but when managing a school district, friendly fire happens is not acceptable. It means bad management. It means kids losing good teachers. It means management lack of respect for teachers and it's a completely callous attitude.
Dee...Can you please put something out there for the 4,234 teachers that are waiting for the contract vote? The union and the council are putting so much d*m effort out for those 266 fired teachers that they have no time for the 4,234 that are STILL TEACHING! Does George realize that 4,234 of us can still vote in the union elections that are right around the corner and those 266 CANNOT? OMG...this is nuts! Put something out there to let people know that 4,000 of us are waiting and why is he wasting his time and our money for those 266...AGAIN?
Sphere: Related ContentAnon 4/20 8:20, people lose their jobs every day who perhaps shouldn't have. Why, in your world, is education somehow held to different rules? Your viewpoint is astonishingly naive.
Sphere: Related ContentI agree... Let's get off this crud and move on with the 4,000 teachers that were not fired!
Sphere: Related ContentWhere are you Dee? Give us something to think about!!!
Sphere: Related Contentanon at 10:19 losing a job and friendly fire is not the same thing. Friendly fire is when people on your side are accidently shot because they were mistakenly thought to be the enemy.
Sphere: Related ContentI hope you see the difference.
I am glad to see that people who were hoodwinked by Rhee's tough rhetoric have now seen the light of day. These kinds of things have been happening in DCPS since day one of her arrival.
Sphere: Related ContentRhee is now being exposed!!!
WOW it pains me to see people talking about forget the 266 that were wrongfully terminated. It could have been you and then what! These people were not just terminated because of a budget crisis but they were labeled ineffective, child molesters, child beaters, and lazy. Some of the RIF teachers were good friends of mine and yes I still have my job but I have not forgotten about the people who got caught up in Michelle Rhee's web of deceit. Some have lost homes, had to take their kids out of college and you don't care. Think about the fact that it could have been you, would you want us to still care.
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