Chancellor Rhee testified in front of the D.C. Council today. To briefly summarize, she revealed that the so-called budget crunch last fall that lead to the RIF of 266 teachers was an error. There was no budget shortfall and these individuals did not need to be laid off. WHAT?!?!?!
Conveniently, the money created by the RIF will now help pay for the proposed contract raises. Pardon my conspiracy theory, but this just seems too perfectly orchestrated, no?
Mark my words, this contract will not go through. Yes, a 20% raise is hard to pass up, but I think people are too pissed off to blindly vote 'yes.' The teachers in this District do not trust Rhee or WTU President George Parker. And seeing as how the contract funding review could take weeks, it will not be accomplished until after the May elections for new WTU leadership -- and you know Parker is NOT going to be re-elected. The presumptive election of Nathan Saunders will further muddle the contract process.
Vincent Gray said it best: "If I were one of the fired teachers, I would be ready to put my hands around someone's throat and squeeze till there was no air left. At the end of the day, some people's pay raises [would be] funded with someone else's job.
Chancellor Rhee, I really want to love you. You have undertaken a monumental task and you are making some inroads. You've personally helped me out with a number of nuisance issues. But when something like this occurs, I find it impossible to put my faith in this District.
Chancellor Rhee, I really want to love you. You have undertaken a monumental task and you are making some inroads. You've personally helped me out with a number of nuisance issues. But when something like this occurs, I find it impossible to put my faith in this District.
Posts
28 comments:
I am sorry Dee but I happen to believe that teachers will "act" really upset and mad about where the raise money is coming from but once they are in the privacy of their own homes...they will check the YES box! I believe that things happen for a reason... yes, I feel bad for the teachers that lost their jobs but YOU have to admit that we needed to "Clean House!" The district schools have their fair share of deadbeat teachers. Sorry the truth isn't always easy to swallow! My vote hasn't changed!
Sphere: Related ContentDon't forget Dee is no longer a DCPS teacher! She sent in her resignation for a HIGH PERFORMING UNIQUE CHARTER school job! Could she be feeling some remorse? I don't think she wants the rest of us to be the highest paying teachers in the nation! What do you think?
Sphere: Related ContentTwo out of the three teachers RIF'ed from my school were NOT deadbeats. I don't disagree that people needed to go, but do it the right way, for Christ's sake!
Sphere: Related ContentNo remorse. I'm running for the door.
Besides, all we have is a contract proposal. We still have no received a hard copy of the entire 100+ page contract...
I received it last Saturday. All 112 pages of it.
Sphere: Related ContentWhile I admit this is a f---up of major proportions, it doesn't change my vote.
I got it too... every page of it! My vote is still the same, Y-E-S!
Sphere: Related ContentOne thing I appreciate about you Dee.. you will post almost everyone's comments, unlike your friend The Washington Teacher! She only post commments against Rhee and Parker. Not a fair or true assessment of the situation!
An error? I don't believe that for a second.
Sphere: Related ContentI don't know whether people should vote for or against the contract, but I have a hard time believing that most people will vote against such a salary increase. That's just too tempting.
People can vote for the increase all they want, in the end they may not see a penny of it. The money isn't there - and that was made clear at the council hearings. More teachers will need to be fired in order to pay for the increases. Shall we draw straws?
Sphere: Related ContentI just got the contract in today's mail and there's a lot to like in it, besides the retro money, the raise over 2 more years. The # of sick days goes up. The admin pay goes up, the fact that RIFfed teachers will get the retro $ too. Rhee's got a lot of splainin' to do, but still let me vote yes for this contract. And I'm not feeling Nate, though some of y'all might be. I believe GP will be back as head of WTU. And I agree with many of you, that when we get those ballots in the mail, we'll vote yes. I know I will.
Sphere: Related ContentI agree with Bring it On... there is a lot to like in this contract. I also like the fact that we get more contributed to our health care too! Come on people, the money is there! They have charged our schools for three years for salary increases that were supposed to happen. Just let Rhee be, she got this folks! I see more improvements with her than any other superintendent over the past 22 years!
Sphere: Related ContentI disagree, I don't trust her one little bit and I'm a new teacher. How can you think that anything she says is true, it's in the contract. Yes, well so was the money the last time but somehow that got overlooked. I vote NO.
Sphere: Related ContentTo Anon at 1:34 A.M. I am sorry but you are a brand new baby and you got nothing to compare your distrust to... Please don't blow it for all of us that know what the district used to be like! Rhee is making huge strides in all areas. She didn't make the mistake, her money manager did. Give her a break. She is trying very hard to make teaching the profession it should be! Come on YOUNGIN' just do your job well and you have nothing to worry about. I promise you one thing, you will NEVER see a 20% increase in your paycheck in this district or any other school district in this nation as long as you stay in teaching. You better think twice and VOTE YES! There is nothing to distrust her with, you just need to trust yourself and do a good job as a teacher! VOTE YES!
Sphere: Related ContentI hope to heaven that most of the anonymi still planning to vote YES for the contract are Rhee plants - you sure sound like it -- either that or some teachers are so blinded by the promise of $$ that you don't get that you will be screwed just the way the RIFd teachers were screwed.
Sphere: Related ContentWhy not, if she gets away with this?
And she'll be proving that teachers aren't so bright -- and reminding you (those of you that are left) that this is what YOU voted for. It will become teachers' fault - like everything else she deals with in DCPS.
So it's not about he kids, it's about the money, Anonymous? Is the obligation to your quality of life or to those who you serve @ the average of salary of 67K? Is Ms. Rhee hiding behind Noah Wepman's bad numbers or did she use the numbers to RIF and now is caught with her dress up? Who caught the mistake (the CFO or DCPS)and when did Ms. Rhee know? Reform is one best served when ALL the players are in agreement foe what is right for the kids. My teaching friends at DCPS have all said that they will not sacrifice their integrity for the greenback. The raises will come because you have the DC Council on your side. What's that virtue that we should all remember??
Sphere: Related ContentPersonally, Cahncellor Rhee rubs me the wrong way. She tries to run the schools from her bunker and with elite allies like the Washington Post editorial board while never acknowledging that the most important people in the equation are those teachers who despite the odds have been able to educate DC's kids. However, as I DC homeowner I sincerely want the schools to succeed under her leadership. But this recent revelation is just crap. Even though the delta was to the good, being off by that much shows a lack of financial management. Even worse was that it was used as a pretext for layoffs. Based on Rhee's history of secrecy and arrogance, I have a hard time believing that this was an honest mistake. Then Rhee compounds the problem by sitting on the information for 2 months, dealing in bad faith with WTU, and showing an utter lack of leadership by passing the buck to OCFO. Her refusal to hold herself accountable -- and Fenty's refusal to hold her accountable -- caps a poor performance all the way around.
Sphere: Related ContentHow come when someone comments in favor of Rhee we are "Rhee-plants?" But everyone that posts against Rhee are not accused of being Saunders or Gray "plants?" I think all you are nuts for even considering those two crazies for any office, let alone mayor and WTU President! If they get put in office we are headed in the wrong direction, BACKWARDS! EVERYONE wants DCPS to get better but NO ONE is willing to change! We will never become a good school district if you keep putting the Gray's and Saunder's in office!
Sphere: Related ContentIf you listen to what is being said... DCPS does not control those numbers, the OFCO does. Rhee didn't make the ERROR!
And to Mr. Anon..It is about the kids but ya know what???... I need to take care of myself too. I want the money that I work hard for every day and deserve! I am sure a doctor or a lawyer would tell you that they love their clients but try not paying them their big salaries and see what happens! No one ever says that crap about any other profession! It is about time for teachers to be treated like professionals! Don't give me that BS that I don't care! I work hard everyday to change children's lives! I am dedicated and committed to making sure all my student's learn! Show me the money!
Everyone should read the contract carefully, especially the section that talks about raises, back-pay and bonuses being contingent on "sufficient funds". If you read what it says you will find that we are signing a contract that holds no one to the promise of these monies - in other words, if there are insufficient funds you will not get your raise, back-pay, bonus, etc. and the DC Council nor any other agency will be held accountable for that money. That means that if we suddenly have a deficit of 43 million dollars, just for instance, Ms. Rhee can terminate your position and not have to pay you $25,000 or any of the other choices. This also means that if you are planning to quit after this contract is approved you might not necessarily get your back-pay. That is what contingent on sufficient funds means. I am not trusting a woman who fabricated a budget crisis AFTER hiring 900 new employees, fired 266, and then turns around and says that,oh my, there's actually a surplus and that is where our back pay and raises will come from. Cut me a break. Vote NO!
Sphere: Related Contentpro-Rhee teachers look like Rhee-plants because it's hard to imagine that teachers would be actively pro-rhee given all she's done to teachers.
Sphere: Related ContentAs for looking out for yourself - fine, but do you really think, after all the financial tricks she has pulled that you're ever going to see that money? Or maybe you'll actually get your retroactive pay and then get fired, or RIFd because - oops - we made another math error! Won't you feel dumb then -- like Charley Brown holding the football.
All this "Vote no" hysteria is insane. What do you want to see in a contract? This contact offers EVERYTHING you all claim to want - professional development, a hefty raise, tenure protection....and you are still opposed????
Sphere: Related ContentIt's not what's in teh contract Anonymous, it's that the person delivering "so called contract" is a liar and can't be trusted. As teachers under IMPACT, if we came out with this crap we'd be fired. Have you actually read the contract, not the talking points, the actual contract - the small print. Have you read the interview with Bill Turque, you couldn't make this stuff up if you tried, it's laughable, and no apologies either. I just don't get how anyone can take any of this seriously anymore. Also please note, that as the Washington City Paper correctly noted, it is not a surplus until Ghandi says it's a surplus, she did not bring any financial data to the hearing. As they say, let the story continue.....
Sphere: Related ContentWashington Post today (Bill Turque), The $34 million question. The whole department needs to be investigated, if they can't keep the budget straight they need to go back to school and work on their math.
Sphere: Related ContentSo does the $34 million surplus Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee described to the D.C. Council Tuesday actually exist? http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcschools/2010/04/the_34_million_question.html
There is no Vote No hysteria. Read the contract: contingent on sufficient funds should be enough for all of us to say no. This contract offers nothing if that clause is in there - all it offers are a bunch of promises and this lady has no problem breaking promises.
Sphere: Related Content" It is about time for teachers to be treated like professionals! "
Sphere: Related ContentRight and only a Rhee Plant or a very gullible teacher would try to convince other teachers that Rhee actually cared aout treating teachers like professionals. If she had, she'd have done it from the start intead of treating teachers like dirt, not only here, but going all over the nation telling people how awful DC teachers are. And now she suddenly realizes that teacher need to be treated like the professionals you are.
Right - she thinks you're flunkies and she'll pull the rug out from under you first chance she gets.
Oh please stop... the DC schools are in better shape now than they have been in 25 years! Michelle Rhee is speaking the truth.
Sphere: Related ContentWE all know that some teachers in DC need to move on. They are deadbeats sitting around collecting a paycheck. I don't know why some of you keep sticking up for them? I don't think it is fair that I am busting my butt all day long and those deadbeats are doing nothing but hanging on their cell phones, coming in late, showing movies, and leaving early everyday! I am mad that some of those teachers are collecting paychecks way bigger than mine! I am mad that they are giving our profession a bad name! It is not fair.
If you worked anywhere else and showed off like that, you would be FIRED! The union is protecting the weak!
Stop blaming the world on Rhee, start telling your colleagues to work for their money! I know there are others out there who feel the same way as I do but are scared to say it. I am tired of it. I come early, stay late and pick up slack from the deadbeats all day! As long as we keep protecting those teachers that are not working with children, then our school system is not going to improve! Everyone knows that DCPS was in terrible shape!
Rhee isn't the first one to tell it.
Be real people... just be real! You only want Saunders and Gray in office so you can go back to your easy job and do nothing for the kids in DC! It is just scary how many of you are out there too... actually, it is a shame!
To my fellow colleagues that feel this same way, start speaking out! Those deadbeats hold protests, say what they want, call the union, write to the council members! WE SHOULD TOO! Start sticking up for what you believe in!
VOTE YES FOR THIS CONTRACT! We deserve the money and the benefits!
Diines who is the CFO for DCPS says the money isn''t there now for teacher raises due to over spending by DCPS. This is not hard to believe and severals years ago- Rhee was warned about her willy nilly spending.
Sphere: Related ContentDon't hold your breath on voting on that contract. Seems like the monies will not get certified. The buck stops with certifying $140 million dollars plus needed to fund this package. DC is in a big budget deficit and in order to get these bucks- some of you teachers will be laid off. 12 million in DCPS employee cuts scheduled to come. Want to take a vote on who gets kicked out the door first? Perhaps it will be some of you right here on this blog.
For the love of money...
Sphere: Related ContentTeachers will stab each other in the back
Vote for a contract that will nail our coffin
I say vote No to everything; contract , George and Nate! We need more dynamic leadership and right now there is none!
For the love of money...
Sphere: Related ContentTeachers will stab each other in the back
Vote for a contract that will nail our coffin
I say vote No to everything; contract , George and Nate! We need more dynamic leadership and right now there is none!
In every job there are always slackers, teaching is no different than any other career - so stop trying to make it so. Sure there are some people who should be fired but it is not the majority. Also, if the administrators made the effort they could have fired those people without having to go through all this fake drama, they just can't be bothered to go through the process. It is the same in any other sector in DC government, pretend it is too hard to fire people and blame the union. It's not, there is a process already in place, just do it and leave the rest of us alone to do our jobs.
Sphere: Related ContentI can only hope that people have changed their minds in the last few weeks. There is no way that you could have read this contract and still want to vote yes, have you listened to the testimony from Ghandi and Rhee. The money is not there for the performance pay so all this about being the higest paid teachers in the country will NEVER happen. That was given from Ghandi's office.
Sphere: Related ContentMichelle Rhee has testified that she will fire more teachers this summer as a result of Impact, now she says that they will be hiring over 400 teachers this summer. CRAZY!!
Let's not forget about section 40.2 that states nothing in this contract is a promise to pay and is not guaranteed. I can’t pay my bills on something that is not guaranteed.
Post a Comment