Update June 7, 2006

We recently met with Superintendent Wilkinson in regards to school sanctioning of activities.

• Middle School 7th & 8th Grade DC Trip
  The rumor had it that the school board did not sanction the trip because it was not educational. In fact the trip was not sanctioned because the original request was to schedule the trip during while school was in session. Students would have missed up to a week’s worth of class time.
  
  The school board supports educational trips such as this one but does not want to set a precedent of allowing kids to miss school for extended periods for trips such as these. Next year this trip should be sanctioned if presented to the board as happening when school is not in session.
  
  
• Summer Camp Locations
  2006 teacher led summer's were handled different than previous years. In an effort to reduce summer time utility costs and increase accessibility for summer cleaning and repairs, camps were moved to the middle school. All other schools would be available for the first two weeks and the last two weeks of summer vacation.
  
  There were some conflicts because of the change. Superintendent Wilkinson provided some alternatives to eliminate most conflicts.
  
  Whether or not this was a good idea will be determined by the actual cost savings. This cannot be measured until the fall. We feel that with more upfront forethought and planning, some of the aggravation that teachers and parents experienced might have been avoided.
  
  
• Summer Camp Payment System
  Due to changes in tax codes by the IRS, the school district had to change the way the money was handle for 2006 Summer Camps. Instead of the checks being made out to the school, the school district had the money go straight to the teachers running the summer camps.
  
  
• Additional Items
  While these issues have been handled, the School District couldn't talk about them since they involved personnel issues.

We appreciate Superintendent Wilkinson taking time out of her busy schedule to clarify these issues. Even though we have had our differences we certainly appreciate all that she done for the school district.

Recently people have shared with us a number of situations where our teachers were treated with a blatant lack of respect.

1. Teachers being terminated by e-mail. This issue has been addressed but whoever thought of it in the first place should have received a similar e-mail.
   
   
2. Recently a school official e-mailed a teacher the following:
   
             “Your credibility with me was limited at best but now is zero.”
   
   We believe that the school official making the remark was referring to the teachers’ union. This is a contract year with the teachers. There have been less than professional e-mails sent by both sides. Still there is never any reason for any school official to address any teacher in this manner.
   
   
3. The school board changed the policy for summer activities (there will be a post on this issue soon) making it very difficult for the teachers to continue their long established tradition of teaching or training the kids over the summer. Superintendent Wilkinson, to her credit, has made some suggestions to the teachers to help ease this issue. But with a little foresight and planning, this issued should have been a non-issue.
   
   
4. At a recent awards ceremony, an elementary school principal referred to a teacher receiving an award as a:
   
              ...closet thespian and someone we all need to help find a date.
   
   While statements were made in jest, they lacked the professionalism we would expect at such an event. We could just imagine how we would have been described if we had won the award.
   

It seems that some school officials feel it is okay to say or do whatever they want when it comes to dealing with teachers. Is anyone holding them accountable? Based on their behavior, it seems that no one is.

Great leaders are proactive and not reactive. Isn’t it time for the leadership in our school district to take a proactive approach?

Many parents have reported school officials telling them what they want to hear only to turn around and do something else altogether. We don’t know if that is the case. What we do know is that we don't accept it. Has this happened to you? Then let the school administrators know that we won’t accept this.

• Speak up. Contact school officials today.
  
  
• Make your opinion count. Vote on Election Day.

Sincerely,
The DCS Post