6th, never underestimate what the top management of TPS will do. Several years back, I believe when Gene Sanders was superintendent, he gave cabinet level staff raises (bonuses) of thousands of dollars while the rest of TPS employees got nothing. When it was made public, he asked (not ordered) that they give the money back; most of them did. The last time I checked the Blade's info on TPS wages, the superintendent's secretary (she's considered cabinet-level management) made $99,000 a year, not including benefits. Now that's some fancy wages, but it's typical of what the upper crust pays itself. Romano either approves all of this or he just keeps his mouth shut because he's a cabinet-level beneficiary, too. Of course, all employees will have to accept cuts in wages and benefits; I never said they shouldn't. But it will be interesting to see how much administrative personnel are asked to give up. BTW, most of TPS management is unionized. All mid level management (directors, supervisors, principals and assistant principals, counselors, deans, and psychologists) belong to the Toledo Association of Administrative Personnel.
I did read the article in The Blade today about the drop in housing prices. I'm glad you brought this up because it brings to the forefront the biggest reason for the financial devastation of public school systems in Ohio. Schools should never have been made dependent on property taxes for support. The Ohio Supreme Court ruled years and years ago that Ohio's system of school funding is unconstitutional, and the ruling has been upheld time and again. Yet, the state legislature has failed (or refused) to come up with an alternative to fund schools. Even with employee concessions, it will be nearly impossible to balance the budget without alternative sources of revenue. Another frustration is that industries won't come to town unless they are promised tax abatements.
I'm not sure, but I think physical education is a state-mandated course and you can't get away with not teaching it. Sports can't be substituted for that reason. I'm not saying sports don't have value but, when your back is aganst the wall financially, pay-to-play is the only way to go if you want to keep them.
Charter schools are not a panacea for ailing public education. If you check statistics locally, you'll find their rate of failure is higher than their public school counterparts and there are many fewer of them than public schools. My sister has a little girl in her class this year who had attended nothing but charters since kindergarten. She was so far behind academically that she had to be tested and placed in special education in order to get the individualized help she needs to catch up. Kids routinely come back to TPS when charters fail them.
Annie, it's shameful to say, but TPS has a long history of jocks who became teachers so they could coach. This dates back to the days when you had to be a teacher in order to hold a coaching position. When the coaching days were over, they would apply for administrative jobs so they wouldn't have to be in the classroom anymore, since teaching was never their main objective to begin with. The best teachers rarely leave the classroom. It's no secret that the administrative ranks in TPS are filled with less than the best and brightest. So much for administrators with teaching backgrounds.
OHT, I've known Sherry Russell for many years and she's a good friend. She was an excellent teacher and ended her career working in the School Consultation Program where she provided assistance to teachers experiencing classroom difficulties with discipline, organiziation, and lesson prep and presentation. The 120-day rule is law, not a negotiated item. The $2,000 bonus was established as an incentive to entice long-time teachers to retire, thus saving the district money.
roy, you're somewhat misinformed because, in TPS, it's the union that evaluates first-year teachers and veteran teachers with problems and decides whether their employment should continue.
Maggie, regular elementary teachers don't have the time or training to teach art, music, and phys. ed. They are too busy teaching math, science, language arts, reading and social studies and preparing their students for standardized tests.
6th, your premise concerning sick leave donation is completely wrong. It was established so that teachers with an established minimum of accumulated sick leave could donate days (5 max per year) to other teachers suffering catastrophic illnesses or injuries who had depleted their own sick leave and still could not return to work. Those donated days helped some less fortunate teachers survive when they had no income. Also, teachers who donate days cannot recover them.