Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

This is the forum for news pertaining directly to Trona, Death Valley, Panamint Valley, Saline Valley, Owens Valley, Inyo County, San Bernardino County, and areas immediatelly adjacent to these localities.

Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby blackturtle.us » Mon Apr 16, 2012 10:25 pm

FLYER: Trona Community Alert
Many people received this flyer on their doorstep today. For those of you who didn't get a copy, here is the flyer except for the board member addresses which were listed at the bottom of the page.
Trona Teachers Need Your Help!

Trona's teachers are working harder than ever and test scores are rising! Unfortunately our Trona School Board is refusing to vote for a contract settlement that would have given teachers a chance to vote on providing more opportunities for kids after school. Trona's teachers have also been forced to file an Unfair Labor Practice charge against the Board after it acted in what was believed to be an unlawful manner against teachers. Trona's teachers want to settle this matter so we can get the District's focus back where it belongs, on the kids! We need your help in doing this.

Please come to the Trona School Board meeting on April 19th at 6pm (Trona High School) and tell the Board to get the focus back on kids and to work with the teachers of Trona. Also please contact the Board members below and ask them to treat teachers fairly.

Dr. Gary Hess
Trisha Funke
Bob Wilhelm
Ray Richardson
Deana Garrison
User avatar
blackturtle.us
Cantankerous Mule
 
Posts: 72
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:42 pm
Location: Trona

Re: Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby wildrose » Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:04 am

Trona teachers file second charge against school district
It looks like the flyer got the attention of the Daily Insufficient! The article does a pretty good job of answering some of the questions I had after reading the flyer.
:sunshine:
The Trona Teachers Association filed a second unfair-labor-practice charge with the California Public Employment Relations Board against the Trona Joint Unified School District, accusing it of regressive bargaining.
The union’s first complaint, filed in January, alleged the district is not negotiating in good faith.

LINK: http://www.ridgecrestca.com/news/x1364615569/Trona-teachers-file-second-charge-against-school-district
User avatar
wildrose
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 509
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:32 pm
Location: middle of nowhere

Re: Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby blackturtle.us » Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:03 pm

Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012
The public comments part of this meeting was the only portion of the meeting that was terribly interesting. However, there were a few items that are worth mentioning.
1. Public Comments:
a) Teacher - Expressed dissatisfaction with the negotiations process. Felt that the negotiator paid by the school board to negotiate with the teacher's union impeded progress. This individual stated that the process takes too long and that it was a failure on the part of the board to allow the process to take so long.
b) Community Member - Expressed dissatisfaction with school boards from previous years and expressed the idea that the public needs to hold the school board accountable for their actions.
c) Teacher - Urged the school board to work harder to reach an agreement with the teacher's union so that the focus can return to students.
d) Community Member - Praised the school board and criticized teachers. Specifically she had two complaints about teachers: First she felt that more teachers should be present at board meetings and secondly she was not happy that the teacher of her child would not meet with her after she got off from work. [I believe she stated that this would be five in the evening, which would be nearly three hours after students are dismissed on a regular day.]
2. Ray Richardson delivered a mandatory report on the worker's compensation system that TJUSD is a member of. He reported that the system is solvent and has sufficient funds to deal with worker's compensation issues in the foreseeable future.
3. Carol May presented a summary of WASC accreditation activities that have taken place so far this year. The visitation took place in March and the report is expected in a few weeks. May said that she felt confident that it would be a positive report based on her interactions with the individuals on the accreditation team. She hopes that the high school will receive a three-year accreditation, which is the best term the high school is eligible for at this time.
4. Several closed session board meetings will take place over the next few weeks. Two will be held to interview candidates for the position of superintendent and a third will be held to select the person to be offered the job.
5. As the meeting was about to close a community member asked a question about negotiations and wondered why the public receives so little information about the process. The answers mainly came from Ray Richardson and Charles Raff. One part of the answer given was that much of the process is confidential and so certain details are not shared with the public. The other part of the answer was that the issues being negotiated were shared with the public at previous meetings. The community member then claimed that the community wasn't given ample information about when meetings were held. Raff stated that agendas for board meetings are posted on the internet and at the post office and are posted in front of the district office. Raff then agreed to post agendas at the senior center, the thrift store, and the county library.
6. Next regular board meeting: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 6:00 p.m.
User avatar
blackturtle.us
Cantankerous Mule
 
Posts: 72
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2010 9:42 pm
Location: Trona

Re: Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby pcslim » Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:48 am

Calif. Hacking Scandal Nets Dozens of Students :yippy2:
It's good to see kids take some initiative and do something about an unfair policy that ties grades to attendance! Here's a particularly pithy comments left in response to this video on YouTube:
Keep it up kids. Public school is a scam, anyway. I guarantee you, it does not help you AT ALL in the real world. If you can find a way to fuck the system, by all means do it. Do whatever you have to do to make your life better, even if it includes thinking outside the box or going against the current.

Being a product of the public school system and a college graduate with a degree in engineering, I can't say that I agree with the comment. After all, I've done pretty well, I had a good career and now I'm comfortably retired, but I still like the rebellious spirit!
User avatar
pcslim
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 305
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 10:33 am
Location: Exact coordinates unknown

Re: Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby cactuspete » Sat Apr 21, 2012 7:30 am

Trona teacher urges settlement in dispute with district
Another perspective on what was said at the board meeting. Actually it's more like three perspectives since there are a bunch of quotes from three people in this article.
Teacher Cathy Mattis also urged the board to work with the teachers in reaching a settlement. “The board recently voted against a tentative agreement that would have allowed us to move forward,” she said. “It’s time for the board to consider voting again and this time pass the tentative agreement.” She said the tentative agreement would have given Trona teachers a chance to vote on giving new opportunities to students after school. “The agreement is also well within the budget of the district and has been jointly agreed to by the Trona bargaining teams,” Mattis said. “It’s time to get this matter settled so we can get the focus of the district back to where it belongs — on the students.”

LINK: http://www.ridgecrestca.com/newsnow/x787562121/Trona-teacher-urges-settlement-in-dispute-with-district
User avatar
cactuspete
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 455
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:16 am
Location: The Boonies

Re: Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby wildrose » Sat Apr 28, 2012 10:58 am

8 of 10 Top Super PAC Donors Are Republicans
Why do Republicans consistently attack teacher's unions? :mad002:
User avatar
wildrose
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 509
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:32 pm
Location: middle of nowhere

Re: Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby MojaveMike » Tue May 01, 2012 10:49 am

TN 'Gateway Sexual Activity' Awaits Governor Approval
Just when you think you've seen the stupidest that stupid can get, someone does something even stupider!!!
:laughingx2:
User avatar
MojaveMike
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 162
Joined: Tue Dec 21, 2010 9:35 am
Location: Middle of Nowhere

Re: Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby wildrose » Sun May 06, 2012 6:57 am

Kenneth Cole Rips Teacher's Unions
The last two minutes of this video really get to the important underlying issues. The idea that unions protect under-performing teachers is ridiculous. This happens so infrequently that it is simply dishonest to assert that this is a real problem by any stretch of the imagination.
User avatar
wildrose
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 509
Joined: Sun Dec 19, 2010 1:32 pm
Location: middle of nowhere

Re: Trona School Board Meeting - April 19, 2012

Postby shadylady » Mon May 07, 2012 7:40 am

How Bad Education Policies Demoralize Teachers :mad002:
All my friends who are retired teachers say they are glad they got out when they did. They say that the emphasis on standardized testing mandated by the federal government has killed the profession and robbed students of a positive educational experience. That combined with low pay and a media that emphasizes the negatives has caused teaching to become a much less rewarding career.
Teaching attracts individuals who seek to do good work in spite of the profession’s relatively low status and pay. Research has also shown that the ability to enjoy the moral rewards of doing good work sustains teachers throughout their careers. Of course, salary, school conditions, and structural supports like time for collaborative planning or smaller classes must be addressed, but in concert with the moral dimension of the work. These issues are often intertwined.

LINK: http://neatoday.org/2012/02/07/how-bad-education-policies-demoralize-teachers/
User avatar
shadylady
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 392
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 4:34 pm
Location: The Ranch


Return to Trona and Death Valley

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest

cron