Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is voting day in the Sanborn Regional School District. As I have indicated in previous letters and blog entries, we have several critical articles on the warrant tomorrow. The proposed budget, up a mere 2.1%, a teachers contract, and a support staff contract are all critical components to moving the district toward our goal of becoming one of the top school districts in the State.
Please come out to the polls and have your voice heard tomorrow. EVERY vote counts. The decisions made at the polls tomorrow will help define the future direction of the Sanborn Regional School District. Voting takes place from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in both Kingston and in Newton. Voting in Kingston will be at the Swasey Gym and in Newton the polls will be open in the Newton Town Hall.
I look forward to seeing you at the polls!
For the Kids,
-Brian
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could you please explain to your staff not to take out on the children the turn of events in voting.They should not be told their parents do not care about them.What a great message they are sensing as adults .
ReplyDeleteHow will the results of Tuesdays voting impact the school? As a resident of Fremont I am sorry I was not able to show my support of the school. My son is a Freshman and I have been so pleased with the teachers as well as the support staff.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned for his future and the future of his school. It is unfortunate in these tough economic times voters are looking only not to raise their taxes and not at the needs of the students and the amazing teachers we are so fortunate to have.
I have spoken to my entire staff about remaining positive and apologize for any comments made in frustration. I will continue to work with the staff to provide the best possible education to our students.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to give a shout out to all the teachers of Memorial School(because those are the teachers I know) Bravo! You all are the best, I was in school most of the day for Read Across America week and I did not see one sad, angry face at all. I know I would have a real hard time keeping strong, when a town I wor...ked for couldnt step to the plate when they need to. I know there was still 494 people out there that voted for them, but please we have 3069 registered voters here in Newton. But Bravo!!! I am so proud of each of our teachers, and aides! Thank you for being such a rolel model for our children!
ReplyDeleteI too have had my child come home with comments teachers have made to them. This DOES NOT help the teachers. Please don't take it out on the children. I support the teachers and hope things can turn around, however it frustrates me when I here things like this.
ReplyDeleteIf you are going to make a comment so negative about teachers you should have the guts to leave your name, so they can really look into such a issue. I can not believe teachers are actually saying this. I too have been in the High School this week and saw nothing. I think comments like this are unfair to wonderful teachers.
ReplyDeleteApparently teachers are not expected to be human. A good lesson for the kids is when the teachers get short-changed it DOES cause them to be upset. There is no free ride for all you parents who enabled this to happen again. It is hard to feel appreciated when the voters of SAU17 have taken money away from the teachers of the district 3 years in a row. There is no chance that these teachers will ever be compensated in line with surrounding districts. Those who voted have spoken. Those who stayed home have spoken as well. I tell my wife every day that she needs to move to a district that will appreciate and compensate her for her contribution. Times may be tough, but education should be the last place to cut.
ReplyDeleteWow! This explains why my district gets so many teacher applications! I can't fathom what the morale must be like when the teachers' contract hasn't been supported in years. Shame on the taxpayers of SAU 17... do you realize how much education these people have? Many have a Master's degree plus additional coursework. Your district will continue to lose quality teachers until it places value on those people who educate the children.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone looked at the economy?People have lost thousands of dollars.Other educated people have given up raises so there fellow workers can have a job.What does this teach the kids ?Like alot of you said they are educated then act that way.How some teachers act to your face is totally different then how they treat the student.
ReplyDeleteIt is very unfortunate that the SAU17 teachers did not get their contract. But at the same time our children are still in the school system and deserve the very best from their teachers. The threat of "nothing extra" doesn't help the students or the teachers. When I dropped my daughter off at school this morning she did not want to get out of the car because the teachers were "acting weird." I understand the teachers are upset but in the end shouldn't the kids come first?
ReplyDeleteI would like to say a BIG thank you to all the teachers who are rising above their contract issues and are putting our children first.
ReplyDeleteBRAVO!
I agree teachers deserve a raise but so do I. I have not received a raise in the past 8 years, yes 8 years and I know many others on the same boat. In addition to no pay increase I had to take a cut in pay.
ReplyDeleteHaving a masters or a PHD has nothing to do with getting a raise. I have a masters but no pay raise.
There are many people loosing their homes and struggling to put food on the table.
I think I speak for many when I say, A NO vote for teachers raise is not personal, but a matter of economics. WE LIKE OUR TEACHERS. Just cant pay you more.
The problem with the towns is that they always want to raise money for everything instead of cutting back. If the towns took a good look at their expenses we may just realize that some things we can do without and use that money for a teachers raise.
Again, I have not seen one single question in the ballot for the past 3 years that will alleviate our current tax levy. Lower my taxes and you (teachers) will get a raise, is that simple, nothing personal.
Just remember I am going on my 8th year without a raise but you(teachers) still have a job and should at least be great full of it. MOVE ON
If you didnt have a contract then you would not have a job. So you do have a contract just no pay raise, JOIN THE CLUB, there are millions of us with a job without a pay raise.
I have been a strong supporter of our wonderful Sanborn teachers and have always voted in their favor. I among many people I know were extremely disappointed in voter turn-out and the end results. Many parents have gone over and beyond the call of duty, not only to benefit the students, but to show appreciation and support to our teachers.
ReplyDeleteWhat good can come out of a "Work to Rule"? I understand the teachers frustration, but feel this only gives justification to those that voted "no" and raises doubt in those who have always stood behind their teachers and voted "yes".
I fully understand that the teachers are upset, but do not believe some of them are handling this in a professional and ethical manner. I don't think students should be kept in the dark, but I also don't think they should be used as the messengers. Most teachers that I know did not chose this profession and reach their level of education for financial reasons. They did it because not only do they enjoy working with children, but felt they could make a difference. Of course they need to be paid and historically this profession has never paid well.
Let's face it, the contract was fair and should have passed, but it did not.
I feel this is no fault of the teachers, but the economy. Our teachers are not the only ones suffering. People are losing their jobs and their homes. If they haven't lost their job most are not receiving raises and have even taken a cut in pay. While their income goes down their health insurance cost are going up.
It is important for our teachers and parents to keep our district moving forward. There will be no winners if it starts to go down this new path. We will all lose; teachers, parents and most of all the students.
Hello Mr. Superintendent of Schools,
ReplyDeletePlease tell us readers what is the Teachers Unions next step?
I hear the union is going to Court (waste more taxpayer money) to petition a special election.
Is this true? if not, then what is the plan? or is the union going to wait till next year?
Inquiring minds would like to know.
In reading the comments, I have noticed that this is the third year that the teachers have not had a raise. What this is saying, is that for the third time, the teachers have been told that their work is not important enough.
ReplyDeleteYes, right now we have a national economy that is not conducive to pay raises, however, that was not the case for the previous two years when the teachers did not receive a raise.
"Work to rule"? Unfortunate, but completely within the "present" contract. "Work to rule" does show the community what is actually possible to accomplish during the regular school day, without staying late, or taking work home.
It allows parents and other community members to see all of the extras that teachers contribute, on their own time.
So, if all work done on the teacher's personal time is taken into account, the voters are getting a great bargain!
Really, you can't fault the teachers for FINALLY putting in JUST the time they are contracted to work. All of this extra work, done on their own personal time, had to come to an end eventually! Or did it? Your vote decided.
Let me respond by saying 1- That just because the teachers didnt get a raise doesnt mean their work is not important. It just means the community is taxed, by all means, if you have extra money then give it to them out of your pocket. I wish I had some but I dont.
ReplyDelete2-The economy has been disastrous for the past 4 years not just this year, what planet do you live in? Oh yeah MARS, tell Barry to send you there since he is now spending 6 billions for a mission to Mars, I'll pay for your one way ticket.
3- I have no ill feelings with teachers going home at the end of the day, heck, they are not getting paid so why volunteer. Thats OK with me. I dont work for free either but I cant tell my boss to pay me more nor can I take my company to court to force them to pay me more. If you can get paid better somewhere else, then go ahead and jump ship, otherwise be happy with the job you got.
Like the other writer said, the towns need to start cutting expenses and appropriate money without raising taxes where is due.
I know nobody wants to hear this but the towns are corrupt at awarding contracts, more often than not, contracts are awarded to friends and cronies instead of looking out for the best interest of the community.
I challenge the town to bring forward to the public every sealed bid, winners and losers and have the selectman explain why the award went to abc company instead of xyz. I bet you find alot of overspending or overpaying. Take that overspent money and appropriate it to the teachers, now you got yourself a raise without raising taxes.
The last 3 years the town of Newton voted, the ballot contain over 40 questions of which 90% where to raise and appropriate more money, more tax hikes. Are you guys crazy to think it will all get voted in. It is not going to happen.
I will continue to Vote NO on every question that would raise my taxes until I see cuts in expending and I will ensure all my neighbors do the same. The country club environment has to end.
We need to CUT and Reassess our spending, we do this and the teachers may get a raise.