Update: The May 2010 Personnel Report is now included below.
I requested a copy of the Personnel Report that was approved by the Board at the May 10th meeting. Of course it includes things such as Resignations and Retirements, but there were two sections that I found particularly interesting.
The first was the section listed: Approval of Administrative Appointments. Under this section there were a number of administrators listed along with their appointed positions. The list included principals, assistant principals, and Central Office administrators. The Central Office administrators on the list were Marty Moore, Jed Stus, Mary Anne Karriker, Kelly Marcy, Patricia Campbell, Dale Ellis, and Pam Schiffman.
In examining this list I noted that most, if not all, were being appointed to the position that they currently hold. I assumed that this meant that these individuals were being given a new or extended contract. To make sure I sent an e-mail to Dawn Creason asking her for clarification.
Today, I received an e-mail from Dale Ellis in which he stated that his contract and the contracts for Larry Rogers and Pam Schiffman were being extended. He stated that the others on the list had expiring contracts that were renewed and extended. In addition, Mr. Ellis also stated that there were no salary adjustments associated with any of the renewals and/or extensions.
I can understand extending the contract of an individual who is doing a good job in a valuable position. But why were the contracts for Dale Ellis and Pam Schiffman extended when they were not up for renewal? That makes no sense in this economy. If either one was threatening to leave I would say let him or her go.
And, speaking of the economy and all the cutbacks in the classrooms, since the contracts for Marty Moore and Jed Stus were expiring why not just eliminate those positions and reduce the Central Office administrative staff. There are already too many administrative positions at the Central Office.
Earlier I mentioned that there were two sections within the May Personnel Report that I found interesting. The second on was the section titled Approval of Administrative Transfers. In this section it was reported that Sherrard Lewis was being transferred from Interim 6-12 IF Coach to 6-12 IF Coach and that Kim Rector was being transferred from Interim K-5 IF Coach to K-5 IF Coach. I guess that Brady Johnson has decided to continue the IF program. What happened to the results of the teacher survey? With a number of teachers retiring or resigning at the end of the current school year the IFs could have been placed back in the classroom and saved the school system a significant sum of money.
I guess it is just ‘business as usual’ at the Central Office.
May 2010 Personnel Report.
Click on an image of one of the pages to enlarge that page.
I too wonder why the IF program is being continued. Could it have something to do with the principals wanting help with their work. I say that if a school is going to have an IF, then part of their responsibilities should be working with small groups of students in reading and math. Especially if classroom size is going to increase again this year.
ReplyDeleteI can answer why they renew contracts that don't need to be renewed and keep Ellis and Schiffman. Because they are TOO BUSY looking for stuff on other teachers so they can non-renew THEIR contracts instead! Ok, so let me see if I understand this correctly. Doesn't a non-renewal in one district mean you won't have an easy time getting a job in another???? Hmmmmmm. Seems like I-SS has a history of doing this, right??????? Golly gee, that's the good ol' boys for ya!!
ReplyDeleteWhat would really be interesting is to compare all the admin salaries beginning with the 08/09 and 09/10 years. Keep in mind that last year "pink slips" were given out and now we are told additional cuts at the school level will be necessary.
ReplyDeleteHow can anyone justify giving increases to admin like Dale Ellis who is already making twice what I'm making when we are told there is no money for supplies, textbooks, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhy were raises given to central office staff when we are under a budget crisis. WHY????
ReplyDeletePaul,
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you post the personnel report so we can all review it?
Anon x2 May 16 @ 11:06 & 11:08 -
ReplyDeleteDid you read the same thing I read? It said there were no salary increases, they just extended/renewed the contracts. Nothing about adding money to their pay.
Anon May 14 @ 11:36 - Most non-renewals come from the principals who those being non-renewed work for.. the others who aren't are told at the beginning of the school year what they need to do to meet licensure requirements. We've all had to do it. If they don't take the initiative to do what someone paints them a picture & tells them what they need to do, then that's nobody's fault but their own. As for those who are recommended by their principals for being non-renewed, that obviously speaks as to their teaching, classroom management, or personality faults. It takes a team.
I think there are many things that could be laid at Central Office's feet, but Non-renewals who are too lazy to do what they need to do to make sure they get a license when the rest of us have had to add extra classes or Praxis tests get no sympathy and can't be blamed on Central Office as being the bully in the group.
I see that there are 2 new central office positions that are posted on the website. One fills a position that will be vacated - why can't the duties be absorbed by those already employed? The other is newly created - thus lending credence to the idea that the central office keeps expanding even in the face of severe budget cuts and position cuts for teachers. It is business as usual at I-SS.
ReplyDeleteWord is the middle school director position was created for Bobbie Ellis. Let's see if she gets it after all the interviews. Wouldn't that be a surprise!
ReplyDeleteMay 18, 8:15 PM: Under section F (Approval of Admin. Appointments) of the Personnel Report it notes that Bobbie Ellis's contract was renewed but her location is listed as TBD which I guess stands for to be determined. All of the other principals have their school listed under the location column so there may be some truth in what you have heard.
ReplyDeleteI worked in I-SS under the leadership of Dr. Dorton when she was director for Middle Schools. I honestly felt it was a disservice to middle schools NOT TO have a middle school director. No one can take care of 6-12 plus CTE.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Ellis, if offered the position, would be the best choice for the position so PLEASE back off.
On another note, after funding all the training for Mr. Fail he is leaving the system - his position isn't advertised.
If you read Mr. Johnson's letter dated April 1 there are some questions??? The Asst Super of CTE (Dr. Hill) was replaced with a Director of CTE who is not titled Asst Super so in fact the position of Asst. Super was elminated ;-)
Chief Academic Officer would be Ms Allred - yes there is no longer a CAO but was replaced with Asst. Super. Melanie Taylor.
Yeah and the virtual person was hired then moved into an IF position at a school.
I really do not believe Mr. Johnson is trying to mislead anyone he is only listening to those who work for him. Just like the 5 IFs that we were told were not replaced then we were told they were not IFs but middle school literacy coaches - but there were only 4 literacy coaches????? Where is the 5th position??? Both IF coaches Denise Holliday and Amanda Sauer were replaced? WOW it takes 2 coaches to manage 35 school level IFs. AND one last thing, why are the IFs paid for eleven months, what do they do for a month when teachers/students are not around.
I can tell you what the IFs do that extra month, they are trained. Even though they meet one day a week during the year for training, they still need extra training PLUS all the paperwork they have to complete AND they need to plan for the next year ;-) Ask any IF and that's what they'll tell you. Teachers, it isn't important for you to plan that is why you do not receive payment for the extra time you work. (THANK YOU teachers you are appreciated by the parents.)
ReplyDeleteTo May 19 9:31 A.M. - I don't care if Mrs. Ellis is the best candidate or not, that is not really the point. The point is that it is wrong to advertise a position, have people go through interviews, and then hire the person who was pre-selected. It's a sham. I thought we were aiming for a fair and transparent process here. This smacks of good 'ol boys making those decisions in the back room again - just like the appt. of Todd Holden. This school system has taken 10 giant steps backwards in terms of ethical behavior since the appointment of Mr. Johnson.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a legal issue that job openings have to be posted. Everyone knew that Dr. Cash's wife would be the ESL IF person with an office at ADR yet everyone had to take time to apply and interview. SO WHAT"S NEW IN IREDELL??
ReplyDeleteIt's not Mr. Johnson, it's the people in positions (which he did not hire) making decisions and Mr. Johnson trusts them.
ReplyDeleteWhile we are asking questions: Brenda Clark is the Associate Superintendent of Learning, how is that different than Associate Super of curriculum and Instruction. Where are job descriptions and responsibilities??
ReplyDeleteInteresting question about Associate Superintendent of Learning and Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. Why are we paying 2 people to do the same job? Two people at the district level doing the same job means at least 2 fewer teachers who can be hired. When this administration is so top heavy at the central office, you'd think they would use this opportunity to trim down, not create NEW positions!
ReplyDeleteSo apparently all that happened was a change in title, not a reduction of Central Office staff??? And the IFs are here to stay AND while our guidance counselor is stressing to find people to help with testing this week - the technology people were seen having breakfast at Cracker Barrel in the middle of the morning. Why aren't they helping in the schools and BTW they are paid 11 months. Is it so they can afford to go out for breakfast while we are testing?
ReplyDeleteAnon May 19, 2010 9:30 pm
ReplyDeleteTwo fewer teachers - at their salaries it would be more like 4 teachers!!!
Go by ADR almost anytime of the day and you will find most of the tech cars there. Who is monitoring their schedules??? My principal, IF and others have had to go to ADR and report that the tech people seem to always be at ADR. When do they go to the schools to help???? If these instructional tech people were assigned to report to a principal at a school perhaps we would receive more help instead of them "having a mtg at ADR." They need to have mtgs after school hours like teacher have to attend.
ReplyDeleteDid you know that the state of NC pays more for out of state athletes to play ball for the universities than for beginning teachers? Now you know-what are you going to do about it?
ReplyDeleteNothing. What can we do about it? What can we do about anything? We work at their pleasure because NC is a right to work state.
ReplyDeleteIt's been business as usual for awhile now. There never was any real change. The teacher survey was just a ploy. Next year, we get the priviledge of taking a 2% reduction in our suppliment. All so someone can take notes during PLC and gripe about how they don't ever want to be in a classroom again (I've heard several IFs say this at district level meetings).
ReplyDeleteIt's almost as if asking them to teach is an insult, thus the reason they won't work with children. Ours was asked to help in a classroom this year and never showed up.
Cough, Cough....Todd Holden to the central office in charge of high schools?? We laughed at that one. Heck, you couldn't pry him out of his office at West when he was principal. The sad part is we knew he was going into that position two weeks before the interviews took place. In fact, three candidates knew he was the choice before interviewing. How sad we are in this district.
ReplyDeleteIn a meeting comments were made about how valuable the IF model is and the people at ADR actually believe they are working with students. The only resources our IF provides are websites and responding to issue bin comments. At the end of the day while trying to catch up on email, we may have several from our IF - "check out this great site, etc." It is sad to know they have nothing better to do during the day than surf the net.
ReplyDeleteStudents/teachers are suffering while programs like the IF model is funded. PLUS why are they paid for 11 months. PLEASE Mr. Johnson or someone explain that.
Todd Holden is a smart aleck cowboy and nothing more. He is waste of time for most people. All he does all day is "chat" with his friends at the Central Office. You're right though; the fix was in on that job before it was ever announced - just like the fix is in for Bobbie Ellis to get the new middle school position. Can't figure out why other principals even bother to apply.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, 7:59. Has anybody noticed that it has taken just 8 months for the good ol' boys to re-establish their hold on the district? It's no longer what you know, but who you know. Anybody care to guess how long it will take for test scores to start slipping? On the other hand, does anybody care?
ReplyDeleteHey, May 19 10:27, that's really not a fair statement about the IT folks. They are always running from school to school. Each of them has about 8 schools, and they run around constantly to make sure computers at all of those schools are running properly. Give them a break - they are some of the good guys in the system!
ReplyDelete8 months to get it back? Where's the evidence that it was ever gone? One of the first things that happened under his leadership was people getting "interums" which were of course never temporary and he fixed that as soon as possible, as well as pay raises. We all heard Mr. Johnson say at the Concerned Citizen Meeting "We won the award and as far I'm concerned Baldridge is over", and his "trim the sails" rhetoric. Funny enough that message wasn't received at CO or by the principals. Sorry folks, Brady is a politician, telling the teachers and the public, especially Paul Kleane, what they want to hear, but not making any real changes at all. NO changes came from the teacher survey, NONE. He knew he wasn't going to eliminate anything, that's why it wasn't an option on the survey.
ReplyDeleteIt's not test scores we need to worry about in the big picture. It's creating children that can think outside the box of A,B,C,D.
I am a testing coordinator and the ITS assigned to my school proctored every day during testing. Your information is not reliable.
ReplyDeletePaul, I know that a while back you did a comparison of how the CO of I-SS stacks up against that of other comparable school systems. I'm wondering if anything has changed (i.e. reduction in percentage of budget dollars going to I-SS CO) since Johnson took over. It seems that I-SS has a large number of 'number 2 and 3' people; way too many assistants.
ReplyDeleteBefore cutting the salaries of the people who do the real work -- regular classroom teachers -- all of the redundancies in the CO should be eliminated. A fine place to start would be to save the two million-plus dollars that are wasted on IF's each year! These people do nothing for the students or for the teachers that they supposedly serve!!
Also, I'm with another poster who stated that they would gladly take a 2 percent pay cut in one hand and a hefty raise in the other!!
Good to see that the unprofessional bashing is still alive and well amoungst the common folk. Have any of you ever gone back and read what you wrote. It is hard to believe that the same people that say these evil things about individuals and groups of individuals teach children. This is really sad. I thought we were in the business of teaching children how NOT to be bullies and "make fun" of others. Great explain you are giving!!
ReplyDeleteMay 27, 7:20 PM: I have not done a more recent comparison of the I-SS Central Office and those of other systems. About two weeks ago I did ask for the current contracts and job descriptions of a number of I-SS administrators but I have not yet received them. Ms. Creason told me that some of the contracts were still being executed and that they were awaiting signatures from a number of the individuals included in my request. I am hoping that the contracts will shed some light on the current situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments regarding the IFs. Last week I submitted a 'Letter to the Editor' to the Record & Landmark via their on-line submission process. The letter was in regard to the IF situation. I contacted the paper yesterday and asked if they were going to print my letter. Amy Fuhrman said she could not find it and said that if I e-mailed it to her she would do her best to run it soon. I did e-mail it to her so hopefully they will print it within the next couple of days.
Call it what you will, the "common folk" are sick and tired of getting the short end of the stick. Times are lean and it is time for I-SS to trim the ugly fat! It is the responsibility of the superintendent to do the tough work of doing what is best for the students, which also happens to be what is best for the county, state, country and world, --- reduce class size and put the budget dollars where they will have the greatest impact --in the classroom where you'll also find the future, aka the students!
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, great letter to the editor, Paul. Thank you for continuing to be the voice of the teachers, who spoke on the topic of IF's via the survey, but were summarily ignored. It would be much more honest if the upper administration of I-SS would just say that they don't give a flip about what teachers thing, because that is the truth.
teachers THINK
ReplyDeleteI read the Statesville R&L for fun. I know it's not much of a newspaper, but it's something to do in the evening when I get home from work. I also like to Facebook and watch silly Youtube videos. I'm choosing to be on here because right now, I truly have nothing better to do. Dinner is cooked, the kitchen is cleaned, and the rest of the family is off pursuing their own interests.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your editorial, I decided to visit your blog again. It's been awhile. I've never responded before, but just felt like I had to today.
I understand that people have a right to express their opinions and freedom of speech. But so much of what is said on this blog about individuals, groups, and situations in Iredell-Statesville Schools is made by people who do not possess all of the facts. A few things are factual, but the rest is speculation and gossip. There may be some people commenting who know these individuals, groups, and situations, but clearly there are many who do not. I know this because I have first hand knowledge and experience of some of the things that are being commented on and these comments are so off base it's almost comical. I would laugh, but it's sad that people feel the need to spread such ugliness and tear others down. I just keeping thinking that if this is the attitude of people who care about our schools and children, and want to see good things for ISS, then why on earth would others want to listen to them? I wonder if they've stopped to think of it like that.
I'd like to ask that if you have not walked a mile in that person's shoes that you refrain from judging them so harshly. Conclusions are being made based on wrong information or misunderstanding. People who truly care about children do not deserve the criticism of those who have never even met them. I'm sure there are some "bad apples", but aren't they everywhere, in every organization?
I was wondering if the results of the survey that is mentioned were made available to the public, to ISS employees, or did only administrators see it? I would like to see it and form my own opinion based on facts.
Thanks for reading. I hope I've caused you to think. Now I think I'll go look at cute puppy videos on Youtube.
If I've made grammar or spelling mistakes, don't bother correcting them. I've never claimed to be an English teacher.
Signed,
Positive Polly
"Two plus million dollars" divided by 35. Wow, they make an average of $57,142 - plus!? That's what a teacher with a Master's degree who has taught for about 31 years or more is making. I didn't know all of the IF's were that old! How do they manage to stay awake for all those meetings?
ReplyDeleteSo if I was you, I would go through the IF training pool, get hired, and get an extra month's pay. If every IF in every school does nothing, how hard could it be? I bet they get together every week and do nothing then too.
What's stopping you? Or you could get your National Boards and get a 12% increase in pay and still work only 10 months. What???? Sounds too much like work???? Lazy people like to complain that everybody else has it so much better! Why? Cause they're lazy! And complaining is easy! Fail.
SB
We don't need IF's ----we need more teachers. The figure of 2 million-plus dollars spent on IF's is documented; I looked it up, so can you, if you'd like. Or you can continue on in ignorance if that is your preference.
ReplyDeleteSome just don't get it --- it's about doing what is best for students (which credible study after credible study shows is smaller class size and better teachers) -- not about running from the classroom and making an extra month's salary.
Positive Polly: The results of the teacher and principal surveys used to be available via the I-SS web site under the Continuous Improvement heading but they are no longer listed. However you can find them using the following web address.
ReplyDelete(http://iss.schoolwires.com/15311017124336257/site/default.asp)
It is interesting to note that there is no longer a link to the survey information yet there continues to be a link to the list of the attendees for the Baldrige award ceremony. Perhaps that is an indication of the true priority of the I-SS administration.
Paul, Where does it say in that survey or in the issue bin that teachers want to eliminate the IF model. I'm a little confused that you would tell us one thing then give us a webpage that tells us something different. Are you confusing "tweak" with "eliminate" b/c I looked them up in the dictionary and they don't mean the same thing. Maybe you need to invest in one.
ReplyDeleteWhen I did the survey, I replaced the word 'tweak' with 'eliminate' in the IF question.
ReplyDeleteUpon speaking with others who completed the survey, many they told me that they had done the same thing.
May 31, 6:20 PM: As has been mentioned before when the administrators took their survey they were given the option to recommend keeping, tweaking, or eliminating items. Teachers were not given the option to mark 'eliminate.' As the commenter at 6:27 PM stated, a number of teachers did try to indicate 'eliminate' but since that option was not given on the survey, the results did not truly indicate the desires of many teachers.
ReplyDeletePaul, would you please print your letter here for those of us who do not read the Record and Landmark? Thanks in advance!
ReplyDeleteJune 1, 1:39 PM: My letter is included in the May 28th entry of this blog.
ReplyDeleteMay 16, 3:34: Too lazy??? Are you SERIOUS?? What about a non-renewal as a personal agenda from a FORMER principal who is NOW in CO administration????? Ever consider that???? I-SS has done this sort of thing MANY times to people...innocent people....for whatever reason they can come up with.
ReplyDeleteAs for Todd Holden, I agree....you could barely get him out of his office chatting with his many "coaches". Help a teacher in need?? Yeah, right!! The only reason he got the position he has now is because of his VERY good friendship with none other than Dale Ellis.
As for Mr. Johnson, well, nice guy, but as spineless as they come. Baldridge gone?? And you believed him? The "upper crust" of CO (Melanie Taylor, Jed Stus, Pam Schiffman, Marty Moore, etc.) made SURE that the good ol' PDSA was here to stay!! I know students who could care less about celebrations, objectives, or if they meet their goal! They just want to learn! YES, LEARN!!
This district is so backwards it's beyond sad. They get rid of good teachers, push them out for whatever reason they see fit, so they can put in teachers that will be robotic to I-SS's wants. Pathetic.....truly pathetic.
Oh, and I'm PROUD to be the "common folk" thank you VERY much!!!
What's so funny is, aren't you guys the ones that wanted to "get Baldridge out of here" and bring the "good ol boys" network back???? I swear I thought I'd read commment after comment wanting things to be "the way they used to be" and how that Tyrant Holiday was ruining everything. This just proves that people that complain this often and this loud will never be happy.
ReplyDeleteThe out-of-control expansion of the CO happened under Holliday's tenure...the fat should be be trimmed away even if there were no budget crisis--- but of course, we are all very well aware that there is a budget crisis. Johnson must earn his pay and do the hard work of getting the CO percentage back to a reasonable level.
ReplyDeleteNever seen so many "assistants" in my life. Good lord, no assistants for students in their over-crowded classrooms, but you'll sure find plenty of them at I-SS CO!
To June 2 at 11:18: AMEN!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe "out of control expansion" didn't "happen" under Terry Holliday, it "started" under Terry Holliday and has continued unabated under Brady Johnson. At least when the budget crisis hit, Terry Holliday didn't keep creating new positions as Brady Johnson has done. Terry Holliday also didn't raise salaries at the Central Office when the budget crisis hit. Brady Johnson did, and his own salary was one of the ones he raised. We keep having to create more positions at the central office because the people IN the positions are so ineffective!
ReplyDeleteI have worked with Brady Johnson for many years, and in my opinion people underestimate him. He can be a nice guy, but he is often cold, calculating, and cruel. I have seen him promise people jobs only to renege on the promise; I have seen him be greedy; I have seen him outright lie to principals and teachers just to make a decision seem as if he was not the sole one pushing an agenda; I have seen him be mean and power hungry; I have seen him create jobs for friends and the wives of friends. I hope after a few years, you all still want him here, because what you see is not always what you get, and you may rue the day that the board did NOT do a search for a better candidate. Certainly if the school board continues to rubber stamp each decision from Brady Johnson, then the county commission should step up and refuse to keep funding Mr. Johnson's "hire all my friends" agenda.
ReplyDeleteJune 9, 10:13: Which is EXACTLY why the School Board kept him in this position. They already knew what they had. I've experienced firsthand what Brady Johnson is capable of. He's not the man he appears to be. Obviously a wolf in sheep's clothing.
ReplyDelete