My Letter to the Record and Landmark

I wrote a letter to the editor of the Record and Landmark regarding the administrative raises. The paper printed my letter in Sunday's paper but they have not posted it on their web site. Therefore I am posting it below. As you can see, I used my previous post as the basis for my letter.

To the Editor:

According to a recent article in the R&L, most ISS administrators have received significant raises for this school year. In addition, over twenty other employees, 'in leadership roles,' received raises as well. This occurred at a time when teachers are asked to do more without any additional compensation.

Superintendent Johnson is quoted as saying that the administrative raises were an attempt to keep talented people in the district. Why is he not interested in keeping talented teachers in the district? Perhaps he thinks that teachers and staff members are just not talented. Or, maybe he is only interested in helping his administrative buddies.

Mr. Johnson also compared the Central Office to the Pentagon saying "you’ve got teachers out there on the front lines doing the hard work every day and they couldn’t be out there doing that hard work if it wasn’t for the support of the central office." I am glad to see that he recognizes the fact that teachers are doing the hard work. But, to paraphrase Mr. Johnson's comments, I would like to see the administrators do their jobs without the support of the teachers. Some people get that. Obviously, Mr. Johnson just doesn't understand that.

Each time something like this happens it gets harder to understand the mentality of the Administration and the School Board. For example, in the same article it is mentioned that I-SS will have to use more than a million dollars of its savings this school year, and officials have warned that more teacher assistants will likely lose their jobs next summer as the central office is pushing for a balanced budget after two years of using the fund balance. But, it is okay to use that money to dole out pay increases to the administrative staff. As others have mentioned, why wasn’t that money used to hire back the teacher assistants who have already lost their jobs due to budget cuts?

Did Mr. Johnson really think that parents and staff would see these raises as a good idea? The next time a teacher needs supplies for the classroom, he or she better not be told there is no money left in the budget. If there is money in the budget for frivolous administrative raises then there is money for classroom supplies.

ISS Administrators Receive Raises

According to an article in Sunday's Statesville Record and Landmark, most ISS administrators have received raises for this school year. Brady Johnson received a $3,544 raise, Drs. Taylor and Hargrave each received an increase of $5565, and Dr. Lesane made off with a $6,716 raise. In addition, over twenty other employees, 'in leadership roles,' received raises as well. All of this at a time when teachers are asked to do more and more without any additional compensation.

Mr. Johnson is quoted as saying that the administrative raises were an attempt to keep talented people in the district. Why is he not interested in keeping talented teachers in the district? Mr Johnson also compared the Central Office to the Pentagon saying "you’ve got teachers out there on the front lines doing the hard work every day and they couldn’t be out there doing that hard work if it wasn’t for the support of the central office." To paraphrase Mr. Johnson's comments, I would like to see the Central Office administrators do their jobs without the support of the teachers. Some people get that. Obviously, Mr. Johnson just doesn't understand that.

Each time something like this happens it gets harder to understand the mentality of the Administrative Staff and of the School board. For example, in the same article it is mentioned that I-SS is planning to use more than a million dollars of its savings this school year, and officials have warned that more teacher assistants will likely lose their jobs next summer as the central office is pushing for a balanced budget after two straight years of using fund balance. But it is Okay to dole out pay increases to the administrative staff.

Did Mr. Johnson really think that parents and staff would think that these raises were a good idea? The next time a teacher needs supplies for the classroom, he or she better not be told there is no money left in the budget. Parents better not be asked to provide items for their child's classroom. If there is money in the budget for frivolous administrative raises then there is money for classroom supplies.

ISS to Discuss Allegations at Committee of the Whole Meeting

According to an article in today's Record and Landmark, the School Board will discuss documents that have been alleged to show fraud in Pressly and Monticello schools’ test scores at tonight's Committee of the Whole meeting. Apparently this is not on the official agenda but a couple of the Board members said that the issue should be addressed at the meeting. Board Chairman Dr. David Cash said he was not anticipating errors on the part of the school system. Perhaps Dr. Cash is privileged to some information that the other Board members are not aware of, or perhaps he is just turning a blind eye to controversial issues as he has done in the past.

The Rick Baker Show

Rick Baker has been discussing several issues regarding ISS on his radio show. His show airs weekdays from 3 to 6 PM on WSIC. Rick is recommending that everyone in Iredell County attend the next School Board meeting.  For more information you can go to Rick's web site using the following link.

http://rickbakershow.com

Fall 2010 Area Advisory Meetings

The following information is from the I-SS web site.

Area Advisory Councils act as influential focus groups for the Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education and provide the board with parent and community perspective and guidance on both ongoing issues and strategic planning priorities for the public school system. Meetings are open to the public and are held regularly in each area of the county: North Iredell, West Iredell, Statesville Area, and Southern Iredell.

Fall 2010 Area Advisory Meeting Dates

(all meetings begin at 7 pm in the Media Center)

Lake Norman High School, Thursday, September 30

West Iredell High School, Tuesday, October 12

North Iredell High School, Tuesday, October 19
Statesville High School, Monday, October 25

South Iredell High School, Thursday, October 28

New School Year

Wishing Students and Staff

a Successful School Year!

Central Support Services

According to an article in last Sunday’s (Aug. 15^th) Statesville Record & Landmark, the I-SS Central Office is now going to be called ‘Central Support Services.’ The article states that the change is meant to dispel any “us vs. them” mentality and to reiterate that administrators are there to work with the schools’ staff. The article also states that Mr. Johnson said that he doesn’t want staff to look at administrators as roadblocks, but instead as resourceful tools they can use in order to accomplish the goal of educating children.

Later in the article it cites Mr. Johnson as saying that with the district moving from a district of “progress” to one of “distinction” with an 80.7% performance composite for 2009-10 under ABC results, the goal moving forward is to get to 100%. Then the article quotes Mr. Johnson as saying, “You hear people talk about No Child Left Behind, but we’re serious about that.” However, there was no mention of the low AYP scores.

Of course Mr. Johnson also did not mention that one of the I-SS primary goals has been that the district was to have 97% expected ABC growth by 2010 and that another goal was that the district was to meet 96% of the AYP targets in 2010. Remember that the AYP scores are a measure of the success of the ‘No Child Left Behind’ program.

If Mr. Johnson is serious about ‘No Child Left Behind’ then he has to admit that the I-SS AYP scores dramatically decreased this past year and discuss what the district is truly going to change in order to improve both the ABC and AYP goals. I don’t think that rebranding the Central Office as Central Support Services is going to bring much real change in the way that the I-SS administration does things.

Mixed Results: ABC and AYP Scores

In a previous post I talked about the AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) scores for the Iredell-Statesville Schools. As was reported in that post, only 54.3% of the I-SS schools met the AYP standards for the 2009–10 school year which was a drop of 25.7% from the 2008–09 school year when 80.0% of the I-SS schools met the AYP standards.

The ABC scores for the 2009–10 school year have also been published. According to a recent article in the Statesville Record & Landmark, I-SS's performance composite for the 2009-10 school year increased by 2.1% (from 78.6% in 2008-09 to 80.7%) over the previous year.

You may use the link below to access the Record and Landmark on-line article regarding the ABC scores.

Record & Landmark ABC Scores Article

This 2.1% gain in the ABC scores is small compared to the 25.7% decrease in the AYP scores. Of course I-SS is making a big deal out of the increase in ABC scores and downplaying the drop in the AYP scores. The Record & Landmark quotes Superintendent Johnson as saying “The trend is going in the right direction," and continues that Johnson said the growth is inspiring and a "morale booster" during difficult days for the district. In its article on the I-SS End-of Year Review Session the Record & Landmark reported that Chairman David Cash said that the district did well in its overall performance.

You may use the link below to access the Record and Landmark on-line article about the I-SS End-of Year Review Session.

I-SS End of Year Review Session

I congratulate I-SS on its increase in the ABC scores. However, I-SS needs to carefully examine both the ABC scores and the AYP scores to see why there is only a small gain in the ABC scores and why there is such a significant decrease in the AYP scores. I-SS continues to extol the current I-SS Model without any real proof its efficacy. When dealing with over 20,000 students anecdotal evidence is not sufficient to justify a particular approach to the education of those students.

You may click on the image below to see the 2009-10 ABC scores for I-SS.

I-SS AYP Comparisons

As was recently reported in the Statesville Record & Landmark, the NC Department of Public Instruction has released the preliminary 2009-10 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) scores. For the 09-10 school year, 19 of 35 (54.3%) of the I-SS schools met the AYP standards. This is quite a drop from the 08-09 school year when 28 of 35 (80.0%) of the I-SS schools met the AYP standards.

For more information you can read the Record & Landmark on-line article following the first link below or check out the AYP information on the I-SS web site using the second link below.

Record & Landmark AYP article

I-SS web site AYP information

Below is a comparison of the I-SS scores for the last two school years.
(Click on an image to enlarge it.)

Although the AYP scores are not the only indication of the quality of a given school it is an important measure that must be taken seriously when evaluating schools. There are many factors that determine the success of a school and the I-SS administration must examine these factors and find a true path to success.

Perhaps I-SS should take a close look at the Mooresville Graded School district, which had 6 out of 8 (75.0%) of their schools meet the AYP standards. The Mooresville Graded School district has made a concentrated effort to integrate technology in all classrooms and to get computers into the hands of all students. I think that it is time for I-SS to move away from the current I-SS model (aka Baldrige) and move students into the twenty-first century.

June 2010 Personnel Report

I am including a copy of the June 2010 personnel report that was presented to School Board during the meeting on June 14th. Most of the report is the standard sections of resignations, retirements, new hires, administrative appointments, and administrative transfers. Many of the appointments and transfers have already been announced on this blog or in the media.

The report does mention that Billy Thompson is being named principal of Statesville Middle School and that Kelly Cooper is being named Exec. Director of Middle School/RTL/504 but it does not mention Bobbie Ellis. Ms. Ellis was the principal of Statesville Middle. The May Personnel Report indicated that Bobbie's contract was being renewed but her location was listed as TBD. I have not heard what position Ms. Ellis will have for the upcoming school year.

Pages 1 and 2: (Click to enlarge.)

Page 3:

Superintendent's Contract & Job Description

I recently requested and received the contracts and job descriptions of several Central Office administrators. I will be posting a number of contracts and job descriptions. I thought it would be appropriate to start with those of Mr. Johnson.

According to his contract, Mr. Johnson is receiving a yearly base annual salary of $160,000. I don’t think that this base salary is unreasonable considering the size of I-SS. (Note: This amount is about $10,000 less than what Dr. Holliday was receiving.) However, I do have to question the rationale for the additional compensation that Mr. Johnson receives.

In addition to paying his base salary, the School System also reimburses Mr. Johnson for his cost of Social Security, his contribution to the State Retirement System, and up to $5,000 for his participation in employer-offered cafeteria benefit plans. These cafeteria benefit plans include such things as vision, dental, and cancer insurance. These are benefits that other school employees must pay for themselves.

I don’t know the additional value of these benefits for Mr. Johnson but some time ago I determined that Dr. Holliday was receiving about $40,000 for these same benefits. I think that this is a way of hiding the actual compensation of the superintendent. The Board should be honest and just pay a reasonable base salary and let the superintendent pay for these other items just as other school employees must do.

I also have a question about one of the items listed on the Superintendent’s Job description under the section titled: MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS OR STANDARDS REQUIRED TO PERFORM ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS. In this section it states that the superintendent must be able to sit, stand, walk and drive a car. It seems to me that to require the superintendent to be able to sit, stand and walk is a clear violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This requirement is also in the job descriptions of other I-SS Administrators.

Superintendent's Contract: (Click on an image to enlarge it.)

Pages 1 and 2:

Pages 3 and 4:

Pages 5 and 6:

Pages 7 and 8:

Pages 9 and 10:

Page 11:

Superintendent's Job Description:

County Funding for I-SS

According to an article in Sunday’s Record & Landmark, Iredell County will fund I-SS 29.2 million dollars for the upcoming school year. This is several million dollars less than what was requested by I-SS. I am including a copy of the I-SS request below. The article quotes I-SS Chief Financial Officer Melissa Wike as stating that for this fiscal year the district was given 104.8 million dollars from the state. Thus the county funds do make up a significant part of the overall school budget. It should be noted that I-SS has much flexibility in how it spends the county funds.

The Record & Landmark articles also quotes Brady Johnson as stating that I-SS will wait to see how the state budget pans out before making any concrete decision about going forth with I-SS's contingency plan. The contingency plan includes a 2 percent pay furlough for administrators for the second straight year; the elimination of 25 positions through attrition; making Student Resource Officer positions 10 months instead of 11 months; decreasing local supplements for classified and certified teachers by 2 percent; and reducing the central office budget by 19 percent.

You can use the link below to access the web version of the Record & Landmark article about the school budget.

District will wait on state budget

One item in the I-SS proposed county budget is $8,445,946.32 for Supplements, Longevity, and Annual Leave. Two percent of that amount is $168,918.93. That means that two percent of the teacher supplements would be less than 168.9 thousand dollars. Certainly I-SS can make cuts without taking away from teachers’ supplements. In the same proposed budget there is over 3.1 million dollars for Instructional Support. Does this include the funds for the IFs and the supporting cast at the ADR center? If so, there is certainly some money that could be cut in that budget.

I-SS Proposed County Budget

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Update On The CO Reorganization Plan

On Wednesday, I sent Dawn Creason an e-mail in which I asked for information regarding the individuals (Kris Earl, Judy Honeycutt, Mathew Fail, Linda Gillon, Brenda Clark, Linda Rogers, Carol McCrory, Doug Wooten, Rob Jackson, and Steve Hampton) who were listed on the February 2010 I-SS organizational chart but who were not listed on the I-SS organizational chart submitted to the Board by Mr. Johnson as part of his reorganization plan.

I received the following reply from Ms. Creason on Thursday.

Mr. Klaene-

I just had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Johnson and discuss the organizational chart.

Coite Sherrill, Chip Weddington, Reginald Brown, Dorothy Woodard, Pam Stewart, Carol McCrory, Mathew Fail, and Brenda Clark will no longer be I-SS employees. Mathew Fail has already left the district, and all others will be completing their work at the end of June.

However, Mr. Johnson has added Kelly Cooper (executive director of middle grades education), Jessica Mellen (Title II administrator) and Tim Ivey (Focused Learning Communities grant director).

Kris Earl is a full-time employee of the EC department. Judy Honeycutt is a part-time employee (retired and returned) working with career & technical education as the career development counselor, Linda Gillon remains the full-time classified personnel coordinator, and Doug Wooten, Rob Jackson, and Steve Hampton (1/2 grant paid) remain in their previous capacities.

Mr. Johnson shared with me that the organizational chart has been reduced to only list department heads. His ultimate plan is to provide individual department organizational charts as well. He asked me to coordinate this effort just this afternoon. As soon as I am able to contact each department leader, I will ensure that all central office personnel are listed on the website, both in directory format as well as organizational chart format.

I hope I've managed to answer your questions adequately without rambling on too much. If you have further questions, I will be happy to help you.

Thanks a lot!

dc

Five of the individuals mentioned by Ms. Creason were not on the February 2010 organizational chart. I don’t know what was the administrative status of those individuals (Coite Sherrill, Chip Weddington, Reginald Brown, Dorothy Woodard, and Pam Stewart). But, looking at the two organizational charts and the information provided by Ms. Creason, there were 3 individuals (Carol McCrory, Mathew Fail, and Brenda Clark) who were on the February organizational chart and who will no longer be employed by I-SS and three individuals (Kelly Cooper, Jessica Mellen, and Tim Ivey) who will be new additions to the organizational chart with 7 individuals (Kris Earl, Judy Honeycutt, Linda Gillon, Doug Wooten, Rob Jackson, and Steve Hampton) who will continue to be employed as CO administrators but will not be listed on the main I-SS administrative chart.

Therefore, is this a true reduction in administrative positions, is it a restructuring of the organizational charts to make a clearer distinction in responsibilities, or is just smoke and mirrors to make it look like a reduction in administrative positions?

A Teacher's Job Description

As I mentioned in a previous post, Mr. Johnson is suggesting that a number of Central Office administrators should be given salary adjustments (raises) because they are being assigned additional duties as he reorganizes the Central Office staff. I already mentioned that many individuals have stated that teachers are often assigned extra duties without receiving additional compensation. However, those remarks also made me think that it would be beneficial to list the duties, or responsibilities, of an typical classroom teacher.

To that end, I used Google to search for teacher job descriptions. I found several comprehensive lists of teacher duties. I then merged those lists and, with my wife’s assistance, added a few duties that were not already included. As you might suspect the list is quite lengthy but that is just a small testament to the dedication of the teachers. I am including the list below. There is some overlapping between the bulleted items but that is balanced out by the fact that there are numerous other items that could be broken down into multiple duties.

Professional Responsibilities of Teachers:

• Prepare classroom and materials for Open House.
• Assemble class rosters and get to know students and parents.
• Administer Common Formative Assessments.
• Prepare lesson plans that reflect a logical sequence of learning objectives and activities and meet the individual needs, interests, and abilities of the students.
• Implement instructional activities that contribute to a climate where students are actively engaged in meaningful learning experiences.
• Use a variety of instructional strategies and materials that are appropriate for the stated instructional objectives of the students involved.
• Collaborate with students to prepare PDSAs.
• Identify, select, and modify instructional resources to meet the needs of the students with varying backgrounds, learning styles, and special needs.
• Use relevant technology to support instruction.
• Instruct and monitor students in the use of learning materials and equipment.
• Establish standards of classroom conduct and administer them in a fair, equitable, and consistent manner.
• Teach a broad base of understanding without indoctrinating students with his/her own cultural, political, religious or philosophical beliefs.
• Ensure that student growth and achievement is continuous and appropriate for age group, subject area, and/or program classification.
• Read and critique student papers.
• Assist students as they complete class projects.
• Provide appropriate feedback on student work.
• Appropriately display student work in the classroom and hallways.
• Post current PDSA information in the classroom.
• Monitor and assess student progress and adjust student instruction accordingly.
• Maintain effective and efficient record keeping procedures.
• Observe and evaluate student's performance and development.
• Assign and grade class work, homework, tests and assignments.
• Encourage and monitor the progress of individual students.
• Keep accurate records and provide them for school district use and file required reports on a timely basis.
• Demonstrate gains in student performance.
• Prepare and submit progress reports and report cards.
• Apply appropriate disciplinary measures where necessary.
• Monitor after school detention room as assigned.
• Assist in assessing changing curricular needs and offer plans for improvement.
• Collaborate with peers to enhance the instructional environment.
• Assume responsibility for meeting his/her course and school-wide student performance goals.
• Participate in training and presentations about various teaching techniques.
• Meet professional obligations through efficient work habits such as: meeting deadlines, honoring schedules, coordinating.
• Attend and participate in required district in-service programs.
• Stay current through professional staff development opportunities.
• Utilize established channels for handling routine procedures, resolving problems/concerns and making suggestions.
• Participate in required staff meetings and conferences.
• Keep up to date with developments in subject area, teaching resources and methods and make relevant changes to instructional plans and activities.
• Participate in committees as related to student needs, school programs, and district needs.
• Works collaboratively to achieve the overall purposes of the school program.
• Participate in the development and implementation of the school improvement plan.
• Provide a positive environment in which students are encouraged to be actively engaged in the learning process.
• Prepare and display motivational items on classroom bulletin boards.
• Promote and maintain a safe and healthful environment in the classroom and building.
• Maintain an organized and clean classroom.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with students, parents, and other professionals on a regular basis.
• Communicate student academic and behavioral progress to parents.
• Develop and maintain positive and cooperative interactions and communication with school staff, clients, and the community.
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with students, parents, and schools.
• Performs bus and car duty before and after school as assigned.
• Participate in extracurricular activities such as social activities, sporting activities, clubs and student organizations.
• Provide supervision in non-classroom areas and situations in accordance with the building student management plan.
• Monitor students in hallways, cafeteria, gymnasium, and school grounds.
• Assign lockers and maintain records of those assignments.
• Provide direction and supervision for all school activities to which he/she is assigned (coach, director, supervisor, chaperon, etc.).
• Develop a budget for applicable programs and insure that needed materials are ordered with the administrator’s approval.
• Care for district resources, equipment and materials assigned to him/her and report concerns regarding facility and equipment to designated supervisor.
• When applicable, provide direction and/or supervision for teacher assistants, student teachers, interns, and substitutes.
• Maintain a current folder of responsibilities and procedures for substitute teacher's use.
• Model professional and ethical standards when dealing with students, parents, peers, and community.
• Participate in IEP meetings.
• Be knowledgeable of and adhere to all procedures and practices prescribed in the Teacher, Student, and/or Parent Handbooks.
• Keep an accurate and detailed accounts of all monies collected and submit detailed accounting of such money to the appropriate building or business office personnel.
• Be knowledgeable of and adhere to federal and state laws that apply to his/her job assignment.
• Perform all other duties and responsibilities as assigned by their supervisor or district administrator.

To conclude, I thank all teachers and teacher assistants for dedicating your lives to helping students achieve success in the classroom and in the world outside the classroom. As the above list indicates, a significant effort is required to assist students achieve their goals. To all teachers and assistants, have a great summer. Spend some extra quality time with your families and friends, and recharge your batteries because it will not be too long till the beginning of a new school year.

Resources:

Sevenstar Academy, Omaha Public Schools, Waunakee Community School District, and Best-Job-Interview.com.

I-SS Vehicles Driven Home

There have been several comments on this blog about I-SS employees being allowed to drive school vehicles back and forth to their homes. I recently requested and received a list of I-SS employees who have been provided vehicles as outlined in the school policy code 7612 Employer Provided Vehicles. The list also included vehicles that were not assigned to a particular individual.

The I-SS vehicle policy reads as follows.

The Iredell-Statesville Board of Education will provide transportation for employees in the normal performance of their duties as determined by the Superintendent or designee. Such transportation shall be provided by assigning vehicles on a permanent or daily basis.

The permanent assignment of vehicles will be limited to those persons whose normal duties as determined by the Superintendent, or his designee, to require the use of a vehicle at other than the normal business hours of the central office or required frequently for emergency situations. The permanent assignment of vehicles requires the employee to commute in the vehicle for valid business reasons. This policy prohibits personal use other than commuting except De Minimis Nontaxable Personal Use as defined by the IRS.

The vehicle list I received included 133 school maintained vehicles. Of those 133 vehicles, 102 are assigned to specific school employees. The list also indicates if an employee is allowed to drive his/her assigned car home. Of the 102 I-SS employees who are assigned a school vehicle, 87 of them are allowed to drive their assigned vehicle home. Of course this means that the school is not only providing a car to be driven home but is also paying for the gas and the maintenance of these cars. As has been pointed out in one of the comments to an earlier post on this blog, a number of these individuals do not live in Iredell County.

I understand that a certain number of school employees will need access to a school vehicle at odd hours of the day. For example, a maintenance employee may have to go to a school building after hours if there is a plumbing or heating/AC problem. But, will that require 35 different maintenance employees? That is the number of maintenance employees allowed to drive school vehicles home. And, how many Drivers ED instructors have to come back to school to give emergency driving lessons to students? There are 15 Drivers ED instructors who are allowed to drive school vehicles home.

I don’t have any information on the number of miles driven by I-SS employees as they go back and forth between school and home each day. But, if most of the 87 employees allowed to do so actually use the vehicles this way each day, that will add up to a lot of miles each year. And it is not just the miles to drive home and back. Is I-SS using these 133 vehicles wisely and is anyone actually accounting for the use of each of these vehicles?

I-SS Vehicle List:

Click on an image to enlarge it.