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Re: Kent parents, teachers want elementary school music, P.E. programs saved from budget cuts - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 23:42:50 -0000

When I heard about these proposed cuts, I was infuriated. Just last year, we were told that the Maintenance & Operations Levy was necessary to keep music, sports, and class size reductions. From the Kent Reporter, Jan. 19, 2010:

(http://www.pnwlocalnews.com...

“According to the district, failure to pass the [maintenance and operations] levy would affect transportation services, supplies, athletics, music and drama, safety officers and class size.

'One hundred percent of the funding for athletics and activities comes from levy support,' said Dave Lutes, director of district athletics and activities, adding that all coaches’ salaries and stipends are paid through the levy.

Levy funding also pays for approximately one in every five staff positions in the district, including teachers to reduce class size at the elementary school level.

‘It affects every student in every classroom,’ [Becky] Hanks [district spokesperson] said.”

And now, despite the passage of that levy, many of these programs are on the chopping block!

Later in that same article, the Kent School District also informed us about their proposed Technology Levy and how it would maintain equipment, but bring no new programs--

“The money being requested by the district is the same amount voters approved in 2006 and the district emphasizes it is a replacement of the current levy and not a new tax.

According to Chief Information Officer Thuan Nguyen, the tech levy would pay to maintain what the district has done since the passage of the last levy and continue to pay for replacement machines to keep current the technology used by students.

‘We’re not using the 2010 levy to add new initiatives,’ Nguyen said. ‘We’re not in a position to ask more of the community.’”

Yet, on June 9th of 2010, the Kent School District adopted their three year technology plan that called for expanding the One-to-one laptop program to the high schools (so much for new programs!) and additional equipment, training, etc. beyond just maintenance. In fact, the plan details approx. $1.5 million each year for equipment replacement, approx. $2 million each year for equipment additions and virtualization, and approx. $1.5 million/year to replace multi-media equipment.
(page 21 of http://www.boarddocs.com/wa...

Now what doesn't make sense to me, and what really gets me mad, is that the M&O Levy, which was supposed to save music and sports and class size is apparently not going to be enough, but the technology levy, which was not supposed to be used for new initiatives will, in fact, be used for new initiatives.

The problem with this is not even so much that the taxpayers have been lied to, (aren't we used to that after all?), it's that the now we don't have the ability to pay for music and class size and P.E. If the district had stuck to its word and ONLY asked for as much money as it needed in the tech levy, they would have had an additional $2 million/year they could have asked for in the M&O levy WITHOUT raising rates for the taxpayers. Technology is important, but in this era of tough budgets, should giving laptops to half our district's children (who will keep their music and P.E. classes) really have taken priority over P.E., smaller class sizes, and basic music education for the other half of our district's children?

Re: Kent parents, teachers want elementary school music, P.E. programs saved from budget cuts - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 22:45:02 -0000

Meanwhile, the district is still going ahead with the expansion of the One-to-one program that checks out laptops to students. Previously it was just in the middle schools, but starting next year, the year that they want to cut P.E. and/or music in elementary school, they will start bringing in laptops for the high school students too. (http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/c...

I don't know about you, but I find this absolutely disgusting because we were told last year that the 2010 Technology Levy would be for maintaining existing programs, not for starting new ones. Check out this article in the Kent Reporter from Jan. 19, 2010:

“The money being requested by the district is the same amount voters approved in 2006 and the district emphasizes it is a replacement of the current levy and not a new tax.

‘We’re not using the 2010 levy to add new initiatives,’ Nguyen said. ‘We’re not in a position to ask more of the community.’” (http://www.pnwlocalnews.com... for the full article)

So, the district will collect special technology money for the benefit of half its students (who will get to keep music and P.E. by the way) and because of that levy, can't ask for any more tax dollars to help keep the music and P.E. and lower class sizes in elementary school. Perhaps it is time to begin looking at private schools...

Re: It's official, Kent teachers vote to go on strike - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:50:38 -0000

The district always promises to convene a committee that then has interminable meetings. The meetings ultimately lead to nothing. They are just a way to make it seem like something is being done when in fact, it is not.

Look at the "community input meetings" this past winter/spring. Parents, teachers, and community members who attended were only allowed to comment on a list of previously identified items and rank them in order of importance. Participants were not allowed to say what they thought should be cut or suggest ways to save money, only to give limited input to decisions that were essentially already made. That way when the School Board made their decisions, they could say that they were based on what the community wanted. This is not true leadership, but it is the way things have been done in the Kent School District for years.

Ask some of the teachers about the "committees" in the district. They would be a joke if they weren't such a waste of time and money. The next thing you know, we will be having committees to discuss committees.

Re: Kent teachers: We're striking - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 03:05:48 -0000

Sometimes an illegal action is the right one to take, unless you believe that the civil rights movement also should not have happened because it was illegal? I think we should teach our kids to do what is right, not what is legal. The two are not always the same.

Merit pay might work assuming the evaluators knew what they were doing. Unfortunately, from what I have seen, many of the administrators are there because they couldn't cut it in the classroom. I don't know that I would want my boss to evaluate my job if he couldn't do it himself.

Re: Strike vote: Decision day arrives for Kent teachers - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:43:53 -0000

Please watch the subtle bias in your articles. One example in this article is the adjective "official" in the description of the school district site. This implies that it is to be trusted and the inference is that the KEA site is not to be trusted. I know there was a tight deadline on this, but as a newspaper, you should be impartial.

On a related note, thank you for now including the KEA site so that readers such as myself can view both sides of the issue and make our decision about whom to support.

Re: Kent schools, union still talking; strike vote is Wednesday - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:57:52 -0000

Oh, I also looked at the Kent Teacher's Blog to see what information is there since this was obviously only from the district's view. (I belive in getting both sides of a story, and unfortunately couldn't get them both in this article.)

It looks like some of the progress made thus far has simply been less significant than what this article would make it seem. For example, one of the agreements was about an increase in guest teacher pay. This is true, but some more detailed information would have been helpful, since the increase was $0.04 per day. Yes, you saw that correctly, four cents per day. Why is this number so small? According to the union, because the district will save money due to an accounting glitch with their software. Adding pennies to the guest teacher's pay will save money in the bean-counting department, so it is a good investment.

The increased pay for specialists that was reported was not an across-the-board increase, but rather an increase for specialists who obtained national certification similar to the national certification available to teachers. Presumbably, only some specialists would qualify for this, and they would be the best in their fields (and probably a very limited since they would make far more in the private sector). Is this a substantial agreement or just something so insignificant they could agree on it?

Finally, there is the example of allowing teachers to take time off for their union convention. From what I can find, up to 35 teachers would be eligible to miss one day of school to attend their state convention, but the teachers' union would still be responsible for paying for the guest teachers for that day. This issue doesn't even seem like something they would have to argue about since it didn't cost the district anything.

It doesn't look to me like much is getting done at all. Come on, there is less than a week left before school is due to start. It's time to get serious.

Re: Kent schools, union still talking; strike vote is Wednesday - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:39:55 -0000

Hmmmm, this is the first time I've seen that 6% figure, and I am somewhat suspicious of this since this information came from the district, not the teacher's union. ("Officials from the KEA did not return calls before deadline for this story.") From what I've heard and read, the teachers have LOWERED the amount of money they're asking for, and I've never seen that figure before.

I'd like to see the class-size proposal that the district says would cost $32 million. How is that number reached? I know how to get class-sizes reduced--get more teachers in the classroom by putting more of the various instructional coaches, technology coaches, etc. BACK in the classroom. These are nice to have, but in a recession, we can't afford them to be coaching, we need them in the game. Since these people already hold certificates and are already paid by the district, putting them back in the classroom wouldn't cost anything.

What about administrators? Do we really need so many at every school? (Many of the high schools have 5!) What if they taught instead? That 6-figure salary would be cut almost in half, thereby allowing the remainder to be used for hiring yet another teacher! It's time to get creative instead of finding roadblocks.

Re: 'Really an anomaly': Kent Schools budget shows dip in revenues - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 01:28:20 -0000

When was this announced? I thought the next School Board meeting wasn't until Wednesday, after the teachers take their vote. What a coincidence that this information was released today. Perhaps I am a cynic, but this definitely makes me suspicious. Who is playing games and why? The education of my children is not a game!

I have always believed in public education, but now I am beginning to question whether that is the best option for my children, at least as long as we live in Kent or as long as the current School Board is in power. Does anyone have any recommendations for good private schools?

Re: Kent School District declaes impasse in negotiations with union - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:18:34 -0000

children's advocate,

You say, "We get what we pay for. If we pay the lowest rate, we'll get the least qualified." You make this argument in reference to wanting the experts managing our buildings and our computers, our "billion dollars of assests." If this argument is true, and I agree that it is, then why, oh why, would it not also apply to our teachers and our most important assets, our children?! If the Kent School District pays the lowest rate for its teachers, we are going to get the least qualified. We WILL get what we pay for. My children are my most important asset, certainly more so than some fancy computers at the district level and they deserve more than they are currently getting!

This may be a state problem, but it is also a local problem. Other districts DO face the same funding problems as Kent does and they manage to pay their teachers better. How do they do this? Why isn't our School Board or new Superintendent telling us this? Are they asking those questions? Why not? If other districts are able to do this without horrible financial consequences, how? We need to demand answers, not just accept the information the district has chosen to give us. They work for us, the taxpayers, citizens, and parents of Kent, not the other way around.

I would rather have the teachers fight for more time with my kids rather than just give up. I'd like to get to long-term solutions here rather than a quick fix. If my kids miss a few days of school (that they will make up later), the long-term cost to them is nothing, although the short-term cost will be some discomfort. If no solutions are found and good teachers are lost, the long-term cost will be far-reaching and detrimental, but the short-term solution will only last a few days.

Do I think we can solve everything here? No, obviously something needs to be done at a state level. But can we do something in our district that has worked in other districts? I think we can, we just have to have the leadership to find out what we need to change and do it.

Re: Kent Station office space for Social Security Administration a mistake - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:44:54 -0000

Re: Kent School District declaes impasse in negotiations with union - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:38:56 -0000

The school district will do what we, the citizens and parents of Kent, ask them to do. The School Board is elected by us. They oversee the workings of the district and vote on the budget, hire the Superintendent, and direct bargaining. This is not only up to the teachers of the Kent School Distict. The School Board has just as much to do with this situation as the teachers do. If you don't want a strike, it is your duty to tell the School Board that you want this resolved. I'm sure that even though School Board President Jim Berrios is busy with his campaign for mayor, he still has time to listen to our concerns. We also have time before school starts to voice our opinion at the next School Board meeting on August 26 at 7:00 PM. I know I will be there.

Re: Kent School District declaes impasse in negotiations with union - Kent Reporter

kentmom — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:28:40 -0000

The figure of salaries are 85% of the budget takes into account all salaries. Look up how many high level administrators there are at the district level and what their salaries are. Becky Hanks, the PR specialist makes over six figures. The new superintendent makes over $240,000 for his base salary. There are more than 20 administrators at the district office that make over 6-figure salaries.

The school district likes to talk about how they are below the average in administrative costs for a district this size. This is true, but ONLY because Seattle's administrative costs are so high that the average is skewed. Kent's administrative costs come in as #2 in the state for a district this size. This year, the district supposedly cut over $3 million in "administrative costs" but most of those costs were actually teacher coaches who were put back into the classroom. No real administrators were cut, it was just a shell game.

I agree that the money needs to come from somewhere and that it should be from a place that doesn't impact the kids. Let's start at the highest levels and work our way down. After all, how many supervisors and paper pushers do we really need?