Attention citizens of District Pasco, we have some incoming messages from the capitol!
Please click here to enjoy a heightened reading experience through ceremonious capitol music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKKVM1n97kI
Huddle up, my fellow district residents. Strange things are happening on the PSD web site! A new post went up to address Monday's "surprise" meeting, and Michelle Whitney's letter addressing the issue of curriculum was mysteriously replaced with a new post from PSD. The new posts can be found here (at lease for now until PSD deletes them like they do with so many other documents they've posted).
http://www.psd1.org/Page/7624
http://www.psd1.org/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&ModuleInstanceID=7446&ViewID=BFDB0E41-E373-404B-B8D3-19C77276CE2D&RenderLoc=0&FlexDataID=10790&PageID=1
Although you can click on the link to read the posts for yourself, we now realize the district is removing documents from their website, so we have taken the added precaution of copying and time-stamping ALL district documents for future reference (we suggest you do the same).
Alright, my denizens! Let's hear this new report from the capitol! Er, PSD!
Several questions have been asked by patrons.
Is that us? That's us, right!
The Board has asked that these questions and any answers be posted for all to see. The email address info@psd1.org has been set up specifically for your questions regarding bargaining, as well as any other questions you might have.
How handy! I actually have written to this email address with specific questions! ...I haven't gotten any replies yet, but I'm sure they are totally about to answer. Also, as an aside, why would I send anything to this email when I could just send my questions directly to the school board or call and ask to talk to an administrator in the Booth building? Almost seems like a way to file all uncomfortable questions into an informational abyss... Anyway, more announcements incoming!
Questions about curriculum:
Is that us? That's us, right!
The Board has asked that these questions and any answers be posted for all to see. The email address info@psd1.org has been set up specifically for your questions regarding bargaining, as well as any other questions you might have.
How handy! I actually have written to this email address with specific questions! ...I haven't gotten any replies yet, but I'm sure they are totally about to answer. Also, as an aside, why would I send anything to this email when I could just send my questions directly to the school board or call and ask to talk to an administrator in the Booth building? Almost seems like a way to file all uncomfortable questions into an informational abyss... Anyway, more announcements incoming!
Questions about curriculum:
Is it true that Pasco doesn’t have any curriculum?
Wait! Didn't we just see this question somewhere else, but with a different answer?
This
is false. Pasco School District has board-adopted and supplemental
curriculum and instructional materials in all content areas. The Pasco
program allows for flexibility, choice, and professional discretion on
the part of teachers to best meet the needs of Pasco students. A “one
size fits all” approach to curriculum does not work for all students
with diverse learning needs. The District provides instructional
materials and has included teachers in the selection and development of
those materials to best meet the needs of Pasco students. This Excel workbook outlines our adopted and supplemental materials K-8.
Didn't they just say in the other post that they are looking into whether or not we have sufficient curriculum? And I've actually heard teachers complaining that no, they don't have curriculum, which I'm assuming a teacher would actually know. Also, haven't multiple teachers complained that they are asked for their input in matters like this, only to have all their comments and suggestions ignored or misrepresented to the board? I guess they do have a point here, one size does NOT fit all, but if nothing is provided, you can guarantee that coat don't fit. Am I right?
The
state standards in multiple subjects have changed several times over
the last few years, including this year. 2014-15 is the first full year
of implementation of the new Washington Standards which were adopted
from the Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards. Because
these standards in Math, English/Language Arts and Science are new, the
publishing companies have not been able to keep up in the development of
instructional materials to match the standards. Any adoption in these
subjects will cost millions of dollars and the District does not want to
sink that much money in materials that aren’t updated. Teachers need
materials and resources to meet the new standards.
The common core state standards may be new to Washington, but they are not new. They have been around for several years, and quality books are available. Sorry, but this is a really lame excuse. Like parachute pants in 1996 lame. Some of our text books are more than 20 years old and out of print. Has the district been waiting for 15 years for a common core aligned book to be written? Um, nope. They have simply neglected curriculum for years and they finally got caught. So they are making up excuses to cover their own, generously compensated behinds. Will it cost millions of dollars? Yup. But it's worth it. What good is a school without curriculum? The state has given us millions of dollars over the past fifteen years to use for curriculum, but we chose to use it on other things. Not investing in curriculum now is like telling a child you won't buy them a coat this winter because it probably won't fit them next year.
The District has provided time and support for teachers to work together to plan lessons and units. Curriculum and Professional Development leadership continues to expand the work began last spring to find materials that better match the brand new standards.
The common core state standards may be new to Washington, but they are not new. They have been around for several years, and quality books are available. Sorry, but this is a really lame excuse. Like parachute pants in 1996 lame. Some of our text books are more than 20 years old and out of print. Has the district been waiting for 15 years for a common core aligned book to be written? Um, nope. They have simply neglected curriculum for years and they finally got caught. So they are making up excuses to cover their own, generously compensated behinds. Will it cost millions of dollars? Yup. But it's worth it. What good is a school without curriculum? The state has given us millions of dollars over the past fifteen years to use for curriculum, but we chose to use it on other things. Not investing in curriculum now is like telling a child you won't buy them a coat this winter because it probably won't fit them next year.
The District has provided time and support for teachers to work together to plan lessons and units. Curriculum and Professional Development leadership continues to expand the work began last spring to find materials that better match the brand new standards.
Actually, I believe one of the things being bargained for is adequate, uninterrupted time for teachers to do exactly that. I believe you have claimed this extra fifteen minutes for planning would cost over 900,000 dollars, even though the first sixty minutes you have quoted out as about 300,000. While I appreciate time is money, it seems some time costs more than others.
In
any school district, work is ongoing to make sure teaching practices
are current and innovative ideas can be implemented. For example, last
year teachers were given the unique opportunity to develop innovative
STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lessons for Franklin
STEM Elementary. They were paid for the time they spent on this work.
OH! So you are saying the only current and innovative curriculum in the district was written by the teachers? How nice! Teachers are pretty amazing, aren't they?
In addition, with the change in state standards, all districts must ensure their curriculum, materials and lessons meet the standards, and that any gaps are addressed. This work is underway in Pasco.
Not to sound jaded, President, er, Superintendent Hill, but I would really love some proof of this. Otherwise I feel this is as empty a promise as a single toffee in the hunger games. After you've been mortally wounded by a snake.
OH! So you are saying the only current and innovative curriculum in the district was written by the teachers? How nice! Teachers are pretty amazing, aren't they?
In addition, with the change in state standards, all districts must ensure their curriculum, materials and lessons meet the standards, and that any gaps are addressed. This work is underway in Pasco.
Not to sound jaded, President, er, Superintendent Hill, but I would really love some proof of this. Otherwise I feel this is as empty a promise as a single toffee in the hunger games. After you've been mortally wounded by a snake.
What can the district communicate about bargaining?
We will continue to post the most recent proposals from both PSD and PAE on our website www.psd1.org as they become available.
The district does post proposals, unfortunately
they change the price of things at every turn, so it is hard to
understand exactly how good or bad a proposal is. It would be nice to have this in a consistent, more simple to understand format.
We remain optimistic that an agreement will be reached and that students will be back in school on time.
Are you really optimistic? That's hard to believe, when the school board just authorized Saundra to become the supreme chancellor of the public school senate and
use any means necessary to force teachers back to work. It seems like the optimistic thing to do here would be to at least wait till after the next five bargaining days are complete before handing Emperor, er, Superintendent Hill the single push nuclear red button.
The district agrees that teachers deserve higher salaries which are the responsibility of the State.
The
district agrees that teachers deserve more pay, but say they can't
offer it because it is the responsibility of the state. If this were
true every teacher in every district in the state would be paid the exact same wage.
But they aren't. Teachers in many other districts have salaries funded
by local money.
However, in order to settle this contract,
the District has increased its financial offer over 300% since
bargaining started. The parties remain far apart.
Hmm. You say you have increased their financial offer 300%. Let's
assume for a minute that we can trust this fuzzy math. But... just
because you offered more money, doesn't mean you are offering a better
deal. Let's pretend you need a car. Someone responds by offering
you an apple. Then to "compromise" when you indicate that no, an apple is not a car, you are offered a puppy. The
puppy is roughly 300% larger than the apple! Great deal right? No! Of
course not, it's still nothing like a car! And you have to feed it and clean up after the poop! Even if it's a really cute puppy, unless you can ride that puppy to work every day, this is not a good
compromise. Just because the district claims to be offering something
bigger doesn't mean it's actually a better deal.
What is the ending fund balance?
Ending fund balance is a snapshot of a school district's net assets at the end of the fiscal year on August 31. Districts are required by law to separate the balance into three areas based on the claim against them. These claims could be external (grantor or special program restrictions, purchase order commitments) or internal (board direction, management recommendations).
Bucket #1 contains dollars that are already spent, being carried over for items purchased before August 31 that will be paid after that date, and carryover from special purpose funds, such as federal or state grants which are not available for flexible use.
Bucket #2 is the board adopted 5% of revenue unrestricted fund balance. This is among the sound accounting practices that earned the district top bond ratings, saving Pasco taxpayers dollars.
Bucket #3 is assigned by the board. Assignments are made based on the board’s priorities and to manage future expenses, like one’s savings account when a big purchase is in the future. For example, an assignment exists to replace electronic devices. In the world of fund balances only Bucket #3 is flexible and can be reassigned based on the board’s priorities. These priorities were developed in public meetings.
I'm sorry, you're going to have to go back here and show me which public meeting these priorities were developed in. I've been to school board meetings and read the minutes from them. Little communication happens, which is mostly unrelated to approval items, then things are approved. It looks like all the discussion took place previously before important decisions are made. But I can't find out where these public discussions happened. It really looks suspiciously like all important decisions are happening through private email, phone and other conversations. Or, the ever ubiquitous, Pasco School Board Executive Session.
How much is the ending fund balance? Is it really $37 million?
How much is the ending fund balance? Is it really $37 million?
The ESTIMATED ending fund balance in all three buckets last fall was a total of $37 million, broken out as follows:
Bucket #1: $12.5 million in specific program carry over and encumbrances which have legal restrictions on their use (money that has already been spent or can only be spent on specific programs)
Bucket #2: $8.2 million in the Board-adopted unrestricted and unreserved 5% fund balance.
Bucket #3: $15.2 million in assignments which are priorities established by the board. These dollars can be and have been reprioritized by the board, but are only one-time dollars that cannot be used for ongoing salaries. The board could choose to use them to pay for one-time costs which have been part of the District’s bargaining proposal.
So you're saying this is for big, one time expenses. That means we could use if for something like Curriculum!
Why can’t you use the ending fund balance for salaries?
The ending fund balance is made up of money assigned over time for future purchases that are larger than any single year’s expenditure budget. There is no revenue stream to replace the dollars once they are spent. Salaries are ongoing costs and must have a revenue source to support them from year to year. Once it’s spent, there is no more to replenish it.
Why can’t you use the ending fund balance for salaries?
The ending fund balance is made up of money assigned over time for future purchases that are larger than any single year’s expenditure budget. There is no revenue stream to replace the dollars once they are spent. Salaries are ongoing costs and must have a revenue source to support them from year to year. Once it’s spent, there is no more to replenish it.
A Big, One Time Expense like curriculum! Please? Curriculum please?
The District cannot commit money it doesn’t have to future, ongoing expenses. Let’s say you saved $100 from every paycheck until you had $4000. While you could use that money on a down payment for a house or car, you could not plan to use that $4000 to cover your house or car payments every month for the future.
The
37 million dollars is money they have left over. That means it was
income at some point. Extra income! We don't have 37 million each year,
but we do have some extra each year and that pile of cash has been
growing. Where is this stockpiled cash coming from, exactly?
Was the Monday, August 24 special board meeting legal?
Yes.
No. At the best it was questionably legal and totally flew in the face of the purpose of public meetings and the laws we have for announcing them. Which is to, you know, provide adequate notice and opportunity for the public to attend these meetings.
The Board may call special meetings when it deems it necessary. The district is required to provide notice 24 hours in advance of public meetings. Notice was sent out to the media and the meeting was posted on the District website on August 23, 2015 prior to 9 a.m. announcing the special meeting on August 24, 2015 at 9 a.m.
Really? Really? Because most parents, citizens and tax payers watch media outlets like hawks on Sunday mornings, so it was a good guarantee that all your constituents would have adequate notice. Never mind that many people have work Monday mornings so that even knowing the time and place wouldn't allow them to attend. Why not put it on your own website front page? Or announce it at 9 a.m. on your Facebook page? It looks like you mentioned it only after people pawed through the information elsewhere and blasted it across other social media platforms.
Executive Sessions may be called for specific purposes only and are allowed under state law. Board decisions can only be made in a public meeting.
Executive Sessions may be called for specific purposes only and are allowed under state law. Board decisions can only be made in a public meeting.
So
what was their specific purpose for this suddenly announced and much criticized meeting? They can only meet to discuss
the possible price of real estate and to discuss disciplining a specific
employee. Which one were they talking about today?
Why did the board cancel the regular meeting of August 25?
Why did the board cancel the regular meeting of August 25?
The board and its bargaining team will be focusing their energies on reaching an agreement with PAE and getting our students back to school on time. There is no more important business right now. It is the most important work that can be done.
The
board, per your suggestion, has not attended a single bargaining session. Why would they need
to cancel a meeting to focus on bargaining?. And if they really want to
deal with bargaining issues wouldn't it be good to have a venue where
parents and teachers can express their concerns first? The next
bargaining day isn't until Wednesday, so why couldn't the regularly
scheduled board meeting still be held on Tuesday night?
Oh, and by the way, it is illegal to reschedule a regularly scheduled board meeting without 20 days notice. You might have sort-of checked boxes, but you've still broken faith with the public here.
Didn’t the legislature give districts more money?
Oh, and by the way, it is illegal to reschedule a regularly scheduled board meeting without 20 days notice. You might have sort-of checked boxes, but you've still broken faith with the public here.
Didn’t the legislature give districts more money?
Yes, but it came with strings attached and very little discretion on how it is spent. The legislature is still not fully funding education. The 3% for salary increases goes directly to state-funded staff, while districts must provide that COLA to other employees through local levy dollars. As school funding steadily decreased over the years, districts were force to cover the cost of operating, to include personnel costs, with local levy dollars. For example Pasco pays librarians, counselors, and student achievement specialist, just to name a few, with levy dollars.
You mean those levy dollars that are at risk because the voters might not choose to fund another levy after all the dust settles from this fiasco? Yep. Breaking faith with the voters is gonna have fiscal consequences eventually. Too bad, because it's the students who inevitably suffer when this happens. I will be having an "I told you so" party in 3 years, you can bring the cake.
Didn’t everyone get a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) paid for by the State?
Didn’t everyone get a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) paid for by the State?
Yes, everyone gets a COLA. But, no, the State will not pay for everyone’s COLA. Providing the 3% (in 20015-16) and 1.8% (in 2016-2017) to employees not paid by state dollars falls completely to the District’s local dollars, stretching that revenue source even further.
You mean that it would be very wise to spend all our money in a prudent conservative fashion and not go about paying for things like a lobbyist, an expensive Seattle law firm to help keep Ms. Hill out of jail, or other prudent things like that?
Do teachers have to buy all their supplies?
Do teachers have to buy all their supplies?
The District strives to ensure students and staff members have the necessary materials and supplies in classrooms. School buildings are allocated money for supplies and materials every year, based on the number of students enrolled in the school. Schools have the flexibility to decide how these funds are allocated to support teachers.
We value our teachers and the work that they do.
"We value you, we just don't want to talk with or listen to you."
We believe they should be fully compensated for their work. However, the State controls the revenue sources for full and fair teacher compensation. Our legislators must fully fund education in our state, including fair and sustainable salaries and benefits for our teachers.
And yet the district can find the money to "fully compensate" all the inflated paychecks and benefits packages of the Booth building administrators. They "fully compensated" Saundra Hill with a $24,000 bonus last year, and a $41,000 bonus the year before that. It appears that PSD actually believes in fully funding their own Pampered Chef parties and Mustang convertibles.
The real tragedy here is that we are losing so many great teachers who are getting burnt out and leaving.
PSD's
actions continue to baffle us. We do not know when or how a solution
will be reached. What we do know is that we love our teachers. We really
love our teachers. And we stand with you in your fight to provide the
best possible education to our children.
Please click here to enjoy some exciting exit music!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdYDzTtaulo
For those of you who haven't gotten enough, here is the new version of what use to be Michelle Whitney's letter but is now just a letter....
We
don't think it's necessary to post this first letter in its entirety,
anyone can compare this new document to the one previously posted and
copied for view by reviewing our own previous blog post. (http://pascotruth.blogspot.com/2015/08/curriculum-mysteries-with-special-guest.html) Much of what was posted is just a rehash of
Michelle Whitney's letter from last week, but her name and face have
suddenly been removed from this post. Perhaps they simply don't want Ms. Whitney associated with this "information"?
Is it true that Pasco doesn't have any curriculum?
No,
it is not true. First, our content and instructional approaches are
outlined in our strategic plan. They are Balanced Literacy,
Developmental Writing Continuum, Inquiry Science, Problem Solving Math,
Guided Language Acquisition Design, High Yield Instructional Strategies,
Danielson Instructional Framework, Literacy Squared and Instructional
Framework including Interventions.
Note
that none of these things are actually curriculum. The district even
says it themselves. They say these are "instructional approaches."
These
were identified in 2008 as part of the strategic planning process and
approved by the board. They have been part of the strategic planning
process, and have been refreshed and renewed since that time.
Still not talking about curriculum...
We
have instructional materials that philosophically align with the
expectations of our content and instructional approaches. The
transition to the new Washington State Learning Standards has created a
context requiring us to be reflective about the extent to which our
existing content/instructional approaches and materials align to the new
academic expectations.
So now we have some "instructional materials" that may or may not align with state standards.
Our approach is two-fold. First, is to provide a support system for teachers in the short term.
· ELA Pacing Guide/Math Curriculum Guide
· Aligned interim assessments
· Vetting process for units, lessons, materials and strategies
Is
there mention of who will make these? When teachers will receive them?
How they will be implemented? Is this happening now or is this a hope
for the future? So many questions!
Second,
a plan of reviewing instructional materials K-12 will be developed in
coordination with principals and teachers. This systematic approach to
materials review will begin with K-8 Literacy in the fall of 2015.
Are
you saying we don't already have a plan for reviewing instructional
materials? How do we know if/when we need new materials? How have we
been functioning as a district this long without a plan? Why are
several people paid more than $100,000 a year to be in charge of
curriculum, but it's still not taken care of?
This Excel workbook outlines
our adopted and supplemental materials K-8. There are also
spreadsheets outlining the Literacy Library titles at each building and
materials provided for our bilingual classes by grade level. A similar
document for 9-12 is under review and will be provided as soon as
possible.
As
you can see this is basically the same document as was posted last
week, just without Michelle Whitney's name attached to it. Why this was
done is anyone's guess.
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