Message Board

New members

bluesbros529 — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:59:53 GMT

It's nice to see so many brand new members who are obviously passionate about the teacher's issues. (both sides) I hope that when all of the smoke clears and the issues are resolved, you continue to come back and discuss the other issues that involve us all here in V-Town, political and otherwise. Welcome aboard !

Forum: General Discussion

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Forum: Classifieds & Personals

07-08 Salaries from Ohio Dept Ed

JohnL — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 03:55:21 GMT

Forum: General Discussion

stress breaker

Darth_Vader — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:28:41 GMT

In regards to the "looming" strike. At least we can have some fun and attend the football game tonight as our Sailors play Amherst at home. No wait, we will probably lose by 40 points and get rained on. Good fun though.

Forum: General Discussion

The mayor would like to thank teachers and BOE

AFreshStart — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:40:18 GMT

Rumor has it that the mayor would like to make a proclamation thanking the teachers and BOE for taking the heat off of her for the past few weeks.

Since the BOE has been using its public meetings to pursue negotiations without the annoyance of having the teachers constantly refuting their claims, and since the teachers have been going out of their way to get on Mr. Blackwell's list of Worst Dressed Suburban Gangs, the mayor has been enjoying a late summer of relatively peaceful existence.

And, since the teachers enjoy being seen out and about, the mayor would like to work out an agreement whereby the teachers parade down particular city streets right after the Dura-Patcher has been used. Further requesting that the teachers adopt a slow shuffling parade gait, it is thought that this might be useful in removing the over-abundance of stone, grit, and other garbage left behind by the city's $50000 street trasher...ummm, I mean street patcher.

It was thought that the proclamation could be introduced and adopted by an emergency vote since that appears to be the only kind of voting normally seen on Monday evenings during Council meetings.

Just remember, this is all rumor, possibly started by me, and may not actually reflect the real life dramas currently taking place in our fair city.

When I am done writing this, I will print out a copy and stuff it into a drawer for my later reading enjoyment. And, if any of you think this is a totally inappropriate posting given the current state of affairs in the city, then I suggest that you also print out a copy and stuff it.

Forum: General Discussion

BOE Meeting on Monday 9/8

InvisibleGirl — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:23:15 GMT

I think as parents, we need to attend this board meeting if no agreement is reached so we can make a statement that this has to stop. Are the teachers still attending the meetings? I know my daughter has a lot to say about how this is affecting HER and I think this may be the place to say it. Frankly, I'm tired of listening to both sides. I don't totally believe either one. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and in the course of all this, what matters the most is being overlooked. Our children. If we can speak as parents (or if you don't like public speaking, at least come and lend your support) and if you have kids that would like to speak, please...come to this meeting. If the teachers are there as well, let both sides see who is really being affected the most by this. Please understand, I am not speaking for any side. I am speaking for my kids. And they want to be heard. They NEED to be heard.

K

Forum: General Discussion

Why are my children being used as leverage??

sgatliff11 — Thur, 04 Sep 2008 14:08:32 GMT

It is time to speak out. I understand that the teachers want and deserve a raise, however, I do not believe that my children should be used as leverage to reach this goal. Why not strike during the summer months, when the children would not have to sacrifice their education or the safety and security of a structured classroom, which we all pay taxes for??? Because our children would not be available to make a statement...this is ridiculous. Our entire country is economically stressed. People are losing jobs, getting hours cut back and at the bare minimum, having to suck up insurance premium increases. Don't you agree that the teachers should feel blessed to have a secure position in the workforce, when so many do not have this luxury? So many people are struggling with the state of the economy, but we are definitely not quitting our jobs or going on strike to prove a point. We are thankful to have an income and the teachers of Vermilion should be too. Instead, we will have to send our children through a picket line each morning, only to enter an over-stuffed classroom with a "teacher" in combat standing in the front while parents sit at work worrying about their children being scared, unsupervised and unsafe. Good luck, I can't wait to see how this affects MY pocketbook......

Forum: General Discussion

Open your home to the mayor

LookingForLove — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 11:12:59 GMT

Someone on Edson Street should invite the mayor to stay with them for a week or two. While the mayor enjoys the hospitality, she will also have to deal with driving on that so-called "street". Since a street where the mayor lives seems to be the only one that gets fixed, this might get Edson to look more like a street and less like the Appalachian Trail.

I know Edson is supposed to be fixed soon, but it should have been done YEARS AGO! Definitely, it should have been done before a certain part of Edgewater.

Forum: Ask The Residents

What is a fair contract?

JackBlack — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:35:51 GMT

Of course I want a fair contract for the teachers. My question is this: What "exactly" is a fair contract? I posed this to 2 teachers up at VIS and they could not give me a straight answer. If you teachers want my support, I want to know what is it that would make the contract "fair"?
I understand the money is there right now for you to have your raise, however, will the money still be there next year? How can the board legally sign a contract to pay you "x" amount for 3 years when they don't know if they will have the money to pay you that next year? And then they are supposed to go to the tax payers and say, "Hey we agreed to pay the teachers "X" amount and now we don't have the money so... you need to pass this levy?".
In all seriousness, I need to know exactly what you want and what they are offering so that I can make up my mind on what is and is not fair.

Forum: General Discussion

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Forum: Classifieds & Personals

CLOSE THE SCHOOLS

lyndi — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:32:35 GMT

The BOE should close the schools if a strike does happen, if all concerned
have to make up for lost days in the summer you will see a shorter strike.

Forum: General Discussion

looming strike

concernedmom — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:59:58 GMT

With the talk of maybe of a lockout tomorrow and the announcement on the 9th of the strike. What are you as parents thinking of doing?

Forum: General Discussion

This is the company who will supply us teachers

willh — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 23:35:59 GMT

I don't have a lot of trust in what we will get, I for one will not send my children to school if this is who they are using, and would not subject them to crossing a picket line.

No one is being taught' (messy teachers' strike in my hometown)
Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | September 5, 2002 | Patrick O'Donnell and Ronald Rutti

Posted on Thursday, September 05, 2002 9:04:09 AM by E Rocc

Maple Heights

- Students roamed school hallways, watched TV and left when they pleased on Day One of a teachers strike yesterday.

With only 75 substitutes to replace the district's 235 teachers, supervision was lax, students were bored and instruction was limited, students said. Teachers, seeking a 6 percent pay raise, struck after contract talks broke off Tuesday night.

"The teachers aren't even trying to keep us under control," said 10th-grader Danielle Clark. "They said they get paid anyway. It doesn't matter."

Students said some of the substitutes swore at them. At least three fights were seen among ninth-graders.

Parent Anthony Peck said, "The kids were running around in the high school. . . . I'm not sending my kids back unless they get taken care of."

It was tamer in the lower grades but about as educational. Milkovich Middle School students said they watched "Jerry Springer" on the TV in a classroom and held dance contests in the back of the room when the set was switched to music channels.

For instruction, high school students were massed in an auditorium and the cafeteria and given a printout to review on youth voting in the United States. The exercise was marked as a sixth-to-eighth grade activity. Later, youths were assembled by grade for group lessons in math, history, English and science.

"No one is being taught. Nothing is going on, so I just walked out," said Kelly Fiorentini, a high school ninth-grader. She left around 9 a.m. School had started 70 minutes earlier.

Students were seen leaving throughout the day. By afternoon, some were accompanied by parents, who sprang the children after cell phone calls convinced parents that the children were wasting their time.

Vanessa Brown was one who went to the high school to pick up her son, but the office did not know where he was because students were not in the classrooms normally assigned to them.

The one-hour search for Jonathan gave Brown a firsthand look at operations.

"It's just havoc," she reported. "They need to settle this thing or release the kids because they are not learning."

Several students said some kids smashed a TV by pushing it off a stand and down a stairway. Schools Superintendent Henry Rish confirmed a TV was damaged but said reports of chaos and vandalism in buildings were unfounded. He said student attendance districtwide was 86 percent.

Alternative Workforce, of Troy, Mich., had assured the district there would be 117 substitute teachers yesterday. The six district schools have 3,800 students.

Krause said he expected a larger number of substitutes today and promised a better second day.

"We need a little bit of ramp time to get things rolling," he said.

But his words did not satisfy a woman who has children in the middle school and Stafford Elementary.

"They sent a letter home saying elaborate plans were in place in the event of a strike and everything was going to run smoothly," she said. "That is not the case."

It was relatively quiet on the picket lines. Strikers hectored replacements reporting for work, but stayed off school property. Their actions were watched closely by uniformed security guards supplied by Huffmaster Crisis Response, a companion company of Alternative Workforce. At a regularly scheduled City Council meeting last night, residents packed the chambers and complained about the conditions at the school. Mayor Santo Incorvaia told parents repeatedly that he and council members have no direct control over the school and that they should raise their complaints with the school board.

Ohio is one of 17 states that allows public schoolteachers to strike. The Ohio Department of Education does not interfere in labor disputes, a spokesman said, and investigates the quality of education only if a formal complaint is made.

August 30, 2006 -- Officers hired to patrol school are fired after background checks

SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) - Eight security officers hired to provide protection during a teachers strike were fired after background checks revealed they had prior convictions and arrests.

Charges against the officers hired by a private company included robbery and sexual assault, said Perkins Township Police Chief Tim McClung. Some also were using an alias, he said.

Teachers in the Perkins district, about 50 miles east of Toledo, voted unanimously Monday to strike and began picketing outside buildings, forcing administrators to hire substitutes and security officers for the first day of school Monday.

PERKINS DISTRICT STRIKE

8 guards at schools had criminal histories

Thursday, August 31, 2006

SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) ? Eight security officers hired to provide protection during a teachers strike were fired after background checks revealed they had prior convictions and arrests.

Charges against the officers included robbery and sexual assault, said Perkins Township Police Chief Tim McClung. Some also were using an alias, he said.

The officers were hired by Huffmaster Crisis Management, a private company based in Troy, Mich.

Teachers in the Perkins district, about 50 miles east of Toledo, voted unanimously Monday to strike and began picketing outside buildings. Administrators hired substitutes and security officers for the first day of school Monday.

Police conducted the background checks on 18 officers after a parent complained about one officer, McClung said. One officer was accused of cocaine possession about 20 days ago, he said.

"It upsets and concerns me that these types of individuals ... had the potential exposure to our children and community members," McClung said.

Peter Johnson, executive vice president of Huffmaster, said yesterday that the officers underwent background checks.

The workers were removed from the job site, he said, and the company is investigating the findings of the Perkins police chief.

Superintendent Sherry Buccieri said classes were running as smoothly as possible, but students told striking teachers that students were playing card games and talking on their phones during classes.

Nearly 20 students left school Tuesday with permission from their parents, and some joined the picketing teachers.

The union and Perkins Local Schools have talked for 17 months with little progress, said Bob Myer, spokesman for the Perkins Education Association. Among disputed issues are salary, discipline procedures and class size.

Forum: General Discussion

What if the teachers do strike?

JackBlack — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 20:57:08 GMT

Is it true that if the teachers DO strike, all games will be forfeited?

Forum: General Discussion

John McCain

Randy — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 01:38:22 GMT

WOW, McCain has my vote.....

She likes to fish and a member of the NRA!

Forum: Politics