Bravo to our good and brave School Committee members. The Peabody School Committee is trying to cover their own stupidity and arrogance by blaming the very people they have caused all the headaches for in the first place.
Salem News: Special ed pushed to cover rehiring
Let's take a look at this ever more sad chain of events and see if we, unlike School Committee member David McGeney, can see where the fault lies... and who is ultimately at fault here...
The School Committee is told by Mayor Bonfanti to slash the school budgets and prepare the school system for the obvious layoffs (remember... it was ONLY the Peabody Public Schools that needed to lay off ANYONE - every single other position in Peabody Government was considered NOT OVER BUDGET.)
Then the crack education folks on the School Committee told the school administrators to sharpen their budgets... and several meetings were held to hammer out a workable budget.
During one of these meetings a School Committee member (sorry, I forget who it was) asked if the school adjustment coordinator (SAC) positions might be cut instead of the elementary school guidance councilors... with the idea that other guidance councilors could do the work of the SACs.
To his partial credit, Superintendent Burnett told the SC that IT WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA.
And to show that they know more than the experts, they told the Superintendent to do it anyway... and to his chagrin, he fired the SACs.
Now, only a few months later... The truth about the SACs comes out. They are specialized positions requiring specialized certification... and without that certification the Peabody Schools will be OUT OF COMPLIANCE... which really means that they will be open to law suits from parents for failing to meet the educational requirements of students.
So.... guess what? Peabody now needs to REHIRE the two SACs that they sacked a few months back (sorry, couldn't resist).
Now the Superintendent looks like an ASS.
But even worse... the School Committee all look like ASSES.
How to fix this situation so that the School Committee members DON'T LOOK SO STUPID IN AN ELECTION YEAR???
I KNOW! They will put all the blame on the director of the Peabody Schools Special Education department, Patricia Bullard... BECAUSE SHE FOLLOWED THE ORDERS THEY TOLD HER TO FOLLOW IN THE FIRST PLACE.
And David McGeney even gets a little testy that she somehow simply can not wave her magic wand and restore the $140,000 that the School Committee took out of her budget when they removed these people in the first place.
I simply can not believe that after so many LOWS in the past few years that the Peabody Schools have yet again sunk to a new depth.
Shame on the Peabody School Committee.
Farewell Dark City....
11 years ago
5 comments:
OG says...
it's all about the money...to hell with common sense, compliance and Special Ed parameters...all the focus and energy every school budget year are on what we can cut and not on what we can do BETTER...this has been the modus operandi for school affairs in Dark City since OG was a pup....this is yet another example where the money mission was more signifigant than the educational mission.
micromanaging the district is exactly right.
Update your school committee elections section. Last post is Mike Moutsoulas is not running for re-election. What is your take on the newcomers?
Good point on the elections listings Anon. Frankly, I had decided to allow Keith's blog to do the main election stuff (it was Peabody Elections), but now it is not election specific.
I will work on that update this week.
OG says...
OG just got back from parent orientation night at the high school...maybe our School Committee can come up with a few bucks to put some room directory signs up in the place....even the students there can't even tell you where a room is !! whoever designed the layout in this building should be hung from the highest tree overlooking Brooksbly Farm ! C house, B house, A house...nut house !!!
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