This entry was scheduled to post on Monday morning but didn’t – not sure what happened.
Look at the end of the previous post to read more about a $120 million calculation boo-boo that Dr. Christine Johns-Haines presented to her state legislature to present her school district as one in dire straits. Intentional misrepresentation or unintentional miscalculation?
I have no clue, I’m just punting the information to you. So, have fun with that.
Now, we have this:
If JCPS hires Dr. Johns, will she remain loyal to our school district when she’s rewarded with a contract worth over a million dollars for four years of service or will she start looking for a better gig a few months down the road?
Another thing.
If she’s under contract with Utica Community Schools for another three years, who’s on the hook for the balance of her contract? Will Utica say it’s no big deal to cut her loose or will somebody get shaken down for Utica’s costs to replace Dr. Johns? How does that work, anyone know?
Is this superintendent candidate for Jefferson County Public Schools someone who will look out for the best interests of our children or is this someone who is always looking out for Number One?
Just say no to Harvard.
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As I listened to Mr. Imhoff reading this woman’s resume/experience, I was troubled by her constant moving. If someone is going to do this job, we have to be able to count on that person to BE THERE for the long haul. At least, I think so.
The current Board runs the school system. They just want a figurehead. Whoever takes the job will not be here long so it doesn’t matter if she wants to leave or not. She will be leaving 3-4 years anyway due to failure and the Board will need another sacrificial victim
I was just curious as to what your take is on Dr. Hargens. Is she simply “the lesser of two evils”? With her recent comment that she doesn’t make policy, she just implements it, I am afraid…very afraid.
Hargens is a better fit for us – on paper.
Which means she probably won’t be the one the board hires.
The Michigan House passed teacher tenure reform today. Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, was one of the few Democrats who voted for the package. On the House floor, he told colleagues of a school in his district where only 5 percent of students were understanding math at grade level, and only 11 percent were reading at grade level. “Yet every teacher at that school was rated ‘exemplary’ by the school administration,” he said. “That’s an insult to educators.” From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110610/POLITICS02/106100382/House-targets-teacher-tenure#ixzz1Osj7wq5p
Almost every teacher in UCS is “well qualified.” It is noteworthy that at Utica High School, with a graduation rate of 98 percent, less than 17 percent of students were deemed college ready. Eisenhower High School, which scored the highest in the Utica district with a 29.5 percent college readiness rate and a 99 percent graduation rate, was No. 20 in Michigan. After the layoffs and school closures, guess what, the remaining teachers get an INCREASE in pay because, you guessed it, their contract says they get MORE MONEY per student over their comfort level. Yes, they get paid more where they state they can teach less. I know, it sounds crazy, but that is the way it works in the education industry. Everyone just plays along and takes their share of the $260 Million Dollar pie.
And then there is the cuts to education and creative accounting. Utica Community Schools said they cut $65 million since 2002, but audit reports say they will spend $53.5 million more in 2011 than in 2002. Is that an honest, candid discussion of the budget cuts?
UCS has some of the highest paid teachers in the state and Dr. Johns is, I think, in the top three in pay for a school district superintendent in the state. The kitchen is getting hot in Michigan – it is produce or be fired. Once the emergency financial manager is appointed, the entire crazy train will finally, thankfully, come to a screeching halt.