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Jennifer,
What's a "superintentendent"? Is that a NEWly created position held by someone OTHER than Grier?? Please, please say, "yes"?!

Helen,

Not a new position. Just my typo. That's what you get when you try to type quickly and don't spellell checkeck. ;)

I'll go back and fix it. This is supposed to be an education blog so I'll try to keep the spelling and grammar up to par.

Jennifer, any chance of getting a copy of the proposed budget in advance to post online? Excel spreadsheet preferred. Thanks!

Lex,

I'll do my best. But if past history is any indication, the budget likely will be literally hot off the press. (OK, so maybe it's more like "lukewarm" off the press.)

They usually are updating everything to the very last minute before the board goes over it.

It is more likely that whatever I get will be posted after the meeting, once I get an e-mailed copy of it.

Thanks Jen for a new strand - we were starting to think you and Bruce bailed out on us. Must be real busy on some great new education reporting.

Thanks for getting that budget to us.

You guys are great!

Please excuse if this is a duplicate post.

Jen, thanks for working on getting that budget to us. We thought you and Bruce skipped town or something - sure needed a new strand.

You two must be very busy with a hot educational story.

It's great that there is a budget meeting, but unfortunately, most folks have to work during the day.

Barbara Ann

Are you sure you really want to see the GCS budget spreadsheet?

Yeah, it's a rhetorical question, but that budget is tough sledding, even when it's put in Excel for easier slicing and dicing.

If you want an idea of what you're in for, go here -- it's NCDPI's Uniform Chart of Accounts, the Rosetta Stone for making sense of a school district's budget. If you're patient, you can figure out where the money goes. (Hint: Nearly all of it goes toward personnel, much of it teacher salaries.) The emphasis, of course, is on the word "patient." (Trust me: On my birthday a few years back, I sat through an all-day session where Sharon Ozment walked board members through every line of the budget. It's a day I want back.)

Btw, if you're looking for a budget line item for your particular school or, say, the High Point choice plan, you'll be sorely disappointed. The budget documents produced for the BOE are systemwide reports. If you want more specific information, you (or board members) have to ask for it separately.

John,

Thanks for the tips. Why are we not surprised?

I had previously worked for some builders in Virginia - you can print what you want on computer spreadsheets and hide what you need to hide - all with the press of a button - one click and you can toggle to how you prefer a certain catagories read.

You are right - it is a tedious job to read one.

The other problem is that most people on the board are "educators" or other backgrounds, with the acception of Anita. Now she understands numbers and what to look for. How do the others even know what to ask?

BA,
In the packet handed out yesterday was 5 pages of the specific budget-- some is easy to understand (textbooks, gas, utilities) others are very weird, (pay for asst teachers that substitute)

The public can go to the open meeting starting at 8:30 Friday for a line by line--and for the first time, it will be televised later(not sure of time)

Deb,

Thanks - I can't go Friday - back to back appointments. I will definitely watched the televised and/or get a copy from you if I can.

Thanks for the heads up.

Barb

This must be the year of a lot of money. How else would you explain the BOE's ease at agreeing to a $800k bill for throwing Sodexco out. John Wright and Terry Grier says the schools are cleaner now than before Sodexco. If that is true, why spend $800k more? John Wright is a man of truth. Why was his recommendation ignored? There are two way to get more money. (1) Ask somebody for more. and (2) improve efficiency of your own organization. The BOE has only found (1). When will they discover (2).
Best regards.

If anyone finds out the tv broadcast time, please post it on this site - as someone said in the past month, there's not enough margaritas to sit thru that budget session (just kidding-can't get off of work). Thanks!

Joe,

"John Wright and Terry Grier says the schools are cleaner now than before Sodexco. John Wright is a man of truth."

As I recall there were many within the schools that commented that the schools were not cleaner with Sodexho, than before. Perhaps, the board believed them rather than Terry Grier and John Wright? And, from all reports over the last year or so, it would appear that the critics are right. You may want to go back and review those comments to understand why the Board decided to boot Sodexho.

I believe the Sodohox contract had more to do with employee relationships than anything else. I know that the two schools that I am in most often are not cleaner at all. There is also the relationship between principals and employees, who can speak to janitors, who has last word etc.

I hate that it will cost more, I think there is alot of waste inside GCS starting with the rapid growth of magnet schools without any monetary plans. The proposal of a new policy should assist with that. Transportation for magnets is another (especially forced bussing in HP)-Dr Grier made a comment about allotment of teachers and basically said that giving magnet schools extra teachers for the "magnet" part and not utilizing all staff was something that could looked at. Well, duh!! $500,000 for Crossroads and other 'racial' or sensitative training sounds high to me. How about not sending principals to Orlando for classes during the school year. They are 12 month employees, can't they train when school isn't in? Same thing for teachers, we pay them, pay for the training and pay for the substitues. Hopefully they can arrange for classes to go on during work days, etc-- Okay enough of my band wagon.

Debora, you can get back on your band wagon any time, you do great.

I understand that teachers were shouted down by Dr. G yesterday at this staged dog & pony show. In one instance a combined 60+ years of service to children in this county was belittled??? Pretty soon only creditentials from Nova University will be recognized in this town.

Some schools got dirtier and some schools improved. John Wright's employees are the only people that went to "all of the schools with their clipboards and did an objective comparsion" of what we were getting. He said and his supervisor reviewed his facts and confirmed that the schools are cleaner. Are they telling falsehoods? I would have made changes where the job was not getting done. Where the job was getting done, I would have continued with Sodexo.
This would have cost us $50k or $100k not $800k.
What the BOE did was throw the baby out with the bath water. We needed the 800k for instructional improvment. No BOE member made a comprehensive inspection of every building. The only people who have done that are John Wright's employees. If in fact they misled the public, then some heads should roll. Always notice when BOE takes some major action, it is against teachers assistants, custodians, cafeteria workers, etc.
It is seldom against certified employees. They are treated with kid gloves even thou they make several times what a cleaner makes. Let's encourage them to supervise teachers and principals that are not getting the job done.

Best regards,

I thought it was funny that Sharon Ozment couldn't think of any way to get funds to cover the $800,000. Anytime there is something to be implemented that Grier is in favor of, she can think of a hundred ways to "adjust" the budget to pay for it. Do they think we are that stupid?

Joe,
Thanks for showing us another side of you. I thought you were all business but that joke about John Wright being a man of truth changed my mind about you. You have a great sense of humor to boot! Keep it up! LOL

Joe,

If I understand your position, you are sugesting that we let Sodexho pick and choose the schools that they want to do? I don't think so. If Sodexho wasn't getting the job done in some of the schools, then the shouldn't be retained and be allowed to cherry-pick the schools that they want to do. I believe their contract was to clean "all" schools, and they should be judged by the whole job. It was Sodexho's responsibility to clean every school. If a few schools weren't being cleaned properly, and they didn't or couldn't address it properly, then they shouldn't have the contract because they weren't doing the job that they were contracted with to do. That sounds like a sound business decision to me.

Finally, you made the comment that the BOE should be encouraged to supervise teachers and principals that are not getting the job done. The last time that I looked, the superintendent of schools was charged with supervising all personnel employed by the schools, not the BOE. If there isn't proper supervision going on with any class of employees, it is Terry Grier's responsibility; that's what he gets paid to do at a princely salary. Let's put the focus where it belongs here.

Hey Joe,

Thanks for joining the discussion on the Chalkboard.

First things first. You never did answer this question that has not been posed to you twice under your recent Letter to the Editor in N & R:

HOW DID YOU GET YOUR LETTER PUBLISHED SO FAST AFTER THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING?

What is the trick? Do you have to have friends in high places? Do you have to hand deliver it? We really want to know as I know many people whose letters seem to get lost or they have to cut the words or provide their sources, etc. Sometimes it takes 3 conversations and redoes to get a letter published.

I do know that when someone questioned how Dr. Grier's Counterpoint got in really fast, the papers reply was basically they give preference to political figures if something was said so they can counter - now that makes sense.

Please let us know what the trick is. Since you have joined the bloggers on the CB - can you give us hints on this?

Best Regards,

Barbara Ann

Joe,

One other thing. You stated: "The only people who have done that are John Wright's employees. If in fact they misled the public, then some heads should roll." Are you suggesting that only Mr. Wright's employees should be held accountable if the public was misled? Surely, you would also include Mr. Wright, as he is the manager, and we all know that managers can delegate work to be done, but they always retain the accountability for failure. So, in fairness, if heads roll, then I am sure that you would include Mr. Wright in that head-rolling.

Now for the post on subject in play:

Joe, Joe, Joe:

Remember your busing speech last year and you felt the SB had been blasted publicly enough. Well it was not about "the money" - it was about kids and safety and parents and protecting our children. No they did not hear it enough when it comes to children.

One of the main complaints people have had about Sedexho and since you attend about every School Board meeting, I know you have heard this several times. Sedexho hired temps. They were not guaranteeing background checks. In fact, it was reported by several folks, that several of these "temps" were let go after the fact after records did not check out - they had been around our KIDS. What price do you put on the safety of a child? There is NONE. Remember the little girl in Florida - the man who murdered her worked in her school. There have been cases of these subcontractors not wearing ID badges; or putting on a Substitute Teacher's badge. No photo IDs.

"A year with a lot of money...." With the way the votes have been going with the Commissioners lately - you are probably right 6 to 5. Watch those taxes go up Guilford County.

There was no "ease" at agreeing to a $800K bill for Sedexho leaving. Much had been written and documented for months. Complaints had come from GCS janitors (remember the presentation they gave to the board in writing last week); from people who worked at the schools and didn't have supplies, etc. The SB was responding to well documented complaints. This didn't happen overnight. Can John Wright be in every school all the time? Don't you think they know when they are getting inspected and clean for company?

On a side comment, according to today's N & R someone asked Grier at the budget meeting if any new programs that were not working would be reconsidered - something like that. He responded (in N & R) that they got rid of Sedexho. Well the SCHOOL BOARD voted to get rid of Sedexho; not Dr. Grier and John Wright. Just wanted to clarify that point.

Debora M is right. She is so in tune of what goes on. It had a lot to due with employee relationships; working hours; who got what jobs - the better jobs, etc.

Also per Deb - yes take the $500,000 spent on the questionable Crossroads Ministry which people are still trying to get into their "open" meetings and put that toward the $800K. If this group is so great on spreading a good message, why is it so secretive? (Check them out on Google for the real story.)

Talk about extra money - I watched the tape of the SB meeting. Now I heard that they may need a new Central Office to oversee all the Early College Programs because it is growing so much. Money? Just create a program and POOF! Need some money for a new consultant or position - they find it somewhere.

Joe - per your second post. Correction: These are not John Wright's employees - they are Guilford County Employees - unless you are refering to Sedexho - then they are Sedexho employees or Sedexho subsontractors.

When I have seen the BOE take some major action, it involves people's kids and putting them in programs they don't want on a long, hot bus ride across town OR cut the A/L Program for 2nd graders. On actions like what to do with an empty school building like Craven, it takes weeks and then at the end of the day, they do nothing.

We have some excellent teachers and some excellent principals. Problem with the principals - they are moved about like chess pieces so much - how can they even begin to learn about their new school and the school community. With the excellent teachers - you may be on to something - the good ones are leaving Guilford County.

I think we need less paid consultants and experts telling teachers how to teach; then in a year or so a new method comes along and teachers have to changed again with the method that the newer consultant is preaching, etc. and just let teachers teach. They get tired of teaching the test; they get tired of not having the support they need. The just get plain tired.

Was John Wright's review of the schools done by Sodexho supervisors? I thought it was done by school system employees overseeing the contract.
I have never been a great admirer of Sodexho. However, 800k is a lot of money.

Hey everybody, when you logon to the N&R homepage have you noticed how the family of 4 in the Cars.com ad over Grier's head is dancing and kicking with their legs.

On a positive note, picture this as your family kicking Grier "Outta Here".

Joe,

I honestly don't know who did the reviews. But there have been a lot of complaints out there as mentioned. They have been on going and documented. $800k IS a whole lot of money but what we are saying is look at all the other money they waste. It never ends. They always seem to "find" money.

Their solution to everything they are called to task on is: NO FUNDS.

The point is they sure can find money for consultants; newly high paid positions at Central Office; $500 K for a questionable "ministry" in our schools; new buses when they need for the HP "Choice" plan and THEY created the need.

It is not that people don't want money spent for children's education; for actual brick school buildings; for safe schools; for an true Alternative School to removed kids who do not want to learn, etc., it is the other things it is unwisely spent on.

Example: Why would anyone in their right mind tear out several perfectly good classrooms in an already supposedly overcrowded school to build a dance studio so kids could "try" dance for the first time in their lives ever; and in turn, replace those perfectly good classrooms with several trailers at $60K a whack? Now that is what I do call wasting money. How many jobs do you see in dance in the paper other than the local Gentlemen's Clubs?

If you are going to put in new programs at least let it be toward college prep or votech/trade programs where kids can get a job in the real world.

Joe, 200K is a lot of money to pay a Superintendent that moonlights on county time and lines his pockets with vendor incentive packages too.

Shoot Joe, forget that, $500/month per school board member is way too much for 8 of the board members that sit inside of Anita and Darlene.

How many of you just knew it wasn’t a great idea two years ago when Grier said if we went with Sodexo and decided to cancel their contract it would cost $800,000 to go back to GCS management. It was a bad idea to get into a problem like that.

As I watch the dust bunnies roll around in my classroom, I wonder how Sodexo has helped. As I realize that the custodians don’t have enough carts to go around and have to make trips back and forth for supplies slowing down their progress, I wonder how Sodexo has helped. As I see supplies come in only to be robbed from our school to supply another, I wonder how Sodexo has helped. After Mr. Childs said he was going to visit school and we suddenly received custodial supplies much to the custodians surprise, I wonder how Sodexo has helped.

The Board's line item review of the budget did air last year on The School Zone, Cable Ch.2. We will again broadcast the meeting, but will not have the air times until we know the exact length of the meeting. I will post the air times once determined.

Thanks for getting that inform to us Sonya. I did catch part of that the other day, but it was not very detailed. We all need to get a copy of the printed budget to analyze it in detail.

Sorry I can't make Friday's meeting - other commitments. I will pick up a copy of the budget from a friend.

Also Jen - will you still post on the chalkboard per someone's previous request. That would be super.

Best to both of you.

Barbara Ann

Barbara Ann,

I'll put up what I can. It depends on when/if I get a computer file of the documents that are discussed.

I've already put in a request for that information.

Last year they were working on budget information up until right before the meeting started, so I probably won't know until that morning if that data is available in a format that I can post online. It might be awhile before I can get it posted online.

I'll do my best, though!

Should Elementary PE teachers make the same as HS English Teachers? The county supplement is supposed to be used whereever it is needed. In fact, everyone is on the same scale with the older teachers getting a little extra last year. The best and finest young women and men are choosing fields other than science, english and math due to the fact that the pay is the same. Would you go along with salary differentiation for the supplement?

Thanks Sonya,
I must have missed that spinetingling saga-- Look forward to knowing when it will be televised!

Joe,
isn't pay calculated with years on the job? I don't know and would like to. I'm not sure how I feel about pay for elem vs hs-- I believe that true teachers go where their heart leads them. Some of the best elem teachers would hate working with older kids and vice versa. I would propose paying on merit instead of tenure. We have many teachers that are veterns that are horrible. You can't fire them, and they get raises just like every good teacher. Since we are the 2nd largest employer in 13 counties maybe we should review employees like large companies do and give merit raises. Just a thought, my guess is the teachers union will hate me for that statement. Not sure about incentive pay for 'harder' subjects, but will give it some thought.

debora,

There have been many advocating change of the method of pay for teachers from the old seniority system to a more modern merit-based pay program, such as is normally used in business. You are right, the teachers' unions have been fighting this tooth and nail, and that is mainly the reason it hasn't been done. They don't have a teachers' union in North Carolina, so it could be done here, if someone wanted to be progressive.

I believe that the teachers' unions don't want a merit-based pay program because they don't trust the school administration to administer it fairly, and in GCS, could you fault them for having that concern? If you have a merit-based program, you have to have performance evaluations to base your pay program upon. Who performs those evaluations and who makes those pay decisions? Such a pay program would have to be based upon trust between the teachers and the administration, and I really don't believe that exists sufficiently in GCS for it to work.

As far as premium pay for tougher subjects or in tougher schools, sure why not? Business does that successfully. They have different pay scales for more technical work, less desirable work schedules or work locations, so why not for teachers? This should be handled as an add-on pay as long as that teacher is performing the more difficult assignment, and should they make a change, they would lose the premium pay. Some progressive school districts are doing just that. Most notably, districts offer premium pay of $5,000-$10,000 to qualified teachers to go work in the poorer schools, and they are making a difference there. Experts say that the one thing that contributes the most to closing the achievement gap in schools is highly-qualified teachers, so shouldn't we be finding a way to encourage them to get into those schools? This seems the best use of our education dollars; rewarding teachers to make a difference, rather than foolishly spending it on busses and fuel in the mode of the random assignment plan.

Business has generally gotten away from the seniority system of pay programs, because it doesn't respond sufficiently to different levels of performance. Everyone gets treated the same, regardless of how well they do their job. This tends to stiffle innovation and inspiration, and if your top performers see that they are rewarded in the same manner as poor performers, they eventually leave and go somewhere that they can be properly rewarded. Merit-based pay systems are not easily administered. It takes a lot of time and energy on management's part to make them work. It takes a lot of trust with employees, but if all of these things come together, it is the best of all worlds.

TB,
Excellent points, I agree that there would have to be a trust system for evaluation of teachers, which in and of itself would be a challenge. I also agree that incentives to work in highly impacted schools is a good idea. I'm not sure about teaching different subject for different pay. My thought process is that for some people science is the easiest to teach and they couldn't even think about english, and in the reverse also. Who is to say which is the most important? I have my opinion that the basic 3r's must be addressed before branching out. I am speaking of Elem, more than HS. Your opinion might be different, Barbara Ann's even different again. I know that I believe technology is important; one of my friends says music. I know that we all agree that we need to figure out how to keep the best teachers, excite the average teacher and entice people to go into the teaching field.

debora,

When I mentioned premium pay for teaching different subjects, this was not based upon the "difficulty" of the subject per se. I believe that school districts are and have experienced difficulties in recruiting teachers with certain expertise, perhaps beause they are not readily available in the job marketplace. My suggestion of premium pay would be based in this case upon the market that exists for teachers with certain expertise. It's the same as in business, it's a matter of supply and demand that often drives the price of a given skill. It may well be that English teachers are harder to hire than Math teachers, than technology teachers, but whatever the market is, it will determine whether premium pay is appropriate.

And, people entering into the teaching profession probably consider whether there is a premium pay for certain subjects, and if their perception is that there is not, then that might deter them from obtaining the expertise, if it will not benefit them. As I am often reminded by my teacher sister-in-law, people who enter the teaching profession also have to make a living, they can't just do it for the love of the profession. They have to feed families, too.

Just to follow up on Teddy's post, the most difficult-to-fill positions are math, science, foreign language and, most of all, special ed. Those are the areas where you have the greatest shortage, so if you went to a market-based approach to hiring, those are the positions that would pay the most.

And in general, it's harder to find qualified high school teachers than elementary school teachers.

Excellent points and I see now what direction you meant; basically supply and demand. I agree.

Premium pay would only be used at schools that have poor achievement. It would not be given to teachers that cannot teach. Proven teachers in core subjects would given a designation like "Master Teacher". Master Teachers would have to go where they are needed (within reason).
The BOE would decide which schools would get the Master Teachers. We all know that a lot of rookie teachers need to start at a school that is less challenging than an inter-city school.
The problem is that about 70-75% of the teachers at NW are good and effective. If you go to Smith, Dudley, Andrews and HP Central the number goes down to about 50%. We have to make it attractive for more suburban teachers to use their talents in the inter-city schools. Raising the achievement levels in inter-city schools helps everyone. There is no losers. We want the BOE to focus on those students that are not meeting minimum standards. We know they can learn if they are encouraged in the proper manner by skilled teachers.

Thanks,

The BOE will have to make the pot alot richer than the previous try. I believe it was $7500 for 3 years and you had to stay the entire three year. Are those the correct numbers? Most of the teachers I know say they would leave the county before going to a school where they didn't feel safe. Why couldn't some schools use their title 1, or equity money to entice teachers. So many of these problems go hand in hand-- safety, quality of teahers, respect etc-- Hey Joe, you are a smart man (I am serious), are you interested in lateral entry position? If not, how does the BOE get people like yourself to consider this? With a shortage of thousands within our state (I belive 10,000 shortage last year, with only 3000 graduating from college)
I think we are going to have to reach out to other occupations.

LATEST ON SODEXHO - V E R Y I N T E R E S T I N G

Top News Printable View
Sodexho Settles Large Racial Bias Case
April 27, 2005 2:56 PM EDT
NEW YORK - Food services company Sodexho Inc. agreed Wednesday to pay $80
million to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of black employees who
charged that they were routinely barred from promotions and segregated
within the company.

The agreement, one of the biggest race-related job bias settlements in
recent years, also includes detailed provisions for increasing diversity at
the Maryland-based company, including promotion incentives, monitoring and
training.

The company said in a statement that it agreed to resolve the litigation in
order to avoid protracting the case, which was set for jury selection
Thursday in federal district court in Washington. It admitted no wrongdoing.

"This is an extremely positive result, both for the plaintiffs and for the
company," said Kerry Scanlon, the lead attorney for the employees. "The
opportunities that this settlement provides both for African-American
employees and for the company are the best possible outcome."

In a statement, Sodexho's President and CEO Richard Macedonia said: "We are
pleased this case has been resolved. ... We are a stronger and better
organization as a result of this process."

The case was filed in March 2001, after midlevel black managers said they
realized nearly all had been denied promotions into upper management, while
less-qualified counterparts rose through the company.

Of the company's 100,000-plus North American employees in 2004, about one in
eight managers were black, said Leslie Aun, a company spokeswoman. She said
there are no figures available for upper management, but court documents
said that, in 2000, blacks held 18 out of 700 upper management jobs and none
of the 188 top corporate jobs.

In addition, plaintiffs alleged that so-called black accounts - at
historically black colleges and universities, for example - were
overwhelmingly staffed with black employees and managers, who were rarely
promoted outside of those accounts.

Cynthia Carter-McReynolds, the lead plaintiff in the case, has been a unit
manager at Howard University, a predominantly black campus in Washington
D.C., since 1986. She said that she has unsuccessfully applied for more than
50 promotions.

"I'm overjoyed that it's over," she said Wednesday. "This lawsuit, I'm
hoping, will open up the doors for more opportunities for African-Americans
in the company to pursue their dreams and hopes."

Ellen Early, a plaintiff who quit a low-level management post after
suffering job-related anxiety attacks, called the company's environment
"infuriating."

"There was a limit as to how far African-American employees could go, and a
limit as to what facilities African-American employees could go to," said
Early, who now works for a competitor in the Baltimore-Washington region

Sodexho Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Md., is the North American
subsidiary of the France-based Sodexho Alliance. It provides food services
to more than 6,000 businesses and organizations, including hospitals, cruise
ships and universities. It's also the official supplier for the U.S. Marine
Corps. Last year, the company had $6 billion in sales.

The settlement comes amid a growing wave of cases alleging race- and
gender-based discrimination at large companies, experts said.

Black employees at BellSouth Corp., for example, are seeking a judge's
authorization to go forward as a group in a discrimination case that could
involve as many as 15,000 employees. At Wal-Mart, 1.6 million women are
alleging in the largest job-related class-action lawsuit ever that they were
assigned lower-level jobs based on their gender.

In 2000, Coca-Cola paid $192.5 million to settle the largest racial
discrimination case in U.S. history.

"As a country, we're progressing in the area of equal opportunity," Scanlon
said. "This is how the world changes - one company at a time."

Great points by Debora and Teddy - as usual. I have lots of reading to catch up on and will comment tomorrow. But here is one question I am posing to Joe S.

Joe, the News & Record informed me in writing that your letter to the editor was received BEFORE the vote on the school's name and they even put the "BEFORE" in bold letters. They said they adjusted it a little to make it work for the timing; that you had wanted it in even sooner.

So did you have no faith that Murrow would win?

or

Did you have inside information that the public did have access too?

I was just curious as you hadn't addressed how your letter got in so fast when others' take weeks to be published. This now explains part of it.

Barbara Ann