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Nonlicensed workers still not ready to give up fighting cuts
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Clark County School District's support staff aren't in a giving mood.
Last year, the Education Support Employees Association agreed to give up longevity-based pay raises to save the financially pressed district about $10 million.
This year, as the call for shared sacrifice in economic hard times is again sounded by state and district officials, union President John Carr is saying enough.
"You can't balance the budget on the bottom part of the school district anymore," says Carr, whose group negotiates for the district's 11,165 trade workers, bus drivers, food service employees and other nonlicensed personnel.
"We're not going to give up anything," Carr says.
The district faces a shortfall of $407 million in 2011-12, even with the recently announced influx of new state revenue it will receive.
School District officials are asking all employee bargaining groups for an 8 percent or more cut in pay and benefits, which is subject to negotiation.
The proposed 5 percent salary reductions, which would be achieved through unpaid furlough days, would save the district $73.4 million.
The problem, Carr said, is that by asking the district's lowest paid employees to take significant wage reductions, you're pushing them into poverty.
Eight percent from the paycheck of someone who only makes $19,000 can be the difference between being able to buy groceries and having to go to a food bank, he says.
"I am my only support," said Terri Shuman, a support staff employee who tests students at 48 schools for the district's English Language Learners program.
Shuman lost her position as a permanent substitute teacher in the district last year, which means she's getting about $600 a month less than she once did.
"I had to move," Shuman says. "I had to start choosing which bills I was going to pay."
She doesn't want to think about her situation getting even worse, she says.
That's why Shuman has turned into a regular participant of union-organized rallies protesting cuts to education funding that often take place now before Clark County School Board meetings.
At one April meeting, as district Chief Financial Officer Jeff Weiler explained that achieving savings through collective bargaining would ease cuts to education programs, his voice was almost drowned out by employee protesters chanting a mix of slogans and waving signs outside the Edward A. Greer Education Center.
"No more cuts! No more cuts!"
Contact Assistant City Editor Lisa Kim Bach at lbach@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0287.
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@z_white_knight, we can't get rid of the students who were born here but we can get rid of the illegal parents. If the parent is deemed illegal they should be removed from the country. If they have squirted out puppies on the American dime, fine, those kids will go to an American family that, by nature, cannot have kids of their own. This is very simplistic and by the law but for some reason nobody that is paid to enforce the law will actually do it. Take a look at the Maricopa County Sheriff in Arizona. He wanted to enforce the law but the politicians needed votes so badly they looked into his background and found some BS infraction they felt would unseat him. It's not about what the people want, it's about what the politicians receive extra funding for.
The "well informed, laws do not pertain to us" school board voted unanimously to hire a person who does not meet the minimum state mandated standards therefore the puppet they hired as the Superintendent now has a mouthpiece. Sir Jones has a very bad reputation of not being intelligent enough to speak for himself which was perfect for the CCSD school board because they needed someone to blame.
We need to welcome all "new comers" to this nation for they would be the same as most Americans (immigrants like the President) but we need to hold them to the same standard we held back when this country was the most powerful in the world. It is time to hold everyone to the same standard and no matter what the socialist's in charge vote for, English is the language spoken in America. I'll bet you a dime to a doughnut the President couldn't hold a conversation in Spanish. Quit pandering to those who would not strive to better themselves, demand an equal standard in schools which starts with speaking English.
If the CCSD can hire a hispanic with NO experience and doesn't meet any of the requirements needed for the position for $158K+ a year, then they can afford to pay their support staff. Get rid of all the illegals clogging up the schools and just maybe we won't need these cuts.
@Bob_Realist: "Stop with all the "It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside" programs and the excuses for the kids not learning. Cut the crap at the top and on the sides and do get rid of programs that shouldn't have been there in the first place." Hey Bob, you just might have stumbled on to a solution to the educrat system's basic problem. Cutting off the food source of useless administrators, advisors, consultants, etc would put them on an un-endangered species list.
A worker should not be judged by Qualifications or Experience. In todays DIVERSITY World, all that is expected as a minimum requirement, is the desire to have the same job as a better qualified person. This is also known as Socialism. Get used to it. It's a Political Agenda that is being pushed down our throats not only by Democrats, but also Republicans. However, it only applies to Employees BELOW Administration level. The least productive Administrative Management level ALWAYS puts Self-Preservation ahead of all else.
Oh, and get rid of the English as a Second Language and English Language Learner programs. Kids should already have the base knowledge for English when they start Kindergarten. If they don't have the basics, have them come back when they do. Stop with all the "It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside" programs and the excuses for the kids not learning. Cut the crap at the top and on the sides and do get rid of programs that shouldn't have been there in the first place. Hold people, kids and parent(s), accountable for their inaction. Don't punish me for spending the time to demand my kids had manners are were able to read and write before Kindergarten. Honor me with having respect for those kids who want to learn and throw the miscreants out on the streets.
With CCSD it's not about the teacher it is about the administration because education, to CCSD, is not about educating, it's about the "Education Support System". martinis00 provides some very good facts to support the point that it's about the support system and not about education. Maybe the LVRJ can do an interview with the Assistant Deputy Senior Vice Assistant Junior Chief for Educational Support (not a true position but excellent example of a title for unnecessary support personnel) to get a handle on all the useless personnel roaming the halls of a buildings that are not schools. Many work for CCSD but haven't seen the inside of a classroom since they graduated high school or college.
Finally, a union acting like a union. Pay attention Ruben. Quit being a shill for the District. Quit asking for more money for the EMPLOYER and represent the interest of the teachers.
Dont start at the bottom and work your way up. Start at the top and work your way down. Notice all the high falutants wont loose their job. Just like the city of North Las Vegas. They fired all the good workers at the bottom and all they have left is the scum at the top.
martinis00, the PDAs are probably the ipads the district bought for every administrator (my principal and vice principal each have one) and the Jersey Mike sub sandwiches are probably for new teacher training? They waste so much money at that new teacher training. They could save a lot by getting rid of it and just having people come in one day to sign all the forms. We don't need it. Most have either come from another district where they had experience or are fresh out of college and had the exact same "training" and what they teach there is a refresher of what we already know. Then we could provide our own lunch. I did that anyway because I didn't want a sub every day for 3 days.