Taylor Schools Continued Budget Problems
Per a request, here is a topic specifically discussing the TCSD financial issues. Considering the paper reported there is a $770,000 deficit and that the district may ask for five days of unpaid leave before the end of the school year, I agree that it may be fitting to open this topic. This is an open topic regarding any financial problems mention or not mentioned.
With the financial fiasco the School District is currently experiencing to the tune of an additional $700K mistake resulting in asking all employees to take off 5 days without pay, should the district be looking at hiring another employee or dispensing with the athletics program until this situation is under control. Whatever the coach would be making sure could halp make up a little bit of the deficit. Why is no one suggesting suspending all athletics, band, and cheerleading activities until 2010?
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I can't imagine those programs being cut, even temporarily. We all know that athletics are Coach Dyal's passion. Plus, it would lead to a HUGE uproar in the community. There are clearly certain cost-cutting measures that may make sense, but that aren't being considered because they would be received too negatively. For instance, Steinhatchee has to be costing the district a small fortune to operate, but there's no talk of closing it despite the district having received a recommendation by the state to do so.
Also, I'm not sure how the financial aspects of those things work. Those organizations are always out raising money--maybe they sustain themselves economically.
Also, I believe the district has to teach PE (which is what the coaches teach). So they'd at least have to keep someone around for that, even if they cut sports.
If band were cut, the kids taking it would have to sign up for other classes to get their credits. There may not be room in those classes to absorb the kids.
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Well Taylor County Citizen, you make great comments, but from what I here is that the steinhatchee school actually pays for itself and makes a small amount of monies for the district, it is all about FTE monies and that is money from the state for each child.
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I've heard that, too. However, the numbers simply don't add up. There are only around 100 kids down there that get funding from the state. I've done the math, and believe that those in the district who claim that the school breaks even (or makes money) aren't right.
Keep in mind that the Florida Association of School Superintendents did the math, too, and their recommendation was to close the school. Personally, I tend to trust their numbers more than the district's at this point. It's clear that the district is still struggling with understanding the complexity of its finances.
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Okay, I see what you are saying, but if you take 100 and times it by 7100.00 dollars, you get 710,000.00. they pay the teachers alot less than that, electric figured in, it looks like there is savings. You would still have maintance on the buildings, insurance and someone to keep an eye on the facility. also the distric would loose fte funds because most of the kids would end up in Cross City going to school. Even busing them to Taylor I believe they would save some.
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I think labor costs tend to be underestimated, since those costs extend well beyond an employee's salary. The district (and most employers) have fringe benefits to cover like health insurance, taxes, retirement, and sick leave / vacation. These add probably 25% to the cost of each employee beyond salary.
I'm not sure how many teachers they have down there. I don't think there's one for every grade level (K-8), so maybe half a dozen teachers. If each teacher makes an average of $40k per year, when you figure in fringe benefits that's $50k per year. Plus a principal, office staff, lunchroom workers, janitors, and so on. Remember that a principal costs the district the same whether they're running a school with 100 kids or one with 500 kids.
Then as you say, there's phone service (all those phone calls back to Perry are long distance), electricity (I bet that big new gym costs a fortune to heat/cool by itself), garbage pickup, water, and such. Then there are transportation costs. Then there are costs from the district level to support the school (e.g., paying people in Perry to support the school like by doing things like processing payrolls, purchase orders, invoices, and such).
In the end, I can see what FADSS recommended closing the school. There are no economies of scale there, and the school's population has been shrinking for years now. The district would lose funding for the kids who chose to go to Dixie County, but the district would also lose the expense of transporting and educating those kids. If the school is really losing money--which the FADSS report says is the case, and I tend to believe--then the district would be better off closing the school even if it did mean a loss of funding. So long as the loss of expenses exceeded the loss of funding, the district would be better off.
But anyhow, in the end it really doesn't matter since Coach Dyal has said he's keeping the school open. But if the school keeps shrinking, the issue might need to be revisited in the future.
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I don't understand why teachers and staff have to give up another part of their salary because the Finance Dept. made a $700,000 mistake. They did not get a step increase this year, have to buy more supplies than the State or the District provide ($180 from the State and $100 from the District per teacher)for their classroom/students because not all students come to class with even basic supplies, work more than 7.5 hours a day, and are now asked to take 5 days of "unpaid" leave to help the District resolve the Finance Office's mistake. I imagine if any of us (in the workforce) made the same mistake, which cost our employers $700K, we would be standing in the unemployment line. So why is the Finance Director still employed and told by the Board members at almost every meeting, how much they appreciate her hard work and what a great job she is doing? Stop hiring inept people and get someone in there who knows what they are doing unless they want 4 more years of the former Finance Director, Mr. Hunter, who they blame for all the problems the district is experiencing now. WAKE UP PEOPLE! Mr. Hunter was only as accountable as the former superintendent and current Board members allowed. Since all 5 Board members are still there, apparently, we don't hold them accountable as we should. When does the Board have to answer for their actions? If the schools don't make Annual Yearly Progress, principals and teachers are held accountable, so why not those in charge of the District's finances. Maybe it's time for the Department of Education to come in and take over since they aren't doing a very good job of handling the taxpayers money in the district. Surely, there are other areas the Board can reduce spending besides cutting positions. And if they lay off teachers, who will pick up the excess? What about the class-size amendment-so many students per teacher? Will the Board ignore that little piece of legislation? Class-size compliance brings in more than $1M per year. Can the district afford losing that too?
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You ask some fair questions.
To clarify, the mistake didn't cost the district $700k; that $700k shortfall had existed all along. Rather, the mistake was a reporting error that caused the district to think it had more money than it did.
School district finances are INCREDIBLY complex. There are a ton of different sources of money, for example, and a ton of different rules dictating what money can be spent on what. See http://www.beacononlinenews.com/news/daily/1455 for a bit more insight into that.
Anyhow, it takes years to get a deep understanding of school finances. The district ran off the prior Finance Director and had to bring in someone with no background in school finance. The current one has come in and inherited a mess that was years in the making--a mess that would challenge even an experienced person.
You ask about accountability... That's an issue only the people of Taylor County can address. Florida law requires that school boards operate with a balanced budget, and states that "[e]ach member of any district school board voting to incur an indebtedness against the district school funds in excess of the expenditure allowed by law . . . shall be guilty of malfeasance in office and subject to removal by the Governor." It also states that if the Auditor General's office discovers that a school board has been spending more money than it took in, "any taxpayer may institute suit in his or her own name on behalf of the district" if the state fails to do so within 90 days of the discovery.
In other words, any of us is free to sue the school board at this point.
It could be argued that the board should be cut some slack because they didn't know they were overspending. And that's true. But maybe they *should've* known. At the very least, they perhaps should've realized that the district was going on a hiring spree even while student enrollment (and the funding that accompanies it) was declining.
Even after this came to light, there was no accountability. Oscar's gone, but the person who was in charge of hiring during that period continues to work for the district and, presumably, advise the new superintendent.
Last issue... Why cut salaries? Well, because that's about the only thing that CAN be cut. Anyone who runs a business knows that payroll is the biggest expense in an organization. School districts are no exception. The district absolutely, positively must pay certain bills like gasoline, water, and electricity. And remember all of those crazy finance rules... The district may be flush with capital outlay money, but it's not allowed to spend that money on payroll. It's a separate pot of money.
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I think Lookingforthetruth is reading my mind! Whoever you are, you DO have the fact straight! The finance director and current board members all need to be terminated and people who actually care about the education of the students of Taylor County given their jobs! I bet they could do a far better job!
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The whole financial being of the school district is bankrupt, and has been for some time. You cannot blame a single finance director, you could start back with Vince Dorman. Oscar ran the district like it was a family business, he should bear most of the criticism, it was on his watch. Most career service school board employees have not a clue how to get the district out of the financial hole they are in. The school board has not a clue either. My feeling is that now decisions are being made as penny wise and pound foolish. The most basic and simple thing to do is follow the recomendations set forth by the report that is well over a year old now. The report did all of the math and kept it simple so even school board members could understand it! It just upsets me to see the way our school district has been and continues to be mis-managed. Where is the fiduciary responsibility?
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I agree that it seems the simplest thing would've been to follow the report's recommendations. As you say, the FADSS people did all the math--the recommendations were designed to bring the district's budget back into balance and end the year with money in the bank.
However, it should be mentioned that the problem now extends beyond that. The recession has deeply impacted the state's budget, which in turn as deeply impacted school districts' budgets. So even if the report's recommendations had been followed, the district would still be in a position of having to cut a significant amount of money from the budget.
Also, the state continues to watch the school district very closely. I have no doubt that if they feel that the district's leaders aren't doing a good job fixing the budget problems, folks from Tallahassee will swoop in and play an even larger role than they already are.
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To Taylor County Citizen, whoever you are, you make the most sense of anyone on this site, thanks for the intellegent comments.
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Very good points. At least some of the recommendations could be implemented immediately. I would agree that the State of Florida budget woes have impacted the district, but the impact would be easier to absorb if you did not have a bankrupt district to begin with. The district has been making decisions annually that cost the district it's resources: non-certified teachers, personnel settlments, contracts and services to board members and cronys, not following procurement policies and other actions. Dyal needs to focus on making some tough decisions and recommendations to the school board and the school board needs to make the tough decisions--other than turning off lights. Turning off lights are a start, but unlikely to erase the deficit. That is why I felt like the whole scheme of recruiting and spending a lot of resources on a coach/head custodian was suc a waste of time and effort.
The "swoop" from Tallahassee is closer than we think and is about 3-4 years late!
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You get what you voted for!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Is that 777,000 on top of the 1.3 million or is the first number the end result of what can not be accounted for or covered up? I am never sure. I seems that in Perry there are more floating numbers than ducks in a carnival game. Besides is this discussion a way of skirting the issue of peanut butter sandwiches for hungry children. Maybe the school board should have reconsidered the decision to purchase Karaoke machines and such presents for students who made passing or improved FCAT scores.After learning that fact, how do you feel about teacher lay offs and hungry children.
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First let me say that one thing we don't do is skirt issues. TCT is here to bring issues to the fore front, so thanks for your comment. You have brought up some things I didn't know about, so could you please elaborate more on the peanut butter sandwich and the purchasing of presents for students regarding FCAT scores issues you mentioned. You have sparked my curiosity.
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I can't speak much on the purchase of gifts other than to say that typically that is done by PTO and SAC, it doesn't come out of school funds. Still, I don't know enough about that to speak. However I can speak on the food issue. I do not understand how anyone can say that children are going hungry, that is the biggest lie told. Many teachers buy snacks for their students daily, and many administrators do as well. The students are provided breakfast and lunch every day as well. Normally snacks and breakfast should be a parents job to provide, but the schools and teachers are doing this. Charged lunches are an issue, there are many students who have bills that go into the $100s, just another thing that parents aren't pulling their weight with. The school is not saying they won't feed a child, they are saying we can't afford to feed a child this way, and frankly it's not their job to do that. If the parent can't pay, there are options, like free/reduced lunch. If the parent chooses not to pay then the child still receives a meal, just now it's not a full-course dinner, it's a sandwich and milk which is most likely what they would get if they were home at lunch anyway. You don't like it? Support your child and quit expecting the school to. Pay their bill or pack them a lunch. The thing many people are forgetting is this: half of that school lunch that is all of a sudden so precious ends up in the trash, most children prefer a sandwich to some of it. The neediest children who do not receive a hot meal at home with still get it, they are most likely on free lunch. Children in our school system may lack a lot of things, food is not among those things. Our schools do a great job of making sure our children are provided with adequate food. Kudos to you on this one Dyal. Great decision.
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I understand the argument being made about “dead beat parents. I understand status quo and acceptable standards of performance of employees suffering from “burn out”. I understand the stigma attached to a profession that is continually criticized for failing to perform, but the one thing I don’t understand is why all the blame is accessed to parents or the children or hell I don’t know blame the rain. The accountability problems of the Taylor County School System can not be resolved by a finger pointing outward.
As for hungry children comments check out this reality. At a time when the entire country is in the middle of a tainted peanut butter recall our Superintendant announces on regional television all children unable to pay for lunch will receive “a peanut butter sandwich”.
Another reality, how terrible is the circumstance which would allow a county with a 44 million dollar annual budget and 20,000 citizens to distinguish a child in a lunch line as a debtor.
This may be someone’s reality but check this out many school districts/school board members have refused to allow this perceived distinguishing of students to be practiced. Mr Dyal is not the issue only the voice behind a principle which screams “don’t expect change, just more of the same.”
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I checked the dates of the newspaper article and when the peanut butter recall was put into effect, the district announced the sandwich notice before the recall, they are not serving peanut butter to children.
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The TV news came on 1/29 or 1/30? TV not the local paper 1/31 for clarification "peanut butter recall" started with outbreak of illnesses and is in third/fourth week. Check again, check national news for dates. My point is bad timing.
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Well do not congratulate the Bennett Reporter from WCTV, I hate to see her coming! She cannot complete a sentence, is ignorant and only comes to town to sensationalize a story! What a shame the WCTV has such unprofessional reporters!!!!
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The move isn't meant to punish kids (although I recognize that it can seem to have that effect). Rather, it's meant to spur parents into paying their debts. It has worked in other districts, and word is that it's working here as well.
There was a time when the district could afford to absorb the cost of those debts. That time has clearly passed.
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I have asked the mother of a child who received a Karaoke machine for improved FCAT scores to answer this question for you BM,and to tell how the grade was improved.
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I also agree with the lunch decision. It is ridiculous that some of the parent sin this community expect so many handouts! As for the actual deficit I really believe that those who got the school system in this situation should be reprimanded. Our ex-not so superintendent is living large with everyone else is left to be punished for mistakes made under his administration! He should at the least lose his retirement if not face legal charges!
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Amen to that, in the real world it is stealing. In the educator world, well I do not know what it is called, but it is an organized crime ongoing effort! Oscar should have to answer for the financial condition he has left the school distict in. Of course all of his cronys are still makinf paychecks!
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Everyone on this blog needs to read the comments on WCTV's web page regarding the latest school board meeting. The buzz around town is that 2 of the current football coaches have offered to split duties of the Athletic Director and Head Coach WITHOUT PAY! Not only that, but they have offered that the district could leave the vacant PE position unfilled and they are willing to split the kids among the remaining 3 High School PE teachers for the next year. I have heard figures of savings between $50K all the way to $65K.....anyway you look at it, this sounds like it needs SERIOUS consideration.
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That is the best news to date about this issue. Dyal should have proposed this, he is beginning to look like part of the problem, albeit not as sly and criminal as Oscar! Kudos top these coaches, I hope it is true!
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It could be that this is being considered. We have no way of knowing, since the district has provided the public with no information about the process.
I suspect, though, that the coach-hiring has been put on the back burner while the district deals with the financial mess. I'm guessing they figured out that they had bigger fish to fry at the moment.
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As a parent of a child in a Taylor County School I’m so proud of the two for stepping up to the plate. All we have heard from the new superintendent is please make suggestion about this crisis. Here is finally a reasonable solution for the problem. Isn’t academics supposed to be taught first. Here are two individuals that want to spare teachers jobs. This proves academics first and sports second. I want to watch and see what our new superintendent is going to do. Does he really cares about athletics more or teacher’s keeping their jobs, and allowing academics to be number ONE. Kudos to you two men. Help save teachers job, not at the expense of Football or athletics.
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I usually keep my opinions and comments to my self. I agree with parent#1. However I would like to share what I have first hand seen and heard about going on at Taylor County High School. I have never seen the buzz about football like is happening at T.C.H.S right now. My son is so excited about football. He has never played or EVEN been asked or encouraged to play. There is new young coach who has got something these kids LOVE. He is talking to each and every young man and encouraging him to play. My son told me that everyone wants to come out and play football this year. I heard this is the most boys they have had workingout or in the weight room since 1997. My son told me that there are about 50 kids coming on a regular basis to workout and another 30-40 kids playing baseball or basketball and not counting the 8th graders at the middle school. For some reason the kids did not like the past coach and would not play. My son even told me about some tracking system that the coaches are going to start to track their grades and GPA. From previous of post I saw where it said these assistant coaches where no good. However how are they getting such a buzz around school if their no good? I would think then nobody would want to come workout or even play. Why is there excitement in Taylor county halls, something that has been missing for a long time? Then it gets better. I just heard they want to coach football for free to save teachers job, saving the district $50,000. What does this say about them and their stance on academics? After all academics are first. Lets not hire a coach back and save a few teachers jobs. I say give them a chance. One coach is young but has been coaching in Taylor for a while. This young coach is from here, who better then one of our own. The other is a coach who I think has been a head coach before and has lots of experience. One can be the runner; the other can guide and share his knowledge. My son loves these two dearly. You can tell they actually care about the kids and their academics, not just football. Isn’t that what we want. Don’t hold against them the ways of the old head coach. My son has told me they have already made a lot of positive changes. Things are already a lot better. I can see iscipline will be enforced Let’s come together as a community and try to help these two coaches and the young men at our high school. Lets see what our school board and superintendent what for our children. Save jobs for the teachers or let athletics be #1. Give them a chance their already doing a GOOD job!!!!
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I am so happy to hear that your son is wanting to play the great sport of football, it will not only help him the near future, but in life as well, football brings more to you that any other single sport... But as for the rest let me make a couple of points.
Do you ever wonder why we get paid in the real world to do our jobs. Yes, it is because we need to provide for our families and to be able to survive. But there is another aspect to it. It is called accountability. Let's just say that we gave these two men the job as head coach/athletic director, what would be the motivation? Sure it sounds good now and I'm sure the first year it would be fine, because there would be excitement. But what about the following year, wouldn't we still be in the same boat that we are in today, dealing with the monies issue and dealing with the fact that we still have people in a position that are not capable of doing the job. I know the two men that have offered to coach with no pay, I promise you neither one of them are qualified to be the head coach let alone the athletic director. They are good coaches, they do care about the kids and they do have kids like like them. But that is not all it takes for a program to be successful.
Lets look at this situation like a business, the first and most important rule in business is you have to spend a dollar to make a dollar. Go ask every single businessman in Perry and they will all tell you they had to spend money before they could make money. The athletics program in Taylor County could be a gold mine (Look at Madison, they did 5x the ammount we brought in, in 2 weekends). But if there is no accountability and not a qualified coach in the position then there will not be any progress.
As for the fact that there is 50 kids that are in the weight room everyday working out and getting ready for the fall and that this is the "most since 1997" that is wrong also. I would venture to say that your child is a freshman or a sophomore and that you have not been around the athletics at T.C.H.S. for a very long time. There is always 50-75 kids in the weight room in the Spring. Come fall, there is 25 or less. That's just the trend in Taylor County.
I want to express my respect for these two men for coming forth and offering this proposal. That is something that a lot of men would not do especially in the economic times that we are in. But, that is not what is best for T.C.H.S., I want to predict the future for a minute.
I dare to say that when the football program becomes what it can become, the academics will be right there along with it. With success comes pride, with pride comes more success.
GOD BLESS TAYLOR COUNTY
GOD BLESS T.C.H.S.
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What school grade did Madison earn last year with its fine football program? Perhaps what Snoopy should have said is "when the academics are good THEN the football program will right there along with it."
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There is a school board meeting tomorrow night at 6 p.m. Let's see if the board members are willing to give up 5% of their salary, which is what they are asking their employees to do. If you want accountability, go to the board meetings. If your concerns are not on the agenda, there is an agenda item "Items of Concern from the Public" when anyone can speak. If you have ever been to a board meeting, usually only a handful of people are in the audience. What kind of impact does that have when it comes to accountability? You do the math!
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While you're there, you can also ask which of the board members gave back one month of their pay, as they had said they would back when the last round of cuts were made and many employees lost a month.
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Well I guess Snoopy you know best. Maybe you should be the superintendent, cause I guess you know everything when it comes to Taylor athletics and everything else. How about give Obama a call and help him out. I hope he's held accountable. Cause in 4 years we may be in the same mess we are in now with the economy. Can we call Madison and see if they will help stimulate the economy. Since they make so much money up there. Let's see I think one time Madison was in this same situation we are in and they hired a coach within that most said would never work. That turned out to be pretty good for Madison. You should know. That’s the same coach we tried to hire and pay him a large amount of money $$$$$(I assure you I was going to make it worth his time). Let me also say that the boosters will help support the new coach as long as it’s not the last one. I also respect the people of Taylor County and their opinions. I have heard plenty of parents say they guarantee within one year these Coaches’s who are on staff now will win as many as the old coach. Oh that won’t be hard to win three or more games. Come on they can’t do any worse. Okay but I guess since you know EVERYTHING about our athletics I’m sure you will disagree. Have you ever even been in Taylor’s weight room? You couldn’t get 75 kids in there if you gave them free pizza, its to small. I heard there might have been around 50 at one time but one time with a certain coach and they never came back. I bet these coaches’s will keep them out, because they care, not about money, not about control, but the kids. God Luck Taylor County. If you need any coaching or financial advice just ask snoopy he’s got it.
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And the jerk of the year award goes to Snoopy you got it, man where did you crawl out from, Snoopy had some positive remarks, I know for a fact in the last four years that there have been over 75 people working out, no not at the same time but over the period of a couple of classes or after school. But when school starts they wither away. I guess to many other things to do. And no Madison did not hire Mr. Carroll to come in and turn their program aroud, he took over a successful program and made it even better, so get your facts straight you jerk before you critize another.......
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Why is everyone so concerned with athletics? Education should be the #1 priority in our school system. With the lack of funds, packed classes, and pay cuts we're facing I would think that athletics could go to the back burner until we could get our district into a better financial situation. If these coaches want to coach for free, LET THEM! Like it's been said, they can't do any worse! When our district is out of the red we can re-visit the athletics department. The children of Taylor County are not going to get the quality of education they deserve if we continue in this downward spiral. If people would get as riled up over academics as they do over football we would be seeing a big improvement in our district. I have faith that Paul Dyal is working on the problem and will continue to do so. He can't be blamed for the past officials financial blunders (& yes, Mr. Howard SHOULD be held accountable..along with others who led us into this fiasco!)
Also, in reference to the alternate lunch program....it IS working! Most students who owe money are not being singled out anyway, they are bringing their lunch to avoid paying. But, at least their parents are not continuing to rack up debt and use the schools to feed their children for free. Also, they are serving cheese sandwiches currently due to the peanut butter recall. Parents should be held accountable to either fill out the paperwork to be put on free/reduced lunch or pay! It's about time our district implemented this program, the non-payment has gone on for far too long already! We need to focus on getting our district where it should be. We have great schools and great teachers, but we've been in the spotlight because we are the worst in the state financially. It's time for Taylor County to be in the spotlight for something positive! If we don't fix this, I'm sure we'll be reading about the number of teachers who were laid-off due to lack of money to pay them! Please pray for Paul Dyal. Let God give him the strength and wisdom to make decisions that will lead us out of this mess! He certainly has his work cut out for him!!
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Good points and Dyal does need our prayers. I am not sure he has what it takes. Many posts to this blog have stated that education needs to be priority one and all of the effort put forward by Dyal and company for a janitor/coach was a waste of time and resources!
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Well the new rumor is that everything is much worse than anyone could have ever imagined. Look for some very disturbing happenings in the near future. It is rumored that all annual contract teachers (those with less than 3 years in the district) will not be rehired next year. That is about 70 teachers. To cover these classes, anyone holding a teaching certificate who is not currently teaching (ie administrators, deans, reading coaches, social workers, etc) will be put in the classroom. Some of these are people who have never taught and do not know a thing about teaching. That can't be good. With the lay off of these teachers will have to go elsewhere to teach, our district will also lose their children - certainly they will take them to the new school they are teaching at. That means less FTE money....how will that be made up? The thing about it is....if you permanently get rid of all of the administrators who do nothing and positions that do not instruct....you will free up enough money to keep those 1st, 2nd and 3rd year teachers who make so much less and do know how to teach. My heart goes out to Paul Dyal. He has inherited a mess...much more than he probably imagined. We do definitely need to pray for his wisdom in deciding the best way to help clean up the mess caused by the previous administration. I am just not sure that getting rid of teachers is the solution.
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Please remember everyone that this is only rumor, not the truth, no one knows yet the cuts that are going to be made, I am a teacher and I have heard none of this.
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I'd say it's extremely likely that changes made for the next school year will result in fewer teaching positions being necessary.
And if teachers are going to lose their jobs, it's going to be the annual contract teachers who go first.
I hate to see anyone lose their job, but the reality is that continued belt-tightening is necessary (just see today's paper).
One good thing that can come of this is that ineffective annual contract teachers can be let go and only the best will be kept (I don't think *every* annual contract teacher is going to lose their job). Traditionally, Taylor County has been short on teachers--which meant keeping people around who ideally wouldn't be kept around. Having a greater supply of teachers than demand allows districts to be more selective.
Also, remember that pretty much anyone in the district who has a teaching certificate HAS been a teacher at some point. Those administrators, deans, etc. you mention almost all came from the classroom.
Remember, too, that many of those people are currently being paid a teacher's hourly rate of pay. And contrary to popular belief, that's pretty much the highest rate of pay in the district; a senior teacher earns more per hour than most administrators. I don't think the district can afford to pay a teacher's salary to someone who isn't actually in a classroom teaching.
As to where the teachers who lose their jobs will go... Well, that's the most painful part. They won't be going to Tallahassee; the surrounding counties are in just about as bad a shape as Taylor, and are also laying people off. I'm truly sorry for those teachers, but I'm not worried that students are going to follow them somewhere else and cause the district to lose funding.
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Again, you have some great comments, very informative, I would hope most people would list more facts than the regular rumor mill that goes around, it only creates panic and unfounded comments.
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I believe the person was referring to their own children moving with them. Not that any one "Teacher" has a specific following that would up and leave here if they are removed.
If anyone can answer, what is the criteria for a possible "culling" of the work force? Absenteeism? Performance? Student testing history? Disciplinary issues? Or is only a Tenure and or Union Issue?
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Okay, that explanation makes a lot more sense. I hadn't read their comment that way, but I'm sure you're right.
Looking at it that way... Most new teachers are in their early 20s and are either unmarried, newly married, or have babies rather than school-aged kids.
With teachers, you have two basic categories.
The first category is new teachers, who are on an annual contract for the first few (three, I think) years of their employment. During that period, the teacher can easily be let go at the end of a school year. The district doesn't have to renew their contract.
The second category is teachers who are on continuing contract. That's what happens after they've taught a few years and aren't on annual contract anymore. Once they have a continuing contract, they have tenure. It takes an act of Congress to get rid of them!
If teaching positions are cut, people on annual contract are the first to go. And there are enough of those teachers that masssive cuts would probably only affect them--not the ones on continuing contract. If the district reached a point where teachers on continuing contract had to be cut, then I believe it's mostly a matter of seniority--people with the fewest number of years would get cut first.
So let's say there are 50 teachers on annual contract, and the district cuts 30 teaching jobs. Only the annual contract teachers would be affected. The district would only need to keep 20 of those 50 teachers. And the silver lining on the cload is that the district can choose which 20 it wants to keep, allowing it to pick only the best and the brightest. Say, teachers whose students do well on standardized tests, whose classrooms are well-controlled, who adhere to policies and procedures, and so on.
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In answer to TaylorCountyCitizen..... You said "Remember, too, that many of those people are currently being paid a teacher's hourly rate of pay. And contrary to popular belief, that's pretty much the highest rate of pay in the district; a senior teacher earns more per hour than most administrators. I don't think the district can afford to pay a teacher's salary to someone who isn't actually in a classroom teaching." Check again, there are some instructional staff, (ie Sandy MacDonald) that is making that $37.01 per hour instructional rate and is NOT in the classroom. The reading coaches are others.
Also, you said "I'm truly sorry for those teachers, but I'm not worried that students are going to follow them somewhere else and cause the district to lose funding." I believe the writer meant their own children would be pulled out of the Taylor County school system and move with them to where ever they find employment. Finally, I agree that "SPORTS" should be put on a back burner until funding for extra-curricular activities can be afforded.
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Yep--that was exactly what I was saying about the salaries. My point was that people are being paid teachers' hourly rates (which are higher than administrators' hourly rates) but aren't in the classroom teaching. Unless those salaries are being paid out of grants, I don't see how the district can continue doing that.
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Rumor is that the rumor is true. School employees will find out Monday.
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You are correct. The employees were given the news today. NO annual contract will be rehired. They will all be let go with their contract end date in June. All positions that are available after the budget is figured out will be advertised to the general public. Any of the teachers who were let go may reapply, but there will be no guarantee of a position for them.
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What about the TTI Director-Ken Olsen sweatheart/golden parachute-Oscar deal? This did not pass the smell test last year, I cannot think that it would smell any better a year later! It still stinks! The school district should terminate all outside contracts and reconsider on a case by case basis!
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While I wouldn't characterize that as a golden parachute or sweetheart deal (Olsen isn't really making more money than he was before), I would be very surprised if that contract were renewed after it expires in June.
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That he is making any money at all directly or indirectly from the school board is just criminal! TTI has been going down hill during Olsen's tenure. The facility, once an example of great work, has become a dumping ground for bsd students and employees. While it may not be 100% of Olsen's fault it is on his watch and showing up for a feel-good moment every so often at the school board meeting does not get students employed or serves the business community. Olsen simply has not performed and focused more on being an Oscar crony, now Dyal than making TTI all it could be. Olsen seems to work the right folks, and yes he costing the district more money "than he was before". He also has been double dipping in DROP for a number of years prior to getting his "deal" from Oscar and company.
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Red, apparantly you have no clue, TTI produces many jobs for the students there, there is no better placement than Tim Brown's class, or the electrical class. Just check the facts, according to the newspaper did they not just get a 2+ million grant for electrical engineering class out there. Maybe some praise and the Board will take your complaints with some teeth. Maybe your beef is with one person, not the school.
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There are definitely still some good things going on at TTI--just not as many good things as there used to be. Overall, the school is definitely a shadow of what it used to be.
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Good point..
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As a practical point, the only jobs TTI is providing are the jobs for the (non-instructional and instructional) employees of TTI and the report given to the school board states just that in fact detailing how the cost per student at TTI is higher than any other post-secondary school in the state of florida, due to the over staffed under utilized school.
Sure, students getting certificates are gaining a few jobs, and I am sure that Tim Brown is a fine instructor, but TTI is not like it was years ago when Ann Cooper, Linda Wiles and others had things really going for students and TTI-and you simply cannot argue with that!
If I have a "beef", as a taxpayer, it is with a school system that is bankrupt and a school site that has become a cancer on the district! Olsen is the site administrator and it is on his watch, who should be responsible for performance? The custodian? Olsen was handed a very good school site with programs and students. With his hands-off management style every thing has eroded! Olsen almost let the EMT program crash and burn with de-certification in recent months, you did not see that in the mullet wrapper.
With the great mis-representations about "grants" on the district level no one, even the school board, really knows what is going on. There are a few district employees who were hired with grant funds exclusively and now that the grant has ended, cost the district general revenue funds, they should be terminated if the grant is not renewed or new grant funds are not received. I find it ironic that the mullet wrapper headlines are about a new coach beig hired, then a smaller story on the page about the school district "eyeing staffing adjustments" due to the budget reductions. What a joke!
As far as a complaint with "teeth", the school board got that recently with the school board association report, and we all know how quick the school board has moved on that complaint with "teeth".
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I must say that I was a vocal supporter of Paul Dyal in the last election. I know there is lot of controversy over the hire of a new coach and some coach’s doing it for free. If Paul Dyal wants to hire a new football coach that is his business. HOWEVER, if one teacher, aid, school bus driver, custodian, or lunchroom worker gets laid off. Then Paul Dyal should be run out of office. I have friends and family who may loose their jobs to budget cuts. It’s not hard to see that people will loose jobs. I was at recent school board meeting and they were asking for cost saving ideas, any ideas will be taken seriously. All I could do was just shake my head in frustration, as there is a great proposal on the table. Also, does anyone know if the old football coach is still on staff at the high school? If he is how are they going to take 5% from all our teachers and then pay two people for the same job? Not sure if the old coach is even still here in Perry. Just a thought. I’m Paul Dyal’s biggest supporter but some of this is not making sense at all. Paul Hire a coach but not at the sacrifice of hometown people who voted for you, who have family’s to take care losing their jobs. If there is an alternative you need to look at it closely. I hope this don’t bit you in the butt. Like I said earlier if no one is going to loss a job hire a coach from outside, but if we can stay in house and save jobs do that. People of TAYLOR COUNTY don’t sit back and watch people loss jobs over a football coach. Good Luck Mr.Dyal!
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I'm certainly not going to defend how TTI has been run. There simply is no defense for that. But I've crunched the numbers, and don't see that Olsen is costing the district any more money now than he did before.
The contract that was approved under Oscar was for a year. It expires in June. I can't imagine there's any chance that Dyal will renew it. For one thing, I seem to recall the board saying at the time that it was going to be for one year and one year only. So even if Dyal tried to renew the contract, I doubt the board would approve it.
Hopefully the district will soon engage in a search for a new director, and will be as vigorous as they've been in their search for a new coach.
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"as vigorous", let's hope so, very good point!
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We got us a football coach, at any cost! What a joke of the Dyal administration. Poor fools! God Bless our community, we will need it. Who is getting the mowing contract> LOL!!!!
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Just remember that the school board has to approve the coach's hiring.
The odds of them voting against it are slim, but if enough voters voice opposition it could change the outcome.
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Taylor County Citizen, you are correct! Why don't you run for Superintendent? Or at the very least, a School Board Member position. We need folks like you with their head on their shoulders!
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I'd gladly serve on a board where my qualifications were the only factor--but not one where I had to go door-to-door politicking. Yuck.
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This is the advantage we have with this site, we can critisize and complain without anyone knowing who we are, but when the chips are down, and we need to be at meetings or seen in public then we really become what we truly are , are just a bunch of blowhards and whiners. I give kudos to the boards of county commish, the school board and the city council, also those that volunteer for the committees.
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I believe that those in control will remain until WE THE PEOPLE vote them out! Mr. Dyal inherited a mess. I believe he is doing the best he can, with the exception of hiring a football coach. Teachers, clerks, food service, custodians, and clinic staff are the backbone of the schools. We can do with less administrators and more of those who are working day to day with students. We are in a crisis. Maybe the state should come in and take over! They certainly can't do worse.
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