Comments on: Guest Column: Letter to Board of Education and Dr. Sheffield http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/02/23/guest-column-letter-to-board-of-education-and-dr-sheffield/ The Rock River Times - THE VOICE OF THE COMMUNITY SINCE 1993 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 17:21:39 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: VeryModest http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/02/23/guest-column-letter-to-board-of-education-and-dr-sheffield/comment-page-1/#comment-2157 VeryModest Sun, 06 Mar 2011 03:00:26 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=29065#comment-2157 As Rachel pointed out, it is expensive to start up a Montessori program but once done the cost of the program actually are lower than most traditional school. It is also true that the staff at the Montessori school is expensive simply because of the extra training that is needed to work in such a program. Whether you keep the program intact or not, those teachers in the program will still be working in the district at some other capacity - thus you save nothing on salaries and have closed down a program that has been highly successful since it started and has made AYP repeatedly. Now does this make sense? Only in Dr. Sheffield's mind, I guess. Then again, she is all for the children - just ask her ... as she looks at other programs to cut, including all-day kindergarten throughout the district. That one program is helping all students starting school, but that is her way of then being able to lay the blame on the greedy teachers and force them to make concessions that she herself is not willing to make. Wouldn't it be nice to have a complete and accurate list of just the administrators and other staff that work directly for the downtown building and not for the individual schools. I'd like to see a list and what job they are currently doing for the district along with the salaries and benefits packages that all of these people are making. I don't want to see all of the "assistant" principals that are assigned to downtown hidden either. Those are the people that visit the classrooms to see if the teachers have up the required posters that they now have to cover up or remove for testing this coming week and then uncover and put back up next week when testing is over. No wonder why the school building staffs are so stressed out, it is something new each week to screw with their lives. Any side bets on just how many teachers Sheffield will lay-off just because she can and not necessarily because those are the numbers that are needed. I'd go as high as 15 years. I hope she proves me wrong and that the numbers are way lower but even at 15 years I may be being too conservative knowing what she did to the teachers last year after they agreed to HER contract with the promised that she would keep layoffs down to a minimum. Then again, she did keep layoffs down -- she fired them all. As Rachel pointed out, it is expensive to start up a Montessori program but once done the cost of the program actually are lower than most traditional school. It is also true that the staff at the Montessori school is expensive simply because of the extra training that is needed to work in such a program. Whether you keep the program intact or not, those teachers in the program will still be working in the district at some other capacity – thus you save nothing on salaries and have closed down a program that has been highly successful since it started and has made AYP repeatedly. Now does this make sense? Only in Dr. Sheffield’s mind, I guess. Then again, she is all for the children – just ask her … as she looks at other programs to cut, including all-day kindergarten throughout the district. That one program is helping all students starting school, but that is her way of then being able to lay the blame on the greedy teachers and force them to make concessions that she herself is not willing to make. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a complete and accurate list of just the administrators and other staff that work directly for the downtown building and not for the individual schools. I’d like to see a list and what job they are currently doing for the district along with the salaries and benefits packages that all of these people are making. I don’t want to see all of the “assistant” principals that are assigned to downtown hidden either. Those are the people that visit the classrooms to see if the teachers have up the required posters that they now have to cover up or remove for testing this coming week and then uncover and put back up next week when testing is over. No wonder why the school building staffs are so stressed out, it is something new each week to screw with their lives.

Any side bets on just how many teachers Sheffield will lay-off just because she can and not necessarily because those are the numbers that are needed. I’d go as high as 15 years. I hope she proves me wrong and that the numbers are way lower but even at 15 years I may be being too conservative knowing what she did to the teachers last year after they agreed to HER contract with the promised that she would keep layoffs down to a minimum. Then again, she did keep layoffs down — she fired them all.

]]> By: Jennifer http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/02/23/guest-column-letter-to-board-of-education-and-dr-sheffield/comment-page-1/#comment-2108 Jennifer Sat, 26 Feb 2011 05:26:15 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=29065#comment-2108 It's in our community’s best interest to keep what's successful. Parents, property owners, business owners, unemployed - everyone - needs Rockford to grow and be prosperous. We can only do that with a viable school system. It's the groundwork. We need to build on what works and Montessori Works. Board Members - We are pleading for you to listen to your community and do the right thing. Vote No to this proposal. It’s in our community’s best interest to keep what’s successful. Parents, property owners, business owners, unemployed – everyone – needs Rockford to grow and be prosperous. We can only do that with a viable school system. It’s the groundwork. We need to build on what works and Montessori Works.

Board Members – We are pleading for you to listen to your community and do the right thing. Vote No to this proposal.

]]> By: John http://rockrivertimes.com/2011/02/23/guest-column-letter-to-board-of-education-and-dr-sheffield/comment-page-1/#comment-2100 John Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:50:46 +0000 http://rockrivertimes.com/?p=29065#comment-2100 As a taxpayer, I urge you to vote "yes". I'm taxed out. That's it, I can't afford any more, I'm done. I don't care what you have to cut, just make sure I don't have to pay more in taxes that I don't have. As a taxpayer, I urge you to vote “yes”. I’m taxed out. That’s it, I can’t afford any more, I’m done.

I don’t care what you have to cut, just make sure I don’t have to pay more in taxes that I don’t have.

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