Everyone holding their breath about the board election
I went to the work study session portion of the board meeting last night and the board decided to wait until the new board in in place before voting on the raise Superintendent Lutrey will receive. With 3 of the 5 seats on the board up for grabs I can’t blame them.
I then went to a “meet and greet” sponsored by the folks at ChangeInHUSD and met with more former and current HUSD employees and their spouses about the upcoming election. The reports are pretty much what I always hear from insiders: Employee morale is low, leadership and vision are severely lacking, there is no consistency in programs, support for teachers and staff is erratic at best, money is being wasted because of the general chaos, etc. Yet the promising signs were there as well: There are a ton of talented people who would prefer to work at HUSD rather than commuting to other districts — they are just hoping the district can pull its crap together finally and give them a reason to come back.
Change in HUSD is coming but it will come a lot faster if you can tell your friends to vote for Geoff Johnston (me), Greg Land, and Paul Howell. Plus be sure you tell everyone you know to vote yes on the HUSD budget increase or the new board will have its hands tied financially from the get-go.
With a new board that demands far greater accountability from district management and the budget override being renewed, I believe HUSD can turn around very quickly.
Venessa:
Where is the great news about our Excelling Schools? I appreciate the AYP article.
October 19, 2008, 12:01 pmGeoff Johnston:
I’m glad you liked that post Venessa. Any time you hear great news about our schools I’d love to have you write a post about it here.
October 19, 2008, 12:12 pmPeggy:
There really is no reason why HUSD schools should NOT be excelling. We live in a prosperous community with tons of great families. HUSD should be able to attract and keep excellent teachers. Unfortunately, the bad news about HUSD seems to be out weighing the good news….for now at least.
October 19, 2008, 9:38 pmKatie:
My question regarding Dr. Lutreys raise would be did she already receive a raise in the past 12 months? Most companies do increases annually. Did she receive an increase earlier this summer when she became a “Dr.” I believe I read somewhere that the board had approved increases in some scale that was equal to about 3 or 4% for employees. I would assume this is based on what the state provides for budgeting and that ALL employees would get the same amount. Now, looking at all the new Directors positions created I would like to know if they were also given the same raise in addition to the, in my opinion, outrageous salaries.
Employees who work hard, prove themselves and do the job they are hired for are deserving of a raise. The district is struggling but we have money to bring in more and more directors? Teachers and staff members are leaving for feeling underappreciated and yet the top few on the totem pole feel they are doing the right things for the district? I personally feel the increase should be based on several things that I am not seeing as a resident, concerned parent and registered voter. I would vote NO on any further raises until we see change for the positive.
October 19, 2008, 10:07 pmDawn:
Katie-
October 19, 2008, 10:27 pmI agree with you, and love your totem pole comment.
This district has too many chiefs and not enough indians.
Katie:
Dawn, I too believe there are WAY too many chiefs and not enough indians. I wonder what would happen if all the indians chose to leave and pitch their teepees elsewhere for even a day. Who would run that office or our schools?
October 19, 2008, 10:34 pmGeoff Johnston:
Well I learned at the work study meeting that a 3-7% raise every year is actually in Superintendent Lutrey’s contract. So the new board won’t have a ton of wiggle room on that issue due to the contractual obligations.
October 19, 2008, 10:37 pmKatie:
Geoff, Do we know how much a 3-7% raise is equivelant to? Is it public knowledge to know how frequently she is getting raises and what the rate has been? I thought all raises were already decided during the summer.
Thanks
October 21, 2008, 5:39 pm