Tuesday Open Thread
The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested. It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio. (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Comments
KIRO is quite right, though, that salaried and management employees shouldn't be getting overtime. Any such payments should be rejected by payroll. Or use SPS cars for commuting. Lord.
I hope this doesn't hurt McEvoy. It doesn't sound like it's her fault, and she's doing a pretty good job in a very difficult situation. This would be a really bad time to try to hire and train someone to take her place.
There is not an "if" to the Mann claims - it's a how much. Every single BEX Committee member agreed on this last Friday morning and let Director Peaslee know that when she asked if the contractor "had" to choose to file a claim. The contractor will.
Everything central administration does should be judged against whether it helps more than having that salary go for an additional teacher. The question before hiring or maintaining any position in the central office should be, "Does this help kids more than a teacher?
We are lucky to have Andrew Medina as the watchdog.
-- Ivan Weiss
And yes, Ms. McEvoy is ultimately, for many of those people the place where the buck should stop - someone had to "approve" the overtime right?
One more point - and I do have a bit of "insider" knowledge - there are a few people on that list who were literally forced to work more hours rather than SPS hiring another FTE to realistically manage the workload. Poor management is not the blame of the employee - it's the blame of the manager and on up the food chain.
Throw your arrows where they are deserved.
Payroll just implements what the employee's supervisor approves. They have no authority or control in this situation. So, please understand departments' authority before posting remarks calling out people.
LH
HP
Some years back there was much ado made about excessive sole-sourcing of personal service contracts. Has that really changed? No, it's just that staff files a mea culpa form when they either: a) have work begin before work is signed; or b) swear up and down NOBODY is more capable than so and so to do such and such. In the case of PSCs, there is an acctg staffer who goes after administrators who still hand out contracts like candy. They gripe and moan about why what they did wasn't really so bad. I don't think he gets any support for the diligent job he does.
Likewise time and effort reporting has been a constant audit finding. It's not that hard - a staff person promptly fills out a time sheet and a manager promptly approves it (all accurate of course). I understand managers like Marni Campbell, who was too busy not leading Special Education, would be hounded by other staff to sign off on T&E reports. But WTH, she didn't have to do anything some low-level staff person asked for, to hell with audits!
If this district values internal audits and effective corrective action, then they would hire staff who are independent and have the authority to make things happen.
2011 - $29K
2012 - $28K
2013 (partial) - $12.5K
I agree that the sick leave buyout is normal for public employees as part of the use of lose it practice, of course that is limited to whatever was available and whatever wasn't.
"Excellent investigative reporting." Seriously? I think it was rather sophomoric myself. At least half of the report, especially the reporting of sick leave cash outs, was nothing more than fodder for people who already dislike SPS employees. Like someone else here said, the district (and taxpayers) get a bargain when the cash out is $.25 on the dollar. Not to mention students benefitted from having their regular teacher instead of a substitute.
Not a fan of KIRO's Enquire type sensationalizing....
You'll be deleted if you do not pick a two word moniker.
Screeds like Kiro7 have their place. If there weren't auditors and inquiring minds, where would we be right now? Letting MGJ (or whomever) paper the file with vaporous "reforms" and "systems in place"?
The "populists" will take accountability in whatever way, shape, or form.
Thanks fir the heads up Mirmac.
Jon,
"Excellent investigative reporting." Seriously? I think it was rather sophomoric myself. At least half of the report, especially the reporting of sick leave cash outs, was nothing more than fodder for people who already dislike SPS employees. Like someone else here said, the district (and taxpayers) get a bargain when the cash out is $.25 on the dollar. Not to mention students benefitted from having their regular teacher instead of a substitute.
Not a fan of KIRO's Enquire type sensationalizing....especially since they don't bother reporting how much overtime SPS staff does on a routine basis. Unpaid I might add.
SLP
But the issue was who was getting paid overtime and why. I'm confused why the manager of the radio station would get overtime for three years in row. I'd like to understand why that is.
Does that ever happen in sPS?
not anonymous
The question with every dollar should be, "Would this be better spent in the classroom?"