Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Fox News: Tensions run high at NHS

From today's Fox 29 News at Noon report . . .



23 comments:

Unknown said...

Just like 1980... there will be no winners.

acs said...

Susan you must be joking. The NFT won huge in 1980, 1998 and 2002 that is why we are all in this mess. I have a funny feeling the taxpayer and students will win this time. Remember for NFT negotiator Ms. Boyd and all teacher unions it is only about the teachers winning and us losing. Time to schnge it up so hang tough William et al.

st319 said...

So much for the NFT Wednesday morning solidarity. Looks like they lost their spines once the media showed up. If you ALL truly believe in what you are doing, then their presence shouldn't have mattered.

Unknown said...

ACS - allow me to clarify: regardless of previous contract gains, respect for teachers from some students and parents has plummeted, ie. no winners. And students certainly won't win because their education is disrupted and the message they're learning is "it's all about what my employer can give me". I guess I was cut from a different mold; my employer doesn't owe me anything but a paycheck.

srodos said...

TV is trying to create news rather than report it.
They should return to their coverage of robbery,shootings and traffic. At least in doing that they cover events that actually took place.Today at NHS they could have easily said we sent our cameras and nothing happened.

Levittowner said...

Heard that the teachers are going to be starting their little get having their "show of solidarity" get togethers every morning and afternon now at at least at one of the schools.

If this happens, is there a way the board can stop this? It was bad enough once a week in the morning...I don't want the kids seeing it twice a day now. Seems to me if they are WTC, then they should LEAVE at the end of the day, not remain in mass on school property.

Unknown said...

Do you think maybe the teachers weren't doing their normal wednesday routine in leiu of the new routine of just waiting in their cars like they have done all week?


On another note, Mr. O, will any board members be at the flagpole on thursday to address the students needs? They want someone to hear them. If so, make sure they find out exactly why the students are there and not just to "protest." Find out which ones have been directly impacted and in what way. I don't think the teachers are really impacting the education process; they show up on time, they teach, they leave after school, isn't that their jobs?

justwondering said...

I have 3 children left in the district, work in the medical field, and have many questions. With the new health care reform being passed, any employer that pays for 100% of an employees benefits, especially the cadillac plans, will pay a penalty equal to a certain percentage of the total amount of their payroll. Who is going to foot the bill for this should the board cave to the pressure? ( I hope not)
How many teachers who work in the distict actually live in the district and will support the tax increase needed to pay for their contract?
Is it an acceptable practice for teachers to discuss this topic with the kids (middle school) on a weekly basis? My kids had more information than I did until I found this blog.
Shame on these teachers for punishing the kids for the actions of the union and, in all fairness, the board. I believe the offer made by the board was more than fair, but more attempts by both sides should have been made to arrange meetings. I do not wish for the board to give in to these tactics that are being used, but only the kids are paying for it now. I can't wait for this school year to end.

Unknown said...

Love when the news creates news. The news cameras were sitting at the high school all day... Doing NOTHING. There was absolutely NOTHING going on today at the high school. Go find some real news to report on. Stop listening to rumors and start caring about your kids.

KClarinet said...

"Who is going to foot the bill for this should the board cave to the pressure?"

When all this is over, the district will not be paying 100% of the teachers' health insurance premiums. Period.

acs said...

Susan, Well said. People just keep wanting to cut teachers a break. Sorry I know what the teacher unions are all about and they do not deserve any benefit of the doubt. Now the community is seeing that teachers are clearly greedy and putting this greed above students and parents. 6% raises? free roll royce healthcare? and full retirement benefits? all paid for by taxpayers no where near as well off is greed in this day and age. 95% of middletown workers now have to pay for all of our own benefits unlike 30 years ago when everyone got it and healthcare was cheap if you had to buy it.
NSD teachers work the least amount and get the most compensation of any teachers in PA. And our district ranks around 200 out of 500 in performance. Sounds like the Teachers in NSD are the big winners to me....

JS said...

I think someone from the NFT should be at that flag pole tomorrow morning and explain to the students this:

If a teacher wants to stay after the school day and help you learn a difficult topic or write you a recommendation, they can't, their union says no.

If a teacher (who is also a coach) wants to stay after to have practices for a sport that doesn't play for months, they can, because their union says ok.

Someone (preferrably a teacher) explain to them how that is part of this whole "work-to-contract" directive. Hurt the students in academics, but let athletics keep going on (remember these are fall and winter teams practicing).

People may not agree with what you are trying to accomplish with WTC, but at least some would respect you for all doing it. Now it appears some teachers can choose to not leave at 2:14, so where are the others that choose to? Are coaches the only ones willing to stand up to the union?

If you are a parent who has a child being directly affected by a teacher refusing to do anything by WTC, have your child ask them why the teachers who are coaches can do more than WTC.

Make a statement by WTC, but make it as a whole. Other wise you just look hypocritical.

csld said...

Henry you are right they the 29 news are trying to create their own news and making Neshaminy look really bad.Its time to stop this insanity and get back on track.

CF009 said...

SUSAN, Very good points there will be no winners.
Teaching starts at home...and respect for others, their situation is one of the first lessons we need to teach our children! Let's all try to do this even as we disagree.

Ysmith said...

It's beginning to get nasty & this behavior doesn't solve anything. The media is only showing you want u want to see. What is the bottom line - pay raises & paying for healthcare. That's it, right? Or am missing something? I don't need to educate anyone on how a union works but the teachers, parents & kids r affected by the board vs union. The teachers r following what there boss is telling them to do - do u listen to your boss? The parents r flipping out, focusing more on the WTC & all the other things they r doing & we r starting a silent war with the teachers & finally you got these poor kids - they will react to this as you react to this. Hello I've never witness teachers work past memorial day. They slowly clean up there classrooms around this time every year, why are u just noticing this cause someone else brought it to your attention. You can't solve a problem if you lose focus on what the original problem is in the 1st place. Alot of people are angry & the information you are receiving is false or blown out of proportion. Bottom line (in my opinion) WE as a community don't have any more money to give. I'm tapped out, the economy is not what it use to be & we need to scale back or we are gonna fail.

LetsBePractical said...

Friend on the police force and a friend who works in the building. Police were there in the early morning because the Investigative Canine was in the building for the scheduled monthly check. Second call was because drugs were found on a student later in the day. If you ask me, kudos to the teachers and administration for attempting to address the obvious drug problem that is rampant in the school, so our children CAN learn. Parents, please talk to your kids. Mine have told me that anyone can get almost any drug they want on any given day!!! Maybe we need to focus on these issues. Where is Fox News' report about the issues that our students must face everyday in our schools?

KIDSFIRST said...

I heard students at Maple Point Middle School had a walk out today and half the students are not in class. I told my child to focus on his school work and not participate in any protests.

acs said...

CF009, I think a better lesson for our kids is that special interest gorups like teachers' unions are helping destroy the economic fabric of the country and ther generation needs to stand up to these groups that feel entitled to more than the rest of us and also vote out the politicians that are owned by teachers union PACS. We should be teaching them that greed at the expense of the common citizen is wrong and WTC and Striking for absurd demands is pure blackmail. These are the right lessons for class of 2010.

KIDSFIRST said...

The situation is getting out of hand with the events at Maple Point Middle School this morning. According to FOX29, kids staged a protest and ran off into the woods upon arrival at school today. Police went after them and now parents will be fined $500 if their child ran off, since they violated day time school curfew.

Everyone needs to calm down. The teacher union's WTC order is not completely affecting elementary school and middle school students. The teachers are there teaching all day as usual. I think the problem is for High School juniors. If they waited until now to get letters of recommendations for college admission, they are not getting them.

I am getting concerened about the children's safety, now that they are getting involved with protesting.

LetsBePractical said...

Kudos to you, KIDSFIRST, on keeping a rational mind through all of this! I, too, have told my children to stay focused on their schoolwork, and let the adults iron out the contract dispute. I also fear that people are entering very shaky ground, when they are condoning middle school children conducting a "protest" of any sort. I just feel that these children just are not mature enough to be able to implement such an event to address such omplicated issues.

Levittowner said...

My older chidren and I discuss what is going on and I have no problem with them voicing their opinion. (as an aside, they tell me their teachers actually believe parents think teachers have always been compensated well to only WTC and we will show our support as they WTC because we so value the extras they do..although we never expected them to do it for the pay they make. GEEZ..They are in a bubble!)
ANYWAYS....back on subject..

HOWEVER...I also have always taught them respect and to use appropriate avenues to voice their opinion.

Just like the teachers shouldn't have picketed the schools on back to school night or "showed" solidarity on school grounds I expect and have made it quite clear to MY children that protests at school are not appropriate. The school is there as a learning environment, and my children will respect that.

They can write about it in the newspaper/blogs/facebook...they can get petitions signed...they can speak up at school board meetings.

KIDSFIRST said...

Today was field day at Maple Point Middle School. The kids had a great day. All the teachers did their part to ensure the day was a success.

TaxPayer2NSD said...

I value the teachers in our schools. My daughter attends Heckman and I could not ask for better teachers.
Something everyone has to understand is this basic fact... Unions do not give back! Once they have fought hard for something, over the years, they just do not give back.
I think the teachers are willing to work with the board on some issues like pay increases (especially because they have not had any in 2 yrs with no contract) but they are not going to give back benefits.
The NFT is using the same negotiation tactics they have in the past and I am afraid those tactics are going to not work in 2010 because the economy is so poor.
The teachers are doing what they are being told to do by their union reps. They don't like this situation anymore than you do. They have not had a contract in over 2 years and yet they have showed up to work.
NSD teachers are not the highest paid in the state to correct a previous poster.
I think the union needs some fresh eyes on this stalemate. Their "old school" negotiating style and tactics are just not effective anymore.
First of all, giving NO information to the parents is not wise. They need someone to be meeting with the parent groups and all getting on the same page instead of such animosity and hatred. Yes, hated. Some of the posts here and on the Facebook group are filled with hateful comments. Those parents should be ashamed of themselves. Let's show our children a better way to solve problems.

Teacher's Union representatives...PLEASE elect one of your members to meet with the parents and discuss the issues with us? We want to hear where you are coming from. We want to share our frustrations with you in a civil, respectful manner and we invite you to do the same.