Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Monday, November 6, 2006
Teachers sound angry
(School board President Gail Littlejohn)
Based on the reaction of teachers who have posted here since Thursday, I’d say the tentative agreement between Dayton schools and its teachers’ union may have a bumpy ride. Teachers meet Wednesday afternoon to vote on the deal, with the board meeting that night.
I’m a little surprised by the amount of Gail Littlejohn bashing going on in the comments here. Littlejohn can be a polarizing figure. She has a very direct style that can rub people the wrong way, plus some feel she exhibits something of a “if you’re not with us, you’re against us” vibe at times.
On the other hand, community leaders across a diverse spectrum widely credit Littlejohn’s leadership for straightening out many of Dayton Public Schools’ worst problems.
Littlejohn’s critics usually cite these failings — her lack of an education background and what they see as a corresponding lack of appreciation for classroom challenges and needs; their belief that she micromanages the school district; and their sense that her primary goal is self glorification.
Her defenders say Littlejohn has very little to gain personally from her work with the school board. She has pledged not to run for any other office and said she decided to make turning around the schools her retirement job out of a sense of duty to her community and her own disillusionment with the state of the schools, her friends argue. And they say the chaos the schools were in upon her arrival has been greatly reduced even if there is still a ways to go.
It seems most of the commenters here are in the critic camp.
Here’s a few other things from the comments that surprised me:
—Calls for a strike. It’s not hard to see why many teachers are unhappy with the proposed contract. Some have expressed to me a desire to send their negotiating team back to at least make the 1 percent permanent rather than a one-time payout. But really, a strike helps nobody here.
There are radical elements on both sides of the fence that wouldn’t mind seeing the other side’s resolve tested. Some teachers think the board would cave quickly and pay out more if there was a strike. Some on the administration side believe enough young teachers wouldn cross the picket lines to force the union to back down.
But so far, good sense has prevailed. A strike would seriously jeopardize the chances of passing a levy in May and beyond. Levy failures would mean more pain for everyone. I think the key players on both sides know this.
—Leaks. Let me just say this about Thursday’s DDN story on the contract details. We wrote the story because there was high interest in the details of the deal and we had reliable information from very good sources. The lead negotiators on both the union and administration sides were equally unhappy that the information came out ahead of their planned release.
—Misconceptions. No, Gail Littlejohn’s car is not paid for by the district. She drives her own car. Baldridge training has strong school board support but is less controversial than some here have portrayed it. I’ve spoken to some teachers and administrators who think it’s really helped them manage schools. About an equal number have told me they think it was a big waste of time and money. Retrofitting the Ludlow buildings cost more than expected, but there was no “marble floor” installed.
(Image credit: DDN)
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