ANOTHER BALE of HAY ON THIS CAMEL’S BACK
Yet Another Administrative Position?
The AFT continues to be the watchdogs of Monongalia County. We were amazed to learn while attending the January 25th county board meeting, that yet another county administrative position has been created and was approved for posting. That posting is available and on line at the time this is being written. As you will see in the sample of the letter that was sent to the Superintendent and the Board our opinion of yet another bale of hay on this camel’s back. It is our finding that Monongalia County is among the most top heavy education systems in the state.
Similar of the following letter went to 25 North Central media offices, North Central Delegates, and every AFT member on our local list. Education money keeps floating to the top and away from our students. This insanity has to stop. This is a much bigger issue than that of one position in Monongalia County.
As in the trend of big business over the past twenty years, the same holds true in the profession of education. West Virginia county BOEs seem to be competing with one another in how much they can pay their superintendents and how many central office employees they can hire. In the mean time our teachers and service personnel are losing their jobs, class sizes get bigger, and our students suffer.
We are all for education reform, but it can not be done if only in the classroom with limited and diminishing resources. It also has to be done with the obligation from administrators and lawmakers to make meaningful financial reform by restructuring this educational institution to better serve students. Then, and only then, we will be able to make meaningful academic reform in our classrooms to better serve our students.
We will continue to address this type of spending that directs money away from our classrooms. We will continue to combat exorbitant spending by the hands of decision makers. We will stand firm in our beliefs that smaller classes and individualized instruction improves student achievement.
Letter as follows:
To: Dr. Frank Devono, Superintendent of Monongalia County Schools
From: Samuel J Brunett, President Monongalia County AFT
Subject: Director of Ancillary Services (New Professional Administrative Position)
Dr. Devono,
We are highly alarmed, disappointed, and vehemently opposed by the Monongalia County Board of Education’s approval of the newly created administrative position of Director of Ancillary Services. This new Director will be working arm in arm with 8 other directors 2 Assistant Superintendents, 9 Coordinators, 26 or more Curriculum Coaches/ TIS, and the list goes on and on… The American Federation of Teachers has used samples of this county’s administratively-heavy central office to drive the point to lawmakers how this type of decision making directly affects student learning through class size. It was upon these Monongalia County statistics that lawmakers and the WVDE have moved forward to conduct a statewide audit of educational practices and where that money is going. And yet among all of these discussions in Charleston, news articles, and promise of an audit, this county decides to dig deeper into that pool of professionals to accommodate another position that has no direct contact or impact with our students. Our central office continues to grow larger as we lose those positions that work directly with students.
Several educators and service personnel received letters this year that informed them that their positions are in jeopardy. We are talking about the livelihood of up to 70 of individuals in this county who work directly with students. The potential loss of this many positions will have a major impact upon our growing class size and the ability of those remaining educators to provide individualized instruction which directly affects the quality of education.
This is awkward to every tax payer in Monongalia County who has historically supported our education system. How can this board justify to its employees and those taxpayers the over 70 RIFs and transfers, at the same time they wish to hire an additional county-level administrator. It makes no sense and further confirms the ominous top-heavy trend this county has pursued.
There have also been questions about the posting of this position. The work experience is extremely questionable and severely limits the pool of applicants, which is a direct violation of WVC 18A-4-7a, Section 1-D, leading us to believe that this position has been created for a specific individual, which conflicts with WVC 18A-4-7a, Section 1-E.
Attached to this document find a copy of the actual job posting and the section of code to refer.
The Duties and Responsibilities of this posting are those that are already being handled by current administration. If the purpose of this posting is to primarily lessen the duties of existing administrators, we as classroom teachers and service personnel are asked on so many occasions to do more with less. We simply ask for equity and that our leaders lead by example. Anything less would be hypocrisy.
Therefore we request this Board of Education and the Monongalia County Administration to rescind this posting and do away with this wasteful position.
Sincerely,
Samuel J Brunett, President
on behalf of
The Monongalia County AFT Executive Board