Monday, November 30, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Are You Thankful?
IPS B.S. wishes all of you a very Happy Thanksgiving. We may not have much to be thankful for with the IPS administration, but hopefully there's a student that you've reached and made all the difference in their life. That is what teaching is all about.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Eugene Is One Vote Away From Leaving
Decision to drop football at 3 Indianapolis high schools standsIPS chief said he'd quit if board intervened
by
Andy Gammill
Indianapolis Star
The Indianapolis Public School Board narrowly avoided having to see whether the superintendent would follow through on a threat Tuesday to quit over the district's football programs.
Board members split 4-3 against taking a board vote on Eugene White's plan to cancel football at three schools, instead choosing to leave that authority with the superintendent. A vote by the full board would have been the last appeal for supporters of the programs at Manual, Marshall and Washington high schools.
During Tuesday's debate, White said he would quit if the board insisted on getting involved in management decisions at that level.
In a rare show of division on the board, Kelly E. Bentley and two other members questioned the superintendent's decision and said the board should be the one to make the call.
White disagreed and in a heated exchange told Bentley that the final decision would rest with him.
"If you're not going to let me run this district," he said, "please let me know, and I'll just go elsewhere."
After the meeting, White said he would have resigned had the board vote gone the other way.
Bentley responded to White's ultimatum by suggesting that he respond to her more politely and reminding him that he was not an elected official. She suggested other board members were scared to vote publicly and said the board's decision was "an insult to the democratic process."
Board member W. Diane Arnold said the board should vote on the issue and said the superintendent's process had alienated community groups.
"When we continue to not listen to community partners," she said, "we're not putting children first."
But four board members backed the superintendent, saying that they had hired White to make tough management decisions and that the issue of football teams did not rise to the level of a matter the board should consider.
Board member Mary E. Busch, the longest-serving member and an education professor, said the board must not interfere with the superintendent's program changes.
"I think what we're doing now as a board is micromanaging," she said, "micromanaging of the worst kind."
Marianna Zaphiriou said a School Board policy already had given the superintendent authority to make changes in high school athletics and it wouldn't be fair or right for the board to step in.
"This is a change in a program and falls under the purview of the superintendent as an administrator," she said. "We hired the superintendent to do a job."
White outlined several reasons for his decision to cancel football, including that participation had dropped too low. Five years ago, White warned the district's sports teams that if they didn't have certain levels of participation, they would be disbanded.
He said he was following through on that proposal, which was approved by the board.
For a school to continue to have a football team, those guidelines said, they must have 45 players in the program. Arlington, Manual, Marshall, Northwest and Washington high schools did not, but White said two of those programs would be spared.
He said IPS losses last season were humiliating to students and that dropping the programs at three schools would allow resources to go to other schools.
A loud crowd of alumni and parents, mostly from Washington, occasionally jeered at the superintendent and the majority of the board.
After the meeting, two police officers blocked access to the hallway where those board members had retired.
As the board prepared to vote, one member of the audience called out, "Wait for Election Day."
Washington alumnus Bob Zink said he was disappointed in government processes if the board could avoid a vote on such a hot-button topic.
"All that did was say to the superintendent he's got an open board," he said. "If he wants to leave, let him leave. What they're saying is he's a czar."Additional Facts
How they voted
Voting for the superintendent to decide on football cuts: Michael D. Brown, Mary E. Busch, Elizabeth M. Gore and Marianna R. Zaphiriou.
Voting for the board to decide on football cuts: Kelly E. Bentley, Michael R. Cohen and W. Diane Arnold.
by
Andy Gammill
Indianapolis Star
The Indianapolis Public School Board narrowly avoided having to see whether the superintendent would follow through on a threat Tuesday to quit over the district's football programs.
Board members split 4-3 against taking a board vote on Eugene White's plan to cancel football at three schools, instead choosing to leave that authority with the superintendent. A vote by the full board would have been the last appeal for supporters of the programs at Manual, Marshall and Washington high schools.
During Tuesday's debate, White said he would quit if the board insisted on getting involved in management decisions at that level.
In a rare show of division on the board, Kelly E. Bentley and two other members questioned the superintendent's decision and said the board should be the one to make the call.
White disagreed and in a heated exchange told Bentley that the final decision would rest with him.
"If you're not going to let me run this district," he said, "please let me know, and I'll just go elsewhere."
After the meeting, White said he would have resigned had the board vote gone the other way.
Bentley responded to White's ultimatum by suggesting that he respond to her more politely and reminding him that he was not an elected official. She suggested other board members were scared to vote publicly and said the board's decision was "an insult to the democratic process."
Board member W. Diane Arnold said the board should vote on the issue and said the superintendent's process had alienated community groups.
"When we continue to not listen to community partners," she said, "we're not putting children first."
But four board members backed the superintendent, saying that they had hired White to make tough management decisions and that the issue of football teams did not rise to the level of a matter the board should consider.
Board member Mary E. Busch, the longest-serving member and an education professor, said the board must not interfere with the superintendent's program changes.
"I think what we're doing now as a board is micromanaging," she said, "micromanaging of the worst kind."
Marianna Zaphiriou said a School Board policy already had given the superintendent authority to make changes in high school athletics and it wouldn't be fair or right for the board to step in.
"This is a change in a program and falls under the purview of the superintendent as an administrator," she said. "We hired the superintendent to do a job."
White outlined several reasons for his decision to cancel football, including that participation had dropped too low. Five years ago, White warned the district's sports teams that if they didn't have certain levels of participation, they would be disbanded.
He said he was following through on that proposal, which was approved by the board.
For a school to continue to have a football team, those guidelines said, they must have 45 players in the program. Arlington, Manual, Marshall, Northwest and Washington high schools did not, but White said two of those programs would be spared.
He said IPS losses last season were humiliating to students and that dropping the programs at three schools would allow resources to go to other schools.
A loud crowd of alumni and parents, mostly from Washington, occasionally jeered at the superintendent and the majority of the board.
After the meeting, two police officers blocked access to the hallway where those board members had retired.
As the board prepared to vote, one member of the audience called out, "Wait for Election Day."
Washington alumnus Bob Zink said he was disappointed in government processes if the board could avoid a vote on such a hot-button topic.
"All that did was say to the superintendent he's got an open board," he said. "If he wants to leave, let him leave. What they're saying is he's a czar."Additional Facts
How they voted
Voting for the superintendent to decide on football cuts: Michael D. Brown, Mary E. Busch, Elizabeth M. Gore and Marianna R. Zaphiriou.
Voting for the board to decide on football cuts: Kelly E. Bentley, Michael R. Cohen and W. Diane Arnold.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Have You Seen the News
All IPS salaries have all been posted on the Internet. What some administrators make to do absolutely nothing is almost criminal. Read them and weep.
Monday, November 23, 2009
You Should Be Thankful
With all the people out of work in this economy, should IPS teachers be thankful they have a job and stop complaining about working conditions?
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Have You Heard the News?
Rumor has it the news media is trying to get a copy of all the salaries in IPS so it can publish them. That doesn't bother IPS B.S. because we're all public employees so our salaries are public record, but you have to wonder what the reaction will be when people find out that Willie Giles makes $150,000 a year, Jane Kendrick makes $120,000 and Jane Ajabu makes $116,000?
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