Now Karen Frisco is blaming Imagine Academy for FWCS financial problems. It seems Imagine rents the Wells Street campus from a for profit company using taxpayer money which Wendy then can't get her hands on. I didn't know that taxpayer money going to any for profit company was a problem but apparently in this case it is because Wendy, Karen and the JG are pissed at Don Willis.
Now, charter schools are not given money for buildings. Unlike FWCS, for example, they can't propose building a "Steve Corona High Tech Career Center" (see the details on the failed FWCS bond issue) and float a $35 million bond paid back with interest by the taxpayers. A charter school has to buy a building, like the former Wells Street YWCA, on the cheap and then spend a few million to make it suitable for a school, like Imagine Academy. The only way they have to recoup that money is with a lease back arrangement, like Imagine is using. Its no different than FWCS leasing a fleet of cars instead of buying them. If it's cheaper that way to get cars or buildings or anything else for that matter, that's the way FWCS should do it. If the overall cost to the taxpayers of an equivalent education at Imagine is less than at FWCS, and I believe it is, then what's the problem Karen?
And how, you might ask, did Imagine get that lovely campus on Wells Street? They got it thanks to school board member Becky Hill. That campus was formerly the YWCA, nurtured and supported by many prominent Fort Wayne citizens, and (mis)managed into insolvency by Becky Hill. She tried to get Wendy, who said she needed it to hold the "overflow" at the Grile Center to buy it, but the board said no. So Willis bought it and made it into a charter school. Then two years later Becky pops up as a school board candidate and gets elected with money from the teachers union and the endorsement of the JG. Someone who can't manage a YWCA is now voting on a $300 annual school budget. Is that an inspiring story or what?
But you didn't hear that from Karen Frisco.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
Karen is so hung up on the charter schools using taxpayer money. Does she honestly believe that if she and Dr Wendy and Ball State succeed together to make this happen that the crisis is over for FWCS? Wake up Karen...by closing the charter schools in Ft Wayne you would only be adding fuel to the fire with the charter school kids. FWCS can't afford to take them, so where should they go? So lets see..we are all seeing a pattern here...Imagine picks a new location for the Bridge Academy...Frisco crys her taxpayer crocodile tears...Ball State comes to her rescue for some ungodly reason (haven't quite figured out her connection with them YET)and Ball State says NO to the new location...Do you have that story yet JG? If Ball State University had any guts at all they would have allowed a charter High School to happen and give the students from Elmhurst a second choice...but Wayne HS needs your ISTEP scores Elmhurst sorry. The cries continue about charters being on probation...but yet the JG never talks about how many Ft Wayne schools are on "academic" probation in the FWCS family. Karen needs a math lesson or I guess she didn't read the ads that Imagine put in her paper to compare costs for a charter school. But I bet she didn't have any problem accepting the check for those ads...move on JG to BIGGER tax dollar problems called Fort Wayne Community Schools
WOW just reading (on line of course) Miss Soderlunds interview with Krista Stockman on the number of teachers that will be laid off with FWCS. I think Krista went to the same math class that Frisco did....she said one thing and quickley corrected herself but it still isn't right. Why did they bother to print the first remark to begin with? To help your PT emp again? geez get with it JG. Here is what was printed:
The average salary and benefits package for a teacher is $74,780, according to spokeswoman Krista Stockman. Divide that by $6 million and you get about 80 teachers.
But the number of teachers who will be laid off will probably be more than 80 because, according to the contract, educators with the least experience are the first to go. Teachers with less experience traditionally fall below the average salary.
None of my friends that are teachers make that much...and I am quite sure this will anger a lot of teachers out there for making the public assume that they make this kind of money.
Shame on you JG...
Sorry Truth, but teachers do make that kind of money. Average teacher’s salary as stated by the IDOE website is $51,000. Starting teacher’s salary for a teacher with no experience and a bachelor degree is $32,372 (per the master contract). In both cases the benefit package can exceed $20,000. FWCS's portion of the health insurance alone is $17,000 for a family of four. Thus a starting teacher's salary and benefits right out of college can exceed $50,000 and the average is well into the $70's.
The reason they will only lay off 80 (and the number will likely be more like 20) is that many teachers are at retirement age and as they retire they will not replace them.
You’re absolutely right about Karen Francisco. I find it interesting that the only case in the history of the human race in which Karen Francisco has given a damn about spending public money is when Imagine does it. Wendy wanted to spend 4 million on buying the Wells street property..Karen supported it. Wendy wanted to bond 500 Million…Karen supported it, Wendy wanted to spend 400k “to provide political cover for the board and superintendant” (Wendy’s words, not mine) Karen supported it. I find it odd that Karen is suddenly has a concern about spending public funds.
Much of the financial problem could be "cured" if the academic "coaches" would be eliminated. These coaches are suppose to be the "best of the best" and show all the other teachers how to be successful. Many of the "coaches" were weak in their previous position and have less then 3 years of experience. There are 1 or 2 of these non classroom teachers in every elementary and middle school. How can we justify these positions and still have 30+ kids in each of the primary grade classrooms!!! The closer the money gets to the kids the better the results. Put the dollars in actual classroom teachers and reduce the class size to a more realistic size of 20 and watch scores improve.
Using Stockman's numbers(2068 teachers-230 administrators)that's 9 teachers to 1 administrator. Doesn't that seem excessive? While looking at the IDoE website I noticed that there was 1931 full time teachers employed last year, 2008-2009. Did FWCS hire more teachers or is Krista counting the subs this year.
It was kind of sad when Wendy and certain members of the school board
wined for the first hour of how FWCS was being discriminated against by the statehouse. Why wasn't District 80 State Rep. Phil GiaQuinta at the schoolboard meeting? Didn't brother Mark inform him of the needs of FWCS?
It was also kind of sad when the same Three Stooges(Larry,Curly and Mark) okayed Wendy's master plan. Atleast Kevin Brown wanted to listen to the effected parents before making his recommendation.
Hope Kevin didn't get any harassing phone calls on his stance.
Jon-
I seem to remember a line Dan Ackroyd gave Jane Curtin when they did the newscast on the old Saturday Night Nive. Just substitute "Karen" for "Jane".
Thanks Jon..I have numerous friends that are teachers and not one of them make that kind of money.Does the Union prevent them from paying more for insurance benefits? By letting go the newest teachers that do not make that kind of money then it would sure seem like it will be more than 80 teachers.
The actual layoff numbers will be much lower than what they are broadcasting now. There will be 80 positions cut and the actual cuts will be based on seniority (as per the master contract). That being said the highest loss of actual teachers will be the older, more experienced teachers. Every year 50-100 teachers retire. For every older teacher that retires and is not replaced a younger teacher will not be laid off.
As for the insurance, there is little interest from the administration or the union to cut benefits. The same benefit package applies to both union employee and administrator alike. When I left the board a family policy for Husband, Wife and Children (1 or more) cost roughly $19,000. It is the best insurance in the city, low deductable, dental, eye care, etc... The employee pays 10% (about 1900 per year) and FWCS pays the remaining $17,100. Single policies cost less.
Thanks for the breakdown Jon...I know a few teachers who wanted to retire last year but could not afford it...rising out of pocket expense for meds and 401K's gone with the market mess etc etc. So those retirees are finding it harder to leave. Oh well, we shall see soon enough who is leaving and who is staying.
Truth-
You're right. Many teachers are fed up before this but when their 401K's tanked they had to stay. We won't know who leaves until it happens. When we had major retirements in industry with downsizing incentives, we always lost people we didn't want to lose, but there was no way to control that.
Now that there is some doubt about getting RTT money, will Wendy and her rubber stamps still go ahead and try to "do the right thing"? Or will they drop the "right thing" of meeting RTT requirements when the union tells her where to stick it?
Jon,
Are you planning to run for FWCS Board this year?
This economy has tanked allot of retirement funds, but the manner in which FWCS employees have been treated this year may hasten retirement for those who can afford it. As for me running for FWCS board. No I'm not planning on running this year. I hate at large races and that is what this year will be. GiaQuinta and Pamela Martin Diaz are both up as is Mitch Shepherd. Mitch is a district seat; the other two are at-large. It will be a 50k race for anyone wanting to run against Mark and I don't see conservatives willing to spend that kind of money for school board.
Post a Comment