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School district's unions to go to court
By The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
This article was published April 23, 2012 at 9:18 p.m.
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The Pulaski County Special School District's two unions said Monday night that they will not strike but will fight in court to preserve their negotiated contracts and recognition as bargaining agents.
The decisions came in an emergency meeting of the Pulaski Association of Classroom Teachers and the Pulaski Association of Support Staff — known as PACT and PASS.
On Friday, Arkansas Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell directed the district's superintendent, Jerry Guess, to terminate union recognition along with the unions' current contracts and proceed with nearly $11 million in cuts for the 2012-13 school year.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
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Comments on: School district's unions to go to court
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Ragmop says... April 23, 2012 at 9:31 p.m.
Teachers unions are one of the worse things that has ever happened to the public school system.
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mkm157 says... April 23, 2012 at 9:41 p.m.
AMEN! Hopefully the courts throw out the lawsuit.
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slowtruck106011519 says... April 23, 2012 at 9:49 p.m.
Yes but all of you ferget all of the goverment s union and they are just as bad if not worse si if they want to kick out the school union then they need to get rid of some of the goverment and why do they want to get rid of the teacher when they charge us more in tax for the school on are land tax
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DontDrinkDatKoolAid says... April 23, 2012 at 10:11 p.m.
"preserve their negotiated contracts and recognition as bargaining agents" If there is no money to negotiated for what would be their point? They to put it simply is that the powers that be miss spent the desegregation money. Now they cry.
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TheBatt says... April 23, 2012 at 10:54 p.m.
In other words: "to heck with the PCSSD, the needs of the students, and the future... WE DEMAND WHAT IS OURS!! "
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Notassmartasyou says... April 24, 2012 at 1:30 a.m.
Seems to me PCSSD just lost this same lawsuit last year. Am I missing something? Are we not trying to save money? Did I miss the part were the administration are taking pay cuts as well? So it is ok for the teachers to take a pay cut but not the people responsible for the physical distress in the first place. But I do have a plan to resolve this easily every tax payer in the district send in two days pay that would cover the losses and lets not forget you would be "doing it for the kids". And the " worse things" that have ever happened to the public school system is not getting support from the community. Oh and I'm not a teacher I just want teachers to know I thank them for my education.
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StrayGoose says... April 24, 2012 at 6:56 a.m.
Unions for public employees must go, period. Unions as a whole, public and private, continue to push the public and private economic systems of the USA into the crapper. Union thuggery equals public buggery.
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LETSBEREALISTIC says... April 24, 2012 at 7:03 a.m.
Unions for employees paid for with tax dollars should be outlawed. All unions only breed inefficiency, waste, corruption and poor performance of many of it's members who rely on the union to protect their incompetence. Unions for public employees are especially wasteful of incoming revenue, taxpayer dollars!
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onlyGodmatters says... April 24, 2012 at 8:15 a.m.
Mr. Notassmartasyou, I concur with you. I am not a teacher either, but my hats off to them for the awesome job they do considering their predicament.
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Que2 says... April 24, 2012 at 9:47 a.m.
How long will administrators be allowed to unlawfully manage school districts' money? Either the state's attorney general don't have a clue of what laws are being broken, or they receiving kick-backs, or they just don't give a darn about the many children that are affected by the mess created by the mis-money management. As a tax-payer and a parent, I want SEE new buildings, upgrades to athletic facilities, and new buses. That way, I know where the money is being spent and is reminded everytime I attend a game, a school program, or parent/teacher conference. Is it really the STATE that denies districts to spend money on facilities and buses? Now, all the money in reserves is gone with nothing to show, and no one prosecuted.
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Jjackk says... April 24, 2012 at 10:16 a.m.
I would say the group that agreed on a contract that they didn't have money to pay for needs to be the one fired. A contract isn't voided because you don't like the idea of it. They need to go to court, that is the constitutional right of everyone. Everybody slams teachers but then they accept police unions. Funny how supposed freedom loving people have lists of OTHER people that need their rights taken away. If you don't like the contract then point the finger at who negotiated it. Nothing was forced on the district, it was agreed upon.
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TheBatt says... April 24, 2012 at 11:16 a.m.
Where to begin? I am a former public school teacher - I have been a member of the teacher union. I saw the inefficiencies in school administrations. I saw the poor decision making by administrators (believe it or not - it isn't just limited to the PCSSD!). But I also saw lots of money spent that had no direct benefit to education, in part - because of the union's demands.
For those who say that the unions were the worst thing to happen to education - I would argue with that - much like the labor unions that grew in the early 20th Century - they existed for a purpose that was positive - to improve horrible working conditions and unfair practices by employers - and schools here in Arkansas had some pretty serious issues that paralleled those in the private sector. But once the bulk of those issues were solved (arbitrary and capricious hiring and firing as well as some pretty horrible pay scales for example), the unions continued to grew in power, and we all know what power eventually tends to lead to.
Unions in public employ have far outlived their positive influence and now contribute to the over-spending of tax dollars and actually cause harm to those public services (including schools).
For the poster who said they want to see new buildings and new/improve athletic facilities - then open up your pocketbook. Those things cost a lot of money, usually less than just keeping up what you have adequately (which all three districts in Pulaski County have failed to do). But athletic facilities do not improve academic performance - and I have a real issue with asking taxpayers to foot the bill.
For those discussing the previous court decision - Arkansas law stipulates that all personnel issues and contract discussions are to be conducted using a duly elected Personnel Policy Committee that consists of certified staff (teachers), classified staff (non-teachers), and administrators. This committee is suppose to approve contract changes, benefit changes, etc. prior to it even making it to the school board for approval. Yet the PCSSD, along with the NLR district and LRSD have allowed the union to substitute for this legally-mandated committee and process. This has cost all three districts a fortune and brought ever-worsening performance from the schools. The judge was wrong (from a legal point of view).
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Vickie55 says... April 24, 2012 at 11:21 a.m.
To Jjackk, who thought that all who agreed to the contract they couldn't pay should be fired. As I recall, they were fired. When the district went into fiscal distress, the superintendent and all board members were removed from their positions. And I can't speak for this particular school district, but in most districts all administrator salaries are linked to the teacher salary schedule. So if that schedule is adjusted, it does affect all salaries, not just the classroom teachers.
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Jjackk says... April 24, 2012 at 11:53 a.m.
"district superintendent is taking home $261,547 per year."
You really think it will drop along with teacher's pay?
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Vickie55 says... April 24, 2012 at 1:50 p.m.
I looked at the salary schedule on the PCSSD website and I couldn't really tell how adminsitrators' salaries are calculated. So I can't answer that question. I do know that in a lot of districts, the administrators' salaries are based on the teacher salary schedule adjusted for the level of responsibility. So, if that is the case, if teacher salaries are lowered, the administrators' salaries are lowered also.
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Que2 says... April 24, 2012 at 3:01 p.m.
In response to "The Batt", We all have opened up our pockets to fund such projects. Did you know that $70 million is split between 3 districts ($23.3333333333 annually per dist.) plus the income received from the regular student multiplier($6800 per student), plus the federal lunch multiplier (every student on free or reduced lunch), plus other grants and tax exemptions? When is the last time you noticed the facilities where you taught or teach? OUR CHILDREN deserve better! NOW, as far as athletic!!! When is the last time a Division I college scout walked into an Algebra class and recruited the student on the front row or any class for that matter? Tim Horton (recruiting coorindator for the Razorback) can discuss the millions colleges spend on recruiting. AND, athletics is by far, the largest connection to any community. More people attend sport events($4 and up), than parent/teacher conference(FREE). AND, most coaches/schools hold players to a higher standard than the rest of the student body. The players jump threw these hoops just to be a part of band, cheerleadering, and other sports. Maintain a 2.0, no tardies, stay out of trouble, don't do this or that!!! If you do, I'm not calling your parent or sending you to the principal, I'm calling your COACH! AND, if it still don't make sense to you, I dare you to check out the facilities in Rogers, Cabot, Bentoville, Bryant, and so on. I dare you to asked their tax-payer how they feel about their facilities.
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