GREENVILLE - A four-day work week was unanimously adopted at Tuesday's Greenville School District Board of Trustees meeting. According to interim school Superintendent Joyce McNair, the four-day week will begin June 1. The move affects 240-day employees, such as principals, secretaries and custodians. Recently, the School Board adopted a reduction of force policy.A four day work week is a great concept to save money... but in a public school? Do you think that the kids may figure out that when the principal is away, it might be easier to "play"? Secretaries generally run a school office, so who is going to deal with all of those issues? As for custodians, they are too few in number already... duh?
Sure, public schools are financially challenged, but these "reductions in force" will only denigrate the entire system. Examples: A bomb threat is called into your child's school... who is in charge if the principal is "off" that day? Who deals with the irate parents who storm in daily to speak to the person in charge? Who cleans the restrooms on a daily basis to prevent infectious waste from spreading disease and illness?
My view is that these "cuts" are ill-conceived and will ultimately cost the districts more money in "ancillary costs". Educating our children is not a part-time job... especially in the Delta.
Forthright
The article states this will begin June 1st. The kids will be home out of school for the summer and there will be less mess for the custodian to clean and less work for the staff.
ReplyDeleteWhat does the custodian do that requires even four days during the summer, unless it is during summer school days? Those classes are usually fairly limited and small too.
Makes sense to me to do this cutback and probably should be policy in the summer. I bet the staff and custodians will enjoy a brief time off of one day a week, especially if they are financially okay. Perhaps, they can pick up hours somewhere else, within the system or locally. Working Parents will save money on daycare and have more time for their children and to supervise their "at home" children, elder parents can be assisted by their children, etc.
It is not all bad, with this idea. I am sure come next fall, the normal hours will be reinstated.
If the cut is only for the summer, it could work, but I agree with Forthright about the need for these employees throughout the school year. The DDT did not indicate that these cuts were only for the summer months.
ReplyDeleteNo it did not, but as you say, it is reasonable for the summer policy and I suspect that is the intention. No it is not for school terms.
ReplyDeleteI did not read about any savings. It even mentions principals (I thought they have a fixed salary). Maybe someone with the paper can do a follow up on this.
ReplyDeletePrincipals are paid by the month. Most are on 12 month contracts, but if they reduce them to 11, it could save money. The secretaries and custodians will be a drop in the bucket and will financially hurt these employees. If summer months were utilized appropriately, there is plenty of work to do. The problem is that when there are no students in the school, everyone just seems to coast.
ReplyDeletePaint, clean and repair should be the focus of the summer months!
Our maintenance staff in the private school is VERY busy during the summer months. They strip and wax each classroom and common area, and there is an incredible amount of routine maintenance that is done while the students are away. Repairs, remodeling, updates, moving offices, etc. are all done while school is not in session. To ask them to do all this in a 4-day work-week would require them to put in 10-hour days. Is that what the GPSD is asking?
ReplyDeleteGood pointss, on maintenance, I can see that being needed.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense.
How much are Washington County supervisors paid, what are their hours, and are they furnished health insurance?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.reason.tv/featuredvids/
ReplyDeleteWatch the video called "Unlocked" near the bottom.
The problem with education isn't budgetary...it's allowing teachers to teach....or requiring teachers to teach....and how difficult that is to implement in today's society.
The four day work week is only for the summer months. They do their work during the hours of 8-3, Monday - Friday. However, their burden has been readjusted since the schools are "reorganizing" to "cut costs", which are teachers' jobs. I for one can't see how the teachers will teach with some having 30 kids per room with no help (upper grades 3rd and up don't have assistants). It is very difficult to teach a room full of kids with 9 that need one on one special assistance an hour a day per subject they did not master the previous years. They need to invest in someone that can do academic interventions and allow the teacher to actually teach the lesson before the interventions are given. Teaching has become one of the most impossible jobs in this day in time.
ReplyDeletesince garfield's parent company is filing bankruptcy, will the g'ville location be closing?
ReplyDeleteI hear the Mayor's out of town again....wonder what country she is in now "on behalf of the city"? Not that there is anything happening here...but then, isn't that her job to make things happen????
ReplyDeleteFlashback: Obama in March: 'Now, do these folks deserve Miranda rights? Do they deserve to be treated like a shoplifter down the block? Of course not.'
ReplyDelete