I want to preface this post (because prefacing is one of my
OTHER spiritual gifts) by saying that what I am about to post is my
opinion. I do not want to portray anything
as fact unless I reference something from a source and say that it is in fact,
a fact. I am going to be talking about
Dunlap and all of its glory, so if you get easily twerked or bothered by this topic
I would high encourage you to LOOK AWAY!
SHIELD YOUR EYES! DON’T DO IT!!
This could also be semi boring for some of my blog readers….
Sorry about that…
I became a part of the Dunlap Community in November of 2012
when I became the secretary for the Athletic Director here at the high
school. I took the job because of a few
things…a dear family friend’s son was drowning in his job, I had the skills necessary
for the job and I had a baby and the opportunity to stay home in the summers. I also LOVE high school students.
I got introduced to school district politics very early on
seeing as how I was a district employee surrounded by school employees. Yes, I mainly work with the high school
coordinating the 16 sports here, but I also have a little finger in each of the
5 grade schools and 2 middle schools so to speak. I also became good friends with many of the
teachers (i.e. teachers’ union), so I began hearing about contracts and
agreements, etc. I’m not even going to
kind of admit that I understand any of that stuff, but I get the reason why it’s
in place and I understand some of its perks and slumps.
Now, one doesn’t have to try too hard to avoid in the news
that Dunlap is struggling…which many people view as odd, b/c we are one of the
more “well-off” districts around Peoria, but all’s the same we have a spending
problem. From what I understand of the
mess, next year, Dunlap is projected to have a deficit of $2.1 million, so the
school board is working to lower/eliminate this deficit. Now, as
a state school district, we have a reserve that was created to assistant in
many ways, this being one of them, but the School Board is in the mind set, and
I semi get this, that this will be a pattern and that reserve will be eaten away
over time. *My Opinion* It appears that
our school district is being run like a business and not a school district and
this is very apparent in who they have in the administration and also on the
Board of Education and by the decisions they make.
So tonight’s a VERY important board meeting…and here’s just some of the effects of what the board
will more than likely decide.
- 17 teaching positions will be cut across the district
- This affects my coaching staff
- Class sizes will increase with the courses being consolidated and the natural community growth
- There was an article about this in the PJStar a few weeks ago. More classes then ever with 30+ students
- We are implementing a $100 activity fee for every student from 6th up in a competitive sport, music class/program and competitive club.
- Secretary’s nightmare… oh wait, that’s me.
- Certain staff positions are being consolidated and re-delegated.
- *Opinion* I think that when this happens, tasks will get delegated to me by an administrator, and therefore eating into my responsibilities which in turn cut into my (now) hourly work week which is already under fairly strict restriction.
- Non-certified staff are on a pay freeze
- This includes administration that makes over $200k on a 9 mo contract…I hope they’ll be alright.
I know that there are MANY other cons that I am
forgetting. This is a list of just some,
but ultimately, my heart is sad, because these decisions have taken the heart
of education out of the school and replaced them with dollar signs and tons of
animosity. Students and parents have
protested in front of the board and they have been cut off. Statements by administrators have been made
in the newspapers implying that they already had their decisions made before
listening to anyone. Things have been
hidden, Board members have threatened people, and it’s turned into a REAL
battle. It’s sad really.
During our small group book studies at Church, Joel is
leading us through “The Good and Beautiful Community” by James Bryan Smith, and
this week there was a fabulous paragraph worded so well, yet made my heart break
for Dunlap in particular so hard.
The problem comes when the most
important consideration, the dominate desire and the main focus of a community
is its own success. Just as an
individual whose whole life is focused on meeting his or her own needs becomes
narcissistic, self-centered, ineffective and ultimately unhappy, so also
communities can become so focused on themselves that they lose their souls. When that happens, the larger vision, the one
that brought the community into existence, has been eclipsed, and the community
no longer exists to fulfill its original mission but simply to stay alive. This is often the first step toward spiritual
death and ultimately, the demise of the community. (pg
68; The Good and Beautiful Community, James Bryan Smith)
*Opinion* Just within the first sentence, the dominate
desire and main focus of each individual on that board is personal success with
no consideration for the district as a whole.
I can see most of these elites using this seat on the board as a
stepping stone, not as a concrete place to serve. I personally know some people that worked at
piecing together parts of this community, and to see it crumble out of selfish
ambition and deceit is heart wrenching.
What these kids see is the power of money; many of them see
it in their homes and now in their school.
They see politics at their finest.
Dunlap has already begun to move into a self-seeking community and this doesn't
help that. Most of the kids couldn't tell
you more than two people on the school board.
There’s no connection there. If
our superintendent came to a sporting event, the kids don’t really know what he
looks like. I do appreciate that these
kids see their teachers fighting for their jobs. A hand full of students, including our student council president have helped support them at board meetings and
such.
My job as a position is not affected, but my workload and
friendships and stress level will be changed for good after tonight. Let’s make it through two more days… we all
need a spring break around here. Maybe
two.
PS Adam Collins- "If they ever turn this into a movie, they should call it, 'Board Games.'"
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1 comment:
Not an unusual struggle in a school district, from what I have personally seen. But thanks for helping keep it in the proper perspective spiritually. Better than just griping, which I usually do!
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