Editor, Advertiser:
First, let me say that I commend the Reese Board of Education for having the courage to do what is hard and not caving to personal feelings. More difficult cuts must be made in the future. When personnel account for 85% of the budget, you cannot nickel and dime cuts from the remaining 15%.
I attended the Reese Board of Education regular meeting on June 20, 2011. The meeting was attended by less than 100 community members. An opportunity was given to address the board prior to action items. Three people took advantage of that opportunity. During the meeting, the board voted with heavy hearts to do the difficult task of bidding out the remaining custodial and all secretarial staff. Once the difficult vote was approved, many community members left. At the end of the meeting, another opportunity was given to address the board. Three people again did so and were not very kind in my opinion.
My name is James Houghtaling and I teach in the School District of the City of Flint. I was hired in August 1994. This year, our Flint Board voted to pink slip 306 teachers, a full 34% of our teaching staff. I tell you this because those 306 teachers were hired on or after Aug. 31, 1996. I have just completed my 17th year. That means they went back 15 years. Many of those people are my friends.
How many teachers with 15 or less years does the Reese Board of Education employ? If they were in Flint, they would have been pink-slipped. In March, the Flint Board voted to pink slip all administrators including the executive cabinet. Last week, they pink-slipped 277 non-instructional staffers who would be affected by plans to privatize services.
So you see, it is happening in other places, not just Reese. And please don’t say, “That is just Flint, they do that all the time.” I work there and do the same job as teachers here in Reese. Districts large and small are in dire straits everywhere. I’m not sure Reese is spending unwisely, costs have gone up, student counts have gone down and staffing will need to be reduced whether we like it or not. Unless there are people out there with deep pockets who are willing to pay for a few staff members, I don’t see any other way to reduce the deficit.
Someone addressed the board remarking that she did not want “strangers in the buildings.” Well, I can think of two staff members presently employed who grew up and came from the west side of the state when they were hired. Several staff currently live outside the district, and some of their children attend/ed other schools. My point is that this argument is not valid. This district routinely hires people who are not “local.” They hire the best-qualified as they should. I want the best-qualified to teach my child, not necessarily “local.”
I want to add at this point I am now with the third insurance carrier in two years. Yes, with the sweep of her pen and in the middle of the school year, our superintendent cancelled our MESSA plan and bought us Health Plus, then when open enrollment occurred we had the “option” to sign up for Health Plus PPO. Yes, our union took the Board to court and we lost.
So, I am here to tell you Reese, your district can not afford the ‘Cadillac’ health care plan at $22,000 a person. You are going to be moved to the ‘Chevrolet’ plan as soon as possible. It is happening in other districts and it will happen here whether you like it or not. And I pay 2.9% of each paycheck to have healthcare on top of the mandatory 3% fee that is taken for retirement. This represents a 5.9% un-negotiated pay cut I have taken this year. This year we had a contract imposed upon us, a contract we did not negotiate and one we did not vote upon.
My last thought. I can count four people I personally know who were ‘let go’ from General Motors/Delphi/Nex-teer. I know several people/friends who were walked to the door at Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. You see, when they are done with you at Wal-Mart and Sam’s, they walk you to the door and send your final check.
The Reese Board of Education has given all assurances that the present employees who want a job can apply for one. Does it matter who signs your check? Be thankful you are able to get one. I know several unemployed people who would love to do what you do. They don’t care who signs their check. They would just be thankful to receive one.
So, in summary, things in Reese are not as bad as other places, but some members of the community need to think about home budgets and how you pay bills. The District works the same way. They have to let go of people they can no longer afford to pay. Some friends of mine had housekeepers in the past but when budgets got tight, the housekeeper had to go. Did they feel bad? ~ yes. Did they let her go? ~ yes, because they could no longer pay her. Do we feel bad about changing how we do business because it affects our friends? ~ yes. Will we let them go? ~ yes. Will they still be our friends? ~ I hope so.
Remember, it is not the fault of the Reese Board of Education. They are only doing what needs to be done, the job you elected them to do – to run our district with academic excellence and fiscal responsibility, adjusting the budget to reflect the facts at hand ~ less students mean less dollars.
It’s really our fault we are in this situation. What have we done to encourage students to come to Reese? Did we ourselves birth enough children? Are we encouraging our failing teenagers to stay in school? It really is all about butts in the seat. I graduated with 103 seniors. My son just graduated with 83. That’s a reduction of $137,000. To make up a deficit of approximately $500,000 we would need 74 additional students. Who is willing to help bring 74 students to Reese Public Schools. I thought so…..
Locally yours,
James Houghtaling, MA