Posted on 03/06/2011 8:48:06 AM PST by Maelstorm
OSHKOSH - The Oshkosh Area School District is withholding pay from teachers who called in sick to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill.
District officials said teachers who called in sick on Feb. 17 and 18 to attend rallies in Madison would not be paid for those days and would be responsible for the cost of their substitute.
Oshkosh schools remained open both days.
According to a district news release, officials said they reached an agreement with local union officials that “sick leave or other paid time should not be used and will not be paid for attending political events on District time.”
The district also said staff members could be suspended or fired for any future call-in incidents.
"They worked probably harder for education I believe when they were in Madison that day, than by missing that one day," Oshkosh North English teacher Sara Marquardt said.
The district says 8-9 percent of teachers skipped work to protest.
Marquardt wouldn't say if she was one of them, but did say she feels they made the right choice.
"They stood up for everyone," she said. "They stood up for all the teachers, but more than the teachers they stood up for all public employees and more importantly they stood up for the students."
But the district says it can't support employees leaving work.
"I think it's just the appropriate thing to do, to rebuild trust in the community, put this issue behind us and move forward," Superintendent Don Viegut said.
The district has also disciplined teachers union President Len Herricks for telling teachers administrators were supporting the sick calls.
"It happened so fast, in haste there were some decisions made that probably would not have been made had there been more time to plan," Herricks said.
However, the 37-year veteran educator says he feels the protests were vital for the future of education.
Herricks wouldn't say how he was disciplined, but did say he will be retiring at the end of they year.
He feels it is reasonable for teachers to pay for days missed and hopes to see all sides, in Oshkosh and in Madison come together.
"We're ready to be part of the solution, teachers are, it's part of our training, it's part of who we are as people," Oshkosh North Counselor Rhonda Bricco.
The district says it will rely on "honesty" from the teachers, when it determines who was sick, and who was protesting.
Hence, the busing in of the union "rent-a-thugs" from elsewhere. It was interesting to note that Machinists and Steelworkers were well represented at the Teacher's rally in Nashville yesterday.
If that is the case, and if the "kids" are under 18 years of age, there may be legal issues involved. Does Wisconsin require parents' permission when taking kids on field trips?
"They stood up for all the teachers, but more than the teachers they stood up for all public employees and more importantly they stood up for the students."
Ha! I knew I'd find it. They did it:
"For The Children"
Here's a clue protesters --that 'for the children' bs doesn't work any longer.
The truth could also be that 90% of the teachers will do their job and keep their politics to themselves.
That's been my experience, at any rate.
B’gosh! Way to go Oshkosh!
The tipping point was probably the doctors passing out sick notes. These teachers have lost all moral authority to teach their classes. They demonstrated they would walk out and then lie about the reasons for it.
That's part of the problem right there. These people stay in these positions for 30, 40, 50 years. They never get out and actually contribute to the economy. They just protect their little position until they die.
Well, maybe some of them do.
I’m a teacher. I’m sitting here at my desk getting ready to finish up a college course, which will be followed by grading, then preparation for the week. It’s 8:30 a.m. in the morning on a Sunday.
I’m not writing this for pity or sympathy. This is supposed to be a career. Doctors, attorneys, architects, engineers, and many other professionals put in long hours. I knew about it when I signed up.
Having said that, I only have one word to the Oshkosh administration not paying teachers skipping work to protest:
“Good.”
It’s a damn shame the same protesting teachers aren’t fired immediately upon return to Oshkosh and told to dig their files out of the nearby snowbank. Spoiled, ungrateful little snots. Maybe they should have worked in the private sector, as I did for 20 years before getting my certificate, so they could understand exactly how well they are paid right now and how luxurious the benefits are.
God willing the day will come when the back of the union is broken, tenure is abolished, and schools return to the hands of the community. I’ll do well. So will some of my colleagues. Others will learn about hard work and professional decorum through difficult experience.
Yeah, I’m pissed at the Wisconsin teachers. They make me look bad. I’m saddened, but not surprised.
Teacher strikes are illegal under Wi law......
> it will eventually be decided by an outside arbitrator
Just refuse arbitration. Take it to court.
Gee, I dunno... wouldn’t you think they should be working harder for education when they’re actually IN THE CLASSROOM with their students?
If I were an Oshkosh parent, I’d be pretty hacked off that they were putting in more effort in the streets than in the classroom!
Where is Oshkosh? I think it is a different county than Madison, which is more like Berkeley. I love this.
Yeah its always “for the kids”. I’m tired of the blank check issues. It has to stop where “the kids/aka chil-ren”, “the poor”, “the unemployed”, “the elderly”, “the military”, “helpless third world countries” etc are concerned. The US tax payer is not an ATM.
As with out here in CA.....Madison and Milwaukee have taken an otherwise really neat state and turned it into...well, a colder climate CA.
Think LA and SF...
Seven year dispute is not even close to the world record. I don’t know what that record is, but I can tell you that my father was in a union dispute with his union workers...threw them out...they sued...it went to the Ohio Supreme Court and my father won. It took over 10 years.
LOL! But at least the author put honesty in quotation marks.
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Sara Marquardt teaches English at Oshkosh North High School. She serves as the editorial adviser for Reflections yearbook and the business adviser for the North Star newspaper. Sara graduated from UW-Oshkosh in 2000 and Marian University in 2005. She likes to crochet as well as write books, poetry and short stories. Oshkosh North High School |
Was good news until this last line:
“The district says it will rely on “honesty” from the teachers, when it determines who was sick, and who was protesting.”
Yeah, right. They’ve already proven their greed driven immorality. So the district is going to trust their “honesty?!” Fools.
I'm tired of them getting away with this sh*t when our side has to do it legitimately.
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