Hostage Crisis

Meanwhile, back at the school system...

From an HCPSS staff member yesterday:

"All principals were called to the Board of Education this morning and sent back to schools to have stand up meetings to scare us into thinking that the budget crisis is dire and that we should all take the survey. The message was that things will be really bad if we don't get more money - larger class sizes, reduced staffing, etc."

Since when is forcing people to take a "survey" required as a condition of employment?

Shared on the Mold In Howard County Schools - Information for Parents FB Page:

Clarksville and Fulton ES school staff will have their standup meetings tomorrow. I asked staff member what a stand up meeting meant. Answer: "A quick meeting. Usually it's some type of emergency info that needs to be disseminated - a death, something happening in the community, or I guess when your superintendent wants to use you for political purposes."

Staff were told the the surplus hiring process has been frozen. Let's let that sink in for a minute. The County Executive has fully funded teachers' salaries and instruction and this is no secret. And yet Central Office appears to be holding employees hostage in a budget crisis that was manufactured at the top. Principals are being given talking points to frighten and coerce teachers into believing that their jobs are at stake.

To be clear: jobs are at stake here. But they are much, much higher up. If there is some difficulty reconfiguring the school system budget then I am hopeful that the County Council and the County Executive can give some pointers, informed by your recommendations, that is. You have written them, right?

Finally, from a teacher:

It is not worth the energy protesting this survey and this new scare tactic. The survey is as ridiculous after these stand up meetings as it was yesterday. Don't sweat it.

What you can spend energy on is finding a red(for teachers) or blue (for parents/families) shirt and coming out Thursday, May 12 at 7:30pm.

That is how we answer. Bring the kids, bring a lawn chair, bring a blanket, whatever. I'm actually going to volunteer to help with organizing the crowd outside. I might even buy some beach balls.

We really need to concentrate our efforts on that evening and let Dr. Foose know we have the power. It's our school system, it's our community, they're our children, it's our money, and these underhanded scare tactics won't fly in our county.

What say you, dear readers?