GilfordGrok

I commented earlier upon the Northfield Education Committee's stance on the Winnisquam School Board's lack of following the deadlines necessary, resulting in the special election. Well, the School Board got spanked - they lost  by a vote of 229 to  155 (with only 384 out of 7,000 - 5.5% turnout - really a need for SB2!). Once again, voters listened and agreed with the Budget Committee / NEC and voted against the teacher contract..

What was interesting were some of the comments that were reported in the Citizen and the Sun (not online):

"No one in the private sector is getting these kinds of raises," said Gretchen Wilder, a Northfield resident who has been a vocal opponent of both the contract and the special meeting called to ratify it.

I love context, and was glad to see that someone provided some:

Speaking against the district's position that the raises were needed to keep pace with other area school districts and presenting his own research about teacher turnover rates and pay scales, Northfield's Kevin Waldron said many more of Winnisquam's teachers have bachelor's degrees as opposed to master's degrees and the pay scales would necessarily be lower.

"We're actually in the middle, which is not a real bad place to be," said Waldron, saying that a starting teacher's pay of $29,000 in the district ranks 83rd of the 160 school districts in New Hampshire.

and this:

"More money does not make them better employees," said Northfield's Greg Hill, who said he disagreed with nearly everything Tryon had to say. "Better education and training make them better."

"I don't mind paying for good results," he said, citing his research that showed 32 percent of Winnisquam graduates went on to four-year colleges while 85 percent of Bow's graduates did so. "We should increase pay scales in March and give raises for master's degrees only."

I liked this contrast:

Cost: Officials estimated it would cost $377, 584 in fiscal year 2008

School Board Prep: We knew there was money left over [from fiscal year 2007] and $200,000 was spent on nonbudgeted items," said Gorrell.  "They knew they were coming before the voters but they chose to spend the $200,000 anyway and not return it to the voters," said Gorrell to applause.

The Math: the WRSB would have only had a $177,000 gap to make up if they had shown some fiscal frugality. Of COURSE that hurt their cause - it showed that the WRSB had a disregard for taxpayer's hard earned money.

Now, for the flip side:

"We're very disappointed for our dedicated teachers," said School Board Chair David Foster who was on the negotiating committee and is also a Northfield resident.

Well, you folks messed up, big time.  Trying to engender sympathy for others due to your bad performance didn't play well before and probably isn't playing well now.  Besides, most understand that those in charge have to accept responsibility for the results, or lack thereof, of their actions.  Trying to powderpuff shows a lack of foresight; trying to pin it on the "mean" voters is disingenuous.

And more from the WRSB

What the people have done is an attempt to chastise the nine school board members, but they punished 150 teachers," said Ellen Barry, who heads the Winnisquam Regional Teacher's Association.

She said she thought the voters were "justifiably upset and angry" that the issue did not come before them last March but declined to discuss any details of the negotiations or why the deadline was not met.

Well, when one is in charge, your actions and decisions have consequences.  You are responsible for overseeing the educational activities under your wing.  Thus, you are responsible for what happened to the teachers, not the voters. 

Look folks, admit you screwed up, things didn't go your way - own up to it, apologize, and then try again.  Sour grapes doesn't look good on anyone. 

Oh yeah, THE card was played:

As to the immediate future, Barry said the students will receive the education they deserve but she can't guarantee any of the extras.

Yup, the card.  After all, it's not about the children after all. 

"I've already spent my money at Staples [on student supplies] " she said. "It's on my credit card. Now I just have to find a way to pay for it."

Join the club, ma'am.  I've bought expensive computer equipment in advance of when I should have...it teaches you not to count your chickens before they hatch.  A sideswipe once again at the voters doesn't help your efforts.