A School Windfall That Set Off a Whirlwind of Controversy - 0 views
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Morris said that schools had to hurry so that the plans could be brought to the school board before unrolling any major changes, such as changing the school calendar, which could take time to put together before next school year. The budget deadline is June 30. No final decisions have been made, the school board has yet to weigh in, and it is unclear when the final plans will be chosen
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The teachers union plans to file a charge that San Diego Unified violated labor law when patching together the plans, alleging that it dodged the union on issues that must be bargained, such as how many days teachers work. It contends that such changes can only be brought to the union, not directly to teachers, just as individual schools cannot ask teachers to change their salaries without going to the bargaining table.
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While Grier has earned praise for his fast pace and passion for change, that same speediness has sparked criticism for failing to get input from parents and teachers on his plans. And with millions in stimulus money at stake, those arguments are even more pressing, especially as tension builds between the stimulus goals of doing new things and saving jobs that already exist.
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"There needs to be community input and participation. That doesn’t happen extremely quickly," said school board member John Lee Evans. He added, "It is a quandary in terms of, 'Here is some quick stimulus money to hold things together, and we want you to be innovative, and we want your ideas to be well thought out and based on research.' There are a lot of contradictions there."
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Both the Lincoln and Crawford plans include extending the school year for four more weeks, which costs money because schools must pay teachers more for the extra time. Some reformers like the idea because it gives children more time in the classroom, which has been shown to benefit disadvantaged students who tend to backslide during breaks. But changing schedules is logistically tricky and sometimes unpopular with parents.
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Technology is also touted in plans from Lincoln, Crawford and San Diego High, several of which push for digital whiteboards and laptops for every student. Other ideas include adding more counselors, nurses and social workers to schools around Crawford, emphasizing writing at all the schools that lead into San Diego High, and creating a district-run middle school that leads into Lincoln, where many surrounding middle schools are charter schools that are independently run with public funding
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Every principal there was excited about the possibility of doing something different," Allen said. "But they were concerned about getting the buy-in on the ideas."
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Parents charged with overseeing federal money complain that they were not included in the plans that were hastily drafted by schools last week. Teachers and their union say the superintendent has sidestepped them. The school district refused to share the draft plans with the media on Friday. And some of the brief plans hashed out by schools, obtained from other sources by voiceofsandiego.org, raise a barrage of new questions, from whether schools can mandate that Teachers stay in one area to curb turnover to how lengthening the school year would work.
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This article about San Diego Unified School District paints an honest picture of the classic struggle that many school districts and counties will face in trying to get together an Economic Stimulus action plan so quickly that favors school reform ideas put forth by Arne Duncan. Union negotiations, feedback from teachers, parents and community will all stall the process.