Attention! Attention!
All you city workers out there whose jobs only required a high school diploma to qualify when you were first hired.
Especially you city workers who live in Westpark and especially you Cleveland firefighters;
You have been directly and indirectly been referred to as tax sucking city workers who don’t want to pay for education in Cleveland.
You have been accused of abandoning the Cleveland schools!
By casting a no vote on school levy’s you punish the Cleveland schools at the expense of the kids!
You have been accused by a smarter than you; college educated; Cleveland teacher.
The nerve of you city workers! Abandoning Cleveland's children!
These are the responses I was given by a Cleveland teacher when I blog about how the Cleveland schools carelessly wastes your property tax dollars.
With all the promises of accountability out the window; with the Bond Accountability Commission disbanding only a few years after the 2001 bond issue was passed; with schools being renovated and then demolished with all the new renovations going to the landfill; this teacher does not believe that the Cleveland school administration is wasting your money.
This teacher refuses to acknowledge that bulldozing schools a few years after your property tax dollars were spent renovating the school with new windows, doors, boilers and other expensive renovations can be called “fraud, waste, or abuse”. The teacher feels that it was unfortunate that this a short-term investment that had to be made that no longer benefits the district. The schools were open at the time and you couldn’t refuse to keep children warm, safe, and dry because their school might close. The teacher further stated that the CMSD did not have a salvage yard to stockpile building materials from closed buildings that might be useful somewhere.
(And on a side note: this teacher has admitted to not living in Cleveland, and has also admitted that he would not want to. Yet this teacher feels that more money needs to be bled from the property owning taxpayer of Cleveland. Other teachers have claimed if they had to live in Cleveland, the city would never be able to attract "good" teachers. Kind of says a lot about the quality of us city workers who do live here doesn't it?)
Yet when a news reporter exposed the waste, the CMSD was able to find storage and would now salvage those new renovations on future schools that have been targeted for bulldozing.
The highly paid highly educated Cleveland school administration has never really had a master plan. The master plan has always been in a constant state of flux. Accountability commissions have disbanded shortly after their inception and brand new accountability commissions have been formed so the CMSD administrators can promise accountability again when they try to convince you to extend paying for the 2001 bond issue that has now exhausted its funds. All the while, schools are renovated then demolished while others remain operational with their old windows and leaky roofs.
If you property owning tax paying city workers feel that the CMSD has wasted enough of your hard earned tax dollars, and you vote no on Dr Sanders upcoming bond issue, you will be accused of abandoning the schools and hurting the kids.
I have been posting my blogs on the Cleveland.com education forum. Here are some of the responses that this teacher wrote when replying to my blogs.
Difficult situation by Cleveland Teacher:
The first phase was, "warm, safe, and dry." That meant that schools with drafty/dysfunctional/broken windows, leaky roofs, and unsecured doors were first priority. These schools were open at the time. You can't refuse to keep children warm, safe, and dry because their school might close. Furthermore, the CMSD doesn't have a salvage yard to stockpile building materials from closed buildings that might be useful somewhere. It’s unfortunate that there was a short-term investment that had to be made that no longer benefits the district. I would hardly call it fraud, waste, or abuse, however.
Blame the BAC by Cleveland Teacher: (Deleted by Cleveland.com moderator)
They are independent of the schools, and BBB.
Are you really a firefighter? Do you really think you have the right to complain about teachers when you have a government job that requires nothing but a high school diploma and that pays you well despite the fact that you spend the majority of your time playing pool and cooking? Every firefighter I know has time for a full-time job when they're not sucking taxpayer money. You should be the last one throwing stones.
Try this, Rick by Cleveland Teacher: (Deleted by Cleveland.com moderator)
If you have complaints, propose solutions. Legal, practical, realistic solutions. Solutions that will improve the educational outcomes for Cleveland’s kids not punish the administration at the expense of kids.
Good info by Cleveland Teacher:
I agree with you that the district has done a crappy job of reaching out to the west side. All you have to do is look at the gym and rec. facility at Collinwood and then look at John Marshall. There is supposed to be a new west side high school still, I believe. But they'd better get a move on. It’s almost as if they are afraid to make a mistake, so they're waiting too long. Meanwhile, costs go up and people move out. I don't know what the answer is, but abandoning the system (as some here have advocated) is not the answer.
public schools are better by Cleveland Teacher:
Because all the kids who are escaping the schools in the other rotten neighborhoods of the city are going to the Westpark private schools. Kids from all over the city, places like Hough, kinsman, Glenville, etc. overall, however, Westpark is slipping. That’s my opinion; your experiences may be different. It’s ironic that Westpark, where the schools are the best, is also where the least support for the schools is (as measured by willingness to pay for education).
I have responded to this teacher and others who read the Cleveland.com education forum that if the teachers want to win the trust of the taxpaying property owners of Cleveland, that they should rally their union to protest the mismanagement of their administration. But alas, that post was deleted. It is evident by what has been written and deleted by the teachers speaks loudly about their beliefs that the administration is not doing any wrong by carelessly spending your tax payer money. And they have no problem demanding more from the taxable property owners of Cleveland. Here are some of my responses back to those teachers who post on the Cleveland.com education forum:
“You are not helping your cause by mocking us tax sucking firefighters. By the way there are other city workers (police, ems, water, cpp etc.) who are also just high school educated tax sucking folks. But understand that the city workers have to live in Cleveland and they pay a lion’s share of the larger property taxes in Cleveland. This will be changing soon. The mayor has even said that if the 8000 plus city workers moved out of the city, it would cripple Cleveland’s economy. And there are plenty of city workers who pay property taxes who have had enough with the fiscal mismanagement and may be moving out of the city soon. Unfortunately, there are not loads of educated young professional people with families breaking down the borders to move into this city. The city’s population has been on a steady decline.”
“If you want to get the taxpayers on your side, use your union clout to stop the mismanagement. But as long as teachers support their management’s wasteful ways, they will not get the support of the taxpayer. I and many other taxpayers in Cleveland are disgusted by the CMSD management and those who support it with their words while living outside of city limits.”
"What is unfortunate is that city and school leaders continue to fly by the seat of their pants, spending taxpayer monies without a care in the world, with no real master plan, (the master plan is in a continuous state of flux), and no accountability, and now they are crying that they need more money. Too bad! A lot of what we taxpayers gave the CMSD has been put in the landfill. If Dr. Sanders needs more money, he should grab his shovel and start digging in the landfill for it. There’s plenty there. "
“Now of course if you teachers would truly like to support your schools, you can always move into the fine city of Cleveland and live here like all other city workers have to, pay your property taxes, and then you can have a legitimate say on how your tax dollars should be spent. But I won’t hold my breath. Most idea people and do-gooders who live on the other side of the fence are the one’s paving this city’s road to ruin with their good intentions. I will tell you that I and many other taxpayers will be voting a resounding “NO” on any tax issue the CMSD throws at us. And I am doing what I can to get the word out to my fellow taxpayers.”
“And a special message to the Cleveland teachers. I am surprised how the teacher’s union has supported past measures to raise the taxes of the property owners of Cleveland. I question why the teacher’s union seemingly turns a blind eye to the broken promises and lack of accountability by the Cleveland school system management. Are the Cleveland teachers unaware that the school management is letting them down by their past practice of breaking promises? Instead of speaking out loudly against the poor handling of the 2001 bond money, another tax measure was pushed in 2004. It failed. Were the Cleveland teachers surprised that the 2004 levy was voted down? The silence of the Cleveland teacher’s union concerning the school system management’s broken promises of accountability is deafening."
"The Cleveland teacher’s union does have power to hold its management accountable. If the voters decide to vote no on the upcoming tax bond issue because they have had enough, don’t blame the voters, blame yourselves for allowing your school management to be so irresponsible with taxpayer money. But if some Cleveland teachers believe that the management has done a great job with the 2001 bond money, they are free to move into the city, pay property taxes and add a vote for the upcoming cause.”
All you city workers out there whose jobs only required a high school diploma to qualify when you were first hired.
Especially you city workers who live in Westpark and especially you Cleveland firefighters;
You have been directly and indirectly been referred to as tax sucking city workers who don’t want to pay for education in Cleveland.
You have been accused of abandoning the Cleveland schools!
By casting a no vote on school levy’s you punish the Cleveland schools at the expense of the kids!
You have been accused by a smarter than you; college educated; Cleveland teacher.
The nerve of you city workers! Abandoning Cleveland's children!
These are the responses I was given by a Cleveland teacher when I blog about how the Cleveland schools carelessly wastes your property tax dollars.
With all the promises of accountability out the window; with the Bond Accountability Commission disbanding only a few years after the 2001 bond issue was passed; with schools being renovated and then demolished with all the new renovations going to the landfill; this teacher does not believe that the Cleveland school administration is wasting your money.
This teacher refuses to acknowledge that bulldozing schools a few years after your property tax dollars were spent renovating the school with new windows, doors, boilers and other expensive renovations can be called “fraud, waste, or abuse”. The teacher feels that it was unfortunate that this a short-term investment that had to be made that no longer benefits the district. The schools were open at the time and you couldn’t refuse to keep children warm, safe, and dry because their school might close. The teacher further stated that the CMSD did not have a salvage yard to stockpile building materials from closed buildings that might be useful somewhere.
(And on a side note: this teacher has admitted to not living in Cleveland, and has also admitted that he would not want to. Yet this teacher feels that more money needs to be bled from the property owning taxpayer of Cleveland. Other teachers have claimed if they had to live in Cleveland, the city would never be able to attract "good" teachers. Kind of says a lot about the quality of us city workers who do live here doesn't it?)
Yet when a news reporter exposed the waste, the CMSD was able to find storage and would now salvage those new renovations on future schools that have been targeted for bulldozing.
The highly paid highly educated Cleveland school administration has never really had a master plan. The master plan has always been in a constant state of flux. Accountability commissions have disbanded shortly after their inception and brand new accountability commissions have been formed so the CMSD administrators can promise accountability again when they try to convince you to extend paying for the 2001 bond issue that has now exhausted its funds. All the while, schools are renovated then demolished while others remain operational with their old windows and leaky roofs.
If you property owning tax paying city workers feel that the CMSD has wasted enough of your hard earned tax dollars, and you vote no on Dr Sanders upcoming bond issue, you will be accused of abandoning the schools and hurting the kids.
I have been posting my blogs on the Cleveland.com education forum. Here are some of the responses that this teacher wrote when replying to my blogs.
Difficult situation by Cleveland Teacher:
The first phase was, "warm, safe, and dry." That meant that schools with drafty/dysfunctional/broken windows, leaky roofs, and unsecured doors were first priority. These schools were open at the time. You can't refuse to keep children warm, safe, and dry because their school might close. Furthermore, the CMSD doesn't have a salvage yard to stockpile building materials from closed buildings that might be useful somewhere. It’s unfortunate that there was a short-term investment that had to be made that no longer benefits the district. I would hardly call it fraud, waste, or abuse, however.
Blame the BAC by Cleveland Teacher: (Deleted by Cleveland.com moderator)
They are independent of the schools, and BBB.
Are you really a firefighter? Do you really think you have the right to complain about teachers when you have a government job that requires nothing but a high school diploma and that pays you well despite the fact that you spend the majority of your time playing pool and cooking? Every firefighter I know has time for a full-time job when they're not sucking taxpayer money. You should be the last one throwing stones.
Try this, Rick by Cleveland Teacher: (Deleted by Cleveland.com moderator)
If you have complaints, propose solutions. Legal, practical, realistic solutions. Solutions that will improve the educational outcomes for Cleveland’s kids not punish the administration at the expense of kids.
Good info by Cleveland Teacher:
I agree with you that the district has done a crappy job of reaching out to the west side. All you have to do is look at the gym and rec. facility at Collinwood and then look at John Marshall. There is supposed to be a new west side high school still, I believe. But they'd better get a move on. It’s almost as if they are afraid to make a mistake, so they're waiting too long. Meanwhile, costs go up and people move out. I don't know what the answer is, but abandoning the system (as some here have advocated) is not the answer.
public schools are better by Cleveland Teacher:
Because all the kids who are escaping the schools in the other rotten neighborhoods of the city are going to the Westpark private schools. Kids from all over the city, places like Hough, kinsman, Glenville, etc. overall, however, Westpark is slipping. That’s my opinion; your experiences may be different. It’s ironic that Westpark, where the schools are the best, is also where the least support for the schools is (as measured by willingness to pay for education).
I have responded to this teacher and others who read the Cleveland.com education forum that if the teachers want to win the trust of the taxpaying property owners of Cleveland, that they should rally their union to protest the mismanagement of their administration. But alas, that post was deleted. It is evident by what has been written and deleted by the teachers speaks loudly about their beliefs that the administration is not doing any wrong by carelessly spending your tax payer money. And they have no problem demanding more from the taxable property owners of Cleveland. Here are some of my responses back to those teachers who post on the Cleveland.com education forum:
“You are not helping your cause by mocking us tax sucking firefighters. By the way there are other city workers (police, ems, water, cpp etc.) who are also just high school educated tax sucking folks. But understand that the city workers have to live in Cleveland and they pay a lion’s share of the larger property taxes in Cleveland. This will be changing soon. The mayor has even said that if the 8000 plus city workers moved out of the city, it would cripple Cleveland’s economy. And there are plenty of city workers who pay property taxes who have had enough with the fiscal mismanagement and may be moving out of the city soon. Unfortunately, there are not loads of educated young professional people with families breaking down the borders to move into this city. The city’s population has been on a steady decline.”
“If you want to get the taxpayers on your side, use your union clout to stop the mismanagement. But as long as teachers support their management’s wasteful ways, they will not get the support of the taxpayer. I and many other taxpayers in Cleveland are disgusted by the CMSD management and those who support it with their words while living outside of city limits.”
"What is unfortunate is that city and school leaders continue to fly by the seat of their pants, spending taxpayer monies without a care in the world, with no real master plan, (the master plan is in a continuous state of flux), and no accountability, and now they are crying that they need more money. Too bad! A lot of what we taxpayers gave the CMSD has been put in the landfill. If Dr. Sanders needs more money, he should grab his shovel and start digging in the landfill for it. There’s plenty there. "
“Now of course if you teachers would truly like to support your schools, you can always move into the fine city of Cleveland and live here like all other city workers have to, pay your property taxes, and then you can have a legitimate say on how your tax dollars should be spent. But I won’t hold my breath. Most idea people and do-gooders who live on the other side of the fence are the one’s paving this city’s road to ruin with their good intentions. I will tell you that I and many other taxpayers will be voting a resounding “NO” on any tax issue the CMSD throws at us. And I am doing what I can to get the word out to my fellow taxpayers.”
“And a special message to the Cleveland teachers. I am surprised how the teacher’s union has supported past measures to raise the taxes of the property owners of Cleveland. I question why the teacher’s union seemingly turns a blind eye to the broken promises and lack of accountability by the Cleveland school system management. Are the Cleveland teachers unaware that the school management is letting them down by their past practice of breaking promises? Instead of speaking out loudly against the poor handling of the 2001 bond money, another tax measure was pushed in 2004. It failed. Were the Cleveland teachers surprised that the 2004 levy was voted down? The silence of the Cleveland teacher’s union concerning the school system management’s broken promises of accountability is deafening."
"The Cleveland teacher’s union does have power to hold its management accountable. If the voters decide to vote no on the upcoming tax bond issue because they have had enough, don’t blame the voters, blame yourselves for allowing your school management to be so irresponsible with taxpayer money. But if some Cleveland teachers believe that the management has done a great job with the 2001 bond money, they are free to move into the city, pay property taxes and add a vote for the upcoming cause.”
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