Thursday Wrap-Up

Looking at the news this morning, we start with Chad Rogers Dead Pelican.  Jefferson Parish is a parish (county) just outside New Orleans, comprised mostly of Metarie, LA. It seems that some of the schools are underperforming, so the School Board in October set guidelines for principals. Failing to meet those performance standards, the School Board in Jefferson fired seventeen principals. Seventeen.

Meza says the principals were notified last October that changes were coming if goals weren't met. He says last week, when test data became public, the principals were dismissed.

You've got to have standards, and if those standards aren't met, there must be repercussions.  It's not that the principals weren't warned, it's simply that they decided to hold the standards and meet policy.  Of course, the teachers are all butt-hurt, but nothing like the whammy the School Board put on them yesterday.   The School Board cancelled the teacher union contract. 

The school board voted 5 to 3 to drop their teacher union contracts and start over with a negotiation process to come up with a new one. The contracts expire June 30.

Of course, once again, the teachers are all butt-hurt, but I don't see a problem. Their contract expires June 30th and was due to be renegotiated. The teachers hoped for a contract extension, with ongoing negotiations, but the School Board said NO.

Here's the deal.  Principals can't meet their goals unless the teachers are on board.  A principal needs the authority to implement changes to meet standards and if the principals don't have the backing of the teachers, those standards won't be met.  I'm not blaming the teachers, I'm sure that there are some wonderfully dedicated teachers in Jefferson Parish, but standards must be met.

If it takes running-off seventeen principals and dropping the union contracts, so be it.

In other news, police officers have standards as well.  Next week I've got to play "show and tell" with our standards, proving my competence to continue to work.  It's been that way since I began police work and I know what the standards are.  So, today I'll be doing a little extra-curricular training to make damned sure I can continue to Protect and Serve.

If you'll excuse me, I'm off to the range.