Look! It has been awhile since I blogged on education, but when I read that Fresno County Superintendent Larry Powell is giving up most of the next three years of his pay, with a value of about $800,000 in exchange for $31,000 a year salary, about $10,000 less than a starting teacher salary and without benefits I just had to add my fifty cents worth of comment.
“Well done, Mr. Powell.” READ THE STORY HERE. He said: “A part of me has chaffed at what they did in Bell,” Powell said, recalling the corrupt Southern California city officials who secretly boosted their salaries by hundreds of thousands of dollars. “It’s hard to believe that someone in the public trust would do that to the public.”
So many CA school districts are struggling financially and for a superintendent to receive $200,000 or more per year in the face of this while expecting staff to lose pay and benefits through cuts and furlough days, and the loss of high school athletics unless funded through donations and parents, is absurd.
I won’t name key supers but quite frankly, the job itself is, in my opinion, a multi-redundant one. Each district has a superintendent. Each county has a superintendent. The State has a superintendent. Of course, all these jobs are totally necessary, not unlike many government jobs and political posts occupied by over bloated blowhards who thrive on their salaries while shifting positions. I especially like the ones who demand government accountability while exploiting the press moment and ultimately doing little to change the process of lack of accountability. You don’t need names –just read the news.
The state is broke. Many school districts are broke. Cities are losing services. But those in charge, many of whom we foolishly elected, still enjoy high salaries, benefits and perks.
What Larry Powell did was to take a stand. Yes, perhaps the amount of money saved by Powell is small in the scope of the overall damage; however with inspirational leadership perhaps teachers would demand their unions follow along the same lines, with everyone in the trenches together and sparing the actual victims of this crisis – students - who no matter what are currently receiving a substandard education lacking in character development and personal responsibility lessons because the people in charge are showing the worst of leadership and not the best.
Instead of worrying about the gay, lesbian and transgender history textbook modifications at God knows what cost; how about getting down to the real issues. The English language, despite the slang, has changed little. History is about the same and still no one pays attention. Math may have more complexity but if your twenty year old cannot do percentages what good is algebra in second grade? Science deserves more attention, less theory and more hands on learning. Fancy computer programs only go so far. I want to build that laser beam that cuts through steel in the classroom. Textbook adoptions are the ultimate waste of money and time.
Perhaps the biggest lesson that Powell puts out there is one where schools face the toughest issues; behavior. Having moral fiber, accountability, integrity, responsibility, are best learned through doing and not telling. We do, after all, lead by the examples. He gave us a good one. Let’s extend that up to the national level – Congress?
PS: Election year coming up – get rid of the ruddy faced blowhards that simply play government instead of living it.
MisterWriter
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