Reed Out and Navarro MIA

REED OUT AND NAVARRO MIA

The NMUSD Board of Education meeting last night was surprising in so many ways. As the drama opened there was Paul Reed, (stage left in the superintendent`s seat). Navarro`s weird absence was explained, albeit only partially, by Reed when he answered Erica Roberts questioning the reason for Navarro`s absence by petulantly stating that "He was on district business" When Roberts suggested that this meeting was "district business" the crowd, 300 strong laughed cheered and applauded. The highlights or lowlights depending on your perspective are as follows.

The important issues last night revolved around Swun Math and the NMFT and CSEA contracts. Swun math for those of you who aren't within the NMUSD bubble, is the math program which has been hated by teachers, students, and parents for the last 3-5 years. It is a mystery program. No one seems to know how and why it appeared in the district, and more confounding, why and how it is still here.

Swun Math (narcissicly named for its creator Sy Swun) has been plagued with mistakes its entire time in the district. Teachers have been paid and often not paid for correcting the mistakes only to have them show up again and again. There is no textbook. For those of you who on sleepless nights watch TV, you will recognize a scam when you see one.

This is how it works...sell a slopped together program. Don't have sufficient materials. Sell it for millions to a district. Have the teachers create the materials and correct the mistakes free. Perfect!

As Laurie Smith pointed out last night "Newport should be paid by Swun!" Instead we pay for it, and how much is still a mystery.

And then there's the annual begging for money and/or benefits by the district`s employees. The scenario goes like this. The district drags it heels throughout the year and negotiations continue to go badly until the end of the year when the employees are told to rush and are continually pushed into a ridiculous contract with an insulting raise.

This year the raise is a super paltry insulting 1%. Both unions have asked the district to move that 1% over to benefits and add some money which would go a long way toward making the district insurance affordable. The district so far has refused. The employees are upset....translated very very angry!

The employees might not be quite so angry if the news all year has been about strange inexplicable raises for the administrators and first in that money line is Paul Reed. It's the same Paul Reed who last night decided to retire in December. It's the same Paul Reed who has previously been salivated on by the board ...the same board who decided that giving him an annual annuity or around $40,000 a year TO NOT RETIRE. So, will he give back that extra money not to retire now that he is, in fact, retiring?

The meeting was a little crazy. People were standing and sitting on the floor. The lobby was full, and yet and yet neither the board nor the retiring Paul Reed chose to honor the crowd by moving the presentations along....or even how about moving them to the end. And worse some of the board members chose to ask ....may I say ridiculous questions apparently not imagining how standing for a couple of hours might be.

The speakers were phenomenal: The Swun math people...teachers and parents, had their facts together and were eloquent.

The employees were together in their quest for some fairness and equity and are just beginning to understand the power they have. After all, they are really the most important and I dare say the most intelligent people in the district.

Swun Math was represented by its chief organizer Erica Roberts and if you have never heard her please check out her video. She is the adult Nancy Drew with a lot more humor...

The officers of the unions had just the right attitude; knowledgable and a pinch of suffocated anger.

Julie, who is an aide at NHHS and worked in the district for 23 years, is going to have to quit her job, leave her home, and move to another state because she can no longer afford to work here. Her plight made me tear up a little.

There were two high school girls who waited through all the chaos to tell the story of their school were called upon after a couple of hours, to present their story. They stepped right up and were so articulate, intelligent, humorous, and very clear about what they wanted to say, that their stately demeanor made me tear up again. Then when all those 300 or so angry people in the audience gave them a huge applause it made me proud to be a part of that group who had real issues yet honored the students of this district by their applause.

That's the story folks....lets get on board with change ...