Who Is Touching The Kids in the Wissahickon School District?

Are you appalled by the headlines today?

A recent report in the Times Herald Newspaper presented the status of negotiations for the support staff union for the Wissachickon School District (Wissachickon Education Alliance aka WEA).  The support staff comprises  secretaries, classroom aides, bus drivers, custodians, maintenance personnel, lunch assistants, technical assistants, grounds personnel, security personnel and nursing assistants.  They are our neighbors, friends and family members who have roots in our community and are responsible for the care and well being of our children from the time they are picked up at the bus stop until they are returned home at the end of the day.

Get prepared to be appalled.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

In 2012. the WSD hired Jeffrey Sultanik, Esq., an attorney with a history of dissolving unions, to negotiate the support staff contract. Nine months and lots of retainer payments later (a board member stated that the district receives a small reducation in his usual hourly fee of $600/hour), there has been no progress. With the teachers' contract expiring soon, there is a lot on the table. We are now hearing the words "work stoppage" and "delayed opening".  

Outsourcing is now a part of this district's paradigm. The special education assistants who previously were WSD employees were replaced in January with per diem folks who typically do not live here.  They do not have roots in our community like the employees of the WSD did.  Why are you learning about this now? The district does not want you to know - you might be appalled. Does a parent deserve to know that the person who is responsible for their special needs child is now a contract employee and the agency who placed them did not require the person to undergo drug testing or background checks?  Do you know who is authorized to touch your child when they are at school?  What if they have prior offenses?  Do you want to know?

Why aren't you appalled?

Let's recap the known projects on the table for the WSD that are currently in progress:

• Support staff contract negotiation
• Outsourcing of support staff positions
• Redistricting of 4 elementary schools
• Transition plan and implementation for Mattison Avenue Elementary
• Teacher contract negotiation
• Sale of building that housed Mattison Avenue Elementary

There are public documents that indicate the WSD is planning construction of a new high school (with a sports stadium) and major renovations at the middle school (with new swimming pool). I have seen the detailed reports and attended a meeting (held by a sitting board member that was by invitation only) that discussed construction of the new high school around the existing one in detail. The business manager responsible for Upper Dublin School District's recent expansion and construction now works for the WSD.  It is painful to watch this district follow a template that has lead to reductions in programs and staffing and led to the latest financial shortfall at our neighboring district.

Are you appalled yet?

One or two of the known projects on the table are time consuming-if done well. All of them almost simultaneously managed, with oversight by a board and admnistration who have consistently fallen very short with ethics and transparency, are troubling.  

At what price does not raising taxes come?

Remember, there are no background checks or drug tests for the people who are currently working as special education assistants and are responsible for those kids who have been documented by the State and County as having the most need.  

What headline are you waiting for before you do something about it?

Be appalled.

Who are you voting for in the upcoming primary in May to replace the existing four school board members up for re-election?

If you have ever attended a school board meeting you can attest to the disfunction that is publicly displayed, especially by the President of the Board, Young Park. He has bullied, verbally harrassed and belittled attendees.  His public and private leadership skills are not qualities of a leader-do you think he deserves to keep his volunteer position?  The board has been publicly warned by taxpayers that if their behavior, decisions and actions continue at the pace of the last 2 years, voters will use their power.  A couple of sitting board members have indicated that they work for administration.  Funny, when we vote for them, don't they work for you and me?  

How can you fix something that is so very broken?  Do something before you see the headline you fear.

Who is running for school board, you ask?  Why aren't they speaking out loudly about the issues and what they will do to address them?  Candidates can cross file for school board positions - meaning they can file their candidacy as a Republican AND Democrat.  Know your candidates and what they represent before you go into the voting booth. It's our only chance at stalling or, hopefully, preventing a walk down the road to perdition.

Email the school board at http://www.wsdweb.org and tell the folks who are doing the job that they should support the teachers and support staff who are caring for our kids and that outsourcing is not the answer.  The price is simply too high.