I find it very hilarious that Joy is such a staunch conservative. Judging by your work situation. IMO that is the prime example why employees should have some say in their jobs. Like Stubby said you are the slave in the Master-slave relationship. It seems that you Joy dont have many options due to what factors I dont know, either way you certainly are not the kind of demographic that should be such a conservative person. Wonder what drives you to it, certainly cannot be tax cuts.
That being said I am a parent of 3 boys in Milton and see no difference between late start or early release. If you are hiring babysitters for the PM for only a few hours whats the difference? If you just cannot make time ask a relative, or take the time off. Either way the schools are not a place to be babysitters for your kids. If you are living so hand to mouth that you cannot find care for your kids then its time for a change in YOUR life. Either way Joy I would say that its not the teachers whiningas broadheadidiot suggests its the parents. They ARE your kids , its YOUR responsibility to care for them, not the MSD. I thought conservatives were all about personal responsibility? Guess not.

Teacher's are such whiners.

Like I said, I'd quit. An employer with that kind of anti-family attitude is not someone anyone should work for.

WalterReuther - doesn't matter what my employer was like when I started - we got bought out.

Far as I know the schedule of late starts or early releases would be given out to parents well ahead of time just as they are in any other district. I've never worked for an employer that wouldn't accomodate someone that went to them ahead of time to arrange time off for those days. If you work for an employer that would be unwilling to make such arrangements, I'm very sorry for you. That must be an awful work environment. If I worked for someone like that, bad economy or not, I'd quit (probably wouldn't have started in the first place).

Stubby, get over yourself. I work for a huge company with 300,000 employees world-wide and it's not that easy. The customers and the shareholders get their way, we don't. Our own lower- and mid-level managers have very little control and have given us as much as they can. Glad you have so much flexibility in your life, but not all of us do.

I never cease to be amazed at the "Master-Slave" relationship that exists in the minds of so many people when it comes to the relationship with work. Phrases like "we serve our employers at their pleasure" only propagate the negative workplace atmosphere. The decent employer knows that the relationship between employee and employer is symbiotic. An employer who does not recognize that his employees have children and that their needs sometimes have to come first is an employer with unhappy, unproductive employees. Now I know that jobs can be scarce these days and that some employes are taking advantage of that to return to the draconian "master-slave" past, but if the workers just take it without objection, then they share the blame for the bad environment.

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Unions came into being because of exactly this problem. And the constant attack on unions in this state are clearly having a toll on the morale of workers in both union and non-union shops. The idea of the all-powerful employer and the worker just grateful for a paycheck, willing to put up with any condition for the scraps from their master's table is so very 19th century. (See: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens). Is this the society we want to re-invent?

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But it starts with the employee. You must have the courage to tell your employer your needs and ask for them to meet your needs. Only half-day or full-days for vacation time? Ask for something different. If they say no, keep asking. You'll never stand on your own if you are constantly on your knees.

Nicksmom: Thanks for weighing in about employers and expectations thereof. Some of these folks don't seem to get it that we server our employers at their pleasure, not our own, and that the employers are not there to cater to our needs, either. If child care was readily available in the neighborhood at the usual going rate my regular babysitters charge ($5 an hour for both kids), it would not be such a concern for me, but at something like $20 PER kid an hour (plus a large enrollment fee every year jut to be allowed to use the LSS service), that is just absurd. If the high school started AFTER the lower grades, maybe those teens would be interested in making a few bucks, but for those of you who don't know the Milton school schedule, the high schoolers and middle schoolers go to school FIRST and wouldn't be around to watch any younger kids.

Rocky, I already explained this before, but I will explain it again: my employer doesn't want us to take less than half days of vacation. With the early releases now, that is 2.5 days of vacation a year. With late starts, that is (9 x .5 = ) 4.5 days a year. I don't get a lot of vacation to spare and try to keep a couple days back for emergencies. I never said that the 2 hours every month wouldn't be good for the teachers and kids. I asked the board to consider other ideas than the bus coming late, such as supervised activities for kids in K-6 that don't cost $20 an hour for the parents which is about what the Lutheran Social Services before school care costs. If all the kids are going to school early and receive this supervision, then there should be economy of scale which should bring the costs down markedly, and there have been other providers which have contacted the administration. I was not the one who suggested Saturdays; I never even contemplated that, and I agree that it could cause similar issues, but for the teachers with children.

School is not your personal, tax-funded daycare for your children. It is a professional work environment where every moment is spent trying to find ways to better educate children. Like all professional environments, sometimes the staff must take time to pool their thoughts (something usually not possible) and improve their skills. Currently, it appears, this takes place in the form of "early releases" about 5 times per year. What do you all do for your kids on those days? All the suggestion here is that the times move to Monday mornings, instead. It isn't additional time that you are forced to supervise your own children, it is just shifting that time.

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Oh, and for those suggesting Saturdays and evenings - that could work. I'm sure you will be the first to volunteer to watch the teacher's kids during those extended work hours, and you'll also be sure to volunteer your time to coach their sporting events and supervise their after-school activities - because the regular coaches and supervisors will be in meetings. What? Not so much? Yeah...that's what I thought.

WalterReuther: "I'd say it's time to reevaluate who they are working for"? And where would these ever so flexible understanding employers be? I have a doctorate & I'm one of the top in command where I work & I certainly don't have the come & go as I please mentality. I'm lucky I get to adjust my work schedule by coming in 30 mins early so I can leave early to pick up my son. Like Joy said, goodwill runs out quickly & I have learned not to push it.

@studs: Based on your sensitivity I'm guessing you don't have kids & maybe that's not such a bad thing.

JoyM: I'm totally with you on this. I can't believe that you even had to point out to these people that this would be a problem for working parents. It just shows their lack of common sense & how they don't look beyond their own nose at times.

I am a parent. I have no issues with this proposal, I think that a bunch of smart people could put their heads together and come up with a solution. If this saves the district from hiring subs to come in and perform tasks while the teachers meet, why can't we figure out a way to do this? And before people jump in about when the teachers should meet, many of these meetings during the day are done to help the children and many of them involve the parents of those children.

WalterReuther - so, are you a hiring employer here in Rock County? Because we homeowners here in Rock County have so many options to find jobs locally or just sell our homes to move for another elsewhere that I am sure the parents with limited options will be standing on your doorstep in the morning to sign up. REALLY? In this economy, you think we have options?

There are many districts statewide that have been doing early release on the meeting days. Doesn't seem to be a problem in those communities. That's probably the way to go. If a students' parent or parents are working for employers that will not allow for them to take care of their child on those days, I'd say it's time for those parents to reevaluate who they are working for.

MadCityDad - I can take half days of vacation, but I am not supposed to take less than that. Therefore, I would go from using 5 half days (2.5) of vacation to 4.5 per year to cover for every monthly meeting. I don't get that much vacation to spare. Redder - you got that right!

I'm not surprised that those of us who spoke up for ourselves are getting slammed by those who hide behind a cloak of anonymity. I am not worried about my "convenience." I am worried about keeping my job, and my husband keeping his, and keeping our budget intact because we don't believe in racking up debt for operating expenses. Where we live there are no neighbors or family members who could reasonably be asked to watch our kids, even for a price that would be way less than LSS charges for that care. It must be nice that you don't have to worry about your income, your finances, or your children's safety and well-being. Bully for you. I didn't criticize their thought process on what works better for teachers and the learning process. I criticized the way it was presented, as almost a foregone conclusion, before any firm decisions had been made as to how to handle the impact on working families. Stoutt66: my employer is already being very flexible, and I don't want to burn out the goodwill. Studs, if you had attended the school board meeting, you would have heard concern, not whining, on the part of both of us who spoke. It was not OUR wishes or desires that caused the concern; it was the administration's. I was very grateful that this will be reviewed before action is taken.

We hire sitters but you cannt hire a sitter for 2 hours in the am its not worth their time...its obvious nobody on here has a child...if you dont then maybe you should keep your comments to yourself...because its really not an issue you need to concern yourself with.

People you faulting parents is absurd...in this economy we need to work, some of us have jobs that we need to be at in the morning. We too have responsibilities, from the comment I see thus far some of these people do not (not a suprise) Takeing a day off of work for a late start, when other options are avaialable is simply not rational. Teachers, teaching day ends at 3:30...hmmmm....have a 2 hour meeting after that, seems simple. I agree all the days off these kids have is ridiculous, Saturday meetings is also a great idea. There are certainly other options. Now I agree, for high schoolers or even middle schoolers this might work but for the k-5 not really a great solution. Even if, this was thought by some as viable, how, what does 2 hours do for you.

What do these parents do on the days the kids have early release?

What whiners these parents are, worried more about their convenience than the quality of their kids' education. No wonder we have difficulty educating kids, when they learn from their parents that their every wish and desire should be accommodated.

What a joke. The teachers should get together on Saturday mornings to have there extended morning coffee/donut break.

I still don't see how late starts could "hurt a lot". You don't know anybody with a flexible schedule? The parent's group couldn't help? So instead have the kids come home early 5 times a year is better?