Yada: Walker and Knilans would not be able to stand before a group of teachers. They would run away crying with their tail between their knees.

I conducted a survey and the results show that taxandspend is cass and jodymac and ... a moron.

Clarification --teachers in IL are not able to collect their pensions.

WI is fine for now. However, rumor has it that Scott Walker is cooking up a plan to get at that money . . . Tommy Thompson did in 1993. After a long court battle, the state had to re-pay the WRS fund in 2003.

tax and spend
the last I heard about IL teacher pensions is that they are broke.

Janesville is self-insured. They do pay a company to administer claims, but really a third party.

I prefer money going into Soc. Security instead of a private investment fund. I would like to see the federal govt funds managed as well as WRS funds. One of the two highest ranked pension funds in the nation by Forbes . Retired Teachers are not collecting their pensions. .. We DON'T want to follow that path.

If WI was failing in education, I could understand the attacks on teachers, but we are not. We have the highest graduation rate in the nation and have ranked in the top two states for SAT/ACT scores in the nation for two decades. Why press for the destruction of WI public schools? to pave the way for privatized schools supported by tax dollars. I keep praying for wisdom.

GREATLADY --> U are so FOOLISH with your comments about Mr. Parr. Just another Janesville or local citizen that does not understand the workings of a contract & a certain goverNERD named Scotty that would take more and take more and take more and take MORE if and when a contract was reopened. You CANNOT trust a governor who said that he considered putting protestors to start trouble in with peaceful rally members in Madison. Shame on all you that continue to belittle the teaching staff of Jnesville that work so hard for our children. You don't take away over 800 million dollars from education and cut MANY staff members throughout WI and expect positive results. Walkers ideas are EXTREME & very POLITICAL - this is NOT just about saving money. I would add that the rallies annd peaceful protests will continue. I would challenge Gov. Walker or Joe Knilans to stand in front of any group of WI teachers and explain what he is doing as fair. It's all about big business and politics with Walker.

greatlady - There's a big difference between Milton's and Janesville's contract. Milton's old contract expires on June 30, 2011. Janesville's contract expires on June 30, 2013. Milton extended their contract to 2013 agreeing to the concessions. Janesville's contract that was signed before Walker was elected Governor already went through 2013. If the JEA opened the contract to agree to Walker's concessions, the ENTIRE thing could be voided. That's a big deal and that's why Dr. Parr has been instructed by the membership not to open the contract.

They can't "just re-open their contract"!!! If they make ANY changes, the entire contract is void! That is the point of Knilans in this article...he wants to try to change it so they can just make one change and not void the contract. But since the "budget repair bill" they CANNOT open their contract without losing EVERYTHING in it!

Allfor1, it's all part of the master plan:
1. Reduce teacher pay/job autonomy and increase class sizes.
2. Wait for test scores to go down.
3. Claim the public schools are failing, parents need choices to insure a good education for their children.
4. Increase /expand voucher programs in order to privatize education.
.
Short course - skip steps 1 & 2.

Mr. Parr isn't doing a great job for the teachers in Janesville. He should have recommended that they re-open their contract and made some compromises - like the Milton teachers did. Jobs would have been saved. Now he questions Mr. Knilans' attempt to help! Time for a new JEA President.

There is a scientific axiom that states "unions will always throw younger workers under the bus in order to protect the status quo"

Rep. Knilans doesn't have to say anything. His votes say everything. 2012 should be an interesting election. His stands have more to do with politics than the saving of money.

tax and spend
Dave Parr . . . The members of JEA are deeply troubled by the direction this has taken. Not ONE wishes to see our members laid off. However, as it has been repeated many times, the law that was illegally passed clearly states that any modification or amendment to an existing bargained contract will make the entire contract subject to the new law. The new version leaves public employee unions (except law enforcement and fire fighters) with no bargaining rights. I Repeat NO bargaining rights. The word "bargain" means to barter or trade; when the only right employees receive is an annual increase, capped at a maximum of 1.5% (regardless of how the economy is doing), they have nothing with which to bargain.

We highly doubt that Rep. Knilans can actually make a motion on legislation that is currently in limbo in the courts. Also, we have no reason to trust that it would work. The purpose of the original legislation was to remove the voice of people from any form of influence - - - on their work place or in the political arena. That is why people around the globe are watching to see how this unfolds.

Seriously, thanks for clarifying election results. The SDJ did indeed have dire economic conditions before Walker was voted in. The definition of insanity is to repeat the same behavior time and time again and expect different results. Our community voted BOE president back in, this after he and our administration led the "Journey" to financial demise and the exodus of many administrators. How is that working for the students of Janesville? When the exodus of students to parochial schools and schools in the immediate area begins we can thank our re-elected BOE president and the administration that he retains. Knilans IS the Wisconsin Koch Governor's puppet. He never responded to any of my communications. Recall WALKER and all the Koch Brother's Kool aid drinking wannabees. Recalls are the course of action with persons who will not come to the table to talk. Oh wait, you don't have a problem with Nickolaus finding ballots but recalls are not appropriate. The KOCH brothers have changed the game along with all of corporate leaders that don't pay their share of tax.

According to this article, "Kilans said he has heard from many teachers who would be willing to pay the 5.8 percent but don’t want to lose their collective bargaining rights." ----------------- Why did he decide to do something with only half of their request? Does Knilans have selective hearing loss?

When the protests began in February, several state employee unions, including teacher unions, agreed to pay for the retirement and insurance benefits as long as the governor would allow the unions to keep their collective bargaining rights. The governor, and Joe Knilans, insisted upon removing the collective bargaining rights for unions. So now Knilans has this ingenious idea to allow the teachers' union to concede the 5.8% retirement benefit, but only if the union also gives up the collective bargaining rights. How thoughtful of you, Joe. And why do you think the union is skeptical?

sjr - you're trying to explain to someone with a 5th grade mentality.
I'm VERY disappointed in Joe Knilans. I wrote to him in February, and about a month later I received a generic canned response that was so filled with nonsense it had me fuming. When I wrote to Sen. Kohl, I received two personal email responses, and my email to Sen. Cullen was met with a personal letter to my home. Joe is failing miserably, and I hope he's out of office soon.

It is so easy to scapegoat Walker, Knilans, etc. Please quit screeching "RECALL, RECALL!" You don't recall politicians you disagree with. You vote them out! In case you forgot, our school board voted to raise class size on Feb 5th, 2011, over a week before the Budget repair bill was even introduced. Did everyone forget that we had close to a 10 MILLION dollar projected deficit in our district before Walker was even elected? And the same School Board that led us there was just re-elected?

Joe K. does not have an original thought to serve his constituents, he is being played and is not bright enough to know it. Joe is a freshman legislator who is having his strings pulled by Walker and the Fitzgeralds, who are having their strings pulled by the Koch brothers. If corporate America were paying their share we could address our state budget deficit. Joe the wannabee, is to busy packing his suitcase so that he too can be flown out to Cali with Wisconsin's Koch puppet governor. Our community helped to vote this PUPPET into place, just as we did Sodemann, Stottler, and D. Severson. They are all drinking the kool aid that Schulte and Sperry are brewing. At least newly elected Feldt, is calling the superintendent out on details. Sodemann, Stottler, D. Severson, SCHULTE and SPERRY are leading the Journey to Excellence. One will need to be a plumber to arrive at the destination being mapped out by Sodemann and Schulte.

whzbng,
You are very informed. please show me a neighboring district that "volunteered" to pay the higher contributions without a new contract.

"Knilans said he could be wrong, but it sounds as though Parr is trying to avoid a vote of the members on whether they want to reopen their contract."
You are a moron joe, we already voted and no matter how hard you try and vilify the union and Parr we will not vote yes to pay now. Bye bye Joe.
"“All I’m trying to do is help them out,” Did you say that over the phone or to someone face to face? How you can even say that you are doing this to help out the teachers is unreal. Nice try liar. Why don't you and your buddy Conry get on a bus and head back to Hypocrite land.

Joe,
How much of your salary did you give back when GM was struggling? How did you pay to get your degree? You are the bigger sucker of tax dollars than any teacher is yet you want them to help out their employer by giving up pay now? You are a hypocrite and I can't believe you were elected.

No new contract needed, the teachers could simply volunteer to pay a higher share of their pensions and health care. Why make this such a difficult choice. Other neighboring distict employees have done just that.

goodone: Where are you from, West Virginia? You couldn't possibly have graduated from high school.

Mr Knilans - Enjoy your SHORT term in office - your views and ideas will hurt your political future. Your position is one that is totally against education. You don't take away over 800 million dollars in a 2 year period unless you want to destroy the future of our children. Why don't you go to a teacher staff meeting at Craig, Parker, or another school and stand in front of them to defend your vote. You NEVER should reopen a contract when you have Walker as governor - that would be stupid. There should be no compromise on this contract issue - keep the contract, but get rid of the governor by recall. Hey Joe - how does taking away the voice of the people save WI money. This is all politics Joe and you are part of it - otherwise you would have voted different. Take the challenge JOE - ask Mr. Parr if you can speak at a district wide staff meeting to: 1. Explain your vote & how it helps education 2. Tell them why they should open their contract and give more. 3. The need to take away their political voice in a democracy. etc etc - Sad to say Joe, but you don't have the courage to stand in front of ALL the teachers of Janesville and defend your vote. (I will give Paul Ryan credit - I disagree with him, but at least he is willing to meet with the people to explain his plan.)

Goodone - your place of blame is misguided.

Thanks to Mr. Knilans and our worthless Governor, new kindegarten students will be in huge classes. 25 or more in one classroom! The numbers were 15 or 16 to 1, student teacher ratio in the early grades and no longer will you see that. Without learning support staff or reading specialists, the struggling learners/readers are never going to catch up to their peers. There is no way a teacher can do it in K through third grade with numbers that high. However, our ignorant government is forcing districts to incrase the ratio and then he tells districts that all kids are going to be proficient in reading by third grade! What a joke.

Goodone: What makes us radicals? Is it because we strive to help people? Are you against that? Is it because we improved the system to benefit the needs of children? Perhaps it is because we stand up for what we believe in? Is it because we make a difference in people's lives? Despite what you may believe, every person (including you), in some way, has benefited from the value of our education system; although, you may need to revisit that part about grammar and spelling...

goodone,
Let me guess, born and raised in Janesville. At first I thought your post was sarcastic but then I remembered where I was.

"If they followed Gov. Walkers plan there would not have been any layoffs here." BS

"Rather than being brainwashed by radical teachers, students should stay home and learn how to work and make a living." Kid I don't want you to be educated, I would rather you stay home with me all day and dig in the garden, then when you are 18 you can get a good job digging ditches.

goodone, your attitude is frightening.
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Most parents support the teachers and understand that small class sizes are better for the KIDS. They also understand that voluntarily taking a huge pay cut when there is a signed contract and losing the entire contract that was negotiated for over a year , is not something many people would do. Would you? Thank you teachers for all that you do to educate our children!

Those being laid off and their teacher friends only have themselves to blame. They knew their greed would resault in layoffs, yet they voted for eactly that and they still don't get it. Unbelieveable these people are called teachers, when they can't even see reality.If they followed Gov. Walkers plan there would not have been any layoffs here. These teachers should have 30 students in their classes as teachers used to have. It shows there lack of ability. They really want as many teachers as there are students. Rather than being brainwashed by radical teachers, students should stay home and learn how to work and make a living.

If Rep. Knilans truly wanted to help, he never should have voted "YES" for the budget repair bill in the first place.

I think they have repeatedly shown, it ain't for the kids.

I know! I know! Reif?

Parr?

The JEA?

Despite all the politics, this story delves a little deeper than what the cover story indicates. I was also laid-off by this district. Going to work since has been difficult. The atmosphere is empathetic, which is a tribute to the great staff I work with, but makes things even more difficult. I find myself avoiding people when I can to avoid the uncomfortable converstations. Unbeknownst to me, I missed the potluck lunch that friends in my department put on for me. It is saddening to know I won't be there next year. Oh, there are rumors of call-backs, but hope has become salty lemon juice on an open wound.

I never told my students I was laid-off, but they found out somehow, which makes things worse. My advisees are juniors this year. When they graduate, I don't know if I will be there to see them take the next step into adulthood. It would have been my first group of students to see through to graduation, which has become a missed milestone in my teaching career.

To those that say teachers that won't open the contract are greedy and really aren't in it for the kids, you have no perspective to make such a comment. I didn't get into teaching to "get rich." I did it to help people, and I use the time I have off in the summer to further enrich the lives of the students I teach and coach. I am a product of the JSD, and I waited a long time to get hired here because I knew how much teachers made a difference in my life. I want to be that for other kids, and I felt at the time that this was a great district to do that in. My opinion has since changed. Not all people think teachers are "thugs" or "greedy," but the comments on here will have a lasting effect on new teachers coming to this district. New teachers are taught how to find jobs in good districts, and the local media is a major source for them to collect that data. It scares me to think of the potential harm these converstations will have on the teaching profession in Janesville in the future.

On the other hand, I truly believe that teachers earn and deserve every dollar they make. Teaching, although rewarding, is never easy for any teacher. Although I am laid-off, I hope this contract stays closed. We worked hard to get this contract, and contrary to popular belief, we earned it. Maybe someday the Gazette will feature an article on the positive things teachers have done, and are doing for the children of Janesville. I also look forward to the article that outlines the negative impact this legislation will have on the quality of education in Wisconsin.

Stay strong teachers! Janesville...I bid you a fond farewell.

thank you, just-tryin. i wish more spoke your kind words.
i'm afraid that next year is destined to be a repeat of this year though, so accepting a recall would be simply putting myself through all of this again. i'm not willing to set myself up for that. well, unless i end up jobless at the time of recall, but i really don't think that's going to happen.
thanks again.

I wish any teachers that leave the district the best of luck. I sincerely do hope you find the grass greener in other districts. I can certainly understand how being laid off would make the job not very good at this moment in time. I am saying that it may be wise to take the job if called back. If called back, it is certainly a very good job. I understand that some teachers can feel they are disrespected. However, that disrespect is not from the majority of parents, I can assure you.

Nice try Joe,
So you are trying to save jobs? Then why would you support wakler tactics that are causing all of the layoffs? You want the teachers to pay now. End of story, cut the crap of saving and creating jobs. It isn't working for walker and sure as hell won't work for you. You made you bed. Hope you enjoy the little time you have left. Go back to your basement. Nice try at saving face.

let me add that the mess created with the order of operations regarding lay off, transfers, and recall exemplifies the disdain the superintendent and majority of the board has for its employees. you now have a bunch of LMSs and counselors in transfer positions they don't want and the bottom of the barrel being recalled into the layoff positions. that was handles VERY poorly.

i would not say that anyone in this district has "a very good job," not even administration. the teachers are about to attempt to keep their learning expectations high while adding significant numbers to their class sizes. the average public has no idea what a difference between 22 and 28 in a class makes, but it really does, especially if your class does anything hands-on. the community feel is one that seems to think teachers have it made. it lacks appreciation and respect for the hard work an average teacher puts forth. even the administrators here are overworked, trying to do the jobs of several people in one combined hybrid position. that's been happening for years in this district, and now they are doing it again by combining the two jobs of two retiring administrators (kathy b. - business ed - and cheryl m. - public relations). i wonder if they even have any applicants, and if they do, if those applicants really realize what they're getting into.
i watch these blogs here and there and i see comments about how this or that (on the chopping block) is not needed anyway instead of concern for keeping your school district respectfully worthy. it's really about to take a dive and your community doesn't care.
no, i don't want a job here. once i received my lay off and got my application materials together, i made the easy decision of not turning back. i was offered one job yesterday , but i'm holding out for another job i think i'm going to be offered. the second interview yesterday went really well. the classroom environment, pay, and class size there looked very inviting. if i don't get the job i want, i have many skills to fall back on. i won't settle for a community that treats its staff with such disdain.

Actually, just_tryin, I have a handful of colleagues who have either been laid off or have left on their own accord and have been hired for new positions in different districts in the past month. Yes, there are other teaching positions out there; for some right now, their position in the JSD is not what you describe as a "very good job." I have taught in other districts; the negativity toward teachers here is sometimes very hard to stomach, especially for well-qualified, dedicated teachers. It is not a "no way out" scenario.

Askingforrespect, If you are truly laid off from the district, why would you not want your job back? Janesville is not the only district cutting back. Where will you get another job? Please review your thoughts before giving up a very good job.

hahahahaha - omg, what an idiot. too funny.

i agree with getting rid of knilans too. when i wrote to him about my concerns in february, i got a canned letter back, "Dear Friend," that was the exact same letter about 10 of my friends received from him. the body of the letter made me more angry with its nonsense than if he hadn't responded at all.

jvlkid - your statement that most of your teachers call Parr a liar is a lie, liar. It's pretty easy to see you made that one up.

chelleandlou: I am with you 100%. Recall him. We don't need people in office who refuse to listen to ANYTHING their constituents say, and blindly say they have the votes to pass all these crazy bills and are going to. Arrogant, is it not?

jp - "you guys," as in the school board, you mean. :)
and yes, i see your lack of real concern. my comment was sarcasm, dummy.

@asking4respect: I made no statement of concern. I'm really not concerned at all. You guys made your be, now you can lie in it.

DAVE - Please don't open your contracts. It's not fair for the teachers to pay for the district's own bad management and the unfair laws being passed down from our idiot Governor who couldn't even finish school without getting kicked out first.
Those of us laid off don't want our jobs here. Stay strong!

taxandspend - i just went back and read all of your posts, and they are ludicrous. Now I know I can just ignore you instead of responding to your senseless posts - you're completely whacked, or else just extremely ignorant. i pay taxes to my union (out of my own paycheck) to represent ME, not have them give the money away without providing me any represenation. What a dumb post.

StraightTalk - Parr is elected. He has served many terms as our President, and he's been re-elected. I guess that would put your comment to rest about saying teachers don't really like him. I beg to differ. He represents us very well.

taxandspend - you're clueless. The union has a balance of $25,000, and yearly receivables match yearly expenditures. The $550,000 expected collections next year are already ear-marked. The union DOES have its own expenses. Think before you speak. It's not rocket science to figure out that the collections do not just sit there in a savings account.

jp - nice statement of concern.
Parr is not the ONE person who makes decisions. He represents the teachers' voices as a whole. He has heard us, and we have expressed NO desire to open the contract, simply because the concessions are not fair. Walker is WRONG for making any budgetary deficits the fault of the teachers, and we are NOT fixing it on our backs alone. The school board has continually ignored the inevitable by refusing to tax to the expected limit since the QEO was enacted and property tax limits were lowered significantly. It was expected that districts would tax to that new low, but Janesville didn't even do that. These people are obviously working for the tax payer, not for the good of the school district. If Janesville becomes a ghost town, your school board can accept much of the blame.
I've been laid off by this district, and expect a new contract offer this week. I wouldn't come back here even if they asked me to stay. My house is already up for sale, but I'm pretty sure the bank will become the new owner, because no one in their right mind is moving into this failing community, for good reason. Don't give in, teachers, because those of us losing our jobs don't want them in a district who treats their teachers the way this one has.

Here's the deal: the teachers picked this Parr guy to run their union. If Parr's reluctance to deal results in a bunch of teachers losing their jobs, oh well.........

The union spreading the wealth? If memory serves me correct I don't remember any unions taking a government bailout, it was your professionals. So spread the wealth because I want my money back.

there must be a reason why most of my TEACHERS call parr a liar, i see why, do you?

Put me down as EXTREMELY skeptical.

I know a teacher who reports that her peers don't like Parr as their representative, but no one else really wants the job. They realize he is an obstacle to a common sense solution, but don't really know what to do about him.

I don't have much faith in Knilans. He showed his true colors when he voted party lines. I for one can't wait to recall him in January.

It's OK for professionals to belong to social networking groups, special interest investment and health care cooperatives to advance their careers and give them leverage over their peers to advance their careers as long as it is NOT a union? Why can't your brand of "professionals" stand on their own individual merit and job performance? Same for businesses that form chambers of commerce and other associations. Why do you insist on assembling for political group power but deny workers and labor unions from doing the same?

Knilians is doing a great job. He won't let the hoot & hollar radicals who just shout & scream like a spoiled kid deter him. Someone else also made a good point, I never heard of a proffesional belonging to a extreme union. They usually belong to a profession group, not as out of control radical union. Unions by their own greed caused the loss of teacher and school jobs in Janesville. The school board is also to blame by agreeing to the great giveaway.
Two more years we will be free of their blackmailing greed. Thank Heavan.

dtb - you're so right. Thanks for setting me straight. I was blinded by my frustration.

KLC, don't feed the troll. It's cass/jodymac/local81. Just ignore her and maybe she'll go away.

Joe, you should have voted right the first time if you truly wanted to save jobs. We all know this legislation had NOTHING to do with the budget; rather, it was a union-busting activity that attacked State workers--primarily the teachers because they are the largest group. You give tax breaks to the wealthy and big business. The budget repair bill is nothing more than an indirect tax aimed at teachers. They're having more taken out of their pockets and it's being "redistributed" to big business.

You are just a Walker puppet. Now, you're grandstanding by trying to make it sound like you're fixing the problem. Shame on you for dealing with this in the media. You are a rookie trying to make a name for yourself.

Teachers are right not to trust you or anything Walker says. You are such a disapppointment. Hope you enjoy your "one and done" experience in Madison.

taxandspend - I don't understand why you are concerned with how much money other people pay in union dues.

Dr. Paar...beware of the wolf in the sheep disguise.

Damage control is right. He doesn't want anymore jobs lost. Maybe he should of thought about that before he voted to handcuff the school district in the first place. Give me a break. Now Knilans is trying to put it all on the teachers. How sad.

knilans is now in damage control mode, i can hear the speech , we got most of what we want now go out and sell yourself so we dont lose these seats. it s almost like the koch team picked scott walker, and they want to see wisconsin fail , much easier to buy up what they want in the state if the whole state is broke. if he could do it to milwaukee why not the whole state

Usually an appointed financial manager will be an experienced public sector professional, janesvillite. I doubt even the legislation backed by the Greater Milwaukee Committee (it's unclear whether the Walker administration had anything to do with it, but Walker worked closely with them when he was County Executive) would be so broad. Mostly, I don't think they even care so much about the rest of the state, just getting "their people" in charge of Milwaukee's finances.

Janesvillite: Is this possible?

Don't worry. Voters of these districts WILL NOT FORGET what Knilans, Loudenbeck and Wynn have done to their constituents.

ALERT!!! Is Forward Janesville positioning itself to be appointed as Emergency Financial Managers for Janesville if Walker's financial martial law passes? It sure sounds like it. I don't care how much a business pays in taxes to the school district. Businesses do not have children. Families do.

Knilans, Wynn and Loudenback are directly responsible for all the public employee job losses in Rock County arising from Walker's class was budget bill. It's time to man'up and stop trying to blame your assault on the working poor and middle-classes on the working poor and middle-class. Never forget how these three voted.

Excuse the typo. It is corrupt politician.

I'm curious if in the republican hand book its says to use the words thug and goon?

$102,600 total in donations and pledges... not a bad start, but only 158 people? Looks like a few people care a lot and the rest need to step up! Do they have donors listed anywhere? I'd love to know who those 158 donors are.
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I'm guessing that as long as this contract issue keeps popping up, teachers will be nervous about giving. They need to settle this thing and let people get on with their lives. Having so many things undecided is very unsettling for people.

Walker slaps them in the face, but Knilans says "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain". Knilans may be on the level, but with Walker and the Fitz boys still hanging around, I can't blame the teacher's union for declining the invitation. I wouldn't trust them as far as I can throw the teacher's desk.

They're talking as if there will be a May 22nd. Was the Apocalypse postponed again?

Yeah, that Dave Parr really looks thuggish.

Maybe we should be able to re-open any contract , Why should signed contracts be binding. Oh---maybe because it's the law. Joe, please stop being a puppet for your master.

'Parr says he’s of skeptical of plan'

c'mon man...if you cant be perfect why bother...;)