""Posted on February 16 at 11:02 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
And more lies by Ofluma and his DemoRats, a little more soda, please...""

""The days of the failed experiment (public education) is quickly fading...""

""Times have changes! Get on board or get on a different train. It is about time these corrupt unions are stopped. Maybe we can get some balance in the teachering ranks. I for one am tired of all the liberal leaning and teaching from the present teachers and I hope several of them do leave."'

LOL Times have changes?? What does that mean Einstien? Teachering ranks?? Maybe before calling others uneducated and hysterical you should look back at some of the garbage you spew, truly remarkable. Pot meet kettle.

LOL, oh "Honor"first your silly opinions really hurt. Degradation of my intellect from two small minded conservatives on an anonymous OPINION blog really hurts. People with simple minds, hold simple opinions, and are unable to THINK. Congrats on fitting the description to a T.
I may not like 916's opinions, but at least they are well thought out and not repeated talking points. You sir/maam are a right wing parrot.
Do we still want to keep playing this game? OR shall we continue debating ideas? Your call, I can go back in our posts(already have) and laugh all night long at the "points" that you repeat. While you may disagree with me, at least I make my OWN mind up and put forth my own opinions. I hold beliefs on both sides of the political spectrum. I make a decision based on an issue , not a pre-determined ideology.

Too bad an intellectual giant like you can not say the same thing.

fear; If I remember correctly, you come from a family of educators. Ask them to assist you in deciphering what people write, maybe you would not come across as being so uneducated and hysterical.

I like how honorfirst makes comments about Hoffa and organized crime and then starts backpedaling.
Hysterical? maybe you should take your own advice when making ridiculous blanket statements.
You sir are truly a piece of work. From the true believers of the Grand OLD party. Same OLD , same OLD.

Ah yes, we've got immigration and whole host of social issues to unfurl our GOP racism. We've got gay marriage to convey our homophobia. And bashing the mostly female teacher unions for our sexism. And uninhibited gun rights to make up for our lack of manhood.

All thriving under Scott Walker. What a great time to be a cheesehead (at least a wealthy, white, gun-loving, supposedly straight, male one).

"My employer hasn't given raises in 2 years. My husband's health insurance is costing more for less coverage. That's a fairly common reality for most of us, and its time school staff shared in that reality. "
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This type of ignorant thinking is why our middle-class is shrinking. Instead of demanding we all deserve better and have the RIGHT to a good paying job if we are willing to work hard people are demanding with their vote, that if their employer stinks so should everyone's else.
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The difference between the worker movement of the early 1900's and today; the workers wanted better for everyone today... many want worse conditions for everyone. That is why the anti-union movement is WRONG for this country.
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Take a look at how teachers are described and discussed in this article. Then look at the articles about gun violence, rising unemployement, rising drug abuse, rising problems in our society. When teachers, those found dead lying on top of their students (not their children) are described as lazy, thugs, greedy, etc... It isn't shocking to see the decay in our society.
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Teachers aren't perfect... however, I defend police officers, military personnel and social service workers the same way.
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I read a "sound off" comment yesterday talking about the lack of "God" is the problem in our society. I couldn't Disagree more. God was around during slavery. It is the lack of respect for fellow humans that is the problem.
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The amount of HATE is the problem. I refuse to HATE. It simply doesn't do any good. Unfortunately, I have attacked for that personal belief by "HATERS" in the past.
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I would ask the perons who talked about no raises to think about if that decision had been public. If an article in the Gazette had been written and if the responses were good, the greedy freeloader makes enough what his response would be.
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I check the salary schedule. I believe it was the 2009-10. If I read it correctly, a teacher with 18+ years experience and a PHD topped out at $69,000/year. Top salary as of a couple years ago. Even with GREAT benefits how could someone be considered greedy if the maximum salary was less than $70k?
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I want everyone willing to work hard to have an opportunity to be secure in the middle-class of America. I do not begrudge anyone making a good salary. I hope everyone receives a raise within the past year because YOU DESERVE IT! That is the attitude this country needs....
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Oh and BUY MADE IN THE USA, DEMAND MADE IN THE USA!

honorfirst - while you did not directly state that, it is certainly implied from your insinuation that people should read up on Hoffa and go to the prisons to talk to those involved in union corruption. You make it sound as though there are few to no union leaders of great service around. What good would it do anyone to do research of this kind regarding this issue? Those cases are certainly not parallel in any way to the SDJ.

mere: And you are a great example of a person that would benefit from a reading comprehension course. Look over my comments, do you find where I stated all unions are bad or that all union leaders are corrupt? I didn't think so. It is dangerous to ass/u/me that you know what one is thinking, don't you agree?

honorfirst - you are a GREAT example of unwarranted extrapolation! (Look it up...) It is ridiculous to ass/u/me that union leaders as a whole are corrupt based on Hoffa and the like. Not all unions are bad. Just sayin'...

fear: and we always appreciate your hysterical rants. You must be a real work of art!

More corruption in the private sector than has ever occurred in any uniion. Look at the financial collapse in 2007, completely private sector crooks that ended up fleecing millions around the world and the taxpayer for a trillion after the fact. You are a sucker who watches too many movies. Hoffa? What on Earth does the JEA have to do with the teamsters and organized crime again? I think you right wingers have watched goodfellas and too many other MOB movies in between Fox news stints. Thansk for the enlightenment Honorfirst.

Honorfirst - I think you are making your your judgements on a few well publicized cases. Union members have more input about how their unions are conducted than any stockholders have in the operation of a company. If you are a real student of history, which I doubt, corporations have a long history of crime, corruption and murder. Many of them have not changed they are now just more subtle. Has the union movement had problems? Of course they have. Any group consisting of millions of people is never going to be perfect. Is our country perfect? No, and for the same reasons. But it is still good overall. But unions are a weak sister to the terror inflicted in the name of many corporations throughout history.

dtb: Maybe you could begin your reality journey on corruption by reading about Jimmy Hoffa and the numerous court cases involving organized crime and unions. In context pertaining to "fair and democratic institutions" brought into discussion by the previous commenter, I did not claim the JEA was involved with organized crime, but stated there are several examples of corrupt unions. Possibly you could improve your reading skills or ask someone that attended a "private" school to help you with your reading comprehension. I maintain there have been several cases of poor management, bribery of officials and corruption in unions. If you are looking for proof, research the numerous cases or go to the prisons and chat with some of the former union leaders that have been convicted of crimes. And as I await an answer, the room is filled with silence...

Dr. Schulte said: "The district divides employees into low, medium and high performers. Schulte said in her email that "… unless you are a low performer, even if a new salary structure is developed, there is a good chance that there would be a 'hold harmless' to make sure that there would not be a decrease in salary."
Who decides the low, medium, and high performers? There are people in this world who run around looking busier than anyone else and getting very little done just to look good, and there are people who purposely sabotage others to make themselves look good. I see this tactic as extremely subjective and promotes competition instead of mutual cooperation- very negative.

Dtb....I can hear the sound "chop"....."chop" next school year.....

You are right Beloit Guy..why would anyone want to be associated with self serving teacher unions.

Honorfirst, let's have some hard facts on the JEA being in bed with organized crime and using violence.

(crickets)




I thought not

wasp: Seriously??? The most fair and democratic institutions? They have been shown time and time again to be corrupt and in bed with organized crime? They have been shown to use strong armed methods and violence to achieve their goals! This is what you consider to be the most fair and democratic institutions? Unions time has passed, they need to go away.

It's a sad day in our country when one of our most fair and democratic institutions, labor unions are denigrated. Yet we we have a self serving little coward like the guv being displayed as some kind of hero.

All of the upcoming changes will be more effective only if Parr and the union are completely left-out of all decision making.

I am not sure why any college student would consider becoming a teacher in these times.. Expectations and requirements are growing while pay, benefits and respect from local communities continues to decrease. It's a shame that it has come to this.

Yeah the big BAD JEA. You people are such a joke, cant see beyond your own hypnosis and are as much to blame as anyone for the downfall of this once great nation. Stupidity does not mean that you are right, it just means you are stupid.
I always wonder how you union hating folks felyt when the economy was BOOMING and so many in the private sector were swimming in huge raises AND teachers salaries and benefits were limited by the QEO. Now that your IRRESPONSIBLE private employers are struggling you FOOLS blame all of your problems on teachers? Hypocrites, haters and ZOMBIES, repeating the same old drivel over and over and over.

Try to remember the big bad union has saved the district tens of millions over the years with their self-funded health insurance. Ask anyone who is not a complete idiot how the district was able to essentially build a 30 million dollar surplus!! FUND 10 has been completely funded by the BIG BAD JEA. Maybe instead of blind hate, you should read, research and thank a "greedy" teacher for making society better while lining their pockets with your money. You people are so dumb you are actually making a teacher that makes a midddle class living with good benefits look like a hedge fund manager who stole MILLIONS in taxpayer money. That NON-UNION PRIVATE SECTOR Hedge fund manager is your hero and you ridiicule teachers for fighting for a livable wage? How ridiculously IGNORANT can you folks be?

This is not news it is propeganda from blog rumors once again the butt kissing Gazette with the unions, oh we feel so bad for you, big bad Scott walker gonna make you pay for your own pension and health care thats wrong.We Wisconsites are tired of the sniveling cry babie teachers, its the low performing teachers sniveling the loudest cause they will be exposed for what they are a waste to the system and tenure wont let you fire them.

ALL of the problems & controversy are courtesy of college-->D r o p o u t---> Scott Walker. He has divided our state and his extreme agenda will cause more problems and conflict. The FBI John Doe Investgation will hopefully find out more about this man. Also - Don't forget all the people he FORGOT about with his recent Medicaid decision - another HEARTLESS ACT.
http://www.walkerinvestigation.com/

http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/02/...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/02/14...

http://walkerfailure.com/

...A N D---DON'T FORGET -->"WALKER'S BUDGET CUTS $800 MILLION FROM PUBLIC EDUCATION"

http://www.wisn.com/Walker-s-Budget-Cuts...

When the teachers contribute 6.65% of their gross pay to their pension, how much will the employer contribute on top of that? Does anyone know? And how does that compare to what they are each contributing now?

Times have changes! Get on board or get on a different train. It is about time these corrupt unions are stopped. Maybe we can get some balance in the teachering ranks. I for one am tired of all the liberal leaning and teaching from the present teachers and I hope several of them do leave.

....and the haters are back out in full force, I see.

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SF - excellent summary.

PJC - not at all true. The Janesville contract was negotiated and approved BEFORE act 10 was introduced. Your is a common mistake because so many district did just as you say - but not Janesville.

2-years ago while there was chaos at our Capital, the Janesville School District and teachers were in negotiations that hastily resulted in extending benefits to teachers that have cost the District's taxpayers, now, it's back to reality Janesville teachers, you won't have the Illinois negotiators here to rape the taxpayer.

Teacher unions don't want to improve anything and they don't let others improve anything. They are a big fat log sitting in the middle of the road waiting for the most senior workers who are the only ones that can move the log to come back from vacation.

I think there are a few details that are often forgotten about this topic. The first being that most taxpayers will not see a significant savings from Act 10. It's the wealthiest Wisconsinites who will save the greatest percent. Second,making more people suffer financially does not provide incentive for improvement in the rest of the middle class. In fact, just the opposite happens. For example, if a good worker made $20/hr, but now makes $15/hr, and everyone else sees a similar reduction in pay, then that person's employer will see no reason to raise the pay back up to $20/hr because there's not enough demand for it. Higher wages in one sector will encourage higher wages in others because the employers will see their most productive employees going after the higher paying jobs. Third, most teachers were not receiving high pay prior to Act 10. Most were in the $30,000-$50,000 pay range, depending on experience and education level. In Wisconsin, teachers need to not only pay for the Bachelor's Degree, but a Master's Degree as well. All this education is expensive. We are loosing our modest house because we can't afford the mortgage, pay cuts, and the bill for the Master's degree at the same time. I know many people can't afford a house right now, but preventing those who use their Master's Degrees from home ownership does not improve the pay of others. Fourth, Act 10 has already resulted in lower pay in other districts. When this happens, the teachers no longer have the spendable income they had before and small businesses suffer. Many small businesses have gone out of business. While it is difficult to say how many went out because of the economy in general verses lower pay among public employees, the fact is that when hundreds of people in a community can no longer support local business, this has an effect. For example, Janesville lost it's only educational store because the local teachers couldn't afford to shop there anymore.

I have never before heard of employees playing a part in writing their own handbook. Teachers can email their concerns or attend a listening session set up specifically to gather their input - this is above and beyond what most employers would offer. Mr. Parr needs to understand the difference between union and non-union workplaces, and quit stirring the pot and stomping his little feet.

It seems to me that since Ms. Schulte took over this district, she has lost sight of her most important asset - good, honest and hard-working staff. Some of her district office administrators do not see those qualities in a teacher. They have a history of getting good staff to resign or quit because they don't fit into a pre-conceived prototype of what Janesville wants. They want great test scores and often refuse to see how hard a teacher or principal might be working toward those goals. The district does not offer great mentors to teachers as they move them around the district like pawns. They don't give credit to teachers that put in many extra hours of work to better serve the students' needs. Ms. Schulte needs to take a long, hard look at who she put in place to oversee teachers and why good teachers are being forced to leave or leave of their own volition. Of course, this means she would have to stay in her office and do her job.

Seems to me taxpayers are the ones who have been kept in the dark for decades on ALL school personnel pay and benefits.. until its time to foot the bill.
My employer hasn't given raises in 2 years. My husband's health insurance is costing more for less coverage. That's a fairly common reality for most of us, and its time school staff shared in that reality.
As for good teachers leaving, we've heard that threat for the last 3 years at least. If there was that much greener grass elsewhere, I suspect all the 'top teachers' would already be gone. And who's to say that the replacements won't be even better?
Finally, those parents who are truly worried about 'good teachers' leaving the district still have the option to provide the very best teacher possible for their children.. they can homeschool them!

Act 10 does not allow a place for teachers to "negotiate" So it's impossible for them to have a seat at the table... Period.
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Teachers are allowed to make their desires known... This they are doing.
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Of course there is uncomfortable anticipation as folks await the decision that will make up the handbook. The Janesville district board and adminsitration has NOT built a reputation of a trustworthy group..... Nor has the teachers union.
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There is no way for this to be easy folks. The entire process does depend on the wisdom of the board and administration... They have a chance to implement ACT 10 (which they must do) with a sensitive result... This is what I'm hoping for.

Things are changing for everyone. The huge pay and benefit packages are not sustainable when the taxpayer has taken even deeper cuts.

Teachers are doing something. They are leaving. Several of our top Teacher's of the Year have left or plan to leave this year. And, for the record, that is not a rumor. It's the truth!

The goal of teachers has been to line their pockets with as much pay and as many benefits as possible. This is not a common goal with the taxpayers. Time for change is here. They should not be at the trough (table) any longer.

The schools belong to the community, not to the school board or adminisration. Teachers should be allowed a spot at the table in creating the handbook - in cooperation with those that are creating it. Allowing comments is not allowing debate and inclusion in the process. As a community, we need to ask for more transparency in this process, and that we work in collaboration with teachers. We have a common goal.