On Should the Janesville city council allow Rotary Gardens to charge admission?
Posted on August 23 at 11:08 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
If an admission charge is to maintain, I am totally against it. If they have plans to expand and improve, I would support it. It's far too small and unimpressive as is to justify any kind of admission. Market it better as a reception/wedding garden if maintenance costs are the issue.
On Workers say union no longer effective
Posted on August 1 at 6:35 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I will shop at Woodman's regardless of it's union status. Yes, the workers are generally unfriendly and unhelpful, but so am I. As long as the prices and selection remain, I will be pushing that huge red cart around Woodman's for two hours every couple of weeks.
On Teen pleads innocent in drunken-driving death
Posted on June 12 at 9:09 a.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
On Whose money? Question stalls teacher talks
Posted on February 17 at 4:54 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Alright already! A school board member finally sticks his neck out and tries to defend JSD's position. The tide of public sentiment must be finally turning against you because those of us who have been reading and posting on this issue since articles have been published have wanted questions answered. First, let me preface the rest of this post by saying I am not a teacher.
First, I want to know why the JSD is demanding that the teachers pay a monthly health care premium. This is not the norm in most districts. Put on top of that, only 80% of everything is paid, and isn't there a co-pay as well? It seems like a terrible offer all the way around. Especially with a budget surplus.
Second, teachers are required to pay for classes to maintain their license, correct? Is the district reimbursing them? No, they are not. I work a glorified factory job(NOT GM), and I get tuition reimbursement. What do these classes cost? About $1,000 or there abouts? Isn't it S.O.P. to cover these costs in many districts?
It is my opinion and the opinion of many taxpayers/parents who I discuss this issue with that allowing any government entity to operate with a large surplus is inherently a bad idea. Surpluses never last long without someone figuring out a way to spend it. So my question to you, Mr. Sodemann, is this: How do you(and I mean YOU collectively)plan on spending this surplus?
Finally, a word of caution: I lived in a district that wouldn't pay teachers. What it became was a training academy for new teachers who would stay a year or two then move on to higher paying districts or quit altogether. The drop-out rate was awful, and in turn property crime shot up. I fear if you continue with your poor decision making, you will likely be re-elected for being "fiscally responsible", but at what cost?
So, Mr. Sodemann, defend your position. And not with numbers that can't be verified by an independent source. There's a bunch of us taxpayers/parents who need convincing that losing teachers is "fiscally responsible".
Posted on February 5 at 4:59 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I think it's cool when you hear from a student who doesn't feel that teacher protests are taking away from them, but rather TEACHING them the correct way to protest and have your position heard in a democratic society. Well said, prizefighterinferno.
Posted on February 5 at 3:09 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
wisconsinheat: I whole-heartedly agree with your statement that there are two sides to this issue, but the impression I get from reading posts any time a new article is written is that most people believe the districts' version of the truth. I'm apparently one of the few who don't believe that "giving back" some money (which was a result of teachers being vigilant about health care) was out of the goodness of their hearts. Seems kinda fishy right before they offer a crappy contract that they knew teachers were going to be up in arms about, don't you think? Being a concerned taxpayer, I always doubt a entity whose sole purpose is to figure out how to spend money with little or no oversight(sorry school board). Let's see what the operational and administrative costs of the district are and start there with cuts before we start whacking teaching positions and programs again. One final thing, get off their backs about protesting. We've spilled blood for that right.
On School board considers spending some savings
Posted on February 5 at 2:39 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
I seriously think I'm going to puke. The school district is offering teachers a 2 percent raise, making them pay for premiums and co-pays, cutting jobs like elementary school music teachers, paying some dude $120,000 to manage a program nobody uses, pretending to give back money that was a result of teachers being vigilant about health care costs, and suddenly it's "Well,what about this money? Can't just have this laying around not getting spent"??? I think someone finally suggested cutting some administrative positions. If we allow the JSD to continue to operate with huge surpluses with little to no oversight(sorry school board members, your job is oversight and you're failing miserably), it won't be long before there suddenly is no surplus. The district must be run leaner with more transparency. Just one final question,who is projecting enrollment decline and where is the basis for that projection?
On Teachers' union tries new approach
Posted on January 24 at 10:24 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
If the JEA membership accepts this contract, I will never post my support for higher teacher pay ever again. Let me set the facts as I understand them. If I'm wrong, someone please help me out. First, the district is self-insured with a surplus over a million dollars(this not a operation surplus, it's money left over after all claims have been paid). Just about contract negotiating time, the district, purely out of the goodness of their hearts and because it was our money to begin with, gives it some of it back to "the people". Not until later(probably 'cause some do-gooder found out and was going to tell) do we find out that at least a third of the money they "gave back" ISN'T EVEN FROM THE INSURANCE FUND IN THE FIRST PLACE! Listen, everyone here is reasonably intelligent. If it looks like poop and smells like poop, it's probably poop. What other motivation could the district possibly have? A million bucks creates a pretty good us(JSD&John Q.)-versus-them-look-how-good we-are-with-your-money scenario. Union truck drivers get 3 percent raises and a better pension. Teachers, do not allow the JSD to operate on huge surpluses. Make them be lean. We as taxpayers need to find out why programs are being cut, and yet we don't hear of district administration positions being eliminated. In my mind, before you eliminate a elementary school music teaching position and my daughter doesn't get a Christmas program, there oughtta be some glorified receptionist(i.e. "Benefits Coodinator") or other pencil pusher who should lose their job. If the JSD really wants to give back to the people, I have a really good idea. For every school program/position that gets eliminated, an administrative position gets eliminated.
Teachers, you are worth more than what you are being offered. Fight the good fight and do not accept this insult of a contract. It is up to us taxpayers to do what should have been done for a long time: make the School District of Janesville transparent and accountable.
On New tactic for teacher talks
Posted on January 2 at 6:16 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Alright, it seems every time there is a new article about the teachers, the idiots come out. nascarfan, you have B.S. in what? Computer science? And you only make 35k as a network engineer? You are either lying or stupid. No one that I know would allow themselves to be paid less than they are worth. What did your education cost you? Tell the truth or don't post. Your online education is betraying you.
Booner, you couldn't be a teacher,so why even comment. Sorry about your job sucking and all, but maybe you should have done better in school then maybe you could have gotten a degree and had the job with more vacation and better pay. Quit whining about your lot in life. The teachers deserve more pay because we couldn't do what most of them do and I for one wouldn't want to.
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On On abortion, Obama running fast from record
Posted on October 10 at 2:38 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Wow. Okay, I have a question. To the people-of-faith-you-killed-a-future-Lincoln(s): if the government bans abortion, what do you plan to do about a million unwanted children each year?
Wait, I already have any easy solution that doesn't require anyone else except the pro-lifers.
Are you willing to adopt a child, regardless of the circumstances of it's conception, and known physical/mental defects? Anyone can have an opinion, but can you stand behind it? Lovestocrap, you willing to adopt one child, without conditions? If so, state your real name and address. Truth1, how about you? Nurse? Bill? Bible? Oh yeah, I forgot, that's a million unwanted children A YEAR, so you may have to agree to adopt more than one.
If any of you post anything other than "I agree and here's my real name and address...", then really all you're doing is pretending to have a belief.
The things I believe in I would die for, fight for, sacrifice everything for.
Are you willing to adopt a child for your beliefs?