Re: School Levy

["Bruce and Jean Livingston" <jeanlivingston@turbonet.com>]

I have been inclined to support the school levy and probably still am,
despite this distubing note from John Danahy:

    The district currently pays for 4000 sub days.  That is the equivalent
of more than 4 weeks per full time certified position.  Or 11% of the time
your child spends in class is with a sub.  Cutting the sub days by 50% would
provide enough funds to pay for the Junior High Teams with funds left over
for the reserves.  Yet, we are not being asked to support 4000 sub days, we
are being threatened with the loss of the Junior High Teams.  Why?

Can someone enlighten us on this?  I find it impossible to believe that this
information is correct and that every full-time teacher is taking time off
in this order of magnitude.  Could it be that sub days are authorized in
this obscene amount but not used?  Certainly, most employers give their
employees something on the order of a week or two of sick days per year.
Four weeks of sick days in a nine month year seems grossly high and a likely
target for concessions in a labor contract.