In recent weeks, hundreds of WCEA members have signed two petitions: one to recall the current WCEA leadership and a second to put a group of members in place as interim managers to handle the daily operations of the association.
These petitions have now been signed by a majority of WCEA members. As a result, the WCEA leadership has been placed on notice that sufficient signatures have been secured to recall them from office. Pending the recall process, they have been suspended from their positions and the interim managers put into place.
What does this mean for you? The interim managers will take care of the day to day business of the association, including:
· Working to successfully conclude negotiations
· Appointing a review committee to provide due process to the recalled officers
· Appointing an election committee to secure nominations for officers and directors and to conduct an election.
It is the goal of the managers to re-establish a vibrant WCEA that truly reflects the wishes of its members and that works tirelessly to strengthen our association, profession, and public schools.
The interim managers will adhere to the vote of the Representative Assembly on March 19, 2014 regarding the proposed bylaw amendments. Specifically, the body will not consider bylaw amendments to disaffiliate from MSEA/NEA before the end of the 2014-15 school year, if at all. In the interim, we will actively work on establishing an improved relationship and better communication with MSEA/NEA. The Representative Assembly originally scheduled for today will remain cancelled.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact any of the undersigned interim managers. We have full confidence that together we will build a strong WCEA.
Dear WCEA Members:
On April 15, 2014, Gary Hammer et al., entered the WCEA offices, changed the locks and codes, removed or altered office equipment and purported to illegally fire the Association’s only employee. These actions were not taken in accordance with the governing documents of WCEA or in accordance with the law.
The democratically elected leadership of WCEA would like everyone to know that we are continuing to exercise the duties of the office. We will not be bullied and these actions will not affect the business affairs of the Association. Member services, including member representation and contract negotiations with the Wicomico County Board of Education, will continue unchanged. Further, this attempt to subvert the democratic process will not succeed: on April 28th and 29th, the Association’s vote on Bylaws changes will proceed, and members will be able to decide for themselves whether to become self-governing.
Sincerely,
Kelly Stephenson, WCEA President, and the WCEA Board of Directors
77 comments:
Education another big boondoggle of waste fraud and abuse of taxpayer funds...too top heavy ..too many chiefs not enough indians....a bunch off over educated PHD morons...
Kelly Stephenson is a joke and has done more harm to teachers than anything else. So glad we ousted her. Don't let the door hit you...
Sounds to me as if the BULLYING was STOPPED by Mr. Hammer and the members of the WCEA have acknowledged their support of Mr. Hammers objectives with their signatures on the said petitions!
Way to go Gary! Wicomico County teachers and teachers across the nation need to organize and stand against the tyranny of the liberal establishment that is lowering educational standards and destroying the very essence of discipline in schools.
NO TO COMMON CORE! And NO to political correct B.S.
Wow! I'm just wondering where Gary Hammer had been? I have not seen his name on any ballot. Why not run for president of the association then, Gary, since you have seemed to be better qualified?
Hammer is a nutjob
5:59, you need to do your homework before you run your mouth. There is no more liberal groups in Maryland than tthe msea and they are pulling Gary's strings. He is a puppet. Msea if forcing big city unions down our throats and gary and the other moots are helping them as hard as they can. Dont worry wicomico Annapolis will tell you what to do because you are definitely not smart enough to run yourselves
I am a very concerned member and would like to voice my opinion. After listening to MSEA and WCEA I sat down to decipher all of the information. The questions we had for MSEA were answered but not answered.....if you catch my drift. They said if WCEA needed support they would give it. I know for a fact that support was requested on different matters, and the board of directors was met with discord from MSEA leadership. WCEA has kept the course. Their answers haven't differed. The bottom line is, MSEA is a business. They are about to lose a half-a-million dollar client. Ask yourself, if you were a business owner and were about to lose a half-a-million dollar client, how would you treat your client? You certainly wouldn't resort to bullying and threats. So after MSEA's visit to my school and reading all the information posted, I have made up my mind. Personally I don't think they have as many signatures as they claim they have. The petition was worded in a confusing manner. Some members signed it and didn't realize what they had signed and did ask to have their names removed once it was explained to them. Bottom line, let the entire membership have a say as to whether or not to remain associated with MSEA. Personally I feel that Kelly has done a great job representing all members. Please remember that all of the officers, school reps, and committees members are volunteers. They work all day and spend hours supporting the association's efforts that are trying to make education better for our students and working conditions for the members. If you think that you can do a better job then sign up to run for office, a school rep, or even a committee.
Disaffiliate with the state and the nation organization. Education needs to be put back on the local level.
Could Ron Pagano and Pretl be behind this coup?
much ado about.........nothing
So this is what the big man does when the little man tries to take a stand. I have listened to both sides. When MSEA speaks,it sounds great, but then when I think back to what they said it was more attacks than actually answering questions. What does the WCEA local leaders have to gain from this. Nothing except offering a choice to their members. Aren't they teachers in the county just like the members. I am wondering where Gary Hammer was while the rest of the WCEA leadership was going through the process of gathering information for its members. My fear is that MSEA has filled so many with so much fear that they are not acting in the best interest of us the members. Yesterday I would have said I was on the fence about which way to vote, now I know. What will MSEA do with the new leadership when they disagree with something. This is actually pretty scary that an organization can be part of another and when they try to explore breaking away the outside organization takes over the local one.
6:24.....People should not comment on things that hey have no idea about. The letter above clearly states that Gary and these other people are only "interim managers" until there are elections held.
7:02....Also, I signed those petitions and if you think the petitions were "worded in a confusing manner" .....then you are just a moron. I hope you are NOT an educator for Wicomico County.
Im with 7:36...part II...and START A school voucher system ...
What are you talking about? First of all there are 2 6:24's, one saying he is a nut job and the other stating maybe he "should" put his name on the ballot since he is so qualified!!
One of the biggest issues here is simply that Kelly Stephenson is a nasty troublemaker. The WCEA/MSEA issue is almost a separate issue; Stephenson is just the wrong person for her position at WCEA.
"This is actually pretty scary that an organization can be part of another and when they try to explore breaking away the outside organization takes over the local one."
This is how unions operate. When they smell the money may be leaving their pots they start with the strongarm tactics.
I say go on strike.
Hmmmm...if it is such a good thing to disaffiliated why don't the other 23 counties do it. Just saying.
8:53 you are right. WCEA is trying to get away from the big city union thugs. And they are getting nasty about losing money, and showing others that they are not needed.Also there are a lot of people that don't like Kelly Stephenson but the truth is NO ONE wanted the job. She ran unopposed because no one else would step up and do the job. Also Gary Hammer and Stefanie Lewis voted to remove the MSEA uniserve director from the negotiating team because of a lack of confidence in his ability. Now they want him to represent the WCEA members? Did he suddenly get qualified or did Annapolis tell them to endorse their agenda? We do not need a union from annapolis to tell us how to run our association. We need to disaffiliate, elect new directors and reps, and then re visit the annapolis affiliation to see if it is good for education in wicomico county. In any event, the membership vote has to go on as scheduled. If msea stops the vote it will prove that they don't care about anything but their own agenda and are using wcea members to help them deceive us.
Bottom line is;
GOOD TEACHERS STAND ON MERIT ALONE AND DO NOT NEED A UNION OR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. They need a board of education with logic and guts to stand up for them.
Money corrupts.
9:03- there was a time when msea affiliation meant you had more of a voice. but now that time has passed. msea has become nothing more than an ultra liberal political organization and they are using our money to get their liberal candidates elected.the other counties are also getting tired of the msea annapolis shuffle. what would be wrong with us leading the charge to bring back local education. and also do you think we should be like pg county? aacounty? mongomery county? No. We are wicomico county and we are smart enough to know what we need here.
Gary Hammer is a class act! He is pro student.....pro colleague and pro education.........thank you Mr. Hammer:)
Ms. Stephenson...et al. .....you have the signatures in your possession...and there are a couple hundred more on the way....already waiting...your colleagues understand your shenanigans!!!!!....:) they have spoken as a collective group....please protest further so you force our hand to share your corruption with the public:):)...please continue to fabricate....please....please:):)
The only reason Ms. Stephenson was elected is because no one else would run. Many were asked and none had time. After this fiasco, everyone will and everyone will step up.
Quit posting Mary Lou, Kelly and Dave. .....just take a break...relax...the truth will set us all free:):):)...and it has today!!!!!
If Ms. Stephenson is so bad then why don't you run for president and win the position. I would love to see someone other than her and Dave White as directors, but you lazy, mouthy liberals do nothing but complain about what others do. Why aren't you running? And for you math majors, a couple of hundred signatures is not a majority when there are around 1300 WCEA members. Let's get the membership vote done and see what the members want. Are you afraid of letting the whole membership vote? If msea stops the vote, you know they are as corrupt as we have been saying. If you empower those libtards you will never be in charge of your own future again. you cannot go back once you screw it up and let someone else run your life.
I went to Kelly with several questions about disaffiliation. I didn't get any straight answers. In fact I think that one question was answered with an out-and-out lie. The vice-president, Mary Lou Coffin, lied at the building rep meeting about MSEA not supporting her with an issue, when in fact she chose not to pursue the issue when others wanted to try and help her. It was Kelly's petition to begin the disaffiliation process that was confusing and misrepresented, THEN she refused to show us who signed it. This has been a mess and I believe the biggest mess from the ousted leadership may yet to be uncovered.
"Anonymous said...
Ms. Stephenson...et al. .....you have the signatures in your possession...and there are a couple hundred more on the way....already waiting...your colleagues understand your shenanigans!!!!!....:) they have spoken as a collective group....please protest further so you force our hand to share your corruption with the public:):)...please continue to fabricate....please....please:):)
April 16, 2014 at 10:02 PM"
Oh you are real credible. If you are saying this lady is corrupt and if she keeps it up you are going to expose her then you are the scum of the earth. Expose her now! Tax payers have a right to know if someone who they are paying is corrupt, And if you know and don't expose it, you are the worst kind of person there is. Take yourself and your bribery somewhere else.
Hello Mary Lou Coffin.....LOL
Unbelievable 10:02. You are aware of "corruption" and if this group stops their "shenanigans" you won't expose it.
This speaks volumes as to your level of dishonesty, your lack of morals, integrity and principles. In your disturbed mind it's okay to have corruption within our schools as long as everyone is towing the line.
Gary a 40 year educator and many other educators stand behind our students and colleagues.So tired of baboons speaking without knowledge! Thank you Hammer!!!!!
This is not and should not be a battle of "he said, she said". These tactics (breaking & entering, slander, commandeering a structure, etc.) are not conducive to mature decisions by educated people.
This is an opportunity for teachers and school employees to look at the facts, to make a side-by-side comparison of the choices offered by each program presented. That decision needs to benefit not just the members but the students, the education programs in Wicomico County and the future of our schools. That decision should not be made emotionally based on people- preferences but solely based on the better program for the betterment of schools, our students, and the outcome and livelihood of Wicomico County.
Give your employees all the facts, from both sides to they can make a fair and democratic decision based on research, details and the experience of other groups.
Once the members choose the better program, then they can choose the best people to run it. Choose your people that can run your program, not your program based on your people.
We the people , have paid their salaries for years , we have been pushed out of the way to decide our kids future. WTF is going here. The entire country a union of sorts!
as a parent I had dealings with ms Stephenson many years ago. I was appalled wico co would let someone of such low moral values and such lack if intelligence and courtesy along with any semblance of common sense have anything to do with young impressionable boys and girls. What a real piece of crap this person is! I've seen rats with more socially redeeming values!
you want to talk about being corrupt! I want to know who called the insurance company posing as Kelly trying to cancel the BOD insurance! The BOD paid for that insurance out of their own pockets! Now that is corrupt!
The liberals are crying "Democratically elected" board and so on. That means, elected by an uninformed, proagandized, voting pool that had the wool pulled over their eyes. In this case teachers, but they wised up and are collectively doing something about it so they don't get STUCK with an OBAMA! This is a mirror image of local, state and national political election tactics used by Democrats and socialists. LIE to the electorate, feed the people propaganda and deception to falsely engage their trust to win.
This is just another episode of proof that you cannot TRUST liberals and Socialist union types and the teachers realize that now!
Go Hammer! Nail them into the ground! Defeat those commies!!
So if WCEA goes at it alone and lets say a problem occurs that costs the union hundreds of thousands in legal and other fees. How long until the local, go at it alone union is bankrupt? Maybe they get insurance for such things. An insurance company will drop them in a second if they have to cover a big loss and then good luck getting insurance on your own. Seems to me that there is strength in numbers and being affiliated with a national organization. There has been nothing but problems since Ms. Stephenson took office. I'm sure there are issues with MSEA, but I feel much safer under the protection of millions of state and national members rather than 1,300 locals lead by an unstable person.
I get daily emails from WCEA about breaking away from MSEA. So, tell me who is trying to be the bully? This was all a big secret until Mr. Hammer exposed what the leadership was planning. I didn't get a chance to sign the petition, but you can bet that I would have in a heartbeat.
Hammer is a good educator. He has taught many children for many years and done a great job. But what makes you think that because he has been a good teacher that he should be able to get into bed with a large liberal political union and cram it down the throats of the teachers of wicomico county? This is not about kelly and gary. this is about the teachers and students of wicomico county wanting to control their own destiny. msea is a group of political bullies and they are FORCING their agenda on the people of wicomico county.google fair share act and see what WILL happen to all teachers and support staff in wicomico county if you allow msea to bully and deceive their way into our pockets. those of you that don't want to belong to the union will be forced to pay union dues wether you want to or not. how about common core? who is allowing that mess to go on in maryland? that's right it's msea. don't think for a minute that msea has your best interest in mind, they are a political group that demands we pay them so they can move their agenda forward. they want us to think this is about kelly and gary so they can keep us from seeing the real issue, "freedom from unions". We must have the full membership vote to see where the members want to go. a petition only tells us what a few want to do, not the majority of the membership. let us vote and we will see what the membership wants. if the vote is stopped, we will know just how corrupt msea is and what a huge mistake gary and his crew have made. if fair share passes you can thank gary hammer for screwing every teacher in wicomico county.
Exactly 6:20. If they don't obey like good little slaves AND attempt to cause a rebellion the harassment, intimidation, smear party begins. like has happened above (10:02.)
It's not anything new for local associations to break away from the state and national affiliations (unions.) It happens in all professions with no ill effects.
Above mentions lawsuits. That's overblown I think. More often than not you hear where the state/national associations (unions) run away when needed/asked/requested to underwrite any lawsuits, unless it's something high profile and they think it will make them look good in the public eye.
That would be a good area to research because the lawsuit card is always played when disaffiliation is mentioned.
Anyone esp those directly involved with the school systems who agrees with Common Core have their head up their butt. According to omally MD Schools are #1. If this is true, they who in their right mind would want to alter the course of what's successful so far?
I mean, you can't get any better than #1 in the nation can you?
Parents and others who disagree with CC, need to look those who want it in the eye and ask them why should MD change the way they are doing things since it's been so successful.
Anyone who agrees with Common Core is nothing more than a useful idiot for the liberals.
Assuming that MD does have the top schools in the nation, why change what's being done? While there is always room for improvements, they should be done in baby steps and not change the entire process. It defies common sense.
The prudent thing to do, and I would expect any and all "educators" to know this, would be to let other states adopt the program, then if it is such a success bring it to MD.
Anyone who thinks msea has our best interest in mind has NEVER had to hear them berate wcea because we didn't want to push for fair share or spend enough time and money campaigning for the candidates they told us to support. Take the blinders off people and don't listen to either side. please make decisions based on facts. google msea and see how much money they spend each year on political campaigns. see who is pushing for fair share.see who is pushing for common core. see who they endorse in recent elections. do the research yourself and stop listening to the bullies on both sides. THEN- get you ass out there and vote for new directors that can run this thing like the members want. let the members vote and keep wicomico counties business in wicomico county. and the one whos afraid of the million dollar lawsuit. please grow up
On March 19th the building reps voted to table this issue for a year to gather relevant data and consider it properly. There seemed to be too many unanswered questions. Considering we're in the middle of negotiating a new contract this seemed like a prudent thing to do. The motion passed, but THE NEXT MORNING Kelly sent an email announcing that there would be an electronic all-member vote at the end of April. This is not the procedure as outlined in our by-laws. The majority of members I've talked to have questioned why this has to be done RIGHT NOW and why so quickly? It became obvious to many that several top leaders have pushed an agenda here and have worked to make this happen REGARDLESS of what the membership think. They claim that membership should decide this but no wide-spread discussion had occurred until changes to the by-laws were proposed and slated to be voted on. In the past we have participated in membership-wide electronic surveys to poll opinion but not this time on something as important as this. Why? When Gary Hammer sent a county-wide email alerting the membership to the issue Kelly sent a letter to Dr. Frederickson requesting that a "gag order" be issued to Gary and asking that MSEA not be allowed to enter schools to provide information. There's only been bullying from the WCEA leadership. The original petition to start this process was originated by them and signed by 16 unknown individuals. They refused to show that petition and when they finally did all the names were covered over. For the past several months they have worked closely with a lawyer from Michigan whose career has centered on breaking up unions and getting rid of collective bargaining. The local lawyer they've been working with has sent legal opinions on the matter with stationery from another prominent anti-labor group. I was on the fence myself until I did some research and listened to both sides. What swayed me most was not necessarily what was said but the manner in which the parties operated. The WCEA leadership was vague and often evasive in answering questions. Their tactics seemed underhanded and not in the genuine interest of the membership. They attacked and smeared anyone who even questioned what they were doing. To rally around them as "local people with our best interests" is misguided. Don't take my word for it. Don't just take anyone's word. Get involved and find out for yourself what has happened and what is happening. It won't take you long to come to the same decisions I have.
This should not be about two people and who,can tear down the other . Everyone on both sides are educators , except MSEA,. If MSEA feels the members don't want an independent local union and prefer to be part of the state union, then why not just let them get the facts and vote. Why is so much effort being out on smearing volunteers rather than gathering information. As a. Member I want to know who took over the building and is gaining access to my personal information?
It seems we are always in negotiations. 8:54. Wouldn't it make sense to just make sense to decide in elections who will run WCEA. Elections are this year. Only a couple Board of Directors aren't up for reelection. Then the new leadership can decide the future of WCEA, not MSEA.
Did you know that Kelly and Dr Frederickson were botb opposed to the common core curriculum? And MSEA decided to go with it because of the amount of $ they would be getting from politicians in Annapolis. No one can possibly know how awful MSEA is...until they try to get help/support from them. If you didn't realize all thats has been wrong with MSEA for years, then be thankful that you didn't need them recently.
appears to me this is a fight among the liberals over who is going to be running things. Cause you surely can't tell me Kelly Stephenson's is a conservative or lives a conservative lifestyle!
MSEA are educators. In fact, the current president of the MSEA is a teacher that lives in Chestertown.
10:13 PM - More than 700 members of the WCEA signed the petitions. That's well over half the membership.
No one was bullied into signing anything. A majority of the members of the WCEA signed their names saying they want Stephenson et.al. out as a result of actions she and and a few other officers have taken in secret and for ignoring votes of the representatives of the schools.
Go back and read Ms. Stephenson's emails and tell me if they read like something written by someone fit to lead.
Dam! This sounds like the Koch Brothers agenda.
IT WAS DECIDED BY WCEA MEMBERS. An overwhelming majority signed petitions to remove these people and replace them. Members signed the petitions and members make up the interim board which will operate until the new contract is in place (before July 1) and elections will be held for a new board and officers. Gary's email laid it out pretty well.
This of this analogy when deciding whether to be for or against it.
You must keep in mind the Omalley mantra that Md schools are the best in the country.
Supposed you needed heart surgery to live. A surgeon has been performing a procedure that would correct your problem. His success is astounding, making him the number 1 heart surgeon in the nation. Would anyone allow him to experiment on them, using some new untried procedure? No they would not so why would any educator or anyone involved with the schools want to experiment on the children who are our most valuable resource?
Anyone who cares about children and their future is not going to use them as guinea pigs. There is no gray area.
The thing that no one has mentioned here and was the most important factor for me was the potential loss of our contract. If the WCEA disaffiliates then the current contract is void and an election would be held to see who the exclusive bargaining unit will be. Since the current legally designated bargaining unit is "WCEA/MSEA/NEA" that entity will no longer exist after disaffiliation and our contract will be void. We would have to start from scratch. Kelly keeps arguing that this isn't true but there are several places in the labor section of COMAR regulations that say otherwise. Kelly herself indicated such in a letter to the BOE several years ago. Before everyone retreats to their respective conservative/liberal camps and lobs insults at each other do yourselves a favor and find out the facts for yourself.
Well if WCEA's current BOD kept things covered up then why is their site full of information?
Both sides need to back off and let them membership vote. I think that enough information has been distributed to the schools from both sides. This issue should be decided by the membership!
circle the wagons --it is election year and all of the Kings Horses and all of the King's Men must fall in line to put Humpty Dumpty back up on his Wall --either you are with us or against us... I need some more cliches
10:33 REALLY?!?!? Wrong.
MSEA has nothing to do with the contract and negotiations. WCEA has exclusive bargaining rights, NOT MSEA. The contract would NOT be void.
Your contract isn't going anywhere. That is MSEA's bullying tactics. Do you not think that MSEA has contacted the BOE's lawyer and bullied them into not saying anything for or against this entire action? Think again.
It's sad that this has turned into a comic strip about Kelly, Gary, Dave, Stefanie and the others. The teachers of Wicomico county are about to lose big time. Huge wealthy unions are not the answer. I don't even think the vote matters any more because neither side will accept the outcome. Just like the petitions. Petitions need to be verified and found to be accurate by a third party. This would take months and MSEA knows it. That is why they planned the hostile takeover asap. We have lost our organization. Don't think for a minute that fair share isn't already on the "new" boards agenda. It is high on the priority list of MSEA, and now they will push the "new and improved" WCEA to follow their orders. The full membership vote should still go forward, and if they actually had as many signatures as they say then disaffiliation will be a dead issue. But until every member has an honest vote we will never know the truth. How about it Gary? How about it MSEA? will the vote still go forward? Please tell us so all of us members know for sure we are not being lied to by either side. At this point I feel that I will most likely buy my own liability insurance for $125.00 a year and say goodbye to both of you. If I get a bill for the $600.00 dollar fair share tax after I quit I promise you I will file a class action lawsuit against anyone that helped MSEA steal Eastern Shore money and buy politicians with it. And by the way, I don't like Gary or Kelly and wish they would both go away. One thing I am curious about is the fact that Gary is about to retire and will no longer be able to be a WCEA member. So what's his deal? Maybe he's just a hero. I guess we'll see.
No one has any proof that our contract is going anywhere. If you have real proof, please submit it.
Do your job correctly and you won't have worry about any union protecting you.
Go online and check the contract. It reads: " Entered this 25th day of June, 2013 between the Board of Education of Wicomico County and the Wicomico County Education Association, Inc. This Agreement shall become effective July 1, 2013, and as amended, effective July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2016." This took about 30 seconds to find on the WCBOE website. There is no mention of MSEA!
I thought Kelly Stephenson was a man??
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Did you know that Kelly and Dr Frederickson were botb opposed to the common core curriculum? And MSEA decided to go with it because of the amount of $ they would be getting from politicians in Annapolis. No one can possibly know how awful MSEA is...until they try to get help/support from them. If you didn't realize all thats has been wrong with MSEA for years, then be thankful that you didn't need them recently.
April 17, 2014 at 9:36 AM
No we didn't know that. Please prove it instead of trying to make us believe it because you said so anonymously.
Chuck Cook said...
Dam! This sounds like the Koch Brothers agenda.
April 17, 2014 at 10:22 AM
Only a liberal socialist Obama lover like Chuck Cook would write this.
4:42 pm that may have once been true but in today's sue-happy society there is no telling what some crazy parent might accuse you of. That said I am willing to take my chances and drop my union membership because frankly there is just too much drama for me.
1:53 I couldn't agree more. I'll just get my insurance on my own and let MSEA run the show. I can't wait for Sept 1- 15, 2014 to drop my membership. I could use the raise in my paycheck.
If you drop your MSEA/NEA insurance, you'll be getting a liability policy that only does reimburesment - YOU pay all costs, out of pocket, and then hope the insurance company reimburses you. And if you get charged with assault for breaking up a fight, it doesn't matter if you're found not guilty, no other policy will cover you for that.
The MSEA/NEA policy doesn't have out-of-pocket costs if you use MSEA lawyers. And they're good - I've seen them in action. That's who I'd want next tome in court, not some local yahoo.
Oh what a tangled web we weave , when first we practice to deceive.
With all the problems this county has with the public education system , is this a diversion of some sorts to Frederickson off the hot seat?
If so , he had a good teacher , Obama.
well good. about time people started waking up around here and taking action.
I'd like to see proof that the superintendent opposed Common Core. Anyone who saw the happiness expressed about Race to the Top funds did not conclude there was opposition. Of course it's been said that RTTP has cost the county millions beyond what we received. Our county had to get away from No Child Left Behind because some groups of our students were testing so poorly they were not coming anywhere near targeted achievement. It is highly doubtful there was opposition to leaving NCLB.
real telling how Union activists attack..attack..attack to control the narrative.. I have no respect for anything related to them
MSEA are educators?? My Wife teaches and says her colleagues routinely spend their days assigning busy work for the students while they text on their Smartphones all day. Must be answering Union e-mails. She says they do what they want to do and will file grievances if they are challenged. They fool nobody
Lmao at 10 am. ever seen her? sure dresses like one!
I have read through the other comments posted on this issue. I can't help but think that part of the problems with our educational system might just be the teachers. Not that our teachers aren't educated and trained but the expectation that you treat each other (especially those of opposing views)like dirt. You cry about students lack of respect for you, but look at how little you respect the efforts of others in your field. Attacking Kelly personally, slurs about her sexual orientation, calling her a liar, suggesting she is unfit to teach. All because she dares to explore options that haven't been taken seriously for decades. I think it's a real shame that the lack of understanding concerning how your organization operates leads most of you to believe that Kelly makes all the calls. Then again, most of you probably don't pay enough attention to care until now. What is even more disappointing is that I know quite a few tenured teachers in this county and you shouldn't be throwing rocks at glass houses.Kelly has been a solid teacher, leading not only in the classroom but also seen as the obvious choice to head the special ed department. Kelly is no slacker. What I really see on here is a lot of childish comments by people who are all "anonymous", it's easy to sucker punch someone in the dark. Kelly Stephenson doesn't hide from the hard work and she has proven that she's willing to stand up on behalf of her group, that's leadership. No matter which side of the fence you're on, don't be one of those with a "choose civility" bumper sticker and then resort to personal attacks instead of sticking to the issue. I expect more from my county's teachers. I happen to be a supporter of some of your issues but some of the comments on here about Kelly are not professional, they're personal and that's pathetic. I don't do anonymous, my name is Mark Stephenson. Kelly is my sister and I'm proud of her and the stand she has taken.
I am in no way affiliated with any of this. I would just like to ask a question. This disaffiliation vote is about a week away. Why not just wait for the vote to fail if it's clear the majority is against it? What was so urgent it could not wait a week that would warren Mr. Hammer's actions?
Please refer to Hammer using his preferred name and style, "J. Gary Hammer."
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