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Pete's
Pitch
By Peter A. Tirri,
President
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New Year's Pot Pourri
As the new year begins, there are lots of things to talk
about, and so I'll try my hand this month at sharing some
tiny, maybe tasty, tidbits of information in the hope that
some may be enlightened, some amused, and fewer
confused.
It has been announced that Early Childhood Director Dr.
Anna De Molli has retired from the school system. Or maybe
she just resigned. That part of the story is, at best,
unclear. What is clear is that Dr. De Molli like so many
other members of the "ugly culture" of Paterson worked every
day to make things better for the children of Paterson.
P.E.A. may not have agreed with her all of the time, but we
never thought she was here in order to raise her salary or
pension. She was unceremoniously dumped from her Assistant
Superintendent's position by the Glascoe administration and
yet remained in the district doing everything in her power
to make the Early Childhood program a success.
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John F. Kennedy High School continues its downward spiral
as staff members complain about the situation there. The
Torch, Kennedy's school newspaper, reports that students
continue to voice their objections to the 20-minute lunch
periods, the violence and vandalism evident in the school,
and the lack of discipline. Imagine how bad it must be if
the students are complaining about a lack of discipline! As
we have said a million times before, this is another
indication that the vast majority of our students want to
come to school, enjoy being in our schools, and want to
learn. It is also evident that many are afraid of the
current situation and are calling out for real solutions.
Instead, the status quo remains in place.
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And speaking of needed change, one of the requests voiced
to the P.E.A. for JFK was additional funds for metal
detectors and security cameras for the school. It was
indicated to the Association that both would help in
establishing an enhanced feeling of safety and security, not
only for the students, but for the staff as well. The
Glascoe/Rush administration has said it has no money for
such items. The cameras, we have been told, would cost
approximately $31,500. It seems hard to imagine that the
administration could not find that sum of money in a budget
of over $500 million, doesn't it?
After just a couple of years in the system, Deirdre
Simon, assistant superintendent of schools, has announced
her retirement from the Paterson system. She will leave
effective February 1, we have been told. Postings for her
replacement went out two months ago, and the rumors about
who will be appointed are swirling around the district.
We're sure that whoever is appointed will bring a tremendous
wealth of knowledge and expertise about the field of
education based upon a career of successful classroom
teaching.
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And by the way, while we make no judgment as to whether
or not the Glascoe/Rush administration actually needs to
fill Ms. Simon's position, P.E.A. has suggested that the
appointment be delayed until July 1. The money that would
be "saved" on that salary could then be used for … yup
… the metal detectors (and maybe some cameras too) for
JFK!!! Wow! What a concept.
**********
When asked why staff members are not submitting Class
Coverage Compensation Claims, the general response is a fear
of retaliation by the administration, including being one of
the innumerable victims of involuntary transfers by the
Glascoe/Rush administration. It is beyond the realm of
imagination that anyone would believe that anything as basic
as CCC would be the basis for such heavy-handed retaliation.
There just couldn't be a reasonable explanation why the
administration would care so much about this issue is there?
Unless, of course, they're trying to get money for more
administrators on the backs of the workers! Nah, couldn't
be.
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But then again, you never know. This administration has
done a lousy job of providing the "Tools of the trade" to
its staff. When staff members swarm to Staples to buy paper
because they have none, when pencils, pens, file folders and
markers are at a premium; when staff members are
micro-managed to the extent that they are told how the
height of their writing on bulletin boards must be, I guess
anything's possible, huh?
And so it goes …
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