Where is the MONEY??
9:54 a.m. - 2004-12-12
This updating every ten days thing is really pathetic. I have plenty of time to write here, but after reading everyone else's journals, perusing the rest of the 'net for an hour (or two), and then having my computer inexplicably shut down right in the middle of an entry, I just say to hell with it and give up.
It's been a relatively sedate weekend. Yesterday I accompanied my mother to the wedding of a young girl who I've known for years. She's only eighteen, and it seems like just yesterday I was watching her trot around barrels at the 4-H shows on her little black pony. I wish the best for her, but eighteen is just too damn young to get married.
From there it was over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we went. Sat and talked with both grandparents for a while, graciously accepted the copious amounts of food that she shoved into my arms (didn't have to cook last night!), and then made our way back home.
There's a huge buzz going on at work, and happenings on Friday were quite interesting. Last year the parish passed a half-cent sales tax solely for extra teacher pay, and this summer they tacked on another half-cent. Because of the additional tax, our checks were supposed to double this time around.
But they didn't. And man, oh MAN, there are some seriously pissed off educators demanding to know where that extra money went. Rumor has it that two of the other schools in the parish staged walk-outs on Friday, and we were thinking of striking on Monday. However, a meeting was called Friday after school, and everyone agreed that the most professional thing to do would be to give the School Board a few days to get their story (and our money) straight. If nothing has been resolved by Thursday, then we're striking on Friday. It's kind of exciting, actually. I mean, it's not imperative for me to get the extra money, but it would definitely be nice. Some of the other faculty members are in a much more difficult situation, though, because they've already spent that money. If the circumstances were different, I'd say they were foolish to spend something that they didn't already have in their checkbook, but we were ASSURED by the highest up school board person that we'd be getting double what we got last year.
And we're talking about a couple hundred dollars, either. The check that I got was for $1,700, but should have been $3,400. There's a hell of a lot of difference. And this doesn't just affect the teachers. The janitors, the bus drivers, the cafeteria workers, the paraprofessionals, and the aides were all included in the deal.
To make matters even more infuriating, no one at the SB has an answer to our questions. After god only knows how many complaints, they eventually stopped answering the phones or responding to emails at the central office. The LA Association of Educators has come in to assist us, and from what I understand about that organization, they're not going to take this lying down. I've been meaning to join (it's like the teacher's union), but haven't gotten around to it. Now I really wish I had.
I'll do my best to keep everyone informed as the week progresses. Only five more school days until I'm out on break!