Specifically the negotiations????

I have been involved in the education field since I was in 6th grade, working with the first grade kids. It has been a calling ever since in various ways. At first I thought I wanted to get into juvenile justice because I was on probation as a snotty-assed teenager. Then I thought it would be a bit better to get to the kids BEFORE they got to be that teenaged know-it-all. Ah-ha!!! Education was the answer, AT LEAST I THOUGHT SO UNTIL I ACTUALLY GOT INTO THE CLASSROOM. Anyway, to make this part of the story more succinct, suffice it to say I have a huge amount of experience in the field of education. I was in sixth grade in 1976 so go ahead and do the math.

While running for city council in my newly adopted town, I decided it was time to get back into the field after a five year hiatus, which was precipitated by four unholy and horrendous years in the Cleveland Municipal School District.

I applied and was hired at a school in Cleveland Heights. Neither the city nor the building owners, as well as those businesses surrounding, wanted us there so they ultimately forced us to move. Before this happened, I blew them off for about two months. I was hired in about August or early September but kept putting them off until after the election which was the first week of November. I didn't even call them for weeks at a time, but, when I lost and everything was back to normal, I called and was immediately welcomed aboard as a contractor on a 1099. The 1099 concept, though completely foreign to these fucking idiots, generally means that one is bound only by the job to be completed. These imbeciles thought they could bully people into believing their take, which forced folks to follow their schedule and rules. Every attorney to whom I spoke said the whole idea of an independent contractor, 1099 worker, was that they perform the job but in whatever manner they deemed necessary. No work for no pay. They wanted various things that had no baring on the performance of the job such as CPR, TB test, weekly meetings, etc. I balked at them all and only complied with one because the motherfuckers held my check until I got my CPR certification. It is not a bad thing to have but there is no way it can be considered a requirement in the grand scheme. I suppose it could for a regular employee, but not for a contractor. That's enough background because I think you get what they are all about.

Specifically, I have stayed because I let my license lapse, which, of course has not suddenly negated my knowledge, but has, I guess, made me taboo in the eyes of the great State of Ohio, those are another bunch of fucking jerk-offs. I "negotiated" with the money lady who is so tight you can hear her squeak when she walks. She listens to absolutely nothing. If it was not her idea it is not anything at all. There was a proposal for a new type of unit, not overall but for this school, which I submitted about February of last school year, 06-07. It entailed a smaller sized environment which would serve the "At-Risk" population of High School students. Those with potential but without the social and/or academic skills to function in the "regular" environment. Everyone liked the idea, but, as with everything I have ever seen in the education field, no one let alone. Each person whom got his or her, mostly her, hands on it added more change, which as it now stands is something I would never have agreed to, let alone proposed. In fact, I do not think it has any basis in reality or legality, but, as usual, I digress.

Last year I negotiated for a salary because I am really bad about doing taxes myself. I got the salary but it was so small I had to have it given to me in 10 months instead of 12 so I could pay for my mortgage. I have no benefits or anything with that. (Remember, I have over 17 year's worth of experience which is more than ANYONE else in the building.) This year, they asked me to increase my student load by 3 times and run the program. Last year I was more like a counselor and assistant principal for approximately 40 kids. This year I have a staff of four, but should be at least 8 and over 120 kids so far. Last year my hours were from 8:30 until 3:45 for approximately 185 days. This year they WANTED me to be there from 7:30 until at least 5:30 every day AND work for and extra 37 days WITHOUT a raise. OH, they offered me a raise which was a measly $1300 dollars for the lengthened year which worked out to something like $3 per pay then they offered me $1000.00 over that for the extra 2.5 hours each day which worked out to less than $1 per hour. This is insulting and should make them embarrassed. BUT they are so set in their odd little world that they do not see it as wrong. The pay I would have taken home would have been less than the previous year. In fact, if I had taken them up on their, "generous," offer of 1/2 of health insurance, it would have been so small I could not have even hoped to supplement the income due to ridiculous hours and days. Imagine a mortgage payment of $1200 and figure it out for yourself. It would have been impossible to do anything BUT pay the mortgage. Then there is vehicle, gas, heat, water, electricity and, don't even think I don't need some type of recreation because we all do. What in the FUCK are these dick wads thinking?????

I AM dedicated to working to help kids make themselves the best they can be BUT I have absolutely no dedication to the scum-fuckers that run the school. They obviously want the lowest common denominator working with their population, so... I have told all the kids I can to leave and find some place that might actually help them to learn. They all want me to stay and help them but I cannot afford to. $6000 more a year and I would do it, in fact I told them they should just pay me the contractor price of $20.00 per hour for the extra two and one half hours and be done with it, but this is fucking highway robbery being perpetrated against hard-working kind-hearted individuals. FUCK you all!!!!!! (I did also suggest that all I would need to do is come up with a kid or two to tutor and would make up what I want anyway. They basically scoffed at the idea. We will see.)

Read on for the things they have done to the kids thus far this year other than the "special" place for the Jewish kids which is horrendously racist.