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Peaceandlove1

Beach Crab
Aug 7, 2012
4
0
Political contributions are fine if someone really believes in a candidate. "Someone" doesn't necessarily mean companies like Destin Jet, Crystal Beach Development Company and other 'companies'. My personal view is that it is bad public policy for employees of the school district or any other government agency to contribute to their boss. The fact is that only three states even allow elected school superintendents and some districts in Florida have appointed or hired superintendents. Why is Walton County Florida right on this and 47 other states and their counties wrong?

I agree jp nettles. Appointing/hiring a superintendent has it's own set of issues, but it does seem to make more sense. Do you know if there are other districts who have transitioned from elected to hired superintendents in our state. If so, do you know what process they went through? Thanks.
 

Andy A

Beach Fanatic
Feb 28, 2007
4,389
1,738
Blue Mountain Beach
Political contributions are fine if someone really believes in a candidate. "Someone" doesn't necessarily mean companies like Destin Jet, Crystal Beach Development Company and other 'companies'. My personal view is that it is bad public policy for employees of the school district or any other government agency to contribute to their boss. The fact is that only three states even allow elected school superintendents and some districts in Florida have appointed or hired superintendents. Why is Walton County Florida right on this and 47 other states and their counties wrong?

It is not that 47 states and their counties are wrong, it is the fact that in order to appoint a superintendent you must be a charter county. There is a process Walton County must go through to do this. It is my understanding it has been tried previously and the effort failed. There is no doubt the superintendent should be appointed. In Walton County, it is the tail wagging the dog instead of the other way around. The superintendent of schools should be at the bequest of the school board, not the other way around.
 

j p nettles

Banned
Jul 1, 2012
380
63
76
Ebro
This morning when I was reading the Daily News I saw Mrs. Anderson's ad. I believe she might be embellishing the truth with one of her claims: "Carlene has protected employees from lay-offs, furloughs and salary cuts." Some of the fine, hard working teachers that have been laid off during her regime might disagree.
 

stellablue

Beach Crab
Aug 12, 2012
1
0
There is a distinction between 'laid off' and 'non-renewed' in education. In the past, after four years of satisfactory job performance, teachers were up for something usually called 'continuing contract' or 'professional contract', otherwise known as 'tenure'. In many states, as well as in many districts in our state, even tenured teachers have been laid off.

Fortunately, WCSD has not had to lay off any of the teachers who fall into this category. Now the state has switched to an 'annual contract' only stance, meaning that starting serveral years ago, teachers who are hired can be 'non-renewed' at the end of any school year. It's sort of like the way it works in the business world, except teachers usually get an entire school year to demonstrate positive job performance, unlike the business world where you can be terminated at any moment.

Most teachers employed in the WCSD are 'professional contract' but all new teachers fall into the 'annual contract' category. Ms. Anderson has been able to keep all 'professional contract' teachers employed, therefore, there haven't been any lay-offs. This is in contrast to many districts across the nation, where lay-offs have been rampant.

Ms. Anderson's ability to keep teachers employed has been beneficial to our economy as the school district is one of the county's largest employers. Ms. Hutchinson has mentioned teacher raises as part of her platform, but fails to mention that in order to give teachers raises, she would have to let some 'annual contract' teachers and other employees go, as the state funding won't suppor such a platform. The ensuing lay-offs would have a negative impact on our economy. Ms. Anderson has done a brilliant job keeping people employed despite the funding constraints and it's been beneficial to Walton County's economy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Bob Wells

Beach Fanatic
Jul 25, 2008
3,380
2,857
It is not that 47 states and their counties are wrong, it is the fact that in order to appoint a superintendent you must be a charter county. There is a process Walton County must go through to do this. It is my understanding it has been tried previously and the effort failed. There is no doubt the superintendent should be appointed. In Walton County, it is the tail wagging the dog instead of the other way around. The superintendent of schools should be at the bequest of the school board, not the other way around.
Then I could see the elected School Board becoming more like the current BCC where positions become political and give those members the opportunity to micromanage the Superintendent and their job, not much differently than the current BCC do with County Manager and other employees of the county. So in my mind there is some doubt as to appointed versus elected Superintendent. Just my opinion.
 

Jdarg

SoWal Expert
Feb 15, 2005
18,068
1,973
Then I could see the elected School Board becoming more like the current BCC where positions become political and give those members the opportunity to micromanage the Superintendent and their job, not much differently than the current BCC do with County Manager and other employees of the county. So in my mind there is some doubt as to appointed versus elected Superintendent. Just my opinion.

It works quite well in very many communities. As usual, we are behind the curve.

Once again, I have no say on Tuesday, since there is a Dem candidate, but let me say this-

Regarding teachers losing jobs (for whatever reason), Walton County is by no means unique. School districts all over the country are non-renewing contracts, hiring less experienced (lower salary) teachers, and having to make hard decisions regarding who goes and who stays. This is not a "Carlene Anderson" thing, but a national problem in many school districts. It is awful no matter where it happens. I have friends and relatives who were non-renewed in other states, also without a whole lot of explanation, and they are highly qualified, hold multiple degrees, and are willing to work for nothing at this point. I don't think any superintendent and upper level school admins are delighted about having to keep making adjustments to budgets.

I am re-reading "Waiting for Superman". It has some interesting points from different education perspectives.
 
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Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
There is a distinction between 'laid off' and 'non-renewed' in education. In the past, after four years of satisfactory job performance, teachers were up for something usually called 'continuing contract' or 'professional contract', otherwise known as 'tenure'. In many states, as well as in many districts in our state, even tenured teachers have been laid off.

Fortunately, WCSD has not had to lay off any of the teachers who fall into this category. Now the state has switched to an 'annual contract' only stance, meaning that starting serveral years ago, teachers who are hired can be 'non-renewed' at the end of any school year. It's sort of like the way it works in the business world, except teachers usually get an entire school year to demonstrate positive job performance, unlike the business world where you can be terminated at any moment.

Most teachers employed in the WCSD are 'professional contract' but all new teachers fall into the 'annual contract' category. Ms. Anderson has been able to keep all 'professional contract' teachers employed, therefore, there haven't been any lay-offs. This is in contrast to many districts across the nation, where lay-offs have been rampant.

Ms. Anderson's ability to keep teachers employed has been beneficial to our economy as the school district is one of the county's largest employers. Ms. Hutchinson has mentioned teacher raises as part of her platform, but fails to mention that in order to give teachers raises, she would have to let some 'annual contract' teachers and other employees go, as the state funding won't suppor such a platform. The ensuing lay-offs would have a negative impact on our economy. Ms. Anderson has done a brilliant job keeping people employed despite the funding constraints and it's been beneficial to Walton County's economy.

Nice post - keep it up!
 

ann watson

Banned
Jun 26, 2012
53
5
Seagrove Beach
There is a distinction between 'laid off' and 'non-renewed' in education. In the past, after four years of satisfactory job performance, teachers were up for something usually called 'continuing contract' or 'professional contract', otherwise known as 'tenure'. In many states, as well as in many districts in our state, even tenured teachers have been laid off.

Fortunately, WCSD has not had to lay off any of the teachers who fall into this category. Now the state has switched to an 'annual contract' only stance, meaning that starting serveral years ago, teachers who are hired can be 'non-renewed' at the end of any school year. It's sort of like the way it works in the business world, except teachers usually get an entire school year to demonstrate positive job performance, unlike the business world where you can be terminated at any moment.

Most teachers employed in the WCSD are 'professional contract' but all new teachers fall into the 'annual contract' category. Ms. Anderson has been able to keep all 'professional contract' teachers employed, therefore, there haven't been any lay-offs. This is in contrast to many districts across the nation, where lay-offs have been rampant.

Ms. Anderson's ability to keep teachers employed has been beneficial to our economy as the school district is one of the county's largest employers. Ms. Hutchinson has mentioned teacher raises as part of her platform, but fails to mention that in order to give teachers raises, she would have to let some 'annual contract' teachers and other employees go, as the state funding won't suppor such a platform. The ensuing lay-offs would have a negative impact on our economy. Ms. Anderson has done a brilliant job keeping people employed despite the funding constraints and it's been beneficial to Walton County's economy.

It was pointed out that the number of teachers in Walton County with graduate degrees is below the state average. I was one of the annual contract teachers who was laid off in 2010 after 4 years of service and would have been eligible for a "professional services contract" had I been rehired. I applied for at least 50 of the positions but was not considered despite having good evaluations and excellent student performance. I have a masters degree and 32 years experience in the classroom. I was 54 years old at the time. The young teacher who was hired to take my place was a young relatively inexperieced girl from Washington County. These are facts. If you choose to distinguish between 'layoff' and 'non renew' thats your privilege. Some of us aren't lawyers and don't confine our moral discipline to the box of legality. Also, the professional contract teachers (tenure) can't be dismissed like annual contract teachers. I had no reason to believe that I was going to be dismissed in 2010, I was simply told to go on the last day of school. The decent thing to do would have been to warn teachers like me that cuts in personnel costs were needed. And I'd like to see some numbers about your claim that "most of the teachers are professional contract teachers". Perhaps if you had been treated like I was you'd see Mrs. Anderson's policies in a different light.
 

Bob Wells

Beach Fanatic
Jul 25, 2008
3,380
2,857
It works quite well in very many communities. As usual, we are behind the curve.

Once again, I have no say on Tuesday, since there is a Dem candidate, but let me say this-

Regarding teachers losing jobs (for whatever reason), Walton County is by no means unique. School districts all over the country are non-renewing contracts, hiring less experienced (lower salary) teachers, and having to make hard decisions regarding who goes and who stays. This is not a "Carlene Anderson" thing, but a national problem in many school districts. It is awful no matter where it happens. I have friends and relatives who were non-renewed in other states, also without a whole lot of explanation, and they are highly qualified, hold multiple degrees, and are willing to work for nothing at this point. I don't think any superintendent and upper level school admins are delighted about having to keep making adjustments to budgets.

I am re-reading "Waiting for Superman". It has some interesting points from different education perspectives.
I have no doubt that it works well in other places, so does having a county manager work well in other places, just seems it does not work well here.
 

Jdarg

SoWal Expert
Feb 15, 2005
18,068
1,973
I have no doubt that it works well in other places, so does having a county manager work well in other places, just seems it does not work well here.

Hmmm. There are a lot of things that don't work here. Wonder why?:scratch: Couldn't possibly have anything to do with the prevailing attitude of "well, that's always how it's been done around here".:roll:
 
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