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9486 in the collection
Hundreds Protest Hiring of Katonah Superintendent
Ohanian Comment: I'm mainly posting this for "history." Let's see what this superintendent who candidly professes his desire for "upward mobility" does next.
New Berlin, Wisconsin: The median income for a household in the city was $67,576, and the median income for a family was $75,565. The per capita income for the city was $29,789. About 1.3% of families and 2.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.4% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
Katonah, NY: Statistics were harder to come by. Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) in 2004 for zip code 10536: $198,604. It looks like the per capita income is double that of New Berlin.
Somehow, it's doubtful that Mr. Kreutzer's next move will be to Newark.
And here's the reaction from Wisconsin.
Subject: Our District Stands Behind Walker
Dear NBEA Members,
Today, your NBEA President and Vice President worked with Joe Garza, the Deputy
Superintendent, for four hours negotiating in good faith to settle our contract. We also worked with
Joe (and Paul earlier this week) to see if we could have the pension cut pre-tax and insurance costs
reduced through plan design changes, rather than imposing a large premium share.
You can imagine the kick in the gut we felt when WEAC contacted us after this to inform us that
our superintendent and school board held a press conference with Walker supporting his
stripping of our bargaining rights. In fact, Scott Walker stated that our superintendent actually
asked to visit with him and offered to speak publicly in order to express that he was “excited about
the tools we have here (in the budget and recently passed budget repair bill),” because he “likes
what he sees.”
…and what are these “tools” that Walker has "given" our Board:
*Ability to dissolve our contract
*Cuts in insurance
*Instituting merit pay
*Government-imposed wage controls
*Eliminating seniority
*Removing guaranteed prep time
*Reducing our retirement benefits
*Changing the age for retirement eligibility
*Termination without just cause
*Eliminating grievance procedure
*Individual salaries determined unilaterally by administration
*Change in salary schedule
*Removal of sick bank
*Changing sick days
*Changing the evaluation process
*Etc.
To see the full press conference, check out the this link:
Our Board and Superintendent have publicly promoted these attacks on our rights, wages, and
working conditions.
Join with us in our efforts to restore our rights and preserve our voice! The time for solidarity is
now.
Sincerely,
Diane Lazewski (NBEA, President)
Greta Voit (NBEA, Vice President)
By Winnie Hu and Nate Schweber
Drawing protests from teachers and parents, a Westchester County school district has offered its top job to a superintendent from the Milwaukee suburbs who endorsed the Wisconsin governor's efforts to limit collective bargaining rights for teachers.
The seven-member board of the Katonah-Lewisboro School District in northern Westchester unanimously approved a five-year contract for the superintendent, Paul R. Kreutzer, at a public meeting Tuesday night at John Jay High School in Cross River. Before the meeting, teachers and their supporters rallied outside the school to protest his hiring, and just before the vote, a couple of hundred people in the room chanted, "Shame on you."
Dr. Kreutzer, 39, currently superintendent in New Berlin, Wis., will earn an annual salary of $245,000.
In March, Dr. Kreutzer appeared with Gov. Scott Walker at a news conference to promote legislation to restrict bargaining rights for teachers. The measure has become a flash point for public-sector unions around the country.
In an interview on Tuesday, Dr. Kreutzer said that he had been representing the New Berlin school board, which is regarded as politically and fiscally conservative.
"I serve the interests of the school board," he said. "From my understanding, the mission here will be to collaboratively work with collective labor and honor its place in the educational process. I'm not coming here as a union buster."
When asked just before the vote why he wanted to move to Katonah, he said: "I'm upwardly mobile. I’m a wanderer. I want to keep moving forward and advance myself. This is a major challenge."
Sandra Grebinar, president of the Katonah Lewisboro District Teachers’ Association, which represents 351 teachers, said she was opposed to his hiring because of concerns that he would not work with teachers in a "collegial, cooperative and problem-solving way." She added that no teachers were allowed to meet with Dr. Kreutzer before he was offered the job.
"He was the only superintendent of schools that stood next to Governor Walker, and he agreed with Governor Walker’s stance on collective bargaining and union busting," Ms. Grebinar said. "He comes with a lot of baggage."
As word of the plan to hire Dr. Kreutzer spread in the past week, a group of local parents and residents set up a Facebook page and circulated an online petition asking the school board to postpone its decision for a month to allow for more public comment. As of Tuesday evening, the petition had been signed by 564 people, including parents, students, teachers and alumni.
"We need more time, we want to be able to vet him," said Donna Walsh, a mother of a high school student and a former president of the school board. "And the more we learn, the more alarmed and dismayed we become."
Rachel Asher, one of the protesters at the Tuesday night meeting, presented the board with the petition -- but it proceeded with its vote anyway.
Dr. Kreutzer had said he would not accept the position if there was a postponement.
The Katonah-Lewisboro district, with about 3,800 students in six schools, serves an affluent community that is regarded as politically diverse, though generally more conservative than southern Westchester.
District officials said the board had selected Dr. Kreutzer from 7 finalists out of 44 qualified applicants in a national search. The previous superintendent, Robert Roelle, retired in February.
— Winnie Hu and Nate Schweber
New York Times
2011-04-28
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/nyregion/katonah-lewisboro-hires-superintendent-over-protests.html?src=recg
INDEX OF OUTRAGES
Pages: 380
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