Monday, February 16, 2009

First casualities in the latest round of budget cuts?

The blog received comments from a number of people regarding the first casualties in the latest round of budget cuts. It is believed that cashiers at lunch will be eliminated, thereby requiring that the recent adjustments to the lunch line sequencing be altered, yet again.

Some of us were under the impression that the community discussions around the frozen cheese sandwich issue resulted in an acceptable solution. By placing cashiers at the front of the lunch line, students could have been identified as having ample credit for a lunch or insufficient funds, thereby requiring a frozen cheese sandwich. Well, with the elimination of cashiers, food service staff will have to bounce between dishing up meals and taking payment from children.

Perhaps the plan is to automate the payment process. Maybe children will be able to have their eyes scanned and be able to just walk in front of an iris scanner and their meal will just magically appear in front of them while the funds will be charged to their parents credit card. Perhaps the plan is to leave an old, rusty coffee can at the front of the lunch line for students to make their payments using the honor system. Maybe children will stick their finger into a machine that reads their fingerprint. If they have adequate funds, they get to keep their finger - if not, it is sliced into a vat of soup and they are handed a frozen cheese sandwich. Of course, they can only make that mistake ten times.

If lunch cashiers are eliminated, where does this put the conversation regarding frozen cheese sandwiches? Is Nick trying to break a record and collect Schrammies like they were Golden Globes?

At the last board meeting, the Board was discussing the need to close one of the District's production kitchens. The District has already decided not to buy another $110,000 oven.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Four new trucks with more flashing lights than a waste management vehicle should do the trick! How stupid do they look in a parked position with all the bells and whistles going? Anybody that can't see a vehicle like that, should be on a bus anyway.
Did the department need those vehicles at that exact time? Roughly the same time that they hired another field supervisor.
Now there's a tremendous investment. Or maybe the $15,000.00espresso machine was to be a quick fix? Did we need that with this on the horizon? When did a cheese sandwich become a staple anyway? For the few bleeding heart kids and families with peanut allergies, I'm sorry, but I'll put a peanut butter and jelly sandwich against their crap any day of the week. Please go ahead all you nutritionists and argue against that for me! I don't see much leadership by example in that department. It does not take a nutritionist to identify that problem either.

Anonymous said...

Why is it that the employees making budget decisions always make cuts where it hurts KIDS? They have cut hours for para-educators, who are vital to the education of kids. I never hear of the "Big-Wigs" cutting expense accounts; they stay at the finest hotels, eat the best food available, fly first class, rent the finest vehicles when traveling. The list goes on and on; I made these arrangements/reservations for these kind of accommodations while employed with the District for employees (the higher-ups) to attend Conferences, Seminars, out of town. How much money do they think they will save by eliminating lunch room cashiers? I hate to use this phrase, but "Kids take it in the shorts". Cuts are made where it affects the future of the next generation. Do you think Administrators care? I think NOT!

Anonymous said...

You got to be kidding, layoff kitchen lunch ladies. The lowest paid people in the district, boy someones got big balls.
I would think the so called leaders would take a payroll cut before they do this kinda stuff.

So, for the people that read this blog, your job is not SAFE!

Anonymous said...

Here is an section taken out of the Herald today, maybe some of this money can help out our district and keep the lunch ladies. If they do get the money, should tax payers in the district be appointed to manage the funds, as to not see $$$ squandered away, anymore!

Education

Several buckets of federal money are intended for education and will reach every school district in the county.

Additional dollars for special education, disadvantaged students and complying with the No Child Left Behind Act requirements will be available using existing distribution formulas.

It could mean $6.7 million for Everett School District, $3.4 million for Marysville School District and $1.7 million for Lake Stevens School District, according to figures compiled by Larsen's staff.

Washington is also expecting $835.5 million for use in preventing teacher layoffs, keeping class sizes small, ensuring small districts receive adequate funding, modernizing buildings and constructing new campuses. How those dollars are spread around is not yet clear.

Anonymous said...

What all is in the budget cuts?

Anonymous said...

How about managers taking a payroll cut and the top hats too.

Mark, good luck in the future, but I KNOW YOU YOU HAVE A SLAM DUNK.

If anyone knows of a great labor attoreny please put his/her name on the blog?

Anonymous said...

Email Mark. I am sure he must know more than a few great ones.

mark@esd15.org

Anonymous said...

It's time for managers to get laid off.
We are so so top heavy.

Anonymous said...

At $205,000 (including benefits) and $135,000 salaries, could the Superintendent and assistants not take a temporary pay cut? Really? That's what, about $17,000 a month, or $11,000 a month for the assistants? I bet they could manage to scrape by with a pay cut. Or do layoffs at the top - how many lunch lady salaries add up to one assistant super? And don't we have way more assistant superintendents than most other districts? Isn't Edmonds in the top range of the state for superintendent salaries? You're going to cut lunch ladies who are probably working for peanuts, but you can't look at the heavy salaries and staffing at the top? Something isn't right there.

Anonymous said...

And the EEA president is paid almost $100,000. That's benefits included in that amount.
What's going on? I'm so sick and tired of working my ass off for peanuts. And now, they're even dangerous in some ways.

Anonymous said...

Anyone else out there look at their dues for last year and wonder if it’s worth it? $600 bucks a year, that mostly pays for union leadership salaries and political advertising. I guess I’m paying for all those calls at home telling me how vote.

There are other groups that bargain together and are not represented by a union. Our raises are generally determined by the state.

As far as protection by seniority and bumping, I can think of several people’s jobs that have been eliminated, and they’ve been unable to ‘bump’ anyone else.



Just curious,

Julie Martin

General Fund & Capital Accounting

Anonymous said...

This is because our corrupt unions are too busy fighting legal battles across the globe. They have nicely structured the collective bargaining agreements so that seniority means absolutely nothing. 15 years of service, and I can be wiped out by a drug addict recent hire in the blink of an eye. This is mighty convenient for the ESD 15. At any point they can negate hard work and years of service to protect all the management positions and salaries. Thank You to all of the YES men and women involved in Labor Management. You rubber stamping idiots that like to waive my rights for me, are a bunch of chicken sh!+ pukes. You're too soft for my world.

ESD15.org said...

The State of your Union is not something that I can effectively discuss on this blog. If anyone is interested in expressing an opinion about the union in an actual entry, please let me know.

Do you have other options? I know I have been sitting across the table from a couple of unions recently and they certainly have their stuff together. Great advocates and very skilled at getting what they want for their members.

Anonymous said...

It is also well known that union stewards that say "Yes" to district management, get to play by a different set of rules. These people are also Lightweights, with zero backbone. The district uses these folks like the many layers of management in that food chain. I think we all know who the best example of a former shop steward gone astray might be.

Anonymous said...

This union crap needs to be a post. I got one example "Mr. The Stick".
We all know how he got that job and it wasn't his skills. He through the custodians out to the wolfs and he was the hunter.
It smells then a SEIU 925 Union President gets a job in management. I could be wrong, butt it smells to me.

How do you see it or smell it?

Anonymous said...

I found it interesting that the cashiers were notified of their layoff BEFORE the school board approved it????