It’s great that Rochester’s business community leaders are concerned about the academic performance of city school students. Sandy Parker, CEO of the Rochester Business Alliance, and Dutch Summers, chair of Jasco, said in last Sunday’s Democrat
and Chronicle that they are disturbed by the Association of Supervisors and Administrators’ recent vote of “no confidence” in Superintendent Bolgen Vargas.
Parker and Summers are right; Vargas does need every district employee’s help, whether they are teachers and principals or food servers and custodians. And their concerns with ASAR’s contract, which allows members to cash out unused vacation time, may be appropriate if the members are able to actually use their time within the year.
But Parker and Summers should have thought twice about wading into discussions about salaries and compensation packages. They were frosty toward the idea of principals making an average salary of $98,000. Only one day earlier, the D&C’s lead story was about the exit payout package of David Klein, former Excellus Blue Cross and Blue Shield CEO. Klein leaves with nearly $13 million.
Parker and Summers questioned whether parents and students are well-served by ASAR’s contract. Do they believe Klein’s customers were best served by his sweet deal? And the salaries of some Eastman Kodak executives were outrageously high even when it was clear the company was tanking.
It’s disingenuous of business leaders to accuse teacher and principal unions of putting their self-interests before those of their students, when many businesses routinely put their interests before the good of their employees and consumers.
Parker and Summers would have been far more credible in their critique if they had they also condemned the lack of affordable housing in downtown Rochester, the lack of affordable day care, and the fact that many of Rochester’s children go without proper nutrition and health care. They could support an increase in the minimum wage and universal pre-k.
It’s true that many of Superintendent Vargas’s challenges originate within the school system. But it’s also true that he’s unable to keep many of the social ills that students face every day outside the walls of city schools without more help from the community.
This article appears in Mar 5-11, 2014.
Well said. The business and college leaders are quick to write essays pointing fingers or suggesting solutions but rarely do they put their own people or resources into the fire. Why doesn’t Parker or any of the others get their powerful friends together and put a few millions behind a charter or a particular RCSD school and develop it into the “model” they describe? Beyond this, the superintendent’s problems go way beyond the no confidence issue and they know it. Something is up.
“But it’s also true that he’s unable to keep many of the social ills that students face every day outside the walls of city schools without more help from the community.”
But it’s also true that RCSD has MANY agencies & programs from this community willing to help, but Vargas just eliminated their support system within the schools (Student & Family Support Centers). They were created for exactly this purpose. He keeps talking about help from the community but what he’s done is make it much harder for this community to help his students. SMH
Thank you for pointing out the hypocrisy of these writers. I thought the same thing when I read their piece. I wonder how many Principals they have shadowed? Do they not understand that extending the school days means more duties far beyond the work day. Most Principals already work routinely until 7 or eight or nine pm working 12 hours already.Do they know that teachers expect and get extra pay? The issues of no confidence is far deeper then this single one. Are they deliberately glossing over contradictory directives, poor planning and communication from Central Office? Are they aware that there is a talent drain from the District? At least four Administrators have been denied tenure and gone on to other positions in other Districts to apparent success. High level CO cabinet members are leaving as well. To imply that Principals are somehow not “letting” the Superintendent do his job is just plain wrong , misleading the public , and an insult to the many dedicated administrators in the RCSD
This is the best that these so called business leaders could think of? The school district is in utter chaos and the root cause is principal salaries? Has anyone ever thought of asking educators with no business (ex: charter schools- whose intent is to collect as much money from federal funds- shameless poachers) and dubious politicians ( Vargas right hand gal patty malgieri ) ties for input. We know that Vargas cares little about input from the community. To be fair, the district started to shut down ties between the community when it abruptly ended the parent university program that was directed by the very capable and dynamic Charmaine Cohen– long before Vargas was chosen as the super. We are obviously entering a very dysfunctional, corrupt era in education. If you really care about the future of our children, pay attention, get angry and BE HEARD!
Dear Rochester City School District (RCSD) Parents & Rochester Tax Payers,
DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE.
You can be certain that John “Dutch” Summers and Sandra Parker (both wealthy, upper class, suburbanite, politicos) are as concerned about overwhelmingly black and brown, economically poor, RCSD students and families — as you and I are about the color of the moon. If they want to convince us of their caring and concern for city students and families (from my staunchly-unequivocal view and perspective) — they can begin by urging their children, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws to move to the city, and enroll their children in RCSD schools. Until then, as far as I’m concerned — I could care less about how many “successful organizations [they] have built and run.” — As far as I’m concerned — they have NOTHING to say about the affairs of the RCSD.
A big part of the reason why we have not been able to make significant, fundamental change and improvement within the RCSD is because MANY outsiders think they have a right, and the power to impose upon us agendas that have little to do with the objective best interests and needs of our children, but instead, focus on helping to bolster the bottom-lines of those “successful organizations” that they “have built and run” — period. Even though their political-agenda-inspired essay contains a few valid points, which really represents old news — Sandra Parker and so-called “Dutch” Summers do not have the commitment, knowledge, expertise, and /or understanding to contribute anything of value relative to solving complex problems and issues within the RCSD, and I repeat, their only interest lies in bolstering the bottom-lines of their businesses (not based on the RCSD providing well educated, potential employees — because they will just continue to import them, as they have always done, but instead, based on lucrative contracts for their companies, and/or associates). Like so many others, their real interest is in continuing to pimp our children for resources. Their political-agenda-inspired essay is filled with blatant contradictions, such as the following:
– They claim that they are not writing “as leaders of the organizations [they] lead” — yet later in the essay they obviously feel that it is important to mention that they ” both have built and run successful organizations.” Then they go on to explain that their so-called insight is based on the “experience” of building and running successful organizations. So, which is it — are the writing as “leaders of the organizations [they] lead” or not? Of course they are! So that makes them what?
– If “Superintendent Vargas’ ability to execute board policy is being hamstrung” by ASAR or any other RCSD employees — that’s an issue which Vargas should bring to the parents and taxpayers of Rochester, as opposed to taking it to “Dutch” and Sandra. Vargas needs to explain, in clear language, which board policies ASAR is preventing him from executing.
– They wrote about “poor student performance over the past 10 years.” Let’s try over the last 30 years or longer, which begs the question, i.e. since “Dutch” and Sandra “have lived in this community [their] entire lives, [and supposedly] care deeply” — where in the heck have they been before now?
– HERE IS THE BIGGEST CONTRADICTION OF ALL: “Vargas has earned the confidence of our community by doing the things a leader should do to improve student achievement.” Really??? I have a feeling that “Dutch’s and Sandra’s” reference in the latter quote relative to the term “our” — absolutely does not include you and I.
THERE WILL BE NO SIGNIFICANT, WIDESPREAD, FUNDAMENTAL CHANGE AND IMPROVEMENT WITHIN THE RCSD UNTIL AND UNLESS THOSE OF US WHO ARE MOST DIRECTLY, AND MOST NEGATIVELY IMPACTED (AS THEY SAY) — “TAKE THE BULL BY THE HORNS,” AND BUILD A DEADLY-SERIOUS MOVEMENT — PERIOD.