No, the stupid strike is not over yet. The district made an offer that was only a little better than the last one, the teachers made a counter-offer, and the district once again stopped bargaining. So it's back to the picket lines instead of the classrooms.
I will be with my hubby today on the lines, and at a rally tonight for the teachers and teacher supporters. I don't know if I'll have another chance to blog. I made myself a sign that says "$300,000 for PR, $18,000 for the HS Science Department, And you wonder why the teachers are upset? Erase the board" Luckily, the forecast today calls for sun, so it should be a mostly pleasant walk on the line.
The district has resorted to some further dirty tactics. They apparently bought a phone machine in August that can be programmed to call all the district's parents with a pre-recorded message. They used it over the weekend to falsely report that school would likely be back in session on Monday. Lots of kids picked up the phone, heard that message, and wrongly assumed the strike was over. Even if the bargaining had worked, school would not have started until Tuesday, and they sent the calls out before negotiation was complete. There are a lot of disappointed kids in Marysville this morning.
And so I go to battle evil in the only way I can. I just wish the media would actually make an effort to report the facts, instead of just passing on whatever they hear from the district PR machine.
0 comments:
Post a Comment