Duane Tron: If you want to see top-heavy administration, go to Columbus
From Molly Janczyk, February 19, 2007
Subject: Fw: Jon Husted on Education!
Dear All,
From Duane Tron, February 19, 2007
Dear Ms. Belcher,
As a retired public school administrator, from Fremont City Schools, I would like to point out that Jon Husted and his colleagues are totally out of touch on education policy and issues in this state. My political background? I am a registered and lifelong Republican. I am embarrassed, and ashamed, to admit that the Republican leadership in this state during the past eight years was the most incompetent, debase, corrupt and pathetic group I can recall.
Husted, like so many other Conservative Republicans, keeps embracing the ridiculous and ignorant concept that public schools are top-heavy with administrators and teachers are overpaid. Nothing is further from the truth.
In my career most rural and many suburban schools across this state have a total of one building administrator per building. Many central offices have a superintendent, a treasurer, an administrative assistant, and small office staff in place. Very few superintendents have an assistant. Many building principals outside of large affluent suburban, and some large city, districts don't even have an assistant principal to help them.
Springfield City Schools cut central office administration to the bone, four years ago, only to have then State Auditor, Betty Montgomery tell them last year they needed to make more administrative cuts. They didn't have ANY administrators they could cut! None of the ten elementary schools in Springfield has an assistant principal in their buildings. Many of these buildings have enrollments of more than 500 children and NO assistant principal? This is ridiculous and outrageous. The city hasn't had assistant elementary principals for as long as I can remember.
Dr. Harper cut central office administration to the bone after arriving in Springfield. There are many clerical staff, in central office, now doing jobs that were previously performed by certified staff. When Betty Montgomery called for Springfield City to cut more administrators Dr. Harper didn't have any to cut! Talk about being out of touch. This is where Husted finds himself on this issue. Dr. Harper received a pay raise two years ago of about $8,000.00 and she donated it back for scholarships to deserving graduating seniors. When was the last time some political hack in Columbus donated his/her pay raise back to young people in need?
I presently serve as principal of an after-school tutoring program, that is housed off campus, and operated as a faith-based initiative. We take at-risk (failing) first and second grade children and tutor them in reading and math. Over 125 children spend three hours each day with us following regular school. Husted doesn't have a clue! Our overpaid staff works for $8.00 to $12.00 per hour. My pay is equal to that of a first year classroom teacher and we don't have any benefits. Oh! Excuse me! I take that back! We have the greatest benefits of anyone in the world. We have the benefit of helping some wonderful children of greatest need in our public schools. We are making a difference with nearly 225 children from the first and second grades of a city school system each year. These are the kids who are falling through the cracks. They are the children who are trying to survive in the classroom, and in life, each day. I possess a Master's Degree with 35 years of experience in education.
Our program has been in place for ten years and I have served as principal for the past six years. We are housed at Central United Methodist Church, Springfield. We fund it with grants and private donations. We feed the children supper when they arrive each day. Our staff consists of retired teachers, career professionals, and college students. We have a guidance counselor and secretary. The children are in a safe environment and receive much needed support and assistance. We are one of dozens of such programs across Ohio. Husted is out of touch and doesn't know what he's talking about.
This is what makes politicians like Husted dangerous. They don't base their arguments on facts but on worn out political cliches and uninformed ideas they have been bouncing around for years. They think that all they need to do is tell the public about overpaid school administrators, teachers, and top heavy administration, and how politicans are going to hold the line on cost increases, etc. We can build more fancy college facilities in this state, and we can pour billions of dollars into higher education, but if the students who attend aren't proficient in reading and math it won't make any difference, will it?
If Mr. Husted wants to hold the line on outrageous costs he needs to start cutting administration in some of THEIR (political) offices and state jobs in Columbus! Then they'll be on track to getting part of the problem corrected. If you want to see top-heavy administration, go to the state offices in Columbus and look at the number of bureaucrats in our state agencies! This isn't the case in our public schools and Mr. Husted is just beating a dead horse. You can't make a dead horse get up and run faster and this is what Husted and some politicians keep trying to do to public education in Ohio. Education wound up on a slippery slope when stupid lawmakers thought they could start taking local control away from schools and apply one-size-fits-all across Ohio. The fools can't even run the state so they need a distraction to turn attention away from their gross incompetence on other issues!
Ask Husted why he, and other Conservative Republicans, keep pouring a half billion tax dollars into failing and fraudulent charter schools each year? Ask him why politicians refuse to hold charter schools to the same high standards of accountability they hold public schools? Ask him why he insists on pouring hundreds of millions of tax dollars into a miserable failure of a social experiment?
My brief Vitae:
-Joined the US Navy at age 17 in 1962.
-Received Honorable Discharge in 1968
-Worked as a detail and design draftsman while attending college at night.
-Interned for a US Congressman, Washington, DC.
-Attended Sinclair Community College, Georgetown University, Wright State University, and Ashland University.
-BA - Geography & M Ed. - School Administration
-Career teacher, coach and school principal.
-Dozens of awards for teaching excellence & public service.
-Served as a volunteer firefighter, State Certified Fire Saftey Inspector & Fire Marshal for nearly 20 years.
-Served as a member, secretary, and chairman of an area planning commission.
-Worked as Director of a juvenile boot camp, corrections officer, law enforcement, and created alternative education programs for at-risk youth.
-Member of church council, lay delegate, finance committee, PPR, certified lay speaker, etc.
-Member of Springfield Area Emmaus Community.
Life Memberships - Wright State Alumni Association, Champaign County Retired Teachers (past president), Ohio Retired Teachers, and The Fund for American Studies, Georgetown University.
Memberships - Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society in Education (active), The American Legion (active), Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Lion's Club (active), Speaker's Bureau for the Ohio Association for the Social Studies, the American Historical Association and more.
My personal opinion? Mr. Husted isn't qualified to tie my shoelaces let alone pontificate on edcuational issues as if he's some kind of expert! He is NOT!
Sincerely,
Duane E. Tron, Professional Educator
Subject: Fw: Jon Husted on Education!
Dear All,
This is a copy of a letter I sent to Ellen Belcher, a columnist with the Dayton Daily News. I received a warm reply from her as a result. I'm tired of the politicians in this state using public education as their whipping boy. I'm really tired of their arrogant and ignorant attitudes and mindless platitudes. I'm tired of the fact that NOBODY has the guts to stand up to fools like Husted, and tell it like it is. It's time to start taking them on. It's time to take off the gloves and show them for what they are; a bunch of ignorant, loudmouthed, egotistical, self serving, and pompous windbags, who don't know what they're talking about most of the time. Any failures on the part of public schools goes back to the 40 years where state policy makers, lawmakers, ignored and failed to properly fund public schools in Ohio. They failed to make education a top priority! Anyone who knows anything knows that the quality of public education, in any state or community, is a key to attracting new business and industry! The failure of political hacks like Husted, and now Congressman Jordan, directly impact a state's economy and growth. Forest Gump said it best with his quote, "stupid is as stupid does!" And we have some pretty stupid and incompetent politicans in this state and they have underfunded, and under appreciated, public education and disrespected teachers!
Mr. T for President in 2008
---Mr. T for President in 2008
From Duane Tron, February 19, 2007
Dear Ms. Belcher,
As a retired public school administrator, from Fremont City Schools, I would like to point out that Jon Husted and his colleagues are totally out of touch on education policy and issues in this state. My political background? I am a registered and lifelong Republican. I am embarrassed, and ashamed, to admit that the Republican leadership in this state during the past eight years was the most incompetent, debase, corrupt and pathetic group I can recall.
Husted, like so many other Conservative Republicans, keeps embracing the ridiculous and ignorant concept that public schools are top-heavy with administrators and teachers are overpaid. Nothing is further from the truth.
In my career most rural and many suburban schools across this state have a total of one building administrator per building. Many central offices have a superintendent, a treasurer, an administrative assistant, and small office staff in place. Very few superintendents have an assistant. Many building principals outside of large affluent suburban, and some large city, districts don't even have an assistant principal to help them.
Springfield City Schools cut central office administration to the bone, four years ago, only to have then State Auditor, Betty Montgomery tell them last year they needed to make more administrative cuts. They didn't have ANY administrators they could cut! None of the ten elementary schools in Springfield has an assistant principal in their buildings. Many of these buildings have enrollments of more than 500 children and NO assistant principal? This is ridiculous and outrageous. The city hasn't had assistant elementary principals for as long as I can remember.
Dr. Harper cut central office administration to the bone after arriving in Springfield. There are many clerical staff, in central office, now doing jobs that were previously performed by certified staff. When Betty Montgomery called for Springfield City to cut more administrators Dr. Harper didn't have any to cut! Talk about being out of touch. This is where Husted finds himself on this issue. Dr. Harper received a pay raise two years ago of about $8,000.00 and she donated it back for scholarships to deserving graduating seniors. When was the last time some political hack in Columbus donated his/her pay raise back to young people in need?
I presently serve as principal of an after-school tutoring program, that is housed off campus, and operated as a faith-based initiative. We take at-risk (failing) first and second grade children and tutor them in reading and math. Over 125 children spend three hours each day with us following regular school. Husted doesn't have a clue! Our overpaid staff works for $8.00 to $12.00 per hour. My pay is equal to that of a first year classroom teacher and we don't have any benefits. Oh! Excuse me! I take that back! We have the greatest benefits of anyone in the world. We have the benefit of helping some wonderful children of greatest need in our public schools. We are making a difference with nearly 225 children from the first and second grades of a city school system each year. These are the kids who are falling through the cracks. They are the children who are trying to survive in the classroom, and in life, each day. I possess a Master's Degree with 35 years of experience in education.
Our program has been in place for ten years and I have served as principal for the past six years. We are housed at Central United Methodist Church, Springfield. We fund it with grants and private donations. We feed the children supper when they arrive each day. Our staff consists of retired teachers, career professionals, and college students. We have a guidance counselor and secretary. The children are in a safe environment and receive much needed support and assistance. We are one of dozens of such programs across Ohio. Husted is out of touch and doesn't know what he's talking about.
This is what makes politicians like Husted dangerous. They don't base their arguments on facts but on worn out political cliches and uninformed ideas they have been bouncing around for years. They think that all they need to do is tell the public about overpaid school administrators, teachers, and top heavy administration, and how politicans are going to hold the line on cost increases, etc. We can build more fancy college facilities in this state, and we can pour billions of dollars into higher education, but if the students who attend aren't proficient in reading and math it won't make any difference, will it?
If Mr. Husted wants to hold the line on outrageous costs he needs to start cutting administration in some of THEIR (political) offices and state jobs in Columbus! Then they'll be on track to getting part of the problem corrected. If you want to see top-heavy administration, go to the state offices in Columbus and look at the number of bureaucrats in our state agencies! This isn't the case in our public schools and Mr. Husted is just beating a dead horse. You can't make a dead horse get up and run faster and this is what Husted and some politicians keep trying to do to public education in Ohio. Education wound up on a slippery slope when stupid lawmakers thought they could start taking local control away from schools and apply one-size-fits-all across Ohio. The fools can't even run the state so they need a distraction to turn attention away from their gross incompetence on other issues!
Ask Husted why he, and other Conservative Republicans, keep pouring a half billion tax dollars into failing and fraudulent charter schools each year? Ask him why politicians refuse to hold charter schools to the same high standards of accountability they hold public schools? Ask him why he insists on pouring hundreds of millions of tax dollars into a miserable failure of a social experiment?
My brief Vitae:
-Joined the US Navy at age 17 in 1962.
-Received Honorable Discharge in 1968
-Worked as a detail and design draftsman while attending college at night.
-Interned for a US Congressman, Washington, DC.
-Attended Sinclair Community College, Georgetown University, Wright State University, and Ashland University.
-BA - Geography & M Ed. - School Administration
-Career teacher, coach and school principal.
-Dozens of awards for teaching excellence & public service.
-Served as a volunteer firefighter, State Certified Fire Saftey Inspector & Fire Marshal for nearly 20 years.
-Served as a member, secretary, and chairman of an area planning commission.
-Worked as Director of a juvenile boot camp, corrections officer, law enforcement, and created alternative education programs for at-risk youth.
-Member of church council, lay delegate, finance committee, PPR, certified lay speaker, etc.
-Member of Springfield Area Emmaus Community.
Life Memberships - Wright State Alumni Association, Champaign County Retired Teachers (past president), Ohio Retired Teachers, and The Fund for American Studies, Georgetown University.
Memberships - Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society in Education (active), The American Legion (active), Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Lion's Club (active), Speaker's Bureau for the Ohio Association for the Social Studies, the American Historical Association and more.
My personal opinion? Mr. Husted isn't qualified to tie my shoelaces let alone pontificate on edcuational issues as if he's some kind of expert! He is NOT!
Sincerely,
Duane E. Tron, Professional Educator
posted by Kathie Bracy at 9:56 AM
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