Fiorentino seeks to calm worried workers

As part of her continuing effort to improve communication with employees, Pasco superintendent Heather Fiorentino has sent everyone in the district an e-mail update on the budget situation, which has so many nervous for their jobs.

Don't believe they're worried? Check out some of the questions that employees submitted to the district about their budget concerns. Among them:

Why can't we encourage people to retire early, in order to save money? (The district has a plan.)
Can we eliminate bonus pay for masters degrees at the elementary school? (No.)
Can we voluntarily take a $20 per pay period pay reduction? (Requires negotiations.)
Can we make students buy their textbooks? (No.)

Fiorentino told the staff that the news coming out of special session, though bad, looks better than the worst-case scenarios many had been feared. (That would be 2 percent cuts rather than 3 percent.) Still, she cautioned, "Economic forecasters predict an even more grim budget for next year; therefore, we are now working proactively to develop plans and minimize future pain."

Fiorentino spent most of Monday meeting with department heads, looking for places to slice their budgets to the end of the year. That exercise is scheduled to continue the rest of the week. The School Board has a budget workshop set for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 20, where members plan to talk about spending for the rest of this year and for next year.

Comments

[John]

We will see, next election. The "malcontents" need to put together a ticket of anti-incumbents for nearly every seat.

[terminator]

John,
probably none but like they say "lead by example".
don't see anything coming from the state legislature on THEIR pay.
some districts are proposing pay cuts for the highest paid school administrators but usually they are only diversionary tactics to make the public/media think they are actually doing something when in reality they are doing nothing of the sort.
unfortunately, many of these reporters never go beneath the scripted press releases that come out of the districts.
why do you think I spend so much time on this blog?
I have noticed an upwelling of really ticked off people and it seems to be spreading from early indications.

[John]

More important than that, Termie, how many administrators/politicians will bite the bullet?

[terminator]

Bernie:
the legislature just passed a law during special session which allows school boards to give themselves a pay REDUCTION.
let's see how many do it?
how much you bet the answer is ZERO?

[Bernie]

How about $50 a pay period for the dead wood at headquarters? How about a volunteer School Board? I would serve for no salary in a heartbeat!

[Chris]

To isn't it funny. I wrote to our Superintendnet asking if we can all take a $20 per pay period cut. I have been a custodian for 11 years in Pasco. I realize I probably won't lose my job in this round of cuts cause I have seniority; but some of my friends who have been hired within the last two years may very well be on the chopping block. I'd rather lose a little to save them their livelyhood. Plus if they are gone, who has to pick up the slack---ME. I wanted to know if that was an option the higher ups were thinking about.

[isn't it funny?]

HF owes Jansen big time. Her major foul-ups in Pinellas has managed to make this a back burner item.

I found it very odd that almost all of the questions HF shared with us were softball questions with easy answers. No questions about her giving up her car. No questions about putting LFS on hold. No questions about eliminating positions at the DO, or pay cuts for non-school-based administrators.

Does anybody really believe that these were really questions from employees? Honestly, who would ask for a pay cut - please sir, can we have less? - or suggest eliminating increased pay (pay, not a bonus) for advanced degrees for anyone?

[Another teacher]

Gov. Crist just asked for an extension until the 20th. Looks like the Pasco County School Board will have to postpone the workshop now.

[Teacher]

I have stopped reading her emails. Thanks for the summary Jeff. This one, as usual, was sent at 3:10 on Friday afternoon in such a small font it was almost unreadable anyways.

Why would you eliminate bonuses for master's at the elementary level and not the secondary????