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200 Subs Now in Strongsville Schools

More replacements being hired every day, officials said

 

A shortage of substitute teachers spelled a rocky start for some classrooms on Monday, the first day of a Strongsville teachers' strike, but school officials said more fill-ins have been added in the last two days.

School Treasurer Deborah Herrmann said she believes the total is up to about 200, with more hired every day.

"We're still putting people into the buildings," Herrmann said.

Substitutes are being pad $175 a day to fill in for striking teachers. 

Herrmann said teachers' salaries and benefits cost the district roughly $1 million a week. Teachers are not being paid or receiving benefits during the work stoppage.

On Day 3 of the teachers strike, many of the 383 members of the Strongsville Education Association remain on the picket lines.  

Administrators reported smoother conditions at Strongsville High School and in other buildings Tuesday as students settled into new routines. 

Some parents said on Strongsville Patch's Facebook page that the situation in parking lots remains tense, with picketers failing to move out of the driveways for traffic quickly enough.

Police were called to Kinsner Elementary Tuesday morning after an incident involving a picketing teacher and a parent dropping off her children.

The mom told police the teacher wouldn't move out of the way and slammed her car hood with her hand as she inched forward.

The teacher told police the car grazed her as it went past.

She was not injured and continued picketing.

lyn March 6, 2013 at 10:28 pm
When those home values go down, it will have nothing to do with the taxes we pay or levies that pass or don't pass.
It will have everything to do with the new image that Strongsville is quickly gaining as a place to stay away from. Home buyers will not want their children taught by the very people they have been watching on TV. Home buyers do not want to live where they think hoodlums wander around with the quiet approval of parents, community and police. Shoppers will not want to chance a run-in with these same hoodlums. Thank you teachers and students form leaving others with the impression of what are community has become. Notice I said perception - not reality.
lyn March 6, 2013 at 10:29 pm
oops-
"our" nor "are"
Amazed citizen March 6, 2013 at 11:26 pm
Poor Lyn, I almost feel for you. You sit there in you hatefilled little world, bashing away at teachers, and nobody really seems to be giving a damn about what you say with the exception of the 10-12 regulars in the circle jerk around here.
Chapman Mom March 6, 2013 at 11:34 pm
WHY ARE YOU YELLING
tryingtobehonest March 7, 2013 at 12:01 am
We all agree we have awesome teachers. The questions is, can we afford to pay them awesomely? Of course the students love their teachers (they're awesome), but would those same students be willing to give up their cars, iPads, and smartphones to pay meet their demands? Students, it's very easy for you to back the striking teachers when it doesn't cost you a penny. What would you say if it cost you your car?
Mom in the ville March 7, 2013 at 12:33 am
When you pick the classroom and the hallways clean of kids’ artwork and assignments, tell them that juvenile delinquents will teach them next week, take the classroom textbooks home, pull an organized no show prior to strike for struggling student classes, block parents cars at school entrance, and tweet your students telling them to come out and cheer on your loathsome display of mob mentality, how do you expect the families to respect you in the future. I do not feel comfortable having my kids back in the classroom with you, and I hope members of the board are reading this.
CandidResident March 7, 2013 at 12:51 am
I believe I saw Lyn, Tad and Myron across from the Center Middle School picketers today. By the way, nobody honked for them.
CandidResident March 7, 2013 at 12:54 am
Can someone please buy this man a new keyboard?
CandidResident March 7, 2013 at 12:56 am
Lyn - Are you really that small-minded to think people get masters degrees for the fun of it? Anyone who gets a masters is doing it for a specific job, a better job or a promotion. This is nothing different.
tryingtobehonest March 7, 2013 at 12:58 am
Dear Mom in the ville,
You brought up some very valid points. I guess it's hard for me to realize and admit that our awesome teachers would stoop to the low level that they did. How can they truly say that they love their students when they took everything with them that would help the students learn? I guess they really didn't want the students to learn anything while they were gone. They're blackmailing the Board to meet their demands. They're using the students as pawns and that hurts worst of all.
CandidResident March 7, 2013 at 01:00 am
I'll bet he's got one helluva lot more going on than you do on a Wednesday night. Actually, I'm sure just about everyone in this town has more going on than you on a Wednesday night...or any night for that matter.
tryingtobehonest March 7, 2013 at 01:18 am
We all agree we have awesome teachers. The questions is, can we afford to pay them awesomely? Of course the students love their teachers (they're awesome), but would those same students be willing to give up their cars, iPads, and smartphones to meet their demands? Students, it's very easy for you to back the striking teachers when it doesn't cost you a penny. What would you say if it cost you your car?
Tad Taderson March 7, 2013 at 01:28 am
Candid,
You must not have been following my travel schedule...I was outside today, but it was on beach. Nice to know I'm on your mind though. Hello from St. Barts!
Son of a Teacher/Husband of a Teacher March 7, 2013 at 04:15 am
Well put Voice. Good to hear the other side of the story. And long with the cuts on the local side came pension cuts that no one mentions on the State side. The pay freezes affect pensions by making the average final salary lower. And the State changed it from 3 years final average salary to 5 years. So, it is a double hit. Throw in that Teachers pay 10% of their salary into the pension now and this rate is going to 14%. So, they are taking a pay cut to to put money into a pension where they have to work at least 5 years longer to get less while putting in more. So, they are trying to make it up somewhere.
But, all that said, taxpayers are tapped out and there needs to be a solution where the same or leass of pot of money is split up for better performing teachers. The State is implementing a more performance based system starting next year. The system now of paying everybody the same based on seniority is not fair and needs changed. As long as there are more good teachers in the union than bad, they should be able to work out a way to pay the better more and the bad ones less. Maybe give Teachers bonuses for figuring out ways to lower costs like I'm sure the board is getting. They need to get back to the table and figure it out. There are a lot of devisive comments here that are breaking up the community. These comments will lead to major disruption of political, economic, and financial issues. We need more constuctive comments on how to resolve the issues.
Voice of Reason March 7, 2013 at 02:37 pm
I'm not a teacher...far from it actually. I make less than these Strongsville teachers & pay more for my benefits. I've had more negative experiences with unions than positive ones. I'm aware of the whole story behind this, not just what people on message boards are posting.
Also, I'm in no way saying I agree with some of the methods of protest the teachers are using. I don't agree with blocking school driveways, banging on cars, allegedly instructing kids to misbehave, shouting at replacements, or posting a wall of shame on facebook. I think these actions have cost them in the eyes of the public. A civil picketing line would have been the ideal path in my eyes. I try to put myself in the position of the teachers. Think about it...To have my BOE praise me for the "unprecedented willingness" (superintendent's words) to make those concessions last contract & promise me they'd make efforts to reward those concessions next time around, then fail to make any changes whatsoever & actually make the problem worse...You'd be upset too. This is a case of the BOE's unwillingness to compromise at all. Last time I checked, these cases get resolved by both sides giving up something for the greater good. Every single thing the BOE is asking for is yet another concession by the teachers. I have a lot of respect for the teacher's I've had. I wouldn't be where I am today without them. I know the extra hard work they put in & the money they spend out of pocket on the kids.
Voice of Reason March 7, 2013 at 02:43 pm
Aside from your comments & views...Teachers are only allowed to remove materials from classrooms that they purchased out of their own pockets, not textbooks if said textbooks are school property. If textbooks were taken, it was because the teacher purchased them for the kids with their own money, since funding for schools is lacking.
Strongsville School Mom March 7, 2013 at 03:06 pm
I understand too that there is good argument for both sides. However, when the money is not there you have to be practical. After seeing what their salaries are even after a "pay freeze", the benefits alone, wow. If I could et that with a job that would be great. My salary has gone down by 40% over the last 4 years. I lost my job and the only job I could get pays 40% less but at least it is a job. My health insurance cost $800 a month with $3000 deductable. No dental, no retirement. I am 52 years old, got cancer and have medical bills up the you know what. But, I have gratitude today. I am alive and doing well. I live each day with a lot of gratitude though because I know it could be worse. Be greatful for what you have.
I still am greatful for the teachers but not their behavior. My daughter wants them back but she knows the cost that we can't afford.
Strongsville School Mom March 7, 2013 at 03:13 pm
Also, it's hard to afford the Student fee of $60 plus materials fee of over $120 and I have to buy Kleenex, Wipes, etc, plus school supplies and a calculator. I miss the days of when you only had to bring paper and pencils, that was it.
lyn March 7, 2013 at 03:31 pm
Voice of reason??
You just said - "If textbooks were taken, it was because the teacher purchased them for the kids with their own money, since funding for schools is lacking." So, if the schools can't buy textbooks for the kids, how can they give ANY more to the teachers? Based on your statement, the teachers should probably take a cut!
Linda March 8, 2013 at 05:03 am
Strongsville Patch needs to establish some new guidelines. The words "bully", "did you read the contract", and "get your facts straight" are no longer permitted. Also, NO SCREAMING, spelling corrections of others, calculations of any kind, name calling, and justifications for being a complete doosh bag. Finally, the most important guideline...anyone that posts more than 10 times a day should be automatically grounded from The Patch for 48 hours...let's add to this last guideline. Anyone that posts more than 10 times repeating what they have said, is grounded from the post until further notice.
Please BOE and SEA let's end this.
tom m March 8, 2013 at 05:19 am
linda T what else do want the sun and moon already revolves around your perfect little world ....what next nobody will be allowed to post anything that you do not clear first
Linda March 8, 2013 at 05:36 am
Tom..you have obviously misunderstood. Anger is not very healthy. I am trying to keep up with all the details, but it becomes extremely nauseating to do so when people cannot respond without name calling and posting incessantly "old"news i.e. teacher',s wages, contract proposals and so on. Reading through 200 posts and to only come across useful information from about 20% is painful . And of the 200 posts 75% of them are from the same people, making the same comments and providing the same statistics, 20 different ways. All I ask for is new, relevant information without the verbal abuse.
Linda March 8, 2013 at 05:37 am
I would never ask for the sun and the moon.
Student March 8, 2013 at 07:33 am
Go teachers!!! We support and love you and we showed this by planning a candle light vigil. We want you back but we also want you to have a fair contract. You do so much for us!
Student March 8, 2013 at 08:06 am
Thank you teachers!
lyn March 8, 2013 at 01:20 pm
tom -
no facts - no figures -just misinfo and rumors - do not correct with facts and figures And when people still keep repeating wrong info, still do repeat the facts and info Just alt the propaganda, lies and half truths be on here and don't show swith facts and figures that they are wrong Don't tell them where to find the correct info - even when the contract is there to read - pretend it says something else Pretend more money in your pay check is not a raise pretend 72% increase in pay means you haven't had a raise for years we want to be able to lie and go unchallenged I think that about sums up what Linda wants...
Voice of Reason March 8, 2013 at 01:36 pm
The bonuses to the principals should be cut. The teachers & BOE should compromise. If the teachers salary remains frozen, which would total 6 yrs in a row if approved, then don't raise the cost benefits. The teachers are willing to negotiate, but the BOE won't even go back to the table unless all their demands are met.
To your other point...the teachers aren't even asking for anything more money-wise. They're only asking for things to resume from where they were before they agreed to $2.5 million worth of concessions from the previous contract, like the BOE promised them. The BOE can even afford to give teachers 2% raises within their budget, but the teachers aren't even asking for that. They only want the salary freeze to be lifted. To the BOE: this could have been avoided if your mouth didn't write checks that your a** can't cash. It's shocking to me how the BOE superintendent could praise the teachers for the selfless willingness to give up so much the previous negotiation, then stab them in the backs this time around.
Kurt Smith March 8, 2013 at 05:49 pm
This might not be al about money. The districts last best offer allows the board to layoff and recall without seniority being taken into account. That means the district could layoff the most senior (costly) teachers and never recall them. Basically age discrimination. They would simply layoff all of the teachers every year and then call back in the order of least expensive. What teacher of any quality would ever stay in that district with those rules knowing that when they become too expensive they will simply be laid off.
robinnet22 March 8, 2013 at 05:59 pm
actually Kim per the principal if the strongsville seniors were on track to graduate prior to the strike they will not be held accountable for how many days they miss.... and wishing ill luck on a student because he wants his teachers back? cmon thats low.... if you have gone to any recent graduations the back of that booklet is filled with real scholarships, not pretend. Point black, these are amazing teachers. should the majority be striking over pay? no... but if the board is so worried about where our strongsville tax money is going and us being in the red than I would like to see how their own pay and benefits are also being effected in this cause.
Linda March 8, 2013 at 09:10 pm
Lyn.. Read my post a few more times so you are able to comprehend what i am trying to say. People have posted some useful information from both sides. Fact vs. fiction is not the issue. The verbal abuse is unnecessary from both sides. Responding to everyone's post is a bit disturbing, especially when one feels the need to respond to high school students in a demeaning way. All they are doing is appropriately voicing an opinion. Your love for the conflict cycle is quite evident.

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