Souderton HS senior: Give future students what I've had

From the Souderton Independent.

We seem to keep forgetting why the schools exist: It's the students.

Souderton Area HS senior: Give future students what I've had
By: Bob Keeler, Staff Writer
04/03/2009

Initially, it wasn't a big deal to Souderton Area High School student Samantha Hickman that the school board and teachers hadn't reached an agreement for a new contract.

"At first I was in a mindset similar to many of my other fellow seniors - So what? I'm out of here in a year. I'm sure they'll settle it before we get back to school," Hickman said during the public comment portion of the March 26 Souderton Area School Board meeting.

"Seven months and look where we are now," Hickman continued.
Following a 13 day strike by the teachers at the beginning of the school year, the two sides are now in non-binding arbitration and still don't have a contract. Recommendations from a fact finder for new contracts with district aides and secretaries, who are also working without a new contract, are about to be voted on.

Teachers say they are among the lowest paid in the area, which is causing good teachers to go elsewhere and that 28 teachers have left for reasons other than retirement since the impasse began. Board members say they are trying to keep raises within an affordable level to taxpayers and when there are district openings for teachers, there are plenty of applicants in all except some specialized areas.
Hickman said she doesn't want the district to lose what she's had as a student.

"If I hadn't met many of the teachers I had during high school, I don't know who I would be, but I certainly wouldn't be the type of student willing to get up here tonight and speak to you all about how highly I value education," Hickman said.

"Please allow my younger brother and sister this experience," she said. "Please allow my friends, my neighbors, my family and all future students of Souderton Area this experience."

The teachers are an important part of helping with the transition by students into their future, she said.

"Please make a decision that will satisfy people in the long run, not just during an economic crisis. Be flexible and allow yourself to view the arbitrator's report with an open mind. I ask you to please place some value in the one thing that matters in the community the most, a strong foundation," Hickman told the board. "As we enter what I hope to be the final act of this situation, I urge you to not only think of the present, but of the future. Picture Souderton on its current path, but 50 years from now. Will you be content with the decisions that you made today? Are you setting up my world - our world - for a prosperous future?"

Hickman's support for the teachers was the second of the night from a high school student.

Following recognition of high-achieving student musicians, student Cassondra Diaz gave flowers to choir director Teresa Washam as a token of appreciation from the students.

"She is the reason why we are here and she has dedicated her time and her energy to us and we can't thank her enough," Diaz said.

"You represent how great our teachers are and how they are far from a dime a dozen," Diaz told Washam.

The public comment portion of recent board meetings has focused on the strike and its aftermath.

Before the start of the March 26 public comment, Bud Miller, the board's vice president who chaired the meeting, reminded those in attendance that the arbitration is still ongoing and there can't be any new contract or negotiations until the arbitration is completed.

"There's nothing we can do at this time in that regard," Miller said.

"We appreciate what you do for us and it's important to remember we're all on the same team," Miller told teachers at the meeting.

Former board member Tracy Cole said she had not commented publicly before because it's important to let the arbitration process unfold, but wanted to respond to comments made at previous meetings.

"I want the board to know that while some members of the community have expressed at board meetings that if the teachers don't like it here, then they should just leave, that is not how I feel, and I am also a taxpayer and a parent of two students presently in our schools," Cole said.

Cole said she appreciates the devotion and passion expressed by teachers at previous meetings and doesn't want the district to have a "revolving door of employees."

"That's no way to run a business or a school district," Cole said. "It leads to poor returns on our investment, our investment in our employee, and more importantly, our investment in our children's future."

Teacher Beth Swartz spoke in opposition to board proposals to create new merit pay systems.

"As a teacher in the district, I know that we already have two forms of merit pay and we don't need another," Swartz said.

One is yearly evaluations by school principals that can freeze a teacher's salary if an unsatisfactory rating is given and lead to firing if there's no improvement, she said.

"We've had this form of merit pay for more than 15 years," Swartz said.
The other form of merit pay is scholarships to teachers from Souderton Area Education Foundation, she said.

"The big unanswered question to the board is what formula would be used to determine merit? Who determines who receives merit pay?" Swartz said, reviewing some possible systems, but concluding the systems are "merely divisive attempts at favoritism."
Resident Charlotte Wellener said proposed new state laws banning teacher strikes should be supported.

"This would eliminate all of what's been going on these past few months, open in the public, with our taxpayers and children being held hostage," Wellener said.
Resident Hugh Donnelly said Pennsylvania's teachers are among the highest paid in the country.

Giving information from the Commonwealth Foundation for Public Policy Alternatives, Donnelly said the Pennsylvania State Education Association has moved from being a professional development organization at its 1852 start into a powerful labor union and political machine that leads to higher taxes.

"By completely politicizing public education at every level, the PSEA has effectively marginalized parents, children and even teachers in communities throughout Pennsylvania," Donnelly said.