When has The Tampa Tribune written a more frivolous editorial than one that appeared in Sunday's paper? It was a not so veiled attempt to smear the two school board members not supported by the paper. Talk about sore losers, those in the executive wing must be in the throws of a temper-tantrum over losing the election. Get over it. To begin with, it is strange that it has no leading line of inquiry; it seems to pop up out of nowhere. Nothing in the editorial hints at why the sudden concern with taxpayer money.
How concerned was the Tribune when Superintendent MaryEllen Elia received her $48,000 bonus—and she didn’t learn anything for that one. Did the Tribune question a huge bonus for a superintendent who has barely gotten her feet wet? Does the Tribune have any idea what a teacher must do to get $48,000? Teachers are eligible for a bonus if they are outstanding educators, and they get a whopping 5% on some salaries not even approaching Elia’s bonus money. To repeat, after teaching all year a teacher may get a paltry 5% on a salary that does not even reach Elia’s bonus! Hey, that’s our economy: Rappers spew verbal filth and make millions, while teachers have to deal with the aftermath of that verbal garbage and don’t even make what Elia takes home as a reward for what her predecessor did. It’s not Elia’s fault, who wouldn’t accept a bonus when offered.
I will tell you who. One of the very subjects of that poor excuse for an editorial, that’s who. One of the very board members the editorial attempted to trash donated her raise to charity because she felt she hadn’t been on the job long enough to accept it in good faith. Apparently, The Tampa Tribune did not bother to look hard enough to get the whole story. Maybe, they had no interest in the real story.
How absurd is a criticism of school board members seeking to get educated? Did the editorial staff think through the idea of a board of education getting educated? As they wrote the commentary, did someone not notice the absurdity of what they were saying? It is the school board. It is a board for educators, students, and parents of students. The board that is responsible for educating the next generation of responsible productive members of society.
Who does not want members of the school board to learn what is necessary to make sound decisions for our community? Apparently, the brilliant editorial staff at The Tampa Tribune, that’s who.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
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2 comments:
This is the ultimate outrage; that the press, which should be a defender of the truth, is in collusion with Ms. Elia. Is the Trib. really so corrupt? Yellow journalism is a mild adjective to what is going on.
Let me get my waders on..........
To repost my position:
"This makes my blood boil. The teachers who have spoken out about the effects of teaching 6/7, do so because they are concerned about the scaling back of services to students. This will result in a myriad of negative consequences for our students which is yet to be calculated. It is an outrage that we are witnessing colleagues who have been denied their 1st amendment rights.
As professionals, it is not only our right, but our duty, to speak out about the impending catastrophe. I do not want to be with the group that has to defend the effects of this plan or to explain why I did not speak up."
Lest we forget
Student Gains Lift School Chief's Pay
Skip directly to the full story.
By MARILYN BROWN The Tampa Tribune
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB6Y2BT10F.ht
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