How many times would you have to be rejected in a job search before you realized that there was something in your resume or your job experience that was scaring potential employers away? Twice? Three times? Would it occur to you that it wasn’t your organizational skills, or your ability to compile data that was the issue, but the way you treat the people you’re supposed to be leading that was keeping you from moving on?
Prior to spring break we had many spirited and heated debates about how to react to the news that the superintendent would be interviewing with another district. Several people felt as I did that stepping back from our crisis activities was the wrong move, but about two-thirds of the members felt otherwise. Those folks, in fact, made a compelling argument to hold back for all the wrong reasons. The concern was that anything we might do that would keep the superintendent from leaving was just what we didn’t want to do. In other words, they weren’t interested in stepping back out of respect for all the great things he’s done during his tenure, they just wanted him gone, and the disappointment was palpable when that didn’t happen.
They were, in fact, tired of the manipulations and the token declarations of respect. Tired of watching budget presentations where they are portrayed as liabilities and not assets. Tired, in fact, of listening to board members expressing the notion that a budget surplus is more important than their families and the lives they had hoped to live. Tired of the suggestion that they don’t work hard enough, or long enough, or are undeserving of compensation equal to their skills and education.
Over a nearly two year period, the OEA has done everything it can to secure some financial relief for a membership which has steadily seen its income drop. Health insurance premiums, increased retirement contributions, and the steady increase in the cost of living continue to eat away at salaries that have stagnated since 2011. A week ago, we offered a revamped Schedule A that would save the district thousands of dollars over time, but did the superintendent present that offer with a spirit to match the one in which it was given? No. What we got instead was a reiteration of how important a 10% surplus is to the district’s plans, and a reminder of how unimportant teachers are to both the superintendent and the board.
The depth of the problem can’t be overstated. Earlier this week, a board member expressed complete befuddlement about the reality teachers are living on Facebook, claiming that a teacher with a bachelor’s degree who has been in the district 13 years makes $61,000. I’ve been with the district for fourteen and hold a master’s, and believe me, I’m not making $61,000 a year--not even when my coaching pay is added in. She also made the assertion that Oakridge teachers are the third highest paid in the county. That might be true had we been receiving steps each year, but this board member is apparently oblivious to the fact that none of us have received anything close to a salary increase in four years.
It seems to me that a lot of our cynicism about leadership today is a result of too few examples where a leader is willing to fight to right an injustice if that fight might bring some personal risk, but it’s just that kind of bold leadership that gets noticed and admired and hired when all the figures are tallied and equal. The notion that you can bully people into following you, or that words can hide the truths your actions lay bare is ludicrous, and it’s a shame those who are charged with leading us can’t see that.
