Greenfield School District's Press Release on Last Month's Protests
The district reacts to the board meeting that gained statewide recognition.
Greenfield School Board Protests
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Saturday, September 10, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Several Greenfield, Whitnall Teachers Among Nearly 5,000 Who Recently Retired
According to a report, the retirement rate among public school teachers doubled following the 2010-11 school year.
UPDATED AT 10:20 A.M. THURSDAY WITH GREENFIELD'S NUMBERS. Thursday's first day of school will be the first school year "opening day" spent away from a classroom for a record number of retired teachers, according to a recent report. It was reported by the Associated Press on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website that 4,935 school district employees retired in the first half of 2011 before a new law required them contribute more for benefits and took away most of their collective bargaining rights. According to the story, 2010 retirements totaled 2,527 in 2010 and 2,417 in 2009. So, in 2009 and 2010 combined, there were just nine more retirements than there were from January to July of 2011. According to Whitnall Superintendent Lowell Holtz…
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Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Week After Greenfield School Board Protests, Similar Scene Plays Out in New Berlin
New Berlin teachers, like those in Greenfield, were displeased with the input they had on their employee handbook.
Protesters from both sides of the aisle. A police presence. Cheers, jeers and chants. Sound familiar? It should. One week after protesters voiced their displeasures with the Greenfield School District administrators and School Board at a board meeting Aug. 22, nearly an identical scene played out at New Berlin West High/Middle School on Monday, according to a story in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The story said New Berlin school district employees are upset with their lack of input in the new school handbook, which was approved at last night's meeting. Greenfield teachers have had similar complaints with their administration. One major difference between the two meetings: New Berlin moved its into the school's auditorium a week …
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robert heule
9:03 am on Thursday, September 15, 2011
Paul was it lonely and dark in the meeting room at the northwest corner of the high school? I'm glad that you finally found the P.A.C. more ›
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Several Factors Led to Monday's School Board Meeting Ruckus
A letter to teachers, need for safety, open meeting law all contributed to tension.
The cause of Monday's raucous Greenfield School Board meeting could easily be categorized as another episode in the never-ending collective bargaining drama that has besieged the state over the last eight months. But the roots of what transpired are much more nuanced, involving the underpinnings of a changing relationship between teachers and the district, and quick decisions made by the school officials during the proceedings. What occurred Monday began to percolate in late July, when school board president Bruce Bailey wrote a letter to teachers stating it is unlawful for the district or any of its representatives to "negotiate" with teachers as a result of the collective bargaining reform passed in Madison earlier this year. The …
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robert heule
10:04 pm on Saturday, August 27, 2011
Heads up folks!!! THE HANDBOOK WILL BE ON LINE NEXT WEEK! According to Superintendent Farner, the much publicized Employee Hand Book will be published on line "about the middle of next week". more ›
Thursday, August 25, 2011
More Reaction From the Greenfield School Board Protests
There have been plenty of opinions on both sides of the issue shared the last few days.
As expected, the protests from Monday's Greenfield School Board meeting at the Greenfield School District administrative building has been a hot topic this week. Greenfield Patch's coverage - a breaking news story from the meeting, raw video, a photo gallery and a followup with School Board president Bruce Bailey - led to nearly 120 combined comments from Patch users as of 12:30 p.m. Thursday. In addition, Greenfield NOW reporter Jane Ford gathered these reactions and comments at Monday's meeting and reported that Greenfield teachers made up an estimated 40 percent of the crowd in this story.
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Paul Ollenburg
12:37 pm on Saturday, September 3, 2011
Greenfield taxpayers! It looks like WEAC is planning to again pack the Greenfield School Board meeting on September 12th with OUTSIDERS. "Chatter" on WEAC-affiliated websites makes it look like they're attempting to organize a repeat of their last visit. Being forewarned is being forearmed, as the saying goes. The meeting will be held, as usual, in the meeting room of the Greenfield School … more ›
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
President Defends Board, Calls Protesters 'Unruly' and 'Obnoxious'
Greenfield School Board president Bruce Bailey speaks out on Monday night's protests.
Greenfield School Board president Bruce Bailey understands that people in Wisconsin, especially teachers and their supporters, are mad these days. He just thinks they are mad at the wrong people. Bailey had the unenviable task of leading Monday night’s Greenfield School Board meeting that was met with more than 100 protesters who voiced their opinions before, during and after the session. “I was surprised with the amount of anger directed at us,” said Bailey, who added he had no inclination that large of a crowd would show up. “If they’re mad at Governor Walker and the (budget-repair) bill, that’s fine, but to direct that anger at the local school board is misplaced.” According to Bailey, one school board member told him their car was …
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David Cotey
8:35 am on Wednesday, August 31, 2011
I exchanged emails with the board member with the damaged car. The damage was minor, but damage nonetheless. more ›
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Police Called to Help with Protesters at Greenfield School Board Meeting
The scheduled space couldn't hold the 130 protesters that came to the meeting, and the crowd was upset when the board refused to change locations.
Updated at 9:55 p.m. Frustration with the direction the Greenfield School Board and its administration is taking the district boiled over Monday evening as protesters flooded into and briefly took over the regularly scheduled board meeting. Dozens of protesters and speakers berated board members and district officials, voicing their displeasure with how the district teachers are being treated now that collective bargaining is prohibited. "We want a quality educational system; your actions don't match. You need to do something about that," said Andrew Misorski during the public comment period of the meeting. The show of frustration stems from a number of changes Greenfield teachers have faced this summer due to the end of collective …
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Ron Tramm
11:35 pm on Friday, August 26, 2011
grs, Thank you for your comments, I do find outsourcing to be a singular largest outrage that our pols are impotent to change. Not that they can't, but rather are in the pockets of so many PAC's and lobbyists that they won't. But I owned my own contracting company and made the decision to close the doors because building just isn't happening. Secondly my wife works for a non-profit. And the only … more ›
RAW VIDEO: Greenfield School Board Protests
The Greenfield School District administrative building was the site of a large protest Monday evening.
More than 100 protesters, many from districts other than Greenfield, showed up at the Greenfield School Board meeting Monday to protest the district's handling of the employee handbook and benefits. The district's administrative meeting room was too small to accommodate the crowd and the Greenfield Police Department was called in to maintain order, though no arrests were made according to one news report. Freelancer Brendan O'Brien filmed this raw video and captured some of the protesters chanting "Shame" as the school board went into closed session.
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Chris Mackenzie
10:50 am on Monday, August 29, 2011
Actually Brendan, Ben DOES have the right to question your objectivity (your belief that he doesn't strikes me as odd for a journalist); whether he had a basis to is another matter. more ›
More Details on Monday's School Board Protests
According to multiple sources, many of the protestors were Wisconsin Education Association Council members.
A handful of media outlets, in addition to Greenfield Patch, were at Monday's Greenfield School Board meeting, which featured more than 100 protesters who showed their support for Greenfield teachers. The protests stemmed from what teachers feel is a lack of communication as the board discussed and voted on the employee handbook and benefit contributions. "I think there's a lot of frustration on the eve of our first day of school," Doug Perry, a fifth grade teacher at Maple Grove Elementary School and the Greenfield Education Association president told a TMJ4 reporter. "The first day for teachers is tomorrow (Tuesday). Even though Act 10 was passed around June 20, and that's two months, we have no idea what our rights and privileges and …
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steve
8:46 am on Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Why include them? The days are over where the school board has to give them input or ask their opinion on what their job descriptions are going to be. Six days without pay? They make enough money to absorb it. Check out their salaries and then try to feel sorry for them. Also, Mr. Perry might want to check out the ACT score table that was just released. 21.1 average? I think those extra days of … more ›
Monday, August 22, 2011
Photos From Monday's Protests
More than one hundred protestors gathered at the Greenfield School District administrative building Monday.
The Greenfield School Board and the district's administrators were met with more than 100 protestors at Monday's meeting. For a complete story, click here.
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Tony
10:44 pm on Thursday, September 1, 2011
Great news! Let's get some new blood in there now! more ›