Nampa School District offers furlough option for teachers
Addendum added to individual contracts, furloughs not required
NAMPA — Nampa School District principals have informed their teachers of an addendum added to individual teacher contracts that allows them to take volunteer furlough days, Allison Westfall, the district’s public information officer, said. Westfall said the district consulted with legal council to add the addendum, which in no way forces teachers to take furlough days. She said “many teachers came forward” to ask in what ways they could help the district out of its $4.3 million budget shortfall.
Nampa teachers can now take as many as four furlough days to be completed before the end of this school year — teachers may elect to take all or no furloughs.
The addendum comes on the heels of the board’s decision to impose four furlough days on classified staff members. District administration will also take four furlough days, some of which fall during the upcoming holiday break.
The Idaho Press-Tribune previously reported that the School Board also decided to implement transportation and activity fees at the middle and high school levels. Beginning with spring 2013, transportation fees of $25 and $50 for middle and high school students, respectively, will be imposed. The fees will be used to cover transportation costs for nongraded, nonacademic activities.
Effective next fall, a $20 activity card at the middle school level and a $35 activity card at the high school level will be available for students to purchase. Students participating in nonacademic after-school activities, like football or golf, would be required to purchase the activity card. Students not participating would not be required to purchase the card.
The Board also approved the district’s request to pursue the legal process needed to sell district-owned property, not including the nutritional services warehouse that is only used for limited storage.
The Board will continue to pursue a bond restructure plan and the possibility of a March supplemental levy where the net of the restructure and levy will result in a 0 percent property tax increase.
I, of course, have a better idea. Let's have the administrators take a furlough. Let's have the boys and girls at the top have some days off to make up the shortfall. They aren't the ones who are educating our children anyway. Why should teachers have to cover the cost of the shortfall? Were they the ones who caused it, or are they just the scapegoats who have to pay for lousy management of funds? Let's let a few of the top dogs who have reached the Peter Principal take the hit instead of the people who really do the work, teachers. But, that's not how the system works, now is it. It's always the least of us who have to pay for the mismanagement of anything in government. The post office is going broke, fire some of the mail deliverers. The Fire Department hasn't got enough funding this year, hey, let's fire some firefighters...godknows we don't need 'em do we? The State has run out of funds, well, let's get rid of some road crews and street maintenance guys. We never, ever get rid of the REAL problem do we? Nope, we just let it go on and on ad infinitum. I wish this was just something that happens once in a while, but it seems it goes on all the time, and not just in Idaho.
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