Clare Jellick has a very telling quote on her blog from District 150 Superintendent Ken Hinton. The article is about Hinton changing his mind regarding Edison schools, and Clare asked him if he changed his mind because of “the outcry from parents last year.” His answer?
“That wasn’t a factor at all,†Hinton said. “I don’t want to offend anyone, but I come to a position based on my own observation excluding outside influence.â€
Isn’t that obvious? Kind of makes you wonder why he spent all that time last year asking for public input on the school siting issue. As we suspected, it was evidently just for show.
Anyone who has done graduate or undergraduate work in business/management, has had a course in organizational culture/management. One of the first things the texts usually discuss is organizational culture, including the organization’s folklore, traditions, and legends. District #150 has developed its own culture complete with folklore, traditions, and legends over the years.
Hinton is the subject of one district legend. While he was Assistant Superintendent (before he retired in 2002 and went to work for Edison), there was a meeting of district administration staff to discuss a problem that had developed with one of the after-school programs under Hinton’s direction. It seems Hinton had developed and implemented a compensation schedule for the program’s staff that did not comply with the terms and conditions of the collective bargaining agreement between the Board of Education of the City of Peoria and the Peoria Federation of Teachers (the “blue contract book“). Anyone familiar with labor law knows that this type of breach of contract leads to the filing of an unfair labor practice suit by the union (one the union would win).
Among those present at the meeting were representatives of the human resource and finance departments. They repeatedly stated that the terms and provisions of the CBA had to be followed and the district couldn’t just implement a different salary schedule for after-school programs. Hinton became frustrated and angry with those opposing him, and refused to be dissuaded from his position. He picked up his copy of the blue contract book, waived it in the air above his head, and told the administrators that the contract didn’t matter to him – that God spoke directly to him and he only did what God told him to do.
The meeting soon broke up, and Hinton did not get his way. The story spread like wild fire throughout the district. No one present doubted Hinton heard and listened to “voices,†they only questioned to whom the voices belonged. It’s interesting, isn’t it, that when Hinton wanted his own way and was denied it, he was suddenly being directed by the voice of God?
On a more serious note, grievances and unfair labor practices are costly for the district to defend. To flagrantly disregard the provisions of the negotiated labor contracts exposes the district to serious, and expensive, litigation. It would be very interesting to file a FOIA request for the number of grievances filed, by bargaining unit, and their disposition, since 2000. Undoubtedly, the data would reveal a sharp increase in grievances and/or unfair labor practice charges since Hinton took over in 2004, especially after he hired Cahill. (A call to the PFT office may also get the information.)
If the BOE really is looking for ways to save money, this is one area that should not be overlooked.
Why should this surprise anyone? Repeatedly King Hinton has shown that the decisions he makes are what he wants and the public be damned! The wasted time for public input was a farce that the BOE told Hinton he must do. Anybody who knows the King knows how he outwardly displays his attitude toward people in his facial expressions – he’s no poker player! The man can scowl with the best of them! Now if you are a subordinate it is easy to see when King Hinton disagrees so they play the game his way or face the wrath. If you are the public, well so what, you’re just a dumb taxpayer in Peoria and he won’t listen to you anyway!
As we know the arch rival of the Edison program in Peoria is the teachers’ union. Since Hinton had implied that this was the last year for Edison up until now then in the recent bargaining the union must concede. Translated – the district was finally going to resolve that problem so union belly up some savings to show good faith! Now that the ink is dry on the contract Hinton can reveal his true plans! Ha ha ha , fooled you!
Lastly, let’s not forget how this farce of Hinton’s has cost the district hard dollars. Susan Grzanich was hired for $93,000 plus benefits to design an Edison-like program for 150. That expense plus the cost of stipends paid to teachers to formulate the program was wasted money. Gosh, that would have paid for the truancy program, but the public bailed out King Hinton on that one too.
I still say FIRE Hinton! ^oo^~