The Board of Education for Peoria Public Schools District 150 will meet tonight at district headquarters on Wisconsin Avenue, 6:00 p.m. The most important item on tonight’s agenda:
“12. APPROVAL OF CONTRACT FOR DR. GRENITA LATHAN
Proposed Action: That the employment contract for Dr. Grenita F. Lathan be approved and executed by the parties.”
WCBU-FM (89.9) is reporting that the board is expected to unanimously approve the contract, and that Lathan will not be in attendance at the meeting. If the contract is approved, Lathan is expected to begin July 1.
The board members I’ve talked to have all been impressed by Lathan, and feel she will make a positive difference at District 150. I sincerely wish her the best of luck here in Peoria.
Kcdad do you fathom the idea of a post industrial economy? Yeah I know that 70 years ago in a totally different world in a totally different economic situation the United States had an economy powered by large amounts of under skilled and under educated labor. Most developed nations are moving into post industrial economys or are there already. Manufacturing is done in the US unless it is done on a small scale or it is a specialized product because the cost of production is more then the market will support. Stick a fork in it.
Lets see we are on a blog right now you should ask someone from that generation what they think of the internet. The entire way information and goods are processed and moved has come out of the highly educated and trained generation meaning that we have access to buy and sell goods from markets, and to markets, that the people of 1940 couldnt even fathom. Are you really going to deny the technological and medical mountains we have crossed in less then 60 years? Even in the last 20 years?
Right your list is made up of small businesses. Most economic activity in the US is small business related.
Wal Mart provides goods at a low cost to consumers. Those manufactured goods are not going to be produced in the US anyway. It provides part time work to unskilled labor.
CAT is a global company that makes money and is successful. Im not sure what your issue is with CAT other then the fact that you have a pre disposed aversion to corporations.
When does a corporation get to big? When does Joe and Sara’s local organic beet farm move from an acceptable business to an evil corporate cog? When it employs 400 people? 4000?
I mean really arn’t all businesses the same in that the supervisors, admin, overseers, bosses, owners are going to profit off the work of the employee so does it matter the size of the business? Whats the difference between 4 workers exploited and 4000?
Charlie, unfortunately, the highly educated and highly trained are building on what the untrained and under-educated built. I had all the same feelings when I read Friedman’s book–but I don’t think we will be turning back the clock the the factory system any time soon. The only thing that would change the direction is some global disaster that would wipe out all the technological gains–and cause us to start all over again.
“Wal Mart provides goods at a low cost to consumers.”
How does it get those goods? Paying very low slave wages in developing countries that have no labor laws or unions…how do we consumers buy those goods? With social security checks and unemployment… because all of our jobs are moved overseas, OR with minimum wage checks FROM WALMART and other viral businesses.
“CAT is a global company that makes money and is successful.”
Because most of its business is overseas in developing countries where there are no labor laws or consumer protection or environmental protections… How many NEW jobs has Caterpillar created in the United States since 1960 when our population was 125 million instead of 320 million? How many overseas?
“I mean really aren’t all businesses the same”
Do you really have to ask that question? Is CEFCU the same as Bank of America? Is Haddad’s the same as Aldi?
If you mean aren’t all “jobs” the same? Yeah, pretty much. The difference of course is “Are you a person at that job or a number?”
Look around you, Stephen… why are there so many title loan, pawn shops, thrift stores (Goodwill and Salvation Army, South Side Mission, etc) and check cashing places in town? Why is 20 % of our population unable to find a job of ANY kind?
“the highly educated and highly trained”
Sharon … what are you talking about? Who are the highly trained and educated? What are they building? Banks too big to fail? Invisible and intangible junk bonds and futures markets? An economic system based on NOTHING but the illusion of money?
Our highly educated (graduates) can neither read nor write… let alone critically think… I know PhD’s who think Sarah Palin is intelligent AND qualified to be President of The United States!!!! Some of them think Glenn Beck does his own research and book writing and Sean Hannity actually comes up with original thoughts.
“some global disaster that would wipe out all the technological gains”
NONSENSE! We are human beings, and have adapted to ice ages and space travel… we can deal with this… if we wake up and admit it is real.
Kcdad you cant deny the advancement of technology. You can rant as much as you want but the world is in a much more advanced place then we were 40 years ago you cant deny it, argue it away, rant it off, its the truth you can see it.
How do you think China manufactures so much stuff so cheaply? They artificially control their currency to undercut the dollar and euro. Meaning that a livable wage in a country like China is only a fraction of the daily wage for a worker in the US. There is a lack of labor regulation there but the bigger issue is the currency exchange rate.
“Do you really have to ask that question? Is CEFCU the same as Bank of America? Is Haddad’s the same as Aldi?”
So its ok for Haddad’s to pay an employee minimum wage to stock shelves but its wrong for Wal Mart to do the same thing? CEFCU can take your money but Bank of America is bad and evil?
No I mean businesses. Does it matter if its a corporation of 4000 paying minimum wage versus a company of 4? Your rhetoric is that at a base level all companies are exploiting a labor pool for their own financial gain so Im just curious why you seem to be ok with Haddad’s doing it versus Wal Mart doing it?
Charlie, I agree about Sarah and Hennity and Beck and the banks, etc. I was thinking more of those who created the technology–not those who misuse it once it is created.
Stephen–Are you sure that Haddad’s pays minimum wage? Many West Peoria young people learned their work ethic at Haddad’s–just ran into one of them yesterday when he was shopping at Haddad’s. Haddad’s seems to keep its employees for a long time. I know of one former student who has worked there for years–probably over 20.
Wal-mart generally pays slightly above minimum wage. Some long-time workers there are earning an hourly wage that will surprise you. Of course, some store managers will go out of their way to try to get these older workers fired in order to lowercosts. The previous manager at the University Store did this and ended up getting her sorry ass canned because of the problems this policy created.
http://bit.ly/920aEI
From the Chicago Tribune – We are shocked over Dist 150’s salary for Lathan, but one Superintendent made over $369,000 per year….
Illinois schools chiefs’ salaries keep supersizing
March 2, 2010 9:15 PM |
The state’s school superintendents are cutting costs in a gruesome budget cycle, but they can take some consolation: Their own paychecks are growing comfortably.
The average salary and benefits of Illinois’ top school executives grew 4.1 percent last year, about 10 times faster than raises enjoyed by other wage earners in the Chicago metro area, according to state data. A record number of superintendents — 150 — earned $200,000 or more.
The earnings report comes as school districts from Amboy to Zion have threatened to trim teaching positions, close swimming pools or cancel lacrosse and band programs — all in an effort to balance budgets.
The new salary information, provided by the Illinois State Board of Education, shows that the average compensation of full-time superintendents grew from $145,000 during the 2007-08 school year to $151,000 in 2008-09.
As a comparison, all wage earners in the Chicago region saw compensation increase by about 0.4 percent during the same period, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The state data reflect self-reported salary information from 855 of the 869 school districts.
The figures may include retirement contributions, bonuses, retirement incentives and unused vacation days. As in years past, the highest paid administrators were at — or near — retirement and saw their compensation packages swollen by bonuses, annuities and end-of-career salary bumps.
Big raises boost pensions because a superintendent’s highest salary years are a key ingredient in calculating payments.
The state implemented a cap on raises in 2005 in hopes of getting school districts to think twice about hefty salary bumps, said Sally Sherman, director of member services with the state’s Teachers’ Retirement System.
Districts are still free to give any annual raise they want, but they must help cover the added pension costs for amounts greater than 6 percent.
Ron Gidwitz, a former chairman of the Illinois State Board of Education, said it’s not right for school districts to use the state’s pension system to pat superintendents on the back for a job well done.
“It isn’t treating the taxpayers fairly,” he said. “It’s not what the pension system was intended to be.”
The top wage earner, Henry Gmitro of Community Consolidated School District 93, collected about $369,000. Gmitro, who retired from the Carol Stream district in June, had a base salary of $243,390, but also collected a $40,000 annuity, $20,000 bonus and $35,000 in an extra retirement contribution, among other things.
Gmitro oversaw a $59 million budget and eight schools. Rick DeVries, District 93 school board president, said Gmitro’s salary was market-driven.
“In my opinion, Dr. Gmitro was a fantastic superintendent, and our test scores and the quality of education we deliver to our students support this,” DeVries said.
Gmitro’s base salary grew from $179,687 in 2005-06 to $243,390 in 2007-08 — a 35 percent increase over two years, on the eve of his retirement.
The region’s second-highest paid superintendent, Dennis Kelly of Lyons Township High School District 204, also retired after the 2008-09 school year. His last three raises on base salary were 10.2 percent, 5 percent and 5 percent.
“He was among the top 10 tenured superintendents in Illinois,” said district community relations director Jennifer Bialobok. “He had 17 years’ experience as superintendent in the same district and nearly 40 years of education under his belt.”
Representatives of both districts said they weren’t trying to maximize the former superintendents’ pensions when they awarded raises.
Of the 10 highest-paid superintendents in the Chicago region, all but one oversaw a small or medium-size district.
Few school chiefs who head the largest districts sit atop the wage-earner list. Ron Huberman, Chicago Public Schools chief, earned about $237,000, ranking him 59th. He oversees a $6.8 billion budget, 600 schools and about 400,000 students.
Jane ,they pay Bradley BB coach $ 450,000 + a/ year for what would be classified as Grade B university ball. Not at all as the Class ball and coaches from past . Ehy ??
It’s got to be the drinking water here !!
“Good luck with that…”
This individual acts like a bully and in no way promotes diversity.
Good luck, career employees….get your resumes updated….you’re gonna need it!
Stephen… “How do you think China manufactures so much stuff so cheaply?”
They pay slave laborers nothing.
“do you fathom the idea of a post industrial economy?”
Yes.. it is an industrial economy who ships its labor needs to third world countries where the labor is cheap and the natural resources “unclaimed”.
There is no difference between industrial and post industrial for those at the top… for those of us working people, the difference is we don’t matter in a post industrial society anymore. Just ask the people of Flint or any other manufacturing town that watched its factories close and move overseas…
You continue to sing the praises of this economy and hope to be or, if you are already, hope to stay in the top 5%. For the rest of us, there is always Walmart and being your waiters and servants…