Opinions...
Comments to the Tallassee Times
Superintendent's
Salary (5-19-09)
Dr.
Jeffers received the approval for a raise from the board
of Tallassee City Schools. While I’m not “knocking”
anyone in the job force for receiving a raise, I work
and enjoy the raises I receive from my job, but I think
the raise that Dr. Jeffers received is a bit much. First
off, I will admit, I don’t know all the facts
and contributing factors that are included in determining
a school superintendent's raise, and I don’t know
all the achievements Jeffers has accomplished and the
achievements the school system has accomplished under
his direction. So my comment is coming strictly from
the article I read concerning his raise and me just
using a little common sense. So here it goes, his raise
was approved 5-2. His salary went from $119,508 to $149,358
annually. That is an increase of roughly a $30,000 a
year.
Now,
I am firm believer in doing all that we can for our
school systems. Education and safety in the schools
is a crucial asset that we have to have here in Tallassee.
The children and students in Tallassee school system
need to receive the highest education possible in the
safest environment possible. So accomplishing that is
something I believe all residents of Tallassee, whether
you have children in the schools or not, need to help
out with. According to the article, as of April 30,
2009 the school system had $2,774,600.44 cash in the
bank. And Jeffers said that the school system is financially
sound. “President Pitchford presented a long list
of achievements under Jeffers' tenure including upgrades
on all campuses, budget surplus increase from $400,000
to $2.5 million, about $40,000 received per quarter
for processing the state's Medicaid Administration claims,
the addition of a full-time choral department, and several
other achievements. Pitchford then pointed out that
Jeffers' salary is lower than superintendents of other
city systems of comparable size.”
So
Jeffers upgraded the campuses, increased the budget
surplus from $400,000 to $2.5 million, $40,000 for processing
Medicaid Admin claims, a full time choral dept, and
other achievements. Would it be wrong of me to ask,
aren’t those things he should be doing in his
job? Accomplishing all those achievements for the school
system is what the superintendant is supposed to do,
right? I mean, achieving all goals that the school system,
board, and community would like to see accomplished
is kind of one of the “jobs” of the superintendent,
right? So, he is accomplishing all these goals, which
is great, I think that if he is doing this, he is doing
his job and should be praised for it. But here is the
real kicker to me, there are some funds that are not
going to be awarded, yet he got a $30,000 a year raise
and Jeffers' salary is lower than other superintendents
of other city systems of comparable size. So, we have
to keep Jeffers’ salary up with the “Jones”.
You know the old saying, everybody tries to keep up
with the “Jones”. So just because other
city system superintendents are making more than Jeffers,
we have to give him a $30,000 a year raise?
In
my job, as well as millions of other jobs in the country,
there are people in the same job positions that make
more than you, but do we just get paid according to
the rate of comparable job positions? It’s kind
of like when Nick Saban was hired as the head coach
of Alabama, because of his high pay other colleges were
raising the pay of their coaches, but did they have
to, no. Do the Tallassee City School system have to
keep up with pay, or “Jones’ salary”
of other superintendents of comparable systems, no.
When they compared them, what was comparable? Number
of students enrolled, number of student activities,
number of teachers, revenue and deficits, what? Do these
other comparable systems have a higher revenue, higher
income, lower deficits, more grants, more donations,
less grants, ………???? What was comparable?
In one section of the article it says that there will
no longer be “funding for Student Materials, Technology,
Library Enhancement, Professional Development, and Common
Purchase.” So the school system has cut funds
that drastically help our students and teachers, but
our superintendent has to be paid in comparison with
other superintendents?
Well
here is my whole point of writing this long, drawn out
comment to this article and what I have been on a soap
box about, there are a lot of student materials, technology,
library enhancements, professional development, and
common purchases that could be made with a $30,000 a
year raise. Or at least a good start on it. That $30,000
a year that is going to Jeffers could do a lot and help
out a lot for classrooms and teachers. Like I said previously,
I believe in raises and awarding someone for a job well
done, but I do believe in the Tallassee City School
system, $119,508 dollars a year is a great salary to
live on! Let’s use that $30,000 to put something
back in the classrooms, to help a teacher buy something
for her class, like pencils, paper, paper towels, hand
sanitizer, etc. use that to buy a couple of new or updated
computers, buy new things for the library that students
can use for research, any type of common purchase. That’s
just my common sense of how I see it - Jeffrey Dennis
__________
I
can understand rewarding someone for a job well done
BUT 25% reward is above and beyond what should be given
in my humble opinion. I have been in jobs where I have
had the threat of exposure to diseases and radiation
and the most I ever received was 3%, so please tell
me why would 25% be justified!!?? We have a need for
additional teachers and supplies but by all means pay
$30,000 more to an official who has an income that most
of us dream of. How much is enough? How much is too
much? How many supplies would $30,000 buy for my daughter’s
first and third grade classes? I am all for making a
living but this is a 25% increase and we cannot and
should not compare ourselves with other city systems
because who is to say they are doing things correctly;
why can’t we be the trend setters, do the job
that is expected, do it well, get paid a decent salary
and be happy with that? I might be happy and approve
of a 5% raise, which by the way is almost $6,000 a year,
but I think in these economic times a more prudent approach
would be to give a pat on the back, a you’re doing
a great job, and yes we will let you keep your job for
a little longer. There are a lot of people that would
just love to hear that last part. I do not have any
hard feelings toward any involved parties I only want
success and prosperity for Tallassee and the school
system. Bring back teachers that can discipline the
children when they do wrong and bring back parents who
will be parents instead of excuse makers for their kids
- Stephen Osborne
__________
With
the state of the economy being as it is, I personally
think it is a slap in the face to all the people who
can't even find work or draw unemployment, to give that
much of a raise. Some people aren't even getting a cost
of living raise this year much less that ridiculus amount
- Art Ballard
__________
I
listened to interview (on WTLS) with Wayne Pitchford.
It was very good and very informative to general public.
Very positive! It is my opinion I agree totally with
Wayne Pitchford and the board's decision to raise his
pay. He deserves it and has done a tremendous job in
several categories with his leadership and his pay WAS
well behind other comparable superintendents' pay scales
of same size. Just my two cents worth. Hire the best
people you can hire, and then you got to pay to keep
them and should give folks incentives to stay and reward
them when they do well - Charlie Winchester
Rundown
Buildings (5-19-09)
I
have been passing buildings on my way home that are
an eyesore for years and am curious to know if the owners
have been contacted about cleanup. These buildings are
the old Show and Shine building, the garage/shop right
across the street from previously named building, and
numerous other buildings that are vacant along Hwy 14
up to the Senior Center. People are continuing to hold
Tallassee back when this city could prosper and grow.
I am also curious to know why the duplex on James Street
where the movie Big Fish was filmed is still vacant.
If there are any answers to these questions I would
like to know. Thank you - Stephen Osborne
Gene
Chizik (5-19-09)
Comments
about the “Where Does Chizik Rank” editorial
- How about a take on how lucky Bama was to win like
they did last year only to get the real proof on how
good they really were in the Sugar Bowl against the
mighty Utes…. How about an editorial on that -
Steve Stokes
Morris
Purcell Recognition (5-19-09)
You
know I read in the board block that Ingram commented
that something should be done to honor Jimmy Durden
for his years of service for THS athletics. I agree
with that and thought about that myself before reading
this. I mention that to say this, why did the Morris
Purcell recommendation to honor him in some capacity
just go away? - Miles Hathcock
The
Tallapoosa River Rapids (5-12-09)
Ok,
this is the second year in a row I have sent this e-mail.
No one respects that area of the river. And if you are
boating as a hobby you ALWAYS wear a life vest - ALWAYS.
If you are going to run the falls, you should first
scout them. They should have logically determined -
IT ISN'T A GOOD IDEA. If you are going to be daring,
at least have someone standing above you with a throw
rope. Dang. Some of this was just ignorance on their
part. But I sure hate to see it - Matt Totty
__________
I
think that all boaters who venture on the Tallapoosa
below Thurlow dam should be required to check in with
the Tallassee Police Department before putting crafts
in the water. At the check in, boaters would register
type of boat, driver-license identifications or some
other acceptable photo-identification, communications
numbers and contact names and numbers. They would be
told of the dangers on the river and advised that life
jackets must be worn at all times. Then they would be
given a code. When they leave the river safely, someone
would be obligated to call the police department, give
the code identification and say that all (or a single,
if that is the case) are safely off the river. To make
sure that the police department is notified, a money
deposit that is refundable, either by mail or to the
boaters in person, could be required.
How to prevent boaters' bypassing the police department
and going directly to the river could present a problem.
However, there should be enough websites and publications
read by boaters that word of the requirements for boarding
the river at Tallassee could be easily spread. If a
boating party is spotted on the river without a code
word, that party could be fined. Notification of all
these requirements could be posted prominently at the
boat ramp where most boaters put in below the dam.
All of this may sound a little picky just to get a boat
in the water, but I'll lay you 20 to 1 that the parents
of the drowned student wouldn't think so - W. C.
Bryant
__________
The
first thing we can do is to correct the websites. All
persons should be warned with signs that safety gear
is required on the river.
The really big thing I dream about for Tallassee is
that of river recreation. I have always felt that we
let our rivers and lakes sit and we should utilize them,
instead;
1. Kayak stations: supervised, fees charged, safety
gear rented and returned. Pick up and drop off.
2. Supervised river rafting. (Rhett Dennis and Will
Tosch would be great.)
3. River boat rides: Between the dams. What a site and
a great ride. Maybe even down river where it flattens
out.
4. Fishing piers below the eddy and between the dams
5. River walk trails where we feature nature, the natural
mountain laurels, etc.
6. Public beach for swimming.
This would mean lodging and food places, more entertainment
for evening time, ergo movies, putt putt golf, etc.
Tallassee needs to dream. Might as well dream big! -
Ida Turner
Send
Comments
King
Street Parking Lot (5-5-09)
In
recent years many Tallassee High School students, Tallassee
residents, and visitors to the school have had to contend
with the school parking issue. The school board on many
occasions has expressed a desire to convert the vacant
lots on historic King Street into a parking lot. There
are many problems associated with converting these vacant
lots into a parking lot. The residents of King Street
have been opposed to a parking lot on this site, because
of the limited number of parking spots which would be
available versus the current number of student cars
parked on King and North Dubois streets.
The
figures stated by the Central Alabama Planning Commission
survey results reflect that this lot would provide only
52 parking spots to accommodate the cars. On the day
I surveyed the street I counted 65 student cars currently
using these streets. This parking lot will not remove
all cars parking on King Street as often mentioned every
time someone raises the parking lot issue.
At
the Tallassee Planning Commission on April 6, 2009,
Pastor Jay Woodall made mention that he would provide
soil to extend the land in back of the school to build
a parking lot. The school board and the city own the
land upon which the parking lot can be built. This would
expand the area for all school and trade day events.
This land is currently an unused gully, which is located
behind the school and McDonald’s and extends to
Knox and Ann streets. This is a win – win opportunity
by creating a solution to the problems and eliminating
the parking situation. This would provide all Tallassee
residents and other parties with a secure workable solution
to meet everyone’s needs and desires.
I urge you to contact your school and City council representative
saying you are in support of the parking area being
built behind the school and extend the use of the unused
gully. For everyone who has parked on King Street for
numerous events held at the high school, this would
be the premier way to say thanks, and also to the King
Street residents for the inconvenience that they have
endured through years - Darrell Wilson
Interested in voicing your opinion on this page?
E-mail
Us at mbutler@1300wtls.com
or
use the "Comment" link at the bottom of each
article
Or
you may write:
Tallassee Times
Attn: Opinion
P. O. Box 780146
Tallassee, AL 36078
Phone: (334) 283-8200
Vita
Cost Vitamins
|