Update: I guessed right about the things the board would say about Morrison, but they voted for retirement benefits instead of a bonus. Read the story here. Hope to get the standards posted soon.
The school board will hold a special meeting this morning to vote on Superintendent Heath Morrison's first evaluation and performance bonus.
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McCray says Morrison agreed to the delay, as the district awaited the delayed results of new and tougher 2013 exams. She said those results, which plunged statewide, won't be counted against Morrison but will serve as a baseline moving forward (see results in links at right).
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On Friday, McCray wasn't willing to talk about what the board is looking for, or even say whether changes to his base salary are being discussed. "All of that will be done on Monday," she said.
My prediction is Morrison will get high marks for creating an entry plan and a five-year strategic plan. He's bound to get credit for strong community engagement, including creation of 22 task forces, with the payoff seen in a record 74 percent of voters saying yes to CMS bonds. Few would say employee morale is high, but many people I've talked to give Morrison credit for listening to them and trying to do the right thing in the face of discouraging state actions.
Morrison's predecessor, Peter Gorman, faced a 93-item evaluation checklist that ranged from the obvious (test scores and graduation rates) to the eccentric (rating him on "poise and emotional stability" and being "customarily attired and well groomed"). If the current board wants to carry on that tradition, they might want to add an item for dance skills. I think it's a safe bet to say Morrison is the first CMS superintendent caught on video doing hip grinds and air splits:
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24 comments:
When teachers get 10% Heath should get 10% . Not before
Again, no analysis or contrary point of view in this piece - just spoon quotes from the bureaucracy.
Ann, you are nothing but a puppet for the regime.
Hey Anon 7:22, in case you didn't notice, there's a lovefest going on between Mary McCray, Morrison, and Ann.
Puppet is a good description.
Anything CMS does = good
Anything homeschoolers do = bad
Hey Ann, why no mention in your anti-homeschooling hit piece yesterday that the alleged abuser is a DSS agent?
10% bonus for doing his job? Overpaid already as a "public servant" role.
CMS is a whole is a train wreck and will remain that way until it is broken apart into smaller independent school systems, just like Texas.
Not to beat a dead horse (no pun) , but he will get his bonus its not even up for debate. Issue I have with it is the example it sets for his staff who goes without one. This is not going to sit well with the dedicated CMS folks that have gone without increases for a long time. His will be rubber stamped , but they have to wait? Not a great example of leadership by the BOE or Heath. He did get the bonds sold so certainly is doing the work for his vendors and will be paid. Keith W. Hurley
I know 3 students who were home schooled. One is now attending Wake Forest, and the other two are on full rides at the Citadel.
8:11, "hit piece" is in the eye of the beholder. It certainly wasn't my intent; it has been clear to me all along that abusers are the outliers in home-schooling, not typical home educators. One of the home-schoolers I interviewed texted me over the weekend to say he liked the piece, while a home-school opponent emailed to say he thought the piece was excellent but "maybe a bit too balanced." My goal was to inform people and get discussion going based on reality, not assumptions.
The noble thing for Heath to do would be to decline the bonus, until his teachers get one. I won't hold my breath.
Ann,
I know three people who eat carrots who beat their kids. Better get your food reporter to do a front-page Pulitzer-bait hit piece on carrot growers.
I have two nieces who were home-schooled. Both attended Brown University. I had a classmate in my high school biology class who lived on a boat most of her life while traveling the world. She was probably the smartest girl in my class that year before she and her family set sail again. U.S. Amish students complete their education by 8th grade. If we're to believe the dire dumps U.S. public education is in, Amish kids probably outperform kids in Finland and Singapore. I find nothing wrong with home schooling.
Alicia
Anne always says she is fair and balanced, and if you do not agree then read the other person at the observer who covers the school beat.
I see both sides of the bonus issue with Morrison; hired to do a job and so far has "done the job", such as it is and the flip side of getting a potential $20,000+ bonus while teachers do not.
My issue is that Morrison is the typical run of the mill educrat, who has nowhere to go but up since the rules of the game have been changed by the state regarding testing. He has a clean slate going forward.
I haven't seen where Morrison has done anything that any other educrat hired to be superintendent would have done in the same time frame.
Reagrding the bond vote, it wouldn't have mattered whether Morrison was superintendent or not. Many people will generally vote for anything that "is for the children", even though it's a shell game and won't reap any benefits for many years to come - if then. Sometimes it's a huge waste of tax money.
Remember 2007?
Evidently not.
10:33, I would be SO happy if you could get us another person covering education!
What a slap in the face to teachers. Go ahead and cash that 10% bonus Heath, while we teachers are still making the same amount as we did 6 years ago with NO bonus at all. Really motivates us to do better Heath.
The way I see it the "outliers" in the homeschool network are a lot like the "outliers" in the DSS.
However, given the spate of problems with DSS employees over the past few years, I trust the typical homeschool parent more.
Ann,
Your intentional omission of the key fact that the abuser is (now was) a DSS agent makes it obvious it was a hit-piece.
Granted you are not alone, nor the first, to cast aspersions on homeschoolers under the guise of "informing people".
Amish kids don't complete their education by 8th grade, Amish schools just don't go any higher. Amish kids kids learn what they need to know to live in the community and nothing else. The majority have no clue who MLK is or any other historical figures. They are woefully unprepared for life outside of the community and most ex-amish have a hard time adjusting.
The Observer has hardly hidden the fact that Wanda Sue Larson is a social services supervisor; it's been the focus of several front-page stories. It wasn't the focus of my story, but it was in the box detailing the cases until Saturday night, when that box was cut to fit the space. It's still in the online version: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/11/23/4491992/booming-nc-home-schools-face-little.html#.UpOx-8S1FuM
McCrays comment that she knows teachers work long hours but this super works very long hours is a direct slap in the face of EVERY frontline teacher. Wonder why teachers get little respect? Even their own put them down.
Now a mad scramble to find the 25% that will get the measley $500 bonus ( ONLY if they give up their leagal rights)
MOrrison getting 10% however you want to slice it while the rest of us fight for the less than 1% scraps. Great system you have here CMS.
Teachers have LOST money these past 6 years. How:
Bonus (Promised but never paid)
Loss of Dental
Loss of Vision
Loss of 80/20
Loss of Steps (cost of living)
Loss of Pension
Loss of Classroom Manageable #
Loss of Teachers Assistants
Loss of Planning Time
Loss of total respect within the community and advisement of students to go into this profession.
fawning
Use fawning to describe someone who's over the top in the flattery department. Like a fawning admirer who just won't stop complimenting your looks, showering you with gifts and otherwise kissing the ground you walk on.
...say the BOE members to the Super....
10 Years? I give him 6 or less. It will take him at least that long to figure out what a bell schedule is and implement it.
If Dr. Morrison was really in support of his teachers, he'd turn down that $11,000 bonus until his teachers get a pay raise.....6 years!!!!!!!
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