Fayette County Schools - More money to Already Bloated Administrators

[LowerLevelSeatA]

‘Contrary to the legislative intention that teachers get raises,’ Lockett lambasts FCPS Board’s move to pad administrator’s pockets
Frankfort, Kentucky (June 25, 2024) – Representative Matt Lockett (R-Nicholasville) issued the following statement after the Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education voted on Monday, June 24 to approve “additives,” essentially bonuses to system administrators. The bonuses range between $8,000 and $81,000 based on position.

“This move by Fayette County Public Schools is extremely frustrating and disappointing. We’ve provided a record amount of funding for public education, even after adjusting for inflation, with the specific intent of boosting pay for the women and men who work on the frontlines of our public education system. While I appreciate Fayette County Public Schools providing a pay raise to all employees, slipping hundreds of thousands in bonuses to attorneys, accountants, and administrators is contrary to the legislature’s intention that teachers get raises. These individuals rarely, if ever, find themselves in a classroom engaging with the very children the system exists to serve. Why should they receive more than a teacher, cafeteria worker, or bus driver? I am hopeful the Board will reconsider this decision, perhaps using the money to restore programs that have been cut and provide even more support to students and teachers.”

Earlier this year, Lockett joined members of the Kentucky House and Senate in approving a state budget that included increases in per pupil funding and fully funded transportation at the levels provided by the Kentucky Department of Education, as well as allocating additional funding to make pension contributions on districts’ behalf. While the new budget will take effect on July 1, it builds on the record funding included in the current budget.

State rep. lambasts Fayette school board’s move to pad administrator’s pockets

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Rep. Matt Lockett (R-Nicholasville) issued the following statement after the Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education voted on Monday to approve “additives,” essentially bonuses to system

www.kentuckytoday.com

 

[Ron Mehico]

That’s what it always goes to, everyone knows that. It’s why government spending barely ever works - corruption from the top.

 

[LowerLevelSeatA]

Scroll down on link below to where it has the administrative additives pdf if you want to see all the $$$ they are handing out to administration while they cut other programs due to lack of funding.

Board Buzz

June 24, 2024

secure.smore.com

 

[funKYcat75]

Not going to get into a pissing contest here, but this is not new. Using the director of technology for example. Her base pay is on the teacher salary schedule, meaning on the 190 day teacher calendar. However, she works year round, save for vacation days and such. So she gets the additive to match the amount of working that she does, which is a lot. I wouldn’t do what she does for that salary, even though it’s really good.

Also, I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think these additives are considered when figuring retirement. I have a similar issue with a few thousand a year for extra stuff I do, but it’s considered supplemental, not an additive.

Now, can you argue the amount for some of those at the top is too much. Also, I don’t doubt Rep. Lockett isn’t saying what he thinks is correct, but I’d bet he doesn’t really know how it works.

This is just my understanding of what all of this means. TIFWIW. I’m going back to the beach.

 

[MrHotDice]

Teachers Union voting scam.

 

[HymanKaplan]

Not going to get into a pissing contest here, but this is not new. Using the director of technology for example. Her base pay is on the teacher salary schedule, meaning on the 190 day teacher calendar. However, she works year round, save for vacation days and such. So she gets the additive to match the amount of working that she does, which is a lot. I wouldn’t do what she does for that salary, even though it’s really good.

Also, I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think these additives are considered when figuring retirement. I have a similar issue with a few thousand a year for extra stuff I do, but it’s considered supplemental, not an additive.

Now, can you argue the amount for some of those at the top is too much. Also, I don’t doubt Rep. Lockett isn’t saying what he thinks is correct, but I’d bet he doesn’t really know how it works.

This is just my understanding of what all of this means. TIFWIW. I’m going back to the beach.

It seems like you know her. She's a pretty good egg. I worked on a couple of projects with her when I was a network engineer there. (she was in a different position back then. IOW, not in my chain of command. Essentially, she managed the technology/curriculum side of things.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Not going to get into a pissing contest here, but this is not new. Using the director of technology for example. Her base pay is on the teacher salary schedule, meaning on the 190 day teacher calendar. However, she works year round, save for vacation days and such. So she gets the additive to match the amount of working that she does, which is a lot. I wouldn’t do what she does for that salary, even though it’s really good.

Also, I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think these additives are considered when figuring retirement. I have a similar issue with a few thousand a year for extra stuff I do, but it’s considered supplemental, not an additive.

Now, can you argue the amount for some of those at the top is too much. Also, I don’t doubt Rep. Lockett isn’t saying what he thinks is correct, but I’d bet he doesn’t really know how it works.

This is just my understanding of what all of this means. TIFWIW. I’m going back to the beach.

At least it sounds like that role is doing something. I think the ire is focused at the multitude of jobs that basically do nothing which is 90% of the administrative jobs.

I can virtually guarantee everyone on this board knows at least one person at their local boe that does basically nothing but makes good money. At most they visit a school or two per day but mostly just killing time with long lunches etc.

 

[JonathanW]

As the son of a 40+ year teacher, I know that comparing teacher salaries to most other professions is not so easy. Why?
1) most teachers are at school 7+ hours a day, but may also work 0-4 hours an evening. What do they do other than the classroom time? Grading and lesson planning.
2) most teachers (not my kids Elem teachers since in a Year-round school) do not work about 10 weeks in the summer, so either have extended time off or time they can do a 2nd job (like a summer nanny)
3) teachers via being state workers with a powerful union, have negotiated a very friendly retirement pension package allowing them to retire after only 25-30 years in most states. That just seems insane to retire in your 40’s or early 50’s, when most others will work into their 60’s and some into 70’s, and not get any pension. So essentially teachers are paid more than their salaries, but are taking a good bit of that pay as deferred payments.

 

[AIChatGPT]

Ok thanks.

 

[TruBluCatFan]

Not going to get into a pissing contest here, but this is not new. Using the director of technology for example. Her base pay is on the teacher salary schedule, meaning on the 190 day teacher calendar. However, she works year round, save for vacation days and such. So she gets the additive to match the amount of working that she does, which is a lot. I wouldn’t do what she does for that salary, even though it’s really good.

Also, I could be wrong about this, but I don’t think these additives are considered when figuring retirement. I have a similar issue with a few thousand a year for extra stuff I do, but it’s considered supplemental, not an additive.

Now, can you argue the amount for some of those at the top is too much. Also, I don’t doubt Rep. Lockett isn’t saying what he thinks is correct, but I’d bet he doesn’t really know how it works.

This is just my understanding of what all of this means. TIFWIW. I’m going back to the beach.

That may be true but the Chief Legal Officer is paid for a full year and still got a $65K “additive.”

 

[H-D cat]

I may misunderstand, but is this not what these administrative roles are paid over and above what they'd make as a classroom teacher with the same education and years of experience? Isn't it expected that principals, etc. are paid more than teachers? I understand arguments that there may be too many admin roles, but I don't think it's unrealistic to expect most of these roles would have extra pay associated with them. Maybe I'm off base on what this means?

 

[vhcat70]

You really want to stop this crap? Then vote for the constitutional amendment that allows the Legislature to set up school choice to allow parents to get their kids out of that mess. If you don't vote for it, you consent to this mess and your constant b!tching is useless.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

I may misunderstand, but is this not what these administrative roles are paid over and above what they'd make as a classroom teacher with the same education and years of experience? Isn't it expected that principals, etc. are paid more than teachers? I understand arguments that there may be too many admin roles, but I don't think it's unrealistic to expect most of these roles would have extra pay associated with them. Maybe I'm off base on what this means?

I don't think anyone is complaining about pay of those actually filling roles with impact. The complaint is there are loads of high paying roles that do virtually nothing other than create reports and audit those actually doing things, almost always making the student/teacher experience worse. Usually much worse.

Get rid of all those way overpaid, underworked, and zero value positions and use that money in ways that actually makes sense ie teacher salaries, curriculum, etc.

 

[JumperJack]

The complaint is there are loads of high paying roles that do virtually nothing other than create reports and audit those actually doing things, almost always making the student/teacher experience worse.

Isn’t this why so many people want to get rid of the US Dept. of Education?

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Isn’t this why so many people want to get rid of the US Dept. of Education?

Its one of yes. Bloated government disaster like most of federal government that produces abysmal results at least so much as education of children is the goal. We slipped vs other countries, and in some instances major slippage.

Now if thr goal is to hire a bunch of people as favors of one sort or another or to spend money so you dont lose headcount/budget then its a resounding success.

Cut bloat. End high paying no value administrative jobs. Put that money towards teachers and curriculum. Get politics out of hiring and curriculum. It all sounds so simple and it is, until you realize exactly how many people benefit from the current structure.

 

[TruBluCatFan]

I may misunderstand, but is this not what these administrative roles are paid over and above what they'd make as a classroom teacher with the same education and years of experience? Isn't it expected that principals, etc. are paid more than teachers? I understand arguments that there may be too many admin roles, but I don't think it's unrealistic to expect most of these roles would have extra pay associated with them. Maybe I'm off base on what this means?

No. I don’t think that is completely accurate. Because many of these administrators are not certified teachers so they don’t fall into the teacher salary scale anyway.

 

[LowerLevelSeatA]

Looks like they are paying a speaker named Ron Clark 26,500 to give a speech at their back to school convocation. Poor guy is getting stiffed. I think they should double it 🤦🏻‍♂️.

 

[funKYcat75]

Looks like they are paying a speaker named Ron Clark 26,500 to give a speech at their back to school convocation. Poor guy is getting stiffed. I think they should double it 🤦🏻‍♂️.

Now I’m with you on this one. All of this beginning of the year nonsense has to stop. Everybody in education knows who Ron Clark is and what he is gonna say. Plus, he’s from a Charter School. So dumb to spend even that much money on him. There is no one happy about this besides maybe the FCPS staff who work outside in the heat.

 

[JGCraw]

Looks like they are paying a speaker named Ron Clark 26,500 to give a speech at their back to school convocation. Poor guy is getting stiffed. I think they should double it 🤦🏻‍♂️.

Systems also pay for teachers to go to his academy to observe, that’s a pretty penny. He’s a good dude and good at what he does but has definitely learned to make money from school systems.

 

[LowerLevelSeatA]

Systems also pay for teachers to go to his academy to observe, that’s a pretty penny. He’s a good dude and good at what he does but has definitely learned to make money from school systems.

Yeah looks like he has built a money making machine like Dave Ramsey….books, classes, speaking, merchandise, dvd’s, etc:

Home

The Ron Clark Academy is a nonprofit middle school & educator professional development facility that equips teachers with best practices that transform student learning experiences and promote academic and social success.

ronclarkacademy.com

 

[AIChatGPT]

Ron Clark is a grifter. Public schools districts DEI departments love him because he comes from Atlanta and his academy uses houses.

They all think that if middle and high schools adopted his house system, which consists of kids throwing up stupid hand signs, then black and brown kids will magically learn.

You can find his house videos on YouTube.

Just another Grifter.

 

[HymanKaplan]

At the risk of sounding biased, I can tell you that the Technology department at FCPS, does more with less than any other department there. The workload of the engineers, technicians, and helpdesk/call center folks is off the charts. A private company, with 100 plus buildings, spread out over an entire county, with 70,000 users (including supporting personal devices, and very often home network troubleshooting) would have a staff 3 times the size FCPS does. Field techs are supporting about 8 schools each. The pressure on them is IMMENSE. And that technician supports everything "tech" in those 8 buildings, to include projectors, smartboards, computer labs, chrome books, personal phones, email accounts, VOIP phone systems, wireless issues, printer connectivity, tech learning labs (and a myriad of things that schools purchase on their own, w/o clearing it through the tech department beforehand) it is absurd...

 

[JGCraw]

Ron Clark is a grifter. Public schools districts DEI departments love him because he comes from Atlanta and his academy uses houses.

They all think that if middle and high schools adopted his house system, which consists of kids throwing up stupid hand signs, then black and brown kids will magically learn.

You can find his house videos on YouTube.

Just another Grifter.

As I said, he has definitely figured out ways to make money from school systems but he’s not a grifter. He knows what he’s doing and he’s actually a pretty strict guy in his school, more so than most public schools these days, which surprised me. It’s been ten years since I was involved in being around him but he used to require himself and his assistant principal to also teach classes, I’m not sure if he still does that. Like I said, I’m not denying that he has learned to milk the system, I’m just saying unlike a lot of people in many professions that I do consider grifters, he practices things he speaks on and has had good results.

 

[funKYcat75]

As I said, he has definitely figured out ways to make money from school systems but he’s not a grifter. He knows what he’s doing and he’s actually a pretty strict guy in his school, more so than most public schools these days, which surprised me. It’s been ten years since I was involved in being around him but he used to require himself and his assistant principal to also teach classes, I’m not sure if he still does that. Like I said, I’m not denying that he has learned to milk the system, I’m just saying unlike a lot of people in many professions that I do consider grifters, he practices things he speaks on and has had good results.

He’s no grifter, it’s just old news now.

 

[JGCraw]

He’s no grifter, it’s just old news now.

So am I.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Ron Clark is a grifter. Public schools districts DEI departments love him because he comes from Atlanta and his academy uses houses.

They all think that if middle and high schools adopted his house system, which consists of kids throwing up stupid hand signs, then black and brown kids will magically learn.

You can find his house videos on YouTube.

Just another Grifter.

Just another example if you can figure out how to get one speaking/consulting gig in government, you can parlay that into several nice paydays. Education portion of government is no different.

People making the spending decisions are clueless about any substance so style and especially social media impressions go a very long way. Its a hard sell because there is so many people vying for the same role for same reason.

If you get in there its golden, because all the next agency/district needs to hear is how the other ones used you and it wasnt a disaster. "Not a disaster" is their base threshold because it isnt their money so they dont care.

 

[LowerLevelSeatA]

Just another example if you can figure out how to get one speaking/consulting gig in government, you can parlay that into several nice paydays. Education portion of government is no different.

People making the spending decisions are clueless about any substance so style and especially social media impressions go a very long way. Its a hard sell because there is so many people vying for the same role for same reason.

If you get in there its golden, because all the next agency/district needs to hear is how the other ones used you and it wasnt a disaster. "Not a disaster" is their base threshold because it isnt their money so they dont care.

Exactly. You would think more people would be outraged at this since it’s the peoples hard earned tax money these entities are throwing away, but it’s like people have just given up. Don’t even research for voting, attend board meetings, etc.

 

[vhcat70]

^ Hence, school choice. But people just blow it off & listen to the pro single school system monopoly's noise & say OK, I'll vote that way or not at all. Just awful attitude & beliefs.

 

[Creed Bratton]

I hate to break it to you all but education isn't the only place where the people who do the least amount of work make the most money.

 

[AIChatGPT]

If vouchers pass, then any school taking a single dollar of government assistance should have to take all state accountability assessments.

I have no idea what the average ACT score is for the private schools in KY. I have no idea how students of color perform or students from poverty.

If they take the money, they should have to take all the assessments.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

If vouchers pass, then any school taking a single dollar of government assistance should have to take all state accountability assessments.

I have no idea what the average ACT score is for the private schools in KY. I have no idea how students of color perform or students from poverty.

If they take the money, they should have to take all the assessments.

Im going to respond to this in the political thread since its well off topic

 

[AIChatGPT]

Figured you would be scared of accountability and assessments.

 

[funKYcat75]

To be fair, I don’t know what pot of money all of this comes from. Could be a donation, could be old COVID/ESSER funds that had to be spent. The amount of accounts and what they can be used for is pretty staggering.

 

[bigblueinsanity]

Figured you would be scared of accountability and assessments.

Im not scared of anything. My post there speaks for itself.

Im being respectful and keeping this conversation on track.

 

[AIChatGPT]

Thanks.

I’ll respect your position of no accountability except for what money shows up vs the accountability that public schools already

 

[JGCraw]

If vouchers pass, then any school taking a single dollar of government assistance should have to take all state accountability assessments.

I have no idea what the average ACT score is for the private schools in KY. I have no idea how students of color perform or students from poverty.

If they take the money, they should have to take all the assessments.

I don’t think he understands how vouchers would really work.

 

[vhcat70]

If vouchers pass, then any school taking a single dollar of government assistance should have to take all state accountability assessments.

I have no idea what the average ACT score is for the private schools in KY. I have no idea how students of color perform or students from poverty.

If they take the money, they should have to take all the assessments.

Agree. So let's give parents a choice of where to send their kids to school.

 

[IkeCat]

Agree. So let's give parents a choice of where to send their kids to school.

How about we give taxpayers the choice where their money is spent?

 

[vhcat70]

I don’t think he understands how vouchers would really work.

If the amendment passes, school choice can be in any form the Legislature chooses, including what a voucher even is and its restrictions, if any.

 

[JGCraw]

If the amendment passes, school choice can be in any form the Legislature chooses, including what a voucher even is and its restrictions, if any.

So you really don’t know