Dontcha just hate it when all year long an elected official presents a certain "face" only to suddenly put on a completely different face as election season arrives?
We offer this first look at such posturing by school board incumbent Jim (you know him as "Seabass") McCourt.
McCourt sits on the Human Resources committee and therefore was involved in contract negotiations for the teachers union (SPEA).
We offer this first look at such posturing by school board incumbent Jim (you know him as "Seabass") McCourt.
McCourt sits on the Human Resources committee and therefore was involved in contract negotiations for the teachers union (SPEA).
June 2009
Last June, he supported that contract--although knowing full well the impending budget squeeze. As the STAR reported:
The agreement contains a 3.8 percent increase in the total salary and benefit package for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school year. "The 3.8 percent increase is not a straight raise on salary", said McCourt.
"The first year it will be the salary, because the health care costs are staying down," McCourt added. "But those are expected to go up in 2010. When you look at the total package it gets a little deceiving."
He said if the district and SPEA didn't settle on 3.8 for the next two years, the increase for the total package could have been much higher for the 2010-11 school year.
Coulda...Shoulda...Woulda. As Judge Judy likes to say, "...and if my parents had been taller, I would be 5 foot 8".
Summer 2009
As several citizens fought to restore the 5% cut that had been imposed on school building budgets (before the electors set the levy), McCourt went on the record numerous occasions during Finance Committee meetings, stating that teachers do not need anything beyond what they are provided.
October 2009
Then the bottom fell out of the budget as electors declared that the school board was spending too much and raising property taxes too much in a down economy. Oh...wait...McCourt wasn't even present for that meeting. That was in addition to his missing ONE out of every FOUR school board meetings in 2009.
Nov-Dec 2009
Suddenly, when the board needed to find $1.2M in budget cuts, McCourt suggested furloughing teachers was in order: "We could furlough teachers…Maybe that's a direction form us to you--have Annette Mikula look into furlough possibilities." Gee...he wouldn't even SECOND a motion made by David Stackhouse to furlough administrators 5 days each. But here he is in December supporting a vote to ask teachers to give back one day of pay on each of 2009-10 and 2010-11.
January 2010
Just as suddenly, when SPEA rejected district advances to renegotiate, McCourt came back on the side of the teachers proclaiming that, “[Teachers are] already contributing above and beyond…”
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Is is any surprise that McCourt suddenly is back to courting favor of the teachers union, now that it's election season, and with4 people on the ballot for three seats, when the music stops somebody is going to be without a seat?
Batman always feared the infamous Two-Face....and you should be equally wary of elected officials who get caught trying to keep one foot on each side of the fence. We've had enough of pocket candidates. We need to elect people that will speak for the electorate--NOT the administration.
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