Quote from: School site
STUDENT DEMONSTRATION
Posted March 22 at 8:46am
This morning a number of high school students staged a demonstration on the football field and in the upper parking lot opposing the staff reductions announced by the district last week. With assistance from the New York State Police, our administration, faculty, and staff were able to keep order. Student safety is always our first priority. Students are safely back in school and classes for the day have resumed.
So last week, our school decided to get rid of about 10% of our teachers and aides. We didn't take that well. At all. So Thursday night, students began to plan to have a rally/protest during the first 3 periods Monday(today). Some discussion went about, school got word of it and all. It eventually turned into, the school came to agree to let us protest for the first period and return in time for second.
Well they also expected us to start in the upper parking lot of the school. A lot of the buses even took a different way to the high school to avoid the upper parking lot. But they didn't know that Friday night, it was changed to the football field.
Anyways.
Not long after it all started a mob of middle schoolers came charging in. I heard they even trampled a girl. That was a little out of hand. They were followed by many of the middle school teachers.
The administration and such caught on quick that we were going to the football field and swiftly moved down to the field.
So now we have I would say way over half the high school student body, just about all of the administration(high school and middle school), a lot of high school teachers, a bit of the middle school teachers on the track/football field.
Everyone watched as the students walked the track just watched until 1st was almost over. Then they got onto the PA for the field and told us it was time to head in for class. So they opened the gates to let us go and we left the tack. Most of the sports people had to go in, as they could have been cut from the team and such. But the rest, we just all went strait up to the upper parking lot. About half of the kids up there marched around campus. And a little after that half got back, we were sent back down to the track. After being at the track for a little while longer they got back on the PA. They had a meeting with representatives/leaders that were left of the rally(about 5-8 people went in to talk). After their talking with them they came out and said it's time to head in. At this time it's about half way through 3rd period going onto 9:30. A lot of kids just went home, to the local iHop, or to some random place inside the school building, a lot of people didn't go back to their actual class, rather friend's classes.
Show and tell time:
Quote from: Local News paperSome 500 Minisink Valley students, many dressed in black, walked around the track at the athletic complex Monday morning to protest cuts being made in the school district.
Holding signs that say "Save Our Teachers" and "Cuts Hurt Us Too" the students began protesting about 7:30 a.m., ignoring orders to go into the building.
On Thursday Minisink Valley announced it will cut 31 teachers and support positions - about 10 percent of all district teaching positions, according to the Minisink Valley Teachers Association.
News paper photos: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/misc?url=/_flash/gallery/gallery.html&Avis=TH&Dato=20100322&Kategori=NEWS15&Lopenr=322009999&Ref=PH
[spoiler=Newspaper video]
[/spoiler]
Pictures:
[spoiler=Facing one way](http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs430.snc3/24771_1376862390050_1486561996_31001339_8006070_n.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Facing the other](http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs430.snc3/24771_1376862430051_1486561996_31001340_640054_n.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Up at the parking lot](http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs410.snc3/24771_1376862470052_1486561996_31001341_6103981_n.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler](http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs454.ash1/24984_1240083518229_1113529459_30519366_2166134_n.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler](http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs414.snc3/24984_1240084158245_1113529459_30519381_7302678_n.jpg)[/spoiler]
[spoiler=Teacher amongst the crowed pretending to try and send us in](http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs490.ash1/26766_111149485563204_100000044586920_257222_4321581_n.jpg)"You guys should really get to class."[/spoiler]
[spoiler](http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs486.snc3/26602_1382511008153_1393297546_31035247_7479394_n.jpg)[/spoiler]
"When [we] do it, we do it big."
Though I wouldn't protest that, it is kind of cool.
...holy poop.
I'd only protest depending mainly on who the teachers were; I know if it was a certain teacher from last year I'd be doing the exact opposite of protesting.
That being said I wish you all good luck and to keep strong at it. Most protests have a tenancy to not work.
A wonderful thing that will sadly do nothing.
hey I'm going to be a teacher.
Unfortunately, our budget cuts aren't cutting teachers. Instead, they're making class sizes 25% larger here ^_^ And our printers use paper with printing on both sides.
Quote from: Kilroy on March 22, 2010, 05:51:54 PM
A wonderful thing that will sadly do nothing.
We all know this already durp.
Which is why something should back it up(NOT another rally tomorrow)
I'm waiting for someone to take leadership again. Wait and see what the next meeting reveals.
Depending on what happens in the next few days/weeks I might try and actually take the leader position and take it all to Albany with other schools.
You and Colin are
really getting on my nerves. If you want us to respect your opinion then you can respect ours.
Like I don't get it, you keep going for Ashley with super low chances yet you wont take a chance for our teachers?
One of my friends was telling me how he was able to just walk out of class because his teacher was so torn up, and he's always looking down at his desk...I passed him in the halls today, all he does is look down. I only saw him in the halls but my friend said he's a little worried he might go and do something stupid....
Quote from: King Richard on March 22, 2010, 05:55:53 PM
hey I'm going to be a teacher.
Unfortunately, our budget cuts aren't cutting teachers. Instead, they're making class sizes 25% larger here ^_^ And our printers use paper with printing on both sides.
Our teachers are the lowest paid of 17 districts and has more administration staff than any other school in the county.
Quote from: L10 on March 22, 2010, 06:23:25 PM
We all know this already durp.
Which is why something should back it up(NOT another rally tomorrow)
I'm waiting for someone to take leadership again. Wait and see what the next meeting reveals.
Depending on what happens in the next few days/weeks I might try and actually take the leader position and take it all to Albany with other schools.
You and Colin are really getting on my nerves. If you want us to respect your opinion then you can respect ours.
Like I don't get it, you keep going for Ashley with super low chances yet you wont take a chance for our teachers?
One of my friends was telling me how he was able to just walk out of class because his teacher was so torn up, and he's always looking down at his desk...I passed him in the halls today, all he does is look down. I only saw him in the halls but my friend said he's a little worried he might go and do something stupid....
I know you guys know. I do respect your opinion. Voicing my own opinion does not mean that I am not respecting yours.
And there's a difference between trying for a girl and pulling money out of intercourse ing
thin air to pay people. No matter what you do, no matter what
anyone does, we can't pay the teachers. That's why we're cutting the god darned teachers. Do you think that I
want the teachers gone? No, I don't.
Go ahead and try, all I'm saying is that it won't work.
Quote from: Kilroy on March 22, 2010, 06:39:07 PM
I know you guys know. I do respect your opinion. Voicing my own opinion does not mean that I am not respecting yours.
And there's a difference between trying for a girl and pulling money out of intercourse ing thin air to pay people. No matter what you do, no matter what anyone does, we can't pay the teachers. That's why we're cutting the god darned teachers. Do you think that I want the teachers gone? No, I don't.
Go ahead and try, all I'm saying is that it won't work.
We know we can't pull money out of thin air either. Which is why we're saying, cut from everything else you can before our teachers.
This isn't all set in stone, they can still rethink what they're going to cut. They got to teachers because they didn't want to cut from anything else, but now with 600+ students input, maybe they'll rethink things on Thursday. If not, I smell a follow up. If things continue to go bad, I'm thinking of talking to people(yeah, I know some people) and try to get this to Albany. My mom told me there is already a small school fighting Albany.
Quote from: L10 on March 22, 2010, 06:54:05 PM
We know we can't pull money out of thin air either. Which is why we're saying, cut from everything else you can before our teachers.
This isn't all set in stone, they can still rethink what they're going to cut. They got to teachers because they didn't want to cut from anything else, but now with 600+ students input, maybe they'll rethink things on Thursday. If not, I smell a follow up. If things continue to go bad, I'm thinking of talking to people(yeah, I know some people) and try to get this to Albany. My mom told me there is already a small school fighting Albany.
I admire you.
There's something unselfish that you believe in and you're stepping up to the challenge, even against the odds. That's really admirable. I hope you won't give up, and good luck on saving your teachers. I really hope it works out for you guys.
You fight for your friends teachers.
I admire you guys, I hope that you end up making a difference. If it had been at my old High School the lot of you would have been arrested or suspended.
Here, everything that wasn't sports was butchered.
Wow. That's a pretty good job there, you got the news and everything on it.
Also, right at the beginning, you said they were trying to get rid of aids. I believe you meant Aides, since a teacher's assistant is called an Aide. But your school could be working on cures for incurable STDs, in which case you got in the way of that. :U
Quote from: K on March 23, 2010, 03:49:42 AM
Wow. That's a pretty good job there, you got the news and everything on it.
Also, right at the beginning, you said they were trying to get rid of aids. I believe you meant Aides, since a teacher's assistant is called an Aide. But your school could be working on cures for incurable STDs, in which case you got in the way of that. :U
Thanks for pointing that out. Fixed.
Yeah its happening where I live too, yet you know, administrators come to school in their sports cars and school council members have salaries matching the senate's salaries because of bonuses that they give themselves for deciding what to put on our lunch menu.
God I hate people sometimes
Quote from: Zero on March 23, 2010, 03:44:38 PM
Yeah its happening where I live too, yet you know, administrators come to school in their sports cars and school council members have salaries matching the senate's salaries because of bonuses that they give themselves for deciding what to put on our lunch menu.
God I hate people sometimes
I totally agree with you; Back in the US I just figured out that now they're having to make cutbacks, yet the highest university teachers on there are getting paid a bucketload for not doing much at all. I really hope the cutbacks don't affect the summer game making class here or I'll be screwed out of my summer job; Doubt it will but yeah.
Still it really sucks. At least I don't feel a bit like poop for knowing that my dad is actually putting most of his money he gets towards a good future rather than "LOOK AT MY NICE NEW SHINY CAR EVERYONE!"
Quote from: News paper article(We made first page of Tuesdays paper)The crowd of kids topped 500, marching slowly around the athletic track. Most were dressed in black. Some held signs, like "Save Our Teachers," and "The Cut Hurts Us Too!"
Minisink Valley students chose Monday morning to publicly vent their frustrations over the district's planned job cuts. Last week, the district announced it will cut 31 teaching positions, which includes 27 teacher layoffs. The district will also let go 24 teachers' aides.
"Only one of my teachers next year is going to be here. The rest of them are fired," said student Erica Spearing, one of the marchers. "That is not fair. They (the district) need to stop funding all the extracurricular activities and start funding education."
"I don't see how the budget can get away with cutting this many teachers out," added junior Paul Henning.
Members of the media were asked by school officials to leave the school grounds.
Students had been planning the march since last week. High school Principal Jack Latini met with organizers Monday morning before the start and made a deal, with Superintendent Martha Murray's blessing: if they confined the march to the athletic field and the first period of school, there would be no repercussions.
"Our primary focus was safety," Latini said.
About half of the students returned to class for the second period of school, Latini said. But others continued marching, even spilling out onto Route 6. Those who didn't return to school after first period would be disciplined as if they were cutting class, Latini said.
Colleen Smith watched from Route 6 as the students marched around the track. Her teaching position at Otisville Elementary School was cut, but she was moved to another teaching position within the district.
"I think the Board of Ed really needs to open their eyes and see what's happening here, and look at other ways they can try and cut the fat," Smith said.
Murray, who insists the cut in state aid necessitated the job cuts, hopes students voice their concerns to state lawmakers.
"I think Albany listens to kids," Murray said.
"It's one thing to let people here know that they care. I hope they use that energy and put it to good use."