impcssdtoo...why do you wish to perpetuate the myth that the PNA nothing more than union demands? Don't the N and A stand for Negotiated Agreement? Truth is that two parties negotiate, agree and approve the PNA and all the terms and conditions it includes. Don't criticize one party and not the other.

impcssdtoo, teaching for 192 days and why the needed to take so many days? You clearly sound more like a administrator than a teacher who is in the classroom, and apparently since your kids don't attend school in PCSSD you're clearly out of touch with the stresses, and clearly you haven't been teaching at a school like Taylor Elem, the ole Jacksonville Elem. or the other mid/high schools in Jacksonville. BTW, not all teachers use their days because it's easier to go to work sick than to have to write detailed lesson plans for a sub who won't follow them anyway, and like my spouse they have managed accumulated them. Aside from that, why do teachers need days, well it's not like a teacher can run out of the classroom to go to the bank, attend to their own sic child, or go see their own doc. As I mentioned before, teachers deserve fair compensation on days sold back.

@impcssdtoo - I would be dishonest IF I admitted that teachers weren't getting paid for duty; however, I stated clearly that teachers were in fact getting paid from funds that the administrators "found" from discretionary funds to compensate those teachers. Look closely at the contract - NOWHERE does it say to pay teachers for duty. The payments for bus duty were for overtime in cases of late buses, not teachers doing their normal time. What an admirable trait in you that you "saw the light of your wicked ways" of taking money from the district for the professional development classes and went back to get two post-graduate degrees! I applaud you for your conscience which pushed you to be legitimately paid for those hours. By the way, to complete your catharsis, you might want to pay the district back for the years you used the system to your advantage. You will pardon me if I don't think you are the paragon of honesty. Help us all if you were one of the ones who were part of any evaluation team for your peers, since you seem to have a messiah complex. I welcomed the state takeover - I had high hopes that there would be much brighter days for a district in which I grew up. And why can't we demand something back from the previous administration and board members. They were the ones who mismanaged the funds - not PACT and certainly not any of the teachers who have paid for supplies, provided lunch money for the kids who didn't have it, bought books, clothes, etc. for kids who couldn't afford it...I could go on. As for Kimbrell, Guess, et. al. - I was right there with them UNTIL they used the exact same illegal tactics to create a personnel policies committee that the previous administration used which was thrown out of court using the same attorney who lost the case plus one from Camden. By your posts, I am wondering if you are one of the architects of the PPC for the district. Stop drinking their Kool-Aid! Let's go back to the table and fix this mess.

@ Hombre - The mentality you espouse is exactly why I educated my own child outside of PCSSD! I'm afraid YOU missed the point! You only work 192 days a year, so why the need to take so many days! You minimize your own value when you try to justify taking off and leaving your students' education to a substitute. We are all required to meet the students' needs - counselor,nurse, parent, etc. It's always been a part of being a quality educator. My grandmother taught for 43 years. She taught students how to use a phone appropriately. Her certification was English and French. But she felt he extra time to master "the telephone" was necessary for that point in time. She didn't even begin to think about "compensation". Admit it, I struck a nerve. Quality educators can do your job without your "perks".

impcssdtoo, you missed the point. Teachers should monitor to and from classes and most don't have an issue with monitoring, they do however, have a right to be compensated fairly for the times such as bus duty, lunch duty, recess duty. Teacher's are having to be counselor, primary nurse, parent... A doctor isn't required to treat you for a cold outside his office is he? Your statement to say "then why are teachers needed if students are well-served by substitutes" is also off point. If you want to maximize the teachers in the classroom then compensate buying back earned days fairly them so they won't take the time off.

@ Hombre- Why should I not get paid? I do the same work you profess to do, and you are adament to recieve compensation. Why shouldn't I? And why do you and others like you feel that you should be compensated for monitoring the students you are so committed to provide the academic services? Should they just be left to their own devices while you only provide the "academics"? Additionally, why are educators so entitled to "earned" bereavement, sick days, etc.? If students are well-served academically bu substitutes while this "earned" leave is taken, why is there a need for teachers. And I must thank God that none of my experiences with medical staff adhered to your idea of medical treatment. Please explain to the parents of PCSSD why you should not be held responsible for watching students in the hall between classes when student supervision is so necessary?

mtcrow, "Unions are the arm of the Communist party" seriously? This statement about state agency who took over a district, gave an organized labor group a contract last year and now is trying do violate the terms of the contract? Beware of government takeovers. They have a proven record of piss-poor management of taxpayer money, GSA, medicare, social security, etc.

impcssdtoo, I see you're one of these who say they only do it for the kids but yet you still collect your monthly pay don't you. Why not do it for free, give your compensation to the kids? As for disputing your facts, well it is the managers AKA the School board through administrators who agree to concessions in a contract, and those who earned any bereavement, sick days, or other days are entitled to take them as they need, after all it's common sense to take them because they are only bought back at half a days rate and further, state and federal taxes diminish the compensation even more. The military does it and countless other agencies do it too. Regarding morning duty, bus duty, recess duty, and other like duties which are ant academic should be compensated separately and fairly. To demand a teacher to do duties them outside their academic classroom is like requiring a doctor to be the nurse too, or the cook to be the waiter. As for your claim about correcting the financial affairs, that sounds all well in theory but fixing financial mismanagement and abuse won't happen without accountability of those holding the purse strings are held accountable for their mismanagement.

@wickedwahine - You would be dishonest if you did not admit that teachers are paid for bus duty and recess duty. And yes, I admit, I benefited from staff development credit UNTIL I decided that I wanted true education. That is when I returned to school and received two post-graduate degrees. Now, I feel that my advanced educational salary credit is legitimate. You also want to blame negotiations with previous administrations. Those previous negotiations are exactly why the PCSSD is in fiscal distress and those administrators and board members have been removed. Do you really think that previous administration and board would own up to their out of control spending? This is exactly why the PCSSD is under state control. You can't blame Dr. Kimbrell, Dr. Guess, or current administration for the history of overspending. THEY are not the "bad guys"! They are the "fixers"!! And they are long overdue!!

Unions are the arm of the Communist party and until we get this in our heads we will be a doomed nation. They have nothing good to offer this country.