FIVE YEARS RUNNING ! Where parody brings reality!
FEARED BY BAD APPLES, NKSPENDING HAS NEVER BEEN DISCREDITED! OF COURSE ANY CITIZENS WATCHDOG GROUP IS A "BEST YOU CAN" EFFORT, AND WE'VE MADE THE OCCASIONAL CLARIFICATION BUT NO SUBSTANTIAL FACT PRESENTED HERE HAS EVER BEEN DISCREDITED (EXCEPT FOR CERTAIN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, THINK ABOUT THAT!). AND THE PARODY OF THESE LOCAL BUFFOON'S HAS BEEN PRICELESS! RESULT? WE HAVE A MUCH BETTER MANAGED TOWN NOW! SO, WHERE ARE THE BAD APPLES? WELL, THEY ARE SNIFFING AND NIBBLING AROUND THE PERIPHERY. BUT OUR PEST CONTROL CONTRACT DOES REMAIN IN EFFECT, AND THAT IS THE NATURE OF LOCAL POLITICS.
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LOTS OF HULLABALOO IN THE NEWSPAPERS ABOUT THE NK TEACHERS NOT AGREEING TO SIMPLY GO WITHOUT A RAISE. BOTH SCHOOL CHAIRMAN CERESI AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT DOLAN HAVE CLEARLY ASKED OUR TEACHERS UNION FOR THE TEACHERS TO COME TO THE TABLE AND TALK ABOUT SOME MODEST CONCESSIONS LIKE MAYBE JUST GOING WITHOUT A RAISE THIS YEAR (WHICH WOULD BALANCE OUR BUDGET). THEY WERE REFUSED.
MAYBE THE TEACHERS CANNOT AFFORD IT. AFTER ALL, WE'VE ALL HEARD THE REFRAIN "UNDERPAID TEACHERS" NKSPENDING WILL CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR TEACHERS BY DISTRIBUTING THE FACTUAL TRUTH RIGHT HERE, BASED, AS ALWAYS, ON ACTUAL FACTS.
LET'S SEE:
NORTH KINGSTOWN'S CURRENT TEACHER UNION CONTRACT
WORK DAY 6.5 HOURS
WORK YEAR 185 DAYS
(APPROX TEN WORK WEEKS OFF THROUGHOUT THE YEAR)
TOP STEP SALARY $72,227.00 / YEAR
(MASTERS - ADD $3,349)
SICK DAYS 10
PERSONAL DAYS 2
HEALTH INSURANCE FULL FAMILY HEALTH - TEACHER PAYS 15% OF COST
LIFE INSURANCE $50,000 (DOESN'T COST MUCH)
UNION JOB PROTECTION
SENIORITY RIGHTS
JOB RECALL RIGHTS
SABBATICAL (HALF PAY, MUST BE APPROVED)
PENSION
CURRENT CONTRACT ENDS: 8/2010 (NEXT SUMMER)
RESPONSIBILITIES: MUCH ANCILLARY RESPONSIBILITIES THROUGHOUT THE BUILDINGS NOW BARGAINED AWAY TO BE DONE BY PARA PROFESSIONALS, PRESUMABLY SO OUR TEACHERS CAN CONCENTRATE ON TEACHING. BUT IT COSTS MORE TO PAY OTHERS TO DO WHAT TEACHERS USED TO DO THEMSELVES. MAYBE IT IS WORTH IT HOWEVER.
AS A COMMUNITY, WE'LL HAVE TO DECIDE IF THIS IS AN AFFORDABLE DEAL FOR THE OVER 350 TEACHERS IN NK. MAYBE IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY. OR MAYBE WE'LL HAVE TO ASK THEM TO DO MORE WITH LESS. WE HAVE A YEAR TO THINK ON IT IN OUR COMMUNITY.
DATA SOURCE: CHANNEL 12 LINK BELOW
WPRI 12 DOES IT AGAIN!
NKSPENDING HAS ALWAYS CHAMPIONED ACTUAL, REAL PUBLIC INFORMATION TO HELP THE INFORMED VOTER, AND WPRI HAS DONE A GREAT JOB SHOWING ONE MAJOR EXPENSE CATEGORY IN ALL TOWNS, EDUCATION SALARY AND COMPENSATION. NO SCANDAL, JUST SOLID INFORMATION ABOUT THIS OFTEN-DISCUSSED EXPENSE AREA.
LEARN ABOUT SALARY RATES, SICK DAYS, HEALTH CO-PAY AND DAYS WORKED PER YEAR!
CLICK HERE FOR THE WEB SITE WITH THE INFO
CLICK HERE FOR THE EXCELLENT STORY
4/16/09 READ THE LOCAL PAPERS TODAY! WE ALWAYS GET IT RIGHT!
WE ALWAYS KNEW LARRY "CHARLIE BROWN" CERESI DOES THE RIGHT THING, BUT WHAT ABOUT ETERNAL "BAD GUYS" FROM NKGOP?
SHOCK CONCLUSION ABOUT COUNCIL PRESIDENT DOLAN'S PERFORMANCE HANDLING TOWN BUDGET PROCESS DURING THE GREAT RECESSION! GREAT JOB, MORE SOON.... WISH WE COULD COMPLAIN. BUT UNLIKE CERTAIN "FAKE PARENTS GROUP" WEB SITES, THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS RECOGNIZED ON NKSPENDING NO MATTER WHAT. AND THE SIMPLE AND NICE TRUTH IS THE GREAT COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CERESI SCHOOL COMMITTEE AND THE DOLAN TOWN COUNCIL. THEY COULD EASILY HAVE DRAWN BATTLE LINES, OR PUNTED THE BUDGET DOWNFIELD. BUT INSTEAD, THE SHIRTSLEEVES GOT ROLLED UP, AND BOTH HAVE WORKED WITH ADMINISTRATIONS TO PRODUCE DIFFICULT AND TIGHT BUDGET NUMBERS THAT WORK WITH MINIMAL TOWN TAX INCREASES.
FAST FACT: SCHOOL BUDGET WOULD BALANCE RIGHT NOW IF THE TEACHERS WOULD SIMPLY FOREGO THEIR PAY RAISE THIS TIME. (AND MANY WOULD STILL GET THEIR STEP INCREASES!)
HOW MANY PEOPLE PAYING TAXES IN NK ARE GETTING A RAISE THIS YEAR? HOW MANY HAVE EVEN LOST THEIR JOBS?
CERESI AND DOLAN HAVE REPEATEDLY ASKED THE TEACHERS UNION TO PULL THIS ALL TOGETHER BY HELPING BALANCE THE BUDGET. BUT THE TEACHERS UNIONS WILL NOT HELP BY EVEN SIMPLY GOING WITHOUT A RAISE, UNFORTUNATELY.
SEEMS LIKE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE RIGHT THING TO DO.
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The HEROIC and Legendary NKSPENDING, founded by handsome, brilliant visionary Chris Prata Says:
Would the teachers in these extraordinary hard times, please consider just not getting a RAISE this year? Why hide behind a contract that was written before the economy crashed? GM (!) is on the verge on BANKRUPTCY, the government has to borrow TRILLIONS just to try and avoid a full-blown economic depression, and you want your RAISES? Isn't 70k per year, ten weeks off, family health insurance and a pension enough, you want a raise too? As the LARGEST employee group on the taxpayer payroll, please set an example, and just do without your raise until the economy is out of this extreme danger, so we can keep more of the other stuff in our schools.... for our kids.
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Est Nov 1st, 2003 NKSPENDING HAS BEEN MAKING HISTORY, MAKING FUN OF CORRUPT OFFICIALS, AND MAKING A DIFFERENCE. SOON, A LIST OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE SITE, AND OF IT'S FOUNDER - LOCAL HERO CHRIS PRATA (Click for Chris' successful meeting broadcast effort) works hard for the public right to know (click for Chris Prata's a.g. public records complaint on the infamous school admin lobster and steak getaway) - WHO LIKE SO MANY OTHERS IN NK DESIRES ONLY THAT WE HAVE OPEN, HONEST, AND FAIR GOVERNMENT. InfoParody INVENTED RIGHT HERE, WHERE YOU COME TO GET YOUR "NKSPENDING EDGE"
Chris Prata - famous for InfoParody, also asks the hard questions in elections past (click)
"CCNK" Sent you an email? They have been busy. Just don't forget what they really are, NOT the "nonpartisan parents group" but rather, four members of the pro-Halley NK Republican town committee, masquerading as a fake parents group. They are doing a great job of getting their word out, using a "pilfered" list of private parent emails obtained during the Halley administration years (which was police-investigated by the way) , and adding more all the time with legitimate outreach. NKSPENDING supports their right to free speech, and also however recognizes our own obligation to criticize both their false message, and false premise in our marketplace of ideas. As always, NKSPENDING offers facts (and humor) to back ourselves up. Click Here for our "CCNK, is anybody listening?" page!
Anyway, besides that CCNK nonsense, the school committee and town are facing uncertain times. The school committee is doing a GREAT JOB. We have a solid and honest superintendent, a solid and honest town manager, and even the council appears headed for a sensible budget presentation as well. (Two nk republican members of the council - Dolan ands Hueston - tried to put Halley back into government, and failed, but succeeded to give positions to some members of the above mentioned republican fake parents citizens group! Small town politics...) oh well.
Hey it's a free country and they did win the election though! Dolan with a shocking landslide which wore out the batteries in the NKSPENDING Reform Bunker's own emergency defibrillator on election night!
"The only security of all is in a free press. The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure." --Thomas Jefferson to Lafayette, 1823. ME 15:491
IF YOU THINK NKSPENDING'S PARODY IS "TOO MUCH" OR "OVER THE TOP", THEN GO HERE....
WE ALL KNOW THAT WE ARE GOING INTO VERY HARD TIMES, ALL WILL HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER GOING FORWARD. EVERYONE WILL BE TIGHTENING THEIR BELT. EXPECT TIGHT BUDGETS, MODEST ANNUAL INCREASES, AND SOME UNAVOIDABLE REDUCTION IN A FEW SCHOOL AND TOWN SERVICES. AS IT STANDS IN SPRING OF 2008, THINGS ARE GOING FAIRLY WELL.