David
08-29-2008, 02:34 PM
Mismanaged Meriden
Editor:
I am writing to voice my grave concerns as related to the recent pay raises given to our department heads in Meriden and the Meriden School Superintendent.
We have repeatedly asked our employees to make concessions – through layoffs, retirements, vacation pay give-backs, etc.
The superintendent asks to be relieved of her duties because the road got a little bumpy,-along with the fact that the city manager and finance director demanded accountability. (Great job, by the way!)
So then want happens? The Board of Education decides to give the superintendent a 3 percent increase on her $142,587 salary next year and 4 percent the year after. (I guess I would be smiling on the front page of the Record-Journal, as well!)
What about the teachers, paraprofessionals and speech paraprofessionals? Their positional are critical to our children’s education? (Oh, let’s not forget the city manager and council are the problem!)
If the superintendent were so concerned about our children, she would have honored her contract and figured out a way to step up to the plate and not blame others for the problems and failures under her leadership. It’s noted through a number of examples where several superintendents have declined a pay increase or taken less.
I am very troubled that given the state of affairs in our community, some of our Meriden City Councilors also approved of the pay increases recently passed for our department heads. Tax and spend — if we were a business, we would be “out of business”!
TOM CALIENDO, MERIDEN
Editor:
I am writing to voice my grave concerns as related to the recent pay raises given to our department heads in Meriden and the Meriden School Superintendent.
We have repeatedly asked our employees to make concessions – through layoffs, retirements, vacation pay give-backs, etc.
The superintendent asks to be relieved of her duties because the road got a little bumpy,-along with the fact that the city manager and finance director demanded accountability. (Great job, by the way!)
So then want happens? The Board of Education decides to give the superintendent a 3 percent increase on her $142,587 salary next year and 4 percent the year after. (I guess I would be smiling on the front page of the Record-Journal, as well!)
What about the teachers, paraprofessionals and speech paraprofessionals? Their positional are critical to our children’s education? (Oh, let’s not forget the city manager and council are the problem!)
If the superintendent were so concerned about our children, she would have honored her contract and figured out a way to step up to the plate and not blame others for the problems and failures under her leadership. It’s noted through a number of examples where several superintendents have declined a pay increase or taken less.
I am very troubled that given the state of affairs in our community, some of our Meriden City Councilors also approved of the pay increases recently passed for our department heads. Tax and spend — if we were a business, we would be “out of business”!
TOM CALIENDO, MERIDEN