Sisters and Brothers, please take note of the following updates:
SUPERINTENDENT DADE: As reported in the local news, talks began on Wednesday to negotiate Terry Dade’s departure from the District; a move that would undoubtedly place the RCSD in further peril.
“As everyone knows, this has been the toughest, most challenging year probably that the Rochester City School District has ever experienced, and unfortunately the relationship between board and superintendent has been strained at best during this tough time,” said Dade.
Facing an 87 million dollar deficit, the coronavirus, and further cuts to educational funding, the last thing this District needs to do is look for a new superintendent. Assemblyman Harry Bronson successfully fought for requiring an independent monitor to provide financial and academic oversight; develop a viable financial plan in partnership with the Superintendent; and, act as a liaison between the school board and the superintendent. The independent monitor is scheduled to start in July.
In response to Superintendent Dade’s stated departure, the four bargaining units sent a letter to NYS Board of Regents Chancellor Betty Rosa, urging her to immediately appoint an Interim Fiscal Monitor or to assume that role. It is our hope that she will intervene and that Terry Dade will agree to stay on as our superintendent of schools.
BUDGET: The District began holding meetings this week (via zoom) to discuss staffing by location and your BENTE Officers have attended each and every one of them. The staffing templates being presented are based on Superintendent Dade’s 2020-2021 proposed budget. We are compiling this information.
The public discourse between the Superintendent and the Board of Education has created an uncertainty around budget priorities that has made the process more difficult. The economic condition of the state has made the job even harder. Due to the volatility, we cannot be certain until the budget is actually adopted as to what positions will be eliminated or added. We are hoping that the fiscal monitor will help to clarify this process.
Once the budget is adopted, we will contact members who are definitively being affected. It is difficult to do that at this time since the budget continues to change. The Union is working with HCI to secure a date and time for those being displaced to pick a new location in order of seniority.
BOARD MEETING: There is a meeting of the Board of Education this evening at 6:30 PM that can be viewed by clicking on the following link:
Rochester Board of Education Regular Business Meeting.
If you have an issue or comment, please do not hesitate to e-mail me directly at dan@bentelocal2419.org.
Stay safe.
In Solidarity,
Daniel DiClemente, President
BENTE/AFSCME Local 2419
“The Support Staff that Supports Students”
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BENTE Local 2419