School Information System: Hudson school board will suspend dozens of teachers

April 21, 2011

Hudson school board will suspend dozens of teachers

The Hudson school board will suspend dozens of employees whose absences during public worker protests in Madison, Wis., caused district schools to close Feb. 18.

About 40 employees of the Hudson school district, mostly teachers, will be disciplined. Punishment ranges from one to 15 days of unpaid suspension, according to the district.

The length of suspension is based on "the district's investigation into the actions believed to have been taken by each employee," said district communications specialist Tracy Habisch-Ahlin in an email. The suspensions are to be served by the end of this school year.

"Having to close schools on Feb. 18 was a serious issue that impacted over 5,000 students along with their parents or caregivers," said school board president Barb Van Loenen. "As a result, the board spent considerable time listening to our community members and ... deliberating an appropriate response for individuals who were involved in the excessive absences."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at April 21, 2011 1:56 AM
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Comments

The good folks in Hudson would have had a much larger problem on their hands had their teachers gone on strike. They closed the schools for one day. Boo hoo hoo.

Posted by: david cohen at April 21, 2011 10:03 AM

The teachers would have had a larger problem on their hands if they went on strike, not the good folks of Hudson. Lying to an employer, in this case lying to the "good folks of Hudson", can have consequences.

Posted by: Reed Schneider at April 22, 2011 2:45 PM

So you'd take a few weeks of striking teachers over one day of absences?

Posted by: david cohen at April 24, 2011 12:34 PM

Who said anything about striking? Last time that was tried was in my hometown of Hortonville, and we all know what happened there. Perhaps a little more of that??

Posted by: Reed Schneider at April 24, 2011 4:45 PM

And it was not "one day of absences" as you say. Rather, 40 district employees for multiple days.
And it would not have to be weeks of striking as you mentioned.
Day 1: Strike - Fire - Begin new employee searches.
Day 2: Review the 2000-3000 applications. Bring in a few subs.
Day 3: A little more review then hire replacements.
Day 4: You're good to go with people who want to work.

Posted by: R Schneider at April 24, 2011 7:53 PM

@rschneider - under Walker, isn't the labor market supposed to be so vibrant, leading to tighter labor markets anyway, which makes your model simplistic? given the financial opportunities outside the teaching field, I would counsel people who are getting the level of education teachers need to teach to seek paths other than teaching if what one has to deal with is attitudes and a lack of respect like yours. who needs that for 20+ years of working? from my business background experience, your thinking is so outdated and counterproductive in the long run.

Posted by: barb s at May 7, 2011 6:07 AM

I mean or imply no lack of respect whatsoever. The only lack of respect I see here is the ability of 40 or so people to shut down a school and impact 5000 students based on a lie. Those 5000 students have parents and guardians and other siblings who must then rearrange their lives to accommodate the self interests of 40. That initial 5000 then translates into at least 15000 to 20000 people. Just where do they get off thinking they have the right to do that. A true "right" is something, when exercised, that does not impact the rights and liberty of another.
My thinking is not simplistic or outdated. It is something that occurs every day in Realsville when an employee lies to an employer. Your implication that the teaching profession is immune from this is what is outdated.

Posted by: Reed Schneider at May 7, 2011 6:35 AM