Friday, March 19, 2010

School Trustees Association are they Double Dipping ?

I'm a little unsure if this is double dipping, stupidity from schools or just paranoia over National Standards.
So the podgorani has had his fair crack at the NZEI over the years and nothing has changed, but you pay your union fees or you don't. It annoys me endlessly that if I ring NZEI and say "i need help with a teacher, and you are my union, help". They say "Oh i'm their union too, ring STA". This is the big joke and we all know we need separate unions, but those NZEI fish heads cant afford to lose our fees and wouldn't be able to have endless hakas at their national conference without their "respected" principals.
But
This isn't about the NZEI this is about our friends at STA School Trustees Association. They have clearly not asked their members about the national standards and are now alongside their funding partner the National Party. At first I thought it was just a stand by a lone figurehead but the penny dropped last week. After talking with the Mike Canterbury he noted that you don't actually have to pay the STA "subscription/membership" to have the use of their services including legal and communication. STA has a contract with the Ministry of Education (insert Anne Tolley is the boss here) to provide Boards of Trustees with governance help and provide legal advice. I have over the years used this service (once) and the STA guys that assist the school were brilliant, but it is a big job and takes ages, imagine how many schools have used their services.
This is a big contract, any chance STA are now puppets for their bosses? Their behavior suggests something is going on. They certainly haven't listened to their members. Then they wrote to Boards of Trustees about sacking BOTs who don't follow the standards, but they didn't write to all members of the boards (ratty smelly). This was a hot headed reaction to pressure. Who might have been behind this letter (insert all people who want the standards who are hot headed and have some power to do something)?

This is all a shambles, don't blame me for jumping to conclusions, this is what happens when the internet bites back at the Govts ownership of the mainstream media and when our only representatives (NZEI bus tour joke, NZPF's read our website for our press release campaign) drop the ball like the Highlanders on a south african tour.

If you want to make a stand, talk with your BOT review your subscription/membership - you already are a member, I rang the STA and checked the facts, their help desk was very helpful.
Might save your school $1000, fiscal responsibility, at least one National MP, Bill English would praise your accounting prudence in these tough times.

Please, before getting angry, note that while I type i am usually laughing, and if you saw what I edit out of each post you'd be shocked. If you cant take a joke don't read, if you don't have a SOH don't read, but there is usually a message in there for someone.

3 comments:

Marlene said...

Paid propaganda Luke! Get used to it! Read the SST headlines re the new Sir whats his face rolling around the country trotting out the National Standards as the messiah of teaching and learning. What bollocks! I am asking everywhere I can who paid for him to come here now? The timing is unbelievable, as is his story!So he is claiming he turned around a failing school with National standards.... And that this new success his school experienced had nothing at all to do with the fact that he at the same time KICKED OUT 300 trouble makers HA! He should be writing the new Harry Potter series!NZSTA should be boycotted by us all! You are right, the dictatorship style of Government we are experiencing and the amount of shameful paid journalism propaganda will remain in our country's history. Lets get real this is a political farce, and will not ever, ever help a child!

Podgorani said...

ive said this to lots of people that we need
leadership and from someone like greg o'conner from the pleece (police). He is articulate and speaks sense, we are seen as the big bleaters because no one (in our leadership) has been able to articulate the situation and its impact on classrooms.
It doesnt help when hippie with a big beard pops a balloon in nelson and gets let off in court, he then tells everyone he is a primary school teacher - not in my school he aint. he should get a haircut and get a real job.

Allan Alach said...

I agree totally - raised this very point with my BOT at the last meeting. Who does STA represent? I've never worked with any BOT who took any interest in all in STA, other than accessing their personnel services. It is time BOTs took a stand either by taking back control or opting out. STA is a hired hand for MOE and govt propaganda dissemination.