CITYDESK/NEWS BOISE CYCLISTS ATTEMPT TO FORM LOBBY ORGANIZATION With diverse reasons but a common bond, members of the local cycling community packed into the downtown WaterCooler on May 24 to shift the first-ever Boise Bicycle Congress into gear. Representing everyone from velocachers (geocachers on wheels) to representatives from the Idaho Transportation Department, attendees presented several different agendas. For some, it was disappointment with what they considered toothless laws or absent infrastructure. For others, it was the lack of a decent bike map. What united them was their frustration that despite Boise being thick with bike organizations, there was little advocacy. “What this community is missing is a single organization that will represent the common cause,” said congress co-organizer Rick Overton. “That represents both the challenge and the opportunity before us today.” More than 30 attendees introduced themselves over beer and pizza, sharing their beefs before attempting to form an agenda. Whitney Rearick, executive director of the Idaho Pedestrian and Bicycle Alliance and the meeting’s other organizer, said the group could be different from other local cycling alliances because the specific goal would be advocacy, something either outside the mission or just off the table for other groups like Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association, Boise Bicycle Project or Treasure Valley Cycling Alliance. It didn’t take long before an entire wall was covered with sticky notes, representing everything from softer proposals like encouraging more bike-in events to harder proposals like including bicycle education with driver education in schools, changing the building permitting process to ensure construction doesn’t block bike lanes, and getting bike lanes on State Street. More than a brainstorming session, the meeting represented a growing backlash against community organizations seen as lying down on the job. “No one said, ‘Let’s act on this tragedy and get organized,’” said Rearick, referring to the deaths of three cyclists within one month in 2009. “Why? There wasn’t any leadership. We’re trying to provide that.” Several members of the meeting said they had previously looked to TVCA, the group behind Boise Bike Week, but had been told the group wasn’t interested in advocacy, only in community events. After more than a half hour of brainstorming, the congress adjourned for the evening, planning to reconvene in two weeks and figure out what to do about its list of ideas. But the first meeting did not result in the official formation of a group. To further complicate things, Rearick, one of the driving forces of the initiative, announced she was planning to move away from Boise in the near future, meaning the entire effort could easily crumble. But Rearick remained optimistic. “We have some clear ideas to focus on,” she said. “Now we just need to get some leaders to emerge.” —Josh Gross
8 | JUNE 1–7, 2011 | BOISEweekly
NEWS
WHO STAYS? WHO GOES? Meridian reduction in force rubric will determine draconian cuts GEORGE PRENTICE On Wednesday, June 8, when Meridian teachers say goodbye to their students and wish them well on the final day of classes, the roles could well be reversed. Many of the educators in the state’s largest school district will be packing up their lesson plans for good. “People are panicked, they’re totally panicked,” said one teacher who asked to be anonymous. “It’s all people are talking about, especially the kids. They’re point-blank asking us, ‘Are you going to lose your job? Will you be here next year?’” Each teacher BW spoke to asked that their identity not be revealed, in fear of being singled out or ostracized in a process that could lead to dismissal. “I feel totally kicked around and undervalued,” another teacher told BW. But a numerical value is precisely what each teacher in the district is being tagged with. A so-called “rubric” has been completed by administrators, which will be the ultimate arbiter of who stays and who goes in the next school year. When Meridian voters turned thumbs down on an $18.5 million-a-year supplemental levy by a 57 percent to 42 percent margin on May 17, the school district went into a tailspin. Facing an approximate $21.8 million shortfall, the district Board of Trustees proposed taking a cleaver to Negative points the alreadywill be included if a teacher’s file lean school includes docucalendar. If mented concerns, approved, reprimands or seven school violations. days could be eliminated in 2011-2012, totaling a 14-day reduction in just two years. Administrative positions are also expected to be on the guillotine. But the stunner that has everyone talking is the possible elimination of 100 teaching positions, and that’s where Extra points the rubric for assistant comes in. coaches or In endorsements. academia, Meridian administrators said a rubric they’ve already originally seen many ties. referred to a teacher’s red ink on a
graded paper. The irony wasn’t lost on teachers that the red ink in this particular case comes from the school district’s fiscal crisis, and this time, a rubric could put them out of a job. The worksheet requires a series of points derived from performance evaluations, credentials (advanced degrees or certificates) and “extras.” In fact, a masters degree or National Board Certification can earn a teacher one point while the head coach of a sports team can score two points. “Most of us are at school to teach,” said one educator. “This really puts the district’s priorities in question.” “I don’t coach,” said another teacher. “But I coach my colleagues to be better teachers. I don’t see any points for that.” But Meridian School Superintendent Linda Clark staunchly defended the extra points for “heads” of extra-curricular activities.
“You have to do that,” said Clark. “In the practical running of a school, you couldn’t have all the people responsible for those extracurricular programs gone.” Clark said the district painstakingly crafted the rubric. “We’ve run this past our attorney a dozen times,” she said. Clark said the district will be hard pressed when coming up with a final list of cuts, because there will be so many “ties.” As a result, tiebreakers were included on the rubric, and yes, one of the tiebreakers is an extra point for anyone who may be an assistant coach. Another debate erupted when some teachers told BW that they were told they could not be labeled “distinguished,” which could garner five much-needed points. Three teachers confirmed to BW that an administrator told a gathering of teachers that, “Nobody lives in the world of distinguished. You only visit there.” “If that was said, it was absolutely inappropriate,” said Clark. “And I will deal directly with the person who would have Teachers have been evaluated said that.” on 25 indicators, Clark including teaching said on a strengths, lesson scale of one planning and interaction with to 10, her peers. stress level lately is about a 20. She said when the 20112012 school year begins, at $3,900 per student, the Meridian School District will be the lowest-funded school district in the country among all One point for higher degrees districts or certification. with enrollTwo points for ment above head coaches or 25,000. extra-curricular advisors. Teachers, parents, students and the general public will have one more opportunity to weigh in on the matter at a public hearing set for Tuesday, June 14, at 7 p.m. in the Mountain View High School auditorium.
When Meridian teachers asked how a reduction in force would be determined, they were handed this “rubric.”
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