Letter to the Editor: Question School Board Before Privatization Vote

Dear Editor:

It appears the the RCS Board of Education is bound and determined to move forward with privatizing all of the custodial services, bus drivers and four grounds positions.

Even though the Blue Group has made huge concessions in the past and now was ask to make $3.9 million in cuts for three years amounting to a whopping $12 million, which would put those emplyees at or below minimum wage. Nice negotiating, RCS Board and administrators.

Waterford just agreed across the board for everyone to take 5 percent to help keep current vested employees. Troy residents are upset with their current private company and wants Troy Schools to re-hire district employees but can't since they sold their busses and now cannot afford to do so. Walled Lake just suspended their private company and told them they are out for issues with work quality and others.  So, what do these directors and board members think is going to happen here in Rochester Schools when you had some of the cleanest and best kept schools in Michigan? Employees were vested and lived in the district or had children in RCS.

Now we will have transients working for us, not vested in our community and probably will come from other cities.

The nice thing is the administrators over the past few years have given themselves two raises and then froze their wages ... way to go!  Leading by example?

Then they took a 5 percent cut thinking the state was going to do it and wanted residents to think they were doing it out of the kindness of their hearts. Then the state decided not to.  Otherwise, you would have never seen that cut.  They still will not offer to take a pay cut. I ask Mr. Stoner and the others involved in this plan; would you all take a 60 percent pay cut like the others under you?

I encourage and ask the residents to ask more questions and get involved quickly because there is more to this than what you are seeing or being told.

Are you going to trust your kids with employees who change daily, weekly maybe even monthly? No consistency in bus schedules. Just ask the Troy and Walled Lake residents.

Are your taxes going down? No. So, worse service for the same price ... I question that philosophy. Question your Board Members before it's too late come the first meeting of April!

Sincerely,

Gary Elliott, lifelong resident and past RCS student

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