Be my guest, though I'm not sure how many laffs it'd get! These bureacrats (federal, state AND local) make me sick.

Conversely, the climate is never going to change while a union like RIFTAP is defending ineffective practices. For instance:

"James Parisi, a field representative of the Rhode Island Federation of Teachers and Allied Health Professionals, said that Gallo had asked teachers to work a longer school day, attend after-school training and set aside two weeks in the summer for professional development. Parisi said the union balked because the district wasn’t willing to pay teachers enough for the additional time and work. "

This is bullshit on the part of the union morons. At my school, we are required to do all of the above without additional compensation, and that is just fine. We have a weekly staff meeting geared toward professional development that goes for an hour and a half after school (along with numerous committee meetings, averaging 1-2 a week), as well as training and orientation that is required during summer break. In all honesty, I can only spend so much time fishing, hiking, reading, trolling this message board etc. in the summer before I get bored. I like to work; being busy is a good thing. These fat ladies in Central Falls sure were taking an awful lot for granted. My sympathy DOES go out to people who are supporting kids on a single income, or who may lose a house because of this, etc., especially the few competent and hardworking ones. I blame the union and the ineffectual administration at that shitty high school.