Well at least if this goes to trial at least we MAY have a chance to finally know what happened. Whether Baker can prove any sunshine law violations occurred remains to be seen. Proving that will be very difficult. But if this never goes to trial we will never have a chance to know what happened. Probably the only thing he will be able to prove is that the board broke his contract when then fired him the way they did.

Now does this mean that Donavon will finally have to provide a deposition? Sure would like to hear what he has to say.

Stay tuned for the continuing saga of "As the School Board Turns".

I was told by a CCPS teacher that Baker will probably end up winning and that we'll have to pay him an extreme amount of money along with Thompson's huge salary. Yet we are having budget cuts, did Thompson's salary go down?

This should have never happened in the first place. The school board needs to go, out with the old, in with the new.

Remember he can always lie or take the 5th.

Maybe at least now the public can hear the REAL truth - the emails between baker, labute, Carroll Curatolo, Withers, Chamber members, etc. that is where I bet the real sunshine violations are!!!
Once that is out there I bet Baker will settle for whatever he can get. I think he deserves somethng for his 30+ years in the system, but definitely doesnot deserve his job back!

and our money is eaten up even more. When do the kids get a bite of this Golden Goose called Collier County Tax Payers?

OUT WITH THIS BOARD---ALL OF THEM!

This kind of stuff has happened LONG before this Board was even elected. It is the kind of corruption that has permeated our county, it happens in every segment of the government. If it wasnt this board it would be another. There was corruption hinted out with the Last board - and they all got voted out. Same will happen here, and the good old boys will go on business as usual. Just look at the administrators sitting at the meeting, most of them have been through 2-3 boards each and THEY are still there, doesn't that tell you something???
Until those people are gone as well, nothing will change. Same old stuff, different day!
Wake out Thompson and REALLY clean house! SHow us how you earn your keep!
(sorry I am showing what an old timer I am by my lingo...hope you youngsters can understand what I mean!!)

I do not believe that Baker would even want the job back fedup. This will only determine if and how he was wronged by the school board.

No matter what happens he will end up walking away with a bunch of money. That is for sure. Meanwhile we will continue to pay that obscene salary to Thompson and his side kicks. All this while the budget is cut back in the class rooms.

Funny thing is the school board can't seem to understand why everyone is so upset with them.

The overhaul will start this fall when Abbot and Caratolo seats are up for re-election.

fedup, you're right, the corruption and messes have happened with every board Naples has ever had. It just gets SO old, you got it, SSDD....same s@*! different day!

swfl_ff is rght, the bottom line is Baker's motivation.

Baker has been out of his job since August, and the discussion of his "professional performance" has been in the headlines ever since.

District teachers have been "out of contract" since July 31st, and they are still waiting to be "recognized" for their professional performance.

Is the teachers' lack of professional compensation due to the legal costs of Baker's suit or is it due to the acquisition costs of a new superintendant?

Isn't it strange that since August the district has no available funds to fairly compensate long-term educators?

To those who might suggest that, during "these difficult times," a Collier District teacher should be "glad to have a job" during, you need a reality (and a conscience)check.

Many district teachers have earned their teaching positions with (several)advanced graduate degrees and with hard work.

I just paid $3.26 at the Immokalee Road Mobil to put regular gas in my 2001 CRV. What are you driving?

If a better car than mine, then you are probably one of my previous students. Congratulations! I'm proud of your success!

Now appreciate the origin of that success.

3 degrees and 35 years here in CCPS and I am calling it quits in June. New super makes $240K+/year; his 2 "Dixie Chcks" each make $170K+/year and teachers get diddley squat! Ain't got no money for teacher salaries/raises but plenty for this dude from Illinois ( the vacation capital of America) and his entourage! We have a bunch of School board members who couldn't find their way out of a paper bag with a million candlepower flashlight! God help us:)!

Two ladies who presented the Hinshaw & Culbertson report charged "that the district failed to uniformly award credits to students taking courses paired with Advanced Placement classes."

This is a straw man. AP classes should continue to be paired with another section so that they can meet daily with their teacher for 180 days for 87 minutes.

This is totally good for the student, totally good for the school, totally good for real estate, totally good for the knowledgeable teacher. It doesn't matter what guidance or the Florida DOE wants to name the course.

If an AP teacher doesn't use all this time, he should be replaced. It's not easy to teach an AP course. It creates lots and lots of out-of-class work, demands rigor and good technique in the classroom as well as continued study to maintain expertise in the teacher's subject.

The reward for the student is 2 high school credits in the subject, in-depth understanding of the subject, and hopefully a good score on the AP exam. A good score on the AP exam means 6 college credit hours in the subject granted by the admitting university--and these _do_ mean top tier universities _do accept_ AP best scores for full credit.

That Mr. Baker permitted this is a great good. That Dr. Thompson does not permit it is a great evil.

That Dr. Thompson attacks Mr. Baker for permitting the practice of paired courses for AP for being illegal is fallacious reasoning: the argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position.

To assert that it is bad for students to earn 2 high school credits in the subject, in-depth understanding of the complexity of the subject, and hopefully a good score on the AP exam in May is illogical reasoning, a fallacy.

A good score on the AP exam means 6 college credit hours in the subject. If a student is successful in only one AP test and is admitted to a $47,500 top-notch university that requires 10 semester hours the first year, he saves $9500 for his father's pocket.

More AP test scores of 4 or 5 provides more money saved. Multiply this by the number of Collier County students currently on track for success on the AP tests in various subjects, and the taxpayers are allowing parents substantial financial assistance and enabling students to attend much better universities.

The group that disallows this and fired Mr. Baker for it have done us all a terrible disservice. Attacking a distorted version of a position simply does not constitute an attack on the position itself. It's OK for students to learn as much as a good teacher has to teach, score it how you will.

Mr. Baker did not permit a bad thing by permitting courses paired with AP courses. Different credit for individual students in the same paired course, although deconstructed by Hinshaw & Culbertson, is not an unsound practice.

Mr. Baker should not have been fired for this issue.

I hope he wins! The CC School board is nothing but a bunch of crooks. At IHS they are getting lied to and forced to vote in a 7/8 period day. They are being LIED to by the admin, and that is why the vote went through. The school board has already made the shady deal with the principal. But, just so you know, the vote was for the teachers having double planning periods, and when all is said and done this won't happen. The mindless sheeps believed the leaders that lied to them for so long. And, where was the union?? Well, It is only a bunch of Mexicans and Haitians in Immokalee, and they don't know any better, so why should CCEA waste their time? They didn't.

IHS parents, and any people wo care about human rights should pay attention to this travesty!!!

IHS is going to be forced to take an extended day, under the guise of equal planning...yet, it's a lie!!!!!

I may be mistaken but as judges are "elected" isn't there the possibility that such a decision is politicaly motivated? I think the guy is geting shafted by the establishment.

I have one question that perhaps a high school teacher can answer. Are the class pairings with AP classes that created this problem and led to Mr. Baker's firing still being done today?

I have also stated before: In Dr. Thompson's contract it stated that goals would developed for him by the end of January 2008. Has anyone seen those goals?

beenthere - we are all still waiting for the superintendent's goals - funny how they have "forgotten" to share those with the public - maybe he's going to stretch that out until right before his contract is renewed for that extra year -

Does anyone remember Denny stating that his Dixie Chicks didn't need insurance, and that would save the District money - I betcha my paycheck that those two are fully insured by the District -

Do they think that we aren't listening??? or that maybe we just can't recall!

Our family is out of here as well. My spouse who works with CCPS (10+ yrs) will be giving notice at the end of school.

Thank God this is going to trial. I would not want the community to miss all the info that will come out during the trial. It will be Standing Room Only so get there early folks.

Yo Linda/Charlie, King Calabrese, Donofraud and Denny T: Get ready for this to seal the deal for the community to be against all of you for the painful duration of your tenure with CCPS.

Does it hurt to look in the mirror and know how much you are disliked? We really hope so. Too bad it's not your own money you have wasted what will end up being the Stadium Naples of CCPS.

Go Fridkin. We prefer the five of them medium rare please.

Collier County School Board should pay at least part of any settlement he gets...they are the ones responsible.

This is merely a delay in what I view as the inevitable. First, Baker has no intention to be reinstated - for what for 14 days til they fire him? what he does want is to use the ploy as a bargaining chip in the settlement with the Board of his claims, ditto for the sunshine law claim. While no one has touched on it, Iam wondering what this poorly drawn contract provides as to emoluments as opposed to salary. Is Baker entitled to performance increases for the balance of his remaining contractual years? how about the increaed sums that would be paid through a retirement ststem? etc.

And on another note, assuming that Thompson has reduced AP courses to one semester, has the school time period doubled or is the material pushed out in half the time foillowing which the student takes the AP exam? Any data on scores yet?

I left after 10+ years at CCPS as a teacher to and headed to NC. Love it here and have enjoyed escaping the destruction of CCPS by the new Head Honcho with NO real education background. I consider myself lucky, but feel for my fellow co-workers who have to endure this mess until their homes sell. I know a half dozen great teachers there who are biding their time to escape as well. What a disgrace to public education and what a sad situation for the students most of all.

compteach - Oh, where do we begin?

"To those who might suggest that, during 'these difficult times,' a Collier District teacher should be 'glad to have a job' during, you need a reality (and a conscience)check."

Yeah, and so do you! Teachers, whether they admit it or not, enjoy a significant amount of job security. No matter what the rest of the economy is doing, no matter how many of the parents of the children they teach are losing hours at work or losing their jobs, there will always be children to teach. THAT is "reality".

"Many district teachers have earned their teaching positions with (several) advanced graduate degrees and with hard work."

So, you're saying that if you don't have a college degree (or several advanced ones) or if you don't work hard that you're not as good as a teacher? News flash! Some people work in industries that don't require a college degree, let alone several advanced ones. They all work just as hard (and harder, I'd be willing to bet) as you do, and they are just as successful. I personally only have one college degree (at the moment), but I'm going to school at night (after my 14 hour per day, 12 month a year job) to earn a Master's degree and a 2nd professional certification. So, while you're "working to rule" 8 months a year, I'm out expanding upon "the origins of my success".

"I just paid $3.26 at the Immokalee Road Mobil to put regular gas in my 2001 CRV. What are you driving?"

I drive a 2006 Dodge Ram that I put approximately 1200 to 1500 miles per week on for work. I am currently working in The Keys and Miami Beach (while living in Naples), and am filling my gas tank every other day. Gas prices in The Keys and Miami Beach range between $3.37 and $3.59. Wanna trade?

This is a tired argument. Teachers are not the only ones who work hard and have personal expenses. EVERYONE DOES. But, not everyone has already received a raise this year, and are now looking for a second one at taxpayer expense. I haven't received a raise or bonus since 2005, and I'm not expecting that to be different this year. Times are tough. Get over it.

Now that I've said all that, how about we bring the conversation back to what's in THIS article? I'm soooo tired of the teachers using every article about the School Board or Baker's lawsuit or Dr. Thompson to bring up their alleged woes when it's not the issue being covered.

#15: Class pairings continue today.

Teachers at our school have been told "never paired classes again. It's against the law." We are also told that our school is losing numbers of students daily and that people are walking away from their foreclosed houses, even on Marco.

Of course, no one in the school administration would dare admit any responsibility for families and their students leaving the area for any other reason than "economic downturn." Read your property tax bill carefully. Mine arrived yesterday. Note the two figures on it for schools. Multiply that by the appraised value of local property. Do we have enough money to play this Baker game? The school board evidently thinks so.

While I don't have high regard for trials and the legal process, nor do I have faith that it will determine the real truth, I'm happy Judge Carlin has done what's necessary to take the matter to a jury. If Mr. Baker's attorney is really "super" (as advertised), maybe something good and true and just will come of it.

Even if we pave all of South Florida, Gators will probably be here for much longer than Gatorhater. Maybe one will come knocking at his door or lay eggs in his swimming pool. I wonder if it's not alligators he hates but graduates of the University of Florida.

Anti-intellectuals, having little experience acquiring them, always scorn "advanced degrees" as something quite easy to come by. If enough of us teachers operate on his children's minds, perhaps they won't continue with the prejudices of their father. Whoever thought when [Deltona Corporation] drained the swamp, we'd be . . . .

Nekayah -

Yes, my screen name is a slap at the perennially overrated University of Florida, not at the reptile that is the namesake of that erstwhile institution's mascot.

And, at no time have you ever heard me say that "advanced degrees" are easy to come by. As I said, I am currently in the process of earning one myself, and I know firsthand that effort involved in doing so.

That said, the obtaining and holding of "advanced degrees" is not the sole measure by which one's competence or professionalism are measured. "Advanced dgrees" are simply something with which to pad one's resume in an attempt to earn more money or bolster one's reputation.

I am not "anti-intellectual" or "anti-education". I personally think that education is very important and should be ongoing throughout one's life. What I AM "anti" is teachers who try to gain public sympathy by claiming poverty and overwork in a community full of both, when they are both working fulltime and have already received one raise this year.

I have two gentlemen working for me - one is a Master Carpenter and Master Woodworker, one is a crane operator - both of whom have almost 30 years experience in their respective fields, both of whom earn in excess of $100k per year, yet neither of whom even graduated from high school, let alone hold a college degree.

Does that mean that neither one of these men is a highly skilled, highly competent, highly trained professional? Of course not! Does that mean that neither one of these men is qualified to educate others with their years of experience and knowledge? Of course not!

In fact, both of these men TEACH their trade in a classroom setting several nights a week and on weekends.

And, anyone worthy of their college degree will tell you that K-12 and college do nothing more than lay the foundation for the lifetime of REAL "education" that starts the first day of your first job AFTER you finish school. And, once you start working in the real world, employers look more closely at your employment history than at your educational background.

Gatorhater has hit the mark. I am CFO of a local business and I do not even have an Associates Degree. It is all the work experience that i have generated over 30+ years that earned me that title and the salary to go with it. But alas, due to the state of the local economy, the company I work for is laying people off, and cutting hours on the rest of us. I will take a pay cut and/or possibly be laid off. there is no job security, even for someone like me. So if you have a job, teacher, thank God for that!

Is this the same Judge Carlin that denied the restraining order against that man who shot his wife at the Noonan school and the same Judge who's wife is the principal of Pinewoods Elementry? If so Baker needs a Judge that in the least has some common sense and has the ability to be unbiased. The collier fair is over the Circus is coming to town...How many clowns can we fit into the funnny car?

Is it time for Charlie Crist to come to Naples and purge the system of corruption and incompetence? Way overdo I say.

Now instead of the teachers getting a raise, who by the way are in the trenches daily----the lawyers will pad their pockets and life will go on in sunny Naples as usual!!

Choke the "lip service" of caring about students/teachers--these are PEOPLE not numbers, by the way and call it what it is.

One more time...I, along with many other teachers, AND SUPPORT STAFF, NEVER received any additional money this year. We received no step increase, no insurance holiday, and we have no hope for any help in these tough financial times in the near future. Administrators received a 1% bonus and many received a raise for minimally satifactory work. Surely everyone in our shoes would feel the same if their bosses gave themselves a raise and told you to be happy that you even have a job! A job taking care of your kids while you bust your butts at work to make it in this town deemed paradise. For whom? The people who can afford not to live and work here. The bosses who sit on their haunches while others do the work.

WOW ! I just read the comments and WOW again ! If I could shake the hand of Gatorhater I would... You said it all and said it well... And I might add...I have worked in Collier County School Systems .. and more than 50% of the teachers do not even deserve what they are getting paid... I have been in classrooms where the teachers just give out BUSY work (that will explain alot)there is no teaching going on. I also have a child that will graduate this year... out of the 4 years in High School less than 10% of her teachers did their jobs..and as for the classrooms with the high tech computerized whiteboards, projectors with wall screens and top of the notch computer equipment and the in ceiling speakers that connect to the audio mics that the teachers are to wear (which are nearly all classrooms in Collier County as a matter of fact cost the county over 10K PER classroom and that does not include the training for the teachers do the math!)In the Schools that I have worked in I have seen less than 3% of the teachers use this equipment and that was when the classrooms first got the equipment by the end of the first year the teachers no longer even bothered with the equipment. My daughter says not one of her teachers ever uses the equipment. Some of you tax payers ask your children if their teacher uses the equipment.. there goes more of our money!! and let me add this before the high tech equipment was installed in the nearly all the classrooms in the county.. the teachers had T.V.s / DVD players that hooked up to their computers which allowed the teachers to show discovery sites and things of that nature ect.. would the tax payers like to know what was done with all those T.Vs from all the classrooms in the county ?? They were auctioned off, I got 10 of them for 20$$ and gave them to friends and family.. the tv's are great..!!I even have one hooked up to my computer at home.WHAT A WASTE OF $$$$

All future employment contracts with Superintendents should be at will. It will save the taxpayers a ton of money.

This all has nothing at all to do with the Sunshine laws or any other crimes. Ray Baker had a nice fat contract approved by incompetents and now a different set of incompetents come on board and write 3 more fat ones to replace the first one and think through political weasiling can just walk away from the first fat contract. They had two reasonable choices prior to hiring their team- pay off Baker as prescribed or keep him on until he fulfills his contract. But they didn't and are still wasting more time and money. I guarantee that if these people in charge were spending their own money Baker would still be there.

Gator I agree with what you said about having a college degree vs not having a college degree. None of my friends have college degrees and they all make more than me. However I have to disagree when you deny you are anti-teacher. For example you seemed to miss the point on a couple of Nek's passages
1. "Many district teachers have earned their teaching positions with (several) advanced graduate degrees and with hard work."
No where does it say that teachers are better. The fact that you read that into such an simple passage seems to indicate an anti-teacher bias.

2. It wasn't the price of the gas that was the issue. It is the fact the he/she is driving an 8 year old car. You are driving a 2006. Again your need to to disagree with a teacher caused you to completely miss the point. Your wage allows you to be able to afford a nice truck. That's what teachers want also. To be able to afford a decent vehicle is not to much to ask for. Before you talk about all the nice cars in the school parking lots please remember that most teachers have spouses who are employed in the private sector.

Wasn't Ray Hired to fill the position of a superintendent that had been fired as well for some reasons that I cant recall any longer?

Job security in teaching, as in any field, is non existent, teachers can be let go just as easily as the next job, so let that one go.

As for holding advanced degrees and work experience, in every job you expect that with more experience and more advanced training you will recieve just pay for what you have worked to get. Why should teachers be any different?

The problem with the arguments that come from education is that there is a belief that anybody with a voice can teach. Maybe that is true, but I know I can't operate a crane, maybe if someone taught me and taught me well, I could handle it, if the owners didn't mind a little property damage while I learned. Now imagine being the one that has to teach a bunch of kids who don't want to be there in the 1st place, concepts that they don't care about. And when they get home the people that should help them, their parents, show little or no respect for the people that are with their kids more than they are.

Now that is a bad generalization because 99% of parents are great, but there is that 1% that are the problem.....guess what that is the same thing as teachers, for every one bad teacher there are 9 busting their butts trying to lay the foundation for a future, which in some is more than they can ever hope for.

Now before you flip out and tell me to go teach my class, I have today off as I am trying to get all of my doctor's appoitments out of the way, since all of our lovely snowbirds are down here clogging up the works.

The economy sucks right now, but things will get better, and the 1st group that will feel it, the ones that are complaining the loudest, thats right the construction industry. And when you get your money back I hope you enjoy it, because the teachers that are teaching your kids will probably be gone, movin on to someplace where they can work and maybe make their mortgage payments once every 2 months instead of the once every 3. Good luck Baker I hope you sue the heck out of this place and win.

Are you Fridkin kidding me? This whole process is a joke and very expensive. I think all should be punished, and forced to eat school lunch for a month!

anotherPOV - I'm not anti-teacher. I have three school teachers in my family, as a matter of fact. I very much respect the job that they do.

As I said before, what I AM "anti" is teachers who try to gain public sympathy by claiming poverty and overwork in a community full of both, when they are both working fulltime and have already received one raise this year.

Anytime someone starts to dispute whether or not the teachers deserve more money, they trot out the "look how much education I have" argument. And, the point that I was trying to make was that the level of one's education (or lack thereof) has absoutely nothing to do with their level of competence or professionalism, so that argument has no bearing on the amount of money that anyone should make.

And, regarding the fact that my vehicle is only 2 years old versus the other one being 8 years old, YOU missed the point, too. My vehicle is only two years old because I have to replace it roughly every other year due to how much I drive for work (between 55,000 and 65,000 miles per year). When you figure in $15,000 per year replacement cost (average purchase of a $30,000 vehicle every other year) on top of gas (3 to 4 fill-ups per week) and maintenance and everything else, half a dozen or so fill-ups a month, even at $3.26 a gallon, starts to look much better. If I could make a vehicle last 8 years, I'd be thrilled.

I'm not disputing that the teachers may deserve more for what they do. They have a bad contract - a bad contract that THEIR UNION negotiated and THEY approved - but, the arguments they are using to justify it are falling more and more on deaf ears.

fsurandal37 - Job security for teachers is non-existant. Interesting concept.

Let me ask you this in response: When is the last time you lived in a community with no children in it?

Granted, there are smaller communities that don't have the need for the large amount of teachers that bigger communities do, but I would be willing to make a fairly substantial wager that 99% percent of communities in the United States have the need for at least a few.

But, on the other hand, when the economy takes a downturn like it has, construction and other service industries start to dry up because people are not as likely to build a new home or buy a new car or expand their business, etc. As a result, those businesses have to downsize their staffs. But, since most school districts are funded through tax dollars, and since people out of work still have children that need to be taught and still have to pay taxes on whatever money they do earn (even unemployment), teachers feel an economic crunch less than other groups of people (employment-wise, that is...I'm not talking about their pocketbooks).

So, I would dispute that teachers don't enjoy a significant measure of job security.

Wow! We seem to have gotten off topic here.
It appears that Gator is one that actually read the article.

Everyone keeps saying I hope Baker sues pants of district.. Well, he DID sue! Problem is that obviously he nor his attorney were able to prove his claim to the judge.

The judge sees where the board went with the breech of contract issue! Look at article 2 of the contract. Referenced in the article.
He broke the law people. He violated state statute! He knew about it, he was informed of the problems, and the probable violations and told to fix them!! HE was given 6 months!!
He refused! He told administrators NOT to fix them. He was blatant about it. He was given direct orders by board to fix those AP issues, he did NOT!!

I am sorry, but you can not have a contract that violates state statute and you can not break the law and expect to keep your job!!

You all want to talk about sunshine violations... How come Baker had that meeting packed with his cronies BEFORE anything was ever brought up about termination?!?!?! SOMEONE told him! SOMEONE tipped him off!

For those of you that have nothing better to do with your days, (which I hope are few), go get some copies of the tapes from old board meetings for the last say OH, 6 years. Watch when Dick Bruce was on the board and how you could certainly question the constant 3-2 voting from him, curatolo and carroll. Times when you could almost see the practiced protocol that they had talked about at some point OUT OF SUNSHINE!!

Let the depo's begin!! I hope that discovery will include ALL parties so that the public can really hear the truth!!

Indigoskky
Do you know who the superintendent was before Ray Baker and why he let go? It seems to me we sure let alot of our superintendents go..

Gator, the point is you CAN buy a new truck every couple of years.

I would like to extend your logic to other situations. When was the last time you were in a community without buildings. I guess I can surmise by your logic that construction workers have job security? When is the last time you lived in a community without a store in it. Does that mean retail workers have job security? Teachers do face job loss whenever there is a fluctuation in population or a budget crisis. I have been let go twice in my career.

My guess is the facts will disappear in the settlement prior to the completion of the trial.

To reply to the teacher job security issue. If field marshal Denny had got his way, there would be 7 period days next year and 80 H.S. teachers would have lost their jobs.

Don't forget that point teacher oops, I mean gatorhater.

Go gators!

mngator - If an INCREASE in the number of classes to be taught results in a DECREASE in the number of teachers needed (particularly in classrooms where student limits are set by state law), what does that tell you about the number of "extra" teachers that are currently working for Collier County Public Schools? It sounds to me like The Taj isn't the only place with a surplus of staff.

If those 80 "extra" teachers went away, I'm sure that their salaries could be divided up to pay the remaining teachers the additional money that they are asking for.

Sounds like "Problem Solved" to me.

Besides, it wasn't just the change to a 7-period day that would have resulted in those layoffs. Remember, the School District enrollment was down this year, and is projected to be down again next year. Fewer students also means fewer teachers are needed.

And, all of the positions that were going to be eliniated weren't just teachers, either. I could be wrong, but I believe that number also included teaching assistants for special needs students and teaching assistants for students whose native language is not English.

mngator - By the way, tell me again how the Gators did in their college football national championship hunt this year? Or in their bowl game against Michigan? Or in their quest to repeat as men's college basketball champions? Are they even going to be in the tournament this year?

Sorry about that, everyone. I know that most people here are actually trying to keep the topic of THIS article in focus, rather than trying to make it about something else entirely unrelated like teacher salaries and academic credentials.

Let's get back to Baker's Folley, shall we...?

Go Baker! How can we get rid of this board. Can they be impeached??? Please tell me that there is a way to get rid of them. BEFORE THEIR TERM IS UP. IF someone could tell me what to do I would be glad to start the process.

I wish we could get rid of them Disney. But there is no recall process available to us. Only office holders of city governments or charted counties (which Collier is not) with recall provisions in their charters can be recalled from office.

The only we they leave is to resign, get voted out or the governor removes them from office for cause.

We are blessed with these clowns until their terms are up. Abbots and Caratol's terms expire this fall. The other three nut cases are there for two and a half more years.

Aren't we lucky?

Gatorhater, in addition to your RIDICULOUS handle, you really have no clue what a teaching job entails.

There is NO way I can get all my work done now. Reduce my planning time, and I'll just have to reduce what I do for my students. No more feedback! Multiple-choice tests. I'll still give 110% in class, but with less than 10 minutes a day to devote to preparation of lessons, creation of worksheets and tests and grading of same. Sorry!

And as for your contention that the extra money saved by firing teachers will be distributed to those remaining, DREAM ON! Based on past behavior, administrators will just keep it for themselves. After all, they did give themselves a 7% raise this year while denying us anything.

Is that how you run your business? Make each worker put out more volume so you can fire 10 - 15% of them? Give yourself a raise and deny them any? I'm sure that's a great way to improve the quality of your product and improve moral.

Let the trial begin and let the countersuit begin!
Let's see the cell phone reoords of EVERYONE!
Curatolo
Carroll
Baker
Fricken
Withers
Regan
Vlasho
Petite
Fishboy
Hart
(all Chamber of Horrors ersonnel)
Labutt
McNally
the harrassed ladies

And then there are the e-mails. (Like they haven't been deleted)
But there are ways
Then there are the depositions on the other side:
Sofos
Various other parents
Williams
The Big House Crowd (top brass - still breathing, ready to sing! HA, HA, HA, ..........

Let the games begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is going to get good!
ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,..............

Gatorhater, you don't even understand your own points in your rantings. You said "I would dispute that teachers don't enjoy a significant measure of job security."

My response was simply directed at that one sentence. If Thompson had got his way 80 TEACHERS would have been let go. That's all. And bringing in performance of the University of Florida athletic programs is very mature. You know, they can't win the NC EVERY year.

Way too late to weigh in on one of the most important slams in this blog, but will anyway. Gatorboy: teams must rebuild since the days of John Wooden and UCLA are long gone. Of course the Gators will not be a force this year. But what about in 2010? NO school in recent memory has 2 BBall and Football National Championships. They are the best in the state, and will be for a long time. And I graduated from U of M!

You make some great points on Baker but slamming UF is simply your own p--is envy problem.