OK, the tug of war over the budget and the added funds on top of the added funds for our schools has been painful. And everyone has blisters and rope burns on their hands because of it.
The latest announcement - the one-time $1,500 ''bonus'' plan - is the latest nonsensical Hail Mary from the central office. What a crock.
Yes, I was against the tax increase. Still am. And after seeing the more than $1 billion in facilities needs, I am more certain in that belief.
But I also said every time the tax increase was discussed that I was for the teachers getting raises. Not bonuses, mind you. Raises.
And for all the heartstrings pulled and emotional drums banged with the chorus of "We have to keep our best teachers in the system," this bonus is an insult. Especially when the board and leaders deemed necessary the more than 150 new positions added in the readjusted budget.
Put the 2.5 percent raise back into the budget and keep trimming, even if it means cutting some of those precious UnifiEd flagships.
We are adding millions to fund new teachers while continuing to give the experienced, accomplished and excellent teachers in our system a bonus that feels more like hush money than a reward.
One more thing
While we are here, if we are going to bang that drum of school system retention, why in the world is every pitch system-wide?
Yes, I understand the job, calling and goal of unions such as the collective that represents all the teachers.
Jay GreesonBut from where I sit, man, oh man, even with this flawed bonus plan, it would make more sense to the working stiffs like me to tier the teachers by evaluations.
Give the top third a $3,000 bonus, the middle third a $1,500 bonus and the bottom third a chance to improve their efforts.
If the goal is retention, shouldn't the benefits and the bonuses be for the best of our best?
"Blazing Saddles," next generation
Yes, there are few movies that are less modern-day politically correct than the Mel Brooks classic comedy "Blazing Saddles."
For those who have seen it, well, you are nodding over your Nescafe this morning. For those who haven't, well, you need to remedy that right quick.
Well, that movie came rushing to mind this week with this headline: "Horse punched, 4 deputies injured after drunken fight breaks out at California county fair."
First, did we really need the word drunken in there? That has to be assumed, all things considered, right?
One drunken fairgoer, doing his best Mongo impression, hauled off and punched a police horse at the event, about 15 miles outside of Modesto.
"This subject got back up and was upset his beer had spilled. He proceeded to punch Maximus, the horse, in the rear end," the sheriff's office said in a news release. "He was subsequently arrested."
The puncher, not the horse, that is.
Obit observations
You know, earlier this week, we praised all the contributions from all the longtime folks connected to Coca-Cola Chattanooga. It was well deserved after their 120-year anniversary was celebrated last Monday.
Think of how much our city has changed in those 12 decades.
That led me to the obit of Virginia Ellen Armstrong Arnold, who died Wednesday at the tender age of 99 after living in Chattanooga her entire life. She was preceded in death by her husband of 71 years, Dee.
How much has our city changed in the 71 years of the Arnolds' marriage?
Man, the commitment and the dedication of the long-ago generations is sorely missed these days.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.