4/16/13 - Barnegat Township School District

Tricia Nokes, I work as a Transportation Aide in the Barnegat district. I know some of you andsome I don’t, I don’t envy you and I don’t believe I am here talking to you, but I am in a uniquesituation and other subs have been in this position in working in all the office. I have worked asa secretary as a sub, worked in all the schools, worked as aides and in the library. So I do knowwhere everyone is needed and everyone is needed. The first time I subbed as a regular aide I waslike, you have got to be kidding me. You do not understand unless you are in the situation.These kids cannot take change; working even on the bus is hard with the change. Some won’tget on the bus, some won’t get off the bus, some were carried on and off the bus, some haverestrictions that the aide cannot be a male or a female, you are talking about unique situations foreach kid. These aides do it and the teachers do it. I have to tell you, I was embarrassed threeyears ago you can’t walk into the Board office without a secretary; everyone has a secretary theBoard office does not even have a secretary. Is that embarrassing to you because it isembarrassing to me. I go into the Board office and I have to call on the telephone, it is like thatcommercial where you need service. I am embarrassed, I really am embarrassed. I found outtoday or last night that a secretary is being laid off and she did not even know about it. She hasbeen in the district for years. How do you change from someone in one building into anotherbuilding, they don’t know transportation, God forbid you work in Transportation, it is a wholeother world and they want them to come in, I don’t get it. I don’t know where the senioritycomes in or where the decisions are made.We are not stupid, we are smart people too and I don’t know where your priorities are becausewhy there are three principals in school and two in another and a vice principal and you arelaying off people that deal with the kids. I don’t understand why there are three vice principals,if you could address that. I did work in the office and I have worked in the high school and Idon’t know where they were. It is all discipline but if you don’t have discipline in the highschool it will not be well for the little kids, by the time they are in the high school, they arewalking out…I have been in the office where they walk out, they don’t even have any respect forany principals so I don’t understand you are paying all this money on the top and all the littlepeople on the bottom are getting crushed. The ones on top don’t really care because they havetheir jobs. It is true. You are spit on, you are being hit and kicked and I am on the bus. I thankGod I am on the bus, you could lay me off tomorrow but for now I am on it. My department isdecimated, broken in one-half. We lost half the people in our department to begin with and nowit is even more. I don’t understand it. I know it is sad for you and about money but you go in theschool the teachers are over there holding their papers, copy paper, is that sad? You can’t evenmake a copy without, oh that is our paper, that is ridiculous and I am not blaming them, they arebringing in their own paper, something is wrong. I am sorry, I know you have a hard decisionbut it is not getting rid of the low people, it is not.Mrs. Olker: Anyone else?Cindy Corle, 7 Lincoln Ave.: I have been here 23 almost 24 years. I just want you to reconsiderthe secretary situation. I worked with Debbie Wyjas when they were in our building during themold remediation and it would be such a mistake to lose her. She is the Collins School and Iwatched her run that place from the minute she got in in the morning until she left at night andthere were many long nights. Please reconsider, thank you.Barnegat Township Board of Education Meeting MinutesApril 16, 2013 Page 34