Metro Councilman
Jerry Maynard proposed a possible solution to stopping Dr. Register's plan to outsource custodians and groundskeepers in the school system by scrapping the controversial school rezoning plan that was passed by the School Board.
Maynard says that a new student rezoning plan, implemented this school year, requires $5.5 million in annual funds, money he contends could have been used to protect janitorial jobs and preserve the hours of bus drivers.“If we did not have that rezoning plan, which now segregates poor students and puts high concentrations of poor students into schools, then you now have additional resources,” Maynard, who opposed the plan from the outset, told
The City Paper. “That money could have been used so that we would not have to lay off custodians, so we would not have to cut hours for bus drivers,” he said.
For those of you keeping track, Maynard's proposal puts us at over a dozen viable alternatives to find a way to keep these working families from losing their jobs, pay, and benefits. SEIU had put forth
a comprehensive proposal to Dr. Register and the School Board back in mid-March. Councilman
Walter Hunt has proposed an idea, as has Council Lady
Erica Gilmore. School Board member
Mark North spent a couple of sleepless nights crunching numbers and presented 7 different proposals (all of which were rejected by the Board), and now Maynard weighs in.
No matter what happens in this fight, the one thing the Mayor will not be able to say is "we had no other choice". They have had a dozen choices presented so far. And SEIU will be presenting a sweeping proposal next week that the city would be foolish to ignore. Stay tuned...
In the meantime, you know what to do - pick up the phone and tell Mayor Dean what you think: 862-6000.