Taunton schools awaiting state guidance to begin employee fingerprinting

[unhappycamper]

http://www.tauntongazette.com/article/20140313/NEWS/140317855/1994/NEWS

Taunton schools awaiting state guidance to begin employee fingerprinting

TAUNTON — Massachusetts recently began fingerprinting teachers and other school employees, becoming the final state in the country to collect educators’ fingerprints for national background checks.

In Taunton, school leaders are awaiting more details from the state before setting a date to start fingerprinting in the city’s schools.

“We have up to three years to implement fingerprinting and not all of the logistics have been worked out at the state level, so we are not yet certain about the exact date when this will began,” said Taunton Schools Superintendent Julie Hackett.

The fingerprinting began last month in select school districts and is being expanded to include the entire state.

[Beachwood]

1. Another unfunded mandate paid for by taxing teachers!

I also don't understand the need to send teachers to a few state-run facilities when about 200 of the state's cities and towns, plus virtually every state police office in the state can conduct fingerprinting.

Yes, there would be a cost, in terms of staff time and materials, and sending the prints through AFIS, but can't the state be made to pay for this?

[Joshua57]

2. +10,000 Well stated Beachmont, (you must have been or are a teacher)

Let's understand the mathematics of this. Starting here.

In Lawrence, MA, in 1968, each teacher had $50 for "supplies" in their account at the start of the year.
In Lawrence, MA, in 2012, each teacher had $50 for "supplies" in their account at the start of the year.

A loaf of good bread in 1968 cost $0.39
A loaf of good bread in 2012 cost $.2.39

See the problem here yet?

Teachers already pay for the paper and colored pencils and crayons kids use in schools, just to have decent materials for kids to use in school during the day. I have heard of teachers who buy school bags/backpacks for kids who couldn't afford them.

Teacher's often pay for photocopies of materials, or food in cafeterias for kids too broke to pay for and eat lunch.

That's what dedicated teachers call the "school supplies" tax on teachers.

I even heard a story about a police sargeant, (not in Mass but in NJ), assigned to a local high school, pull out a $20 bill to give to a teacher to pay for 10 school lunches for kids he wanted to know had a good lunch one day, because he wanted to talk to them about gangs after school, as long as they promised to come to his talk to hear about gangs, he would buy them a school lunch; nine out of ten showed up, only one of them is dead now, guess which one.



No one talks about this, it's not common, but it happens. Teachers are not rich; some kids come from families that are much poorer.

Back on topic:

Out of 100,000+ school personnel in Mass, teachers, janitors, lunchroom personnel, etc., how many cases of documented child abuse in the last 20 years? 5-10-20? I bet it's less than 20, (less than 0.0002% ,two ten thousandths of a percent) prove me wrong. For this 2/10,000's of a percent, each and every school employee pays a $55.00 tax to the state?

Does anyone want every public employee, every lawyer, every lawmaker to undergo this same standard?

Never! The sensationalist stories have to do with teachers and kids, not policemen and kids, not legislators and kids, not bankers or insurance people, not car repair folks, not laborers, etc., etc., etc. We tax (require themselves to pay for fingerprinting) the teachers, over 99,998% never commit these crimes. Get that percentage in your mind for a 20 year historical period: 99.998% of teachers do not commit crimes. So let's tax all of them, even the 63 year old widow substitute teachers trying to make ends meet, (and yes, Massachusetts will require all teacher, substitutes, and others to pay for this on their own.) The daily pay for a substitute teacher in Massachusetts is about $86 a day for the first 20 or so days. That first day, a substitute has already paid out $55 for the "privilege" of being a substitute. Think about that, take-home pay, less than $5 an hour.