A Few Observations

One thing I like about being a librarian is all the stuff I get to listen in on. Other than the gym and the football field, the library is the biggest gathering place on campus, so most of the meetings are held there. And because I have no where else to go, I just listen in as I do my work. Every month each school in the district has a site council meeting. They didn't have them in Utah (at least not that I'm aware of), so it's a new, interesting thing for me. This committee basically decides how to spend the school's money. Well, that's a little broad, but they do make a lot of decisions. Being a meeting junky I love to listen in. Today's was especially interesting because this year there are some vocal people who are experienced with school funding and stuff so I learned a lot listening to them today. I would have liked to stay and hear some more, but Troy was anxious to get home and when I drove by the school 1.5 hours later I think they were just getting out. Yikes! I'm not that much of a meeting junky.

Another something different between Utah and California is the influence of unions. Utah is SUPER anti-union. I remember hearing a teacher bashfully admit that she was member of UEA and then a guy went on to tell her how all the problems in the schools were because of eduation unions. Here you really don't have much choice. One of the first things Troy did when he got to Blythe was join the teacher's union. Once I started working joined the classified union. They take dues out of your check whether you're actually a member or not (because you still get representation and benefit from salary negotiations) so for $1 more a month I qualify for discounts and services all over CA. It's just interesting the difference. I went to a union meeting on Monday to hear the candidates for school board speak and was facsinated by all the other stuff that went on. It's just a reminder that everything is politics and I love it. Well, when I'm watching from afar and not caught in the middle of the drama.