A Meeting By Any Other Name is Still a Meeting Pt. II

So this year begins with Mr. Principal already having his two meetings per week in place on the calendar. He has moved our staff meeting from the morning to after school, irritating many teachers as it extends our day now to 4:30. We are supposed to be able to come late at 9:00, since we only get paid for 7.5 hours. But no elementary teacher can get ready for the day in a half hour since our kids begin at 9:30. So Tuesday has become a very long day. Anyway, last year Mr. Principal liked to have these weekly meetings he called "Pack Leadership." Since he wasn't paying us to attend, I encouraged teachers not to go. He was already at his maximum number of meetings. But teachers in his inner circle went, or teachers who were worried about their job went. I didn't go. And if he ever said to me specifically that he needed me to attend, I made sure I got paid for it. Anyway, I think the reality of the meeting is that it was poorly attended. Therefore, this year he has decided to make this a monthly meeting. Still no pay. No. Instead, he sent an email out to specific people (I was not sent the email) telling them he needed them to attend this monthly meeting that would be after school, and that they were to adjust the start time of their day so that their day was only the 7.5 hours we got paid for. He said that if he ever had to go beyond the 7.5 hours of their day he'd pay. Since I didn't get this email, I didn't know about it until a staff member came to me and asked what if no one on their team could attend the Pack Leadership meeting? I told her that no one had to feel like they HAD to attend another meeting of his. I told her that he was already at his meeting limit. At that moment I was heading out to a teacher union meeting, and I told my staff member that I'd ask about it. And so ask I did. The answers were exactly what I wanted. No, he can't request teachers to attend as he is already at his maximum number (this I knew to be the case). No, he can't even request specific teachers to be there, as it places teachers in an uncomfortable position of saying no to their boss (this didn't occur to me as I am never uncomfortable about saying no to this boss). No, he can't ask indivual teachers to "adjust" their start times of the day just to attend this meeting, since the meeting isn't part of the contracted eight per month (I didn't know this). Ms. Union President said that it was too bad I didn't have this whole request of his in writing. Oh, but I do, I said. He sent it out in an email. I shall send it to you. When I got home, I contacted the two teachers from the one team that couldn't send a rep to the meeting. Could you please send me that email from Mr. Principal about Pack Leadership? After I got the email, I forwarded it to Ms. Union President, and I asked her to cc me with any emails she sent Mr. Principal. The next morning I got to school and stopped by Mr. Principal's office. Knock, knock...Can I talk with you a minute, I asked. I then told him what had happened the day before, that a teacher had come to me asking me about the Pack Leadership meeting, and that I had asked further questions of Ms. Union President. I relayed the information she gave me the evening before, and said that she also would be contacting him. You can't request this meeting of teacher, Mr. Principal, because you are already at your maximum number of meetings. This would make the ninth meeting of the month. The contract says you can't go over eight. You can't expect any teachers to be there. Now, you could give Principal Effective Ed hours for the meetings (my district's stupid way of ensuring we do our work for extra money), but even then, it is a teacher's choice to go or not. Teachers don't have to do anything you offer for Principal Effective Ed, as you know. But you can't expect a teacher to go, and you can't ask them to adjust there start time, either. And frankly, no teacher wants to give up their time in the morning to willingly sit in a meeting in the afternoon. He knew I was right. So he sends this email out to the whole staff. It started off something like this: Mrs. Building Union Rep and I had a great discussion this morning, and she suggested that you all would like to be able to get Principal Effective Ed for the Pack Leadership meetings instead of adjusting your day....The email ended with him instructing the teachers to reply to the email if you planned on being your team's rep to the meeting. I laughed at his wording, since he never admitted that he couldn't do this meeting any other way. Then I replied all, reminding teachers that since it was being offered for Principal Effective Ed, they didn't have to go at all, or they didn't have to commit to every meeting. Then I sent an email out to just teachers, clarifying Mr. Principal's email. Gotta watch that guy.