Badger I agree with the first part of your post but you finished with..."Are you sure you're not Bill Sodeman in disguise?" And that is what I discussed in my post and I stand by my post. If you truly followed this process you'd understand how implying I'm brown nosing Commission Sodeman, you'd understand how silly you sound.

You sure missed the point fbcoach66. You might want to go and wash your face, your nose is a little brown.

Badgerlvr: Commisioner Sodeman always has the courage of his convictions to sign his names to his posts. Please do not suggest he would ever do otherwise to score cheap points. All these commisioners did what they thought was right. Please respect that! I know I would not have wanted to make that decision.
Jim Reif - JEA Co-lead negotiator

Peacenick: "I know a lot of professionals who would like that package."

If that's the case, why don't they go into teaching? For that fact, why don't you? After all, teachers get that great salary with so much time off and very little to do. Are you sure you're not Bill Sodeman in disguise?

Sandman, what is your real name? What local board will you be running for? I want to be on your campaign committee. The countless thankless hours these school board members put in for free are to be commended, not attacked by someone without the back bone to run themselves.
Agree or disagree with them at least they have the courage to stand up and do what they think is right. Once you put your name on the ballot, then you have the right to throw stones. Until then, all nine of them deserve nothing but praise for putting in countless hours of volunteer work for the students of Janesville. Next thing we'll be attacking the bell ringers during the holiday season for daring to ask for donations.

I guess it's real easy to spend money you don't have that someone else will be responsible for paying. (No) thanks to you, school board members! "Kids are our future"/"Every child deserves a great school" WEAC slogan has gotten real old, but I guess you guys and gals continue to fall for and feed it.
I this city was a business, I certainly wouldn't invest in it. Lucky you have the power of forced taxation, or you'd be footing the bill yourselves!
About time for that other council of fools to spend $2 mil that it doesn't have on a double-sheeter ice arena that it (well-)paid a consultant to study and ultimately advise them wasn't feasible, isn't it?! That would make about as much sense as this school decision (okay, "even less sense")!
Might this be what you get when a bunch of self-aggrandizing, know-it-all, "I follow-my-heart" (whatever happened to "I use my so-called 'God-given' brains"?), low self esteem, gadfly wannabees get themselves elected or appointed to various local unpaid or low-paid boards and committees and end up controlling millions of dollars in taxpayers money without the vestigial fortitude to do the responsible, right thing? (Of course, I'm not saying that this is what is actually happening here--just positing a little conundrum for your consideration in Janesville's own little...TWIT-LIGHT ZONE!)

Vote the 3 "S's" and the "D" man back in office!

They are the taxpayers last line of defense.

Good job, Karl. Stick to your guns and we (the voters) will stick with you.

I think that it's time to vote the 3 "S's" and the "D" man out of office!

Salary range: $32,364 - $70,948 in WI-(from your site)-that does not seem like low pay to me then you add days working, benefits, and pensions, I know a lot of professionals who would like that packet.

Peace I am so tired of this. The JEA took less than a state average raise. Mr. Sodeman at the end said, "If anyone can give me numbers why this is good I would change my vote." I wish I had the option to stand up and talk. The LOWEST average he could find was 1.75% per year. This contract is: 0% year 1, 2.25% year 2, 2% year 3, and 2% year 4. Add those up and you get 6.25% for FOUR years, so 6.25% divided by four is 1.56% Peace, Mr. Sodeman, that is LOWER than the LOWEST state average per cell increase!!!! Way lower than the WEAC 2.25% or state administrators 2% figures for average per cell increase!
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The JEA understood the taxpayers plight and traded salary for working conditions. It's called negotiating, thank them for the sacrifice and move on. As Mr. Ardery said Flint (I think, maybe Detroit) Michigan got 4% per cell, and they are worse of economically than Janesville. I say, we should thank the JEA for being willing to keep taxes low.

The numbers don't lie if you compare apples to apples! Which is the only fair comparison.

peacenick: "I know that nationally all teachers are not paid well but that is not our local truth."
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How does average teacher pay in Janesville compare to nationwide? I don't know where this site got their numbers: http://www.teachersalaryinfo.com/compare... But it shows Wisconsin teachers right about in the the middle of the pack. It has been stated several times that this contract is below Wisconsin's average. It would suggest that Janesville is right in line with what teachers make on average throughout the country.

I am frustrated with teachers raises/benefits/pensions--I know that nationally all teachers are not paid well but that is not our local truth. Their demands just seem greedy to me and sadly unrelated to merit.

Lori Stottler's numbers were the best! We can raise our taxes $25 to pay more for garbage pick up, but when we raise them $25 for education, the public goes crazy and gets mad at the district and teachers. Maybe the Gazette could post the tax bill break down that Lori was sharing at the meeting. Or would that cause people to forget about the school increase and make them focus on all the other areas that pull form our taxes?

Bill S., why did you bring all kinds of numbers/facts to the board meeting the night of the vote? You sit there and question other members of the board about not getting the numbers right. Nineteen months of negotiating and you didn't discuss numbers over and over in closed session with the board/district team? Doesn't sound to me like you are doing your job as president very well when you bring all these numbers and research to the table at the last minute. Why not get all these numbers 10 months ago? It really made you look a bit ignorant to what was going on for the last 19 months, in my opinion.

ifiruledtheworld: "Sodeman (...) critical thinker"
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lol

Thank goodness for Sodeman. We need a fiscally conservative critical thinker on the school board. My only regret is that he apologized for his comments a week or so ago. He should NOT have. He had a right to say what he did.

I wish the board would've rejected this, if it goes to a mediator and the teachers get MORE! Stop hoarding the fund 10 balance, created by the teachers general health. Pay them that money, they deserveit! I truely hope Sodemann stops running for school board, he doesn't understand why 95% of educators in this community can't stand him? What an arrogant man! Take your personal politics to govt please! Get out of the schools! Unfortunately we live in a conservative community that buys the crap that you are selling, I for one am not! Tapping the gavel becaue someone you criticize is being berated? I wonder if you would have done the same thing if someone would have been bashing the teachers.
I do wonder this if your QEO numbers were so correct. Then why on earth were you all so afraid of a mediator?
Stop comparing your private sector buiness and the teachers. Apples and oranges. I am sick of reading about you in the paper, why can't you just go away? If you are so concerned with tax waste why aren't you at city council meetings complaining about the 2 million dollar waste of an ice arena they just approved?
It will be a great day for Janesville when you are no longer a school board member. Your own ego wont let that happen will it?

So, it sounds like Dommershausen knew there were enough votes to pass the contract he knew should be passed, but voted against it so he could play the "I'm against taxes" card for the next election. Real nice, Karl.