Lolli fiddling while Rome burns

Superintendent Dr. Libby Lolli of Dayton Public Schools is facing a mass exodus of both staff and of substitute teachers. It’s gotten so bad, she wants to remove the responsibility of running these things through the board of ed. She’s asked them to vote on a resolution giving her sole authority tonight.

A RESOLUTION TO GRANT AUTHORITY TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OR DESIGNEE TO ACCEPT EMPLOYEE RESIGNATIONS
WHEREAS, the Board of Education is the appointing authority for administrators, principals, teachers, non-teaching employees, and all other employees (collectively, “Employees”); and
WHEREAS, as the appointing authority of Employees, the Board of Education has the authority to accept the resignations of Employees; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Education desires to delegate its authority to accept the resignations of Employees to the Superintendent or the Superintendent’s designee.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Education hereby grants the authority to accept the resignations of Employees to the Superintendent and any designee chosen by the Superintendent.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent or designee is directed to send written notification to the resigning Employee that his or her resignation has been accepted. The Superintendent or designee shall forward a copy of such written notification to the President of the Board of Education.

https://go.boarddocs.com/oh/dayton/Board.nsf/files/BKPT5C732E68/$file/Resolution%20Granting%20Authority%20to%20Superintendent%20to%20Accept%20Resignations.pdf

She fired the company that had been doing the filling of temporary teachers, Parallels Education last year. She replaced them with ESS, which had terrible reviews all over the internet. Now, substitutes are telling me they haven’t been paid in 2 weeks. Just remember the hiring of ESS was controversial from the jump. I’ve also been told that now, it’s the same rate for a single day as it is for a long-term assignment, meaning kids may end up getting different subs over an extended absence since other districts pay their subs better.

Also Tuesday, the school board approved a three-year $12.9 million contract with a new provider for substitute teachers and staff at the district’s schools. ESS Northeast, LLC, formerly Source4Teachers, will replace Parallel Employment Group as the contractor providing substitutes for Dayton Public Schools.

DPS data showed that Parallel exceeded the terms of its contract this spring, but the district was simply asking for more subs than the contract anticipated, with occasional, hard-to-manage spikes. A representative from Parallel on Tuesday encouraged the school board to table the contract vote, but they did not.

Source: Dayton school board approves new $12.9-million contract for subs May 28, 2019

Here’s the problem, no one wants to work in buildings that are out of control, run by fear, and having to worry about the wrath of Lolli. Morale is at an all time low. Teachers across the board feel demoralized. The recent debacle cutting teachers to only coach one sport has cost many coaches a sizeable amount of money. No one is happy. Throw in the fact that attendance still sucks despite the brilliant parent shaming ad campaign from The Ohlmann Group (dripping sarcasm) where she threw them under the bus in a Dayton Daily News story that landed on the front page.

First she’s all happy with spending like a drunken sailor:

Dayton Public Schools hopes a two-year, $537,000 advertising campaign will boost the district’s enrollment and attendance numbers, Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said.

Lolli told school board members Tuesday the campaign by the Ohlmann Group will include everything from billboards and RTA bus ads to radio spots, social media and direct mail. The budget plan estimates $250,000 in spending this school year – some of which has already begun – and $287,000 next year.
“We want the word to get out to everyone that Dayton Public Schools are changing for the better, and we want them to understand the changes that are happening,” Lolli said. “Our parents need to have their students in school every day. Students need to know that school matters, and we want everyone to be there.”

The hundreds of proposed radio ads, totaling $107,000, are the largest expense in the $2510,000 campaign for this school year, with billboards ($32,000) and direct mail ($27,000) next highest.

The plan also includes newspaper and website ads, social media spots on Facebook and Snapchat targeting moms with kids and ads on the music platforms Pandora and Spotify. RTA bus ads will feature information specifically about the schools the buses are traveling near.

“We want to make sure the message is clear, consistent and ongoing in a variety of places,” Lolli said.

Source: DPS ad blitz aims to boost enrollment – Dayton Daily News Oct 10, 2018

Then when she realizes she has no clue about advertising or marketing, or her agency doesn’t, she reverses course, but forgets to mention Ohlmann Group:

First-semester student attendance rates in Dayton Public Schools were almost exactly level with last school year, after an attendance decline in November and December.

The overall student attendance rate was 90.59% in the first semester, 0.03% ahead of the same period last year, according to district documents. As of Nov. 8, the attendance rate had been 91.63%, which was 0.21% ahead of that date for 2018-19.

DPS launched a good-attendance campaign this summer, featuring incentives including gas cards for parents, bike and movie ticket giveaways for kids, plus parties for the classes that have the highest attendance.

Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli said in August that attendance is crucial to student achievement. State data shows a clear correlation between districts with high student absenteeism and those with poor scores on state tests.

Source: Dayton schools attendance flat despite incentive campaign Jan 10, 2020

We now have 3 new board members. Not enough to fire Libby, but, you’ve got to wonder what it will take before they realize that she’s never going to move them forward, no matter how many professional development sessions on the “Marzano Method” she drills into the staff.

Hint: If you don’t pay people, they stop coming to work. And, writing in ALL CAPS with the WHEARAS and BE IT RESOLVED doesn’t make it a good idea- especially if it comes from Lolli.

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