TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online
Public Employees Aren't Entitled To A Free Pass On Good Friday
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Published: March 25, 2008
To address the Good Friday fiasco that hit Hillsborough schools last week, administrators should revise the liberal leave policy that allows teachers, staff and bus drivers to take off any day of their choosing, no matter if their actions collectively shut down learning for our children.
Superintendent MaryEllen Elia should limit the number of planned absences allowed on any given day, and grant such requests on a first-come, first-served basis. Anything less will feed the impression that her team is not effectively managing the school system.
Besides, Good Friday is not a federal holiday. Neither is it a state of Florida holiday. In the Roman Catholic faith, Good Friday is a day of fasting but Mass is not held.
Still, some government workers have come to believe that they are entitled to take the day off.
Most local governments have abolished such entitlements and are keeping their doors open on Good Friday. These include the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Hillsborough and Pinellas County governments and the University of South Florida and University of Tampa.
The City of Tampa, however, closes its doors and gives employees the day off. Years ago, it gave employees who wanted to go to church the ability to leave for an hour, but that hour has evolved into a full "Spring Holiday."
The same is true in Temple Terrace, where government closes for the day.
The policy in both cities is inconsistent with good government and should be discontinued.
To its credit, the school board is trying to bring rigor to the school calendar, knowing it cannot close schools for every holy day of every faith. In making tough choices, the board last year decided to keep schools in session on Good Friday, like 29 other districts around the state.
Because of the change, last week's sudden rush of absences - which turned Good Friday into Good Free-day - looked an awful lot like a political statement by employees.
Those who want schools closed on Good Friday will point to the nearly 108,000 absences - some 58 percent of enrolled students - as proof that families want the day off. But that's not necessarily the case.
In the days leading up to Good Friday, parents got the clear message that the school transportation system would be chaos.
On March 17, about 200 drivers had given notice they were taking personal or sick time on Good Friday. But at week's end, 402 took the day off - about 38 percent of the district's driving force.
At the same time, parents learned that roughly 2,000 teachers had requested substitutes to fill in for them. No wonder so many kids stayed out of school. Why bother?
And at some high schools, where absentee rates ran as high as 90 percent, some teachers told their classes that if they showed up, they'd spend the day watching movies. Again, why bother?
Next year, Good Friday occurs during spring break, so the district's beleaguered calendar committee and district officials have two years to think about how to handle this mess.
But allowing what happened Friday to go unchallenged is an insult to taxpayers who pay the bills and to students who care about education.
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Reader Comments
Posted by ( Teeg ) on March 25, 2008 at 6:29 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Hillsborough County has always allowed its employees to take any religious holiday, regardless of faith, if those employees have personal leave days remaining in their banks. Are you suggesting that this Christian holiday carry a penalty while the Jewish, Muslim, etc. holidays remain as is?
The school district made a mistake that it better never make again. It is illegal to discriminate based on religion in this country. It's just not worth the lawsuits.
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Posted by ( dalatorr ) on March 25, 2008 at 6:34 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
What's the difference between skipping school on Good Friday and having a senior skip day?
My parents were strict, so I would never have participated in senior skip day, but we were in Catholic schools so Good Friday was a holy day (not a holiday) and we observed it.
Sounds like you have an issue with missing school on a holy day. What's your position on senior skip day?
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Posted by ( erj3 ) on March 25, 2008 at 6:45 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Over 1/2 the population works for the federal, state, or local government. This is APALLING. Cut the Government size in half. The Public employees feel ENTITLED, just like a minority. BS
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Posted by ( Norfolk ) on March 25, 2008 at 6:57 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
When a large number of people like to take a certain day as a vacation day then it is time for the Government to make that day a regular school holiday and allow everyone to take it off. Optional holidays should then be those days where large numbers of people cannot be anticipated to want the same time. Set up one of those days to replace good friday as an optional day off. It is simply a matter of the government doing a better management job.
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Posted by ( Oops ) on March 25, 2008 at 7:07 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
This was no "free pass"...the employees took personal time off -- a vaca day -- and they were charged the PTO. Thanks for your opinion. Now, go find us the next pedophile teacher...
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Posted by ( Teeg ) on March 25, 2008 at 7:50 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
OOps, your comment is immature and pointless. I am guessing you had a difficult time in school yourself. How sad for you.
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Posted by ( erica ) on March 25, 2008 at 9:02 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I am so tired of Christians being discriminated against. Where is our civil liberties? What ever happened to majority rule? I have to also agree with Oops, these employees are not being paid by the state as a free holiday pay day, but as a PTO deduction.
Just give them the holy day as a holiday. Why can't it be a respectful thing since this country's majority is christian and was founded by christians.
Just stating a fact. If this was another country such as a budhist, muslim, or any other religion, they would not be worried about offending the christians if they had a holiday based on their religion.
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Posted by ( Wizardry82 ) on March 25, 2008 at 9:25 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Some might say that the logical thing to do would be to schedule Spring Break around the holiday, so that this could be avoided in the future, as it was in the past.
But, then again, when does government do what is logical?
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Posted by ( jada ) on March 25, 2008 at 10:51 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
They took the day off the calendar because of Bedier/CARE raised such a stink over it. Put it back on the calendar or make it a part of the spring break as another poster said. Why change what has been going on for years just to satisfy Bedier? He complains about everything. I say he needs to go back to his country and do his work there.
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Posted by ( hockeyray ) on March 25, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Tribune just loves to be the Republican ring leader and bash working people. It was the stupidity of the School District schedule in the first place. Does a business staff employees in a store on a day they know there will be few or any customers??? The personal leave times of the employees are earned by the employees under a collective bargaining agreement and not the property of the Tampa Tribune. Most working people have a higher regard for themselves than the scuzzy people the Tribune sends out to street corners on Sundays to sell papers. Then again if Republicans knew how to run a country there would not be homeless destitute people to sell papers on Sundays.
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Posted by ( Major7th ) on March 25, 2008 at 2:01 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
The writer of this article makes the comment that having Good Friday off as a POLICY is not good government. However we are supposed to be a government of the people, by the people. I appears to me the "The People" spoke, maybe government should listen. I'll bet the writer of this article is also politically correct.
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Posted by ( DavisIslander ) on March 25, 2008 at 3:04 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Everybody stop whiniing. Work was scheduled so go to work.
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Posted by ( altedbaseball ) on March 25, 2008 at 5:07 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
i figured it out...... mathematically that is.
for the "waste" of taxpayers money that was incurred on Good Friday, the SDHC would have been able to purchase a "notebook/laptop" for every single graduating senior in the district.
we could have been known as the district that "purchased" notebooks/laptops for its graduating seniors, or we could have looked foolish.
guess what SDHC chose?
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Posted by ( LovestoSingAiC ) on March 25, 2008 at 11:02 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Most of the kids at my school went to the BEACH, so no religious discrimination occurred. Stop whining and go to school/work. A very religious guy I know went to school because mass started at 8PM, so, again, no conflict. On the other hand, kids who aren't religious took the day off to play video games/go to the mall/sleep/go to the beach. This isn't religious observance, it's sheer laziness!
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Posted by ( unappreciated ) on March 26, 2008 at 5:40 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
I was at school teaching on Good Friday. I worked with 3 teachers who took off. It was their choice, I didn't hold it against them. They had a personal day to use so they used it. I know for a fact that they were off due to their involvement with church, etc. How dare the media say teachers "skipped" a day. I didn't hear them use such language when members of other religions took off for their holidays. To all of the posters that say teachers get too much time off, what a load of junk. We don't get vacation days to use through the year, all we have is 6 personal days. That has to cover things like religious holidays, funerals, car broke down, we have to wait for the plummer because the toilet backed up, etc. I don't use all 6 days given to me, but I am glad I have them. I have never worked for a company that didn't give me personal days--not as many as the school district but, then again, I also earned vacation with those companies.
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Posted by ( drdneast ) on March 26, 2008 at 10:17 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
Your comment interests me Erj3. What facts do you base your statement on that 1/2 of the country works for the local, state or federal government. Could you please cite your source. Excellent editorial! Most of those taking the day off have no strong religious convictions. The only conviction they have is for a 3-day weekend. Would the Trib editorial board now move on to striking all the accured sick leave employees acquire and cash in before retirment. Sick leave should be just that, sick leave, not a retirement cushion. All government workers abuse this program, both rank and file and management. Most government workers would starve to death if they ever had to work in the private sector. Our tax dollars at work!
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Posted by ( Teeg ) on March 26, 2008 at 11:21 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
The School District made a point of suggesting well before the holiday that anyone could take the day off without penalty, so please get your substitute requests in early. I worked that day, but many who used personal days said they would not have missed that day if not for the District suggesting it.
The same went for the students. It was OKAY to take off, and that day would not count against them for exam exemptions. What normal kid would beg to go to school that day when the officials all but begged them to stay home?
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Posted by ( eloquentmind ) on March 26, 2008 at 7:07 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
There was an 88 percent student absence rate and only a 10 percent teacher absence rate at my school... stop blaming the teaches; the kids were the ones that didn't come.
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Posted by ( dbm ) on March 27, 2008 at 6:14 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
In response to the editor's moronic closing, teachers pay taxes too!
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