Diary of a Crazy White Chick

I trade web sites for paychecks and I’m sick of my job. The first two years were great. We had an excellent superintendent and a great Board of Education. Now they’re both problematic. Our Board is completely dysfunctional and deluded, and our Superintendent, who I really like as a person, hasn’t seemed to step up to the plate in his new position.

First, at the begining of the year, one of the Board Members decides we need to improve communications. That was the first kick to the teeth. My partner and I have literally worked our asses off the previous two years cutting our budgets in half, producing many new initiatives and empowering many staff members to be included in the communications effort. This Board Member didn’t get voted back in, but before he went, he decided to create a citizen’s advisory board to deal with the problems in communicating. Each person in the room was a moron - they had no clue how school districts work, and what, by law and union contracts, are capable of being implemented. In the first meeting, I told them what we needed: internal relations (getting staff to contribute more content) and the need for additional staff, neither of which was dealt with at all.

I stopped going to the meetings after the first few, but my poor partner who handles the print side was stuck going to weekly meetings with these jerks from April to late October. I am so glad that’s over. We still have to deal with the aftermath, which I’m completely ignoring.

I spent 28 hours over the weekend designing and implementing a new initiative and had it ready on Monday, waiting for content. Then two of the Asst. Supt.’s decide they dont like the colours, so I have to completely redo and since my PSD file was on my home computer, I had to change all the individual slices, which took all day. On Tuesday, the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources ripped me a new one in front of my nemesis (the IT cowboy) because the phone numbers have not been updated. She has absolutely no clue what I do. No one does. The nasty emails I get from the community, the administrators, expecting immediate attention is just fuckin bullshit. No one knows how hard I work, no one seems to understand everything I do for this district as a department of one. I hate this. Then today, they decided to change the title of the initiative, so I have to back to my original PSD file, redo the colour, and then change the content.

I have won numerous awards for the District’s web sites, and presented at a state and national conference which were very well received. I’m one of the best at what I do. I don’t need this shit, especially at the miserable pay I get. From now on, they’re getting 40 hours, no more, no less.

I need to find a new job. I want to move back to Chicago to be closer to my friends. I’m so lonely here, but Will’s doing well at school. So, I’m out here looking for another opportunity… wish me luck.