spacecadet:
i’ve taught at 3 different catholic schools in 3 different diocese and i was always happiest when i was attending church at a different parish. it is so hard to go to church where you work. the hardest thing is knowing too much about office politics, really more than i ever wanted to know. i think i’ve also decided that i don’t want to teach where my kids go to school, not planning on returning to work any time soon though…
Well, this is my problem, without getting into too many of the details.
Last year, I was called upon as a
volunteer to work on a school network system. A parent who gave significant funds to the school wanted to call all the shots of the network. The tech the parent insisted do the work was not doing it, yet was charging the school extremely high rates for an uncertified technician. Work was not always completed, and if it broke, the tech insisted that payment again be made. The parent had not been to the school in over nine months, having stated the said parent did not want to volunteer again. Other techs would not touch this project, as there were obvious licensing and compliance issues. I also found evidence that at least the tech, and possibly the parent, was using the school’s servers for other purposes. I was encouraged by the principal and pastor not to make a big thing about it, as it would bring in the diocese and added expense to the parish.
I spent a good deal of time on this project, even during the holidays. I also managed to increase the number of pieces of equipment on the network by selling off equipment the school could not use, as well as encouarging big businesses to donate their owrking used equipment.
About 3 months into the project, the parent got me alone without signing first at the front desk. The parent verbally attacked me, accusing me of theft, and attempted to physically attack me. The parent had to be asked to be removed from the school. I was encouraged not to file charges against the parent. It seems the parent has a lot of money.
The parent then called other parents and told them I had stolen said parent’s property, this equipment the school purchased with the parent’s funds. I was repeatedly stopped by other parents at parish functions who expressed this concern. I had to prove via my wallet “tickets” that I was indeed qualified to get people to leave me alone. It would be equal to asking a priest to haul out the written copies of his faculties, or a teacher to hand over certification, at such functions as a pancake breakfast or game night.
I was also invited to what amounted to a “sit down” with this parent. I heard about these from other staff, how the parent was allowed to scream and yell at everybody with the pastor present, who did nothing to stop it. I insisted that if it occured, I have another tech and a neutral mediator from the diocese, and get paid for the time. This stance stopped the meeting from becoming a reality, although I was told the parent demanded that I be “ordered” to attend.
The parent was supposed to remove said parent’s children from the school, but came back and registered.
There were other issues that involved members of my family having trouble caused by this parent that I won’t describe.
Now the parent wants to volunteer to work in the part of the school that is connected to my workspace by only a pair of french doors that never stay close. When I questioned the sanity of this, I was told that the school HAD to let the parent volunteer, as said parent IS a parent. I was also told that the parent would be told not to go into my workspace. This did not seem to stop the parent last time. I am being give the option of being out of ht ebuilding when the parent is there.
When I expressed concerns for my safety, I was told that’s all that could be done. I was told I could not go to the Diocese,
as this year I am on the payroll. This clearly violates policy in the Diocese handbook.
I am wondering at this point if it would be better to walk away, even if the project is half-done. I can’t take the harassment, and I certainly don’t want to respond to protect myself physically. The only other thing I can think to do is send a memo to my next-in-command, explaining that if I am harassed or harmed, or my family member is harassed or harmed, that I WILL act using the Diocese chain of command to the next step, and “other recourse”. I don’t want to be a coward, but I don’t want to have to waste time and resources on what appears to be a favored person.
That’s why I asked.
And I was looking at the negatives because I wanted to be sure I hadn’t stepped upon a unique situation.