Teachers Criticize PSUSD Central Office Event

PSUSD Central Office condemned for Saturday in Park event

PALM SPRINGS — Nearly three months after the Palm Springs Unified School District hosted a Saturday in the Park for more than 250 Central Office and Service Center staff, a handful of disgruntled teachers are disparaging the event allegedly because they weren’t invited — or felt cheated and underappreciated.

“PSUSD spends $50,000 on (a) picnic for District office staff,” one teacher complained to Uken Report. “Teachers are sent a candy bar.” Others shared similar concerns. The elementary school teacher asked that their identity be withheld for fear of repercussions.

That’s understandable given that most of what this teacher said was fabricated.

It appears the only truthful part was that on Saturday, March 4, the District office hosted a Saturday in the Park event at Ruth Hardy Park. More than 250 people attended, which were all central office staff including Central Kitchen Food Services, Maintenance and Operations, Warehouse, Technology, Facilities, etc.

The event cost $8,000 — not $50,000 — and came out of the Superintendent’s budget, Joan Boiko, Coordinator of Communications and Community Outreach, told Uken Report.

“These are staff members who are frequently unrecognized and sometimes unappreciated,” Boiko said. “(They) do not work at a school site where there are activities throughout the year including staff potlucks, family fun nights, etc.

A similar event was held in 2022, Boiko said.

Each year an entire week is set aside for Teacher Appreciation.

“Aside from this event, we had a staff Mindfulness Day (workshops, yoga, etc.) for ALL district staff just before winter break and an all-staff and community Self-Care and Wellness Day on May 20,” Boiko said.

Did teachers really “only” receive a candy bar? Far from it.

“All staff received a Belgium chocolate candy bar with a personalized appreciation wrapper customized for each school site and delivered to each campus,” Boiko said. “In the past we have provided staff appreciation gifts including water bottles, shirts, pens, masks and sheet cakes for each site.”

Editor’s note: Uken Report takes most news tips seriously, especially when it comes to spending taxpayer money. This tipster cannot separate fact from fiction. And yet they are teaching our children? One person alluded to the fact they are already skating on thin ice. Is it any wonder why? We don’t sell out our tipsters, but we are sure tempted. They have wasted not only our time but also PSUSD’s valuable time.