Where do we go from here?

OK,
Last night sucked!

Now that it is done, what is the next step? We need to have a reasonable plan to mix and meld four schools into two. The combination of MH/SL is not going to be as difficult as the move of GWS into Poestenkill.

We will have this conversation here, maybe they will read our suggestions.

We also could use some ideas to submit for added income to the school district. Let's be creative here and see if we can't make some lemonade

So, how was that meeting? Was the BOE awake?

I have a guest contributor coming tomorrow.

What is your opinion on tonights meeting. Lets not get too personal and don't involve the kids.

Let's save a million dollars

That was an interesting distraction. Get on over to Facebook and follow the discussion as it unfolds. For us here, let's move on.

We should show the BOE how to save $1,000,000. We can do it by 4 PM today. Most of you have a good handle on the budget and where the savings are.

I will go first:

Cut 3 Assistant Principals for a salary savings of $285,358.00
Est. Benefit savings on the 3 positions @ 35% $ 99,875.00
Total $385,233.00 (wow)
Add back 3 Disciplinary Deans $45,000.00
These are 3 teachers with admin. Certs.
working part time as admin.
Net Savings $340,233.00

That was easy, I just kept GW open at no added cost to the district.

Who's next?

Intolerance in this AP community

Bridget Ball Shaw is a financial planner for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in Albany NY, she is also an AP parent, wife of former BOE President Chris Shaw. Chris is the one that led the BOE to elliminate public comment at the beginning of the meetings. She has started an organization on Facebook called "We love our Averill Park Schools!!"

She posted the following on Sunday the 28th.

Bridget Ball Shaw We need to stand united in support of our schools. Please invite all the Averill Park people in your friend list to join this group and use this as a forum to share thoughts and disseminate real information. The anti education group is organizing big time. If you doubt that, please check out Bill Reinhardt's blog, "...Honestly Averill Park." Just Google it.....

I am not quite sure of how I should take this post. Do you feel that this has been an anti - education discussion?

I accept the label of anti inefficiency, anti tax, anti this board of education and the bad decisions. Anti education was not in my mind.

I don't believe that we should reward an Administration with raises ( yes Virginia, the raises do exist) when they close a school to the detriment of kids instead of cutting some "non education" positions to keep the quality of education high.

I believe it is irresponsible for Moccia and BOE to publish a savings of $750,000 when the actual number is more like $350,000. It is in the TU and it is simply not true.

I am also not in favor of taxes getting passed onto the backs of hard working residents of AP simply because the Superintendent isn't a numbers person. I dealt with her for 5 years while on the board, she is not a numbers person.

I do have some examples. The "deli disaster" last fall accelerated loses by the cafeteria program, the washing of buses for Wynantskill, the work of our bus mechanics being done on the Rensselaer City buses (at a loss) the purchase of a lift to do this extra work by us in AP, the cutting of CARES, the keeping of Japanese (really?) giving the director of Safety,Heath and PE a 10.5% raise thereby bumping this persons retirement figures up (This is what Andrew Cuomo is investigating across NY now)

And, Transfering $325,000 from the Teachers retirement Fund to the Cafeteria fund to fill in the hole created by mismanagement of the food service. For those of you wondering if you will ever see Social Security benefits, Congress has been tapping SS to pay other bills the same way. How has that gone?

We are closing two schools and cramming them into 2 others so that we save Administrator jobs, jobs occupied by friends of the people in charge. Wouldn't you protect your friends jobs if it didn't cost you? Well it doesn't cost her a dime, it costs us and our kids.

Have you seen anything anti education here? Perhaps the performance of this BOE and the Administration could be considered anti education. People who make decisions like closing schools and cramming kids together are not making decisions with "its all about the kids" in mind.

Has anyone considered the effects of a sickness and its spread in over populated schools? How about you Bridget?

One more thing. I can't help but wonder if someone might have a financial interest in this group of Administrators that might be driving their actions?

Bill

Pastor Martin Niemoller January 6, 1946

Pastor Niemoller spoke these words in a January 6, 1946 speech before representatives of the Confessing Church in Frankfurt, Germany. The situation of George Washington School is not nearly as sinister, but there is a lesson to be learned.....

"THEY CAME FIRST for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

THEN THEY CAME for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

THEN THEY CAME for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.

THEN THEY CAME for me and by that time, no one was left to speak up."

If they are allowed to close GWS this year, what gets taken next year to sustain the present spending path this district travels?

The Three Musketeers

The slate of Administration friendly candidates is complete. Bonesteel, Schaeffer and a new guy named Mike Dimin have all picked up petitions. Dimin was one of the applicants for BOE in December. Schaeffer was chosen over Dimin after interviews in January to replace McKenna.

You can contact Mike Dimin at his blog site http://diminforboe.blogspot.com/. Be sure to ask him about his coffee date with Jo Moccia last spring at a now closed, Sand Lake coffee shop.

Be sure to ask him about the closing of GW, the bus proposition, his friends from PUBE and any other issues you may feel are relevant to the vote on May 18th.

****** NEWS FROM BRUNSWICK********

The Town of Brunswick has adopted (March 11, 2010) a 'Resolution Urging Further Consideration and Study of Proposal to Close the George Washington Elementary School'. Highlights include:

WHEREAS, it is the sense of this Town Board that closure of the George Washington Elementary School will have negative effects on the community including, but not limited to, the loss of jobs and livelihoods of numerous families, longer bus rides for many students, depending on the future use of the school building, possible decrease in property values for properties located near the school, not to mention the potential academic impacts on students who are now settled and established in a safe and nurturing academic environment...AND...

BE IT RESOLVED, that this Town Board urges further, thorough and careful consideration by the Board of Education of the Averill Park Central School District of the proposal to close the George Washington Elementary School, and the effects that the closure will have on the students of the School and the community, and that all financial avenues and alternatives to the closure be thoroughly examined and explared...

"Thank you to Councilmen Salvi, Casale, Sullivan, Poleto, and Supervisor Herrington for their continued support of GWS!

Intruducing, another guest contributor: Sick of business as Usual

The Superintendent – Master of the Bait And Switch

Bait and switch is an act that lures in voters by advertising a product or service at one cost then reveals that the advertised service is not available but that a substitute is. The Superintendent has in the past and continues to master the art of bait and switch. The tactic has its greatest effect not on the budget but rather the school board elections. Please follow the process.

THE BAIT - One year ago the BOE and the Superintendent were being challenged concerning the reserve funds that had been allowed to accumulate. The BOE was also putting forth a budget that was going to increase school taxes by 7.5 - 10%. The residents were outraged, they attended meetings to relay their displeasure. Members from the community organized and individuals agreed to run for the school board to help address these concerns. The bait was set.

The Superintendent's response? She and other school administrator’s quietly sought out hand picked candidates that they knew would be sympathetic and compromising to the Superintendent, not only on the budget, but as importantly on all other school district business during the rest of the year.

THE SWITCH - Miraculously shortly before the vote, the Superintendent and BOE set forth a plan for no new taxes. The good citizens on APSCD were duped again. The tax rate was artificially kept low (the reserves have been tapped) and the good citizens were so satisfied with their victory that they stayed home from the budget vote/board election. The result was that the handpicked candidates were elected by a slim margin.

Do you have doubts?

How many times have Chris Foster or Jessica Zweig or Pete Schaffer voted against the Superintendents plans.

A sign of things to come

This photo was sent to us today.

Apparently a forward thinking individual is looking ahead to May 19th when the newly elected board will be pushing the old board to keep GW open. They just need to cut some administrators. The residents of this district are capable of winning this. We just need to get out the vote.

This is NOT just a GW thing. If GW closes, the kids transfered to MH and WSL cause both of those schools to go over ideal capacity. Parents from MH and WSL need to be concerned. Read the report. Our analysis is coming and it doesn't look good.

We have a guest contributor..........

I was getting concerned that the silence was a sign of defeat for the GWS parents. Then in comes this post. I am sorry I let you down.....
Anonymous, thanks for the wake up!

What are people thinking about the 3/9/10 Board meeting? The majority of the Board asked Dr. Moccia to propose a budget that includes a 3% tax increase and closing GWS and Sand Lake. Let's get some comments!

Candidates and Mailers

There was a mailer sent out last spring by a local group calling themselves Parents United for Better Education. ( I would presume this was an educated group of individuals with the unfortunate choice of acronym, P.U.B.E. ) The mailer supported both Pete Schaeffer and Jessie Zweig. Both candidates are now on the AP Board of Education. The anonymous authors of the mailer made a number of statements on their behalf.

Jessie Zweig - Low taxes without cutting programs or laying off teachers. Constructive solutions for today's educational issues, dedicated to easing the burden on taxpayers!

Peter Schaeffer - Peter will work to keep property taxes low by keeping budget and finance information public, and by demanding transparency in all District issues. Keeping costs down without layoffs or program cuts.

None of the statements above (taken directly from the mailer) reflect reality. Teacher layoffs, rising taxes and closed door meetings to rent and shutter GW seem to be reality. So, it makes you wonder, who belongs to P. U. B. E. and did they really know what they were talking about?

More importantly, keep an eye on the Board members and see what kind of deal they put together for the students and taxpayers. Only time will tell if P.U.B.E. was real or a rouse.



THE RESULTS ARE IN!



When the 3/2/10 vote for the Administrator contract (raises) 2010 -11 was taken, Bonesteel, Foster, Schaeffer and Zweig all voted YES. The district is in fiscal trouble and they vote to spend more than needed on Administration.

On 3/9/10 the board "instructed" the Superintendent to return a budget with both GWS and Sand Lake closed, funding for Japanese as a 2nd - 2nd language increasing and $243,000 being transfered from TRF (Teachers Retirement Fund) to Cafeteria to cover the mounting losses. Presumably the accelerated losses by the Cafeteria program would put the grand total over $400,000 at the end of 09-10 if this didn't occur.

Not one of the ruling five BOE members was willing to look at the list of efficiencies to save money and keep GW open. It was easier for the glassy eyed to just vote with the BOE president.

So far, it has been a disappointing performance by the candidates from P.U.B.E.

3/2/10 Meeting

Were you there? Has the board kept an open mind or are they done and waiting for the budget vote? Where will the tax rate fall. We took a breather from tax increases last year. Zero felt good didn't it?

What are you thinking?

Parallels across NYS budgets

Have you seen the Corrections Officer television ad? It has interesting parallels to the present situation in Averill Park.

The TV ad states “Tell Albany not to balance their budget by closing prisons” and also asks Albany to cut high paid (executives) administration and not the guards. The guards are the front line and supply a sense of security to you. Wouldn’t the teachers supply a sense of educational security to you?

Closing schools and cutting services simply shows a lack of effort on the part of the Administration and the Board. It is the easy way out.

I’m sure you see it, what do you think?