I apologize to our readers regarding our last Post, it was our intention to begin a debate surrounding the failings and success of our schools system and issues regarding its funding and spending.
It seems there is no longer any forum in which you can have a conversation or debate an issue without the discussion being hijacked by ideologues from both the right and the left.
In a thread with almost 50 comments maybe 3 or 4 readers put forth ideas on how we can improve a system of education that is on the verge of collapse, not only for funding issues but with regard to performance.
I understand their passions, however, like health care, immigration reform and global warming, the conversation is being controlled by the extremes, regardless of their small numbers and those considered moderate, a vast number of Americans, must make their voice heard at the polling booths.
The 'cooler' heads in the middle have suffered at the hands of extremists of both sides and either have had bad legislation jammed down their throats or have no legislation enacted to protect their interests.
I can only hope this conversation is more logical and less ideological, there is much that is needed in the way of reform in all sectors of government, Federal, State and Local, but the change must be reasonable and even 'Constitutional' in policy and product.
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In the spirit of full disclosure to your readers and keeping the integrity of your blog secure,
ReplyDeleteyou should disclose that you yourself are NOT in the middle. You are squarely on the right and have supported Republican candidates from the inception of this blog.
I find it interesting that the last post was "hijacked," as you put it. I've enjoyed the discourse, aside from the educational criteria part.
ReplyDeletePerhaps people are just looking for a forum in which to vent on issues of importance to THEM. Sorry we didn't follow the spirit of your post, but that being said, who gives a shit you put it out there and the readers CHANGED the conversation. Aren't we all about HOPE & CHANGE these days:)
To the point, NYS desperately needs a CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION! But the bobble heads in Albanyland will NEVER let that happen, because the TAXPAYERS might actually HIJACK our state government back to the PEOPLE! Can't afford to let the inmates run the asylum, they might actually get things done! Nuf said.
In response to 8:44 AM, I may consider myself fiscally conservative, and have until this last election been NON-ENROLLED and have in the recent past have actively assisted Town of Ulster Democrats in winning elections. The fact that the last Democrat Administration was not only a failure but a disgrace has nothing to do with where my sentiments lie. I have since I cast my very 1st vote in the 1972 Presidential Election always voted for the man not the party and will always continue to do so.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that the majority of moderates from all political parties lean toward individual freedoms and smaller less intrusive government, I believe that to be a quality of the American way of life and if denouncing entitlement programs that have never succeeded makes me, in your mind, an extremist, if looking for solutions rather concede defeat and thus give dysfunctional political institutions control of failing programs is extremist, if promoting community over self interest is extremist then so be it.
I once felt as you do, but placed ideology above logic and found myself wanting.
kitchen might as well join the obama team it seems they have a hard time paying there taxes tooo
ReplyDeleteSometimes you use too many words. Your post of 1:48 is one of those times. Who even knows what your point is?
ReplyDeleteTo the Blog author: I don't think you need to justify or explain your positions to anyone. You have started a conversation that ANYONE is welcome to join in on. Some people are always looking to insinuate some nefarious objective and frankly most of the time that's just weak-minded, paranoia because you may not agree with their position. I for one, applaud your interest in OUR TOWN! Keep up the conversation. :)
ReplyDeleteI read a little blurb in the paper that said Mike Berardi and Brian Cahill are back in charge of the Democrats. That is good news for Ulster residents.
ReplyDeleteMike yes, but we just got rid of Brian, now we are trying to oust his bro, i don't think there is any room for career politicians any more
ReplyDeleteI understand now that the dust has settled and things in town hall are beginning to come out that we really had no idea how bad Nicky Boy was playing with the numbers. Rumor has it that things are pretty bad, Nick may just have some explaining to do, lets all ope its under oath!
ReplyDelete10:45, Brian is a good guy and I hope he decides to run for office again.
ReplyDeleteIf Woerner was messing around with "the numbers", Quigley should not wait for a minute and go right to the DA or the Attorney General.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget, there is a bookkeeper and a town board involved here too. He had to have someone working with him, he did not actually administer the budget day to day and the board approved it.
7:47 - the bookkeeper merely enters the information that was provided to her. The decisions were made by Woerner, the Town Board, and slimeball Zweben. They're the ones that Andrew Cuomo should be looking at.
ReplyDeleteDid the bookkeeper knowingly enter questionable data into the official town records now or at any time in the past?
ReplyDeleteDid the town board approve a budget with questionable appropriations now or at any time in the past?
These are legitimate questions that should be asked and will be answered. Quigley must remember the law of unintended consequences. It is real.
Previous Town administrations were well schooled by some of the shrewdest "public servants" in the history of Ulster County, Democrats and Republicans alike. This is not just a Woerner problem and has gone on for years. When the flood gates open, it will be every man (or woman) for themselves.
P.S. Eaten at Fred's Place lately?
The bookkeeper has nothing to do with misappropriation of funds. When monies are received or spent, (s)he posts the entries in the appropriate accounts. There's nothing "questionable" about receipts or expenses (i.e., Did they occur?). There are no allegations as to whether or not the transactions have been posted correctly. The previous town board's actions are what are being questioned.
ReplyDeleteBTW - what does Fred's Place have to do with anything?
Fred's Place - the haunt of the Town Republican Elite, (and everyone else who likes freshly cooked food for a fair price.)
ReplyDeleteWhy are posters plugging a restaurant?
ReplyDeleteIs the inference that Fred Wadnola's administration may have done similar juggling of the books while he was supervisor? I would not be surprised. Wadnola and Woerner had many friends in common. Al Spada & Steve Aaron just to name two.
ReplyDeleteI like how Wadnola gets a free pass on his very close relationship with these Bozo's but Woerner gets hung out to dry because of it.
I think Woerner sucked and never voted for him, but it is B.S. that Wadnola gets away with the same friendly relationships that Woerner had with Aaron and Spada.
Wadnola has always been for Wadnola first and always, that has not changed.
So what makes him different than any other Supervisor that ever held the office in the Town of Ulster or any other Town for that matter. Look at all the deals, all the contracts with the unions that have been signed. The bill is coming due and the Taxpayers are paying again, all because they wanted to get reelected.
ReplyDelete9:34 - you're right about Wadnola being friendly with Spada and Aaron. But unlike Woerner, Wadnola didn't give Aaron an 80% decrease in his PILOT while handing everyone else a 20+% tax increase. Woerner did too many favors for family and friends ($120K for Zweben last year) at the expense of the solvency of the town. Wadnola left Woerner a healthy reserve fund; Woerner depleted it. Woerner had to know that sales and mortgage tax revenue were going to be down, and he didn't make any effort to tighten the belt. He spent and spent and spent. Now, Quigley has a huge mess to clean up - and no matter what he does, someone is going to be unhappy. He'll have to a) layoff employees; b) cut or reduce programs and services; c) impose another enormous tax increase; or d) all of the above. Woerner intentionally passed a budget with a 5% tax increase, knowing full well that that wasn't enough operating capital for the town. When Quigley makes the tough decisions, it leaves the door open for Woerner to declare "I had no layoffs and didn't cut or reduce anything and I only raised taxes 5%. What is Quigley doing wrong?"
ReplyDeleteWadnola's friendliness didn't interfere with his running the town to the extent that Woerner's did. BTW - I am no Wadnola fan - I totally agree with your last statement. Wadnola is president of his own fan club.
I hate to disagree, but my recollection is that Wadnola and Maloney orchestrated the very first PILOT Aaron received. It was the subsequent Town Board (Woerner included) that voted to increase it to the absurd level that it is today.
ReplyDeleteFred had lawyers too, Pete Graham and Jim Kerr. I am sure they did not work for free.
Woerner was the worst thing that happened to Ulster, but Wadnola was no angel. He had a fund balance in good economic times when the Mall area was expanding, hotels were building and the national economy was pretty stable.
Wadnola pushed for zoning changes that allowed it to be built in the first place. Wadnola had far more to do with Aaron being in Ulster than anyone else.
ReplyDeleteAt least all that Wadnola did, he did above board, in the open and legally, we can't say as much for Woerner, but all that is ancient history, Quigley has the reins, and thank the voters for having the wisdom to elect him, there aren't too many fish in this pool that could tackle the problems that Woerner left.
ReplyDeleteGO for it Jim!
Wadnola was/is about above board as Don Corleone. I wonder where some of these posters are getting their information, because if they actually knew Fred and watched him in action, they would not post that utter nonsense. He raised taxes with the best of them, made decisions behind closed doors with the best of them, and was as typical a self serving politician as there has ever been in Ulster. He left a lot of good Republicans in his wake and he ain't done yet!
ReplyDeleteI hope Quigley can pull off some kind of miracle, because that is what it is going to take to clean up Ulster.
BTW... Wadnola is sucking up a very nice pension from the Kingston Schools right now. That is the link to this topic. Wadnola has always been a big part of the problem and has never, ever been part of the solution.
ReplyDeletePlease prove me wrong. Good luck.
Wadnola is also getting a pension for being in the Navy Reserves as well as being a county legislator before. He's always eaten off the public plate (and, as you can see, quite heartily). He's always worked for the government at some level: the U.S. Navy, Kingston Schools, Ulster County Legislature, Town of Ulster. The taxpayers bought his restaurant - has he done anything for his community (volunteer or financial contributions)?
ReplyDeleteWhy is Fred the center of this thread, he hasn't been Supervisor for 4 plus years and again at least he left the town with a surplus. It took a real a-hole to screw that up and drive the town into financial ruin. That's right Nicky B Woerner should be the target of all the anger. So, a little mis-direction is not such a new tactic.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't all of you on both sides try to suggest a few solutions.
By the way, I know quite of few residents who think Fred was a hell of a teacher, I'm sure he was as good a serviceman.
Fred was no better than Nick, he just had more money because he raised taxes. Look it up.
ReplyDeleteWhy is Fred the center of this thread? I'll tell you why, because he is part of the problem of school funding. He personifies exactly what is wrong with our local school system.
ReplyDeleteFred made sure he got his pension jacked up by about 33% by talking and brown nosing his way into a job as an ineffective assistant superintendent his last couple of years as a school district employee. Sound unethical? It is, and that is why the Attorney General is looking into pension padding, thank God he chose Ulster County as one of the targets of his investigation. Maybe he will branch into the schools and see what that unearths.
Whats wrong with working for the goverment you sound like a bunch of libs because Fred chose to be a public servant. whats wrong with that
ReplyDeleteIf he were a true "public servant", he would not have maximized his multiple public pensions like he did. He is not a public servant, more like a public leach.
ReplyDeleteFred should have retired as a principal. Instead he bumped a supposedly long time friend out of a job just to pad his own pension. For those who say Fred is in it for the public service, they are flat out wrong. He is in it for Fred and nothing else. If there is a way to squeeze a public dollar out of something, Fred is there.
ReplyDeleteWadnola and Maloney raised taxes 41% in 2003, by jacking up the assessments 33% and raising taxes 12%. That is why there was a big fund balance that they took from the pockets of the people of Ulster. The new board is no better, Morrow is eating from Aaron's table again doing the alarm work at all of his projects. They all suck! Plain and simple!
ReplyDelete10:46 - you don't know what you're talking about so you shouldn't be spewing lies. Morrow only did Aaron's project in the Town of Esopus - he didn't do the ones in Kingston or Ulster. This new board is a LOT better, but it's going to take a lot of work to undo the mess that Woerner left.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that this stuff was not brought out BEFORE the last election. I would not have voted for either Wadnola or Maloney.
ReplyDeleteMaloney has gat to go
ReplyDeleteMaloney is a lying dirtbag. He definitely needs to be voted out. It's a shame the voters weren't smart enough to go up to Row A to vote for Cahill. They were smart to vote for Quigley, but not smart enough.
ReplyDeleteDON'T HATE THE PLAYER - HATE THE GAME!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, can we all agree to move on, and stop all this negativity. Its actually become boring to read the treads on this blog. Please lets find another topic to get all worked up about!
Maloney is a creep and the sooner people find out, the better.
ReplyDeleteFROM THE INFAMOUS RODNEY KING...
ReplyDeleteCAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG :)
UIYTT: PLEASE GIVE THE READERS A NEW TOPIC BEFORE I TAKE YOU OFF MY FAVORITES LIST!
We can all get along as long as we agree that Maloney is a creep. :)
ReplyDeleteANYBODY IN OFFICE NOW MUST GO
ReplyDeleteAnd replace them with people like Don Wise? No thanks, I'll stick with Assmeblyman Cahill. Don Wise is totally unqualified to hold any office, let alone Assemblyman. Ulster voters have told him so several times by never electing him to anything, not even against Nickie Worener.
ReplyDeleteHint - Hint, take the Hint Don!
If Wise is no good than the GOP should find somebody else Cahill is a hack just like the rest of them
ReplyDeleteI will never understand the logic in replacing an effective, long term elected person. Someone like Cahill has established very good connections and a certain level of power as an important committee chair. What sense does it make to elect a person who will be a low ranking, minority member with no ability to help the district? Why would I waste what Cahill has earned during his time in Albany? It does not make sense. Wise or anyone else, nope, I am sticking with Cahill.
ReplyDeleteDon Wise has always been a good, solid Conservative. People like Don represent strong Conservative values and our Conservative way of life in Ulster. Elect Don Wise and protect us from the welfare class in Mid-town Kingston. I have never voted for pro abortion, pro welfare Cahill and never will. God Bless Don Wise, God Bless our Troops, and God Bless America.
ReplyDelete10:40 - according to you, sounds like God should also bless Kevin Cahill, don't you think? And, it could be YOUR conservative way of life that you live in Ulster, but it's not everyone's way of life. Cahill (nor is any Democrat) PRO abortion or PRO welfare. As is typical of a conservative, you don't quite understand what pro-choice is and can't grasp that public assistance should only be a temporary helping hand. I'm a liberal Democrat but fiscally, I'm fairly conservative. Sometimes people fall on hard times and need temporary assistance. No one (not even a left-wing liberal like me) thinks that people should be allowed to live off the "government" (i.e, you and me) for their entire lives. That was never the intention of welfare, and the fact that it is sometimes is a fault in the system that definitely needs to be corrected. But, look at the likes of Bruno and Espada - a Republican and Democrat, respectively - they're more crooked and have stolen more money than most people have on welfare.
ReplyDeleteEffective long term? What is so effective about Billion dollar deficits that he is just as responsable for as the rest of your long time term elected persons
ReplyDeleteEffective? Have you no idea how Government works? Legislators at any level are assigned to committees. Cahill is the Chairman of the Energy committee. I believe that him being chair of the Energy committee and Ulster County becoming the focal point of alternative energy solutions in New York is not a coincidence, in fact, I think he had a lot to do with it. Ask the Hospitals if Cahill is effective (he is on the Health committee). Ask SUNY New Paltz (higher Education Committee), you get my point.
ReplyDeleteWere still a couple billion in debt thanks to him and the rest of them
ReplyDelete2:51 Do you know if Cahill (or any other individual legislator) has in fact caused this one penny of this "debt"? Maybe he suggested budget cuts to help shrink or eliminate the "debt"? Do you know? You have no idea at all what you are talking about do you? You are only repeating the same old garbage that people spew when they are misinformed and unwilling to do the background work to get real, honest, factual answers.
ReplyDeleteYou may have as much to do with that "debt" as anyone, who knows?
10:40 I am surprised at the not so well hidden undertones of your post. Very scary.
ReplyDeleteIf 10:40 is for Wise, I am for Cahill.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that one "long term" legislator is better than a new legislator? Do you also believe that a NYC legislator is better than an upstate one, or a republican one is better than a democrat one or vice versa? This is the reason that our state is in the condition that it is in, because rather than treat all representatives equally, welcome new ideas, and think out of the box, they play the game of; I have been here longer or I kissed the right butt, so I am better than you.
ReplyDeleteYou say that democrat legislators don't believe in long term welfare? I am telling you that they do, and so do the republicans for that matter. Why? because the welfare problem like many of this state's problems has been around for years and no one has really tried to reform the system. Why would these guys want to reform the welfare system when it so closely resembles their career politician system anyway? Instead these guys fight and claw their way up the system to gain more power and then use that power to keep themselves popular. Don't believe me, like 2:09pm said ask the hospitals, the alternative energy companies, etc. that our assembly man has given our money to in an attempt to buy their and our votes. You can't walk into a building in Silver's or Bruno's districts that don't have their name on it. That is what long term legislators get you, a lot of pretty builings with their name on them and a state that is bankrupt. I sat at a public meeting years ago where Assemblyman Cahill said that fixing the school tax and funding system is the most important thing in the world, and I have heard him make similar statements many times since, but where are we.... no where.
Every legislator sitting in Albany right now is reponsible for the situation that we are in now, and they are doing nothing to fix it (AKA: The State Budget). So it is time to fire every last one of them and hire new ones to give it a try. And if they can't do it fire them too. Eventually some of them will realize that the way to get re-elected is not through tax payer funded bribery, but instead through doing your job. Also helpful would be to outlaw earmarks and pork barrel spending. Imagine the change in Cahill's, Hinchey's, Bonaciac's, and the likes campaigns if they couldn't fall back on publicizing their bribes to the voters. Then they might actually have to talk about how they accomplished real issues.
6:32, Here is the problem with your solution. It is not realistic. I think on some level it could be successful, however, there are legislative districts in New York City that are 80% Democratic. There is nothing that even reverse gerrymandering can do to fix that. So, what you end up with is NYC running the Legislature as they do now, and the upstaters completely shut out. Is it fair? no, but it is reality. That is where I think a long term legislator is better, and I mean A LOT better. Imagine for a minute, Don Wise trying to get $5 for the Libraries from Shelly Silver or any other NYC Democratic leader? It ain't happening. Ask John Guerin, he will tell you. Why do you think he bailed? He was getting zippo, nada, nothing! Even Guerin knew to try and get over to the Republican Senate where he could hold some sway.
ReplyDeleteI do not think it is right, and if it really could be changed, I would be first in line to help change it. However, I am a pragmatically thinking person. I think sending Don Wise to Albany is akin to wiping Ulster county off the radar completely from Albany's perspective.
Maybe Long Island needs to take NYC with them when they for their own state.
ReplyDeleteWhat's realistic is that their will not be $5 for Libraies in the very near future.
ReplyDeleteI am no Don Wise fan. But we have two choices. 1st we could be a thinking man and sit back and enjoy the ride to destruction. Or 2nd, we could try to do something.....anything. And that means doing our part to vote them all out. I too used to be a Cahill voter, but I stopped and decided that I will try to do something. I am tired of hearing the same issues from him year after year and seeing absolutley no results.
As far as NYC, they are digging their own grave in this state, with things like the MTA tax, and much more. The time will come when they will pay the penalty.
If you think voting Cahill out will fix Albany, it won't. You vote for Wise, I'll vote for Cahill and we cancel each other out. In the end, Cahill will win and Ulster County will be the better off for it.
ReplyDelete7:51 "...decided that [he] will try to do something" What did you decide to do? How are you effecting change other than posting on blogs and voting on Election Day?
ReplyDeleteAs 7:27 said, voting them all out is not realistic. I laugh when people say/write that. It's just such an realistic solution and it's not going to fix things. Unfortunately, you need experienced people in your legislature. If you don't like the long-termers, then maybe where 7:51 should put his/her efforts is into term limits. But remember, neophytes are completely ineffective. Kevin Cahill can't change the way schools are funded all by himself. Though he may be a proponent of it, it's not even his committee. So, 7:51, here's another goal for you: find out who the chair of the committee is for that issue (Assembly and Senate) and contact him/her. Get involved. Stop pissing and moaning and pointing fingers. And since you're a likely Republican, why aren't you blaming Bonacic and Larkin for the dysfunction and lack of change in funding education? It's all Kevin Cahill's fault? There are fewer Senators than Assemblymen - that means their districts are bigger and they're more powerful.
As for me? Like you, I choose to remain anonymous. But just know that I do work year-round to effect change. I don't just show up on Election Day and pull the lever. It takes more than that to get anything accomplished.
It will not be better off it will be the same, in debt and no jobs
ReplyDeleteOk, 8:23, Just tell me how voting for Don Wise is better? I just do not see it.
ReplyDeleteDon Wise is not a wise choice. Make the wise choice, vote for Cahill.
ReplyDeleteBrian Cahill
ReplyDeleteI would easily vote for Brian Cahill over Don wise.
ReplyDeleteI would easily vote for Brian Cahill over Kevin Cahill.
ReplyDeleteThen Brian it is
ReplyDeleteI heard a rumor that Don Wise is now not running. They are pulling the plug on his campaign because he can not get support with the exception of the tea party people. No support at all locally or at the state level and that means no money. Is this true?
ReplyDeleteDonnie Wise has been talking trash behind Mario's back about dropping out at the last minute if the Republicans don't step up and show him some love. He wants money, lots of it. If he thinks it doesn't get back to Mario what he says, he is wrong. Not everyone is your friend Donnie, you talk a lot a trash about Republicans.
ReplyDeleteDonnie Boy doesn't have a sugar daddy for this race like he did in the TOU 2007 race.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Woerner still have to comment? Hasn't he been shown the door from the town?
ReplyDeleteWise announced the decision to withdraw only 15 minutes after a telephone interview discussing at length the reasons that his candidacy should merit Republican endorsement in trying to unseat incumbent Kevin Cahill.
ReplyDelete"I’m pulling out of the race," he said. "I just got a phone call and for personal reasons I’m not going to be running."
Wise declined to comment further other than to say it was "a family matter and I’m not going to get into it any further."
What a joke. Don knew he wasn't running weeks ago. Now we have an even lesser known person.
Cahill wins by 30%.
HOPE NOT
ReplyDeleteAnyone that votes for Cahill, Larkin and Bonacic has no right to complain about their school taxes. Thanks to Albany Kingston School District taxpayers saw a 5% tax increase on a budget with a half of percent spending increase. You want to keep putting useless incumbents, you get what you deserve.
ReplyDeleteIf they approve taxes in Albany they suck, if they actually cut like they are doing here, they suck. OK, I got it now.
ReplyDeleteIt is up to the local districts to cut their spending, not for Albany to supply them with a never ending flow of cash. Local cuts are the answer. If they need more money, the problem is local, not in Albany.
I actually commend those guys for cutting, it is about damn time!
Why is there any increase in spending at all when there is a reduction in revenue? That is a recipe for failure. Our State representatives should cut back on the school aid, it has to start somewhere. Now the school administrators have to follow suit. If they don't, blame the administrators for tax increases, not the people who cut.
ReplyDelete"Why is there any increase in spending at all when there is a reduction in revenue?"
ReplyDeleteYour insurance goes up every year right? Fuel, Electric (god I know it) and the list goes on.
If Albany and the fed want to cut aid NO PROBLEM. I think it is fine too. But stop the mandates as well. That is the problem, Albany and Washington don't want to pay, but heaven help you if you deny a free laptop and a teacher's aide to a kid that can't see the blackboard.
"heaven help you if you deny a free laptop and a teacher's aide to a kid that can't see the blackboard."
ReplyDeleteAnd that child should not get an education because why?
Maybe you cut out football, baseball or God forbid, cut the cost of administration! Cutting isn't pleasant, but when fiscal times are stressed, that is what they have to do. I see the State doing it, now let's see the locals pass it on to us instead of "blaming" the state for cutting spending.
So 6:46 if you know exactly what needs to be cut, why don't you run for school board and show us how it is done. Maybe then you will learn just how little can be cut because it is protected by state and funded mandates, that is where a lot of your "ADMINISTRATION" cost come from. Sports and Music are such a small and insignificant part of the pie, cut them all you want and you will see very little difference.
ReplyDeleteMore and more of the school budget is going to funding retired teachers and administrators, 25 years guarantees a retiring teacher about 75% of their employment package, (salary + benefits). Many of these contracts were written in the 60's and 70's and since then have only become more lucrative. The problem comes as we need to replace retiring teachers, by now we are paying 2 retirement packages at about $50k per year and one teachers salary. That is to say we are paying about 3 times the money for the same 1 teachers position. How can this continue. If we don't wake up the system will implode, unions who insist on nothing less than what they have may soon have nothing. It can't go on and like Rudy Guiliani in the city of NY, it's time someone in government faces down the demon that is bankrupting the entire system.
ReplyDeleteThe point is simple. The local budget is made up locally. The mandates are the same everywhere. It is the local teachers contracts, the number of administrators and the other staff that are the expenses.
ReplyDeleteFootball = travel,coaches,uniforms,facility maintenance, referee's, security ect... It is not cheap.
Most "MANDATES" are there for a reason, to ensure every child is given an opportunity to get the same education as the next.
If you want to defend tax raisers you go right ahead, I will support tax cutters.
Roundout just cut most of their sports programs, and saved a whopping 65K on a 61 million dollar budget. Even a 100k seems like a small price to pay to give children the opportunity to experience teamwork, and playing sports. But I guess that sports aren't "education".
ReplyDeleteMost mandates exist to give more of these administrators and other staff employed to run the programs. My child was identified as needing a bunch of these services and IEP's based on the school's assesment of him. Come to find out all he really needed was me to spend more time with him to understand and do better. Meanwhile the school kept pushing me to enroll him with all of these reading and learning specialists that the school employs. I think it was a matter of they were slow and looking for work. I told them to shove it.
All I say is if Albany mandates it then Albany pays for it. Or better yet make the parents that can afford it (which is most based on the $300 cell phones I see many with) pay for the services their child gets. I bet you will see a huge reduction in the number of kids with learning problems. I am tired of subsidizing lazy parents.
I have to say, I hear the word "mandates" used very loosely. I would love to see this list of "mandates" that the state and federal government imposes. I would also like to see the self imposed "mandates" that the local school systems are bound by.
ReplyDeleteIt is the local administrators who can make the difference if they choose to. It is obvious they have taken a different path. If they really wanted to cut the budget, they could find a way.
BTW, I fail to see how poor evaluations of your child's abilities at a local school is in any way associated with funding for school. That again is a local issue with the administration not doing it's job of weeding out bad teachers and evaluators. The state does not mandate providing services for children that do not need them, that is a guarantee.
The State may not mandate it but the schools get increased funding based on the # of students utilizing special services. The earlier commenter is correct when he/she says that parents need to be more involved. I have 2 boys 10 & 13, one is a brain and the other challenged, one can take a test cold and get 90 or better, the other needs to spend a lot more time studying, if I don't work with him he will fail and be placed in an IEP, I would rather work a little harder with him, and believe me it's never easy, but it is necessary.
ReplyDeleteIEP: 1 teacher, 1 assistant teacher, 1 administrator and ELA LAB + teacher, SPEECH LAB + teacher, all for 12 students, seems like overkill, parents need to pick up some slack, even if they just see to it that their children study a little more and play video games a little less.
'It Takes a Village to Raise A Child'??????
Only when the parents don't do their job.
Still can't figure how the state is at fault for lowering the aid and cutting the need to raise taxes. Everything you say is no fault of the state, they reimburse based on the increased expenses the locals face. If there are children that could be helped at home, then the schools should tell them so. Why won't they? Because they want the increased state aid. That is not the states fault.
ReplyDelete