Mam’k proposes school cuts without touching full-day kindergarten
Many parents have been up in arms after Superintendent Paul Fried last week proposed changing some elementary schools to half-day kindergarten. I spoke with many of them over the weekend that said something like that would make them consider moving out of the district, in light of all the tough budget cuts the school district has made year after year.
Well now, the school district put out a memo to parents today saying a budget proposal will be presented tomorrow that won’t touch full-day kindergarten classes.
“The Board will continue to explore additional options and refine options already offered,” the memo said. ” An additional elementary option that does not reduce kindergarten to a half day program will be presented. The Board will have an opportunity to consider this new option along with those previously discussed.”
What that proposal is remains to be seen. I’ll have a story in Tuesday’s paper talking about this in detail.
The tuesday school budget meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in the McClain Auditorium of Mamaroneck High School.
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There is talk in the community of voting down any budget that has any increase over 0%. That would be a monumental mistake for everybody involved. People need to understand exactly what that means. No matter what form the budget ultimately takes, there will be unhappy parties, but those parties will be besides themselves if they vote down a budget. If we as a community have to go to a contingency budget everyone loses. True there will be a 0% tax increase then, but your property values will plummet because the school system will be a disaster and it is good schools that keep the property values here so inflated, so even if you don’t have children in the school system you will be affected whether you like it or not.
More importantly though is the effect voting down a budget will have on the children of this community. No matter what side you take on this thing, by voting down a budget you also put the innocent children square in the crosshairs of a disaster. Not only will there have to be half day kindergarten across the board in order to get to a 0% tax increase, but all the children will be sitting in overcrowded classrooms with overburdened teachers after all of the best teachers are laid off. When lay offs happen, it is last in and first out according to the contract. Like it or not, it is based purely on seniority and has nothing to do with merit, which means that the most enthusiastic, youngest teacher making the smallest salary gets canned first while the dead wood who haven’t kept up with the latest teaching methods and trends and make the biggest salaries remain. Additionally, you can kiss all extracurricular activities and athletics goodbye. I implore people to stop and think about what they are doing when they talk about voting down a budget. They are hurting not only the teachers and administrators that they may be angry at, rightly or wrongly, but ultimately they are hurting themselves and most important the children of our community who have no say in this and whose futures are on the line. Is that what you really want to do when you vote down a budget? I hope that cooler heads prevail and however unsavory a budget is ultimately put forward to the voters that it gets passed because the nuclear option would be a calamity.
Kids got a better education when they were piled into a one-room schoolhouse. Teachers are off almost half the year, overpaid and won’t give up one nickel. Force these school systems to return to reality. You have a vote; use it.
A zero increase budget is the only way – and it is a fallacy to think that it will bring down property prices. The salary and conditions of service of teachers have to be reviewed and if “youngest teacher making the smallest salary gets canned first while the dead wood who haven’t kept up with the latest teaching methods and trends and make the biggest salaries remain”,then the whole system needs revamping. Budget increases are not the answer.
I don’t disagree that the whole system needs revamping, but voting down the budget is not the way to do that. That is an entirely different fight. The only thing you do by voting down the budget is to hurt the students, and ask your real estate broker what effect voting down the budget will have on property values. You will find out that it is indeed a negative effect, and it is real.
Why are the people that can help the most remaining silent?
Where is the Teachers Union? The Union that last year would not vote for $700mm in Federal funding for New York State schools to protect themselves against charter schools (“Why we’re failing or schools” by Joe Klein http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1957277,00.html). Where are the teachers represented by this union that would rather take a 3%+ increase next year on top of the 3%+ granted in each of the last 3 years of this contract. Where is a teacher that has said I will forego a step this year until we can get out of this crises (step increases raise the base pay plus the salary increase for teachers increasing their education/certificate levels). The same teachers union that would rather see Bobby sitting at home watching cartoons than be in class preparing for the rest of his school life in full day Kindergarten.
Why are we cutting children’s programs when the average employee in the school district earns $117k/year (salary + benefits for all employees, not just teachers). Where are the 179 school employees earning over $100k/year (based on 2008 public data http://www.seethroughny.net/Payrolls/EmployeeSearch/tabid/69/Default.aspx) accounting for $21.5mm in compensation offering to forgo an increase in favor of their fellow teachers not taking on 2 more children in each class?
If you are not yet outraged enough by the fact that school employees are getting guaranteed increase that are not tied to performance or the CPI, how about that you as a tax payer are going to make up the shortfall in their pension fund. Yes, state law requires the community to make up the losses in the market that the pension fund incurred? Doesn’t your company do that? I think not.
The ones that always have something to say that say nothing….
Where are our local representatives? Why are they not speaking out? Why are they not at the meetings? They are not there, since there is not political benefit, they have deniability that this was not within their mandate since our school board has not looked to involve them. I for one and not going to vote for anyone I don’t hear or see in regard to our budget issue. Oh, sorry, the NY Senate was arguing over their pay raise and couldn’t get around to schools.
Who has the power…
If you haven’t figured it out yet, here is a hint, it’s your teachers union. You school board has less than 5% of the total $130mm budget at their discretion; they are playing with pennies while the dollars just hemorrhage from the system. But don’t give them all the power, talk to the press, talk to the teachers, show up at the budget meetings, educate you children on what is going on in the school system and encourage them to speak out for their education and most of all participate, not just by voting but being heard.