East Williston's Budget Fails Again?

[JJD]

The vote seems pretty close, and perhaps a recount or challenge may change the story, but it looks like it went down to a second defeat last night.

I'd be interested in hearing from voters to see if my own impression, that it was the $100,000 salary paid to the teacher/president of the teachers' union not to teach, and his, in my opinion, condescending letter to the taxpayers defending that payment, that tipped the balance.
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[judgejudy]

probably included

- loss of credibility after re-assessment- the school districts claims of % increase didn't match what was happening on the tax bills and O'Shea's statements on earlier mailings. where was the increases coming from.

- roslyn fever was too close by

- an A and B budget sends the wrong message.

[newtoboard]

1. Arrogance of Board
2. Arrogance of Union Prez
3. Board is responsible for current contingency budget by not submitting a revised budget

[JJD]

Meetings to discuss the contingency budget begin tomorrow. Regardless of whether you voted for, or against, the proposed budgets, as my sainted Grandfather would have said, "done is done."

I can already sense that the school board and the teachers union (not, by the way, the teachers themselves) are going to try to punish the community for having had the temerity to vote no. The proposed contingency budget, to the extent that it promises hardship, promises hardship for the students alone. Those who voted for the budget, under the the premise that everything that could be spent must be spent "for the children" will now have the opportunity to show the community, the board and more importantly themselves, what they are made of.

It is incumbent upon every resident to make his or her voice heard. The cuts should come out of the fat within the district--not at the expense of the students.

Fat? I have what I am sure is not an all-inclusive list. It's a little list, and there'd none of 'em be missed.

For example, I'm told that the Superintendent and/or the district has a publicist. If so, the elimination of that needless post is an immediate savings.

How much is the board paying legal counsel? I suspect that equal lawyers could be found for less. Perhaps the services of such lawyers could be supplemented by the services of lawyers who live within the district (and it's full of us, believe me) could be convinced to represent the district on discrete tasks, for free. Pro bono.

The district pays a portion of the salary ($100,000) of the union head not to teach? Maybe the union could pick up all of the tab, under the theory that burdens should be shared. (By the way, one of my elderly neighbors, who never in his life I suspect, used a word stronger than "crap," told me that as far as he was concerned the union head had told him to "go 'F' myself." That letter was not very astute at all, but I am more and more convinced that it cost the board a budget vote.)

Who was responsible for formulating the so-called "exit poll" being taken within the gymnasium which was in fact a loaded electioneering questionnaire that all but the dullest residents saw through at once. Whatever money was spent on that was wasted. If the Board spent money on a consultant for such a thing, it should resign. But at very least, no such money (even for printing costs) should ever be spent again.

School offices are open all summer. Why?

Secretarial staff are paid to staff those offices all summer. Why?

We could live with visually less satisfying, but considerably cheaper, printed communications from the district. Honest.

I understand that incoming teachers are treated to a rather lavish "do" at the start of the year. Perhaps the P.T.O. could pay for that, or the teachers could make do without.

How much do we spend for lunch and hospitality? I suspect that there isn't a penny of it that is truly necessary in a time of austerity. And, when we buy food, do we buy at Holiday Farms, or at Waldbaums?

And then there are the teachers. When my children attended the schools, there were many fine teachers. There were also teachers who weren't fit to be sent out for stamps. I suspect that their successors are entrenched even as I write. Perhaps it's time for the union to meet candidly with the board, identify the teachers who can't/shouldn't teach, and let the board take steps to remove them.

What is the fully burdened cost of the average teacher?

What steps is the board prepared to take, now, to lessen the impact of the next round of teachers contract negotiations?

The East Williston School District is a safe, tranquil and supportive place for a teacher to teach in. Wheatley is not George Washington, or Franklin K. Lane. It isn't even Hempstead High. A teacher isn't likely to be assaulted when he or she asks for homework. Is the board prepared to assign a dollar value to these factors (which are a direct result of the families who live in the district and pay the taxes) when it negotiates with the teachers? If not, why not?

Has the budget failure resulted in a stiffening of resolve in the ongoing negotiations with the administrative and clerical staff?

We should all ask lots of questions, accept no pat answers, and demand that the board and district do what they have always professed to do, i.e. do the best that can be done for the children of the district.

En garde?
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[totaltax]

Clearly local taxes serve no purpose anymore since the Alternate Minimum tax has eliminated the local tax deduction starting at I think about $80K. Therefore a two income family has no value any longer in paying a school, a village, a county or the state for anything but the bare minimum. Taxing for services are a waste since it is now not deductible. New Yorkers will only wise up as the pendulum shifts to other regions of the country.

Carping by these officials against each other serves no purpose.

For instance Balboni getting security cameras for EWSD is a joke. As you said JJD there is no crime. Probably the cost for the Senate "member item" ended up being 5 times what a commercial vendor needed for a properly scaled system. Balboni and his governor is about to bail out the NYC infrastructure at the same time Bloomberg is giving a $400 a house discounting NYC.

Having a library in the village or paying local prices for roads and garbage ignores scale.

The county should not have aquatic centers or museums. Let them all stand on their own without subsidies.

So JJD you have some ideas but they are rounding errors in the scheme of things. Think Federal AMT taxes and you will quickly consolidate all local government with no drop in quality but better cash flow for Long Islanders to pay for what they want from the private sector.

I'm sorry but there is no way to stand up for a failed budget. The fact is that a failed budget means that we've all failed our children - tax pac or pro education it doesn't matter.

Thats right Amen!


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IT IS WHAT IT IS. GET OVER IT. AND GET OVER YOURSELF

[Unsettled]

Why should we have to settle!? Thats how they get away with this shit. They don't expect anyonet to stand up. They dont expect anyone to fight. Well I'm not going to settle. You can but I will NOT!

[Operation: Kids Kids Kids]

I'm fighting for the children not your fat wallet. We have an obligation to raise our kids and arm them with the best education possible. Your beef is with the weasel Georges - bush and pataki - who continuously underfund education. The children shouldn't suffer because of our politicians in NY and Washington not coming up with a solution to meet the rising costs and mandates of public education.