Guest Column: District actions led to budget woes

Written by John Wille
Thursday, 11 March 2010 00:00

Building a budget in tough times should be no different than building a budget in good times. However, up to now, the school board has had a checkbook with an unlimited credit line, unlike the people in the community, who have a limited source of funds and need to budget their expenditures wisely. Finally, the school board needs to exercise fiscal restraint.

As part of contract negotiations, management needs to price the proposed contract to determine the financial impact on the community. When teacher negotiations were stalled, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Roelle broke the stalemate. The board was in such awe of his leadership they signed the agreement, without analysis. Weeks later, school board President Michael Gordon turned to board member Peter Treyz at a finance committee meeting and said, “I think we gave away the store.” Truer words were never spoken.

Now the board wants a teachers’ salary freeze. The teachers negotiated in good faith. Why should they give up their raises, after the school board has decided to spend more than $3 million on fields? The board should have tried to petition Albany to use these funds to save positions. Now the comptroller is recommending that some money be released from certain district reserves — maybe the same could have been done here with the funds for the fields.

Look at it from the teachers’ side. The administrator’s salary freeze/job protection was another poor decision. We are dealing with an overpaid and bloated administration, from the district office down to the schools. Dr. Roelle keeps shuffling the deck and retitling positions, with zero impact on payroll. Elimination of some administrators will reduce costs while having no impact on student education. The creation of the position, principal of Project Save, in 2008-09 and eliminated in 2009-10, was wasteful spending. Again, they should have made the tough decision and released that person.

One argument to spend $3 million on more ball fields was so every student could play sports. This budget eliminates most modified sports’ coaches, leaving $3 million in new ball fields without modified teams to use them. Typically, students who work hard developing athletic skills play varsity sports. The rest of the students cheer their school teams and may participate in the many community programs: baseball, basketball, softball, etc. for which the parents pay. It’s not the community’s responsibility to keep kids off the streets. It’s the parents’. The state requires school-based physical education programs to meet exercise needs.

The TV studio, funded with taxpayer funds, is not a state requirement, but it’s a sacred cow because it’s the forum used by the board for electioneering/advertising pet projects. Taxpayers are also paying for a public relations employee. The district administrators should be able to communicate effectively with e-mails, phone calls, the district Web site and press releases, thereby eliminating these expenses.

In countries more educationally advanced than the U.S., class sizes regularly reach 40 to 50 students. Yet these students outscore their U.S. counterparts on every standardized test. Increasing class size will reduce the number of teachers needed.

The board keeps giving away healthcare benefits for life. Recently, a retiring assistant principal, one year short of the contractually required 10 years, was granted lifetime medical benefits. The board continues to mortgage the future education of our children and our towns. School board member Peter Breslin has said they need to be vigilant about controlling these benefits through negotiations. Yet, he and his fellow board members keep approving them. Why? These practices have devalued our homes and polarized our transient community. Families educate their children here then move due to unaffordable taxes, leaving no one truly vested in the community.

Untold countless funds are wasted on legal fees and secret settlements due to poor oversight and mismanagement. As reported last week, a hidden settlement was done behind closed doors and withheld from public view by a sealed judgment, at the request of the district administration. Where is the transparency?

Now that the board needs to make tough decisions, it wants the community’s input. During the last four years, The Sunshine Group has spoken out at board meetings and community forums, trying to point out that district spending was out of control, only to be ridiculed, ignored, and made out to be anti-education. While Mr. Gordon touts “citizenship in a democracy is not a spectator sport,” he has stated at a board meeting the board is a republic — not a democracy — thus perpetuating the withholding information, refusing to listen, consider, or answer uncomfortable questions, and shouting down dissension. Which is it, Mr. Gordon?

If Mr. Gordon is truly interested in hearing ideas, he knows how to contact us. We’ll be happy, once again, to share our suggestions with him.

Mr. Wille is president of The Sunshine Group.

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