WBOE: Oh Woe is Me!
Having attended the BOE meeting last night it continues to be clear that reality is not their strong point.
A budget presentation was put forth and discussion held regarding same. It is apparent that the looming funding cuts from the State are going to have a wide ranging effect on every town. So, what is the early consensus? The local tax base will just have to make up the difference! I couldn’t help but laugh. The extent of the dream world that these folks seem to live in appears to have no bounds.
My main take away from this meeting centers on the attitude and actions of the Superintendent. When questions are posed by the members, he doesn’t have the answers and doesn’t seem to care very much about the issues- but his raise is on track. If I gave such a performance as his last night in the business world, I’d expect to be fired prior to the end of the meeting.
A question raised during citizen participation was particularly telling. It was asked why our bus maintenance costs have risen over double in the last four years on what the bus supplier terms a “new fleet”. A fairly small point but relevant to the big picture in my opinion. The expenditure on tires was used as a baseline relevant to usage, which has been flat to declining. After a dance about diesel fuel, it was pointed out that the question only pertained to checks written to Buell as identified in the check register, who does not supply diesel. The next excuse was that bus inspection mandates have doubled recently- this doesn’t hold water. The bus supplier has advised that the typical bus inspection runs approximately $200; therefore, this wouldn’t cover the increases in question.
Ultimately it was revealed that the bus maintenance has never been competitively bid as it should be- I’d say it’s about time that it is. This is just one small example of the overall status-quo thinking that impedes sound fiscal management that the present economic conditions, or any for that matter, require.
We are paying this “manager”, the Superintendent, in excess of $124,094 this year, and are scheduled to pay him $127,792++ next year, not to mention his Business Manager $66,110 and personal staff (‘Office Salary District’- $107,163 which does not include office staff at WES or WMS) to manage the K-8, not to dodge the questions. This is an embarrassment to the Town and should be an affront to every taxpayer in Woodstock.
Let’s not forget the $469,352 that continues to roll over for the students that never attended the Academy.
While the whining hasn’t yet begun in earnest, Lindsay Paul took a stab at it this morning on WINY…don’t worry, the real sobbing will begin soon enough and it should fall on deaf ears until some semblance of responsible management comes to the Woodstock school system in the midst of the prior year’s outright theft, manipulations, and continued declining enrollment in the K-8.
Draft Budget Presentation (PDF)
A budget presentation was put forth and discussion held regarding same. It is apparent that the looming funding cuts from the State are going to have a wide ranging effect on every town. So, what is the early consensus? The local tax base will just have to make up the difference! I couldn’t help but laugh. The extent of the dream world that these folks seem to live in appears to have no bounds.
My main take away from this meeting centers on the attitude and actions of the Superintendent. When questions are posed by the members, he doesn’t have the answers and doesn’t seem to care very much about the issues- but his raise is on track. If I gave such a performance as his last night in the business world, I’d expect to be fired prior to the end of the meeting.
A question raised during citizen participation was particularly telling. It was asked why our bus maintenance costs have risen over double in the last four years on what the bus supplier terms a “new fleet”. A fairly small point but relevant to the big picture in my opinion. The expenditure on tires was used as a baseline relevant to usage, which has been flat to declining. After a dance about diesel fuel, it was pointed out that the question only pertained to checks written to Buell as identified in the check register, who does not supply diesel. The next excuse was that bus inspection mandates have doubled recently- this doesn’t hold water. The bus supplier has advised that the typical bus inspection runs approximately $200; therefore, this wouldn’t cover the increases in question.
Ultimately it was revealed that the bus maintenance has never been competitively bid as it should be- I’d say it’s about time that it is. This is just one small example of the overall status-quo thinking that impedes sound fiscal management that the present economic conditions, or any for that matter, require.
We are paying this “manager”, the Superintendent, in excess of $124,094 this year, and are scheduled to pay him $127,792++ next year, not to mention his Business Manager $66,110 and personal staff (‘Office Salary District’- $107,163 which does not include office staff at WES or WMS) to manage the K-8, not to dodge the questions. This is an embarrassment to the Town and should be an affront to every taxpayer in Woodstock.
Let’s not forget the $469,352 that continues to roll over for the students that never attended the Academy.
While the whining hasn’t yet begun in earnest, Lindsay Paul took a stab at it this morning on WINY…don’t worry, the real sobbing will begin soon enough and it should fall on deaf ears until some semblance of responsible management comes to the Woodstock school system in the midst of the prior year’s outright theft, manipulations, and continued declining enrollment in the K-8.
Draft Budget Presentation (PDF)
It is up to the voters, talking sense to BOE and Woodstock Cafe admin and Breen fan club is next to impossible. People, fly your flags of freedom, go to meetings and the polls and vote no. Then we all know what comes next! The referendums and the attack on Prop 46. We all hear the poverty crying and the excuses of "the children's education being deprived". Then they spend thousands of dollars on attorney fees and when push comes to shove nothing is gained except lack of trust and support for BOE. Then they send letters home with children to threaten the parents to voting for the cause. What is the cause? Fatten up the pay checks, squander money, extravagant spending, poor management and foolish spending . The children get nothing except upset frustrated parents and the staff of the school deposit their checks. Then don't forget property evaluation is coming, except values have dropped since the last evaluation and the fight begins once more. We need to stop raising taxes so our children can afford to live in Woodstock!