Yesterday was a Good Day for Woodstock Education
By Steven Rosendahl
I speak as a concerned citizen and parent and not as a sitting member of the BOE.
The budget passed with no problem, and no programs or teachers were cut.
The regular monthly BOE meeting was the most open and productive I have seen in ten years.
With the June 9th referendum looming and all members possibly having to run for election in November, some of the board members have done a ‘180’ as far as being accountable to the students and townspeople.
Seven members were seated last night; Mrs. Swenson was on her way to a conference in Florida and Mr. Ford was not in attendance. Seven members seems to be a much more productive number; the BOE got more done in one night than I have seen in the last six to ten years.
Here is the big one! The BOE has approved a contract with Woodstock Academy- the vote was 5 to 2, with Mrs. Paul and Mr. Loftus voting NO and Mrs. Andrzeicik, Mr. Corden, Mr. Musumeci, Mrs. Rigney, and myself voting YES. The contract will soon be in the hands of Woodstock Academy to accept or reject it, the full BOE has voted on the contract and if the Academy Trustees vote yes we will have a contract.
We started discussions around the newest signed contract which happened to be Eastford’s and added a few things that I believe can be tolerated by the Academy. (I will go into detail in another post).
Mrs. Paul and Mr. Loftus kept trying to hold to the “Breen Party” line throughout the night, but the majority of members seem to be responding to the wishes of the town and moving to improving and concentrating on an education agenda, and away from a control agenda.
Also, we found money in our less than 0% increase budget to pay for sports so NO PAY FOR PLAY NEXT YEAR. This vote was again a large majority, either 5 or 6 Yes, with Mrs. Paul abstaining.
Dr. Baran asked the board to allow him to balance and transfer funds for yearend spending. With last year’s check register showing spending close to $300,000.00 on the last day of the fiscal year, the board was not comfortable allowing him to do this without knowledge of how the money would be spent. We have scheduled a special meeting on June 11th to approve or change Dr. Baran’s recommendations. Karen Monroe was asked to send a spreadsheet to all board members before the meeting. If anyone is interested in receiving the spreadsheet let me know and I will ask Mrs. Monroe to also send to townspeople.
The Art department gave a presentation on both schools art programs, and the board voiced strong support of art and ongoing art dept improvement. With such a tight budget I suggested townspeople look into a ‘friends of art group’ to enhance both visual and performing arts. My wife and I were part of a local art group 10 or more years ago, which had an agenda to raise money for art education, maybe we could do something like that as a town.
The health and wellness committee presented the findings of a study of how WPS is doing with health issues compared to a federal standard. We have only 1/3 of the recommended hours of physical education. This also shows up in the yearly Phys ED test as being a problem. They are many reasons for this, but now that it has been brought to the board’s attention I hope we look into it further.
Many other positive actions happened last night and I think a fresh start is already happening. It is just a shame that townspeople had to become frustrated to the point of reseating the board to get the BOE’s attention and accountability.
The take away on last night is accountability to the students and townspeople makes for a good BOE. We saw that 7 members is a better number and having to be reelected more often makes the members more aware and embracing of the wishes of the town.
The bottom line is: Please join me in voting YES on the referendum to improve Woodstock education, none of the above positive changes would have happened without this initiative and it will be a positive step in the right direction.
I thank all the members of the BOE for a meeting I was proud to be a part of last night.
We can have the best education system in Connecticut, money is nice but it is not what makes a good school. What makes a great school is the quality of the administration and the vision of the Board of Education. Woodstock has terrific teachers and we need to support them and encourage them to reach out and try new methods without fear of reprisal.
It is time for a fresh start, we as the BOE need to partner with the Academy and other sending towns to work together for our most valuable asset, our kids- away from control and on to education!
Thanks again and please vote YES on June 9th.
Steven Rosendahl
I speak as a concerned citizen and parent and not as a sitting member of the BOE.
The budget passed with no problem, and no programs or teachers were cut.
The regular monthly BOE meeting was the most open and productive I have seen in ten years.
With the June 9th referendum looming and all members possibly having to run for election in November, some of the board members have done a ‘180’ as far as being accountable to the students and townspeople.
Seven members were seated last night; Mrs. Swenson was on her way to a conference in Florida and Mr. Ford was not in attendance. Seven members seems to be a much more productive number; the BOE got more done in one night than I have seen in the last six to ten years.
Here is the big one! The BOE has approved a contract with Woodstock Academy- the vote was 5 to 2, with Mrs. Paul and Mr. Loftus voting NO and Mrs. Andrzeicik, Mr. Corden, Mr. Musumeci, Mrs. Rigney, and myself voting YES. The contract will soon be in the hands of Woodstock Academy to accept or reject it, the full BOE has voted on the contract and if the Academy Trustees vote yes we will have a contract.
We started discussions around the newest signed contract which happened to be Eastford’s and added a few things that I believe can be tolerated by the Academy. (I will go into detail in another post).
Mrs. Paul and Mr. Loftus kept trying to hold to the “Breen Party” line throughout the night, but the majority of members seem to be responding to the wishes of the town and moving to improving and concentrating on an education agenda, and away from a control agenda.
Also, we found money in our less than 0% increase budget to pay for sports so NO PAY FOR PLAY NEXT YEAR. This vote was again a large majority, either 5 or 6 Yes, with Mrs. Paul abstaining.
Dr. Baran asked the board to allow him to balance and transfer funds for yearend spending. With last year’s check register showing spending close to $300,000.00 on the last day of the fiscal year, the board was not comfortable allowing him to do this without knowledge of how the money would be spent. We have scheduled a special meeting on June 11th to approve or change Dr. Baran’s recommendations. Karen Monroe was asked to send a spreadsheet to all board members before the meeting. If anyone is interested in receiving the spreadsheet let me know and I will ask Mrs. Monroe to also send to townspeople.
The Art department gave a presentation on both schools art programs, and the board voiced strong support of art and ongoing art dept improvement. With such a tight budget I suggested townspeople look into a ‘friends of art group’ to enhance both visual and performing arts. My wife and I were part of a local art group 10 or more years ago, which had an agenda to raise money for art education, maybe we could do something like that as a town.
The health and wellness committee presented the findings of a study of how WPS is doing with health issues compared to a federal standard. We have only 1/3 of the recommended hours of physical education. This also shows up in the yearly Phys ED test as being a problem. They are many reasons for this, but now that it has been brought to the board’s attention I hope we look into it further.
Many other positive actions happened last night and I think a fresh start is already happening. It is just a shame that townspeople had to become frustrated to the point of reseating the board to get the BOE’s attention and accountability.
The take away on last night is accountability to the students and townspeople makes for a good BOE. We saw that 7 members is a better number and having to be reelected more often makes the members more aware and embracing of the wishes of the town.
The bottom line is: Please join me in voting YES on the referendum to improve Woodstock education, none of the above positive changes would have happened without this initiative and it will be a positive step in the right direction.
I thank all the members of the BOE for a meeting I was proud to be a part of last night.
We can have the best education system in Connecticut, money is nice but it is not what makes a good school. What makes a great school is the quality of the administration and the vision of the Board of Education. Woodstock has terrific teachers and we need to support them and encourage them to reach out and try new methods without fear of reprisal.
It is time for a fresh start, we as the BOE need to partner with the Academy and other sending towns to work together for our most valuable asset, our kids- away from control and on to education!
Thanks again and please vote YES on June 9th.
Steven Rosendahl
Steve, When I read this it brought back the same happy chills and sense of optimism I felt on November 4, 2008. Woodstock is a wonderful town and I am so happy to think that we will once again be making the children our first priority.
Well the hand writing is on the wall . We the people have to first vote yes for education and tranquility in Woodstock. We have to work very hard to replace the bad apples destroying the whole bunch. Bad apples- Mrs. Paul and Mr. Loftus. Mr. Ford would be better off writing fiction and horror books.
"Dr. Baran asked the board to allow him to balance and transfer funds for year end spending". I think there should be a way to replace him , he seems to be playing a shell game of his own ?
I wonder if he is planning to spend some money on the science lab Mr.Ford is so concerned about or maybe they are planning to create a lawn care and maintenance class?
Thank you Steven Rosendahl and Mrs. Rosendahl.
The Truth will set us free.