Post by Chris_Wendt on Jan 24, 2011 15:46:11 GMT -5
In the District, BOE, Budget, BAC area under the "THIS BOARD" Thread, contributor 'Wantagh4Life' posited:
It is important to set the record straight on the "Sports Bond". We (the BoE of which I was a member at the time) started out to replace an expired bond with debt service of $9.5 million. Doing the arcane bond math, we could have spent up to $13.5 million on a new bond and reached an equilibrium between state aid on the project and interest costs. We had a significant state-mandated facilities repair report to address, no usable track, no usable tennis courts, and a football field that was costing us upwards of $50k per year to maintain.
A bond committee was formed, and the citizens on the bond committee together with the Administration, ran-up the proposed bond total in excess of $22 Million. We really should have been between $9.5 and $13.5 million. So the BoE and the Administration went on a retreat at Danford's Inn in Port Jefferson and took the bond proposal apart and put it back together again. When the discussions broke off, we had come down from $22 Million to $16.5 Million, supported by 3 board members and the Superintendent, with two board members holding out for $14.6 Million.
The $16.5 Million bond went before the voters with active opposition from the two minority board members (myself included), and it was soundly defeated.
The Board reconvened, reduced the total bond propositions to $14.6 million, and we split the whole deal up into three (3) separate propositions to allow for the community to select any or all parts, or to reject any or all parts. As this was a true, fair compromise which met my conditions, I lent my support publicly to its passage, including the turf field and the gym, both of which I personally believed in.
The community, the voters of Wantagh, approved all three propositions, including the turf field and the gym. Any "blame" for the passage of that bond, those bond propositions, belongs to failure of whatever opposition there may have been to carry the day for their (your) point of view. The community had spoken and the school board went ahead and built those facilities so ordered by the voters.
That was an "Amen" ("So be it...") moment in Wantagh.
Okay, so now you want to eliminate sport teams? Say, the economics may be with you, now. If the budget fails, I think sports gets written-off the contingent budget, but that is not guaranteed.
It MUST BE RECOGNIZED that THE ENTIRE SPORTS BUDGET AMOUNTS TO ONLY 1% OF THE TOTAL DISTRICT BUDGET!!!
I played sports in all three seasons of all four of my high school years at Chaminade. I could not, in good conscience, personally favor or support any effort to curtail our sports program here in Wantagh.
Look someplace else to save 1% of the total budget money.
Food for thought.
With regards,
Chris Wendt
"... I was very outspoken...when the bond that allowed the district to install the turf field and build the second gym was proposed. I was against it, much to the chagrin of my neighbors. What were the results of their decision? A budget that spiked when it came time to start paying back the money that was borrowed, cut programs, and a year of austerity.... We needed to have the facilities, even if it meant dancing on the edge of not having the teams to play in / on them.
My point is simple. While the teachers and administrators need to face the harsh reality of Wantagh's current economic situation, so do the Board and community at large.
Would it be so bad to curtail some of the teams, activities, and programs? I don't think so. It might be a nice lesson in economics for the kids and their parents, that tough times necessitate sacrifices, that we don't get to have everything we desire when we can only afford what we need...." (End of Quote)
It is important to set the record straight on the "Sports Bond". We (the BoE of which I was a member at the time) started out to replace an expired bond with debt service of $9.5 million. Doing the arcane bond math, we could have spent up to $13.5 million on a new bond and reached an equilibrium between state aid on the project and interest costs. We had a significant state-mandated facilities repair report to address, no usable track, no usable tennis courts, and a football field that was costing us upwards of $50k per year to maintain.
A bond committee was formed, and the citizens on the bond committee together with the Administration, ran-up the proposed bond total in excess of $22 Million. We really should have been between $9.5 and $13.5 million. So the BoE and the Administration went on a retreat at Danford's Inn in Port Jefferson and took the bond proposal apart and put it back together again. When the discussions broke off, we had come down from $22 Million to $16.5 Million, supported by 3 board members and the Superintendent, with two board members holding out for $14.6 Million.
The $16.5 Million bond went before the voters with active opposition from the two minority board members (myself included), and it was soundly defeated.
The Board reconvened, reduced the total bond propositions to $14.6 million, and we split the whole deal up into three (3) separate propositions to allow for the community to select any or all parts, or to reject any or all parts. As this was a true, fair compromise which met my conditions, I lent my support publicly to its passage, including the turf field and the gym, both of which I personally believed in.
The community, the voters of Wantagh, approved all three propositions, including the turf field and the gym. Any "blame" for the passage of that bond, those bond propositions, belongs to failure of whatever opposition there may have been to carry the day for their (your) point of view. The community had spoken and the school board went ahead and built those facilities so ordered by the voters.
That was an "Amen" ("So be it...") moment in Wantagh.
Okay, so now you want to eliminate sport teams? Say, the economics may be with you, now. If the budget fails, I think sports gets written-off the contingent budget, but that is not guaranteed.
It MUST BE RECOGNIZED that THE ENTIRE SPORTS BUDGET AMOUNTS TO ONLY 1% OF THE TOTAL DISTRICT BUDGET!!!
I played sports in all three seasons of all four of my high school years at Chaminade. I could not, in good conscience, personally favor or support any effort to curtail our sports program here in Wantagh.
Look someplace else to save 1% of the total budget money.
Food for thought.
With regards,
Chris Wendt
