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Post by sally on May 28, 2008 12:39:51 GMT -5
I will get the exact number,so there can be no guessing.Give me time,I have to pick up the kids.
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Post by iteach on May 28, 2008 12:44:31 GMT -5
Lilly, I can see you put a lot of thought into your reaction and all I can say to all of it is RIGHT ON AND THANKS!I don't think I could have said it any better.
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Post by lilly on May 28, 2008 12:52:35 GMT -5
Lilly, I can see you put a lot of thought into your reaction and all I can say to all of it is RIGHT ON AND THANKS!I don't think I could have said it any better. Thanks iteach and forthekids. If my memory serves me correctly (always a potential problem), the cultural arts increase was to something like $13,400. I'm checking out of this board for a bit. I'm going to channel this anger into something productive like yanking every weed out of my garden.
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Post by sally on May 28, 2008 13:40:07 GMT -5
The line item on the budget is A2110.490-060001 The budget that was printed out and given to the BAC on 2-13-08 included the line item for BOCES-cultural arts year to date expense at 25,837 for 2 students.The BOE originally budgeted this line item at 25,838.Now the proposed 2008-2009 budget for this line was 27,905 which includes an increase of 2,067(8%) increase,therefore,the cost per student for the 08-09 year would be 13,952.50 per student. This fee would be in addition to 15,119 already in the cost per pupil if this would have continued. This equates to 29,071.50 cost per student in this program plus transportation cost:see below
Those are the numbers.I believe this year this program would have affected 6 children,not two.
Plus transportation cost for 2 students from this years budget,$5813.00 per student. The actual cost for 2 students this year including transportation was $18,732.00.
There is no additionaltransportation costs for the children who take tech courses at BOCES.
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Post by wantaghmom on May 28, 2008 14:45:34 GMT -5
My child is one of the 6 children (possibly now down to 5) that will not be able to attend the cultural arts high school due to elimination of funds. What upsets me most is that these students are being deprived of a stepping stone to college with possible scholarships. In the last graduating class each student from the cultural arts HS was the recipient of on average a $90K college scholarship. Based on scholastic abilities my child will not receive any aid for college however getting the expertise from a cultural arts school her talents will be recognized and hopefully rewarded. Quoting Lilly:"Most people appreciate the arts yet don't understand that in order for our creatively gifted kids to make it as their trade/vocation in this world (theatre, music, dance, art), those kids need this program as much as sports & extracurriculars are needed for college applications and the plumbing, cosmetology and medical/dental assistant training kids, that this budget offers". This school is a vehicle that would benefit my child, I would not be able to obtain the services this school has to offer on my own. It was very difficult for me to vote in favor of this budget knowing that something that benefits my child wasn't even in it, but I did so because I didn't want more pain to come to more children. The sad part is that if all the affected cultural arts kids went to guidance tomorrow and said they wanted to be welders, cosmetologists etc the funds would be there.
Lilly: thank you for expressing in words your feelings about many issues which I too share but would not have the ability to phrase as well as you did. Thank you!
forthekids: not sure if not mentioning the cultural kids was an oversight by the BOE last night when they returned from their back door meeting. When I attended one of the BOE meetings Dr. Begley gave a slide presentation on the Wantagh School District. One of the slides mentioned cultural arts, she passed right over that bullet. I should have asked her then why she omitted it but I didn't, my mistake. I don't think it's a topic they like to discuss.
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Post by taxed2death on May 28, 2008 15:21:12 GMT -5
Lilly has brought up some very good points, which were on a lot of people’s minds. I value the sports teams, and both school teams and community teams are the center of this community. However it was difficult to have any discussion beyond the sports issue when that is the focus of the majority in the room. I also believe that the other clubs, activities, and cultural arts programs are important to those kids that are not as athletic. The mission statement on the website speaks to each individual student, not those that are loudest and should be kept in mind when all decisions are made. I absolutely do not want to go on austerity, however a revote of the same vote undermines the voting process and doesn’t demonstrate to the community that the board is listening to over half the voters that voted against the 8% tax increase. Personally, I’m afraid of this vote because I do not want to go on austerity, however the room didn’t reflect the views of those in the community that voted no, and the budget has not been adjusted (to the point of “Iteach – If it had just gone down a ½ percent”) to demonstrate that they are listening to all voters. Yes, its time to look at administrative positions and contracts so that the community feels that it’s not just a one way street. I hope that we move on and pass the budget this year, but also listen to all voters as we move forward so that we are not in this situation again.
Something for all to be reminded of: Mission Statement Wantagh High School will maintain a supportive environment which encourages all students to develop a positive self-image through the mastery of those educational outcomes best suited to their individual goals and potential. Family, school and community will join together to meet students' educational needs as well as providing the skills needed to meet the continuing challenge of life-long learning and responsible citizenship in our rapidly changing society
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Post by concernedcitizen on May 28, 2008 15:42:01 GMT -5
The budget defeat certainly was instrumental in getting a great many people together in our community to be passionate about our kids and schools. I hope it spurs people into becoming more involved. I was so impressed with all the students who spoke and yes, many were athletes, but many spoke of their support for extra curricular activities as well. I can't believe anyone would put down these fine young people As stated by LILY
Everyone's voices were not heard last night. Our most vocal students were our sports students. If sports participation fosters teamwork and community spirit, how come not one of those athletes spoke about the importance of a budget that is inclusive of their classmates - all our kids, like our creative kids? Just by listening to these kids speak you could see the leadership qualities they possess which I'm sure was learned through Wantagh athletic activities. Any and all students were welcome to speak about their feelings. Please don't put down the ones that were there. As for me, I don't think Wantagh wants a budget where any existing services for our students be cut whether it be Mathletes, the newspaper, honor society, sports etc. As a community we should not accept budgets that cut services for our kids. I think that message was heard last night. People need to be involved in the BAC so that the needs of all are met.
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Post by lilly on May 28, 2008 15:54:35 GMT -5
concernedparent, I would never dream of putting down *any* student in our district - that is not what I'm about at all. Those kids were great - and I greatly appreciate their presence at the meeting. However, I was calling attention to a rather obvious omission on theirs as well as others in the room though.
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Post by ourkids on May 28, 2008 16:22:40 GMT -5
lilly - After reading your comments, i felt the same way as concernedcitizen. You could see how nervous those students were when they came up to the microphone to speak to a room that was filled to capacity. Many that spoke were athletes, but also spoke of the many other school activities that would be lost if we went on austerity. Those students were there because they care about each other. They do not want to see their classmates lose the things they love to do in school. I was SO proud of them!
At this point we have a revote. Let's try to come together as a community and do what's right for ALL children. We should continue to ask questions about ways to fundraise for all activities that were removed from the budget. In addition let's start today ane become INVOLVED. Our letter writing campaign to our representatives needs to be organized. Each month a different school should be responsible for writing letters. Letters from students would go a long way. It sounds like a great learning activity. In addition school PTA's, Booster Club and Band Wagon could take a month and have all their participants write letters. Let's vote YES for our kids this year and start to work right away as a community for a 2009 budget that is clearly understood!
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Post by parentinwantagh on May 28, 2008 16:50:14 GMT -5
I think we all agree that we want the best for our children. The 2008 budget is already what it is, lets ALL work together so the lack of knowledge regarding the budget doesn't happen for 2009. This is a link for another message board so we could all work together and do what we can as a community for our schools. Let's share as many ideas as we can come up with. wantaghsd.proboards66.com/index.cgi?board=general&action=display&thread=46
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Post by ourkids on May 28, 2008 17:05:27 GMT -5
parentinwantagh - I am with you 100%. Supporting the budget=supporting all our students. But the time to act for 2009 is now. Please go to link parentinwantagh mentioned and let's share ideas. we can accomplish a great deal before school opens in September. If anyone has any information regarding fundraising possiblities for the cultural arts students, please pass it along.. Together we can and will make a huge difference!
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Post by ourkids on May 28, 2008 18:10:51 GMT -5
Does anyone know the total amount needed to cover the costs of the Cultural arts that was cut from the budget? A few numbers have been stated, but I'm still unlcear. How many students are involved and the total cost is the information I am looking for at this time. Thanks.
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Post by annemarie on May 28, 2008 19:14:33 GMT -5
Forgive my ignorance if this was already addressed, but does anyone know the superintendent's or assistant super's salary and, for that matter, if and how much it will be increased this year? I have heard people address this topic but received no answers in return. I believe everyone deserves recognition for a job well done; unfortunately, times are hard now. Both my husband and I were unable to get pay raises this year, but yet gas prices, oil and heating have gone through the roof. Just wondering if they are getting a raise and if they are accepting it or are they "giving it back so the kids can benefit". It's all about the kids ... right?
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Post by parentinwantagh on May 28, 2008 21:59:36 GMT -5
I would like to share with everyone some information I received (straight) from Mr. Christie regarding the re-vote. But first I would like to say that Mr. Christie was more then willing to answer any and all of my questions with direct, straight forward answers, which I appreciate immensely.
The bottom line is that the re-vote is going to cost us money. As far as 6:30pm tonight they do not have a final amount (it appears to be somewhere around $10,000+ when all is said and done) nor do they know exactly where they are going to get the money for the re-vote. It is my understanding that Mr. Christie is going to have to do some research as to where we possibly have extra funds, which as I understand it, we don't have much if any. An example as to where money could come from is, (again this is just an EXAMPLE as to where the money could come from so please don't quote me)- lets say that a certain amount of money was allocated for transportation and we did not use all of the $$ then we would use the left over money to put toward the re-vote. Again this is just an example. As I understand it, it is going to be very tight as to where the money comes from since we do not have a cushion to fall back on for unforeseen issues such as a re-vote.
I must say I was very impressed with Mr. Christie's dedication and straight forward answers. He allowed me to ask any questions I felt necessary as well as share my concerns. He listened and then addressed each question and or concern. I was also impressed with the fact that he spent a little over an hour with me on the phone helping me understand why money is being allocated in different ways.
As I said to Mr. Christie, speaking with him was an eye opening experience. I definitely have a better understanding of where my money is going, although I may not like the increase at least I understand it. Maybe he should be the one we speak to when we have questions instead of dancing with Dr. B. (Don't get me wrong Dr. B. appears to be a nice guy and is a great politician, but I feel he doesn't give a straight answers - he dances around the questions.)
I suggest that if anyone has any questions to contact Mr. Christie themselves (he did want me to share that if anyone would like to contact him please do so and to please be aware that he will be out of the office on business next week, but to leave a message with his secretary and he will call you back.)
As I am now better educated as to what is happening with our money (and to tell the truth I had been trying to get educated well before the budget vote, but didn't get either straight answers or they didn't satisfy my concerns) I am truly concerned about Mr. Cucci's comments coming back to bit him. He had said several times at different meetings that "under no circumstances would we have a re-vote". That was a powerful statement and many people wondered why he would say such a thing. Was he so confident the budget would pass, was it to scare us or was it a threat? For what ever reason, I just hope he will be able to gain the trust back from this community because I am hearing "how do we trust a board that goes back on their word, whether it is best for the children or not"?
BTW, another piece of information that I think many of us wanted to know is when is the State starting their audit, well I was told that the first interview with the State will begin tomorrow.
I hope this helps answer some questions.
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Post by sally on May 29, 2008 7:06:05 GMT -5
To Parentinwantagh,I am glad you spoke directly to Mr.Christie,the man is patient and is willing to listen and give his expertise,some of the comments on this BLOG are just that comments without any credence.So going to the source is smart...As far as the board decision for a re-vote,I applaud it.As a board they reserve the right for a re-vote and amongstS the board themselves they vote on these issues.It is not one sole persons determination as stated in the forum,"WE HAVE COME OUT AS ONE UNIFIED BOARD", I also thank the board for letting us in on their decision by having the 2 forums where we were able to get up and speak.....These are our liberties as Americans that especially in today's world should not be taken for granted. As I stood on the parade route at the Memorial Day Parade, I heard the calls for a re-vote and I and many others are glad they listened...
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