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Post by dotherightthing1 on May 29, 2008 9:52:05 GMT -5
I must have been on the opposite side of the street during the parade. I heard from community members that the school tax is too high and they don't feel the schools are as great as the BOE and admin. wants you to believe. The fact that the BOE is going forward with a re-vote without having the money speaks volumes. And by the way, no one on these blogs should take any comment as fact, no matter who writes it. While Mr. Christie is a good source of info. remember he is a member of the school administration.
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Post by lilly on May 29, 2008 10:22:02 GMT -5
Thank you to those who took the time to read my long post for hearing me out. Let's just say maybe I needed a double extended "time-out" to cool off.
sally, I'm not "going there" with prioritizing affordability "on the backs of our kids" (gotta love the way twinlaker phrased that) for certain kids versus others because then we can talk about putting a price tag on the heads of the triple sport, 12 club high school kids that were allowed to speak at those budget hearings or correct perceptions about all those "$150k+ IEP kids". It's unproductive, unethical and unfair to those kids. I'd rather have fact-based discussions and steer away from perceptions anyway. If there is anything I said in my long post that used incorrect facts, please let me know.
ourkids, thank you so much for asking about fundraising for the cultural arts kids. You have no idea how much that meant to me and helped with my cooling off.
Questions have been asked of the district where things stand. Hopefully, we'll hear back today. I'll post here and on the 'solutions and going forward' thread when I learn more.
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Post by parentinwantagh on May 29, 2008 15:30:08 GMT -5
dotherightthing1, LOL thank you for making me laugh. "I must have been on the opposite side of the street during the parade." I have to say I didn't hear anyone crying out for a re-vote either.
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Post by sally on May 29, 2008 15:34:14 GMT -5
Parentinwantagh,I never found kids and education a funny subject,but maybe you do.In life people do stand on different sides of the street,but is that so bad,no its called a difference of opinions and views.You can have your opinions and I have mine,but be respectful like I am of yours.
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Post by parentinwantagh on May 29, 2008 15:59:25 GMT -5
Sally do you feel better now? Yes I do find children funny, I am sorry you don't. It appears that you possibly are taking my LOL and trying to twist it in some way. Just as I did you last comment regarding children and education.
Maybe you missed what I found amusing. As I was walking rather close to the board and Dr. B in the parade I did not hear anything regarding re-vote.
It appears to me that if you are writing on this board and have not stated that you are for the budget then people are rather testy. It is almost as though this vote is dividing this community rather then bringing us together. If we are such a close community then why do some people feel as though they need to stand on the other side of the street?
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Post by sally on May 29, 2008 16:08:45 GMT -5
I am fine,thanks.
We are all trying to accomplish the best for the kids,a difference of opinion is healthy,but lets keep it respectful...Thats all.
I hope we can all come together.
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Post by parentinwantagh on May 29, 2008 16:13:16 GMT -5
Can you please explain how me laughing at a comment is disrespectful? Does that mean I should find it disrespectful when people write to vote yes?
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Post by sally on May 29, 2008 16:17:56 GMT -5
Words or phrases can be taken out of context. An no,everyone has the right to their own opinion.Have a nice night,and lets get back to our common goal,that is doing what we feel is the right thing for kids and the community ,however you vote.Thats your choice.
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Post by parentinwantagh on May 29, 2008 16:33:11 GMT -5
:)See we can agree! Have a great night!
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Post by planman78 on May 30, 2008 7:19:42 GMT -5
To All I've been quiet for a while reading these boards and reading everyones comments. I to was at the parade and did in-fact hear people ask for a re-vote.I kind of take exception to this comment " While Mr. Christie is a good source of info. remember he is a member of the school administration" Having been a member of the BAC I've had the opportunity to speak to Mr. Christie. This is his first year at Wantagh and he seems to be a straight shooter when it comes to numbers. It sounds like you are saying its us vs. them. If you have the time make an appointment and sit down with Mr Christie and ask your questions. Once again I hate to repeat this but join the BAC . The books and numbers are there for you to see. Also if you dont want to join stop in and ask for a copy of the budget. He also states that Wantagh budget is very lean and if a sudden spike occurs in the budget theres no additional money to pay for it. Don't forget he's living off of last years budget when oil was 2 dollars a gallon, etc. There was also a comment about where is this money coming from, as everyone knows in their own budgets, if we pay more for an expense say for oil and gas we have to cut back somewhere else. There are specific guidelines on how budget transfers are utilized. As per the NYS Budget handbook www.emsc.nysed.gov/mgtserv/budget.htmTransfers to be made between contingent expenditure codes. Transfers to be made from a non-contingent expenditure code to a contingent expenditure code. This regulation does not allow Transfers to be made from contingent expenditure codes to non-contingent expenditure codes. Transfers to be made between non-contingent expenditure codes. So does he have to look for this money -Yes Will it affect another budget line - Yes My opinion only- I don't believe that Wantagh Budget is hiding mass amounts of dollars in its budgets. I go back to the per pupil spending which indicates Wantagh at the bottom. If this is a "flawed" analysis please let me know. As always I enjoy reading everyones comments as I am open to hearing what everyone has to say. I think whether you agree or disagree with someones comments we all have the best interests of our community and children at heart. However I would like it to be civil and as I did above if you are going to use someones name or make a comment state this is my opinion or belief. Thanks for listening
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Post by dotherightthing1 on May 30, 2008 7:30:43 GMT -5
It is a statement of fact that Mr. Christie is a member of the administration. I agree that he is a good source of info. for the numbers. I was told that the BOE had no idea that the initial budget presented to the BAC was up over 14%. This was the highest initial budget that I have seen in my many years on BAC.
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Post by planman78 on May 30, 2008 8:28:14 GMT -5
True the first budget presented to the BAC was 14%. I also have a copy of it, and historically the budgets presented at the BAC meetings always start out higher then finally adopted. As in all formulations of budgets you need a starting point. Then the budget then went through the process and finally came down to 7.75%. As per my point from my last comment, there doesn't appear to be mass amounts of extra money in this budget.
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Post by lilly on May 30, 2008 12:27:13 GMT -5
planman, you raise good points. Provocative ones. I'll definitely respond later.
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Post by iteach on May 30, 2008 17:45:31 GMT -5
planman78 - I agree with what you have to say. While I believe that the Board has no "extra" money in the budget, I feel that to make it a palatable budget at a reasonable tax rate and giving all of our students what they need, then indeed cuts, both from the teacher end and the extra curriculur should have been cut. Again, this budget, as is, and hence the tax increase, are just too much, in my opinion, for this district to handle.
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Post by planman78 on May 30, 2008 19:08:38 GMT -5
iteach I respect your opinion that the budget is high. The Extra curricular line in the budget is about $228,000. I also believe that 6 elementary ed staff teachers were excessed due to declining enrollment in the schools. Someone also on this board said that our class size population is one of the highest which to me means that we have less teachers therefore creating a higher pupil to teacher ratio. I looked at the Newsday section on schools and it shows Wantagh at a 15.4 student to teacher ratio. I also tried to look at all the other district and I couldn't find one higher than ours. So the question is what teacher population do we reduce? Would a total reduction of the extra curricular line which includes the school newspapers, all of the National honor societies, clubs and others be sufficent to pass this budget?
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