6/26/08 BOE Contingency Meeting

[Wantagh Parent]

Please post summaries and impressions in this thread.

[Wantagh Parent]

Compromise and concessions.

$1,783k total reduction

$238k fuel increases
$1,545k contingency reduction

Contractual Concessions $59k
Super raise freezes
No conferences
District legal retainer & att'y fees
District photog

Re-Deployment of Resource $99k
Increased teaching/classroom duties from supervisors and dept chairs

Budget Reductions $1,300k
Central Office admin clerical
2 Clericals MS
2 Clericals HS
5 Monitors from MS and HS
All late buses (including private & parochial)
Treasurer and Deputy Treasure stipends
Interscholastic Sports
Intramurals
Athletic Trainer
Extracurricular activities
Teaching Staff (4.0 elementary, 1.3 HS, 1.6 MS/HS from supv and dept chairs increasing teaching)

State Mandated Cuts $325k
PR
Capital Transfer (in-house construction projects over & above everyday maintenacne)
Equipment (Technology first year plan of back-up servers, staff computers, SmartBoards and LCD projectors, maintenance vehicles, lawnmowers and vacuums)

[Wantagh Parent]

Continued...

Funded is:
Fall Varsity - 12 teams
Winter Varsity - 1 team
Spring Varsity - 2 teams
Total Varsity Funded is $302k

Most Honor Societies

Unfunded is:
Winter Varsity - 9 teams
Spring Varsity - 7 teams
All JV except Bowling
Clubs and activities like Sports Night
Elementary before school orchestra, band and chorus
All Elementary clubs

[jdelisa]

here's a copy of a copy of the full 11 page document:

wantaghsportsboosterclub.org/062608ContingencyBudget.pdf

[lilly]

sportsbooster, you rock - the entire pdf already?

Good coverage on News12 and Newsday tomorrow. Great job WantaghSOS, we will need the help.

We still have a LOT of work to do in terms of fundraising.

[jdjrp]

I attended the BOE mtg last night and plan to go to the rally tonight. Many great points were made about getting involved, fundraising, etc and I plan to make a more concerted effort at being involved in as many mtgs as possible. I also think the comment about going to Albany and making calls to local politicians would be very useful. If we all rallied together and pleaded the same case for Wantagh, eventually someone is bound to listen. Lastly, a comment was made about better communication to those parents who are unable/unwilling to attend PTA, 6-12 Assos., BOE, etc. and I hope that this too can be considered. Including myself, many parents work full-time and come home wanting not only to be there for their children but occupied with several activites, carpooling, and just day to day family life and are not able to attend. I realize it is not an excuse but they deserve to have a voice as well.

[thebigpicture]

First the good news- The contingency budget is completed, and "acceptable" all things concidered. Fall varsity sports were retained, winter and spring took a hit. The good thing is that this gives us time to raise the needed funds to get them back. Had they cut fall sports we would be too short on time to raise funds. Clubs all took direct hits, but we can fund each club sepatately, and the dollar amount for each club is spelled out. The arts can also be funded if we raise more money.
The bad news - That teachers lost their jobs, and the STUDENTS are the BIG losers.

I feel that the BOE does not have their finger on the pulse of this community and that all of this could have been avoided. If you look n the first page of the handout from last nights meeting, (see previous post) we saved $99k from "re-deployment of resouces" this cost nothing, and if this was done in the first budget, we wouldn't have had to combine middle school sports- and i'm sure the first budget would have passed, with $18k to spare, not including the $10k spent on a re-vote. Had they "re-deployed resources" prior to the second budget vote, and cut the budget $99k i'm sure it too would have passed. Either way we, and our kids, would have been in a better place then we are now. When asked why the second budget was not tweaked, the responce was, "if we did, you would have thought that we lied about the first budget being as lean as it could be", the crowd responded loudly in disbelief. The BOE has lost a lot of credability with statements like that and "there will be no re-vote". we will respect the "will of the people". But that is all water under the bridge now. I was very happy to see a packed houe at the meeting. Wantagh is a great community with great kids and parents. This is not the end of the world, nor are our home values going to tank after a failed budget, as some would have you believe. This is our time to show all who are watching, and there are many, that nothing will stop Wantagh, we are Warriors and we will win this fight! The BOE president also accnowledged that a State audit is underway and that that the findings will be public in September. We will see........

[sally]

Thanks for your comments thebigpicture,I am glad it it over and as a community we can continue on and we have alot of work ahead of us.I do not agree with all your comments though,but I will respect them none the less.I,this is my opinion,I believe the first budget was a good one,could there have been concessions,yes,but that is Tuesday morning quarterbacking.What I feel to see is that people don't realize or remember that our BOE are community members as well as the rest of us.They pay their taxes and do a job without pay.So comments sometimes are not warranted and they are all very good members of our community.It might look like an easy job,but when things are good it is thankless,and when things are tough it is really a difficult place to be.Do you realize that their own children were sitting in that forum last night.I am very glad we are having an audit and I am also confident that all the findings will be posted for all to see.Then this great community can move forward with the confidence we have always had.I have respect for all in this community that work with our children as volunteers.Lets work together in the years to come as many of us already do on the BAC,myself included,and you will see thebigpicture.Thank You To All The Good People of Wantagh

[lilly]

bigpicture, I agree with your comments completely except you are missing the cultural arts cut. With the administrative and dept. chair concessions, we could have funded both middle school sports and cultural arts with some leftover. I also think that with more of the type of thinking produced by the BOE in this contingency budget, they could have taken it down another fraction of a percentage point, making a yes revote a win win for all.

We (actually BOE and admin with the community) really need to do a better job of listening. We all could probably do a better job of listening to each other between us. The contingency budget presented last night is a step in the right direction there.

I also agree with jdrp, that the voices of those who cannot attend PTA and BOE meetings must be heard, not assumed. Same for the members of our community who no longer have children in the district. As for myself, I had several situations which prevented me from attending meetings (working full time, young kids, etc.) up until the past year+ but I have always been involved, supportive and interested in my kids' education and what goes on in the district. I feel I have always have done what I can and I do assume the same about others who are as vested in their kids as I am (and I have *hundreds and hundreds* of dollars of Sally Foster wrapping paper in my closet over the years to show that type of different support - you do what you can, however you can).

And the district needs to do a much better job at communicating to ALL from the comprehensive info in budgets to what's going on. The old ways of communicating don't work anymore in today's time-pressed society. If it's about my kids' education, I want facts not perceptions. We can proactively act on facts, but only argue about perceptions.

sally, I've said before and will say it again. Yup, a BOE position is an unpaid, time-consuming thankless volunteer position. Take care of yourself.

We've got a TON of work to do. We better get real busy and put our $ where our mouths are.

[wantaghmom1]

There are no winners when a school district goes on austerity - I imagine even those who voted "no" for the budget and still feel strongly about their decision, are wishing the kids did not have to suffer with the consequences of the contingency budget.

I would like to add one point - not only on this thread, but also in the article in Newsday (and since I did not see News 12 I cannot comment about their coverage), it has been pointed out that several teachers lost their jobs. I am familiar with these teachers and they certainly are a very bright, enthusiastic, and wonderful group of educators and it is really a shame that our school district will be losing them. BUT if you go back and read the handout from last night (also cut and pasted to this thread), several clerical and monitor positions have also been elminiated. In most cases. these employees are your neighbors who are struggling with the high cost of living in Wantagh (not just with school taxes, but with oil and gas prices, etc.). They are truly connected to this town since their children have gone through the system, Let's acknowledge EVERYONE who has been affected by the austerity budget, rather than singling out specific groups. Thank you for listening.....

[forthekids]

The question of community PR and communication was touched upon briefly by Dr. Bonuso last night. He mentioned that the district is trying to look at different ways of getting the word out there of all the good things going on in the district and getting information out to people that cannot attend meetings. The district has to look no further then it's website. While I know that they are currently looking at updating the format of the website to make it more assessable and readable. There really isn't any reason that it should be in the state that it is in. There is outdated information everywhere on the site. One of the elementary schools has grade highlights from 2005 and another has a 2000-2001 Parent Handbook listed on it. These school sites are the perfect tool to get information out in a timely and cost effective way. They are also the perfect way to show parents what is happening in their child's schools. Look at almost any other district website and you will know more about what is happening in their districts then you probably know about yours. Even today, and I apologize if I missed it, but the handout from last nights meeting should have been on the website as an attachment so everyone who couldn't attend could get the correct information and not rely on information from neighbors. I hope that Dr. Bonuso follows up on what he said last night and the school principals will be more involved in getting the word out there on all the things happening in their schools. We always hear about the bad how about hearing about the good.

[ProudWP]

forthekids, your point about the need for better communication is an excellent one. Last night, I heard several people who voted "no" say that they would have voted differently if they had known some of the things that they learned at the meeting. One example of the effect of a lack of communication is the way that many people reacted to the Board's decision to put up the same budget a second time. I've attended many, many PTA meetings over the years, where I learned that the rationale for having only one budget and one vote is to maintain the credibility of the budget that is put forth. I happen to appreciate this logic, and applaud the Board and Administration for respecting the intelligence of the Wantagh community and having the courage to take this stand (which I see as an implicit rejection of the bogus "two-budget/two-vote" system that operates in so many other districts). However, for those who didn't know the "why" behind the Board's action, the move was perceived as reflecting pure arrogance on the part of its members. (I believe the word used by the gentleman who wrote a letter to the editor of Newsday was "audacity.") So, I agree wholeheartedly that something must be done to facilitate the exchange of information. I understand the Board's frustration with the relative lack of active participation on the BAC. However, I don't think joining the BAC should be the ONLY way for members of the community to become informed (not only about the good things happening, but about the difficult decisions being made, as well). There must be a means of communication that is BROADER (i.e., reaches a larger audience) and MORE ACCESSIBLE in these busy times we live in, and I think the Website is a perfect medium, as has been suggested. Perhaps the BAC and BOE can publish the minutes of its meetings, so community members can see exactly what was discussed (and not have to rely on a secondary source who may or may not convey all sides of an issue). This would really help everyone understand the kinds of issues the Board has to grapple with, and would increase community input beyond that provided by the members of the BAC.

[forthekids]

ProudWP. The district had actually started posting the BOE minutes in March and then for some reason starting in April it dropped off. The BAC had their last meeting in March but the chairman had no problem with the meeting minutes being posted on the website going forward for next year. The last thread in this section of the message board has the BAC Report to the BOE for the 2008-2009 Budget

Both the BAC and the BOE meeting minutes should be on the website, as well as the contingency handout from the other night. I will check with the clerk on Monday as to the status. It is important that people have the correct information and "not have to rely on a secondary source who may or may not convey all sides of an issue" as you said. It is then up to the indivual to agree with or disagree with what has taken place.

[gottaluvwantagh]

proudWP - I don't know where you heard about the "Board's frustration with the lack of participation on the BAC". That is just not true. For 8-9 long meetings, 25 people(myself included) from the Wantagh Community sat and looked at the budget, offering concrete suggestions on where to cut and advising the Board that the tax rate was too high and asking them to do something about it. Before the Board even presented the budget to the community, the BAC already had a pulse on the matter and let the Board know its feelings. As you know, the Board chose not to listen.
There was plenty of representation of the community. Each of these representatives came from employees, senior citizens, PTAs, the 6-12 committee and other interested parties of the community. So, I take offense that you heard the Board say that there was a lack of participation!

[lilly]

ProudWP, what an odd comment for the BOE to make about BAC participation.

I think we need to move ahead taking the best of what has been done and evolve, incorporating new thinking. 'That's the way we've always done it' doesn't make sense anymore.