Comments on: School officials talk budget with parents, urge attendance at town meeting

By: mike

mike — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:18:49 +0000

So maybe Sue, and I know you are busy on all of this, you and the school committe as well as Mr. Gobron should speak with the wonderful unions and tell them they are most certainly going to loose positions and if they dont budge they are going to further damage the little ones they claim to care so much about – bull, I dont buy it. And, our selectmen should do the same with the town unions. Everything has to be cut folks, it is not a sustainable model. No one has the money to pay for the way the false system was built the past 20 years. It was all on borrowed money no one really had including us. It was all built on a fiat system – which by the way is crumbling more each day. The nanny state can not and will not survive because you can only print money for so long before it buys nothing – including all the services no one whats to cut.. See the price of cereal increasing every month . It most certainly is not going to get any better. And as far as the library goes come on what are you willing to cut Sue. I have not heard one suggestion only supporting the status quo – or collecting a few pennies on overdue movies or books. I know you mean well but the best intentions have come to naught. Of course Kim is wonderful at the library and does so much to foster reading. But that is your job as your childrens mother and my job as my childs Dad, not a public libraries. It is interesting so many got peeved at that term nanny state. perhaps it hit close to home and rubbed a sore spot with some?

By: Sue Grinblatas

Sue Grinblatas — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:37:25 +0000

The children assigned to a given classroom constitute the number of children per class. When that class of children moves to the Art Room for art class, it’s the same number of children, i.e., 20-24, with one teacher. When they go to the library, it’s the same number of children, with one teacher. When they go to music class, it’s the same number of children with one teacher. The school nurse takes care of all of the children in a given school. If one cares to count every adult with any student contact in determining student/teacher ratios, s/he will come up with a number far less than the number of actual children in a given classroom. If you wish to count the legion of volunteers in every classroom, you can bring that ratio number down even further. But the fact is (that’s right, fact) that there are currently between 19 and 24 kids in the K-8 classrooms per classroom teacher, and the proposed budget by the School Committee of a 3.63% increase in $ will raise that ratio by laying off 6 teachers. The Advisory Committee would raise those layoffs to 16 teachers (with 0% increase in overall budget) or 24 teachers (with a 3% cut in budget).

By: John Boiardi

John Boiardi — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:05:18 +0000

Do your FACTS include teachers that do not have assigned classrooms such as gym, art ,music, or any other teachers that splits time between schools?

By: mike

mike — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:22:35 +0000

I hope more people are reading this than just the 5 or 6 who are contributing. All raises and all benefits should not only be froze – teachers, unions and town workers – but the benefits in particular – thoughout every town agency and schools (how about the state and federal as well) should be cut. I now contribute 33.4% of my families annual health care costs per month. That equates to $4350 out of $13,000 to insure my family on BC/BS Anthem. then we pay $10 for a wellness visit – once a year, $20 for cold and flu appointments, and $40 for specailist like PT Physical therapy. So my son who has to go to PT twice a week for six months we end up paying like this. Docotr bills $181, BC/BS approves $80 and our co pay is $40. BC/BS only ends up paying half. Great plan huh? Do the stinkin teachers town employees unions people have that? i pay into my 40lK plan, I buy my companies stocks there is no so called retirement. I think the towns is a bit more than that dont you? And I am funding it it does not come from some abstract foreign bank. For what, to collect taxes, stare at a PC screen, check the dried flowers at the cemetery and make sure the cars have a sticker at the dump? to pay for the towns ambulance chaser to hire an outside firm to assess our house values so that there is no one in town held respoinsible? Just some outside source. Come on folks if they can’t bend lets collectively fire them and start over. ithink there were 5 PHd’s that could teach at a get together last night. And let me add I have been in the same profession – selling telecom gear for 20 years, highly educated, and someone teaching first and second grades benefits are better than mine? I appreciate what the teachers do. They are by and large fantastic but they as a group have to understand at this point that there is trouble brewing for them. Or someone God Bless them who drives a truck for the towns are better? have we really dumbed down our society that the average federal employee now makes $81K to sit at a deska nd harrass us?. People at Massport took $100k in vacation unused. that bull has been gone for 20 years in the private sector. hard choices need to be made. I dont want anyone fired or furloughed but I say it is time to throw everyone out as the constitution states. It is tyrnaical.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:29:47 +0000

We should offer vouchers.
Choice is a very good thing.
Competition in the “educational marketplace” can be nothing but positive.

By: Kate

Kate — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:07:54 +0000

Mike & Heather,

Our Districts don’t offer school choice, but have you considered Charter Schools? A number of Northborough and Southborough students have moved to charters after 5th grade – they’re public schools, any Massachusetts student can apply, and they’ve had pretty good results. I’ve found the Special Education services impressive, & the math instruction at AMSA has been excellent.

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 12:58:17 +0000

Vouchers. Sign me up.

By: John Boiardi

John Boiardi — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 22:07:50 +0000

Marty,

Why does everyone tap dance around the real drivers of the school budget increases? The drivers are the 3% contract increase, the existing step and lane increases and the increased health care costs. The town pays 90% and the teachers pay 10%. Other departments (such as the fire dept.) pay 80/20 which the teachers did not agree to. If you want to hold the school budget in line you can not do it by cutting books, pencils, etc. It is true that state aid, such as SPED and transportation aid is being cut, but these are essentually revenue to the budgets per se while teacher salaries are costs. When we talk about bringing the budget in line with tax dollars all we hear about is the revenue side (state aid) and not enough about the cost side (primary driver salaries).

By: AS

AS — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:37:16 +0000

Has there been any discussion about the school budget not paying for student transportation costs and bill parents directly for all students (regular school and special needs). Parents can choose to use the buses or drive their kids to school. There can be a sliding scale as the number of kids in the school system goes up for a household.

Beyond all great points made about no raises for teachers, other opportunities to cut waste etc…this is probably a more “fair” way to make up the shortfall in the school budget. I know a number of towns do this (e.g. Lexington).

Just an idea!!

By: mikefuce@juno.com

mikefuce@juno.com — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:21:24 +0000

Sorry for the typos, the crackberry is not working well and the stinkin guy next to me at the airport wont stop talking to me – ahhh. Kind of makes me sick to hear all the state this, federal that, town this, all non producing entites threatening to take and keep more of my dollars. Did you happen to notice the common thread? Government entities? Unions? Did you all ever think to fire them all and start over – are you really that scared of the big bad union boys? Thugs – I’m not, come on over. Are your school silos so important to you? State mandated funds, state mandated arts, federally mandated grants, funding to get their foot in the door and pull out two years later. You know how it works. Some politician, laywer, making back room deals. Why? Jobs, laywers, polticians, special needs, technology, et… Bull, these kids cant even pass MCAS tests without being taken out of class and coached on how to take the tests. This was a nice town 15 years ago when we moved from another nice town called Wayland and Stow who are broke now and are worse off than ever. But, everyone from everywhere else (NY) and (Midwest) came here with the same big government needs and wants. Ever think what is going to happen when EMC and Fidelity pack up all you VP’s? What happens if the dow hits 5000 next year? Hhave you seen the price of gold? Not going down you money exchangers. I bet the plans are in the works – did you know that? Better sell now non-townies while you can. A real solution is to close all government and town owned buildings and sell all non essential real estate in town. We keep three schools, one fire and one police station. Get rid of the stinkin library – it is a dinasour, artrs building, fayville properties – get them off the books. Move the town hall to half of one of the schools (if some stupid law states we cant put a huge metal wall down the middle. Get rid of all the people there who are predominantly sitting on their hands and staring at the computer screen everytime I go in. i love the people but hate the institution and waste. Fire every stinkin union and union employee and all there retirement and health benefits. Let me tell you about mine and we can see if it matches – not. Why do we need them? Why do you need them? they have destroyed every private enterprise they have got their hands into in the last 50 years.. Not the workers, but the unions. And if the big tough guys – dont want to make consessions dont give in. If our kids have 25, 30, 40 kids in a class and a teacher cant do it then they can leave there are alot of folks looking for work. Give the parents vouchers to go to a school that works. But there are alot of stay at home moms and dads who would be glad to assist and make $10 and hour part time. My oldest child would love to help. She would probably work for $7.50 and hour. My two oldest kids are more factual and scientific then 3/4 of the teachers we have. I am not blaming them but they are ignorant and can not support half the theories they purport in the class room each day. All this modern day psyco babble coming through everyone is ridiculous. Why does every dog gone building need computers and internet? For what the rot of Facebook, bullying, porn? It is ruining your kids and you know it. First it was the library for the seniors and the underpriveledged, then it was the schools, then it was this and that and it is too big now to support folks. you have a PC, teach your kdis. and if your neighbor doesnt reach out and help them. My kid know it as well as i do because I taught them. Why do books cost $100 when i can buy them on amazon for $10. I will let you guess, idiots in the education system (in bed with the publishers) make the decisions and they put garbage in the books that is neither science or factual – not to mention the modern day social mantra coming from the lefties that is destroying their minds with muck. I have one sitting on my desk that is not going back to our school becasue it is filled with lies and manipulation by more leftist liberal flunkies with a chip on their shoulder and want to take more and more of what I earn in the public sector and put it in their SILO – hint: trade carbon credits. Do southborough parents and tax payers have the back bone to step up and say no to them? Do I think so? No I dont, I dont know many who actually have back bone. but I do still have hope – not obama hope but hope that good people can make good decisions. Or again are the majority too concerned with loosing day care and the chance to get into some second rate college teaching the same muck? I mean really, do you really think your kid is going to Harvard or Princton? Fat chance, nice to wish, but thats like thinking one of our lilly white kdis will play in the NBA.