Today's Independent has a front page article on this blog and the budget. Please buy the paper or read the article at http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?BRD=248&dept_id=462341&newsid=18872836&PAG=461&rfi=9
Please forward the link to anyone who might be interested.
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5 comments:
Congratulations to the initiator of this blog as well as Emialia Teasdale for taking it public. This is a vital issue for our community and information needs to be available.
It would be a shame if this issue is decided by a tiny minority of the tax paying school community. It will impact us all for many years to come and should be thorougly understood by those who will vote yea or nay.
At some point, politicians and school districts will have to recognize the fact that the method of school financing (not just this capital project) must be removed from the backs of homeowners.
I own 1.21 acres and will pay over $2,000.00 in school taxes this year. I have no children. A family with 3 children, renting an apartment or trailer, for example, will in effect, pay no school taxes, yet demand more and more services for me to pay for. This must end.
The system must be changed to a local income tax system that ALL residents pay to support the schools.
Alan Besterman
If you truly believe that renters are not passed along increases for such things as taxes, fuel prices etc. through the rent they pay landlords....you are not thinking this issue through thoroughly.
Having survived the 28 year battle for new construction in the Taconic Hills School District, I have great sympathy for the home owners of the Chatham district, since I am now one. The THSD vote went down every time it was brought up between the years 1972 and 1998. The discussions and reasons were troubling because the taxpayers were not held in much regard by those fighting for the bonding of the new site. The initial bonding had a state reimbursement rate of 85% in the beginning, then dropped to 35%, yet the bond votes for a new building kept coming up in intervals. Anyone opposed to the building project was labled as hating children. The battles were fierce. Each vote went down anyway. The only reason THCS got a new building was because the state offered them the 85%+ incentive again to build. This time the building vote went through. Questar room received over 90% state aid. The cost to the taxpayers was in some cases less than 15% and was reduced by refinancing during the good old days of falling interest rates. After the vote went through, which it should at that price, Taconic Hills Central School District went from a New york State Class C school to a Class B school. During those years, the battles were so fierce that friends parted company. Chatham is paying 50% of the building costs in a period of uncertain interest rates and extremely uncertain economic times.
Superintendents of schools often came to THCS to have a building constructed, therefore establishing a reputation on a state level for getting the impossible done and moving down river to a larger school district where the money was considerably higher and cultural atmosphere more sophisticated. When the bond vote went down to defeat, the superintendent would find a new job soon.Chatham has seen several superintendents go on to better jobs after running the district though several years of power management and power politics. Many board members never really saw it coming until it was too late.
This is a game to many, a game of one upsmanship in some cases and a misguided belief that education only goes one in new buildings. A building never makes for a quality education. Good parents, administrators, teachers and students do! In the Independent a Board of Education member stated that there were teachers who did not have their own classroom, and that hurt the quality of education in our district. It would be nice to assure all teachers (middle and high school) in the district that the community wanted them to have a room to use exclusively, but that is not always possible. Sharing a room may bring teachers together, often for the benefit of the districts children.
Another curious fact is that the same architectural firm designed THCS, as well as others in the area. They have a pretty good success rate of having new buildings pop up and renovations to older building occur, using very professional graphics and sophisticated sales strategies.
I will vote NO until our educators, including the board that is responsible to the taxpayers for oversight of budget and personnel, convince the lawmakers to pay 85% of the building costs for the district taxpayers as a sign of respect for those people trying to survive with limited resources.
School taxes will go up anyway because of normal spending, and yes, renters pay in the form of increases passed on by landlords. We all pay because of an antiquated system of school finances that no one is willing or able to fix.
As this discussion continues, may we continue to be civil to one another and search for the real motivations and truths to be found here. After all, if the district is in such disrepair and in need of fixing, a smaller amount of money could certainly be suggested to the voters for their consideration. $47,000,000 is an incredible amount to spend, especially after the Middle School has already been completed.
Once again, Taconic Hills spent $48,000,000 for a building to house K-12, plus a theater, 3 gyms, an office wing for administration, a large, new library, a community gathering room, etc. and got 85% or more funded by the state of New York. And, by the by, some teachers still have to share their classroom space with other teachers. Administrators, call your Legislators tomorrow.
Barry
The school district has posted information about the proposed project on its website (www.chathamcentralschools.com). There is a Q&A, a facilities needs summary, and an architect's summary of the proposed project to date. This site will be continuously updated as the project is refined by the board and will serve as a primary source of accurate and objective information about the proposed project, its edcational benefits, and its costs. COME TO THE BOARD WORKSHOP ON OCTOBER 9, 6:30 pm.
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