Letter Coming To School Boards

[Mummy]

Full-day Kindergarten is the most recent "large" ticket item which has been approved during a MAJOR recession!  Personally, I am not for Full-day Kindergarten but I am upset that this school board would approved such a "large" ticket item during THESE TIMES!  Regardless of it being $70,000 (which it will be next year) or $40,000 (because there was a savings found in the budget this year!)   This is unacceptable during these times.

As a tax payer I AM INFORMED.  I am  a responsible home owner, stay current with information and have managed hundred-thousand dollar budgets in work related field.  I feel that in these times  BFA Fairfax school CAN and SHOULD be held accountable for a TIGHTER school budget.  If this School Board respects the residents of Fairfax, they too will call upon their staff to tighten up and become creative.  The benefit will be to all residents, staff and please Gov. Douglas.  Tighten up now and the school  and community will benefit by protecting the current jobs that they have now.

AT NO COST TO THE CHILDREN or EDUCATION - NO COST AT ALL!  It can be done:)

[Henry]

An interested party sent me the following note in the interest of making sure everyone is fully informed:

"Hi Henry,
I called Neale Lunderville to get some info on the Letter to School Boards. They sent me two pdfs (enclosed). If you want them on the forum, here they are:"

http://www.vtgrandpa.com/newsclips/Memo to School Boards 01 20 09.pdf

http://www.vtgrandpa.com/newsclips/Education_White_Paper_1-8-09_FINAL_vF.pdf

[CJB]

Loctavious

I think you have adopted a great perspective - "constructive and supportive".  I think that is a great approach compared to the con - being critical of those who volunteer their time to make the difficult decisions yet not contributing to solutions. 

[mirjo]

QUESTION: Do city/town budgets get scrutinized and complained about as much as school budgets do? Or do people in general just accept that what a city or town does for them is mostly acceptable and frugally spent??


Is the amount of the school tax a direct correlation to the school budget? When school budgets are not passed (as we often see in the area) does this mean the revised lower budget=lower property taxes?

[Loctavious]

Can't answer all thsoe questions ( if indeed they're meant to be answered lol) but as for the last one:

 "When school budgets are not passed (as we often see in the area) does this mean the revised lower budget=lower property taxes?"

I know that Milton has been through this in recent years. Knowing soem folsk from Milton - i can tell you that just because the initial budget proposal is denied and then a lower one accepted - this didn't and may not necessarily on any other basis equate to a lower property tax.

In negotiations, you usually go higher than you want, expecting the othe rparty to counter with a lower number automatically ( that's just the nature of the act).  Thus i have to wonder if taxes are based on the lowest figure needed to operate.  thus if they get a higher figure, they're more stabile and able to absorb wobbles.  The tighter the budget, the more difficult plastic, or less flexible the situation becomes.

[cedarman]

School spending is always a difficult issue.  I do not envy those administrators who have to handle the job.  We all hate spending anything more than we have to, and I can appreciate people who do not have kids in school wanting to cut everything possible to reduce cost.  
I don't have kids in school, but I DO understand that sometimes, cuts now DO cost far more in the future than is saved now.  I believe when it comes to spending, the overall value of the purchased item must be taken into consideration.  I don't always buy the highest quality (or most expensive tools or other items), but when it comes to something I'm going to use frequently, I have learned that spending a little more now DOES save more down the road.  It is not always the $$ value that is saved either.  Sometimes, it's things you can't place a dollar value on (like ripping your knuckles open on a project because a low cost tool breaks).

The education our (in the society sense) kids receive now WILL impact the quality of our lives later.  When ALL of the information about decisions being made is presented, it is far easier to be supportive of the decisions being made, even if it means an extra $100 a year in taxes.

I would really like to see us getting more educational value from the time kids are in school.  Several studies have shown that students learn more over the course of several years in school if they do NOT have long summer breaks.  Teachers spend months reviewing material that was taught the year before.  That is time that is lost and could be spent teaching MORE, or freeing up more time to teach the same amount of material better.

I would like to see schools in session year round.  It could still be the same number of days per year, just more week long breaks spread throughout the year.  Less time  off to forget stuff.   How many penny pinchers out there are against their students giving up the traditional 2 1/2 month summer vacation???

[Chris Santee]

Fairfax Board of School Directors
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
SPECIAL MEETING at 6:00pm
Fairfax Community Library

AGENDA

1. Call to Order

2. FY2010 Budget Reconsideration – Action

3. Approve Revised Legal Warning (if needed) – Action

4. Adjourn

[Scott Lang]

A little more clarification from BFA.  The board will hold a special meeting Wednesday night.  The administrators have put together a scoffolded and prioritized list of where more cuts could come and what the result will be for the board's consideration - thanks Chris for posting the agenda.  At this point, any cuts begin to infringe on what progress we have been trying to make - that is, we will go into a "put off to next year" mode.  Since we are in better shape than some other schools, we can probably do that.  Someone asked about the impact of budget increases and decreases on the tax rate.  Without conducting a workshop on that topic here is a simplified version.  The property tax is a statewide tax based on a statewide grand list and the sums of budgets across the state.  This is to level the playing field in terms of school funding.  The kicker in Fairfax ( and some other places as well) is the Common Level of Appraisal  which values similar homes in various parts of the state the same.  The CLA will have probably more impact than any budget increase.  So, there is not a one to one correspondence between budgets and taxes.  Also, the revenue generated by the property tax is only one of the revenue sources for schools.  There are federal and state grants, tuition for students from sending towns, special education funds and so forth.  One example of how a budget might go up significantly with not much if any effect on tax rates would be a student who needs residential support moving into a small town.  The student's tuition for that residential setting might be $100,000.  That cost will be offset for the most part be a revenue through special education funding.  The school spending plan has to include the cost for the student, so it looks like the local budget is going up a great deal, when in fact, there is a fair amount of flow through revenue.  I hope that helps.  Feel free to call me if you'd like a more thorough explanation.  I think I can say with the confidence of being part of this community in one way or another for over twenty years, that we are all working toward the best possible education at the most reasonable costs.  I believe you will find in per pupil costs that we have delivered on that.
Scott Lang, BFA High School Principal

[mirjo]

Thanks Scott for the tax explanation, have heard it a dozen times, but it's always a mystery! I guess my confusion here with budgets is I am not getting the connection of the actual school tax portion and how it relates to the school budget. If the tax rate is driven more by CLA than anything else then, I don't get all the fuss quite honestly. Not to say schools shouldn't be judicious, however...if  tax bills aren't going to change significantly or at all if a school's budget goes up or down in a given year, why do people feel the need to argue over it every year?

I feel as though I have over simplified this or have seriously missed a point. I don't know--I will certainly try to attend the budget meeting next week to try to clarify things. I know BFA has a comparatively low per pupil cost and generally does a responsible job with the school budget in my opinion.

Overall, I think school issues are difficult for everyone to understand. The educational requirements, state and federal mandates, etc. that have to be adhered to, for students, teachers and such are not common knowledge. It's easy to be critical not knowing what's really behind closed doors.

I know there is the belief that teachers live on easy steet with a short work day, several vacations a year and summers off, but the reality is a bit different (I'm not a teacher, but have friends & relatives who are). Assignments do not simply appear and papers are not graded with free-floating magic pens--much of this work is done at home and can take plenty of time.

Teachers are also available to students and parents via various forms of communication--email, phone call, or 1:1, there are staff meetings, committees with meeting agendas (like most other jobs). Plus there are some teachers who do things at the school...chaperone dances, work concession stands  or sell tickets at games. Many teachers hold summer jobs.

There is also the continuing education...teacher are required to take classes to maintain continuing education credits. This is done t their own expense usually in the summer, but whenever it can fit into individual schedules.

There isn't a lot of flopping on the couch and forgetting about work after a long day. It's not that kind of job. I realize this was waaaayy off the orignal subject matter of this entire topic, but I wanted to make the point that Ed in general is largely misunderstood, because it is entirely paid for with public funds and we all have an opinion regardless of what we know or don't know.

This is not to say I necessarily agree with all the budget issues, there are definately two sides with valid points. Everyone who can should attend the budget meeting and ask a lot of questions to get the answers that are needed for an informed decision.

[katrinaantonovich]

I just wanted to say thanks to mirjo for the comments about teachers, it is great to hear from a non teacher! Kudos.

[Carolyn Branagan]

I told Armando early in December that the state tax rate would be about the same as last year's. Legislative leaders were  hampered at that time because the Commissioner of Taxes had not made his recommendation as required by law. Since then, he has made his recommendation, and today the House passed a bill written by the Ways and Means Committee to lower the statewide Residential property tax for schools to 86 cents and lower the statewide Non-residential property tax for schools to $1.35 . We debated a long time in Ways and Means about the possibility of lowering each tax one more cent, but the money is  literally not there in the Ed Fund. If state revenues come in better in the next few months, then the legislature can easily lower these rates some more. In the meantime, the school board has solid figures to work with in preparing the budget for town meeting, and the figures are one cent lower than the numbers I gave Armando in December.

Rep. Carolyn Branagan

[ohhman]

I also do not agree with a full day kindergarten being added to our school budget for a few many of the reasons already discussed and maybe it is time we tax payers, rather than complaining about it, should show up at a few meetings, especially TOWN MEETING, and voice our opinion AND vote the budget down as many of us simply cannot afford any more!  Don't  say we're hurting the kids, give them the best we can, how can we not say yes, when so many people are unemployed & barely making ends meet now!  I was at a meeting & have talked to some much more involved than I and sometimes I wonder if we are always told the whole truth!  I've heard from supporters that long term it will help our kids; how many long term studies have been done in this area of a full day program?  What do we consider "long term"....isn't that many years of study?!   What about the studies that show kids will do just as well IF they're given the extras as they get into 1st, 2nd, 3rd grades.  I feel our EXTENDED day program we already have is plenty!  Our success by six program does a wonderful job offering the "social aspects" that was one reason for a full day program. Full day will include lunch, recess, social time.......much what home & daycare does at less cost to the tax payers without young children. Parents who opt out of full day can pick up their child & it was said the child would not miss out on any academics as they would be done in the AM when kids learn better to begin with.  How will that parent pick up when they are @ work? Doesn't this seem like a glorified daycare?  As a parent & someone whom has worked with children over 30 years, and especially as kindergarten is still not mandated, I feel a program such as this would NOT be money well spent!

[cestreet]

3Plus - I think you will see very well-attended School Board meetings and Town Meeting Day, and much of the discussion will be around the full-day kindergarten issue.  I fundamentally (and respectfully) disagree with your opinion about this, and I will be there to ensure that my views are represented.  I have been thinking about this a lot recently, and doing some research.  I have come to believe that this is largely a question of personal philosophy, and that in the end, whatever is decided will be fine.  I commend the School Board for their efforts, and I hope people recognize the difficulty and weightiness of the decisions they will be charged with in these hard times.   See you Wednesday!

Clarice Streets

[hcargill]

This is my first post and I have been reading these posts and listening to the controversy surrounding this topic since it started.  Before anyone questions, yes I do have a son that will be attending Kindergarten next year.  I am not writing this as a parent right now.  I am writing this as a professional.  I am an OT that works in the school setting all over Franklin and Grand Isle County.  Over the last 3 years I have gotten less referrals for fine motor development, social skills, self regulation, and other early intervention issues.  Why you ask, I truly believe that it is in part due to full day kindergarten.  With full day kindergarten they will get to explore and actually enjoy their kindergarten day vs having to rush through what is now required by the FEDERAL government.  I also work with many kindergarten teachers and they have to cover a lot of material in a short amount of time with partial day however now with full day the kids are able to play and learn!  Is that not what Kindergarten is suppose to be all about??  Yes I have not worked with kids for 30 years however I do work with A LOT of kids every day.  I know that everyone has their own opinion on this matter however if you feel that strongly about something write your name! Stand up for what you truly believe in.  This is a tough time for everyone however if you think that you are the only one with financial difficulty look again!  I feel that academics and our childrens right to a GREAT education should never take a back seat.  OUR KIDS ARE OUR FUTURE!

Thanks Hannah Cargill 

[mirjo]

Unfortunately, this is one of those situations where no one is necessarily right. There is research that both supports and refutes the benefits of full-day kindergarten.

Proponents are going to find the studies that support it and opponents are going to find the studies that do not. It's like all of the medical research on what is good or bad for you, it changes regularly.

It does seem that educators  are largely in favor of  a full day for various reasons that can be backed by the research supporting their side. On the flip side, it seems mostly parents with children entering kindergarten or those questioning the budget who are in opposition.

I don't happen to be either. I have read the research in support of full-day kindergarten as well as the opposing perspective. I am aware of the curricular expectations, puported time crunch, and frustrations of the teachers who feel the pressure.

I think what needs to be looked at here is not the research about whether or not a full-day is better or not, because clearly, there is no way to tell. But to look at how the time is being used. The added 2 and a half hours to the day are only going to net about 45 minutes of instructional time after specials, lunch, recess and quiet time. Perhaps the 'specials' (music, art, PE, and libray) need to be reevaluated a little.

Considering a great deal of music and art work happens in a kindergarten class  already, perhaps those particular classes could be suspended until first grade in favor of the needed time. Cutting out things that might be unnecessary is not something that is readily heard. It does seem possible to rework things a little bit to get the added time the teachers need, keep the kindergarten class as it is, which allows for the students needing extra help to get it in the afternoon.

This is definately an emotional issue and maybe the best way to handle it is to consider making suggestions that will ease the time crunch, but not add to the budget. any creative thinkers out there?