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Post by bagelmaker on Mar 7, 2008 14:54:22 GMT -5
Almost forgot, With new position established in central - no matte what the title, we still have to hire another AP at high school - don't we? Was this new position in last year's budget? Once again, we vote on a budget and then extra "positions" are added - where does the money come from and what new positions are they hiding in this year's budget?
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Post by 4thekids5 on Mar 7, 2008 17:00:29 GMT -5
Keeping the buses does make sense. Keeping our own buses gives us more control. We can keep our schools open in weather situations. We also have control of employees and the safety our children in the screening process. When you contract buses you can have anyone running the buses, we are also at the mercy of sharing the contract buses with other districts and a new person could be driving every day. Not knowing the bus run, never mind the children. Our drivers know our kids, know the issues some of them have and are always willing to do what needs to be done to get our kids to school and home safe. The buses are maintained and run by our drivers. They take care of their buses and know their buses. They are not abused by a constant turnover of drivers. We are also able to shop out for fuel and other maintenance items. We are also able to rent our buses out for a profit if another district needs when their contracted bus company cancels on a bad weather or because of the lack of attendance of their employees. I am not a driver nor am I related to one. I am just in Plainedge for ages and this question has been brought up since the 70's and the same response was given. Now that I am in my 70's I agree. You want the control of who is transporting your children. The other argument of why have buses at all - The schools could not handle the traffic of the dropping off and picking up in our very residential area. the buses alleviate that as well as transport the kids to sports. The fight is with the State funding on mandates, not why you have buses. Get the State to cover more of what they demand. Keep up the writing campaigns, be seen, be heard.
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Post by pedgeneeds on Mar 9, 2008 7:33:32 GMT -5
Same story every year.
When you ask about district salaries we are told " oh we are on par with like districts"
But when you ask about an issue like busing the answer is " oh we don't want to be like other districts"
Can not have it both ways!!!!
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Post by pedgeneeds on Mar 12, 2008 6:44:41 GMT -5
Great article in Newsday yesterday on back office functions for School Districts in Nassau. That is the track we need to be on. We need additional information, but right now it looks like a good plan
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dborg
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Post by dborg on Mar 27, 2008 10:08:35 GMT -5
Just a reminder...if you can attend there is a budget meeting tonight
PLAINEDGE BOARD OF EDUCATION Budget Workshop Thursday, March 27, 2008 7:00 PM Board Room
Agenda
Meeting Called to Order by President
I. Pledge of Allegiance
II. New Business a) Acceptance of Donation by Board
III. Budget Workshop a) Update of Expenditures b) Revenue Discussion c) Estimated Tax Levy Increase
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bette
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Post by bette on Apr 9, 2008 23:54:33 GMT -5
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Post by honebee on Apr 10, 2008 5:40:06 GMT -5
I am not in town so I can't be at the meeting, nor can I access this website. Can someone please post what transpires at the meeting tonight and what good things we have to look forward too. I could use some good news about the taxes for once.
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Post by Go Plainedge! on Apr 10, 2008 7:51:39 GMT -5
On the surface, it seems good, however (at the risk of sounding like a pessimist) it remains to be seen how much extra WE receive and how the extra money will be used.
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dborg
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Post by dborg on Apr 15, 2008 11:54:50 GMT -5
Posted on the school website this morning...
"At the April 10th Board of Education meeting the 2008-09 budget was adopted. This year's budget process began in November and for the past five months the administration and the Board have been working hard to develop a fiscally responsible budget that supports our current programs, and adds some important new programs and services to enhance our students’ educational experiences.
We believe that we have achieved our goal. Our budget-to-budget increase is 5.18%, which is one of the lowest expenditure increases in 8 years. On the revenue side, the district received a 12% increase in state aid. We thank Senator Kemp Hannon and Assemblyman Joseph Saladino, for their hard work in Albany, ensuring that Plainedge gets its fair share. As a result of our increase, we were able to reduce the tax burden on our residents. The increase in the tax levy is 3.31%, representing the lowest tax levy increase in the last 8 years, even lower than when the district was on contingency.
We are thrilled that this budget provides a nine period day for our high school students and additional clubs at the elementary, middle and high school. The budget also includes the expansion of the enrichment program into the sixth grade, as well as additional special education teachers. On the operations side, we were able to add a much needed custodian for Eastplain and a new school bus to replace one of our very old buses. In the next few days we will post our budget highlights and three part budget on this site. In addition, the district’s budget brochure will be sent home in early May, detailing the budget information. Please take the time to review these documents and please contact us if you have any questions."
In my own opinion, Kudos to the BOE and the administration for creating this budget...lowest numbers i have ever seen. However everyone still needs to remember to get out and vote on May 20th- As we all learned the hard way in this community --- there are no sure things....
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Post by supportstudents on May 3, 2008 20:26:28 GMT -5
Is there any word yet out on the streets about how the community feels about the budget. Seems to be a very fair # 5.18 also a very reasonable tax levy on par with all of our neighbors. The school disrict and BOE did a nice job on the flyer that was mailed home to everyone. The bigs signs were set up today and the lawn signs come in this week. What is everyone's feeling?
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Post by momma3 on May 4, 2008 19:02:14 GMT -5
The Board did an aswome job!!! We can only look ahead at the great things to come!!! Unfortunately there will always be someone who can find something to complain about, but this budget seems very fair to all. Hopefully this will pass by a mile.
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Post by 1plainedge on May 4, 2008 21:09:38 GMT -5
While we continue to battle back from our contingency bump in the road a few years ago this is a very very GOOD BUDGET NUMBER.
Programs and Sports are back where they need to be. Our state aid is back where we need it to be. Our tax Levy is LESS than the Nassau County average while we continue to play catch up on programs.
New tone and energy coming from our new Supy. GOOD NEWS ALL AROUND.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't assume anything. Keep pushing! Everyone has to come out! Keep the momentum going!
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Post by Go Plainedge! on May 5, 2008 22:43:51 GMT -5
Overall...not terrible. However, there are a few numbers that increased a lot and a few that seem a bit ambiguous that we never seem to get an explanation on.
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dborg
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Post by dborg on May 6, 2008 8:02:18 GMT -5
Go- if you compare our numbers with that of our neighbors we are right in line and in some cases LOWER. As reported in Newsday the other day, Wantagh is increasing by 7.75, Mass 6.26 and Island trees 5.53. When was the last time we could say that a Plainedge budget was actually LOWER than our neighboring communities? The administration did a great job this year with these numbers as we are still recovering from austerity. But again, there are no sure things, I hope no one sits back and expects their neighbors to vote yes and pass the budget, we all need to get out and vote YES for our kids. Remember a no vote, only hurts the community, cuts programs and taxes STILL GO UP. Lets be thankful that our local representatives, Saladino and Hannon, heard our voices and got us more state aid as that helped us all tremendously. In regards to Cathy and Pat, yes they are both running and as indicated on the school website and the budget newsletter they are running unopposed..the deadline has passed for any other candidates.
VOTE YES MAY 20th!
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Post by Go Plainedge! on May 6, 2008 20:39:23 GMT -5
I agree that this is the best budget that has been presented in YEARS!!!!
However, I always find certain numbers "curious" as the seem either arbitrary or ambiguous. For example:
Purchasing - $75,000.
This seems like fluff money. What purchasing are we talking about that isn't already categorized? It's been $75,000 for a few years now and the amount is too simple.
Occupational Education - $393,750. An increase of 53+%. This is in the programs section. What is this and why such an increase?
Psychological Services - $411,979 an increase of 38+% Social Work Services - $213,899
Whats the difference between the two?
Transfer to Other Funds - $185,000, an increase of $85,000. What are the "other funds" and what are they for. Is this a legal transfer approved by the board?
As I said...this is one of the best budgets in years. However, just because the bottom line is low in comparison to our neighbors (though a comparison can't/shouldn't be made as each district is unique in their revenues) doesn't mean we shouldn't question certain line items.
As far as the two BOE members running unopposed...that's too bad. It sort of defeats the purpose of electing BOE members. However, I completely understand why there's not anyone available as it's a tough role to take on and is very time consuming.
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