The Coffee Hour

[Go Plainedge!]

Did anyone here have an opportunity to attend this tonight? Unfortunately, I had a late night and was unable to attend.

Please share any information that you have.

[concerned]

Hi GoPlainedge-I didn't go either. I had my calendar marked and planned on it since I heard about it. People may be upset with me because I've been active on this board but I purposely chose not to go. You know why? Spending time tonight with my child was worth more than going to listen to the same old rhetoric. I've been more than vocal for many years now. I thought to myself, "why should I have to go and argue the same points again about wanting honest and upfront, easy-to-understand numbers." I don't need more rhetoric about why they can't keep costs down. I want to see them tighten their belts the way I have to each time I get my revised mortgage payment due to the taxes. I want to see them come up with a way to get voters out to the polls. I felt like the meeting itself was a great idea, but it's time for some others to speak up.

You know what I saw when I drove by after around 8:30? An entire parking lot packed with cars and the streets surrounding the school as well. So, the good news is that people finally got out of their houses and showed up. I can't wait to hear what happened and to any of you who are on this forum or read this forum and attended the meeting, I thank you for going and probably saying the same thing many of us have been saying for years. They need to hear it from others as opposed to the people they may have labeled the "big mouths" in the neighborhood.

Their jobs are not easy - no doubt about it. Let's hope that we can all work together and make some real changes.

[elphaba65]

Concerned:

Spending time tonight with my child was worth more than going to listen to the same old rhetoric

Sorry you did not get to go th the meeting last night, I felt it gave the community a legitimate forum to voice their concerns,questions and give suggestions to the budget problems here in Plainedge. I hope Dr. Richman and BOE will implement some of the suggestions.

There were two sisters that I thought spoke very well of how eliminating a program effects some child. Their concern was Sprint, another elementary school parent was concerned about trips, there was talk of the kids missing out in either sports or clubs at the middle school and high school .

The gal who was involved in fund raising for the sports stated that it was illegal for them to do that again so next year if sports was not in the budget they didn't know what could be done.

A man got up to speak Dean? somebody who also spoke very well and said how we as a comminity need to realize that all of our kids should be able to partticipate in activites as well as having a great education and we need to get that message out.

Dr. Richman stated that there was no way that they could put back in the 2006-2007 budget all the things that we did not have this year. People talked of the different reasons they felt the budget did not pass but there were no magic solutions. Most people said that there were to many negative factions in the community. One gentleman stated that the BOE should inflate the budget so they can cut some money. I myself would rather true numbers than to think the people I elected are liars. There were ideas thrown out on how to get people to come out to vote,however Dr. Richamn said that our turnout however low was very high for a budget vote.

There was a gentleman named Mr. Foley who said he voted no and he has grandchildren in the schools. He read excerpts from the audits for his justification of why he voted no. Dr. Richman offered him the opportunity to meet with him and go over his audit questions and questions regarding the budget but he declined the invitation. It seems to me that some people will always find a reason to vote no.

A women in the back of the room suggested closing the library and using that money. I believe she started a petition.

There were about 70 people there, two people stated they voted no, seems to me oor voting machines must have been broken if this is a fair representaion of the community.

Last night the community had the opportunity to let Dr. Richman and the BOE know their feelings. I was very disheartened that not all BOE members were present to hear our concerns and ideas. Mrs. Flanagan was there with her three little kids however Ralph Raymond was absent ( did I see him at any cofffe hours last year?) I also asked a BOE member if the newly appointed Board member was there and he was not. I hope that he will come to future coffee hours after all he will be a part of making the decisions on this years budget.

[Go Plainedge!]

Elpha:

Thanks for updating us. I really wish I could have been there.

There is part of me that agrees with you and there is a part of me that agrees with concerned. I agree that people really need to be more involved and outspoken (in an adult manner) with the district budget. However, (me personally) I have seen this dog and pony show so many times from this "team" that it starts to truly be come rhetoric.

In my opinion, the budget didn't pass for two very clear reasons....1) The same budget was submitted twice, 2) it wasn't a sound budget which contained too many mathematical errors.

I am very sad to learn that out BOE wasn't in attendance. They have known about this for quite some time now. I will give credit to Kathy Flanagan for attending. I am about as big of a fan of hers as you are of Ralph Raymond....lol but will give credit when it's due. I am disappointed that our acting president and vice president didn't make an appearance - unless you just didn't mention them.

I think more people didn't come forward to admit voting no due to fear and I'm not saying that I think they should but I can understand why they didn't state how they voted.

I am torn with this administration. On one hand, I think it's important to make suggestions and state your opinions, otherwise, nothing will change. However, how many times can you get shot down or told "you are too close-minded" (as I've been told ). It's like a baby constantly being slapped on the wrist after doing something wrong. Eventually he stops.

So again, going forward, I'm not sure what the best solution is. Do I think that the administration is capable of inflating the first budget to ultimately cut it back and get what they want for the second voting? ABSOLUTLEY! Do I want them to do that? NO? It would mean (as you stated) that they are liars and who wants that?

Thanks again for your update! I appreciate you taking the time to let us know what happened.

[elphaba65]

Go Plainedge said:

There is part of me that agrees with you and there is a part of me that agrees with concerned. I agree that people really need to be more involved and outspoken (in an adult manner) with the district budget. However, (me personally) I have seen this dog and pony show so many times from this "team" that it starts to truly be come rhetoric.

I understand what you are saying about the dog and pony show yet I can not entirely agree. As I have stated before, I have been here for many years, my youngest graduates this year so I have seen several superintendents and many school board members. I guess what sticks in my mind are the black shirts and the hatred between the teachers and three of the board members. Dr. Richman may be arrogant at times however he has enabled the teaching staff to bring the education of our children to where it is today. For those members of the school board who have really worked to bring about change it must be very frustrating to them to get beat up at every meeting. Perhaps the high budgets in the past several years have to do with curriculum being neglected for many years. One of my neighbors is a former teacher in the district and claims that curriculum in this district was not addressed between 1990 and the time Dr. Richman became superintendent. My only future stake in Plainedge is my home, I do not want to see our education go backwards, I would like, no love, to remain at the top.

In my opinion, the budget didn't pass for two very clear reasons....1) The same budget was submitted twice, 2) it wasn't a sound budget which contained too many mathematical errors.

This was also brought up by several people, all with different ideas. It seems that the people who attended the budget meetings last year were in full support of the same budget being presented. There was one women who stated that all the people who pleaded with the school board to put forth the same budget and promised to get it passed were at fault. Not all those people kept their promise, in the end I think she said that if they turned just 70 no votes to yes the budget would have passed. Yes, there were some mathamatical errors, were they intentional, I think not. For some reason it is easier for this community to believe deceit rather than an honest mistake.

I am very sad to learn that out BOE wasn't in attendance.

I guess I didn't phrase it correctly the only missing members were Ralph Raymong and Frank Presuto.

I will give credit to Kathy Flanagan for attending. I am about as big of a fan of hers as you are of Ralph Raymond....lol but will give credit when it's due

I believe that Cathy has the commitment, she has a lot at stake. I don't personally know her however she will be around for a long time, look at the ages of her kids. As you say I'm not a big Ralph Raymond fan, when I hear him talk at a public meeting and then listen to him elsewhere it seems his beliefs change according to who he is talking to. It reminds me to much of former Board members who would say and do anything to get themselves re-elected. I don't care if someone has a different opinion than me, I can't think of anyone I agree with all the time, but at least stand by your beliefs and don't keep,changing them according to who your're talking to.

I'm sure I have not stated everything that was said at the meeting but if I think of anything else I will let you know.

[elphaba65]

Did anyone go to last's night's meeting?

[concerned]

Elphaba65-Thank you very much for your detailed notes! All I meant to say was that I have continually shared my concerns in person, at meetings, through e-mails. It is time for others to take a stance. It seemed like the overall turnout was great.

I am going to start a new thread. I caught a very interesting segment on NEWS12 this morning in their "FOCUS" series about the salaries of admin. in school districts and some points Tom Suozzi is making to consolidate business managers by region rather than by school district to shave some money off our tax bills. This series will air all week....

Again, thanks for your notes. I'll be around again at meetings, but I just don't think I could listen to it all again.

One important question....why would it be illegal for them to raise the sports monies again? Just curious. I have continued to state my concern is that the admin. will expect them to do it again since they were able to pull it off this year.

[reddevil]

"A women in the back of the room suggested closing the library and using that money. I believe she started a petition."

This lady needs to have here head examined. As far as our little community is concerned, the library is the closest thing we have to a community center as were going to get. Yes it doesn't have some of the niceties of the Farmingdale library, but where not going to be able to use the High Schools library to entertain our pre-schoolers. If you don't care for the library, change it - join the library board. Get involved in the community with solutions. Anyone can point to problems, coming up with solutions is the hard part!

[justfacts]

Just in case some didn't see it on the School Site - here's info about the new Coffee Hour.
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COMMUNITY COFFEE HOUR SET FOR JANUARY 5TH
Superintendent
Last Spring, the several hundred people that turned out to our budget hearings expressed a deep interest in launching a campaign to get more state aid to Plainedge; thus, reducing the extreme tax impact upon our residents. Well, it is time to come forward and step up!

The purpose of this meeting is to formulate a strategy, establish the needed leadership and teams, and develop a timeline of activities.

Who should attend: all parents, all senior citizens, all residents!!! This campaign can NOT be run by 25-50 people; it requires the entire community's commitment and involvement: letter writing and phone calls - beginning in January and continuing through March.

It is NOW OR NEVER!!!

Become part of the solution - be there at West Elementary on Thursday, January 5th at 7:00 PM

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Remember however, "Become part of the Solution" really means but one solution out of many. The solution sought by this method has been used by Nassau and Suffolk for a couple of decades. It has not been productive to date.

The "Gimme more money" solution will only work if the Nassau County Schools prove they can make the best use of the money they are already getting. Our record of doing that is very poor with the key people in Albany who control the distribution of State money.

It's the plain simple truth that the power people in Albany are already splitting up a fixed amount of State funds to the Districts they already favor - and not giving the Long Island area an equitable share.

Those Districts now getting the lion's share of the money are not about to give it up and will fight a political battle to keep what they now get. Letter writing campaigns will not be anywhere as effective in getting more money to Long Island as pure naked political power changes will be.

To really change things, the Island has to change the political power division in Albany.

The only other avenue to "get mo' money" is via new taxes and other sources of new revenue. Just how productive would that be?

It's an uphill battle to "get mo' money" for our schools from Albany - but that should not preclude our starting the effort. Let's just hope that all the Superintendents rally together and direct the public's efforts into actions that have the greatest chance of winning the battle. Letter writing campaigns and phone calls have historically proven themselves to be not that effective.

Collectively, the School Districts just in Nassau County are a $4 Billion dollar a year industry. It's time that the Superintendents of the individual Districts work together to realize they have to run tight fiscal ships - and work as a unified body supporting the political might of Long Island. They are no longer individual Captains of their own ship!

[concerned]

JustFacts and Everyone-It was a great meeting tonight. A super turn out again and Dr. Richman did a fine job of explaining where we stood with our need to campaign. Joe Bruno, our Assemblyman, was also there who let us know what he is doing in Albany for us along with Sen. Hannon, etc. Be assured, the meeting articulated that there are various levels addressing the issues you mentioned that require fixing. Tom Suozzi and his team are beginning the talks about the tax structure. Rich Mallow explained a committee he and Loretta are on to address issues of the taxes. Dr. Richman discussed ways other bodies are addressing issues on a state level and then everyone came back to what we could each individually do to contribute to the letter writing campaign. People offered good ideas, asked good questions, and seemed to rally together to support this effort.

Please come to the next meeting. I think this campaign needs to be combined with the campaign to increase voter turnout while we are at it.

Concerned