We were touched by a mother who stepped before the Board, with baby in tow, to tell the Board how she will not be able to give her child an Oyster River education because she had been laid off and would have to sell her house as a result. Others expressed concerns surrounding the District's bidding process, planned restructuring and raises for the central office administration. We asked questions about the Board's process to assure fair and prudent spending as well as for greater justification for the proposed warrant articles. One gentleman pointed out how our per pupil spending will be close to $20,000 per pupil; a figure comparable to many college tuition rates.
Indeed, we live in tough economic times, yet does the Board really understand the financial impacts our community faces? Is the Board truly spending every dollar wisely? Are the District priorities clear? Again, what do we value and how should we best spend our tax dollars in order to give our children an education that prepares them well for the future?
As we look in the upcoming School Board election, let's ask our School Board candidates how they would do things differently. How will they strive for greater accountability, communication and transparency? How will they strive toward academic excellence in our District?
Please share your ideas and concerns. I hope that this blog will become a useful forum to help all of us become educated on the issues and familiar with the candidates prior to the March 10th election.
In the spirit of wanting greater accountability, transparency and communication, I have requested, twice, that the Board provide the meeting minutes and voting records related to our Superintendent and Business Administrator's contracts that were ratified by the Board Chair on Dec. 10th and Dec. 3rd respectively.
ReplyDeleteI could not locate the meeting minutes describing the Board deliberation and voting records for the aforementioned contracts on the ORCSD web site. I am concerned about the validity of these contracts as well as how the Board can justify substantantial pay increases and term extensions (3 years) in light of the current economic environment and other District spending priorities.
I believe we, as residents and tax payers, need to know how the board voted on these contracts. I hope the Board will provid this information sooner than later as it is our right to know.
Thanks for this post, Megan, and for keeping us updated.
ReplyDeleteI am concerned about our allocation of resources at this time. We are all feeling squeezed, and there is a lot of uncertainty.
I would like to see our school funding go to services that directly affect the children of our district. That said, I think it is important that we have enough teachers so that the classes remain small and that there is enough support in the classroom for teachers (especially at the elementary level).
There has been talk about raises at the administrative level. I am sure these raises were discussed and decided upon months ago. I just think it is a shame, however, because perhaps some teachers jobs could have been saved. Further, there have been several examples in the press lately of management doing the right thing and initiating pay freezes. For example, I believe this has happened recently in Boston, and then our new president, on his first day in office, instituted pay freezes on all those, earning over $100k, who work in his administration. It is too bad that we could not have had the foresight to set a similar example.
As an aside, I read an interview yesterday with our new Secretary of Education, talking about where the money, ear-marked for education, from the stimulus package should go. He talked about the need to provide American children with the skills to make them globally competitive and wanting to raise American achievement in "international" metrics, particularly in math and sciences. I hope that on the academic front that we, as a district, will also take a good, hard look at ourselves to ensure that we are providing our children with the skills they will need to compete globally.
If you are serious about controlling budget you will need to be willing to take on the union contracts and benefits received. A comparison of what ORSD teachers recieve (And more importantly what they pay for it) is completely out of whack with the private sector. It is a different world and time to realize it.
ReplyDeleteI love CHerry pie!
Don't knock the staff in the district. The union contracts at ORSCD are not that much different than those at other seacoast communities (or around the state). Because we are a desireable community to live, the staff here want to stay. THose that are good are kept on as teachers/bus drivers/etc. and therefore, tend to be higher on the pay scales. As such, the staff is not necessarily paid excessively, they are experienced. When you have experienced staff, they tend to be paid more -- and THAT IS JUST LIKE THE PRIVATE SECTOR. You don't see an entry-level position paid millions in bonuses - just those w/ experience.
ReplyDeleteWith all the talk on the administrative salaries, I am surprised no one pointed out that the superintendent is the highest paid education official in the state (outside of the university system). Is this what we get for our money?
I lump the superintendent in with the term "administration"
ReplyDeleteThe comment was in regards to benefits (heathcare, etc.). I am quite positive that they are disproportionate to the private sector.
ReplyDeletePS The staff is long in the tooth. ORSD has been going downhill for much to long due to a status quo attitude like you expressed.