You can find our full report, copies of our minutes, etc on the website: http://www.orcsd.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=103&Itemid=203
You can contact the committee at: abc@sau5.org
There are many recommendations in our report. Our focus was not on cuts but on efficiency. Here are a few highlights that have not been mentioned:
At Mast Way and Moharimet, some class sizes exceed Board maximum targets. However, no provisions are made in the FY12 budget to address this issue and no plans are in place to address this in the future. We recommend that $85,000 be set aside in the FY12 budget for purposes of a contingency in the event a teaching position is needed to address the class size issues.
The High School has some class sizes that are significantly lower than the Board maximum target of 22. We recommend that the ORCSD increase and/or eliminate the cap on tuition paying students and increase that number by at least 20 in FY12 and consolidate some of the very small classes at ORHS. Specifically, 2.5 positions could be eliminated saving approximately $200,000. As an alternative, increasing the number of tuition paying students by 20 will also generate $200,000.
We recommend that the proposed 1.0 FTE Technician position for an Application/Database Manager remain in the FY12 budget due to the significant needs of the ORCSD in database management and integration.
The budget presented for the school district contained many unexplained amounts and variances. We suggest that this budget be built from “the ground up” to ensure that amounts included are easily explained and not duplicated elsewhere in the budget.
The CIP budget has been minimally funded over the past few years – ranging from $275,000 - $350,000. We believe that this is not a sufficient amount of money to keep up with the maintenance needs of the buildings, land and infrastructure. And as a result of the low dollar amount allocated, projects have been deferred or spread out over multiple years, increasing the total cost to ORCSD. We recommend that a study be completed and an appropriate amount be allocated for CIP projects each year, and that safety items be funded over convenience items.
We note that two trust funds exist that appear to be designated for facility development. These total $172,000. The ORCSD should access these funds for CIP projects and systematically set money aside for transfer to these funds each year.
We believe that a fleet renewal program of two to three buses per year is responsible, particularly after four years of limited investment in the fleet.
Thank you for posting these FACTS. It is so difficult to get information since once again this year the district did not provide information in time for the deliberative session. To understand fact from fiction around here is no easy task, and it is important to see that for a long time anyone who mentions budget is seen as a cutttttttterrrrrrr.
ReplyDeleteIn fact many are simply looking to see that the dollars spent are always in the best interest of students. Why is this so difficult to imagine?
Howard has mastered the art of sitting there at meetings never saying a word while he allows lies to be spread. When I was at the meeting the other night and had to watch the lies that were presented made my stomach turn. To watch responsible citizens applaud these lies, even more of an outrage. I was ashamed to be in the room.
How dare our community applaud accusations of mis-trust when the mis-trust is obvious towards the board not the other way around?
We are seriously going to spend $15,000 of our hard earned tax dollars to study why the board can't work with the leader of the district.
the leader who is on his way out the door.
This board has worked harder than many former boards to try to work with Howard (think Kim C,Mark T), and still they were accused of causing the problem. The problem is Howard and his supporters who work to divide the community.
David Taylor outright lied and he was applauded.
This shouldn't be a surprise.
Anyone who dares to question is marked as trouble, and anyone who doesn't blindly support what HE says is trouble.
It is no wonder many here won't sign their name, they see and know what happens to those who try to serve their community.
The members of the ABC committee should be thanked, and the board should be the first to thank them for helping them make the budget clear for the first time in a long time.
Let the attacks begin.......for this reason I will not sign my name.
However I will say I really hope the teachers and administrators reading this take this for what it is worth. Howard has created a divide, he alone is responsible and he alone should be held accountable.
He should be leading this district to work together with not against the community, not sit back and enjoy the show at deliberative session.
If I am reading this correctly they want to ADD money for a teacher just in case, ADD money to look into CIP needs, ADD tuition students to raise money, and KEEP the tech position.
ReplyDeleteYa, they are a bunch of tax cutting crazies.
I do know, because unlike many who comment here I actually read the report, that they did suggest cutting the language postion, BUT only because there was no clear defined job description/placement. In normal schools, of which I work in one, that is the WAY to do business.
How dare logic get in the way around here, for years boards seem to have gotten away with just a bunch of rubber stamping.
For the first time in my 32 years here I will be voting down the budget. Just for the fact that the ABC committee ideas were rejected and that earmarks such as a $15,000 study to look into trust is in there.
I WILL vote for the teacher contract, as I believe our teachers deserve it.
To the first post(er?),
ReplyDeleteAs the leader Howards job is to lead the district.
He is supposed to adjust to any board he works with, as any strong leader would be able to do.
He is supposed to support the board and the administrators, not place blame with them when things go wrong. The buck does stop with him and it is frustrating to see that more do not understand this.
For the first time in my only 15 years here I will also vote the budget down. But, as the post above mentions, I will vote for the teacher contract as I believe they deserve the best.
One day when they have a leader who has a vision and leads they will see the difference and wonder where this gal/guy was all along.
One more thing, I watched the board meeting the other night. Isn't Colter as the leader of the district supposed to help formulate a vision for our district? Isn't Colter in charge of strategic planning? Why do we not have a plan for our district? I heard Jocelyn state that schools do, but we are a district. To not have a plan is not acceptable. I am sorry those that have worked on this are tired, and I respect the work they have done but my goodness finish this thing. How can we be a strong district without a workable long range plan????!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI personally do not take issue with the recommendations of the ABD. I'm sure they were thorough and took their job very seriously. I DO however take SERIOUS issue with their actions since reporting to the board. They were asked to provide recommendations to the board, period. To vote on the budget as a group, post an "ABC Update" in the school's weekly update emails with their agenda, and to appeal to the public separately from the board, is way way way out of line.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Tom Bebbington commented on a different post that business experience was a prerequisite for serving on the budget committee. This is simply not true. Nor is it desirable, in my opinion. There should be some diversity on the committee.
And of course, I will not sign my name. While some may say we can "agree to disagree" that is simply not what happens here. Look how David Taylor and Joanne Portalupi have been vilified. People who have volunteered for their community for years and seem to me to have had the best interest of the children in mind.
ABC, not ABD, or course.
ReplyDeleteThe name of this website should change to reflect the one-sidedness of its administrators. It is not a "community resource". Instead it seems to be a vehicle to promote their agenda.
ReplyDeleteit surprises me that people say that for the first time ever they will vote down the budget. This is the first time the school board turned in a responsible budget, lower than the years before. These same people who are going to vote down the budget for the first time in 32 years have obviously voted for some of those unsustainable increases of the past several years (11%, 9%, etc) that got our district where it is today, with these very high student costs.
ReplyDeleteI think this school board is finally moving in the right direction. I think we need to be thoughtful, not reactionary.
Why are we upset that an advisory committee provided advice? They voted to have a record of their recommendation. They have acted in good faith, done some serious work and should be commended not condemed.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason David and JoAnn are vilified is due to past actions. How quickly we forget about some of the past actions of Mr. Taylor, and the fact that Portalupi seems to only block any progress in this district.
I do agree that public service in this community and taking a stand do seem to cause this, look at what is happening now to the good work of the ABC committee.
The budget will be voted down not due to efforts of this year, but for the fact that Taylor added in $15,000 for an earmark study that is not needed. For the fact that the board ignored completly the advisory committee and for the fact that is is simply not sustainable.
I agree, the large increases of years past has gotten us to this point, by the way under the lead of Taylor and Portalupi.
However, it is time to stop this and voting down the budget will send a clear message that this is the time.
I have not decided on the teacher contract, where can I find information on this contract?
Who negotiated the contract? Did the teachers fully support the contract or have they been forced to make major consessions that will hurt their ability to perform? I am a strong supporter of our teachers which is why I support the work of the ABC committee and do not support the current proposed budget.
And yes, count me as yet another citizen, though only of 5 years who will not sign their name due to my desire to protect my 3 children.
Mr Taylor added $15,000 to the budget?????
ReplyDeletegee I thought that 2/3 of the voters that took the time to attend the budget meeting voted this in.
It seems pretty clear that the voters are not happy with the way things are going with the Board
otherwise why would people vote to increase taxes.
Once again - the Advisory Budget Committee did not vote down the budget or ask voters to vote down the budget. the Advisory Budget Committee voted 5-2 not to recommend the school board's budget. That is it. I would assume that if we voted 5-2 in support of the school board's budget there would not any criticism of the ABC's communication.
ReplyDeleteWe are here to educate the community about the ORCSD budget and help the ORCSD with its budget and financial management. I encourage you to read the report.
David Proulx- ABC member
Yes David Taylor added $15,000 to the budget, from my seat that night that is what occured. The people in the room then listened to his lies, and with the lack of any other information decided to believe him and voted to agree with him. So yes, HE added $15,000 to study trust in the district.
ReplyDeleteWell golly gee I guess us ignorant voters don't
ReplyDeleteknow what to do unless someone gets up and tells us!
Please the citizens that attend these meeting are often the most involved and informed. That is why they take the time to show up.If you watch just a couple of board meeting you quickly see that people have grouped together and vote with each other no matter what. I would advise all board members to watch the replays the eyerolling (O'quinn please heed this) head shaking, ect. I have to say that Ms. Wright and Ms Butts seem to be very thoughtful in thier votes and vote per issue not in group mentality.
I completely agree with the above post!!
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree, isn't America great!
ReplyDeleteTo the person who calls David Taylor a liar:
ReplyDeleteI am a teacher in one of the four schools and from my seat, I congratulate David for alerting the public to the lies, mistrust, suspicion, dishonesty that the board routinely throws at us. Yes, I was one of those faculty members who applauded after he was finished explaining his rationale and applaud LOUDLY I did.
Folks, this board has stepped over its own rules and the guidelines set forth by the NH School Boards Association. For them to dictate demands to the schools is unheard of here not only in this district but the state as a whole. Sad to say, this board started moving in this direction with cough, cough, Henry's election - No offense Henry but your tenure on the board started the shenanigans. WHile I won't say everything has been perfect over the last few years (or even decades), we need to do what we were hired to do: Teach. We don't need to be harassed or treated like dirt. We are professionals and we deserve to be treated like professionals.
Be wary of the candidates for school board who cozy up to the O'Quinns, Bracketts, Butts, and The Kach's. They are actually the ones who have created this atmosphere. I applaud and thank profusely David Taylor for making his comments and amendment to the budget. Now please school board members (and future board members), please allocate the money (if the budget passes) to the intent. According to my brothers and sisters at the high school, a similar thing helped them through tough times with terrible administrators a decade ago.
Can you provide even one shred if evidence of "lies mistrust suspicion and dishonesty" that you claim the Board has subjected you to?
ReplyDeleteNot even one example...you are a coward! How dare you make these accusations, without any evidence--of course you won't sign your name.
I dont think Kach, O'Quinn, Butts or Brackett are the issue. Look at the others and the Superintendent. Mismanagement all over the place and a mediocre school district that is very expensive to operate.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Howard has any say over the actions of the board. They are an independent lot who bully the teachers. Go ahead and ask any teacher, para, custodian or any other staff member in any school about their opinions of the school board. I'd be shocked if they had a 10% approval rating among the employees of the district.
ReplyDeleteLast week it was the Jenna Roberts Show. Starring her cadre of education busting school board members. Complete with voter intimidation and a ruse to have a ballot vote on a simple amendment to the budget. If you want more, let's also include one more attempt to bully and coerce a hundred people into her squad of bullies by vast knowledge of parliamentary maneuvering at the end of the meeting.
ReplyDeleteYeah, she was a bit agressive. Can't say that I agree with her one iota.
ReplyDeleteDear anonymous posters of February 14th:
ReplyDeleteI was appointed to the board this past summer. Suddenly, in a few short months my name is bandied about as being the cause of division and dissent within our community. I am complimented by your opinion of my abilities to do this for it seems to speak well beyond my talents. For what it's worth, I have been married to a teacher for thirty-six years. I have been employed by the Exeter School District as an IT technician for the past fifteen years or so. I fully understand the difficulty teachers face every day.
To any of the posters on this blog who happen to be teachers, I posted my phone number, my email, and my street address. It is time to move forward, stop fixing blame and start fixing problems. We need to do this together, and we need to do this now. This divisiveness and tension will have no winners.