[T]he budget fails to respond effectively...

Posted with permission:

2/7/11

Dear Members of the School Board:

I write with the greatest appreciation for the dedicated service and long hours of hard work you all have put into overseeing our schools and especially in preparing the budget that comes before the town in March.

Nevertheless, I must state my concern about the budget as it stands.  The report of the Advisory Budget Committee identifies extremely serious defects in the Board's budget preparation process and a disturbing lack of clarity and transparency in the resulting budget.  The Board's tepid reaction to the recommendations of the ABC does not inspire confidence in the Board's management of this crucial community function, the education of our children.
   
I know it is a difficult task, reconciling the expectations of the people of Durham, Lee, and Madbury for an excellent school system with the competing demands of all those involved in our schools, especially at a time of exceptional economic stress.  But the budget fails to respond effectively with clarity and purpose to the needs of our community.  I can not support the Board's budget in its present form; I will vote against it on March 8.

Whatever the outcome of that vote, I would urge the Board to undertake a careful process of self-examination, using the recommendations of the Advisory Budget Committee as a blueprint for a strong, responsive School Board of the future.

Respectfully,
Phil Ginsburg (Durham)

Advisory Budget Committee Votes Against Recommending Budget

The ABC made recommendations in its report of January 3 (see link below), presented to the School Board, based on the data it was given in December.  We as a committee are pleased that the School Board and the Administration made some reductions before finally proposing this operating budget, but we believe additional reductions could be made without damaging our shared goals of effective and efficient education of our students.  We are particularly concerned about one time savings being spent on recurring costs.   Although the budget has gone down for the first time in recent memory, taxes for all three towns will increase because of declining revenue.

The ABC voted against recommending the budget in Article 8 by 5 to 2.

Additional Information

The election to approve the School District Warrant Articles and select new School Board members will occur March 8, 2011 in the respective towns.

The posted FY2011-2012 budget for the Oyster River Cooperative School District can be reviewed by going to Google Docs for the full budget data as well as visual graphs and charts of the data.  The links to the budget documents are:

Budget Visualization: https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0ATacA8zqQKh3ZDdyZjR2d18xdmg5aG44Zw&authkey=COPi0p4I&hl=en

Full Budget Data: https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AjacA8zqQKh3dDl3bWJETHYtcXNRQ09xMUlCZzZLMHc&hl=en&authkey=CL3rjeoF

The ABC report submitted to the School Board on 1/3/11 is posted on the district websitewww.orcsd.org under School Board SubCommittees at http://www.orcsd.org/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=103&Itemid=203

School District Candidates' Night, Tuesday, February 15 @ 7PM ORHS - Sponsored by the Mast Way PTO

What: ORCSD School Board Candidate Night

When: Tuesday, February 15th (snow date is Wed., Feb. 16th)

Where: Oyster River High School, Multipurpose Room

This is YOUR opportunity to meet, listen to, and ask questions of participating district moderator and school board candidates. Refreshments will be served.

Have questions for the candidates?

Submit questions by NOON, Friday, February 11, 2011 to Wendy DiFruscio

Call Wendy at 868-5100 x20 or e-mail her (wdifruscio@orcsd.org)

Hope to see you there!

ABC Member Resignation Letter

Bill gave me permission to post this.

--Jenna

Feb 3, 2011

Fellow Members of the Advisory Budget Committee;

When I volunteered to serve on the ABC, I made certain assumptions about the time that would be required of me as well as the amount of time that I could offer.  I assumed that analysis of the ORCSD budget would be a simpler process than has proven to be the case, and that retirement would provide me with a more significant amount of “free” time to serve the needs of the community.  I was mistaken on both accounts.

It has become very apparent that he organization of the school budget itself has a history of inconsistency and confusion, needlessly requiring a great deal of time and effort to properly understand and analyze it.  Honestly, I am not sure whether that has been intentional or just the consequence of haphazard business practices and neglectful oversight.  In any case, it requires a greater commitment of time from ABC members than I have been able to provide.  For the important work of the ABC to move forward, it needs the full commitment of all its members.  Being honest with myself and with you, I’m not that person right now.  I greatly respect and admire the amount and quality of work each of you have contributed in an attempt to bring reason and fiscal responsibility to the ORCSD budgeting process; I don’t want to add to your workload or detract from your effort by underperforming while others are ready to provide the assistance you need.   

Please do not conclude that I have lost interest.  Prior to joining the ABC, I had committed to serving on the board of directors of Child Voice International and the board of elders of Durham Evangelical Church.  I have had a long association with both organizations and feel called to give them my highest priority.  In so doing, I am simply not able to provide the ABC with the time required to sort through the budget morass and address the fiscal issues that you, the school board and the taxpayers of  Durham, Lee and Madbury face.  I would be happy to help in a more limited and specific role; I am not content to miss as many meetings as my schedule now requires or to contribute as little as my time now allows.

Please accept my resignation as well as my appreciation for the opportunity to have served with you for a brief time.  The school board is extremely fortunate to have as capable and committed a resource as you offer them.  I hope they fully understand, appreciate and utilize it.

I wish you the greatest success.

Sincerely

Bill Bryon

Candidates for School Board and Moderator

Madbury:
James Kach
Susan Willer 

At-large:
John Collins
Chandler Hull
Ann Lane
Megan Turnbull

Moderator:
Richard Laughton

Upcoming Dates and Topics for Brown Bag Lunches

Below is information pertaining to upcoming brown bag lunchtime (12:30PM) discussions. These sessions have set topics as cited below. The district is also having Saturday morning coffees where any topic is game (see previous post).

Get involved! Share your concerns and ask the questions you have about our district.

***

2011 “Brown Bag Lunch” Series

Please join Howard Colter, Superintendent, Meredith Nadeau and Danielle Bolduc, Directors of Instruction, for a one-hour, lunch time discussion on the following topics.

Date Topic Location

Wednesday, Feb 16, 2011 Assessment-Federal, State, Local SAU Building (36 Coe Drive)
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 Understanding the Digital Generation SAU Building

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Grouping Practices SAU Building
Wednesday, May 11, 2011 Homework SAU Building

Coffee and Conversation with ORCSD Administration

“Central Office Coffee & Conversation” meeting opportunities Join the central office administration for coffee and conversation at the SAU office. The goal of these informal gatherings is to provide additional opportunities for communication between the administration, parents and the broader community as it relates to education and specifically Oyster River. There will be no set agenda. Dates, times and locations follow: Saturday, January 29th 9:00am - 10:00 am SAU Building (36 Coe Drive) Saturday, March 26th 9:00am - 10:00 am SAU Building Saturday, May 21st 9:00 am - 10:00 am SAU Building

Filing and other important dates!

FILING FOR DISTRICT OPENINGS
Individuals wishing to file for District openings must do so between Wednesday, 1/19/11, and up until 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 1/28/11: one moderator position (1 year term), two at-large school board positions (3 year terms), and 1 Madbury position (1 year term).


DELIBERATIVE SESSION TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2011
Oyster River High School 7:00 p.m. Auditorium
Snow date is Wednesday, February 9, same location.


CANDIDATE’S NIGHT
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2011
Oyster River High School 7:00 p.m. Location: TBD
Snow date is Wednesday, February 16, same location.

ELECTION DAY TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011 Town Voting Locations

Public Hearing for FY12 Budget 1/13/11

7 PM in the High School Multipurpose Room

ORCSD PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING 1/12/11

ORCSD PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING

The School District Public Hearing on the FY12 budget will be held on Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 7 PM in the High School Multipurpose Room (snow date of January 13).  Citizens in the Oyster River School District are encouraged to attend the Hearing as their primary opportunity to make comments and recommendations about the budget for later deliberation.