Hello,
There was an anonymous post on the blog this morning saying Blaine Cox resigned. I responded saying don't spread rumors like that. This anonymous posted replied saying the position was posted. I went and checked and sure enough there is an opening for a Business Administrator at ORCSD.
I don't know why Mr. Cox resigned. Whatever the reason, I wish to thank him for his service and wish him well in his new endeavors whatever they may be. While Mr. Cox and I didn't see eye to eye on a couple of issues, I attended the budget community workshops and admired his willingness to answer questions for people such as myself. I also worked with him briefly on the strategic plan working groups and he was very willing to get the information requested from the groups. Finally, it was no small feat to bring in the budget at less than 2% last year and he should be thanked for guiding us through that time period.
Good luck, Blaine!
We need to refocus and get back to the business at hand for the district; how can we provide a quality education and do it for 3,000.00 dollars less per student per year. Bow knows, just ask Bow!
ReplyDeleteJust what I suspected, Blaine leaves and the foxes want to get into the hen house. Given the 10 year trends of each district, ORCSD & Bow, the comparison is quite bogus when you look at the timing and pay downs of the capital expenditures. Do your homework everyone, beyond Roger Speidel's claims in the Bow analysis because they are bogus. I doubt too that Roger has spent the multiple hours with the Bow business manager as he claims. Is anyone doing a fact check?
ReplyDeleteThe 2008-2009 cost per pupil was released by the NH Department of Education in January 2010. Bows total cost per pupil pre-school to grade 12 was 12,790.96. Oyster River's cost per pupil pre-school to grade 12 was 15,573.92. Regarding the breakdown; the cost per pupil by District states the following:
ReplyDelete"The cost per pupil represents, with certain adjustments, current expenditures from all funding sources (local,state and federal)associated with the daily operation of school. Payments to other school districts and private schools have been subtracted. Revenues from the sales of lunches have also been excluded." (See Department of education website for a complete copy of the report).
Since the above blogger appears to have so much insight into this subject, why don't you do the homework for all of us. The board has been asked to answer to Roger Speidel's fact finding and, to date, there has been a lack of any effort to explain this significant discrepancy. Since you seem to have already done your homework, why don't you explain it to the rest of us. Until you set us straight, I'm going to believe what I read on the NH Department of Education website and Roger Speidel's words of wisdom.
By the way, thank you Mr. Speidel for the time you have spent on this very important issue. There are many people in the community that appreciate your time and commitment to explore how we can provide a quality education while spending less to do so.
Mr. Spidel met with the business manager at Bow and received the information first hand. He presented this fact at a board meeting. The information regarding costs is as the above post states, at the state web site.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I caution us on getting wrapped up in numbers. It is how the money is being spent that matters. We need to put people/students first, stop cutting positions and re-focus efforts at maximizing how money is spent.
The questions being asked, I hope are an effort to do this. The fact that people are asking questions should be welcomed, not challenged. There is an effor to understand where the money is spent, and this too should be supported and not attacked. Mr. Spidel is a retired teacher, he does his homework, checks his facts and the attacks on him are insulting. I do not agree with all he says, but appreciate the effort at making sure money is spent wisely.
Interesting...Bow has a budget committee! Roger may have mentioned this however; I looked it up myself.
ReplyDeleteMost people that live in the Oyster River Community value having a good school system. Why has questioning the way the school is doing business associated with cutting teacher positions and not putting students first? Many of us are alarmed by the audit report and the lackadaisical administrative response.
Bow cut two tenured teachers this year, non-renewed a third and reduced the number of classes taught by teachers in two other positions (the original idea was to cut 7 teachers!). They raised class sizes. They also pay their most senior teachers significantly less than senior teachers are paid in the ORCSD and they have fewer teachers who are at that level. Check the websites for salary charts.
ReplyDeleteThese actions were all covered in the newspapers. Maybe that's why people think having a budget committee is related to cutting teachers and not putting the kids first.
Tenured teachers cannot be cut before non-tenured teachers unless their position is being eliminated. When enrollment decreases, so should the need for teachers.
ReplyDeleteORCSD teachers make an average of about 4,000.00 more per year than Bow school district teachers make. If you check out the minutes from the annual Bow budget meeting, you would be quite surprised when compared to Oyster River.
As of October 2009, the NH department of education reported that Oyster River had an average sized class enrollment of between 18 and 20 students in grades 1-4. I could not find grades 5-12.
In the TOWN OF BOW BUDGET COMMITTEE MINUTES from FEBRUARY 15, 2010, they reported that in grades 1& 2, they had an average of 16 students/class; grades 3&4 23.5; & Grades 5-8 Bow at 22.2 students/class.
This does not seem unreasonable!
The minutes reported the following:
"This year’s proposed Operating Budget of $24,073,237 represents a 0% increase from last year’s budget and Mr. Lagos noted that this is the second consecutive year that a no-growth budget is presented to the voters."
“Bow school enrollment continues to decline and this year’s budget takes into consideration that decline and proposes to make significant staffing reduction by eliminating seven (7) full time teaching positions (FTE) – one (1) from the Elementary School, one (1) from the Middle School and five (5) from the High School – which results in an expense savings of approximately $474,955.”
They reported that school enrollment has continued to decline; 177 students since 2006 with a continued enrollment drop expected over the next few years.
If you divide 177 students by 20 (per class) you have an 8.85 less need for teachers.
Cutting teachers is necessary when there are less students. Nobody likes it but it is necessary. If you have 177 less students, common sense would dictate that you wouldn't need as many teachers. That is not hurting kids, that is balancing books, Supply & Demand 101. Also, academically Bow is slightly ahead of Oyster River.
This is why it becomes extremely important to make decisions that are in the best interest of our students.
Good luck in your next job Mr. Cox. I hope that you have a better boss (than Mr. Colter) in your next job.
ReplyDelete