CV $3 million deficit

[Guest Guest]

Last year we were hit with more than a 5% school tax increase and now they are telling us that they are short three million dollars? Enough already! There needs to be some serious cuts from the top administrators right down the line. Last time I checked the combined salaries for the superintendent, assistant superintendent and athletic director were over $350,000. How can you justify an athletic director making over $70,000!!!

 

The best part is they keep raising our taxes and then on the first day of school send home letters to please send in boxes of tissues to the teachers because the school can't afford them.

 

It's time to vote NO to their ridicuus budget increases!

[Guest Guest]

The residents of CV need to stop re-cycling the same old people on the school board. New blood is needed. The board is currently being operated like an arrogant insiders club. Believe it or not, the president of the board is running for re-election. If he wins again, then CV deserves its fate.

 

 

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[Guest Forks isnt much better]

The residents of CV need to stop re-cycling the same old people on the school board. New blood is needed. The board is currently being operated like an arrogant insiders club. Believe it or not, the president of the board is running for re-election. If he wins again, then CV deserves its fate.

 

 

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The same thing happens at the FORKS same people on the Board with every year increases.

 

This year they are asking for a 7.81% increase!

 

And they are giving Robert Bundy a 7 and 3/4 % raise! He will be making over 130,000 and his side kick Carol Denz she will be making over 103,000! The district has less then 2000 students

 

Who of us got a 7 and 3/4 raise this year?

 

 

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[NY Patriot]

It's time to consolidate all the school districts in to one county wide district. This will eliminate the majority of over paid administrative postitions along with school boards that are nothing more than the "good ol boy" clubs.

 

I know it's a nice thought and it'll never happen.

[Guest Guest]

It's time to consolidate all the school districts in to one county wide district. This will eliminate the majority of over paid administrative postitions along with school boards that are nothing more than the "good ol boy" clubs.

 

I know it's a nice thought and it'll never happen.

 

Consolidation studies have shown that very few administrative positions are actually eliminated in district consolidation. There is just a wider dispersment of the stratification of the system. As for school boards, you would be amazed how many seats go unopposed every time they come up. These are time consuming and obviously thankless jobs. One simple solution to the complainers: RUN.

[Guest Guest]

This is to the genius in the paper that said that vting no on the school budget is the only way he can state his displeasure. No, it isn't. You can go to school board meetings and do that or better yet, run for the damn school board. If your platform is "Those Damn School Taxes" and so many agree with you, I'm sure you will be elected in a laandslide. The only people you hurt by blindly voting no...are students. CV had an incompetent scholl business official. Plain and simple. He was trusted by the board and the superintendent and shouldn't have been. According to the paper they have enlisted various people to set things straight yet your simple solution Mr. Reed is to hold your breath, stamp your feet and vote no. Brilliant...just brilliant. Unfortuantely you completely reflect the attitude of most of the areas fixed-incomers. I am going to whine about it to anyone that will listen but I won't lift a finger to see what I can do to help. The hell with the fact that students are the ones who end up getting the shaft. Bravo!

 

 

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[Guest Guest]

The business manager, Frank Slocum, who blew it, is paid over $90,000 per year (plus benefits, of course). Our tax dollars at work!

[Guest Guest]

The business manager, Frank Slocum, who blew it, is paid over $90,000 per year (plus benefits, of course). Our tax dollars at work!

 

 

Slocum was allowed to go out on early retirement. If you ask me, the entire Board dropped the ball on this. They should have been more vigilant and should have asked more questions from the "get-go". Then the Board and administration compounded the problem by sitting on the news for six months before having the story pried out by a FOIL submitted by the Press & Sun-Bulletin. Disgraceful.

[Guest Guest]

The school board president should be held accountable for this mess. What an ignorant, pompous fool!

 

If he spent less time making stupid annoying commercials, and more time with the calculator we wouldn't be in this predicament.

[Guest PLO]

The school board president should be held accountable for this mess. What an ignorant, pompous fool!

 

If he spent less time making stupid annoying commercials, and more time with the calculator we wouldn't be in this predicament.

 

What commercials is he in?

[Guest Guest]

The school board president should be held accountable for this mess. What an ignorant, pompous fool!

 

If he spent less time making stupid annoying commercials, and more time with the calculator we wouldn't be in this predicament.

 

I believe Hussar is running for re-election. The district's voters will most likely return him to the Board of Education because that's what the residents do.......they re-elect the same faces. Time for some new blood. But I'm not holding my breath. Does anyone know who is running?

 

[Guest G. Kotter]

It's amazing to me that teachers that don't even have their own classrooms can make upwards of $50K/year for doing the same tasks aides do for far less money. Why should teachers that aren't responsible for writing curriculums for a classroom be paid the same or more than those teachers working their butts off with a classroom? These teachers that don't have a classroom and participate in another teacher's lessons are basically glorified aides that make 4-5 times more than an aide. Does that make sense? We need to hold onto those teachers that are an asset to our children's learning and development and force out those teachers that are a drain to the budget. Perhaps merit-based pay could help bridge the deficit by rewarding those teachers who deserve it and paying less to those that add very little to our children's curriculum.

 

 

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[Guest guest]

Slocum was allowed to go out on early retirement. If you ask me, the entire Board dropped the ball on this. They should have been more vigilant and should have asked more questions from the "get-go". Then the Board and administration compounded the problem by sitting on the news for six months before having the story pried out by a FOIL submitted by the Press & Sun-Bulletin. Disgraceful.

 

The school sent out a special edition of the CV newsletter a week before all of this came out in the Press. The newsletter didn't have a glaring headline about a $3 million deficit but the information was there. Should it have been reported sooner? Probably, but what would the reaction have been if they had revealed the information right away without doing further investigation and working to put measures in place to start addressing the issues? People are pissed now but at least it appears that steps are being taken to correct and prevent future incidents. Put the blame where ever you want, but the reality is that the board should have increased the budget even more the last two times around so that this did not happen. Think about what that would have done to the tax levy. The residents were pissed about the increase last year and called for the voters to vote against the budget. If anything, the board tried to present a budget that they felt would keep the increase to a minimum and still cover the costs of running the school. Unfortunately, their projections were off and the end result is a deficit that now needs to be addressed. In addition to resolving the deficit, they also must present a budget for next year that does not cause that deficit to grow but also keeps the tax levy increase at a level where the voters will approve the budget. It's the age old case of pay me now or pay me later. At some point everyone is going to have to face the reality that running a school is no different than running a business. The main difference is that the residents fund the school instead of some huge corporation. It takes a lot of work to keep the school running and you cannot expect that work to be done for free. I certainly do not want to see my taxes go up but at the same time i don't want to see the quality of the education at CV going down either. I'm sure if you went to most of the other school districts in the area, none of them would say that they are having an easy time keeping budgets in check and maintaining the level of service they provide. Obviously they are doing a little better job than CV or else we would be reading about them too.

 

There really is not an easy answer to all of this. People complain about the board but no one steps up at election time to challenge the incumbents. Or if they do, they offer up some radical solution that would put fear into even the most disgruntled taxpayer. Eliminating administrators/teachers or cutting back their salaries is not going to solve the problem. In fact, it would probably make it worse in the long run. Instead of getting on here and bashing everyone, get involved. Attend the board meetings and express your concerns. Allow them to share their perspective on the issues. In the end, I think everyone would be further ahead.

[Guest lonehunter]

BRAVO

 

[Guest guesty]

It's amazing to me that teachers that don't even have their own classrooms can make upwards of $50K/year for doing the same tasks aides do for far less money. Why should teachers that aren't responsible for writing curriculums for a classroom be paid the same or more than those teachers working their butts off with a classroom? These teachers that don't have a classroom and participate in another teacher's lessons are basically glorified aides that make 4-5 times more than an aide. Does that make sense? We need to hold onto those teachers that are an asset to our children's learning and development and force out those teachers that are a drain to the budget. Perhaps merit-based pay could help bridge the deficit by rewarding those teachers who deserve it and paying less to those that add very little to our children's curriculum.

 

 

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The difference between the aides and the teachers in the majority of the cases is a degree. The teachers have it and the aides (in most cases) do not. While these teachers may not be fully responsible for a classroom and the material presented within, they are still trained professionals who bring something specific to the education process and that cannot be ignored or discounted. In a lot of cases, these teachers have additional training beyond what the primary teacher has that makes them a "specialist" for the lack of a better word. Let's face it, there is a lot more going on in school these days than there used to be. There is a lot more attention being paid to the learning abilities of the students and measures are being put into place to insure that students are provided with equal learning opportunities. This is where some of these "extra" teachers come into play. I don't think that you could ever go to a merit-based pay systenm for teachers. How would you measure success? No matter how good a teacher is, there will always be some students that just don't get it. They might excel in Science but struggle in History. Does that mean the Science teacher deserves more than the History teacher? That would be a stretch. Now if all the kids struggled with History, then you have a case. The same holds true for these extra teachers. How do you measure success or failure? If the school didn't provide these teachers for the students who need them, then everyone would complain that the school isn't addressing the needs. When they do provide them, then they cost too much...

[Guest CV taxpayer]

As a tax payer this is very disturbing to me. How could this have happened? One thing I know that I am very sick of hearing is the cost of health insurance. I myself have to pay more and more every year for our health insurance. Health care for CV employees needs to be changed. Pay for your health insurance just like we all are doing these days. It is not like it used to be all of our health insurance has changed and so should the teachers and staff change. Why should I pay taxes so they get a good plan in health care when my health care went up $200.00 a month in the year 2008. Look at the big companys how they use to pay for there employees insurance, it is not like that now we need to make a change.

[Guest Guest]

Your absolutely right that that teachers need to start paying more for their health care. Unfortunately they are going to tell us that nothing can change on that for three more years since they just signed a new contract. I think the taxpayers should be involved in the contract renewal process and be able to vote on what we are giving them in benefits as most of us aren't getting any benefits or paying a fortune for them.

 

I'm not saying that we need to cut teachers positions but I think we can reduce the administrative staff. Why do we need a superintendent and an assistant superintendent? Why do we need a principal making over $100,000 a year in the CB school? Why do we need to pay $71,000 for an athletic director?

 

There are places that cuts could be made if they wanted to.

[Guest Guest]

Hussar should be kicked off the board immediately

[Guest Guest]

The school sent out a special edition of the CV newsletter a week before all of this came out in the Press. The newsletter didn't have a glaring headline about a $3 million deficit but the information was there. Should it have been reported sooner? Probably, but what would the reaction have been if they had revealed the information right away without doing further investigation and working to put measures in place to start addressing the issues? People are pissed now but at least it appears that steps are being taken to correct and prevent future incidents. Put the blame where ever you want, but the reality is that the board should have increased the budget even more the last two times around so that this did not happen. Think about what that would have done to the tax levy. The residents were pissed about the increase last year and called for the voters to vote against the budget. If anything, the board tried to present a budget that they felt would keep the increase to a minimum and still cover the costs of running the school. Unfortunately, their projections were off and the end result is a deficit that now needs to be addressed. In addition to resolving the deficit, they also must present a budget for next year that does not cause that deficit to grow but also keeps the tax levy increase at a level where the voters will approve the budget. It's the age old case of pay me now or pay me later. At some point everyone is going to have to face the reality that running a school is no different than running a business. The main difference is that the residents fund the school instead of some huge corporation. It takes a lot of work to keep the school running and you cannot expect that work to be done for free. I certainly do not want to see my taxes go up but at the same time i don't want to see the quality of the education at CV going down either. I'm sure if you went to most of the other school districts in the area, none of them would say that they are having an easy time keeping budgets in check and maintaining the level of service they provide. Obviously they are doing a little better job than CV or else we would be reading about them too.

 

There really is not an easy answer to all of this. People complain about the board but no one steps up at election time to challenge the incumbents. Or if they do, they offer up some radical solution that would put fear into even the most disgruntled taxpayer. Eliminating administrators/teachers or cutting back their salaries is not going to solve the problem. In fact, it would probably make it worse in the long run. Instead of getting on here and bashing everyone, get involved. Attend the board meetings and express your concerns. Allow them to share their perspective on the issues. In the end, I think everyone would be further ahead.

 

Congratulations on an excellent post. You have a very temperate and even-minded take on the whole matter. In times like these, this is an important quality. However, I do think that you are too forgiving of the Super and BoE. I'm not quite sure if I would let them off the hook so easily.

 

I received the special edition of the newsletter last week and I was puzzled by the whole thing. I had heard rumors about some kind of financial "miscalculation" by the financial officer but I didn't realize it was so huge. What puzzled me initially about the newscaster was that it took (I think) five paragraphs before it mentioned anything about shortfalls and unanticipated expenses. (I'm sorry.....I do not have the paper in front of me.) 99% of the newscaster was "happy talk" about how great the students were doing. I guess I have become cynical in my old age, because I came to the conclusion that the district was sugar-coating some very bad news. Now, this announcement had to be done, but in my opinion, it should have been done sooner and in a more direct fashion.

 

As soon as the BoE realized that there was a problem (from the Press article, this happened due to a state audit in October...in OCTOBER!), the residents should have been notified. After all, the BoE loyalties should be to the taxpayers whom they serve, rather than preserving their own "scalps." Evidently, without the paper's FOIL, we may still not know the magnitude and extent of the financial problems. The BoE could have explained to the district what happened, how it happened, and what was being done to make sure this never happens again. By not doing this in a more timely manner.....well, it smacks of a clumsy coverup.

 

Every district indeed struggles with finances, expenses, tax levies, etc. but CV appears to be having a more severe problem than her neighbors. Why? Windsor has announced a 0% increase. And they are adding teachers and programs. CF has announced a 3.4% increase. And they are adding a new football field, etc. I think that increases at or near the rate of inflation are acceptable. But last year's increase - before all of this hubbub- was 5.9%. This was the highest in the Broome-Tioga BOCES. You will remember that the budget barely passed. So far, the district has not announced the tax increase for this year's budget (hang onto your hats everybody). I would safely predict that this year's budget will be DOA.

 

And therein lies by primary annoyance with the BoE. Now, the kids, the staff, the bus drivers, etc. will have to pay the price for their lack of vigilance. An austerity budget is a certainly and this budget deficit bond will be hanging over our heads for ten years. At least with a construction project, the district gets something out of a bond. But with this......we get absolutely nothing but further expenses.

 

Cutting superintendents or cutting teachers or cutting aides will not get the job done. Only constant attention to financial details. The financial officer didn't do this but the Super didn't either and the Board simply did not ask enough questions. And when the State Audit was complete, they all clammed up. In my opinion, this is not acceptable. New blood is sorely needed on the Board. And they all should stop making excuses and soft-peddling the situation and take their lumps. They let us all down.

 

 

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[Guest Guest]

It's amazing to me that teachers that don't even have their own classrooms can make upwards of $50K/year for doing the same tasks aides do for far less money. Why should teachers that aren't responsible for writing curriculums for a classroom be paid the same or more than those teachers working their butts off with a classroom? These teachers that don't have a classroom and participate in another teacher's lessons are basically glorified aides that make 4-5 times more than an aide. Does that make sense? We need to hold onto those teachers that are an asset to our children's learning and development and force out those teachers that are a drain to the budget. Perhaps merit-based pay could help bridge the deficit by rewarding those teachers who deserve it and paying less to those that add very little to our children's curriculum.

 

 

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This post is completely true. I understand that sp. ed. teachers have training specific to that area, but if parents actually saw what they do in the classroom they would be disappointed. G. Kotter is totally correct. To address an issue made in another post, many teacher aides do have college degrees.

[Guest Guest]

As a tax payer this is very disturbing to me. How could this have happened? One thing I know that I am very sick of hearing is the cost of health insurance. I myself have to pay more and more every year for our health insurance. Health care for CV employees needs to be changed. Pay for your health insurance just like we all are doing these days. It is not like it used to be all of our health insurance has changed and so should the teachers and staff change. Why should I pay taxes so they get a good plan in health care when my health care went up $200.00 a month in the year 2008. Look at the big companys how they use to pay for there employees insurance, it is not like that now we need to make a change.

 

I have a better idea - fix health care. 40% of all money paid into the system goes right to the company and not to health care.

Stop blaming everything on health care. If you did you would have never voted King Bush into office

 

 

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[Guest Guest]

Ok.. I am a Freshman at Chenango Valley High School. VOTE YES PEOPLE! Like someone said earlier. I dont want to suffer. They are already startnig to cut athletics. This is redicoulous. Are people really that selfish they cant pay a couple hundred dollars more a year? Most of the people in CV are NOT poor. Considering almost half the no votes are the Elderly. Your children, or your neices and nephews, or your grandkids, or even your friends wont have fun in there High School career. Thats pathetic...

[The West Sider]

It's amazing to me that teachers that don't even have their own classrooms can make upwards of $50K/year for doing the same tasks aides do for far less money. Why should teachers that aren't responsible for writing curriculums for a classroom be paid the same or more than those teachers working their butts off with a classroom? These teachers that don't have a classroom and participate in another teacher's lessons are basically glorified aides that make 4-5 times more than an aide. Does that make sense? We need to hold onto those teachers that are an asset to our children's learning and development and force out those teachers that are a drain to the budget. Perhaps merit-based pay could help bridge the deficit by rewarding those teachers who deserve it and paying less to those that add very little to our children's curriculum.

 

 

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Yeah, you have a clue.

 

TWS

 

[Guest Guest]

I truly wish people would get the facts straight before they jump to conclusions but I guess that will never happen...

 

Facts:

1. The bond issue is to replenish the fund balance. This spreads the tax burden out over ten years rather than to have a 40-50% tax jump. Of course this wouldn't have been necessary if they added to the balance all along and made better projections. That is the past and at least now they are thinking of the future.

 

2. Reactionary no-voting to upcoming budgets will do no good. Even if they go to a state mandated contingency budget, it may end up being more than the original budget anyway. Very few people understand this and many elderly residents vote with their angry hearts and not wth their heads.

 

3. Just because a teacher doesn't have a classroom means they are not good teachers? Seriously, where do you come up with this stuff?

 

4. The BoE is the final stop in the district. The buck stops with them and that is a vote you have control over. Find out where the candidates stand and if a seat is unopposed...get off your butts and run for it.

 

 

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[Guest Guest]

It's amazing to me that teachers that don't even have their own classrooms can make upwards of $50K/year for doing the same tasks aides do for far less money. Why should teachers that aren't responsible for writing curriculums for a classroom be paid the same or more than those teachers working their butts off with a classroom? These teachers that don't have a classroom and participate in another teacher's lessons are basically glorified aides that make 4-5 times more than an aide. Does that make sense? We need to hold onto those teachers that are an asset to our children's learning and development and force out those teachers that are a drain to the budget. Perhaps merit-based pay could help bridge the deficit by rewarding those teachers who deserve it and paying less to those that add very little to our children's curriculum.

 

 

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Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the most difficult and demanding jobs in any district is that of the Special Education Teacher. They are responsible for creating and following the IEP to the letter. This involves many meetings and time consuming paper work. They work with behaviorally and educationally challenged children, and for the most part,have more contact with parents and outside agencies than do the regular ed teachers. Moreover, they have to tactfully deal not only with the parent but oftentimes, the classrooom teacher as well. They are certainly not glorified aides. Aides are wonderful, but they are essenitally following the direction of the teacher, they do not have decision making responsibilities. The Special Education teacher is the lead teacher for the Special Ed students. S/he determines the program for the student via the IEP. While I am not a Special Ed teacher, I have worked in schools for many years. When my own child initially thought of entering the field of Special Ed, I successfully counseled her against it. In my opinion the special education teacher is the one of most under appreciated, and hardest working person in a school. They get little respect from the general public, as indicated in the above post, and at times from their fellow teachers as well.

 

 

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