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Budget - June , 2010
Help support a great cause and a sweet girl.
MandiFund.com
Car Wash on Sunday June 27th
Webmaster
Budget - May 19, 2010
Thank you voters.
Now let's see if the BOE can take the hint and go back to work.
Let's see how long it takes them to adopt the contingency budget!
Webmaster
Budget - May 18, 2010
VOTE NO!!
PULL Levers 5, 6, 7
What makes a good superintendent? - May 17, 2010
What makes a good superintendent?
I think the reference to the role of CEO is an accurate one.
A school district, though it is in the 'business' of educating, is a business. It needs to be run with that focus, ALONG WITH the focus on providing a healthy program for the students.
It is too easy for a school district office to get used to 'doing whatever is thought to be needed', regardless of whether it *is* needed. Because of this, the organization can get too top-heavy, become 'larger than is necessary', and cost too much.
The argument that 'the main costs are covered by contracts, and can't be touched' is often used to dissuade further digging by those interested in looking closely at the numbers involved.
What makes a good superintendent? One who understands what the Taylor Act *really says*, and understands how to drive people to work smarter, not harder.
Several years ago, I posed a challenge to the board/district to implement a '10x improvement' plan for the district offices. This is one tool that has been used often in business. People in district offices need to become more used to doing 'more with less', and having that 'hurt' spark the innovative thought of different ways to accomplish 'that which needs to be done'. Use of the district IT functions to accomplish reporting (even cross-referencing multi-table data) is a good expenditure of budget money; bringing on extra people in various departments is not.
A good superintendent needs to understand both education AND business. I'm not so sold on an insistence for *just* a PhD or EdD; however, an MBA would help make for a nicely-rounded executive at the helm of the organization (I am not saying an MBA only; that would be horrendous. I *am* saying require one along with an education degree).
Yes, there are more measures required by the government. Yes, there are more reports that 'can' help justify numbers.
My point is this - if we only have educators running a business, in spite of their intelligence (which is NOT to be discounted), the higher risk is an increase in levels/complexity, with much of the work continuing to be done manually. If we have only business people running the business, the higher risk is 'lower cost, but at the expense of giving a proper education to students'. What is needed is a balance. A mix of education and business will help drive the most efficient and most creative organization, giving the best value for the dollars spent.
The contract for the superintendent needs to be written by the board to drive this as the measure of success, not just 'increase the test numbers'.
Thanks for the opportunity to present my opinion.
Peter Kiesel
Comments - May 17, 2010
As we continue to invest billions of dollars in test taking measures and prepackaged curriculum are we really spending the dollars on educating children? Education has taken the place of manufacturing ,in this nation, for money making and as long as we continue to scapegoat educators we will all remain blissfully unaware of what is happening to public education.
We must use the money we have in a smarter and leaner manner. Throwing more money at new curriculums, standardized tests, revised old programs that are packaged differently and conducting more studies is not the solution. Children will learn as long as they are at the center of educational policy and teaching once again becomes a respected profession.
Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education, states that standardized tests are terrible but if schools are going to receive RTTT funds they must continue to administer these same tests. NCLB, the precursor to RTTT, was modeled after the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS). The passing rates on the ninth, tenth and eleventh grade tests steadily increased but when eleventh graders were asked to write a short answer about a text they read half of them were stumped. It didn’t matter if they were from a low or high performing district. They couldn’t express themselves but they were good at filling in the bubbles on their answer sheets (Diane Ravitch 2010).Public money must be spent prudently. If we are going to teach our children HOW to think filling in a bubble sheet is not the answer.
We need a wider world view.
Tracey Farmer
Bill Gates' comments - May 17, 2010
Earlier, I tried to point out that the 'Bill Gates speech', posted earlier this year, is not a speech that Bill Gates gave.
It has been wrongly (albeit innocently) attributed to Bill Gates, but this mis-attribution happened long before it made it to this forum.
hoax-slayer.com sets things right:
"However, the rules were neither written nor spoken by Bill Gates, they did not originate as a high school speech, and they are not at all recent. In fact, the current incarnation of these rules is a somewhat abridged version of an original piece that was penned by author Charles J. Sykes. The full version was printed in the San Diego Union Tribune on September 19, 1996 and in a number of other publications since then. Sykes is the author of "Dumbing Down Our Kids", "50 Rules Kids Won't Learn in School", and several other books.
The piece has been falsely attributed to others as well as Bill Gates, including the late science fiction writer, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. "
Having set the record straight, the statements are 'dead on', regardles of author...
Pete Kiesel
Greece School District suing Parma contractor - May 17, 2010
From the by Democrat and Chronicle
Meaghan M. McDermott – Staff writer
Local News – May 17, 2010 - 3:04pm
GREECE — The Greece Central School District is suing a Parma contractor over what it alleges are poorly-built athletic fields at Athena High School.
In the suit, filed in state Supreme Court on May 12, the district alleges that Garden Grove Landscape breached its contract with the district by failing “to perform its work under the contract in a good and workmanlike manner.”
Edward P. Hourihan, attorney for the Greece schools, said the soccer and other athletic fields Garden Grove was hired to build or reconstruct in June 2007 never drained properly and were not built to the district’s specifications. For example, he said, the soccer field was improperly pitched and soil used in the project was compacted too much and didn’t allow water to drain through.
As a result, Hourihan said, the district was unable to use the fields for an extended period of time, and repaired the fields on its own.
The suit seeks $300,000 in damages from Garden Grove insurers Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America. Travelers issued the performance bond for the work, said Hourihan.
Webmaster
Blog - May 17, 2010
Someone has posted a new blog.
http://greeceschools2010.blogspot.com
The more the merrier
Webmaster
http://greeceschools2010.blogspot.com/ Budget - May 17, 2010
This is the original BUS PURCHASE RESERVE that passed. We are being asked to vote to release these funds.
RESOLVED, that the Board of Education of the Greece Central School District, Monroe County, New York be authorized to establish a bus purchase reserve fund to be used to finance in whole or part the cost of acquisition of buses in accordance with Education Law section 3651, in an ultimate amount not to exceed $7,000,000. The fund shall have a probable term of 7 years. The Board of Education is further authorized to pay into the fund in the 2007-08 school year and annually thereafter funds of the District in an amount determined by the Board not to exceed $1,000,000 per year. The reserve shall be funded from operating surplus appropriated by the Board of Education and no taxes shall be levied from the taxable property of the District for the expressed purposes of funding the reserve.
Webmaster
Ms. Farmer - May 17, 2010
In a letter Ms. Farmer wrote to the Greece Post she gives us some more insight into her thinking.
She noted in her letter that her educational philosophy aligned to that of Horace Mann and Albert Shanker. Shanker is know to be a left wing union organizer and leader. This is one one his quotes "When school children start paying union dues, that 's when I'll start representing the interests of school children."
This speaks to his philosophy which is essentially "Union first, children second."
She also notes that we must "invest in education." We should interpret that as a code word for "spend on education." I think this nation, state, and locality have "invested" untold billions in education without a commensurate result in terms of measurable improvements (results). Since 74% of the educational "investment" has been in salaries and employee benefits, the "investment" must not be going to the right places. I think the answer to improving educational results is not a question of spending MORE money but rather spending the money we have more WISELY. Education "professionals" don't seem to get that since the ongoing calls for "investment" always seem to wind up in the pockets of school district employees.
What is wrong with this picture?
Webmaster
Comments - May 12, 2010
The question each of us needs to ask ourselves is how are we doing so far,financially and academically? There are 7 candidates running for the school board 6 of the 7 have financial or business backgrounds.
I am a teacher who will bring to the GCSD BOE her own experiences as an involved parent and professional educator from outside the Greece School District. I know what it means to be a parent of 3 children in a district that consistently changes policies, staff and curriculum to no one’s benefit; taxpayers, students or teachers. My election to the BOE will be advantageous for the Greece Schools since we often get bogged down with what we don’t know.
Tracey Farmer
Budget - May 12, 2010
Channel 10 Story about the budget. http://www.whec.com/news/stories/s1555216.shtml
Webmaster
Budget - May 12, 2010
Ok So here is what is in the latest letter from the Super!!
Items that meet the non-contingent criteria, as listed above, are required to be budgeted and accounted for using function and object codes prescribed by the State's Uniform System of Accounts, The district identified a total of $1,119,168 in expenditures that were required to be reduced should a contingent budget be adopted the same day as the budget vote, Should the budget be defeated, the Board of Education will have an opportunity to make any additional adjustments in addition to the required exclusions before the formal adoption of a contingent budget This looks like to me that they are already expecting the budget to fail and adopt the contingent budget.
Let's not take another look at the budget and make the cuts we need to.
Screw the people. This is what we want.
Webmaster
Teachers - May 11, 2010
Of the Current nine members on the GCSD BOE, two are teachers
Roger Boily was a teacher in the GCSD system prior to his position as town supervisor.
Dave Ferington only recently retired as a GCSD teacher. He last taught at Apollo two years ago.
The teaching profession is well represented on the current board since these two individuals comprise 22% of the board.
As in all things in life, "balance" is appropriate, even on the school board. That is something to consider as you make your choices for board members on May 18ty.
Frank Oberg
Candidates’ Night - May 10, 2010
I too attended Candidates Night on May 5th and thought most of the candidates did a good job as well. Although I do not agree that Tracey Farmer’s answers and comments did not put children first. Yes, she is a teacher and obviously will want to look out for teachers but she clearly holds children’s interest first, in stating that children will live up to our high expectation and wanting to see a combined effort between the board and teachers in educating them. In fact, being a teacher further enhances this statement. As a teacher she would have a clear understanding of what works and doesn’t work in the classroom bringing a great asset to the board, I don’t think any of the other candidates have that firsthand experience with handling students on a daily basis. Teachers are the districts greatest commodity in helping children succeed and their opinion should be held with respect in terms of educating our children.
Gina Ignatowski
Candidate's Night - May 8, 2010
As well as being an educator for 20 years I am also a taxpayer and member of the Greece Community. Our future depends on the success and well being of today's children. If students are to be successful then the district must be successful and connected to students and district success are teachers. It is this misunderstanding that sometimes causes conflict. The Greece School Board can be a model for community building.
If STUDENT LEARNING IS THE GOAL then it is essential that we invest in education, with all of its stakeholders in mind.
root Tracey Farmer
Candidates Night - May 6, 2010
Ok so I attended the forum last night.
Let me start by saying I am glad to see the Mr. Smith could get there on time and stay for the entire thing.
All candidates did a good job with the exception of Mr. Smith. He was bumbling answers. It is also not a good sign when a sitting board member says "I don't have enough information about this to answer". If you are currently on the board and not sure what is going on why would we want you back.
The other candidates did fair pretty well. I am concerned with the focus of Ms. Farmer. I understand that she is a teacher and wants to look out for the Greece teachers. This could be an issue. She will need to put the District first and this could be a conflict. Mr Grinhan seems like he has a great background. Finance, Auditor and so on. This could help the board. Mr. O'Connor seems level headed but is part of the Boily crew. The same with Mr. Mack.
Ms. O'Toole is committed to the students of this district. She has put in the time and knows what is going on in the schools. We should give her another 3 years to try and help us move in the right direction.
Ms. Race had some good answers last night and also seems student focused. She would be a great addition.
Overall I think that the public needs to stay AWAY from the Boily crew. This would be putting the Town of Greece running the school district. We all know how the Town government is doing these days. Let's vote 5, 6, 7 and have a chance next year of getting a new Superintendent and start moving in the right direction.
One more thing. I heard a lot of people talking about the Schools of Choice last night. They were throwing out numbers saying we could save $800,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 by getting rid of 2 schools. I know this looks like a lot of money. Think about it though. that is about .5% of the budget. I think there are a lot of areas we can look at that will save a lot more money.
Webmaster
Polling positions - April 20, 2010
The polling positions are as follows:
1 Jeff Smith
2 Tom Mack
3 Brian O'Connor
4 Tracey Farmer
5 Beth Race
6 Joe Grinnan
7 Gale O'Toole
Let's Pull 5 ,6 ,7
Webmaster
Running for Board - April 15, 2010
So Here are the people that have taken out petitions.
Adam Crandall
Tracey Farmer
Edward Gartz
Joe Grinnan
Thomas Mack
Joe Moscato
Brian O'Connor
Gale O'Toole
Beth Race
Bill Russell
Jeff Smith
Patrick Tydings
Does anyone know anything about the newcomers?
Boily Bunch - Thomas Mack, Brian O'Connor, Jeff Smith
Incumbents - Gale O'Toole, Patrick Tydings,Jeff Smith
Never Elect again - Bill Russell
Let us know if you know the background on the others.
Webmaster
You Tube - April 14, 2010
Audit: Funds Mismanaged in Greece: R News. - Take a look
Group Exposes Former School Superintendent: R News. - Take a look
VIDEO: NYS SCHOOL FUNDING - February 24, 2010
1. For those who are interested and may have missed the showing introduced by Board member VanOrman (GBOE Jan 12), go to http://www.bethechangeforkids.org .
2. Only 4 minutes long, this is a sobering message, comprehensive and filled with facts... for all New Yorkers to hear.
3. Thanks Julia.
4. Comments invited.
George Hubbard
Comments- January 14, 2010
In a desperate attempt to identify something positive accomplished by Achramovitch during his three year tenure, board member McCabe last night cofirmed his ignorance of the truth.
During his closing remarks he credited Achramovitch with ending the oppression of district teachers. Excuse me, but Steve had absolutely nothing to do with what took place. In fact, this practice is still happening under his watch by survivors of the 2005 purge conducted by Dr. Kehoe and five members of the 2005-2006 board, of which I was one.
Dr. Kehoe was wisely hired by that board and it was she who took measures to correct the discriminatory practice going on at that time. Under her tenure morale skyrocketed. The number of staff requiring medication plummeted.
For its part, the five member majority prevailed over the Phelan led opposition and removed those administrators responsible for the discrimination. Unfortunately, some who should have been ousted survived and are still in key administrative positions under Achramovitch. By giving Steve any credit for ending the reign of terror, which by the way earned Greece Central the title of "The Evil Empire" by teacher graduate schools, McCabe becomes the poster child for the ignorance and ineptitude of our present board.
As for Achramovitch's announced "voluntary retirement", an oxymoron if I ever heard one, don't close the book on him just yet.
By starting a search this late, only an expedited search process could produce a new superindent by July 1st. I fully expect Boily and McCabe to attempt to obstruct and stall the process. The implications are far-reaching and of concern. Consider this scenario:
Come May, the board has not found a superintendent. In May, Boily gets three more stooges elected to the board. This shifts the majority back to him. Come July 1st and no superintendent in place, the new majority does one of two things, hire Steve back as an interim super at $1,000 a day or the real nightmare scenario, Achramovitch withdraws his papers and is rehired for another three years. Can't happn? Don't be surprised.
So how do we finally close the book on Steve. The answer in my mind is obvious. Find and elect three Boily-proof members to the board. Reject Rotary and Chamber candidates. Then and only then will this district move forward with the right person in charge. History tells us that Steve is not that person. There's a saying that goes, "If there is one thing we learn from history is that we don't learn." We must not let that happen in Greece. Too much depends on that outcome.
Regards,
Joe Moscato
Calling all People - January 7, 2010
We are looking for people who would like to support the people of Greece and run for school board.
If you think you are a good candidate, Please let us know.
Webmaster
Superintendent - January 7, 2009
Generally, public school district superintendents are selected by a school board of a local school district. As chief executive officer of the public school, the superintendent has oversight for what is often one of the larger businesses within the community the district serves. They are typically given overall responsibility for personnel selection and appointment, preparation of operating budgets, and implementation of school policies and regulations. Ideally, the school superintendent will be knowledgeable in areas of school law, school finance and investment strategies, school construction, technology, curriculum and teaching and learning styles and methods, team-building, and skill at seeing "the big picture", able to pull many smaller elements to a cohesive and productive whole.
Most superintendents are members on the board of education (school board) of their school district, but they usually cannot vote as members of the board.[citation needed]
While there are exceptions, many school districts now require, or desire, that their superintendent hold a doctorate degree.
Depending on the state in which they serve, a public school superintendent might also be referred to as "chief education officer", or "chief executive officer".
Most superintendents are hired by the board of education (or board of trustees), which is a governing entity of the district composed of elected officials from the communities the school district serves.
What make a good Superintendent??
Let us know.
Webmaster
Comments - November 13, 2009
It seems my posting of the 14 items that demonstrated the incompetence of our superintendant has back fired and now I am being portrayed as the bad guy. I find this somewhat confusing as those now pointing fingers at me, were the same board members that encouraged me to release a document that I helped create and had in my computer file since last February and was my property. If I was still a board member, the content of that document would belong to the district, that's the law. However, because of the gross incompetence of this board, I planned on releasing it myself as its content was mine to do with as I please.
So to those stalwarts of futility, now running for cover on this board, I say this, had you done the right thing last June and gone public with your decision to terminate Achramovitch, this would not have taken place. I refuse to take the blame for your failures to this community.
Make no mistake, from this day forward, I will cease to care what happens in this school district. The board could care less and as far as I am concerned Steve can stay on for as long as he wants and our district will sink further into the depths of the academic abyss it is now in.
An apt description of this board would be, never have so few done so little for so many.
Joe Moscato
Achramovitch - November 11, 2009
Back in February of this year, Frank Oberg asked me to assist him in the preparation of the document which follows. This was prepared by Frank and me for the express purpose of presenting it as a part of Steve Achramovitch's June evaluation. Frank informed me that this document was included with other board member's concerns about Achramovitch's performance.
Since I share ownership with Frank, I recently asked him if he was ok with my releasing this information to the press, which I did last night. I purposely held back, hoping that the board would tell the public that as a result of a negative evaluation, a majority of the board gave Steve notice to seek other employment as, on June 30, 2010, he would be terminated. It didn't happen, thus my decision to go public. As you read these 14 items, bear in mind that Steve was defenseless and guilty as charged.
Read it, you be the judge and demand answers from this back room operating board.
Superintendent Issues
The following are issues of concern to me as they relate to the leadership of Steve Achramovitch:
1. School Visits..Steve promised prior to his hiring that he would regularly visit schools to find out what is going on. I have reports that this is not happening with regularity. For example, one individual said that he has visited her school only twice since he has been superintendent and one visit was but for a few minutes.
2. School Improvement Plans...This has been a major initiative of Steve to reform our district. This is not a topic that is reported on by Steve to the board. We are in the dark as to the efficacy of the initiative. We do not know what results or problems or progress is being realized.
3. Schools of Choice/Signature Schools...Approximately two years ago, the BOE passed a motion (5-3 in favor) asking the superintendent to study and report on the viability of this enterprise. He was going to establish a community task force. As of today the BOE has received no report on the status of the motion's study. A task force does not exist. The educational or organizational value of continuing with this organizational scheme has not been reported or discussed with the BOE. The motion has been ignored.
4. Consultant Hiring....Steve has engaged consultants at great cost to the district without a prior conversation with the board. The most glaring example is the engagement of O'Flavahavan Consulting on reading at a projected cost of $1.6 Million over 8 years. The BOE was not consulted ahead of time, data on success in other districts was not presented, the program goals were not outlined, and the implementation of the first year efforts got a mixed reaction from the district's teachers.
5. Strategic Direction...I do not sense that our superintendent has one in force for the district. I am unaware of any list that details the major issues within the district, what actions are planned to address these issues, what the status of these issue might be. There is not a focused effort to define problems, report out status to the BOE or the public. We just seem to bounce from pillar to post as circumstances warrant.
6. Capital Plan..An overall capital plan does not exist that details the district's needs (beyond EXCEL), timetable, nor cost of implementation. When discussing the superintendents goals in public session, I raised the concern that a plan needed to be added to his goals. My recollection is that he made a written note at the time but thus far has not added such a plan to his goals nor taken action to prepare one.
7. Loewke/Brill Report..This report languished without district action other than an inconsequential memo presented to the BOE by Mr. Schroeder. By Steve's own admission he never read the report until it was brought to light in discussions involving structural failures at Longridge School. There was no action taken to address the concerns raised in the report or report on the status.
8. Contract Negotiations..This is especially troublesome with regard to GTA. The negotiating strategy (based on feedback from BOE members present at some meetings)appeared to be unnecessarily adversarial with a "just say No" approach. Counter offers made by GTA were not revealed to the BOE (according to GTA sources). As HR (Human Resource) experience was presented by Steve as one of his strengths as a superintendent, leadership in this area has not been displayed. He has repeatedly asked the BOE for "guidance" but has never (to my knowledge) suggested to the board a contract negotiating strategy that might yield a successful result given our circumstances.
9. Operational cost vs. Declining Enrollment..Steve has not "volunteered" a plan to bring expenditures in line with the continuing decline in student enrollment. Any progress in this area has only occurred while under pressure to present a new district operating budget.
10. English Road Pediatrics.. In discussions regarding reappointment of the district's doctor, the potential engagement of this medical office was raised. There was a commitment made by the superintendent to discuss possible engagement of this firm. I am aware that no discussions were ever held with the principal doctor(s) of this practice as promised nor was there any follow up report to the BOE on this commitment.
11. Jakacovitch Termination..This individual's termination was never fully explained to the BOE. A lawsuit now exists against the district. There is some belief that organized eavesdropping of phone conversations/emails is underway in the district. This eavesdropping practice may have triggered the termination after a phone conversation was monitored between Jakacovitch and former member C. Hubbard.
12. Uniform district wide application of the Code of Conduct....There is no evidence that this policy has been uniformly implemented and enforced throughout our schools. Enforcement appears not to be a priority within the district. I believe this is leads to a poor classroom environment which in turn leads to an inappropriate learning environment.
13. School Violence...Numerous violent and behavioral incidents occur within the district. The superintendent indicated he would establish a committee to study this problem. I am unaware of this having been accomplished. The BOE is left to our own devices to determine if the recent spate of incidents is abnormally high, what the root causes are, or what strategies might be employed to bring this under control.
14. Follow up..This is a continuing problem on Steve's part. To illustrate may I remind you that after Steve's evaluation sheets were presented to him, he said that he would respond to the various comments made therein. A number of months have passed since the evaluation was shared with him and a follow up response has not been presented to the BOE. Lack of follow up is not unique to this item.
Joe Moscato
Fix the Economy - July 28, 2009
This is from an article in the St. Petersburg Times Newspaper . The Business Section asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?" I think this guy nailed it!
Dear Mr. President:
Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy.
Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the
money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan.
You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:
There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force.
Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the
Following stipulations:
1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.
It can't get any easier than that!
If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents pay their taxes...
Webmaster
STAR Rebate Check Program Update - May 19, 2009
Posted by Webmaster
From: "Michael Ranzenhofer" < SenatorRanz@intelisend.net
New York State Senator
Michael Ranzenhofer 61st Senate District
Dear Friend,
I would like to take a moment to update you on my efforts to restore the STAR Rebate Check program. As you already know, the STAR rebate checks were not included in the 2009-2010 State Budget. During the Budget debate, I proposed an amendment to reinstate the STAR rebate checks, but it was defeated by the Senate Majority. Western New Yorkers already pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation. Restoring the STAR rebate checks would provide $141.56 million in tax relief for homeowners in Western New York.
Now, I need your help! My Senate colleagues and I have started an online petition to pressure State lawmakers to restore the STAR rebate checks. You can sign the petition by visiting http://www.iwantmystarcheck.com/.
Hard copies of the petition are also available at my district office at 8203 Main Street - Suite 4, Williamsville, New York or at our soon to be announced community forum.
I hope that you will take this opportunity to join me and sign the online petition to reinstate the STAR rebate checks at http://www.IWantMyStarCheck.com. Together, we can have our voices heard and make a difference!
Very truly yours,
MIKE RANZENHOFER
State Senator
Webmaster
Comments - May 4, 2009
Since the chances of getting any conclusions from our dysfunctional police investigators, I have decided to post some of the evidence I uncovered last year regarding transgressions by Steve Walts and others when they left the district in July 2005.
As you may recall, the Comptrollers audit was released in May of 2007. As a result I and two other board members wanted to investigate the individuals responsible for the give-away of our tax dollars. Other board members resisted our efforts.
At two consecutive meetings that followed, then President Boily attempted to interfere with my right to place items on the agenda asking for our attorneys to look for ways to stop Steve Walts lifetime health care benefit. Methods employed by Boily and Hauer included numerous contacts and meetings with the district’s attorneys to stop my motions. As a result, I have documents that show that hundreds of dollars were billed by Harter Secrest in the endeavor by Boily, Hauer and Achramovitch.
In frustration I left the board in May to conduct my own investigation and what follows is evidence in support of my case against Walts and his outrageous health care benefit.
Exhibit 1 – Language added to his 2004 contract:
“For the purposes of any retirement benefit under the terms of this Agreement or any District collective bargaining agreement or other Board policy or regulation which is incorporated by reference herein, the Superintendent shall be deemed to have retired from his employment if he has completed at least 5 years of service as Superintendent of the District and there shall have been no finding of guilt on charges brought against the Superintendent [emphasis added].”
The following exhibits were acquired under the FOIL procedure:
In July of 2005, I received a whistle blower letter informing me that on Saturday of the 4th of July weekend that year, Walts, Imon and Johnson removed district property from their offices and placed them in their personal vehicles.
Exhibit 2 – Memo to Superintendent’s Staff from Keith Imon:
Our attorneys spoke with someone in authority who confirmed the removal of property and stated that it was district policy to allow departing employees to take the property of the district.
I made a FOIL request for that policy which was filed in May 2007.
The reply to my request was that no such policy or regulation exists that allows such employees to take district property.
I made a FOIL Request for a complete list of all property taken by Walts, Imon and Johnson.
Exhibits 3, 4 and 5 – MOU’s (Memoranda of Understanding) listing all items taken.
Exhibit3
Exhibit4
Exhibit5
Note the lack of authorizing signatures because no one in the district was authorized to enter into the MOU’s because there was no supporting policy.
I made a FOIL request asking for a list of all items listed on the MOU’s that were returned.
Exhibit 6 – The result of that FOIL request is the only existing document.
Note that it is dated, not signed and the serial numbers do not match those on the MOU’s.
I have names of witnesses and people with knowledge that I cannot publish but are contained in my complete report to the Attorney General.
This information was given to the current board as well as EFP Associates to place in their final audit report.
It is not my intent to imply the guilt or innocence of those involved. That’s a job for law enforcement who, as of this date, have refused to review my evidence of PROBABLE CAUSE that a LARCENY had taken place.
Until this school board takes the action indicated by my information and the result of the forensic audit, I and my group, Greece Citizens In Action, will continue to press the board to take action and cut off Walts’ health care for cause as spelled out in his contract. This community demands action. Every month we delay costs you and me $2,000 which cannot be recovered.
Regards,
Joe Moscato
This should be posted in all schools and work places - April 3, 2009
Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school.. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life.. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs..
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
Julie Pruitt
Change? (Or Not?) - March 23, 2009
Let's be somewhat "fair and balanced." I refer to the comments of Mr. Skeet.
1% salary reduction........The GCSD work force is virtually all unionized. A salary reduction of ANY amount would require the concurrence of the unions via collective bargaining. A salary reduction from the remaining small number of employees would not save the district much at all. A salary reduction is not likely EXCEPT through work force reductions.
Workforce Reductions......In the near four years I have served on the board (since July 2005), the district has cut positions in each budget year. That pattern continues in the current proposed budget for 09/10. Central Office high level administrative positions have been significantly reduced from the numbers present during the Walts era. There is careful consideration given to the IMPACT the cuts might have on class sizes, course electives offered, music programs, counseling services, etc. and other things that affect the kids directly.
That said, I personally would support more reductions. Government at all levels must learn to live within its means! For example, I do NOT support the restoration of the proposed budgets "level 2 cuts" EVEN if the governor (or legislature) restores the $5 Million in state aid that has been cut to date. I am of the opinion that we should use any aid restoration to "catch up" on district capital repairs. The outlook for future budget years suggest an 8% increase in the district's tax levy ( from the presentation made by Lou Alaimo at the March 17, 2009 BOE meeting.) Restoring these proposed personnel cuts to the budget means that the district must raise the money to fund these positions again next year. If we spend on capital projects, those particular tasks will not have to be refinanced next year!
Schools of Choice, Neighborhood schools.......As for discussion, this issue is periodically raised by myself and others. I lament the fact that the promised study (in response to a 5-3 vote of the board two years ago) has not been started. Closing a school is worthy of considerable discussion and public input before such a decision is taken. I have never been shown "proof" that schools of choice offer any particularly strong educational advantages over the more traditional neighborhood school concept. At the elementary school level "choice" students average approximately 10% of enrollment based on figures given last year. The community (and the kids) deserve a study of this issue to put the matter to rest. The rationale for starting the program to begin with (significant growth in district enrollment and school population imbalances) no longer exist. This is a matter that should weigh heavily on the public's election of future school board members!
Sports program reduction........ I don't particularly favor reduction in this as sports have been a significant part of the public school experience for too many years to count. I personally favor making some investments in improving our sports facilities, particularly if they would add to a greater sense of community. I don't believe we should ever field a GCSD team in raggedy uniforms and with sub standard equipment. That would reflect poorly on this community and on the health and safety of the participants.That said, we should always strive to operate a cost effective program.
Busing......I remind you that the district did change the distances between bus stops that yielded a savings in the current (08/09) budget year of $1 Million of the taxpayer's money. This action caused upheaval among some parents who took issue with this change. Despite this, I favor significantly more reductions in the current levels of busing. State law mandates a bus ride for elementary kids living more than two miles from school. High school students receive a bus ride by law if they live more than 3 miles from school. GCSD significantly exceeds these state standards by transporting any student that lives more than 1.5 miles from school and if the student is in K-5 is bussed regardless of the distance from school. I think there are valid cost reasons to change to a more reasonable level of busing. I also think, given the growing health concern about childhood obesity, that more walking would yield positive health benefits to our student population. I am also not influenced by the state aid reimbursement level for transportation expense (currently at 81%). Last I knew, I and those who reside in GCSD were also state taxpayers and should be concerned about the state expenditure level! This is another area that should be given voter consideration when selecting future school board candidates.
Change.......If the issues raised by Mr. Skeet are to be changed, it will take the involvement of the community to elect school board members that are willing to take on the tough issues. I recall an old adage....It is not always popular to do what is right AND it is not always right to do what is popular!
I am also mindful of another old adage...."You get the government you deserve!"
If the majority of the community wants to see change in the areas of discussion above, YOU will have to elect individuals that are willing to make change happen!
Respectfully,
Frank Oberg
Comments - March 22, 2009
In our local Press Journal this week there was a major article about the school budget cuts proposed by the school superintend of Port St. Lucie County. He needs to cut $30 million dollars from the budget for next year. Port St. Lucie County a bit more than double the size of Greece.
Across-the-board 1 percent salary reductions. Savings: $3 million
QUESTION: Could you ever see that happen in Greece Central?
Reducing its 4751 work force by 331 jobs through layoffs, reorganizing departments, resignations and retirement. Teachers represent 157 of those positions. Savings $18.6 million. QUESTION: That reduction is approximately 7% of the work force with the teacher reduction approximately 50% of the total reduction. Greece has approximately 2,000 employees. That would be a reductions of 140 employees and a reduction of 70 teachers.
Question: Could you ever see Greece make these hard decisions?
Closing one elementary, one kindergarten through eight-grade school, and one alternative school. Savings $1 million.
QUESTION: Could you ever see Greece even DISCUSS the closing of Schools of Choice, Signature Schools, closing of an elementary school and a return to neighborhood schools?
Reducing high school and middle school sports. Savings $1 million
QUESTION: Could you ever see Greece reducing high school sports especially hockey?
Fewer bus stops for magnet schools and changes in routes. Savings $900,000
QUESTION: Could you ever see Greece to increase walking distance even to 50% of the state walking distance recommendations?
Get the County Commission to absorb the district’s share of school resource officer expenses. Savings: $2.7 million.
QUESTION: Could you ever see the Monroe County Legislature or County Executive Maggie or Greece Supervisor Auberger or the Greece Police increasing their support for Greece Central?
With Greece School Superintendent and BOE President giving lip service to “Everything is on the table” while maintaining Schools of Choice, Signature Schools, with no discussions of a return to neighborhood schools and no changes in busing other school districts are tackling difficult decisions.
Sincerely,
Doug Skeet
Immaculee Ilibagiza - February 28, 2009
Tickets still on sale for evening of March 5th, 7pm at Greece Athena Performing Arts Center at 800 Long Pond Rd. Guest Speaker: Immaculee Ilibagiza - survivor of the Rwandan Holocaust. Named Woman of the Year 2006 Immaculee tells her story of hiding in a local minister's bathroom for months while her people were being murdered outside the walls of her hiding place. Immaculee shares her message of survival, personal faith, hope for the future and forgiveness. Please join us for this VERY special and inspirational evening.
Tickets may be reserved ahead (ready for you at the door) by calling: 330-5613, 313-2263 or 749-2039, 723-8954. If machine comes on - leave a mesage! Student rate: $20.00 Adult rate: $25.00 previously "neglected" note: Seniors welcome for the student rate, if you would like to negotiate group pricing for your book club, youth group, church group, etc Call 330-5613
Terry Luther
Help! - February 23, 2009
This is a request for your help.
Last November, your School Board through their attorneys, made a formal request to the Monroe County District Attorneys Office for an investigation. This request was brought about as a result of findings of the forensic audit conducted by EFP Associates. The subject of the investigation concerned the activities of former Superintendent Walts and Keith Imon and Keith Johnson, assistant superintendents under Walts who moved with him to PWC in Virginia.
Since the first of the year I have been in touch with contacts in the DA's office and as of this date, no action has taken place concerning the request.
I have grown frustrated as I was told they were very interested in the information I uncovered relative to these three individuals. I have yet to be interviewed. It appears to me that some political stonewalling is going on regarding this investigation. The expected results of this investigation will be instrumental in ending Steve Walts' Greece taxpayer supported health care for life, a gift by previous boards that has cost us $24,000 per year.
Here is where you can help. Pick up the phone and call DA Mike Green and demand that he authorize his staff to move forward. I am told they are ready to go but are awaiting the "green light." Public pressure is the only way I know of to break this stalemate.
If you would like Walts' health care rescinded, then make this call and we will be able to stop this undeserving gift of our money.
Thanks,
Joe Moscato
An Evening with Immaculee Ilibagiza - February 20, 2009
An Evening with Immaculee Ilibagiza
Hosted by, Greece Community Travel Group - an organization formed to plan and help fund educational travel abroad for students, alumni and parents
Greece Performing Arts Center
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
7:00pm to 10:00pm
Click here to read the Flyer. - Click Here
Terry Luther
Tour through the British Isles - February 20, 2009
Come join us following Greece Schools Graduations 2010
As we travel with EF Tours through the British Isles
Log on to EF Tours, go to #628947. To register you must pay the $95.00 non-refundable registration fee and you are then a member of our tour group. Students, parents, family members, alumni, Greece staff are welcome to join us for this exciting educational adventure.
See the Itinerary here. Click Here
Terry Luther
Tours through the British Isles Comments - February 19, 2009
Correction;
I made a mistake in my example on year 2 - should be $550 district share $495
My thanks to the person who pointed this out.
Charlie Hubbard
Contracts - February 18, 2009
As the board and administration continue to negotiate employee contracts let me suggest the community should be VERY concerned with how this is proceeding.
The board has recognized (finally) of the 'continuation of contracts' via the Tribourgh amendment to the Taylor law. So what does the board do? They have set up the taxpayers to be raped yet again. I refer to the use of 'percent' within contracts as to what the taxpayers are obligated to pay for employee medical coverage. This item is a huge cost and what the board recently approved in the teamsters contract fails to protect the taxpayers in a responsible way.
Example, the board approves a contract paying 90% of employee health care year 1 health care is say $500/ month - cost to the taxpayers $450 - cost to the employee $50 year 2 cost go up 10% - cost to the taxpayers $545/ month - cost to employee $55
Because the board has approved a 'percent' and with 'continuation of contract' the taxpayers are on the hook for 90% of any and all increases on and on and on.
Do you think those employees are concerned about the cost increases of health care? The taxpayers take it on the chin again.
Some are concerned about the Walts lifetime medical as they should be. Because he was given a contract where the taxpayers are on the hook for 100% percent of the cost is bad enough BUT it's 100% no matter the cost. The board had no idea the commitment of $$ they were making (and didn't care) WELL this board just made a similar commitment.
The board is well aware of this as i talked about it several times - it appears i failed OR they conveniently forgot.
Charlie Hubbard
chubbard005@rochester.rr.com
615-2678
Observations - February 14, 2009
Regarding the coaching situation:
I have no personal knowledge of any of the facts however the following has been in print. An allegation was made that two district employees consumed alcohol while district students were in their care. The superintendent mounted an investigation the employees involved were questioned about it and answered in the affirmative. The chief executive hired by the district acted to protect the district from liability,protect the students and, administer departmental discipline. I fail to see where the superintendent acted rashly or inappropriately. The duly elected politicians (school board) saw fit to overrule his decision.
Responsibility now rests with the board. One question that occurred to me, if the employee had been a bus driver, Teacher aid, district truck driver or other employee under similar circumstances with the same expectations and responsibilities would the same outcome be acceptable. Regarding "Pillars of the Community" . If you go to town hall you will find a wall with a lot of names on it, Veterans. If a Fireman or EMS worker shows up at your house at 3a.m. because you called for help most likely they are volunteers. The people who patrol the parks and direct traffic a public events in the town are volunteers. People who deliver meals on wheels and volunteer in hospitals and work with underprivileged kids and disabled citizens are volunteers. Most of these people labor in relative obscurity not for personal gain but because it is the right thing to do. We do not need to be told who the "Pillars of the Community" are we already know.
The poseurs are also self evident.
William Empey
Tell it like it is... - February 13, 2009
Thanks for the concern and the 'constructive' criticism, but the Union did not tell me to do anything. I apologized to the people who I had considered to be more than colleagues.
I NEVER suggested cuts to the teaching staff. Extra curricular positions are apart from teaching contracts and some (not all) of these are held by people who do not teach in the district.
As I said, these are hard times that will call for creative solutions. Cutting teaching staff, isn't a creative solution; in fact it's the LEAST creative thing that people look at and takes no thought.
We should also be aware of people using 'semantics' to justify any cuts. Programs are run by teaching staff. You cannot cut one without effecting the other.
Doug, as always, I appreciate your opinion, but you usually can give a better arguement. Did you even read all of what I wrote? And where are the statistics to back up what you said? To tell the truth, I was hoping for that arguement back. I am not always correct, but show me I am wrong and why.
I suppose I only get to give my opinion when people agree with it.
As I said, I NEVER advocated for anyone losing any part of their teaching job, and I think that teachers and the programs that they teach should be LAST in consideration. The people who have been my friends understand what I meant and are equally aware that as a Senior Building rep for two years, I went to bat MANY times for a variety of causes.
Now, the parents need to get involved in these conversations as it is their child's education. Unfortunately, most do not even know what to make of it all because they do not know what is REALLY happening. They count on the Doug Skeets to give good statistical information to support their feelings. Otherwise they are being emotional, not pragmatic.
I am also a parent in this community and I will speak out when i feel I have to. It's always different when people agree with me. I am certain I have many feelings and thoughts they do not agree with.
Just so anyone knows, I don't like any of it....but this is real life and we had all better get ready to roll our sleeves up. It's going to get worse before it gets better. Other people are getting clobbered too and we should never lose sight of that.
John Yeara
Sorry Frank - February 13, 2009
It sucks to be wrong, Frank. And, as usual, you are.
Thanks, board, for making the right call. 8-1 sounds pretty definitive,
Frank.
Chris Lerch
Thunder Hockey Fiasco - February 11, 2009
I sent the following message to various individuals who have "thanked" the board for last evenings action on Thunder coaches.
I want to make clear that I did not support last night's board decision. I think the board's action was irresponsibile, violates the board's own Zero Tolerance policy for drugss (including alcohol) as delineated in Policy number 6151 and Policy number 6150, sets a poor example for our kids to follow, and undermines the superintendents ability to maintain order within the district. My message follows:
I had no hand in this matter. I am disgusted by the action of the board in this matter. I did not and do not support this undermining of the Superintendent's disciplinary role. This community is unable to tell the difference between principled behavior and response to mob rule.
Despite the arguments and hyperbole presented, however passionately, these two coaches were wrong for disregarding their responsiblity to serve as role models for our students. Had there been an "event", I am certain the very folks who wanted the restoration of their coaches to duty would have been contacting lawyers to sue the district and this board for the irresponsible behavior exhibited by district coaches.
As far as I am concerned, this community has "dumbed down to the lowest common denominator" as far as responsible adult behavior. It saddens me greatly.
Frank Oberg
Walts' Health Care - February 4, 2009
A few thoughts on Jim Leary's comments. No one has worked harder than I have to end the taxpayer ripoff of Steve Walts' health care.
On the surface Jim's comments have merit. However, Jim may not be familiar with the contents of Walts' last contract. Yes, one could make the case that as the CEO of the district, all the problems disclosed in the Comptroller's Audit, the Loewke-Brill Report, the EFP Forensic Audit and the Carr Report, he was responsible for all these recently found discrepancies.
One thing you quickly learn as a cop is that it's not what you know, it's what you can prove that counts. Proving Walts was aware of and was part of the problem would be a stretch if he files an Article 78 proceeding against the district for ending his health care in violation of his contract.
Given the fact that the District Attorney has been asked by attorneys for the district to look into abuses of cell phone privileges, among other things, and adding to that what I know and can prove, it is my opinion that it would be prudent to wait until there is a finding of criminal activity by the Special Unit assigned by the District Attorney. If they make that determination, that would be the time to pull the plug on Walts' health care as we would now have a solid defense should he challenge the district.
I have worked hard on this initiative and would hate to see the board pull the trigger before we are holding all the high cards. Waiting a little longer to accomplish this is in order. If we are going to take this shot, let's make it our best shot
Joe Moscato
Why are Greece taxpayers still paying Walts health care - February 4, 2009
After reading the December 20, 2005 letter from Allan Berry, which is attached to the Berry Report. Mr. Berry's belief is that the architect of the application process, for teacher evaluation, was the Superintendent of Schools Steve Walts working in concert with Margaret Keller-Cogan. The financial audit of the Capital Improvement Project found that it was over budget by around 2 million dollars. I am very confused as to why we the Greece Taxpayers are still paying health care benefits for Mr. Walts when under HIS watch these things happened. I feel that the current Board of Education should immediately terminate the health care benefits for Mr. Walts and let the chips fall where they may.
Jim Leary
Factual Recall vs. Berry Report - February 3, 2009
To remind those who may have cloudy recollections of the timeline of events surrounding the Berry Report, I offer the following:
Here's my recollection..... Josephine Kehoe wasn't even hired for several weeks until after the Board commissioned, via our attorneys, Allen Berry to conduct his investigation. On the night of the big board (September 2005)meeting down in Apollo's auditorium, I recall the Board announcing these actions:
Meg was put on paid leave of absence;
Ass't Sup't Lisa Buckshaw was named "Acting Superintendent" on a temporary basis;
Don Nadolinski was directed to assist Allen with the investigation by coordinating and making available employees to be interviewed
Brian Ludwig, Ass't Sup't for HR was also put out on paid leave
Carol Pallas, then second in command in Human Resources, was directed to make available all required personnel documents
My recollection is that Jo Kehoe was hired as "Interim Superintendent" about 3-4 weeks later.
Like I said, Josephine Kehoe had nothing to do with the Berry Report. She had plenty to do with making improvement in the district's work environment amidst extremely difficult times.
Opinions and phoney allegations are not a substitute for truth nor the facts!
Regards,
Frank Oberg
Wages, the Taylor Law, and Budgets - February 3, 2009
As a former board member, Ms. Miller knows that the district can not unilaterally declare reductions in wages and /or benefits of our union employees despite the challenging financial conditions in which we find ourselves.
That can only be accomplished by negotiating a new labor contract.
Perhaps some of you are not aware that the district is already planning to reduce a number of positions in the 2009/2010 budget owing to a declining student enrollment. Those reductions are already embedded in the current budget proposal.
The Superintendent is also proposing that additional teaching and support employee reductions be considered to help close the projected $9M budget gap and thus help avoid an increase in the next year's tax levy. This reduction must yet be approved by the board of education. I support these reductions as essential to closing the existing budget gap. We have had "small" class sizes for years without provable progress in academic performance.
I am reasonably certain that the GTA is following the budget discussions, all of which are being conducted in full public view.
There are a number of other things under consideration to contain cost and thus avoid a tax levy increase.
Virtually anything that is cut, eliminated, or reduced will meet with considerable opposition and will make some, even many, unhappy.
That said, my position is clear. Be it transportation (which this district unnecessarily does way too much of), signature schools, secondary options, schools of choice, cost sharing ratios for health care benefits, wages, or central office headcount, everything has to come under scrutiny for possible elimination or reduction. I will not support a single penny of increase in the tax levy for the 2009/2010 budget year. I do not see any tax levy increase as necessary or affordable by most taxpayers in the community.
That said, I am not the least interested in "gutting" the overall educational experiences of our students. Sports, music programs, and the arts all have an important role in the development of our student population.
It is time to eliminate the "unnecessary expenditures" in GCSD. The difficult problem is to thoughtfully determine how best to accomplish that. Compromise and sacrifice are going to be necessary.
Regards,
Frank Oberg
What Am I Missing? - February 3, 2009
Fiduciary.......Of, pertaining to, or involving one who holds something in trust for another:....Of, or pertaining to , or denoting a trustee or trusteeship,..... A person who stands in a special relationship of trust, confidence, or responsibility in his obligations to others, as a company director or an agent of a principal.
The preceeding definition(s) were taken out of the American Heritage Dictionary.
A school board member has a fiduciary responsibility to the school district (and to the taxpayers thereof) to which he or she has been elected. I have always tried to take my fiduciary role seriously.
As the Berry Report gave an "unflattering" (my word choice) picture of how the district applied it's entirely reasonable teacher evaluation tool during the time period in question, it seems to me that its release while certain lawsuits were proceeding apace would give the plaintiffs "ammunition" which would help them make their case(s) against the district. That is why the board's attorneys recommended to the BOE that the attorneys engage the report directly. The attorneys could then hold the report as a legal "work product" which was thusly protected under the client/attorney privilege thereby shielding it from release. At the time of its commissioning, some members of the board wanted to know from an unbiased source whether the district's management had engaged in unfair treatment of our employees.
As the district and the board has and had a legal obligation to defend the district's (and the taxpayers) financial interests against the plaintiff's lawsuits the report could not be released.
Personnally, I was appalled and disgusted by the manner in which district employees were treated by the district's now departed management. I believe that all employees should be treated with fairness while still holding them to reasonable standards of performance and behavior.
My personal feelings could not diminish my legal obligation as a fiduciary. My responsibility was and is to protect the district against the lawsuits while still trying to see that district managers treated our employees in a fair and reasonable manner. I felt that way before I was elected in May 2005 and still feel that way today as an elected board member.
That sense of responsibility is the reason I voted against the release of the Berry Report even now after all the lawsuits have been settled. Our current attorney's legal advice was to avoid the release of the report. The rationale that the "taxpayers paid for it" holds no water for me. The taxpayers "pay" for the district's personnel records and student records and we do not release them. In fact we are precluded by law from doing so.
I would also like to mention that, unlike the prior years when unfair treatment reports were rampantly swirling around this district, I am not currently hearing similar reports over the past two years. That suggests to me that things have improved. If I am wrong I would like to be enlightened with factual evidence to the contrary.
I would also like to inform that interim Superintendent Josephine Kehoe had absolutely nothing to do with the commissioning of the Berry Report, its cost, or its witholding from public view. Happily, Dr. Kehoe played an instrumental leadership role in ending the "teacher improvement plans" started by her predecessors and to the restoration of appropriate professional treatment of district employees. I am grateful to her for her service.
I hope the aforegoing makes a modicum of sense to those of you who are capable of thoughtful analysis. To the rest, nothing I say can possibly make any difference.
Frank Oberg
Berry Report - February 3, 2009
Having just read the Berry report I see it as a professional, detailed, straight forward report that "Tells It" as it was during the time of Steve and Meg.
Basically taking an excellent teacher evaluation instrument and unfairly implementing it on the teachers.
I see no reasons the report should not have been made public.
What am I missing?
Enjoy
Doug Skeet
Berry report - February 2, 2009
The infamous report is now on line at the district's website.
Frank Oberg
Berry Report
A Short History of the Taylor Law - February 2, 2009
Hi Folks:
Frank's comments regarding the Taylor Law are on target.
The New York State Taylor Law was established in 1967. It was created for two reasons, first and foremost, to prevent public employees from going on strike and walking off the job. Such actions involved everything from public safety and transportation to garbage collection. Secondly, it gave public employees the right to unionize and negotiate terms and conditions of employment with their municipalities. The law established PERB or the Public Employee Relations Board to oversee the provisions. Penalties for public employees going on strike were now considerable. Those on strike were docked two days pay for every day they did not report to work and union leaders were instantly incarcerated. It worked well for many years.
However, the stronger downstate police, fire and teachers unions were able to get legislatures to add amendments to the law that created an uneven playing field tilted heavily toward employees and against public employers.
The results of a court case brought by a downstate union resulted in what is known today as the "Triboro Doctrine." This decision would result in dire consequences for public municipalities. Prior to this decision, municipalities had the ability to force a contract on employee unions when their current contracts expired and negotiations were at an impasse.
The Triboro decision ruled that public employers must continue to adhere to the terms and conditions of an expired contract until a new agreement was reached. This allowed unions to drag out negotiations for an indefinite period of time without risk to existing benefits and conditions.
Some of you people think that all the school board needs to do is tell teachers that they must take a 10% cut in pay. This simply is not possible according to the law.
Until our legislators in Albany change these conditions by amending the Taylor Law, public employers remain handcuffed during negotiations. Given the power and resources of the large downstate unions, I wouldn't expect this to happen anytime in the near future.
Regards,
Joe Moscato
Different Look At Union Issue - February 2, 2009
While I agree with Frank on the basic issue of past union contracts financially strangling our community and the Taylor Law, I have to disagree with him that nothing can be done about cuts in salaries and benefits for current union folks.
The way to resolve saving money and closing our $9 million budget gap is to let the unions know that either they come to the table and re-negotiate pay freezes/salary cuts and pay more for their benefits OR the district will start letting people go. Period. The agrument that laying off teachers/support staff/bus drivers will hurt education is in my opinion hogwash. This is a well oiled PR machine at work by the unions to create havoc in the district and scare parents. As for class sizes.....we already have very low class sizes and our academic results are in the toilet anyway and have been for quite some time. Adding another kid or two is not going to make it worse. This community has been extremely generous over the last two decades to the people who WORK for US. If they can't give back to the community who has paid their bills, then so be it. And this is not teacher bashing. This is union bashing. The unions don't give a rat's rearend about us or the kids. They only care about how much more they can bleed us for more money.
In addition to staff cuts the district needs to fix the transportation issue. Outside of our labor contracts this is the biggest piece of the budget. Bussing kids all over gods green acres is insane. If the super can't fix this problem and the secret lottery for schools of choice then he needs to go. We simply cannot sustain this level of taxation anymore.
PS....As you can see by John Yeara's second posting in as many days, the union took him to the woodshed for his previous comments. He had to post an apology for suggesting employee cuts. Pitiful.
Anne Miller
Former Greece School Board Member
Berry Report - February 2, 2009
While I believe that the release of the Berry Report will result in more harm than good, it will address some of the details that prompted our former superintendent to resign rather than face the guaranteed alternative. The key word in the above statement is "SOME."
Joe Moscato
My Dearest Friend John Yeara - February 2, 2009
Sadly your apology doesn't cut it. Your words and your apology only goes out to your fellow teachers that may loose a couple of dollars coaching, if your ill advised plan of eliminating modified sports was ever implemented. You must be getting a lot of heat from your colleagues.
The apology you should be writing is to the middle students of Greece Central. Shame on you for your suggestion of eliminating the middle school modified sports program. As you should know or may of forgotten middle school students go through a tremendous number of changes between 5th and 9th grade. It is a time when they are searching for their own identity. It is a time that they are exploring their own feelings and activities. It is the responsibility of a quality middle school program to offer as many possibilities for positives student involvement as possible.
At budget cutting time it is easy to say lets cut this or lets cut that. Can students live without an art program? Of course they can. Can students live without vocal music instruction and chorus? Of course they can. Can students live without PE? Of course they can. Would their lives be as rich and fulfilled without these activities of course not.
Research as shown, students that are more involved with school are more successful in school. All student activities are important. The greater number of courses, clubs and activities the better. Different activities are important to different students. A size 42 coat does not fit everyone.
You are too young to know a time when Greece and other school districts did not have a full complement of courses and activities for students. There was a time when PE, art and music teachers would have the annual march to district office and to the Board of Education to fight for money to keep these programs for students. In the last 20 years funding has been made available for the students.
It is irresponsible on your part to so quickly recommend the elimination of a successful program that benefits many students. There are many places to begin to find money. Greece is currently keeping diesel fuel instead of teachers. Districts are currently in a political battle with the county, state and federal governments. Just this pass week millions of dollars are now available to Monroe County school districts and Greece no longer has such a budget short fall.
What is not needed is a teacher suggesting the elimination of an entire sports program for all middle school students. Think beyond your nose before you start typing.
Sincerely
Doug Skeet
Labor contracts - January 30, 2009
Be advised that the last three labor contracts approved by the current Board of Education contained a provision that limited all new hires to a 70/30 split on health care benefits.
The most recently approved Teamster's contract contained such a provision.
GCSD is, I believe, the only Monroe County school district that is limiting the district's health care obligation for new hires to 70 percent of the cost. This represents a real improvement over prior agreements.
The numerous critics of this board shoud brush up on the constraints of the Taylor Law. This law requires the district to honor all of the provisions of a labor agreement UNTIL such time as a new agreement can be reached. This might explain(if anyone truly cares) why new contracts are not easily reached.
It also might explain why arbitrary cuts in wages during periods of financial crisis is simply not achievable.
The board will also be meeting on February 3 to discuss updating district negotiating parameters on future contracts.
Frank Oberg
An apology/explanation - January 29, 2009
As per my last statement, I owe an apology to my colleagues that do coach modified sports and ARE teachers in the district; which there are apparently more than I realized. My comments were never intended to be taken as removing any part of any teachers's job...and I would never advocate for that....
My meaning was to keep any cuts as far away from the classroom as possible....certainly, there are many other ways than what I had suggested, and there are people who know a lot more about it than do I.
I would only like to offer this as well; these are uncertain economic times and will call for creative solutions that are going to be uncomfortable for many of us. That doesn't mean,however, that we leave the ideas to those 'in charge'. As we have seen with Wall Street, that has not been so great.
It is certainly easier when you give opinions that most people agree with. Unfortunately, that isn't always going to be the case. We have had situations over the past few years where people were fearful to use their voices or put their own name on their words. During those times, they were happy to let me speak up. People have to decide for themselves what they believe in.
Again, I apologize to my colleagues; if this seemed as if I did not value their contributions, because that is not the case. I was speaking more out of concern that ANY teaching positions be lost and that instruction of students gets put behind political posturing.
John Yeara
Cuts in education - January 27, 2009
Hmmmm...no comments in awhile....
Here's something to chew on.
If our district is looking at cuts, look at extracurricular activies first as they are not part of program. In particular; w/ all due respect to my Phys Ed collleagues; the modified sports program. We didn't have it when we were in school inthe 'good old days' of education.
My reasons are;
a) All the tax payers chip in to fund our districts schools via taxes. But not all the kids participate.
b) Modified sports is killing community teams such as little league baseball, pop warner football, and soccer leagues.
c) Modified sports are completely funded by the district and usually hire coaches and officials that are not teachers in the district. Additional costs for transportation are also a concern.
d) By hurting community programs, you are hurting parental involvement and volunteering. Parents will often volunteer to coach little league or officiate, or run the concession stands for community teams. All we do at modified contests are sit in the stands. Many parents can't even do that because these contests take place right after school when parents (who aren't teachers) may still be working. Parental 'volunteering' is virtually non-existent at modified school sports contests; especially in comparision to community programs.
e) Please don't give me the bit about keeping the kids fit, because the kids who need the excercise aren't the one's going out for these programs.
f) In 7th & 8th grade, kids are not staying in school because of sports, they are staying in school because that is the law...they cannot dropout in 7th or 8th grade.
The bottom line is that the main purpose for schools are to educate these students not prepare them for a career as an athlete. I have had parents say to me "I want my child to get a scholarship for sports". How about putting in the effort to get an academic scholarship? Which will be more useful towards a career for these kids?
I have had kids blow off a make-up FINAL exam to go to a team practice (just last week!) We have reached ludicrous speed here, folks!
Even if any of them do become professional athletes.....are these people anyone to look up to? Plaxico Burress? Adam Jones? Terrell Owens? Roger Clemens? But they are rich, so who really cares, right?
And about those careers; the average career of an NFL player is 3 years! So then what? Will we have to listen to them for another 10 years on ESPN as they mangle the english language (which they can't speak correctly because instead of getting help in E.L.A. after school, they had to go to their modified team sport to practice).
But all of that is tracing the lines a bit too far....For now, in this time of financial distress for school districts all over N.Y. State, isn't it just prudent to put the resources into what benefits our kid's education? And if families want more sports for their kids, let them join the community teams where other families aren't paying for their kid's participation. At the same time, we'll be building these programs back up, and getting more adults to volunteer in the community and get involved with their kids. I am not sure how much money this will save the district, but i am sure someone will look into it now.....what I am sure of is that it doesn't effect teacher's jobs or kids programs. The only way it will effect the H.S. sports is that they won't have their own farm system anymore.
You know, like the 'good ole days".
By the way; my son is on a modified team.
He has also played on community teams that have been effected by kids not showing up due to conflicts w/ modified games.
The schools should NOT have to take care of everything for the community. Our job is to educate them. There are a lot of critics out there saying that things were better in the 'good ole days' of education. Seems to me, cutting the modified sports porgram may cure a few things!
(again, apologies to my phys ed. colleagues....but I think it beats having your day time job cut!)
One last thing; can someone find out what the district spends on modified sports programs? (and I mean everything, the costs of the building use, transportation, coaches salaries, officails fees, etc...)
John Yeara
I Told You So - December 14, 2008
I hate to say “I told you so”, but “I told you so.” This comment is directed at six members of the 2006-2007 school board that voted to hire Steve Achramovitch in September of 2006. This action took place after our unanimous choice, Craig King, backed out at the last minute for personal reasons. When we chose King, we had rejected Achramovitch who had become a finalist over the objections of three board members. The point is if we had rejected him for the job already, why would we want to choose him or, for that matter, the third finalist?
When King backed out, we three members called for a special meeting to discuss starting a new search. Our contract with the search consultants was for $13,000 and was contingent upon our hiring someone recommended by them So, starting a new search would not cost taxpayers additional funds. Unfortunately, four board members, newly elected Boily, Hauer and VanOrman along with Russell, boycotted the special meeting citing personal commitments. What happened next defied logic and explanation.
At 4:00 p.m. the day of the meeting, I would receive a call from Board President Walsh telling me that at that same special meeting, they were going to vote to hire Achramovitch. I was floored. In spite of my attempts to point out the numerous violations of board policy and State Laws, I was unable to convince him to postpone that action until the board had time to read and consider the contract. I failed.
Curiously, at 6:30 p.m. that same evening by some miracle, Boily, Hauer, VanOrman and Russell suddenly were available. What happened next was a travesty, as the board voted 5-3 (Hubbard absent) to hire him without anyone having a chance to read his contract terms. The action of Boily, Hauer, VanOrman and Russell did not surprise me, but I will never understand why Ken Walsh allowed this to happen in the first place and why he supported Achramovitch. Would anyone care to venture a guess as to which of the newly elected board members was the architect of that Friday night massacre of our school district?
So why the “I told you so?” Here’s why. During the search process I talked personally with several people in the Kenmore School District. Their advice to me was to avoid this guy at all costs as he was a disrupter and did nothing but cause unnecessary labor problems resulting in costly arbitration which he routinely lost. I shared this information with my fellow board members who simply dismissed my warnings and that of Frank Oberg about this guy. Their motivation was obvious. In their haste to get rid of Dr. Kehoe (the only competent superintendent in this district in over ten years), they voted to saddle this district with Achramovitch. As a result, I believe some of those early supporters are now realizing too late their mistake of that black Friday in September of 2006.
A month later, mistakenly believing that the new members truly wanted unity on the board, we voted for Achramovitch to make it unanimous. This would be our biggest mistake as not only did it not promote unity, Achramovitch did nothing to change my original opinion about his competency. If anything, our original evaluation of Steve Achramovitch was absolutely correct and then some
Joe Moscato
Attorney General - November 19, 2008
I am pleased to announce tht members of Greece Citizens In Action and C.A.R.E. met with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and one of his top aides at last night's forum in Irondequoit.
We briefly discussed our request for action by his office regarding the State Comptroller's Audit and our supporting documentation.
While no guarantees were made, he did promise swift action by his office after a thorough review of our request as to whether or not intervention by his office was warranted.
Joe Moscato, Esecutive Director
Greece Citizens In Action (GCIA)
Banned Issue - November 9, 2008
Sunday November 9th 3:00 PM
We have reached a new low in Greece Central. Yes, it is true I have been banned from speaking at the BOE forums. I have been out of town since the last BOE meeting on Tue. Nov 4 2008. On Wed. Nov 5 2008 I called Lynne Armstrong to be placed on the list of speakers for the next BOE on Tue. Nov. 11 2008. I am
Lynne told me that I could no longer speak at the BOE meetings because I do not live in the Greece School District. I reminded Lynne that BOE President Julia, at each BOE meeting, always is asking for "Community" input, not resident input. Lynne responded with "Yes but the BOE has had a "discussion" about the BOE policy on "resident's" forum and I will not be able to speak because I am not a resident of Greece Central." Thus she could not put my name on the list of speakers for the next BOE meeting.
Now under the cover of "resident's forum" I am currently banned from speaking at BOE meetings. In recent times, Judy Braiman-Lipson, form Brighton, spoke to the BOE on the ill health effects associated with artificial turf fields. Non-resident Greece teachers have spoken at BOE forums, especially at budget times.
Sunday November 4:30 PM
I have currently found out that there was NO BOE discussion or BOE vote regarding community or resident participation at BOE forums. Thus someone or subgroup within Greece Central, not the collective BOE, has directed Lynne Armstrong to not allow Doug Skeet to speak at BOE meetings.
This issue will be further explored in the coming days.
Enjoy
Doug Skeet
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