When Does the Taxpayer Abuse End in New Rochelle ?or How I learned to “sext” in school

Written By: Talk of the Sound News

Here goes another “isolated incident” in the New Rochelle School system. In the 3 or 4 months I’ve been visiting this website, there have been an awful lot of these “isolated incidents”. I don’t think any of them have been reported in the Journal News thanks to Aman-asleep at the wheel -Ali. I did see a news 12 reporter interviewing parents about the sexting incident, so, I guess as soon as Talk of the Sound uncovers a story, the local news will pick it up. It seems as if WE have become the only local news for New Rochelle these days. If the sexting incident is true as reported, where are the mandated reporters? SOMEBODY transferred this person, so they violated the mandated reporting laws. Virtually any person working in a school or in administration IS, by law, a mandated reporter. If any part of this story is true, it’s not just the security guard who’s guilty of a crime. This is how the school board protects our children, by classifying every incident as “isolated”. By moving people around to get them out of the limelight until the heat dies down. Didn’t the Catholic church do that with the child molesters? There are SO many good people in the schools it just isn’t fair that they get painted with the same brush. That is solely the fault of higher ups. They have allowed/cultivated this environment through poor managment skills,lack of proper oversight, refusing to demand accountability, and acting in their own self interest.They seem to lack the skillsets needed to manage a 230 million dollar budget. What has it gotten us? Slipping achievement levels, corrupt carpenters, aides physically abusing a special ed kid, exposing Mr Daly for the charlatan and double dipper he is, failing to help a mother and her son with the broken wrist, violent security guards at Isaac, completely failing in their fiduciary duty by ignoring every indicator about property tax revenue until the very last minute to purposely tie the hands of the taxpayer(your school tax will be double what they told you),corporal punishment marches at Trinity, unheated classrooms at Jefferson, lobbying for votes by lying about the full day kindergarten being contigent on a yes vote to the budget,D. Polow insisting we(the taxpayer) have to spend more money even when folks are losing their houses and jobs yet, Mr O and co. get raises, wow, should I go on. As I said, this is only in the last 3 months! What the hell is going on in that Board of Ed of ours?
So, when does it end? May 19th. That’s when. Because WE are going to the voting booth, WE are sending in absentee ballots, WE are deciding to make change for the better. If we have to “suck it up” let’s do it, let the State come in and clean house. We’ll all be better for it(well, not all of us, Mr O will have some explaining to do).Spread the word and join together to help this city help itself. I will.
Polow must go…on the budget vote no!

19 thoughts on “When Does the Taxpayer Abuse End in New Rochelle ?or How I learned to “sext” in school”

  1. Can I ask a question about
    Can I ask a question about these Mt. Vernon and Bronx kids? I understand that many posters here are dissatisfied with the school board. There are a fair number of accusations here of corruption or self-dealing. But what I cannot understand is what you think would be the motivation to allow non-residents to attend the New Ro schools? What evidence is there that non-residents are attending the New Ro schools? What reason does the board supposedly have for looking the other way while this happens?

    1. We’ve explained this
      We’ve explained this elsewhere so you can Google this site for more but the short version is as follows:

      More students enrolled in the schools means more of everything else — more money in State aid, more money from the Federal government, more teachers, more assistant teachers, more school psychologists, more special educators, more security guards, more, more, more… More is better for the people who run the district.

      The unions love it because more people working for the district means more union members pay more union dues and giving the union more clout.

      The administration loves it because more money means bigger budgets which means more pay for them for managing bigger budgets with more students.

      The school board is largely kept in the dark. Most have no clue what is going on in the District and those who do know are candidates elected by the union in the first place.

      As for what evidence exists?

      How about photographs and video which has been presented to the school board?

      How about the statement by Deidre Polow at the LWV forum where she said the District gives waivers to students who move away from the District.

      How about Polow’s claim that 60-90 students a year are thrown out of the schools district each year? Where did all THOSE kids come from? Think about the cost of 90 students a year who are enrolled in New Rochelle where the average cost per pupil is about $20,000; you are talking close to $2 mm a year (which is a significant percentage of the total budget increase this year).

      At the LWV forum, Polow acted all offended that anyone would claim that there are large numbers of students “incorrectly enrolled” in New Rochelle. If 60-90 students a year are being throw out of the schools doesn’t that mean that in the last 5 years along the District has had between 300 and 450 students from other districts attending school in New Rochelle? If the Mount Vernon figure of 8% were applied to New Rochelle that would be about 900 students. If the District admits finding several hundred students themselves what is so hard about believing that the figure is double what they’ve found.

      We can solve any mystery by voting down the budget and have the State come in and do the same kind of residency study done in Mount Vernon which found over 800 kids enrolled in their schools who did not live in Mount Vernon. We will give up $300,000 by accepting a contingency budget which we make back if the residency investigation identifies just 15 students improperly enrolled. I’ve got no doubt the figure will be far higher.

    2. Mr. Cox can you answer this
      Mr. Cox can you answer this question? Why do the Bronx and Mt. Vernon children come to our school system? It’s a known fact that they are here.

  2. Is it too much to ask that
    Is it too much to ask that the school district employees make a sacrifice this one year during these hard times and take a pay freeze? You should be grateful that you still have a job! It is very disgusting that Mr O did not forgo a raise and set an example for the teachers and other employees. I pay $12,000.00 just in school taxes and I live in the south end! This upcoming summer will be the second summer I have to find the extra money to pay for tutoring for my elementary school child. So don’t tell me to vote yes to preserve this so called high quality of education in New Rochelle because I am not impressed.

    1. I agree. People are lossing
      I agree. People are lossing their jobs, having their hours cut, businesses having no business or people just not getting their yearly raises. So many people are hurting right NOW. And the school system wants us to vote yes, so they get their raises this year. That is why they want to raise our taxes. Are they for real. I’m voting NO to their raises.

    2. Tax Increases+Tutoring=more
      Tax Increases+Tutoring=more money to schools for doing less work at the sacrifice of the New Rochelle taxpayer. Think about it, by sacrificing to provide your child with tutoring, you are in effect doing their job. I don’t mind paying well-qualified teachers good salaries, what I mind is giving raises in times of economic crisis. Especially to administration where it seems like there is much job duplication. How many administrators does it take to come up with a plan to save taxpayer money by just ‘turning off the lights’? No, that’s not a bad joke or is it? One that’s being played out at the taxpayers expense? Well, we’re not laughing.

      1. No summer camp for my kid
        No summer camp for my kid because I have to spend the money on tutoring instead. As a result of this economic crisis, our work hours have been cut and this = less pay. I have no choice but to pay for much needed tutoring (last year it was for math, this year it is for writing) to get my child up to speed for next year.
        How come 10-12 weeks of tutoring during the summer helps so much while a full year of school does nothing?

    3. Besides ‘turning out the
      Besides ‘turning out the lights’, the way they are saving us money is by ‘enticing’ experienced teachers with early retirement. Teachers with proven track records are worth their weight in gold. But, they are substituted with ‘entry level’ teachers. Everyone loves a good deal; example: two teachers at $50,000. for the price of one at $100,000. The money we save can go to pay for the tutoring! or the raises! Our students miss out on the fine-tuned abilities and wisdom that comes with experience and the young teachers miss out on the apprentice-like relations that come with their more seasoned colleagues. Young teachers with great potential will have fewer and fewer role models to emulate. Children who’s parent’s are unable to afford tutoring will pay the real price.

  3. Check your neighbors around
    Check your neighbors around New Ro to see what happens when you vote no to the school budget… One of the greatest things about New Ro is the fact that the budget is passed every year. If you would like to be like Yonkers and Mt. Vernon, then by all means vote NO. On the other hand if you want to be like Scarsdale, Bronxville, Tuckahoe and Eastchester then vote YES. It’s as simple as that… Now go and make your vote. This is coming from someone who knows what it’s like to grow up in Eastchester and then move to Yonkers. The difference is HUGE.

    1. THIS is your argument for
      THIS is your argument for supporting the budget? That Scarsdale always passes their budget and need to emulate them? If we had a school system on par with Scarsdale you might have a point but we don’t.

      Yonkers does not even vote on the budget which shows how much you know about this issue.

      There is no evidence to support the notion that the quality of a particular school district is no correlated with whether or not a school vote passes. Irvington and Larchmont-Mamaroneck both have school systems that out perform New Rochelle and both voted down school funding proposals in the past few months.

      I have yet to hear anyone argue that the public schools should not be funded so your entire “argument” is specious. The issue is not whether the public schools should get public money but whether they can be trusted with the money they get. The evidence shows they cannot be trusted.

      The simple fact of the matter is one the District freely admits: the difference between the proposed budget and the budget that will be mandated under contingency is $300,000. This is a gap which could be closed by cutting back on overtime for maintenance workers and the savings on gasoline now that workers are no longer being allows to use district vehicles for as their personal transportation.

      The reasons to vote no on the budget (twice) are simple:

      1. New York State will come in and review all spending by the District so there would finally be a chance to root out the under-the-table deals and wasteful self-dealing.

      2. A residency investigation similar to Mount Vernon which shows that roughly 8% of the students in their system were not from Mount Vernon

      3. A vote of “no confidence” on the administration and school board.

    2. Don’t worry, New Ro district
      Don’t worry, New Ro district will mirror Mount Vernon district soon enough. Didn’t Quinn work there before he came to New Ro ??? Look what happened to them. NO MONEY FOR SPORTS PROGRAMS…ZERO,ZIP, ZILCH !!!!! Seems everyone forgot what happened over in Mount Vernon. Keep shutting the lights off Mr Quinn, in another year or two, there won’t be any money to turn them on anyway.

    3. What are you talking about?
      What are you talking about? New Rochelle has passed the school budget, year after year after year. I see less reading teachers, less resourse room teachers, less computer lab teachers, schools that are dirty, like Davis and Ward. And I’m sure those other towns don’t have Mount Vernon and the Bronx students like we do.

      1. who are these Bronx and
        who are these Bronx and Mount Vernon kids everyone keeps refering to. Point them out to me and I will get them out.

      2. If you have the power to
        If you have the power to ‘get them out’, then you have the responsibility that comes with that power to leave no stone unturned in finding non-residents who are taking a free-ride on the backs of the New Rochelle taxpayers. It doesn’t sound like you are doing your job. Taxpayers are asking you to do your job and get them out, whether it is one student or one thousand. Can you honestly say that you have made it your business to validate the residency of every student? If so, my apologies. If not, then start by having each and every student entering our schools this September verified as a resident of THIS city! Even if you find only one student, that will be enough money saved to pay for the superintendent’s $13,000. pay raise. What else do you need us to point out to you?

      3. If you think Davis and Ward
        If you think Davis and Ward are dirty, then what would you think of the rest? Picking up trash is low on the list of priorities, as is snow removal. Maintenance is too busy racking up job perks to be concerned with such nonsense. I realize it is spring time, but when school’s are closed due to snow, one would assume that when they are back in session the following day that the sidewalks would be cleared. If only for the safety of students and mothers with infants in tow. The reason it takes so long to clear the sidewalks is because the plow truck is being used on weekends by entrepreneurial maintenance staff. We can’t expect them to plow for us on weekends, that would cut into their side businesses. They might argue that it’s not their job to maintain the sidewalks, that is the job of the City. They might add that the school district employees are only responsible for the interior walkways and lots. Come on ‘it’s for the kids’, isn’t that the motto of the school district? or is their motto, ‘suck-it up’?

  4. Until the school district
    Until the school district begins saving the taxpayers money – then I will vote yes. Until then, I will continue to VOTE – NO to the budget!!

  5. As a very involved PTA
    As a very involved PTA member I am voting NO on the school budget May 19th! Don’t listen or believe the BOE members spin on how voting no is bad. If the state audits New Rochelle school district it is not a bad thing. The State can weed out the kids who do not live in New Rochelle but are being educated here for free. They will cut out all the wasteful spending and trim the fat.
    With the drastic decrease in accessibles, the 3.2% will increase to possibly 9 or 10% when all is said and done.
    In Sunday’s Journal news there is a front page article about how other school districts have teacher/staff cuts, pay freezes and voluntary pay cuts. On average budget increases under 2% but not in New Rochelle. Please join me in voting for Malfetano and NO on the budget.

    1. As a fellow PTA parent, I am
      As a fellow PTA parent, I am joining you, and hopefully many others, by also voting NO and voting for Mr. Vince Malfetano.

  6. By ‘isolated incident’ they
    By ‘isolated incident’ they mean that any ‘incident’ that occurs must be kept ‘isolated’ from parents and taxpayers. If by some chance, parents do come to find out about said incident then plan “B” goes into effect – discredit the messenger or victim. How many incidents need to happen before it is considered a reoccurring pattern? An incident can only be considered isolated if it happens one time in one place; two times and it starts to become a pattern.

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