Perpetrators, collaborators, bystanders, victims: we can be clear about three of these categories. The bystander, however, is the fulcrum. If there are enough notable exceptions, then protest reaches a critical mass. We don’t usually think of history as being shaped by silence, but, as English philosopher Edmund Burke said, ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.’
May 19th and the School Board/Budget vote is upon us. The time has come for good men (and women) to do something.
That this web site turns bystanders into notable exceptions is what frightens the people who are running the New Rochelle School District. They are extremely good at playing the game to either corrupt souls or induce acquiescence or simply silence the many good, honest, decent people who work for the school district.
But this is not a game. They are playing with people’s lives, their livelihoods, their careers not to mention the future of our children and many millions of the people’s money.
In their desperate desire to maintain control these people have lost their moral compass — if they ever had one — living in a world of moral relativism where the ends justify the means and the ends are all the same-to keep power.
I for one refuse to remain silent.
I am glad for those of you who have stepped forward to contribute your voices to this site. To the rest of you, standing there on the sidelines, I say “Join us” and together will give these people the comeuppance that has been for so long their due.
We can start by bullet voting Vincent Malfetano, tossing out Deidre Polow and crushing this budget and then crushing it again so control of District Finances passes out of their hands just long enough that maybe we can have a chance at honest administration of the school district.
Join us.
If you are still not sure, we would like to provide three reasons to reject the budget and support Mr. Malfetano. But first understand how this process works and why we need to defeat the budget TWICE. Under New York State law, if voters reject a school budget twice the state government steps in to manage the district’s finances under a “contingency budget”. Regardless of how you feel about the union negotiations, full-day Kindergarten, free laptops for 10 year olds and the rest, rejecting the budget proposed by the school district will have no significant impact on spending in the 2009-10 school year; the difference between the District’s proposed budget and the State contingency budget is $300,000; that is a tiny fraction on a $229 mm budget. So, why vote “no”? It’s not about the 2009-10 budget but the 2010-11 budget and every budget after that.
1. Voting “no” means financial accountability as state agents come in to manage the district’s finances.
a. engaged in many highly questionable financial relationships including over $150,000 in a no-bid contract for a gourmet cooking school, which was cited by the New York State Comptroller in their 2008 audit.
b. failed to take steps to properly account for district equipment and vehicles resulting in employees using trucks, vans, fuel and more as their personal vehicles.
c. paid millions of dollars to a law firm under a no-bid contract drawn up the law firm.
2. Voting “no” means a full-scale residency investigation to identify and relocate “wrongly enrolled” students.
a. Mount Vernon rejected their budget and suddenly “discovered” 816 students from, mostly from the Bronx, attending their schools at a cost of over 10 million dollars a year.
b. The school district both denies a residency problem and admits identifying and removing “60-90 students a year”.
c. Removing students who do not belong will allow the district to spend more per child and lower spending and thereby lower taxes.
3. Voting “no” is a vote of “no confidence” in an out-of-touch school board and negligent school district administration.
a. The school board routinely meets in illegal “executive sessions” to discuss public business; the school district routinely violates the state’s Freedom of Information Law.
b. The school board does not allow public comment after board resolutions are made available to the public but before the board votes on them.
c. The school district is more concerned with public relations spin than acknowledging and solving real problems like corruption, abuse of children by school district employees and gang activity in the schools.
If you are voting “no” on the budget there is no reason to vote for the candidates who support the budget which leaves only candidate: Vincent Malfetano.
I’m Voting for Mr.
I’m Voting for Mr. Malfatano. He seem to truly care for the tax payers of New Rochelle.
Mr. Malfatano is passionate
Mr. Malfatano is passionate about education and about representing not only the under-represented of this city but the ENTIRE city. I believe he is willing to walk the walk not just talk the talk. My child and his were classmates, I’m confident that his caring and concern for his own children’s education will extend over to ALL of our children and their tax-paying parents.