Take a stand and vote NO tomorrow. We’ve all been here before. Another school budget is before us and as ususal the School Board and the PTAs are out pushing for us to vote yes on a budget that’s supposed to increase our taxes by 3.8%. I say supposed to increase by 3.8% because last years budget that we approved was supposed to increase our taxes by 3.2%, yet when I look at my tax bills the actual rate of increase was 6.7% so I’m thinking the budget writers are a bunch of morons that didn’t make it through Calculus.
My property taxes are going through the roof and the majority of it is for the school and so are your tax bills. I mean no harm to the school district. I have kids in various grades, but if I can’t afford to live hear because of skyrocketing school taxes then they won’t be going to New Rochelle schools anymore.
If the budget is voted down, we’ll get to vote once more on a new budget or the school board can present the same budget. This happened 10 years or so ago. The board simply presented the exact same budget that was voted down, not even with a small reduction, but they were able to rally the troops to get enough support to pass the budget. I started thinking it seemed rigged to me but that was 10 years ago and now we’re at another budget juction.
This is a numbers game. Last year the budget passed with less than 3,000 people voting for it. That’s not an unsurmountable number. There are over 30,000 registered voters, and I appeal to all of the non-voters to get out and vote NO tomorrow. You just might save yourselves a couple of bucks.
Good Job, New Ro
Looks like this community still values education and wants to support our dedicated educators.
Once again, I am proud to be a member of this community.
Proud of what exactly?
The budget reduced headcount by 76 and reduced the budget by $5mm. So, wasn’t this a vote in favor of LESS teachers and a SMALLER budget?
As for “dedicated” educators you make it sound like they are volunteers. Teachers in our area are among the highest paid public employees in the world, with almost every district employee making a salary equivalent to a $100,000 a year full-time, year-round position. They get lucrative benefits and the strongest job-security imaginable. So, while most teachers in New Rochelle range from good to excellent, let’s not pretend that they are making tremendous sacrifices in accepting teaching positions. Few, if any, of the F.U.S.E. members could make comparable salaries in the private sector.
As for the “support” you refer to, note that it amounts to just 6.7% of all registered voters in New Rochelle. Put another way, 93.3% of registered voters in New Rochelle did not vote to support the budget. How is that “support”?
I am glad the budget passed. I supported the so-called “budget” referendum because, for the first time since voters had a direct role in approving the school tax levy, the proposed budget was lowered and headcount reduced just as I supported the union contract last year because it was a vast improvement in the effective increases over the life of the contract. I also understand the realities of any BoE dealing with teachers unions in a State like New York.
Next year, according to news accounts, the New York State budget will be in WORSE shape than this year which will mean more cuts (unless Congress approves more “stimulus” funding for state governments). That means we will have 2 years of budget reductions and cuts in staff in New Rochelle which is a good thing because the school has been overspending and under delivering for years and needs to trim spending and staff.
The reasons given by the Board of Education for the tax increase are entirely false, the claims by the administration that the union gave back “enough” last year is bogus and the claims that voters support what is going on in the public school system are ridiculous. And yet I supported the budget because it will demonstrate that it is possible to cut spending and reduce headcount without causing the collapse of civilization.
Starting this fall, the district will begin to re-negotiate a new contract with F.U.S.E. which will, hopefully, maintain or even reduce the across-the-border pay increases. At least now we know what is possible in terms of cost containment when the BoE is properly motivated.
VOTE NO!!
Vote NO on the Library and School Budgets! Enough is enough!
Robo call from Leanne Merchant
I just got a robo call from Leanne Merchant. I wonder where she got my phone number from.
Grammar
Maybe if we pass the budget people will begin to understand the difference between “here” and “hear.” Or at least learn to proof-read their work.