Hey! I am a taxpayer - give me a break!
As a taxpayer, parent and former School Committee member, this proposal leaves me wondering........
In a budget year where staff was cut from our schools, is this gift giving really a priority?
The Assistant Super was terminated because our schools lacked funds, right? This issue is in litigation, right?
And, facing a budget deficit in the coming year of $2 million, this give away is the best course of action, right?
I tell you what this tells me as a taxpayer: The schools have plenty of money, perhaps too much, and they're well staffed, well supplied and have extra cash floating around at year end.
Or, worse yet, somebody's pandering to the Community School and its supporters, including the former Community School Counsel members sitting on the current School Committee. Anyone else see Conflict of Interests in this vote?
Anyone looking for evidence of why the schools do NOT need an override don't have to look further than this $30,000 give away.
Me? - I'd make a motion and vote to return $30,000 to the Town's general fund and give all taxpayers a break!
4 comments:
It is odd that we would give money back to the Community School from educational dollars as the SC gets ready to face a 2 million dollar budget short fall and no hope of an override. Has the Community School cut any of their staff? If they lost money this year and their profits actually go to pay for salary and benefits, should they first be looking at reducing cost. I don't want to make assumptions, but it doesn't make a lot of sense.
I've always been bothered that the Community School claims it is a successful business because they have been able to increase their employees, continue to grow, etc. They have not had the over-head of a real business. Their profits cover the cost of staff salary, benefits, the programs and their have been the "in kind" donations over the years. While their mission is noble, the business plan has only been to benefit the community school. That's O.K. but maybe its time for a more meaningful business plan.
Facilities Use under the community school meant that space is rented through the CS out to community members and the profits go to the community school for their use, while the wear and tear and energy costs come out of the school budget. Now Faciltiy use money is put back into maintaining the facilities which are town buildings the schools control. That makes sense. I think we need to find other ways to make sense out of an outdated and self-serving business model.
If the Community School was charged based on a pool utility estimate of $120,000 and the two estimates came in at around $45,000, then is this a donation or is the school simply paying back money that was overpaid by the Community School?
To be clear, the Community School was charged $60K in FY '09 and would have been charged $65K in FY '10 --- but the payments were suspended halfway through FY '10 pending more cost info.
Stop pandering to the Community School Mary Ellen or any of the School Committee members who think it will help create balance on your committee. Judging from last night's meeting, it is a hopeless cause. Thank goodness the $30,000 was shifted around.
Sherry Marshall I think said that money, because it comes from facility use, is not part of the operating budget. There's a little clue about one reason we are in this mess. Sherry has been sitting on the SC for decades. So it's not apart of the official operating budget, because in the much need re-organization of the financial relationship between the Community School and the School Department, brilliantly, facilities use fees now actually go to maintaining the facility. If they weren't there where would the money come for doing that. The operating budget. Moving money around is not the way to pretend cost is not going to ultimatly be on the taxpayers, many of who may not have children or use the Community School.
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