And, the dance continues ...
This isn't necessarily a complaint, or a criticism, just an observation.
After years of trying to deny there was any issue with the Community School Pool, the School Department finally acknowledged there were obvious issues with both the pool losing money and with strangers wandering the allegedly "secured" halls of SHS.
The new official mantra has become "The Pool is a COMMUNITY asset, and the COMMUNITY must be willing to pay for it."
I don't disagree.
It's amusing that the Rec Dept, which has been collecting money for their free use of school-funded facilities, wants nothing to do with operating the pool. It's also interesting that the "nearest" pool with a diving board is on Nantucket. Apparently, no other local District feels that a Diving team is worth the expense of building/renting a pool.
The Superintendent made it clear that he is expecting a Community contribution if the pool is to remain open. But, he also left a little "wiggle room" with the idea that the pool might also become incorporated into school phys ed classes (which could justify the school paying more of the costs).
Not unreasonable.
If the school actually uses the pool, it could justify absorbing more costs. My biggest gripe has always been the fact that the School District pays a hugely disproportionate portion of pool costs -- while the Community School received all pool revenue.
Of course, no meeting could go by without at least a couple of inane comments. Pool Employee Crossman said something about the School Dept. paying "only $5,000 towards the swim team's use of the pool". Well, duh! The School District was also paying the pool's entire utility bill!
Her second comment was something about the reason Town Meeting had set up Community School / Pool operations the way they had -- and that "somebody" should look at why it was set-up that way. Good thinking. We've been discussing this for 5 years --- is this the first time THAT idea occurred?
To save "somebody" some time -- There are probably two reasons for the current structure. State law says the School Committee is responsible for school facilities. And, in "the good old days" (pre-Prop 2 1/2). Schools could write their own budgets. It would then be up to Town to raise the taxes as needed to cover the School Committee's budget. (It was easy being on the School Committee back then!)
By putting the pool in a school building, the Town ensured that property taxes would cover pool costs.
Then, the world changed. After Prop 2 1/2, School Budgets became subject to local control and the free ride ended. Since then, the increasingly tight school budget has been complicated by the increasing costs of operating an aging swimming pool.
There is another interesting wrinkle in the effort to build support for Town funding of Pool operations. After a long, but unsuccessful, battle for additional FY '13 funding, the Schools used "left over" FY '12 money to buy 450 +/- unbudgeted iPads, unbudgeted new portable bleachers, eliminate the budgeted transportation fees, and give an undetermined amount of money back to the Town. They did not use the "found" money to fund FY '13 SPED tuitions -- which would have eliminated their earlier projected "deficit".
I wonder if the BOS & FinCom members that supported the School's request for extra funding will continue to be as supportive ?
Nitpicking aside, I can see the Pool issue getting kicked all the way to Town Meeting. Every person along the way can say how important the pool is -- and then when it comes time to actually vote the funding at Town Meeting, 32 elderly pool supporters will show up, nobody else will bother to argue with them, and the article will pass. No Bad Guys voting to shut the Pool. Everybody wins!
Or, maybe they can do a package deal -- surrender the Wing School to the Town; as long as they take the Pool too!
37 comments:
The Truth Maker would respond to brother Bob in that as an elderly member of our town and as a concerned citizen , you can rest assure that we will be in attendance to speak up about the pool costs and if the pool cannot be financially supportive then it needs to serve another purpose or be shut down until such time that every one can agree on who and where the funding will come from. School tax dollars should only be used for that purpose and not like it has been doing because of political influences by those whom get paid by the pool generated dollars.
If the schools aren't going to use the pool and the community school or Rec Dept. can't afford it, then it would appear it's time to close it down. Pretty simple options, just need elected offials with the guts to make a decision or here's an idea put it on the ballot. Sorry once again the schools are spending in excess of $50,000 (Mandarin) on a small percentage of students. Didn't realize our tax dollars are funding a "private" school system.
Regarding the Ipads is it a matter of Public Record when the school dept. first made contact with the company supplying the Ipads? I'm assuming there is one salesperson that they had contact with or a file indicating first contact, whether phone, e-mail or written. Just curious when the schools realized they had "left over" money? Was it before or after the budget season ended? Same for the bleachers when was the order placed?
Personally I'm becoming even more suspicious of the school dept. bookkeeping and hope like heck that they don't scare/torment families with more and/or higher fees anytime soon. Or keep talking abount how much money they "need".
Everybody wins --- except the taxpayers forced to foot the bill for the damn pool!
What happened to those impassioned please for more funding? It seems like the Schools have more money than tyhey know what to do with! I heard on SC member aske where the money came for for tyhe iPads and the Supt sais he'd tell him at the next meeting. How did he buy 400 computers without the SC even knowing where the money was coming from? I heard the Chair ask if they were leased -- they didn't even know that!
Has canfield hypnotized the Commiottee? they seem to just nod & smile at everything.
The"found" money is on the backs of every child sitting in a classroom whos needs are not being met (so called average and gifted students) when children who have genuine learning and/or behavioral issues are underserviced, services on paper only, or ignored.This hurts all children and is a major reason people are leaving. No one is getting what they need with direct services to children so severely cut. Smoke and mirrors. Programs, Professional development, ipads can't replace the people needed to work directly with ALL children.
This community has made talking about things but not actually doing anything a cherished way of life. In Sandwich, it takes at least a decade to do anything. If its worthwhile and important, you better have 20 years to devote to the pre-doing ritual blather.
Examples of this talk it to death mindset include: selling the Golden Triangle, expanding the marina, building a Senior Center and, creating more playing fields. The list of what we talk about but don’t do is almost endless – we are a community of no can doers.
Not to be outdone or overlooked in the long litany of things left undone but debated forever is cleaning up the financial mess at the Community School Pool.
Anyone care to wager which will happen first: Canfield retires or the Pool funding issue gets permanently resolved?
Note: I don’t really want to actually bet; I just want to talk about it and debate and study the bet because – that’s the Sandwich way.
New bumper sticker: Those that can - do. Those that just want to talk about it move to Sandwich.
Amen 8:4
Perhaps Walter Kelly said it best through Pogo Possum, "We have met the enemy and he is us."
Just finished purchasing electronic text books for my kid. Pope John Paul High School uses paperless technology and each student has a laptop. FYI - textbooks are not "free" on the internet. The Sandwich Ipad plan has some major holes in it; or, maybe there wasnt a plan? Fad - yes. Gimmik - yes. Plan - who knows
You listen to the parents of sandwich school kids and the money they have to pay for "school supplies" it is ridiculous. The cost of the average list established by each school and each grade is between $80 and $100, that's for one child. The items requested on those lists are as basic as pencils, crayons and paper. To the teachers requesting papertowels and tissue boxes. That's right the school system can't afford papertowels for the classroom or tissues for a child to blow their nose.
So why couldn't the "found" money be used to help a majority of kids and yes even the teachers who spend a heck of a lot out of their own pockets for classroom supplies? Instead of only 2 grades getting the benefit of the "found" money?
Granted you can't reuse paper, pencils, crayons, glue sticks, papertowels or tissue but reducing the cost to families, even if for one year, would of been the right and community mindeded thing to do by the school dept.
Hmmmm....what happens next year? How will the school sytem afford Ipads for next years 9th graders? Say a class size of 200 x $550 = $110,000. Here we go again with the raising fees discussion.
One more thing. The "Emptyprise" once again spewed school department propaganda. The paper "implied" that Ipad parties were taking place all around town. Bluntly B.S. Once again, maybe a handful of 14/15 year olds. But in no way shape or form are a clear majority of kids having "Ipad learning parties"! Have heard most kids are downloading games and several have already been dropped.
Wait til the sexting and sending explicit pics begins during the school day using the school ipads.
Wonder if Canfield or anyone else who is suppose to be qualified to see all possible scenarios. How did he make such a large purchase without first running the idea by the school committee.
Money shell games continue in the schools and town side
I can see the CCT Sandwich student accused of sexting on their school ipads.
The Truth Maker would agree that abuse will occurr, but my question to Brother Bob is why cannot these ipads be programed for just school use and if that is the case, why was it not done????
Truth Maker, how do you know it wasn't done? According to Dr. Booras they are following what other schools have done. Sandwich is not the first school to do this, they are just trying to keep up with the technology that other schools are using, like Sturgis.
The Truth Maker responce to 7.52. I ask the question, because of the claim, that students are using these Ipods for things other then school work. Perhaps it would be appropriate to see if in fact that is the case??? What other schools have done does not normally mean that Sandwich has taken the precaution to in fact assure that these devises can only be used for the purpose they are intended for.
Truth maker, my issue is that you seem to put forth assumptions, never facts. Why wouldn't you find out some of this info before putting it out there for negative speculation? If nothing else, what you post is irresponsible. Go back and look at meeting tapes or make a phone call.It would be a welcomed surprise for you to try to find the positive in anything. No, nothing is perfect, but it is progress. I personally want my tax dollars to stay in town not to be used to send our children to other schools(at the cost of 3 mil a year). With your attitude and postings, it's no wonder people think twice. Do your homework - look into the hearsay, get some actual data, then put your post out there. Opinions are great, but you should post them as such.
Hey, Truthmaker, it sounds like 8:44 is comparing you to Kangas ! I would bet her incompetence has cost the District far more money and driven far more people out of the District than you asking questions!!
The Truth Maker would respond to 844, closing the pool would provide you with all of the needed information in understanding and comprehending the statement I made in regards to the question I asked and it was a simple one. Perhaps you can provide us with you present understanding, all it takes is a yes or no answer.
Do these Ipads have logic that prevents the user from using them other then for School use?? Yes or No That is the question that was asked of Bob,
You seem to be rejected that I did not ask you, It would be sort of difficult, since I did not expect a pool advocate , that wants to keep our pools open, by having the schools pay for the upkeep, show any concern. Especially when they lack the basic skill sets to manage money that is not yours.Now be sure to use all of the following in your responce , Your attitude,irresposible,assumptions,negative speculation,hearsay,how do you know it was not done>> Are you for real or make believe???
anon 3:24 - how can any one person on the board cause any of what you claim. I believe there are 6 other people on the board and I doubt she has the ability on her own to do what you say she is doing, especially now that the majority has turned. Maybe it's the chair and her cohorts that are keeping the district from moving forward and costing the town money!!!
9:54, It seems the issue with Kangas is she ran as "The Budget Watchdog" after months of spouting nonsense at school committee meetings. The highlight was when she started on a Budget Rant a couple of years ago and one of The Bobs (can't remember which one!)pointed out she was referring to last year's budget -- not the current year's actual numbers AND that the Committee hadn't even discussed a new budget yet. She had no clue what she was talking about.
After 2 years of arguing over any expenditure, Last Spring she she made silly speeches about the schools desperately needing more money --- fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the budget wasn't increased. THEN the schools suddenly found they had "extra" money to waive bus fees, buy bleachers, give money back to the Town -- oh, and to buy $250,000 worth of unbudgeted computers for every member of the 9th & 10th grade!!
We still haven't heard how they managed this budgetary "loaves & fishes" routine. Maybe the Budget Watchdog can explain it ?
Well, after watching last nights meeting, it looks as though the anti-pool people have their wish. Although I was SHOCKED when Mr. Guerin spoke at the last public forum (amusing to say the least) He was mixing up the FYI 12 and FYI 13 budgets and the spending that had taken place - but at the end, he wanted to know why the extra money that was given back to the town wasn't used to pay for the POOL expenses!!!!! Wasn't he one of the anti-pool people who stated repeatedly, that k-12 dollars is illegal to spent on adult ed., and why should the district pay for people to swim in the pool???!! I almost fell off my couch.
What an about face, to say the least. Thanks for your support Mr. Guerin.
A few points: (1) Canfield claims that there is no money for the pool despite the fact that the schools had more than $1.1 million dollars left over at year end.
My argument about the pool was always to not spend school money on the pool; I never said that there was no money. Only Canfield has said that there is no money.
(2)Canfield now claims that the schools will need to begin a conversation with the Town about getting new STEM-related labs and equipment paid for. Seems fair to ask: Why didnt Canfield partner with the Town and save the $1.1 million left over in 2012 for those STEM projects instead of spending it willy-nilly at year end 2012?
I think I have remained consistent - no about face here.
8:14, I seriously doubt Guerin mixed up the FY '12 Actuals with the FY '13 Budget (ie. "Did a Kangas")
I also don't think there are "anti-pool" people -- just people who are against spending K-12 education dollars to subsidize somebody's pool party!
Am I understanding correctly -- Did you mean there was $1.1 million in leftover money from last year?
And the School Committee didn't know it until 60 days AFTER the year ended?
Yet --- I still had to go out and buy boxes of pencils, crayons, paper towels, and hand sanitizers to stock my kids' classrooms ----AND then pay activity fees for everything they do?
Are you kidding me?
Actually, and you can verify this with the Town Accountant at Town Hall, there was even more than $1.1 million “left over” and unspent at the end of the fiscal year in the school budget.
All this and more was spent down in a 3 week spending frenzy by the school administration – including $300,000 for I-pads and $15,000 for new bleachers.
In addition to the $1.1 million spent in the last 2 weeks, the schools “returned” about $150,000 in unspent money to the Town. Actually, the truth is that the Town “took” the money back before it could be spent.
That $150,000 is just about the same amount hard working families paid the schools in athletic and activity fees last year. Evidently, parents of school age children must now pay additional taxes to the Town “just because.” The truth is: money parents paid for 2012 activity fees wasn’t actually needed or used by the schools.
Mr. Guerin, weren't you once on the school committee? How can you not understand that the district didn't have 1.1 million left over, those overages were transferred to the underage column. What was "left over" was 156,000. And all of a sudden you are a pool advocate and want k-12 dollars to be spent on adult ed. ( isn't that illegal?) Yes, there is an about face, and someone who is a little confused about budget years,which year is being talked about, and how the school budget works, in my opinion. Maybe the pool will survive when the sc takes you up on your suggestion.
Overages and Underages? Really? In what business school or accounting class are those financial reporting concepts taught? Answer: nowhere. That’s nonsense talk from a person totally unfamiliar with finance.
Here is the reality: At the end of the fiscal year 2012 (meaning the last 2 weeks of the year) there was more than $1 million dollars in school accounts unspent. At that time (the last 2 weeks of the fiscal year) the schools began to submit to the Town Accountant NEW purchase orders for equipment and supplies NOT previously ordered or budgeted for including: $300,000 for I-pads for example, and another $15,000 for bleachers.
In other words, the schools had a yearend surplus (a positive cash balance of $1.1 million) in their accounts. That money was unused and unspent. And, rather than save it (meaning roll it into the next years Town budget), in the last two weeks of the year, they spent it.
Don’t believe me? Go to Town Hall and ask the Town Accountant to show you the purchase orders. All the purchase orders are dated – you can see exactly when they were created and submitted by the schools.
The only “overage” here my friends is this anonymous post that is clearly “overage” their head with understanding very basic financial reporting and accounting concepts.
Question: when you balance your family’s checking account does the bank send you a statement of overages and underages?
8:50 sounds suspiciously like one of the members of the School Committee's "Finance Sub-Committee". Crossman positively gushed about what a wonderful tool they had to "analyze" budget variances -- I believe she was holding a spreadsheet given to her by the Admin. There was no analysis !
Kangas lectured the Committee about how signing warrants helps her understand where the money goes. Gee, you think so? Every member should be approving warrants and asking questions.
It's obscene that the two members with probably the least amount of budgeting/financial experience comprise the "Finance Sub-Committee".
Every member of the School Committee is responsible for the proper supervision of the Budget -- they can not delegate that responsibility to those nitwits!
Speaking of Nitwits, It was more than a little humorous that a former long time member of the school committee & Community School Council got up to say how the loss of the pool would affect Community School revenue ---- apparently she doesn't understand the financial reports either. The Pool COSTS the Community School money -- The expenses are more than the income! What is so hard to comprehend about that? Her beloved pool has been draining money away from the Community School and the School District for years!
We can't afford Amateur Hour anymore!
anon323, No there wasn't 1.1 mil. left over - there was 156,000. Which Mr. Guerin so graciously suggested should pay for the pool. Remember, Dr. Canfield put a spending freeze on the 12 budget as soon as he got here, because he didn't put it together. According to his statements at meetings, the BO did final encumberances around May, at which time extras in the budget were recognized. Then the freeze was over. I understand from 2 mtgs. ago, that he stated the same freeze would be in effect for the 13 budget. The "plea" for monies was for the 13 budget so fees wouldn't be needed and competitive educational curriculum could occur.(the prev. sc mtg. stated circuit breaker - I think - made it possible to eliminate fees) But , school choice money is still being used to offset the balance. And yet, the 13 budget is 7600 short. At least thats what I got from watching the BOS and SC mtgs. And according to the BO director, there were areas in the budget that were under budget and areas that were over budget, so transfers were placed to balance those areas-to the penny. Once again, 156,000 was "left over". ( and probably could have been spent with a little more time).
10:10; you are wrong.
There was money left over for the iPads ($300K); there was money left over for bleachers, etc.
The $156,000 is only what was returned to the Town because the School didn't find a way to spend it on unbudgeted items.
You really should consider resigning from the School Committee if you don't understand that.
This is just wrong! Its a flim flam of the facts.
Anyone who is really interested in the facts should go to Town Hall and talk to the Town Acocuntant. Do not ask the school staff for answers, ask the Town Hall staff for the straight story.
Ask for the year end account balances. Ask about the school choice account balance. Ask about unspent SPED account balances. Ask to see when and how many POs (Purchase Orders) were submitted in the final 2 weeks of the fiscal year.
I stand by my observations as posted. Interested taxpayers should contact Town Hall and request information about puchase orders submitted by the schools in the last two weeks of the fiscal year. Draw your own conclusions. Please be sure to also ask about unspent (surplus) School Choice and SPED acocunt balances. For a school system with no money they sure have (and spend) a lot of money.
The Truth Maker would remark to Brother Bob[Only the Shadow Knows what lurks in the hearts of man] We seem to have some who want to change what has transpired, because of there conflictions.The facts speak fro themselves people, go and speak to the person in charge of financial payments at town hall and make your own judgment as to who speaks the TRUTH
I just want to say that I am very excited about the new initiatives in the Sandwich schools. An innovative, quality public school system is an asset to our community. We have a superintendent who wants to make that happen and we should support him. We spend the least per pupil of any school on Cape Cod and our charter and sending tuitions are high. We need to invest in our schools and keep them competitive. Can we focus on that?
Dear Parent: I think we can all agree that investing in our schools is important.
But, we must also agree that Town and taxpayer resources are not limitless. Anyone on this blog prepared to argue that taxes are too low and we should raise them?
If we are to invest in our schools then we taxpayers and parents need to understand how much money we have and where money is going, right? Seems pretty basic.
Isn’t this debate really a question about why the Administration left the School Committee and public out of some major spending decisions?
Why not have held public hearings in front of the cameras, explaining that a surplus existed, identifying new spending priorities and justifying the changes to the town meeting authorized budget, seeking public comment and input and then executing the spending plan?
Wouldn’t that have been transparent? Wouldn’t that have been participatory? Wouldn’t that have been the right thing to do? That’s certainly how the process worked when the schools bought the PC labs and the teacher’s laptops, authorized money for fields, added sports programs, created new staffing positions, and on and on.
The Truth Maker would repond to the 3 to 3 vote that now makes the operation of the pool as it stands today closed. The paper does not indicate who the three were that voted to keep it open or closed. That would be good information to have given that every one knows the situation has been out of controled for some period of time.
It took the threat of invalidating the school, something that has not been addressed in such an endeavor to have some common sense finaly prevale.
One can sypathize with the users, but they have not been paying the fair market value for a very long time to use the pool and it should not have to be funded on the backs of the school childrens education as it has been for many years now.
I hope this latest vote brings some final solution to this long time conflicted issue where taxpayers money for education, was being used to support adult use of the pool where these same adults did not pay the full bill to operate it.
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