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Norwalk: Corda’s Dilemna


by turfgrrl


March 27th, 2007 · 23 Comments

Sal Corda did not come out of the PTO meeting with his objective met. He needed to rally support of parents to create the appearance of widespread support. It’s perhaps telling that The Hour and The Advocate reveal the basic problem with that strategy.

The Hour wrote an article that appears in today’s sports section, outlining potential cuts to the Athletic departments as a way to meet the budget that would reflect less than everything Corda asked for. Notably, Corda has demonstrated an ability to cut $3 million from the kinds of programs geared to inflict pain on the most vocal groups of activities.

The Hour’s version (emphasis mine):

For parents of Middle School children looking forward to participating in athletics in high school, the proposed budget cuts are even scarier. With no freshman teams, incoming players would be forced to make the varsity teams in order to play.

“This is very upsetting,” said Jeanine Lauttenbach, who has a son at West Rocks who plays baseball and football and two younger daughters who are also interested in athletics. “Our kids need sports. It’s an important thing in their lives. It keeps them focused and hopefully out of trouble. It would be devastating if our town went through with something like this.”

OK, looks like Corda got a parent rallied to defend the budget. Except that this same parent showed up at the PTO meeting and low and behold, has come away with a different view on the situation.

The Advocate’s version (emphasis mine):

Jeanine Lauttenbach, a mother of students at West Rocks Middle School and Cranbury Elementary School, said city and school administrators should take a pay cut to preserve programs such as freshman sports teams.

Lauttenbach said her friends are moving out of the district because of Norwalk’s rising taxes and proposed cuts to the schools.

“I pay $7,200 in taxes a year and I’m middle class and it’s tough for me to pay bills because I don’t get salary increases,” Lauttenbach said. “It’s time maybe . . . to make salary decreases and not just at the Board of Education. We need to ask, where can we revisit to help the youth because they’re not going to be here any more.”

If Corda had hoped to make his case to the BET and Common Council, he might want to rethink his current strategy. It doesn’t appear to be working with the parents either.

Corda has demonstrated that the unyielding no compromise position he has staked out, is not gathering support. Why? Because the inherent problem is that in the end, the people who pay taxes in Norwalk want for their government and the school system to do the fair thing. The BET has demonstrated, through open discussions, the fair look at every department’s budget. The BOE doesn’t want to be bothered. The BOE doesn’t want to respond. The BOE doesn’t want to work with the other city departments to reduce spending together. Norwalk’s taxpayers see this.  And the parents see it too.
So what is Corda’s strategy? From the Advocate (emphasis mine):

“Our priorities are outlined by how we spend money and the Board of Education is a significant amount of the city’s money. Sometimes I get the feeling that we have to apologize for that and I don’t apologize for that for a second.” Corda said. “I don’t think it should distress anybody that the bulk of the city’s budget goes to educating students.“

Corda just doesn’t care about Norwalk and whether you can continue to afford to live here, because he after all doesn’t pay taxes here. Note that he didn’t say that his priority is to provide the best education for the students in the system. Note that he didn’t say that he intended to provide the best teaching resources for the teachers in the schools. What Corda said is that no one should object to his management of the school budget. Corda wants your money, no questions asked.
Source: The Advocate, Parents urged to protest school budget cuts, By Alexandra Fenwick, March 27, 2007

Source: The Hour, Athletic budgets face cuts, By MATTHEW DORAN, March 27, 2007

Tags: Local · Norwalk

23 Responses so far ↓ “Norwalk: Corda’s Dilemna”



  • 1 Watchdog // Mar 27, 2007 at 6:54 am

    Morning, Turf! Thanks for the recap.. I just read the paper. I found it VERY interesting that the parents found Mr. Wilms far more charismatic than Dr. Corda. Way to go, Fred! And..kudos to those parents for suggesting alternatives in cutting administrators and/or offering to run the sports’ programs. The latter may not be a practical solution, but it sent a message loud and clear.

  • 2 anon // Mar 27, 2007 at 7:56 am

    You should have been there turfgrrl, Corda bombed.

  • 3 Concerned Citizen // Mar 27, 2007 at 3:41 pm

    I for one intend to be at the meeting at city hall on Wednesday evening. I find it appauling that this BOE never gives the Norwalk tax payer peace of mind on how their hard earned tax dollars are spent. I know that Mr. Corda is saying we need to spend over 14 THOUSAND dollars per child for Eduacation. FOURTEEN THAOUSAND PER CHILD!!! Am I the only one who finds this cost to be ABSURD!!?? I called All Saints Private school on West Rocks. If you belong to a parish, the cost of tuition is $3,065 for one child & $5,635 for Two children. If you don’t belong to a parish the cost of a child is a little over $4,000. That’s it. I asked the woman if All Saints is subsidized in any way and she said No they aren’t, they get a little help from the state for the on-premises Nurse and that’s it. Also They HOLD CANDY & BAKE SALES to help with costs! Do You Believe this? Where dose Corda & the BOE get off charging the tax payer an ADDITIONAL $10,000 Per Child!!! Even if there are some other expence here or there, should it amout to over $14,000 per child to educate. Here’s a great solution - Lets get rid of the board of Ed, send our kids to schools like All Saints and ask that the remaining $10 Grand per child / per year be put in accounts towards their college education. That would be money better legitimized and well spent that to just fork it over to the BOE. Mr. Corda’s salary is a representative of the BOE’s spending. He raking in over $225 Thousand dolllars a year with added benefits. No wonder the Norwalk Tax payer is getting Hosed. AND he doesn’t even live here. He lives in New York!

  • 4 anonymous // Mar 27, 2007 at 5:37 pm

    Concerned Citizen, I have been part of both private and public education for close to forty years. And yes there is a great difference in the cost of educating a student in the two. You must remember that in private education you get a lot of families that donate and coach and give until it hurts. In public we must service everyone. While some families are the same as the ones in private education in giving and helping at each step of their child’s education, some families go without even meeting a teacher.The most severe handicaps and emotional problems have the right to be educated right along with the most promising scholars. I believe that the cuts can be made at the top. Assistants to this one and that one that should be able to do the job themselves. Smarter hiring has to be done. Get those who live in Norwalk and have children attending our schools elected to the Board. Their votes will be for those people and the programs that will make our tax dollars work for us.

  • 5 just1guysopinion // Mar 27, 2007 at 6:37 pm

    I have to say that I agree with Anon#4. Having had a child who attended All Saints and now attends a Norwalk elementary school, there is some good and bad with private and public education. But I think the legal concerns of the BOE has to be considered. What about the parents who expect teachers and/or the school system to resolve all of their children’s problems. Public schools systems have to deal with this. Has anyone been to an IEP? How many representatives are present from the school system? This is part of the equation when evaluating the budget and the layers of administrators. It is a reality.

    Also, how many parents do we know who throw a hissy fit when their child gets a grade they don’t like? A meeting gets called. They don’t like the result. Central office gets involved. Is it the same way in private school?

    Look I’m not saying don’t have Corda accountable for this budget. He is in charge of BOE so the buck stops with him. But compare apples to apples.

  • 6 anonymous // Mar 27, 2007 at 7:54 pm

    Why is it always cut sports before we look at mamagement waste?

  • 7 anonymous // Mar 27, 2007 at 9:54 pm

    Cutting sports and extra curicular activities has been and always will be the scare tactic of the BOE, or in this case Sal Corda. Where were all th parents at the special PTO meeting last night? Perhaps home doing their taxes? Maybe figuring out how they will adjust if the city lays another heavy tax on them? On one hand, their kids go to public schools and they want the best for them, but, on the other hand they want to be able to afford to live in their homes. I’ll bet the flood victims were home trying to figure out how much their insurance companies were going to cover for the raw sewage that has been flowing freely in their homes and how much was going to come out of their paychecks. For those who did attend, (under 50) it seems as if they are finally understanding that sports and other programs are not what should be cut from the BOE budget but that the waste should be cut. Did anyone get an inkling that any of this money would go directly to the students? Did any of it look as if it would go to reimburse teachers for their out of pocket expenses for tools to teach their students? No, none of these things have been mentioned. the only song you are hearing is cut the programs, the heck with kids so long as the administrators keep thriving! The BET meeting tomorrow night will be another stacked meeting of Corda’s hand picked people who will try make the public believe that this is a travesty that the BOE budget is being cut and this is dead wrong. There are no cuts. There is a 3.8% increase over last years budget and think back folks, what programs got cut last year? NONE! To those who believe that this money will go to a new field or any other project is looking at the world with rose colored glasses, Listen up, thy’re not even in the proposed budget. For Sal Corda to treat our kids with so little respect is criminal. He has scared them and they want answers. People need to go to the BET hearing tomorrow night and get the facts as they really are. Not the ones sal Corda would have you believe. sal has asked our kids to attend this meeting to beg for money, this is a real shame!

  • 8 anonymous // Mar 27, 2007 at 10:16 pm

    #7. you are right. How can a member of the BET speak to a crowd of teenagers? They have no idea they are being used. It is just crazy that Corda plays this type of game.

  • 9 anonymous // Mar 27, 2007 at 10:22 pm

    Remember, the Board of Ed still has not issued a decision on Bruce Morris. He has been in office for a quarter of a year and they cannot make a decision and are allowing him to double dip without saying a word. This is a prime example of school mis-management.

    Morris is fleecing us.

  • 10 anonymous // Mar 27, 2007 at 10:52 pm

    #8 why do we keep letting this happen? Why don’t the parents tell their kids the truth? Or better yet, why don’t thre taxpayers tell them the truth? Why have we allowed the BOE and the Superintendant to get away with this? People need to come out and show their support for a fiscally responsible council that has had the guts to look Corda and friends in the face and and tell them we aren’t going to take it anymore. The City of Norwalk has also taken a hit in their budget and they are taking it with stride and tightening their belts. But they are not threatening cuts to important programs or rallying the troops to spread scare tactics throughout the community. How long have we been asking one council or another to please keep the spending down and keep our taxes down? Now that we have a council who is willing to listen to us we need to get out and support them.

  • 11 itsridiculous // Mar 27, 2007 at 11:47 pm

    The Council is, for maybe only the second time ever, sending a powerful message to Corda and the BOE by recommending that the bulk of the $2 million dollar budget reduction come from the BOE. There is no doubt in my mind that the 3.8% increase he would get would be more than sufficient if he cut the waste and inefficiencies out of the system
    He thinks it’s funny to relate his getting a fully funded budget for just a “$2 a week” tax increase for Norwalk families. Easy for him. He doesn’t pay taxes here.
    No one is saying that the schools should not get every penny they need. We are just questioning how they define “need”. I haven’t seen any teachers out rallying behind this guy. I see them in discount stores buying classroom supplies with their own money! Some of them are saying the same thing I am. If he thinks we can afford $2 a week to fund his excess budget, then maybe we can afford just 25 cents a week to buy out his contract and send him packing to Purchase.

  • 12 anonymous // Mar 27, 2007 at 11:55 pm

    Bravo #11, well said! Looks like some people really do understand. Perhaps he should take the money from his already inflated salary to cover the cost to taxpayers. I wonder what he pays in taxes in Purchase. I’ll bet he get his feathers ruffled when the good people in Purchase government tell him his taxes are being raised!

  • 13 anonymous // Mar 28, 2007 at 5:52 am

    I just love the logic on this site. I hope some at the top are listening.

  • 14 just1guysopinion // Mar 28, 2007 at 9:15 am

    I know the topic of discussion is the budget. But does any Norwalk parent have an opinion about how good or bad Corda is doing with the kids? And I’m just not talking about test results. Do parents feel their kids are getting a good education in Norwalk?
    My son and daughter are doing well at Columbus. They have had good teachers and my kids have a passion for learning. I attribute that to good teachers and administrators at Columbus along with parent involvement. Does Corda deserve credit for that?

  • 15 LETSGETREAL // Mar 28, 2007 at 10:06 am

    As one who warmed a lot of chairs at education hearings years ago, it’s amusing to hear all the same arguments and strategies. Everything old is new again, as they say. The teachers are silent probably because none of their jobs are truly at stake. Calling for administrative cuts always gets traction until you learn that it won’t save any money. The administrators would just be bumped down to a teaching position at the same salary. Remember that the union contracts rule here, the Board of Ed. has little wiggle room since most of the money goes to personnel and they’ve got the upper hand. Nothing will change unless and until the legislature reforms the binding arbitration law, which currently favors the teachers in a big way. The best reforms in Norwalk have come through more choice for parents with programs like magnet and charter schools and Global Studies program. These have successfully gone around the unions.

  • 16 anonymous // Mar 28, 2007 at 10:17 am

    #14, Columbus School was great 20 years ago when my child attended and for all the reasons you cite. Her classmates, who stayed in the Norwalk public school system, went on to attend schools like NYU, Wesleyan, Cooper Union, Amherst, Connecticut College to name a few and generally speaking they are doing very well. So no, I would not necessarily say Corda deserves credit for Columbus.

  • 17 Concerned Citizen // Mar 28, 2007 at 12:46 pm

    Ahh, Yes #15..The Unions. You’re right, The teachers Union has to take fault as well for our inflated Education budget. There is no accountability in the schools either. For example, if you are a Great teacher, who takes the time with your students, goes the extra mile to give them the best education you can, and say I’m a Lousy Teacher. Say I couldn’t care less about the student succedeing or not. It wouldn’t make a difference - at the end of the year, both teachers get the same raises thanks to their union. I say everyone should be accountable. The teacher that shows they consistantly have over achieving students that are at the level they should be or above should be rewarded accordingly. Those teachers whose students do not reach the level they should be or if this teachers has a pattern of under achieving students, then that teacher should be dismissed. However, with this teachers union, this can’t happen especially if they are tenured.

  • 18 anon // Mar 28, 2007 at 1:51 pm

    Let’s remember that not all students play sports and those that don’t are not all out on the streets doing drugs as some have suggested. Some actually study, play music, go to other programs and play sports outside of the school setting. Alarmists still seem to rule the debate of school budgets. Let’s try to find a resolution to the budget questions without falling back on hysteria. Corda, you set the tone. This tactic has grown very old, very fast.

  • 19 anonymous // Mar 28, 2007 at 10:08 pm

    Did anyone see Corda at the meeting tonight? I didn’t. #14- Your child is doing well at Columbus because you are there, and the teachers are great! Mr. P and later Mrs Libertor were and are wonderful principals. What did Corda have to do with the running of the school? He believes in micro-managing…ask the teachers at any school how many times they have seen Corda in the past year or two or seven for that matter. I bet they say they can count on one hand the times.

  • 20 Annonymous // Apr 2, 2007 at 12:15 pm

    The entire BOE members should resign. They have never challenge Corda’s extravagant spending.I would not mind if it was for the benefit of our children. They are nothing but a group of committed bedfellows that supports his outrageous cronyism and the milking of our limited tax dollars to feed his ‘glamours spending! (I will explain)..

    1. He has had prior relationships with most of his central office hires.

    2.Maybe someone should request copies of expenses that he and his cronies incurred while on ‘business trips’. Under the FOI act…that should not be a problem. We need to see the expensive wines and $70 steaks that our money paid for!

    3.What about the boxes of text books that are stored in closets. Who paid for them? Have they ever been used?

    4. Why IS THERE SO MUCH WASTAGE IN OUR SCHOOLS?
    1. It is so damn hot in some schools that teachers have to open the windows….just keep filling the oil tank…there is a lot of money to pay for it. Better management is needed!

    2. Why doesn’t the BOE have a centralize purchasing system? Quantitative buying allows for more CONTROL and SAVINGS! Why save when money is not a problem.

    5. Our children education is important. OUR MONEY MUST BE WELL SPENT!!!

  • 21 annon // Apr 6, 2007 at 10:12 pm

    I am suggesting that we appoint Corda for Finance Director and Bruce K as his assistant. They sure know how to work the numbers. How dare them to tell ‘our’ man Thomas how to crunch the numbers!!! Unbelievable!!!

  • 22 anonymous // Apr 6, 2007 at 11:54 pm

    Hey has anyone seen Bruce Morris? Is he still in Norwalk?

  • 23 anonymous // Apr 7, 2007 at 12:20 am

    bruce morris is fleecing us