Last night Thomas Vetter presented a spreadsheet to the Common Council members that outlined 3 important items. One that he claimed that the number that is being used to start this years BOE budget is the wrong one, and not based on actual expenditures of the BOE. Two, that he very much agreed to and supported the monthly meetings to go over the BOE finances with the BET. And Three, that $2 million is savings, without program cuts had been achieved, and that the BOE was really looking for $1 million more than what the BET was recommending.
Vetter was perhaps the most important speaker at last night’s meeting in terms of presenting the BOE’s case as to why it should receive more funding. Yet, his presentation was perhaps lost in the shuffle of Democrat Matt Miklave’s ill-fated attempt to get a non-binding resolution debated.
I think another commentator from last night, who also attended the meeting, was dismayed that political antics were given a higher priority.
But it continued. According to Robert Koch’s article form the Hour:
“If the determination of the council is to keep the increase at 3.8 percent, they do it knowing that there are no alternatives other than cutting programs,” Corda said. “And when people protest the cutting of the programs, I think the stop that they need to make, before they come to see us, or after they see us, is the council, and ask the question, ‘Why did you do this?”
“I have to go find $3 million worth of reductions,” Corda said.
Overall, Corda and the school board requested $147.6 million for 2007-08. City Finance Director Thomas S. Hamilton recommended paring that to $142.5 million. The council, in adopting the preliminary cap in late February, bought the bottom line to $141.5 million.
Yet, according to Vetter, $2 MILLION in savings were already found. Apparently without the drastic cuts he’s been threatening. And while the third floor of city hall, where the BOE offices, is being recarpeted, and administrators are submitting travel and entertainment invoices with no detail, Corda is riling up the PTO and the 4 BOE members who showed up last night (Polley, Vetter, Pulan, Kimmel) he was once again being disingenuous. He has to scale the spending by $1 million, and this site has had encourage many residents to make suggestions in how he could do so, without affecting the students.
The crux of the predicament of the BOE budget, is that Corda has been lying about what he really needs all along. It’s time for the Norwalk-outers and their misguided political leaders to recognize that this had long ago ceased being a political issue and had become an issue of trust and credibility. Corda, by refusing to honestly present his budget has done great harm to the public’s trust.
Maybe Vetter will succeed in holding Corda to a higher standard. It seems that perhaps the rest of the BOE should listen to what Vetter has said, and start rebuilding that public trust again.
source: The Hour, 3.8 percent increase for ed budget stands , By ROBERT KOCH, April 11, 2007
