Now that the politics of the vote are behind us, there’s still much work to be done with the BOE budget. There’s an expediency to the philosophy of funding and then being done with the oversight process. I think last night, some Democrats proved they wanted to be “fund and done” with the BOE budget. Some Democrats did not seem to have that mindset. Tom Vetter again, brought his spreadsheet to the council, with updated numbers. That document should be posted here, and I have sent an email requesting it. Bruce Kimmel also seemed aware that the debate about the operations of the schools needs to be open and not in secret.
Last night there was a powerpoint presentation that was not shown to the audience and council. But it was sent to me, so here it is:
Power Point Presentation
And there is a spreadsheet listing non personnel budget cuts that can be made.
As Rick McQuaid pointed out, the debate about the amount of BOE increase is not a new one. In 2003, then mayor ALex Knopp said the same things that were said by people who supported keeping the cap where it was. That article was also sent to me, and I highlighted the relevant parts below:
“My primary response to last night’s public hearing is that it is terrific that parents have such a strong loyalty and investment in the public school system, but they are operating under a fundamental misconception if they have been led to believe that the only way to reach the level of expenditures we have recommended is through severe cuts in essential services, Knopp said. “That simply is not true, and it’s a scare tactic to pretend that significant cuts in essential services are what we have in mind or are proposing to meet our budget targets.
“The suggestion, for example, that we would go to a half-day kindergarten is an absurd and ridiculous insult to anyone who knows anything about education. If any parent was there last night fearing that that would happen, I feel that they were misled either intentionally or unintentionally, as the case may be.
Knopp said cost savings that won’t affect services to children are available. “That appears to be the missing piece of information that has never adequately been delivered to families and others who care about the schools. What seems to have happened is that some of us in the city have been overly polite in deferring to the customary rules of communication regarding collective bargaining and budget changes carried out in the education system, while others are playing hardball, misleading parents and deferring important decisions and not responding in a serious and well-organized manner to the crisis we face.
The article goes on to quote BET members saying that the cut is not really a cut, but a reduction in the increase. Sound familiar?
“The expression ‘cutting the budget’ was used too extensively [at the hearing] to reflect an understanding of reality, said BET member David Davidson. “We all want the best education possible for our children, and we believe this can be achieved without diminishing services to children in the classroom. The school system, Davidson said, isn’t doing its part. He said a 3 percent increase might be more appropriate.
“The city [portion of the] budget is basically flat compared to the current fiscal year, Davidson said. “This was achieved only by saying no to almost every expense request from every city department and further requiring $1.2 million in personnel cost savings that haven’t yet been specified. Despite the fact that as we reviewed the city budget we saw may items that were probably necessary for city departments or desirable for city departments, because of the very difficult fiscal circumstances, we basically said no.
He said the Board of Education “needs to make the kinds of tough decisions on priorities which we, this board, have made in reviewing the city portion of the budget. BET member Randall Avery, the lone Republican on the board and its longest serving current member, sided with Davidson, who is unaffiliated.
“I have been discouraged to read that the Board of Education did not seem to be particularly engaged in this budget problem, Avery said. “I believe Mayor Knopp has been extensively engaged in this budget problem, and I believe Mayor Knopp has given a great deal of attention to the Board of Education budget problems, as we have at this board here. But I haven’t perceived that same dedicated concern from the Board of Education itself, until the last few recent weeks which is very late in this process.
Sounds very familiar now doesn’t it?
Avery said he was inclined to support a 3 percent increase “especially in light of the actual cuts that are occurring on the city side in order to keep the city side [increase] at virtually zero. Avery also said the BET was being pressured at the hearing for decisions made by the Board of Education.
“The Board of Education controls how its money is spent overall, not the Board of Estimate, he said. “This is a long-running story. It’s part of the reason there was friction between the previous councils and the previous boards of education.
Davidson formally moved that the BET hold the school portion of the budget to a 3 percent increase. Although most of the members concurred with his opinion about the public perception of the “cuts to the budget, Davidson was joined in the vote on the motion only by Avery. Tim Buzzee, Ron Coley, Tulio Lopez, Chairman Adam Farstrup and Knopp voted in opposition, favoring the 3.5 percent increase.
The public is very engaged with the BOE right now. It’s time to pull together the interested parties and discuss the budget and the process going forward. The BOE, which is an elected body, represents the people of Norwalk, not the administration of the school system. Some of the BOE may think that misinformation is out there. Others think that the BOE itself is responsible for the misinformation. It is long past the time to openly present accurate information.
source: Norwalk Citizen-News, 3/28/03
