Norwalk: BOE Budget Radio Blitz

by turfgrrl

January 15th, 2008 · 32 Comments

Tags: Education · Norwalk

32 Responses so far ↓ “Norwalk: BOE Budget Radio Blitz”

• 1 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 9:37 am

  Had I known about the broadcast, I would have listened to it. I agree that Bruce Morris had no legitimate role being there, but he was probably looking for exposure that might make others think that he is an integral part of the school system. The truth is that the system would be no worse off without him.

  I hope that the City of Norwalk takes a very hard line on this budget. Corda is not to be trusted. Opdahl is not to be trusted. To make matters worse, Corda and Opdahl collaborated on this budget, so we have a double whammy.

  Corda will no doubt once again speak of dire consequences if he doesn’t get the money he requested, but there are places where he can make cuts:

  Elementary assistant principals - 12 for the 12 elementary schools. Cut back so that the four smallest elementary schools have half-time assistant principals. That is a savings of two administrative positions.

  Executive assistant to the superintendent - Need I say more?

  Does the district need a director of elementary schools and another director of secondary schools? The assistant superintendent makes a boatload of money; let her work for it by taking over the leadership of the schools. Just what does she do when she isn’t at conferences?

• 2 always watching // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:31 am

  The “new” BOE failed to change the mindset of the BOE-City relationship when they had the chance, By approving the Corda budget WITHOUT real change, they continued the past practice of playing “gotcha” with the City; that is “I’ve submitted an inflated budget, now find where my excesses are hidden”. THERE WERE CLEAR EXCESSES IN THE BUDGET IDENTIFIED DURING MONDAY’S PUBLIC MEETING THAT THE BOE COULD HAVE DISCUSSED BEFORE APPROVING THE BUDGET. That they did not do so, indicates that they failed to recognize their opportunity to establish themselves as a truly independent Board.I am truly disappointed.

• 3 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 11:07 am

  The name of the game is arrogance; the superintendent should write a book about it sometime. He will go nose to nose with the city finance director (because the city understands the need for a finance director, unlike the superintendent), with the common council and anyone who suggests that he isn’t being honest.

  City officials, please demonstrate that you understand your responsibility to the citizens of Norwalk because the BOE does not. They gave unconscionable raises to the superintendent and assistant superintendent, and for what? Both of them had problems in their previous districts, and both of them have problems in Norwalk. Under their “leadership,” Norwalk has worked its way onto a list of failing school districts. In the private sector, they would have been fired.

• 4 Anon // Jan 15, 2008 at 12:41 pm

  #2 There were several members of the BOE who did not vote for ther budget to pass. Some reasons they gave for not passing it was there was not enough time for the members to thoughly go through it. New BOE member Jack Chiramonte said he had just received it after Christmas and felt like “a gun is being put to his head” by being asked to vote on it without enough time to comprehend it. Shirly Mosby was upset they didn’t get all the corrected copies of the budget to her so she could make a proper decission. Both these members voted against the budget with Iannannacone & Kimmel. You have a right to be upset with the BOE #2, but NOT with these 4 BOE members.

• 5 Anonymous // Jan 15, 2008 at 2:38 pm

  #4: The four you mentioned are the only hope we have, but they still have to swing one more vote to get a majority. Until that happens, I hope that they will publicly debate issues with the rest of the BOE members and with the superintendent.

  Norwalk deserves so much better than the central administration and most of the BOE.

• 6 Anonymous // Jan 16, 2008 at 11:37 pm

  Questions: What’s happening with the Cambridge reports? What about the NFT lawsuit over the superintendent’s contract?

• 7 George // Jan 17, 2008 at 4:23 am

  Dear Curious:

  I remember the millions of dollars a Long Island school Superintendent embezzled. I am curious how a budget like that works. Line by line transparency and a finance director was needed, but I guess some think Norwalk officials are honest and trustworthy. Time will tell all.

• 8 The Man with the Yellow Hat // Jan 17, 2008 at 10:47 am

  #7 You’re correct in asking for transparency by a line by line itemized budget. But there are more ways to skin a cat. I’ve heard there are several jobs that are put into the budget, but are never filled. Salaries that have had funds appropiated, with the intention of never filling those positions. Someone on the BoE should look into that.

  #6 Cambridge Report should be out next week. The NFT went to court yesterday and all parties were questioned by the Judge..we’re just waiting now.

• 9 Anonymous // Jan 17, 2008 at 12:16 pm

  There are so many ways for the BOE to pull the wool over the taxpayers’ eyes in the budget process. I, too, have heard about jobs that were in the budget but that weren’t filled. Remember that the City has no control over how the BOE spends the money; it controls only the total amount that the BOE gets. That is by state law.

  I hope that the BOE was made to feel extremely uncomfortable in court yesterday. If the BOE wins, there can still be a partial victory if the judge officially censures it for the shabby way in which the contract was accepted. I much prefer a total victory, the voiding of the vote on the contract.

• 10 Anonymous // Jan 18, 2008 at 2:55 am

  Moccia said there is
  increased security at the high
  schools.

  but it was suggested we had no problems last week why was that?

  “As a group of parents who
  have not been heard, we are
  stepping up to the forefront and
  are begging everyone to join
  us,” said the written statement
  issued by the mothers. “All of
  the parents of Norwalk who
  have lost their children or had
  their children hurt by violence
  need to come together and
  teach all of the children a better
  way. We are asking that
  everyone come together to
  come to real solutions and stop
  just talking about it so that our
  children are safe

  help us out BOE bloggers we are trying to send a massage that we are experiencing gang related incidents in our school more so this week. weigh in on what you know what you think of the mothers have become outspoken don’t let our city officials put them down and make the city beleive its also safe in the schools. These mothers have lost children city hall has lost crediblity and accontability just like some of the schools officials. Lets give some credit to the counselors and teachers that I don’t know lets fill the blog space with the ones who are making the grade we obviously know the ones that ae not.

• 11 Anonymous // Jan 19, 2008 at 11:03 am

  Norwalk Public Schools needs a full-time School Safety Director.

  http://www.schoolsecurity.org/trends/school_violence06-07.html

• 12 townie // Jan 20, 2008 at 9:35 am

  #11 - Norwalk Public Schools needs a full-time School Safety Director.

  You may be right Anonymous #11. But I would like to suggest that before they spend the money on a Safety Director, the Mayor and the Common Council demand that the DPW and Parks Dept first clean up the safety hazards that they have ignored at all the schools for years. Ever see the poor condition of the playgrounds that our kids play on at the schools? Accidents waiting to happen! Lawsuits ready to be filed! Park Dept is responsible for them and they don’t seem to care. Seems Fred and Mike care less about the safety of the school kids and more about the adult leagues and Vets park. Ever drive in and walk around the school grounds? Potholes, crumbling curbs and sidewalks, missing paving. All things DPW is responsible for. Seems Bill and Hal could care less about the schools. They would rather build Hal’s own empire with more trucks and more manpower…maybe three guys in every truck instead of two. Maybe more trucks parked hiding during the wrokday up on Perry Ave, or Ely Ave. Behind Marvin, and all the other spots you see them hiding at during the day.

• 13 Anonymous // Jan 20, 2008 at 1:12 pm

  #11: What would this person do? There is a person who has supervisory responsibility for the hall monitors now. Also, there are security staff only in the secondary schools, none in the elementary schools. NHS and BMHS have school resource (police) officers assigned to them everyday, and they each have one half-time off-duty police officer as well.

  Do we need this more than we need a finance director? more than we need more teachers for the high schools?

• 14 Anonymous // Jan 20, 2008 at 6:41 pm

  Teachers have to be careful with disciplining students at one school. I have a concern about teenage suicide from bullying. The frustration with this problem is growing. Do we go to Bruce Morris? No, we will become the victim, yet I am concerned about the problem. School climate is important. The bullying is real.

• 15 Anonymous // Jan 20, 2008 at 7:19 pm

  Bruce Morris will do nothing as he has done in the past. Bullying is a real problem in our schools that he chooses to ignore. If there is a bullying problem in your school, the best resource is the police department. Call them, if someone tries to stop you then perhaps this should be made public so the rest of the city can see exactly what we are up against. If things are out of hand take matters into your own hands and file a complaint with the BOE with a CC to the Mayor and the chief of police. Don’t bother CCing Bruce, he’s in Hartford when kids are in school.

• 16 Anonymous // Jan 20, 2008 at 7:22 pm

  #15: You mean you expect a BOE employee to be available to students, parents and staff?

• 17 Anonymous // Jan 20, 2008 at 8:33 pm

  Novel idea isn’t it?

• 18 Anonymous // Jan 20, 2008 at 10:51 pm

  I speak as one who knows from the inside how demoralizing the current central administration has been for so many good administrators and teachers. If only the general public could see the faces and hear the off-the-record comments of principals and other administrators, as well as those of teachers, there would be an eye-opening for the community. We should be able to respect our superintendent, but I don’t know of anyone who does. We should be able to respect our assistant superintendent, but I’ve never heard of anyone who respects or even likes her. As for the chief operating officer, well, let’s not even go there.

  Can it be that the BOE is the only group that doesn’t realize that “We have a problem, Houston”?

• 19 anonymous // Jan 21, 2008 at 8:54 am

  #18 No, The BoE has a least a few members who know there is a problem at Central Office. Come to the meetings and listen closely or even better yet, call them and question them individualy. Their phone numbers are listed on the Norwalk public schools website under “meet the board”. You might be very suprised at what and where they feel the problems are.

• 20 Anonymous // Jan 22, 2008 at 2:34 am

  this is only part of what was in the Hour today its a winner written by Peter Berman my has the Hour changed.

  Our once proud Norwalk public
  school system needs vastly better
  leadership at the Board of Education.
  Our school board endorses
  superintendent salaries enjoyed by
  college presidents, members of Congress,
  cabinet heads, heads of federal
  regulatory agencies and so on,
  but doesn’t seem to have learned the
  critical connection between remuneration
  and performance.
  Mayor Moccia, where are you?
  Sen. Bob Duff, where are you? Rep.
  Cafero, where are you?
  Here’s a challenge to the Board of
  Education members, especially the
  chairman. How about explaining to
  the citizens and taxpayers of Norwalk
  why you endorsed the salary
  hikes recently reported by The
  Hour. An op-ed piece in The Hour
  would be a good start in demonstrating
  the merits of your decisions.
  But your continuing silence
  only confirms suspicions of a raid
  on our treasury. And tough economic
  times are ahead of us.
  Peter I. Berman is professor of
  finance at the University of New
  Haven and a Norwalk resident for
  almost three decades.

• 21 anonymous // Jan 22, 2008 at 8:53 am

  Peter Berman’s Op-Ed was very good, except he stated that Kimmel was the only one looking for the BOE to hire a finance director when this is Not True. Anyone who attend the BOE meeting when the budget was passed knows that BOE members, Jack Chiaramonte & Glen Iannaccone, who are also the 2 new Board members, also voted for a finance director. Infact, they ran their campaigns this past November on goal of getting a finanace director to be hired. Jodi-Bishop & Magdalia Rivas were STAUNCH foe’s of hiring a finance director. The budget committee will now be discussing this matter at their committee meeting this Thursday, the 24th, at 7:30 pm at City Hall.

• 22 anonymous // Jan 22, 2008 at 9:02 am

  Why did Moccia vote for the BOE budget without a finance director?

• 23 MGeake // Jan 22, 2008 at 9:39 am

  I wish I could be at Thursday’s meeting, but I have a HWPsEm Committee at the same time.

• 24 get it right // Jan 22, 2008 at 10:43 am

  To M. Geake and others ;

  The BOE Budget committee will NOT be meeting this Thursday, the 24th, but will be meeting Thursday, the 31st, next week at 7:30 P.M.

• 25 Silence Dogood // Jan 22, 2008 at 11:14 am

  In light of all of the budgetary constraints, isn’t it interesting that King Corda, Queen Karen and the Duke of Opdahl have been enriching themselves? These are the same people who would fight tooth-and-nail against far more modest raises sought by the teachers’, secretaries’, food service workers’ and other bargaining units. They would tell everyone else to be reasonable because of the tight budget, while they take their wealth to the bank in wheelbarrows.

• 26 Anonymous // Jan 24, 2008 at 3:02 pm

  CAMBRIDGE REPORT TO BE RELEASED NEXT TUESDAY OR WEDNESDAY (29th or 30th) ACCORDING TO THE CT DEPT OF ED.

• 27 Cambridge? Whatever happened to you? // Jan 28, 2008 at 9:05 am

  #26: I hope you’re right because there have been a number of projected release dates that have come and gone. I suspect Norwalk central office interference.

  If the CT SDE has allowed our superintendent to bully his way into a more favorable report, then the district has spent a lot of money for nothing.

• 28 Paul Revere // Jan 28, 2008 at 2:30 pm

  THE CAMBRIDGE REPORT IS COMING!!!
  THE CAMBRIDGE REPORT IS COMING!!!

  Don’t fret #27, It’ll be here in the next day or so.

• 29 anonymous // Jan 28, 2008 at 11:20 pm

  Where exactly will the Cambridge report be able to be viewed? Pardon me, #28, but you say “here in the next day or so.” Could you please tell us where is that? Will we find it on the CT State Department of Education website or on the Norwalk Public Schools website?

• 30 Paul Revere // Jan 29, 2008 at 8:04 am

  #29 - The CT dept. of Education said it will be releasing the Cambridge report in the next day or so. I was told the supervisor was going through it with the superintendant (Corda) yesterday. I was ALSOLUTELY assured that the report’s content CAN NOT be changed. The only items that can be changed, for example, is if it is written that someones name is Joe when it’s actually John or if it says 12 teachers when it’s actually 11 for instance. However, the content of what it says can not be changed - it’s the law I was told. When the report is sent to Norwalk, copies wil be sent to others in our community. Don’t worry, you WILL hear about it as soon as it arrives and it will be posted either by the BOE or one of us citizens who will recieve a copy.

• 31 anonymous // Jan 29, 2008 at 7:03 pm

  Thanks, #30. I am anxious to see it. However, I’m more anxious to see where the state requires us to go from here.

• 32 Anonymous // Jan 29, 2008 at 8:02 pm

  hello I’m as a guest here I’ll be short. I see your all working hard on the BOE , simply wanted to point out extra cruisers at all the schools when they get out, some sort of shortfall on all crossing gaurds as many as 5 or sometimes ten simply don’t show up and after one child after school was hit by a car where a crosswalk gaurd wasn’t I wondered who would know about crosswalk gaurds?

  Its being said by Norwalk police officers most mornings and most afternoons they are covering the crosswalks giving some of us the impression many gaurds are out.

  Who has the figures on how many crosswalk gaurds we have how many spares do we have and how much do they make?

  Now I could be wrong thinking the BOE has anything to do with it.

  While I’m here anyone ever hear about the equipment at the Roton middle school that was stolen over the summer and could not be located for the teachers to use in the classroom?

  Not just the kids had the story but one teacher admits taking some of the contratctors stuff for ransom when the NPD couldn’t effectively find the stuff.Of course he returned it yet my kids went without this year, the very same stuff they had last year .

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