Take a look at what is being reported on the Daily Freeman website:
"An early plan for closing Meagher Elementary School and eliminating nine class sections was projected to save $680,000.
A revised plan would save at most $100,000.
The new version of the redistricting plan, which changed the way Meagher students are divided between John F. Kennedy and Edward R. Crosby elementary schools and made some other geographical boundary tweaks, was designed to reflect more realistic projections for next year’s school enrollments and include factors like special permissions for students to attend different schools. Under that plan, only one section -- not nine -- would be eliminated from the current school year’s total of 144.
Superintendent Gerard Gretzinger estimated the elimination of one teaching position would save $100,000 in salary, benefits, and classroom supplies.
But Transportation Director Judith Falcon said the plan may require two additional bus runs at $50,000 each, which would wipe out any savings."
The bottom line is that the school district raced like crazy to close Meagher School and the amount of money to be saved by taxpayers is NOTHING. If this is not evidence of a poorly planned, half-witted scheme, I do not know what is.
The members of the School Board insisted closing Meagher would save $680,000 for taxpayers. I and others repeatedly told them that there would be no savings because of increased costs, especially bus costs. They said we were crazy.
Now, do not expect the School Board to admit a mistake. They never admit mistakes. They believe they are incapable of making mistakes.
Why can not one single member of the Board realize the mistake they are making? Meagher is not the right school to close. If you must close a school, close the one who has almost all of their students already being bused so as not to dramatically increase the cost. Close the one which will disrupt the least students. Close the one that is weakest according to the test scores. Close the one which would require more money in repairs than Meagher. If you must close a school, close Zena. That will never happen, however, since people working at Zena have close connections with the School Board and Superintendent.
I am curious. Are the people of Kingston as frustrated with this nonsense as I am?
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UPDATE
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The Freeman has dropped their story and posted an "amended" version. Now, the claim is being made that there will be $680,000 in savings from the closure. Obviously, someone from the Board must have placed a call to the Freeman.
Frankly, I do not believe this. Show us the documents and the numbers to back this up.
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9 comments:
Are you considering running for school board this spring? You would be a great asset. However, we all know that they (school board and officials) stack the deck with their hand-picked candidates so they can continue to control the board. It is a losing battle but it sounds like you would be up for the challenge.
No, I am not seeking a School Board position; however, I will gladly assist an intelligent and logical person who would like to do so.
No one should be shocked only angered at the antics of this bygone administration.A classic example of the Peter principle.Yea rejoice not for only the head has left.
It is my opinion that Mr. Cahill would be an excellent candidate for school board.He has had city wide exposure in two mayoral campaigns and as a candidate has matured.His integrity and ability have not been questioned.
fo get about it. you can't change that bunch of rubber stamps. you vote one of them off yhe teachers union will replace that person with another puppet. how about $108,000 for steve finkle. we don't need to replace him we can put thatmoney back in the budget to help lower taxes.
I resent and am appalled at the retort Gretzinger flung at one of the board members who questioned an aspect of the budget. He cannot leave soon enough for me.
Why do we keep electing incompetent people to the board!?? The taxpayers have more to fear from school taxes than the city's taxes. This latest debacle is very troubling. Somebody didn't really do their homework and the schoolchildren are the ones who will be made to suffer.
Please don't tell me they hired a consultant to advise the board regarding which school to close. Wasteful!
Hey 6:30 Gallo already has someone lined up for that spot. The position will change but the salary will stay the same. He has to pay back the people that got him elected. I am talking about his political cronies not the voters of Kingston.
$680,000 is the operational cost of Meagher - principal, all personnel other than classroom teachers (including benefits) supplies, energy, etc.
$100,000 is the savings from eliminating one classroom section.
Nothing inconsistent. Perhaps there was an error in the first edition of the Freeman article.
The school board is not responsible for that.
Per the above comment, it is never the Board's fault. Ok, got it.
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