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Will any parents attend the BET meeting on Monday May 6th? Will anyone tell the BET to stop playing political football with the school budget?
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I think the story will be that there is no parent outcry. Unlike Marks, Daddona isn't willing to disrupt education to keep the jobs that friends have.
ReplyDeleteMoccia wants to keeps things quiet during an election year and Daddona is obliging.
ReplyDeleteDaddona is bringing peace and calm to the district, something teachers and administrators have needed for a long time. Apples are really reaching to say he is keeping jobs that friends have. He most certainly demands accountability. He isn't a Moccia puppet like the Apples are either. Try again, rotten Apples!
ReplyDeleteComplete side note here for a second. The Hour report on sunday that G. Deleep is seeking tax credits to fix the burning building on Wall St. Are you kidding me? I know she is the mom of a Council member but what the hell?!?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteHer dump nearly killed people, she is a slum lord! Her daughter is also useless on the Council.
There is good news coming from the Board of Education- we will be discussing and voting on two policy changes which will protect our students. The first policy change will create a ban on adult bullying; this measure will also provide a strict chain of command to identify complaints of adult bullying and address them. This policy represents the significant dedication from the students at the Center for Youth Leadership who worked with the Policy Committee for more than one year.
ReplyDeleteThe second policy bans the distribution of demeaning images. It seeks to educate students as to the disruptiveness that occurs when these types of images are distributed. A great research paper was prepared by the Pew Research Center on this issue and can be found at http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/Teens-and-Sexting.aspx
Word is only Moore, Thomson and Barbis from the BoE at the BET meeting. No public comments allowed
ReplyDeleteDue to work commitments, I was unable to attend the BET meeting.
DeleteUnfortunately, the allocation provided by the BET must serve as the base upon which the BOE balances the budget. It is illegal under Connecticut law for a board of education to pass an unbalanced budget; therefore, we cannot include items in the budget with the hope that a proposal by Gov. Malloy will pass both houses of the General Assembly. Sadly it means that much of the harm created by last year's budget will not be undone, barring additional funding from the BET or increased state aide.
The one bright spot is that there was widespread community input into the basic budget planning due to the forums which Supt. Daddona undertook. Therefore, as the BOE looks to balance the budget, we will have a good sense of those areas which are critical to the community and students.
Ok Steve C. What about the secretaries who lost hours last year and there are still people CO who were put there because there is no paper trail? How are we paying $600/week unemployment for a former employee in finance? Why is the principal on special assignment in CO making $160,000 going to do in the summer? These are the things that you need to look into. The secretaries need their hours back and all of the Board Members up for re-election need to go!
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I voted against the budget that is currently in place and that resulted in people losing hours. There was no negotiation between then Supt. Marks and the members of the bargaining units whose employees lost hours. As a result, there are grievances pending.
DeleteI cannot comment on specific employees who are collecting unemployment.
The Principal on Special Assignment is a full-year position. There is significant work that needs to be managed over the summer, particularly given that some proposed positions which were slated for restoration may need to be eliminated from the budget.
As one of the BoE members who is actively seeking re-election, I am sorry that you feel that the entire Board needs "to go", although I appreciate your frustration. Although at times I realize that my personal style obscures the true compassion I feel for our students and staff, I do know that many BoE members are tireless and compassionate advocate for our school district and I would ask you to consider each person who runs for re-election on an individual basis.
Unfortunately, the lack of planning that accompanied Dr. Marks drastic budget cuts has impacted students and negatively affected our employees. That lack of planning cannot be immediately corrected, particularly in light of the extreme financial limitations we are facing (which is why I've been fighting to control costs, such as legal expenditures that are exceeding budget limits).
Steve,
DeleteStop throwing Marks under the bus. There are PLENTY of administrators who have been around for decades that always claimed they could do better. Well......
Past mistakes, and poor planning, have cost us dearly for years in Norwalk. When the superintendent of a school system announces that he or she is balancing the budget, in part, by reducing the hours worked by staff, it is incumbent upon the superintendent to negotiate those changes with staff-- the end result might be the same, but there needs to at least be a dialogue. That was lacking and now we face grievances (and legal bills) for that lack of planning.
DeleteStaff members who are paid nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars need to be held accountable for their decisions-- it's not "throwing" anyone under the bus to identify the errors that have created some of the lingering fiscal uncertainty we now face.
Steve, why aren't you the Finance Chairman anymore?
DeleteSteve C. Why is the IT director who embezzled funds from the BOE still working there? We as tax payers are sick of the hidden secrets going on in this district? If you are such a good lawyer then why are you allowing these things to happen? It is time for a big change in this district!
ReplyDeleteThe IT Director was never convicted of embezzlement and, as far as I know, has never been charged with a crime. That is not a decision which the BoE can make, but is a matter for police and the Office of the State's Attorney. The BoE did accept his resignation, which was publicly voted on, after consultation with the attorney who had been hired to represent the school district in that matter.
DeleteI am not the lawyer for Norwalk Board of Education- I do undertake all of my own research and drafting for the Policy Committe (which I chair) instead of using outside counsel as had been done in the past.
Being a lawyer can be a bit over-rated--- we don't have the ability to single-handily stop people from making goofy decisions. We had been making progress in eliminating much of the lack of transparency involving past school budgets- I am proud of the work I did as the former Finance Committee Chairman to ferret out erroneous budget assumptions, miscalculations and other budget mistakes that had allowed money to be put into accounts that were never used at the expense of areas that needed greater attention.
What about the teacher caught cheating on CMTs at fox Run still employed and why are Nathan Hale's 8th grade math scores in the toilet?
ReplyDeleteSteve,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting your comments. If you can, please don't let the NFEP take the brunt of the 2013-2014 budget cuts. You are the only one tells it like it is. I hope you get re-elected this election.
And what about the teachers getting paid (and building on their pensions) to sit home for the past few years. The system is toxic. I've never seen or heard such outlandish things taking place in this system. Guess that's why many are bailing out.
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as rules in the schools, they are not followed or are buried under the rug. Kids are getting away with stuff that the Norwalk residents should be reading about. Hope the NEW super can save our educational system.
Topic: Teacher online reporting for Middle/High School
ReplyDeleteMany find it extremely difficult to communicate with teachers regarding grades/school work. I believe this all would all be alleviated if we had online reporting, as does most of the Nation.
thoughts?