KL Board Buzz

Editorial: District needs to pay its share

An interesting perspective.  I am not sure how the school ends up as the bad actor in this story. The time to have this discussion was in February. I am not sure the editorial is correct that this item can be added without violating education law. I will leave that to others to determine.

The district still has the opportunity to help the town deal with the issue. If they decide to fund the position as part of the 7/1/10 budget, it would still help the town in fiscal year 2010 without violating ed law.

Instead, the board sent a letter to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Roelle seeking compensation for Sergeant Secret’s salary but was rebuffed, with Dr. Roelle replying that it was too late because the 2009-10 school budget is already in place.

The district needs to change its stance. There is a projected $4.3-million surplus in the school budget for the academic year that just ended last week, and there is a surplus built into this year’s budget. The town, though, is in such financial distress that it will just barely have enough cash flow to pay employee salaries through this year, and is carrying a budget deficit that is still hundreds of thousands of dollars from being closed despite making nearly every conceivable cut in recent months. On the other hand, the district created two new reserves last month just to have a place to put its extra money once it becomes available.

Editorial: District needs to pay its share.

Pension Costs for Local Governments May Triple - NYTimes.com

You can't have people retiring after 20-25 years at 70 to 80% of salary and sustain it. The arithmetic just doesn't work.

In six years, contributions to the state system will exceed 
$8 billion a year, compared with $2.6 billion last year, 
according to an analysis by the comptroller's office.

Pension Costs for Local Governments May Triple - NYTimes.com.

Letter from Parent Council on Officer Secret

 

Scarsdale Mission and Strategy

As the new BOE starts the planning process, this may be worth a look. Hat tip to KJ for the link. I am not sure of the status of our strategic plan from three years ago.

The Mission is to “enable our youth to be effective and independent contributors in a democratic society and an interdependent world.” We are doing this by pursuing three inter-related goals:

* To prepare our students for effective participation in an interdependent world
* To develop minds and spirits to inspire a love of learning
* To foster decent, responsible, contributing citizens (non sibi)

More

It really happened! The Andes Property becomes AP Farm and is donated to the school

I attended the ceremony last night. There were thirty or so in attendance. I met Adam Rose for the first time and had a chance to thank him personally for his and Peter McQuillen's gift.

Wow! What a great feeling. I think it was almost eight years ago to the day that I sat in my first BOE  executive session and first discussed making an offer on the property. Previous boards had worked on it too.  Time flies.

Here is a 2002 Ledger Editorial for old times. The discussion sounds very familiar to the last couple of iterations.

 

Board names Lew as business administrator - Ledger

Board names Lew as business administrator.

The second-ranked position in the Katonah-Lewisboro School District’s business office has been filled with its fourth person in three years. On Thursday, June 11, school board members unanimously appointed Lee Lew as the newest school business administrator, replacing Emilie Ruglis.

Supreme Court Rules Strip Search of 13-Year-Old Girl Unconstitutional - WSJ.com

Supreme Court Rules  - WSJ.com.

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 Thursday that a school's strip search of an Arizona teenage girl accused of having prescription-strength ibuprofen was illegal. The court ruled on Thursday that school officials violated the law with their search of Savana Redding, who lives in Safford, in rural eastern Arizona. Ms. Redding, who now attends college, was 13 years old when officials at Safford Middle School ordered her to remove her clothes and shake out her underwear because they were looking for pills. The district bans prescription and over-the-counter drugs and the school was acting on a tip from another student.

Graduation today at Caramoor

Congratulations Graduates!

They are led by valedictorian Abigail Greene, intent on majoring in psychology, molecular biology, and/or neuroscience at Princeton University, and salutatorian Avery Nackman, headed to Brown University to study business and finance. Both will deliver speeches at the ceremonies. This graduating class is smaller than in recent years, almost 40 students fewer than last year’s record-breaking class. At the ceremony, class presidents Meaghan McCarthy and Wyatt Cadley will pass on their experience, in the form of the Key of Knowledge, to junior class presidents Josh Buckwald and Stephen DiGregoria. As is the John Jay tradition, the senior class will add a small memento to the key, a symbol of its experiences in the Katonah-Lewisboro School District.

Class of 2009 to have nearly 300 graduate next week.

Drugs, drinking still prevalent for teens both in and out of school

Drugs, drinking still prevalent for teens both in and out of school.

Briefing Book: The beatings will continue ...

That cartoon came to mind after reading the focus group report prepared for the Katonah-Lewisboro School District [KLSD] by “The FDR Group.” Contrary to what we first thought, the FDR Group is not a consulting firm specializing in the change management skills of the 32nd President. It’s the Farkus Duffett Research Group LLC, an opinion research company.

Complete column >>> Briefing Book: The beatings will continue ....

Uncommon Sense: I told you so

Last week’s Ledger provided the kind of in-your-face juxtaposition that one would be hard-pressed to miss. There, on the front page, were two headlines that couldn’t be more obvious in their irony. “Roelle receives $10,000 bonus,” said one. “District tackles low staff morale,” said the other. All that was missing was a third headline that said, “Well, DUH!” The connection would seem to be hard to miss, and I know — because I have “inside information” — that these stories, along with the Ledger editorial, “A dreary month for Roelle,” have been traded widely among school staff members. Yet I have to wonder whether any of the members of our school board are able to make the connection.

Complete Column >>> Uncommon Sense: I told you so.

More on Officer Secret

Hat tip to J.D. For the citation...

Don, The Ledger's discussion of Officer Secret is buried deep in the story on budget cuts. Here is the relevant section:

Town Board members agreed to send a letter to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Roelle requesting the district pay for some of Youth Officer Frank Secret’s salary. Officer Secret works out of the high school but is paid for by the town as a member of the police department.

Town Supervisor Edward Brancati and Mr. Pavalow did discuss the possibility of eliminating the youth officer position at the high school and having Officer Secret on the regular police patrol with the possibility of responding to the high school for any police calls there.

“He might better serve taxpayers in the community if he’s not dedicated to the schools,” said Mr. Pavalow, who preferred having him as an additional officer on patrol. “My reasoning is to have an extra officer out there.”

Mr. Brancati said he would also like to have Officer Secret on patrol but to replace the hours of an existing patrol officer in order to save the town money by effectively eliminating the position of youth officer without creating a new position elsewhere in the police department.

Mr. DeLucia did not want to take Officer Secret out of the schools, noting that this year’s senior class at the high school dedicated the yearbook to him.

“To me, I would never vote to take Frank out of school,” Mr. DeLucia said. “I think we avert a lot of things.”

Obama's Education Budget Sees Some Pushback on Capitol Hill

Congressmen are challenging some of the biggest programs in the fiscal 2010 education budget request that Education Secretary Arne Duncan recently outlined to Senate and House appropriations subcommittees.

President Obama's budget proposal asks for $46.7 billion in discretionary funding, or $1.3 billion more than the 2009 level.

The most pointed questions Duncan faced involved a shift of $1.5 billion in Title I funding—federally funded programs for schools with high percentages of students from low-income families—into the department's School Improvement Grants program, which targets historically struggling schools and attempts to turn them around. Sen. Tom Harkin, a Democrat from Iowa, expressed concern about how the Title I cut might play out after $81 billion in federal education stimulus funding expires in two years.

Obama's Education Budget Sees Some Pushback on Capitol Hill.

Guest column: Something Special

I was reminded of this column this week. Officer Secret's position may be in jeopardy due to Town cutbacks. What a shame that would be. I am told there is Ledger coverage about the proposed change, but I was unable to find it.

Guest column: Something Special.

To Sergeant “Officer” Frank Secret, who would tell us, every time we nervously dropped Trevor off at a game as his independence increased, “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye on him”.

Peekskill Board of Education Honors Education Foundation | The Hall Monitor

It would be great to get our Education Foundation up and running again.

Peekskill Board of Education Honors Education Foundation | The Hall Monitor.

In acknowledging the support the Foundation has provided to the district, Superintendent Johnson enumerated the many grants it has awarded, including funds toward the purchasing of violins for the Pilot Violin Program.

Education Chief to Warn Advocates That Inferior Charter Schools Harm the Effort - NYTimes.com

The Obama administration has made opening more charter schools a big part of its plans for improving the nation’s education system, but Education Secretary Arne Duncan will warn advocates of the schools on Monday that low-quality institutions are giving their movement a black eye.

More at >>> NYTimes.com.

Roelle receives $10,000 bonus

Despite a faltering economy, school board members last week authorized a $10,000 merit bonus to Superintendent of Schools Dr. Robert Roelle, increasing his total 2008-09 compensation to $310,000. The bonus passed 6-0, with board member Dr. Peter Treyz abstaining.

“We measured him against performance standards and board goals,” said board President Warren Schloat. “We all felt that Dr. Roelle had done an outstanding job over the past year.”

Roelle receives $10,000 bonus.

Class of 2009 to have nearly 300 graduate next week

Class of 2009 to have nearly 300 graduate next week Lewisboro Ledger - Lewisboro,NY,USA As is the John Jay tradition, the senior class will add a small memento to the key, a symbol of its experiences in the Katonah-Lewisboro School District. ...

Who Wants School Vouchers? Rich Whites and Poor Nonwhites

FiveThirtyEight: Who Wants School Vouchers? Rich Whites and Poor Nonwhites.

State math scores improve in district - Ledger

In the first year of testing, only 83% of middle school students — 88% of sixth ... not only in Katonah-Lewisboro but also statewide, has prompted some ...

More >>> State math scores improve in district.