Woodstock CT Café

Sherri Vogt and Mike Alberts will face off on WINY on Friday the 13th (eek!) from 9-10AM

Sherri Vogt is the Democratic candidate for the State House of Representatives

Sherri Vogt speaks about healthcare as a basic right
communicated on Oct. 1st

Today, like every day, I work hard and play by the rules. Today, unlike every day, I had to decide whether or not to take my daughter to the ER. Sometimes you KNOW when to take a child to the ER, but then there is that GRAY area … is it bruised, broken, or can it wait to see the doctor on Monday? Today Chelsea fell off her bike going down a hill, used the front brake too much and went over the handle bars, into a ditch. Not a compound fracture, but more tears than I have ever seen out of this person. She’s been bucked off horses, fallen off a bike before, played a few sports … yet today “felt” different. Why then did I have to worry about the financial stress this would cause on my family?

If it was broken, yes, spend the $500 and pay for it over the next 10 months. That’s what we do as parents, we sacrifice. But what if its a bruise? Then it’s $500 we could have used for gasoline to work, the CL&P bill, or winter coats. This brings me to one clear reason why I am running for the House of Representatives. We need to reclaim our right to healthcare without breaking the bank. We need to stand up for our right to seek medical care and pay our bills all in the same month. Parents need to speak up about this. We work hard, we play by the rules.

Please tell me how you feel about this. Sherri

Sherri Vogt tells us why she is a candidate for the State House
communicated on Sept. 29th

Dear Residents of 50th District,

I am Sherri Vogt and I would like to explain why I am running for the House of Representatives. Read the rest of this entry »

We’ve added Seadog’s second response to Joe Klusek at the end of this article. Admin

‘Seadog’ speaks to Joe Klueless

You’re no expert in anything, but there is no barrier to entry for you and your cohorts on this website (except on rare occasion when the webmaster muzzles Wetzel and banishes him to Siberia … Folks, let’s all give the Administrator a standing O for that kneeslapper!) so I guess we have to entertain your nonsense.

The contradictions in your logic (or lack thereof) are astounding! Why is it that you, Schultz, Livernois, Wetzel, Lynn, Holland, Spaulding, Masiello, Ebeneezer Scrooge and the CPS thugs have burned Superintendent(s) of Woodstock Public Schools in effigy when s/he/they have dared to whisper that the large geographic size of our town is fair reason to purchase additional buses so children would not be on them for unreasonable periods of time on rides to/from school (+/- 1 hour), but you would allow the fire brigade and Commandant Dowd to use that same reason/excuse to beef up their toy chests? By the way, the proposed bus purchases in BOE budgets in past years which were not possible due to BOF’s shortsightedness and inept financial mismanagement, were not to expand, but only maintain, the current bus fleet and have now been relegated to the magic carpet capital financing plan that BOF is incubating (will it ever hatch? … snowball’s chance in Hell with the likes of Wetzel, Ralston and all those maniacal graduates of the Business School of Mattress Stuffers and Prudently Hysterical Dipshits (BSMSPHD) foaming at mouth and ready to spout their nonsensical gibberish at any mention of it). Read the rest of this entry »

The Cafe digitometer can be viewed using this link. The Cafe has had >100 unique visitors every day since Sep 22nd (9/28), Admin.

Election Day is just 4.5 weeks away!

Mike Alberts: He divides his time “between his legislative duties, his campaigning, and his full-time job as vice president of the Savings Institute & Trust in Mansfield…(he) aims to focus on various aspects of the economy, which he describes as ‘very critical.’ ” (Villager Sept. 22, page 14)

Sherri Vogt: “Some of her lessens came from two years at the statehouse, clerking for the Commerce Committee and the Select Committee on Children. During that time she observed that while Alberts had perfect attendence, ‘he never said a word. I was so frustrated.’ ” (Villager Sept. 22, page 15)

Candidates, Please let us know how you will help Woodstock & the surrounding towns with their specific needs. By talking to us directly you will be speaking to several hundred active professional people (e.g. 100% pure-bred voters) primarily in Woodstock, Eastford, Pomfret, and possibly in Hampton and Brooklyn. Of course you can link your website to the Cafe to direct your constituency to anything you say at the Cafe and the Cafe will link back to your website.

Articles can be posted as comments or emailed to cafe_administrator
@hotmail.com
Read the rest of this entry »

September 22, 2006
Dear Café Administrator,

I found this notice (text transcribed below) on my bus this afternoon. It obviously fell out of one of my cherubs’ backpacks. I think it is really important for the public to be aware of this opportunity to provide input for this study. Could you please add the following information to the website so others can watch the tape of the first meeting before attending the community workshop. Thank you for helping this issue get some daylight.

Regards, Becki Leavitt

Community Workshop Regarding
Woodstock Public School Facility Feasibility Study
Wednesday September 27th – 7PM

The Woodstock Public Schools invites you to attend a community workshop regarding the future of our public buildings and facilities. The workshop will be held on Wednesday, September 27, 2006 in the cafeteria at Woodstock Middle School from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Drummey Rosane Anderson, Inc. (DRA) was contracted in the Spring 2006 to prepare the Facility Feasibility Study. DRA have completed their evaluation of the current condition of our buildings and grounds and have compared these facilities against the current and range of needs that the community may have in the near future. DRA and the Woodstock Public Schools are seeking community input regarding current concerns as well as the needs and opportunities for the future. This is the second of three community workshops. The first session was held in the spring and was recorded at that time. The taped workshop will be shown on Charter channel 17 on Sept. 19, 21, & 26 at 7:15 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 16 & 23 at 10:15 a.m. Read the rest of this entry »

September 20, 2006
Dear Café Administrator –

In the past week and a half or so, in different venues and different conversations, I have encountered at least three separate instances of people referring to the Woodstock BOE’s Feasibility Study as some kind of covert plan to develop our own high school. I know that the feasibility study is focused on the elementary and middle schools because I have been to many BOE meetings. My concern is that apparently this rumor about our own high school continues to have legs. This afternoon, I went to the Superintendent’s office and requested a copy of the letter sent out to the firms requesting letters of interest. The letter was sent to all the registered member firms of the architectural association in the state. Read the rest of this entry »

Entrepreneurship is great, but a used car lot in Woodstock?

“…a $488,000 surplus…”

WA Trustees met last night and voted 9-8 to deny a motion made by Christine Swenson (WBOE) to add an item to the agenda to consider refunding of the reported $370,000 surplus to sending towns. The motion was made on the basis that further delay would impair WBOE’s ability to effectively use the returned funds. WA denied repeated pleas for help this spring and now will not even discuss the matter.

WA CFO Joe Campbell clarified WA’s financial statement dated June 30 which showed a $488,000 surplus, and confirmed this surplus was transferred to “Reserve” ($100k) and “Capital” ($370k) funds. Basically, the sending towns were overcharged for FY 2005-06, WA knew it, they refused requests for relief from WPS, and are now inappropriately applying it to capital programs in a different contract year.

In addition, Mr. Campbell confirmed that 11 private tuition students paid $110,000 in tuition with no associated costs, and that this tuition was not credited in calculating the sending towns’ tuition. Essentially, the sending towns pay the full operating costs of WA, and WA then admits additional students which carry no additional cost, treating their tuition as pure profit that WA keeps rather than use to reduce sending town costs.

WA has provided no basis in their contract, charter, bond covenants or state grant agreements for the assertion that they are entitled to overcharge the sending towns and keep the excess. However, the intent of the arrangement is for WA to charge the sending towns their cost. Through inattention of the sending town reps, and some aggressive bookeeping, this has evolved into a risk free empire-building opportunity for WA with the taxpayers carrying the risk - the S&L scandal writ small. All this points to the need for a new agreement with proper financial controls. Read the rest of this entry »

Recent articles and comments at the Café have generated the following list of actions that could possibly improve performance of Town management, effectiveness of the BOE, and partnership between the Woodstock Academy and the Town.

Additions to these lists can be submitted as comments.

Democratic & Republican Town Committees

· Recruit stronger candidates with professional backgrounds for elected Town offices
· Publish your plan to deal with the important fiscal issues faced by the Town

Town of Woodstock

· Stop the practice of unbalanced appointments to Town committees (committee ‘glommers’)
· Redirect the MFATF committee to take a close look at the unnecessary items funded in the Town operating budget and proposed bonds (e.g. Town beach, dial-a-ride, soccer field, etc.)
· Develop better costing and tracking system for depreciating Town assets
· Seek increased state funding with the help of state representatives

Board of Education

· Adopt a plan to build a better working relationship with the Academy
· Remove causal conversation from the minutes of meetings
· Place the issue of alternative school options into a subcommittee under the auspices of the Long Range Planning committee and add ad hoc citizen members to the committee to evaluate options
· Create a committee of diverse, objective citizens with appropriate expertise to analyze the efficacy of the BOE budget (don’t choose a silly acronym like “MFATF”).
· Seek increased state school funding with the help of state representatives

Academy

· Remove absentee and Town-antagonistic Trustees
· Add Trustees who will work toward better community relationships
· Adopt a plan to build better working relationships with the BOE and Town
· Build the endowment under the guidance and actions of the Board of Trustees
· Provide full disclosure of revenues and endowment funds to the public Read the rest of this entry »

Lost property taxes due to non-profit status in Woodstock:
Woodstock Academy - $218,548
Hyde School - $190,766
Woodstock Agricultural Society - $35,062
from Vision Appraisal

See the progress of Woodstock Academy’s Varsity Football team in a Sep. 9th article in the Norwich Bull.

Besides “I like Mike”, does resident and incumbent State Representative Mike Alberts have anything to say about any of this?

“…the penny-pinching by penny-wise and pound-foolish leadership will end up costing US more in taxes than we should ever have to pay…�

I read with interest the public handout of the Woodstock Academy’s expense report for 2006/2007. Academy expenses are itemized on separate pages distinguished by “academic instruction� ($5,612,537), “administration� including athletics ($3,210,405), and “facilities� expenses including debt service ($3,226,884). However, there is no itemization of revenues. Revenues from tuition charges can be calculated by multiplying the projected number of Academy students (1162) by the tuition per pupil, which is $9849 for 2006/2007 - $11,444,538. Also missing in this public handout are the non-tuition revenues stemming from the interest & dividends (perhaps from the endowment fund), other income, fundraising, rental income, and grants all of which probably add up to about $400,000 (an estimate). Presumably, if one adds all of this together, the current annual revenues for the Academy should be about $11,850,000 – approximately 60 % of the cost of running the Town of Woodstock. The Town of Woodstock’s contribution to WA revenues and actual costs is about $5,489,000 when one adds up tuition and non-tuition funding from the Board of Education’s approved budget for 2006/2007. Thus, approximately 46% of the Academy’s cost of doing business (including revenue) comes from Woodstock taxpayers and state education grants awarded to the Town of Woodstock.

To get another perspective on the revenue/expense picture for the Academy, I downloaded the Academy 990 tax return for 2004/2005 fiscal year – the more current tax return for the recently completed 2005/2006 year is not yet available. Since the Academy is a non-profit corporation, their financial balance sheet outlined in this tax return is available for public scrutiny. It’s too bad that public school systems are not required to submit audited annual financial statements in the same IRS format as non-profit organizations (but this would be too expensive) – then we could read a simplified version of school system expenses and revenues without having to weed through hundreds of obscure line items. The other advantage would be that school systems would have to adopt more ‘standard’ cost accounting techniques required for non-profit corporations. Read the rest of this entry »

“it is by virtue of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Woodstock Schools, and the administration of the Woodstock preK-8 system and their conformity to State regulations that the Academy is able to exist”

There has been much talk about the quality of education in the Woodstock preK-8 system and at the Academy. Indeed, a lot of this talk has come from one member of the Board of Trustees of the Academy, out of the mouth of Ernest Wetzel. Do the insinuations and accusations of Mr. Wetzel actually reflect the views of the Woodstock Academy leadership?

By contrast, Lindsey Paul, chairman of the BOE, stated last Friday in the Villager “The Academy IS Woodstock’s high school! (we added the exclamation point). As stated in the article “BOE Negotiations with the Academy May Resume”, the Cafe supports both the Woodstock Board of Education and the Woodstock Academy. This endorsement has forced the Cafe to think more deeply about the relationship between these two entities.

Although the Woodstock BOE and the Academy appear to function as separate entities, they are hardly separate. We suggest that perhaps these two organizations should change their perceptions and look at each other conceptually as partners. YES, the Academy describes itself as “a non-selective, comprehensive, independent and co-educational secondary school” with a very long history, and YES the Academy is separately incorporated as a non-profit institution, and YES the Academy has a Board of Trustees that oversees its operation and adherence to the bylaws. But, the relationship between the Academy and the Town of Woodstock is truly co-dependent and co-morbid, and even promiscuous in the sense that there are other ‘women’ in the form of other sending towns.

In 2005, Woodstock sent 475 students to the Academy or 43% of the student body (7 more were added during the school year). The other sending towns were Brooklyn 296, Pomfret 214, Eastford 87, Canterbury 17, and Union 15.

One of the themes of the spokesman for the Academy Trustees has been that the Academy is better run than the preK-8 system because the BOE squanders money while the Academy adds programs to enrich the lives of its students. We calculated that the tuition for the Woodstock preK-8 students was about $9300 this year while the tuition charged by the Academy is $9849 if you don’t count costs that come out of the BOE budget to support Academy students. If you count the costs of mandated transportation of Academy students paid out of the Woodstock town education budget, the fee per Academy student is more like $10,300, or about $900,000 in differential tuition cost of WA students versus preK-8 students.

The ’spokesmam’ for the Board of Trustees of the Academy pointed out that the tuitions for preK-8 students and Academy students are really the same if one adds the bond debt service to the cost of the preK-8 students, even though no public school system in Connecticut does this. It was suggested by the ‘Trustee spokesman’ that the Academy does this by adding $318,729 (this year) in building projects into their calculation of what the tuition should be. If the tuition of the Academy is partly based upon ‘building projects’ that are normally charged to Town operating budgets on behalf of their public schools, then perhaps the Academy should reduce their tuition by $274 per student, or $9575 per student as opposed to $9849 to conform to public school accounting. The Academy could, instead, pay for “building costs” with revenues from their endowment fund.

These thoughts led us to think differently about the financial relationship between the Woodstock public school system and the Academy. This year the State of Connecticut will give the Town of Woodstock about $4,865,000 for “education cost sharing” which funds about 34.5% of the Woodstock education budget by virtue of the Town conforming to State-mandated requirements for their ‘public’ education system. And this year, the Woodstock BOE has budgeted about $4,740,000 to pay the Academy for tuition of Woodstock students. Thus, the Town of Woodstock turns over about $1,635,500 of the State grant to the Academy in the form of tuition. YES, this state grant is not restricted to the preK-8 system. In fact all of the sending towns of the Academy support the Academy with a similar proportion of state grant money. If the State only funded preK-8 education, then the Academy would have to become a truly independent ‘private school’? and would probably cease to exist.

The ‘Trustee spokesman’ and other critics of the Woodstock education budget should also recognize that $748,955 of the Town education budget funds the Academy outside of the tuition costs of $4,740,000. Within these additional costs to the taxpayers of Woodstock is $580,554 for mandated special education services and $168,401 for mandated transportation costs. If we subtract this funding from the calculated tuition per preK-8 student, we find the adjusted preK-8 tuition is actually $8538 per student ($9300-$762) and the adjusted WA tuition is actually $10,611 per high school student ($9849+$762), or a differential of $999,186 for the Academy over and above the tuition rate for preK-8 students.

The Academy is not an independent private school. Instead, the Academy is truly dependent or co-dependent on the State funding of education to the accredited sending towns with about 46% of its student population coming from the Town of Woodstock this year. By contrast, The Pomfret School and the Rectory School are truly independent private schools that do not support themselves on State public school funding. To say this one more way, it is by virtue of the Board of Education, Superintendent of Woodstock Schools, and the administration of the Woodstock preK-8 system and their conformity to State regulations that the Academy is able to exist.

Then what is the role of the Academy in our Woodstock education system…and for the other sending towns? The role of the Academy, as the Academy states, IS a non-selective, comprehensive, and co-educational secondary school with a tradition of excellence. But, the Academy is not independent. The strength of the Academy is in its tradition of excellence spanning two centuries and its very respectable leadership in Headmaster Foye and his administration. The Board of Trustees of the Academy, the governing body of the Academy, is in part a group of hard working dedicated people. Read the rest of this entry »

Annual Meeting Kicks Off 205th for Woodstock Academy

Contributed by Woodstock Academy

The Annual Meeting of the Corporators and Board of Trustees of Woodstock Academy was held on Tuesday, August 22nd, marking the 205th year of educating local youth. Woodstock Academy is a non-selective, comprehensive, independent and co-educational secondary school with a tradition of excellence spanning two centuries. Built in 1801, the Academy is among the first six academies established in Connecticut. Fully accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the Academy currently serves residents of Brooklyn, Eastford, Pomfret, Union, and Woodstock, and tuition paying students from other sending towns.

By charter, the Academy Corporators, who are the alumni of the school, and the Board of Trustees, which is the governing body of the school, are required to hold their annual meeting one week prior to the opening of each school year. The Annual Corporators’ meeting is an opportunity for alumni to present their slate of officers of the Alumni Association for the new school year and to hear an annual report from both the President of the Alumni Association and the Headmaster. Alumni Association President, Mr. Paul Lynn gave the annual report, reviewing past events and accomplishments and goals for the future which include increasing active participation of alumni as a priority. Mr. Lynn was appointed as President for a second term with the complete slate of officers including Vice-President, Jay Livernois; Secretary, Joseph Musumeci; and Treasurer, Paul Kelly. Headmaster Richard Foye presented the Headmaster’s Annual Report, reviewing the 2005-06 school year and future plans as a result of the strategic planning process that is underway and in the action planning stage. A major focus for the school, Board and Administration will be to continue to plan and prepare for the Academy’s accreditation in 2008.

The Annual Meeting of the Board of Trustees immediately followed the Corporators’ meeting. The Nominating Committee presented the new slate of officers for the 2006-07 school year including Mrs. Jeri Musumeci, President; Mrs. Sandra Fredrickson, 1st Vice-President; Mr. John Rauh, 2nd Vice-President; Mrs. Philippa Paquette, Secretary; Mrs. Barbara Child, Assistant Secretary; Mr. David Teed, Treasurer; and Mr. Paul Kelly, Assistant Treasurer. Read the rest of this entry »