Woodstock CT Café

The data below was published by the CT Department of Education in November 2007 and first published at the Cafe on February 20th 2008.
Below is the link to the same data and definitions compiled by the DOE:

http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2635&q=320562

The upper panel lists the lowest ranking school districts in terms of per pupil spending - data compiled by the State of Connecticut, Department of Education and published in November 2007. The calculation for Woodstock is based upon an the entire K-12 Education budget of $13,847,656 (2006-2007; a lower figure than the buget5 approved by the town) and 1432 elementary, middle school and high school / Academy students (Average Daily Attendence). All CT districts have been calculated exactly the same way. A pdf list ranking all 166 school districts in one spreadsheet can be found on the left at the bottom of the list of Pages entitled “Per Pupil Spending…” 

The lower (right) panel is the estimated Woodstock per pupil spending comparing the Academy Read the rest of this entry »

“Grant me one false premise, and I will prove anything.” - Bertrand Russell

“…he’s having telephone conferences with the town lawyer with the permission of the First Selectman…”

I’ve seen the ‘spreadsheet’ developed by Mr. Richardson (see spreadsheet at the bottom that was inserted into the BOE minutes at Rosendahl’s insistence). It seems apparent that Mr. Richardson is having a good time arbitrarily ‘what-if-ing’ every number that crosses his field of notice. He obviously knows more about crunching numbers than any of his fervent fans (those rabidly devoted to the CPS/46 banner).

While Richardson may have been an accountant for Rogers Corporation and gotten his ‘gold watch’ from them, he is not using basic accounting practices by 1) combining the use of both budgeted and expended figures, 2) using rounded numbers in some places and actual numbers in others, 3) lack of notations of years covered by combined annual growth rate (CAGR), and 4) using inaccurate student populations.

I have no idea of what Rosendahl does, but by his own admission he couldn’t tell if the numbers were right or wrong. Read the rest of this entry »

That famous philosopher, Momma Gump, once said “Stupid is as stupid does!”

I was reminded of this statement by Momma Gump when I saw the spreadsheet submitted to the Board of Education last Thursday by Steve Rosendahl. Rosendahl said that this spreadsheet is being circulated around Woodstock which I guess, in his mind, makes the math legitimate. Rosendahl, as an elected member of the BOE, fessed up that the calculations were Dave Richardson’s and insisted that the calculations be entered into the minutes (see the link to Kevin’s website to view the spreadsheet).

If I were the conveyor of this type of information, I would first want to make sure that I understood the calculations and that the calculations had an accurate basis of fact – not just bad accounting by an accountant on a mission. Because Rosendahl insisted that the information be entered into the minutes, I say that this is Rosendahl’s information – since he’s the conveyor, he owns it. If he’s too stupid to understand what’s wrong with it, that’s his problem.

First, Rosendahl and Richardson don’t realize that Ellis Tech is FREE (paid for directly by the State, not out of the BOE budget), and 20-30 high school students listed in the “495 students” that supposedly went to the Academy (2007-08) was not correct. They have not explained the context of their calculations in order to draw some mysterious conclusion that they prefer over reality.

In October 2007 the Cafe based its per-pupil spending calculations on the number reportedly enrolled at the Academy for 2007-08, e.g. 472 students not 495 students. See the October article which states as follows:

Read the rest of this entry »

See Kevin Ford’s summation of the “March 13 and March 27 BOE meetings”
There is a lot of interesting stuff in Kevin’s article including Rosendahl/Richardson’s blundering math, dealings with the Academy, and the BOE’s handling of Shultz’ ridiculous FOI complaints.

1. Budget - the BOE is submitting a budget to BOF of $15.7 million, representing a 4.7% increase over the current year budget of $15.0 million.  The proposed 2008-09 budget represents the cost to only maintain current K-8 services, with no staffing or program improvements, and will be submitted along with a supplememt showing other items the BOE feels would allow them to meet their goals, but for which they are not requesting funding.  The base “maintenance” budget is likely to face cuts based on the current calculation of the Proposition 46 cap.  Further, the challenge to the current calculation of the Prop 46 cap by Dave Richardson, which according to Mr. Richardson has gained the endorsement of town attorney Robert DeCrecenzo, as publicized in this week’s Villager, may produce an even more severe negative impact on the town’s school budget.  This while the Academy is off and running on the expansion of their athletic complex, increased technology purchases, additional academic programs, and expanded  international staff junkets. 

2. Steve Rosendahl - This BOE member, who ran on the Republican ticket with the published endorsements of former Democratic BOE member  Christine Johnston Lessig alongside that of CPS President Preston Schultz, is quickly gaining steam.  Rosendahl presented for inclusion in the BOE minutes a highly misleading budget “analysis” showing the Academy and K-8 budgets.  The Academy’s Transportation and Special Education costs are not only EXCLUDED from the Academy’s budget, but they are INCLUDED as K-8 costs, grossly distorting the relative costs of the two systems.  This distortion is so blatant as to represent a bald-faced lie. 

3. Academy Contract - In addition to their longstanding demand that the BOE sign a contract granting the Academy unilateral authority over the tuition they are paid, the Academy has renewed their even more outrageous demand that they be reimbursed for any cost they (unilaterally, of course) deem to be an unreasonable cost of negotiations with BOE. Read the rest of this entry »

First the Villager suggests its readers are spreading untrue rumors (see the quote below) … and then they admit to using “a little fib” to scare readers into filling out the form that will build an address database for whatever purpose.

“However, it seems as though rumors spread faster than the truth. I am committed to my customers and want to make sure that you have all of the information that you need to create a sound marketing plan.

For the past few weeks you may have noticed the mail-in coupon on the front of our newspapers. I want to ensure you that we are NOT going to be changing our circulation. As the note attached to the coupon reads, we are applying for a special permit with the U S Post Office. This permit will allow our newspapers to be delivered by priority mail, thus giving our advertisers the comfort of knowing our readers are receiving the newspaper on time. In order to obtain this permit we have to collect the signature of 50% of the population in our coverage areas. You know as well as I do that getting people to mail things back is difficult. For that reason, we told a little fib and threatend to stop sending the newspapers to people.”*

*This quoted text is from an emailed ‘copyright’ protected letter sent by Ms. Charette of the Villager to its advertizers on March 28th.

The following statement by the Villager was captured in a previous article at the Cafe. What the Villager is saying basically is ‘to full out and send in the damn form… stupid!’

Thanks to Rebecca Hyde for alerting the Cafe to this issue.

See the “informational website” www.southbridgedump.org
Read the rest of this entry »

A comment left today under “Outrage” struck a nerve with me. The comment described a teacher in the elementary school who is “emotionally cruel” to young students. The comment went on to say that other teachers who are aware of the abuses by this teacher have taken some action to bring this to the attention of the administration. But I have no other knowledge of this other than an understanding of the impact of such behavior, if it indeed exists.

There is only one teacher in my experience that fits the description of “emotionally cruel.” I have had many fine and supportive teachers and mentors from day-one in elementary school through college and graduate school during my 23 year-stint in formal education. These teachers have given me wonderful gifts. Yet this one teacher, my 1st grade teacher Mrs. Golding, stands out in my memory for the negative impact she had on my life – manifest mainly in my attitude and confidence as a student. The last time that the attitude surfaced was in my senior year in college. I was attending Psychology 101 in early October because I was required to take a ‘Biology’ course to graduate. I was repelled by the treatment of another student in the class by this aberrant professor. I was so bothered by this ‘psycho’ that I did not return to the class until I received a mid-term F in March in the final months of my senior year. I then became brutally aware that, if I did not pass Psychology, I would not graduate from college; nor would I be able to accept the full fellowship to graduate school that I had been offered. During later reflection on this situation, l recognized that my behavior was linked to a deep-seated hatred for that rare teacher that practiced “emotional cruelty” with students – the male professor was the resurrection of my 1st grade teacher Mrs. Golding. The class was a large class of over 100 students. In spite of the skeptical chiding of fraternity brothers, I took the only remaining opportunity I had to pass the course by aceing the final with the second highest score in the class. For years after this, I had a reoccurring nightmare that I had failed the course and had not graduated. Read the rest of this entry »

Congrats to Zack Wetzel for winning a significant scholarship to Norwich University in Northfield Vermont.

About 90% of the visitors are from Northeastern Connecticut.

Book review - a subject relevant to Woodstock.

    I happened to be at the Southbridge Library and found a few books that seemed worth reading. One was “The Works” by Kate Ascher.  This book was published in 2005 and is a guide to understanding the infrastructure of NY City.  Very user friendly, in a Richard Scarry sort of way, with plenty of pictures, pleasurable wording, and user friendly guides  to describe topics not normally that interesting to non-geeks. The book mingles historical perspective, scientific and engineering concepts, and many interesting factoids.  It examines all aspects of the cities infrastructure from streets to sewers to water supply to electricity to communication systems. The book truly made me marvel at the human feats we take for granted that make a city like NY so spectacular.  The great part about this book is that it can be enjoyed by people of all ages.

     The second book I found was called “Outrage” by Dick Morris (Bill Clinton’s long term political advisor). Published in 2007 it touches on many of the current travesties that according to Morris should outrage us.  While I was expecting the usual liberal trip, I decided to keep an open mind. Topics he included are illegal immigration, the United Nations, Pharmaceutical companies, Fannie May (the democratic Enron), the Katrina Scams, Special interest trade.  But the chapter that really caught my eye was entitled “How Teachers Unions Block Education Reform.”

  I have long known or have heard of or have experience the shortfalls of unions, the Teachers Union not excluded. While this is a sensitive topic as teachers, by the nature of their jobs, deserve great respect. I regret that unions ever were needed in the first place and understand their role, initially, but they have become obstructive to progress…ironically, something progressives support. Read the rest of this entry »

Comment from Marnie: “We are trying to connect with people who are having the same issues, and learn best ways to protect the view. There’s a group in Kent who are objecting to Verizon’s contract. You may want to contact them.”
See the article about Citizens for a Better Tower

“O beautiful, for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties  Above the fruited plain!…”

A Visit to the Connecticut Siting Council Website showed the following existing communication towers in Woodstock:

see http://www.ct.gov/csc/site/default.asp  (random old maps are a recent addition)

A review of decisions by town (right hand column, Decisions, By Town) can be found at:
http://www.ct.gov/csc/cwp/view.asp?a=949&Q=248078
A database of Tower Sites under the Siting Council’s Jurisdiction can be found in the left hand column, Telecommunication Database at: http://www.ct.gov/csc/cwp/view.asp?a=895&Q=248312&cscNav=|  

Coatney Hill/Town Highway Facility site

This photo was taken from Joy Road. It is a ‘monopole’ that is 190’ tall. It has existing antennas for Cingular, T-Mobile and Verizon with requests from Southwestern Bell Mobile, Omnipoint and Cellco (dba Verizon). The tower is visible above the tree line. Read the rest of this entry »