Woodstock CT Café

by Snuffy 

The stimulus bill’s purpose has no relationship to the nation’s defense or public safety, so these patriotic-sounding comparative parameters are not relevant.

As all conservative Republican economists (like Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, former Chair of Reagan’s Council of Economic Avisers) know, the Republican politicians are wrong about the tax breaks in the stimulus bill because they do not understand macroeconomics, or how the government manages the economy. Conventional, mainstream macroeconomics since the 1950’s holds that the dangers of an extended, self-reinforcing contraction - a downward spiral - in the U.S. and world economy, can be prevented. This is based on consensus analysis of what happened 1930-1945. Like the 1930’s, the current global economy is in a severe contraction, growing out of a credit-induced, hyperinflated U.S. home mortgage market, and the subsequent collapse of a giant global Ponzi scheme perpetrated by Wall Street and spread through the entire world’s financial system. The U.S. Government has a handful of basic tools to deal with such a problem:

1. Preventative - Prevent concentration in the financial markets; i.e., maintain lots of mid-size banks rather than a few huge banks to mitigate the risk of bank failure.
2. Preventative - Maintain stable capitalization of the private banking system through regulation - proper cash reserves, rational investment risks, etc.
3. Preventative - Maintain a stable money supply; disinflate or inflate total cash in the economy to counteract inflationary or deflationary swings.
4. Reactive - Manipulate interest rates to expand/contract private bank lending which will bolster/cool a recessionary/overheated economy. Read the rest of this entry »

by Snuffy

The Academy has a very longstanding political relationship with the CPS/Truth/Coalition. Their motivation is obvious - to preserve an educational funding formula that benefits the Academy at the expense of the proper funding of the K-8 system. Following are just a few examples of this unholy political alliance at work:

1. In 2007, as the CPS/Truth/Coalition went public with its “education reform” agenda their “kickoff” meeting was hosted at the home of Academy Trustee Avis Spalding, resulting in a front-page article in the Villager containing demands for a “citizens committee” to “investigate” waste, fraud and abuse in the K-8 public schools. Avis is the matriarch of the Spalding family which has large land holdings throughout central Woodstock. Avis is also the past chair of the BOE, reportedly embittered by her ouster from that position over a decade ago.

2. In 2004, Academy Trustee David Teed aggressively and persistently lobbied the DTC Chair to re-nominate Jay Livernois, longstanding President of Citizens for Prudent Spending, as Democratic nominee to regain his position on the BOE. Jay was President of CPS for a decade and was famous for using his position on BOE as the in-house advocate of various conspiracy theories launched against the public education system and its management by CPS leaders Preston Schultz, Gus Massiello and Ernie Wetzel. Jay was also longstanding Vice-President of the Academy Alumni Association and Academy Trustee, retaining his position until long after his departure for France. Jay is still a Woodstock public education ‘basher’ based on his occasional comments on the “WoodsockTruth” blog. Read the rest of this entry »

by A Student

‘not again’ said: “Why buy new buses. Only two towns in Connecticut own their own buses. What do the other towns know that we are ignoring? Why are we not leasing buses and ending the need for cost of repairs, salaries and benefits for drivers and etc. We would know annually what the serves would cost and would not have to factor in maintaining a fleet of buses.”

By “leasing buses” NA seems to mean using a contractor such as First Student or Durham School Services.

If so, then I find it hard to believe that only two towns in Connecticut own their buses. Who does besides Woodstock? Canterbury does, and I think Putnam does as well. That makes three.

First Student has a handful of very expensive buses going to the Academy. They’re rear-engined (flat-front with the engine in the back, the most expensive configuration). The engines are upgraded. The bodies have strobing warning lights and stop signs, crossing arms, under-floor storage compartments, tinted windows, white roofs, air-ride suspension, powered doors, increased passenger capacity…. Their drivers probably make more money than Woodstock drivers do…. So, would it really be cheaper for Woodstock to be paying for all these things indirectly, through First Student (they have to get their funding for all of this, plus the repairs, salaries, and benefits, somehow), or is it cheaper to operate our own, more basic buses directly? And I’d honestly hate to see First Student doing Woodstock’s transportation. I observe the buses in the mornings, and I don’t like many of the things that First Student buses do.

This general idea can be applied to Woodstock sending its high schoolers to the Academy as well. Is it cheaper for the Board of Education/Woodstock taxpayers to pay for all the wonderful things the Academy has/is planning to have (athletic expansion, sewer, expanding the campus, and more), or would it be cheaper in the long run to have our own Woodstock High School, fully and conservatively controlled by the Board of Education?

by D&R

..until the castle becomes a business. The most recent addition to the saga of the Brickyard castle is that the owner, Mr. Mark, went to the Zoning Board of Appeals last Tuesday night to get “relief” from a zoning regulation that would prevent him from operating a business out of the castle because the castle structure itself is too tall. Mr. Mark, according to his spokesperson wants to get a special permit to allow “functions” at the facility. According to his hired gun, these functions would include weddings, bar mitzvahs and christenings.

The castle will continue to be primarily a residence for Mr. Mark, his two young daughters and his wife/business partner Mary Gault. However, due to the “stock market” Mr. Mark will need to bring in some other stream of income to pay the town taxes of somewhere in the $40K range for the 450 acres he owns.

There were a lot of folks at the ZBA meeting but only one person spoke up against the waiver. A neighbor that lives across the street from the castle has had to put up with construction for the past five years, sightseer traffic on brickyard and has even had press knocking on his door. If relief were to be granted, there would be more traffic and noise in this neighborhood that is supposed to be in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut.

Mr. Mark, in my opinion, once again put his foot in his mouth when he was asked what would happen if he was denied this waiver stated that he’d have to build “low income housing” with federal assistance. Class is not one of his strong points. Interestingly though, he did mention that he had enough money to buy the neighbors property.

If this waiver were to be granted it would be, in my opinion, the first step in a long carefully planned out process of turning this property into a cross between the Playboy mansion and Disneyland. Mr. Mark has already been caught with the “castle-model” ploy, where you could rent a female model for a two hour “photo shoot”. (It sounds a lot like another kind of business, wink, wink.). The castle is reported to have a TV and media studio where they can broadcast “live webcasts”. Did I mention the shower large enough for parties or the glass floor, the zoo or the 50’ bar? Do you see a pattern here?
Is its proximity in any way related to the nudist colony nearby? Are they supportive or worried?

If the waiver is allowed, Read the rest of this entry »

by Harry Stefan

With regard to cutting the education budget when so directed by the BOF: Perhaps this could be handled as follows- the BOE complies by making a reduction of approximately two thirds of the requested amount to cover grades K-8. The town then bills the Academy for the remainder, calling it the cost of providing miscellaneous town services for the Academy.

Here are estimates of the $819 billion recovery plan passed by the House (from USA Today).
Totals below are not exact because some costs were still being estimated Wednesday night, or are carried over several years.

SPENDING: $544 billion
New spending includes:

$71.5 billion: Extend and raise jobless benefits through 2009; boost aid to poor, including food stamps.
$153.2 billion: Subsidize health care coverage for jobless, help states with Medicaid, other health programs.
$103 billion: Fund construction projects and repairs: highways, bridges, mass transit, federal buildings, water.
$159 billion: Provide school grants, aid to states, other school programs; boost Pell Grants by $500, to $5,350.
$53.4 billion: Support science facilities, high-speed Internet, other environmental, energy programs.
$13 billion: Repair and weatherize public housing, help homeless, repair foreclosed homes.

TAX CUTS: $275 billion
Tax cuts include:

$145 billion: Enact $500-per-worker, $1,000-per-couple tax cuts for two years.
$23 billion: Expand $1,000-per-child tax credit and earned-income tax credit to more working poor.
$10.3 billion: Provide $2,500 tax credit for college.
$6.9 billion: Homeowner tax credits.
$20 billion: Extend quicker write-offs for depreciation of equipment; help companies losing money.
Increase: $7 billion over 10 years
Tighten rules on firms that buy failing banks and merge them.

$48.5 billion: Subsidize local bonds for schools, infrastructure, economic development; extend energy tax credits.

by Snuffy

 I want to address Dean’s questions which are important ones as follows:

Q. Why should the Academy structure its spending around Woodstock’s budget woes? Since the Academy also provides education to several other sending Towns, why should they suffer for our Town’s financial problems?

A. Because the school was established by the state legislature, and is obligated by the requirements of its own charter, and maintains its nonprofit tax-exempt status, to(by) provide(ing) public education services to residents of WOODSTOCK and surrounding towns, including exclusively Woodstock K-12 services for most of its history. So its primary mission is to provide education to WOODSTOCK students. The “surrounding towns” language could include students from anywhere in North America if its meaning were stretched enough; in fact the Academy is already recruiting students from Massachussetts to benefit from the investment of Connecticut taxpayers in the school. The basis for the school’s very existence is to serve the public education system of the town; but the Trustees have effectively used the school’s private status to reverse the very purpose of the entire arrangement. And you are ignoring the town’s role in the Academy’s growth and expansion - bonding, guaranty’s town services, etc. for which it has never been reimbursed.

Q. I worry about our K-8 program falling off of a cliff but I think that when we attack the Academy, we are not attacking the problem. The problem is Prop 46 which forces a fairly properous town to spend less on education than virtually every other town.

A. Pointing out the imbalanced funding formula that benefits the Academy at the direct expense of the K-8 public education system is not “attacking the Academy”. This imbalance is not a matter of fairness, but of efficient and effective allocation of limited educational resources. This is true whether or not Prop 46 exists. You are also ignoring the role the Academy has played in preserving Prop 46.

Dean, your conclusion is consistent with the general conclusion of the town on this matter. But you cannot draw this conclusion and iognore its primary consequence - the gradual degradation of the K-8 public education system combined with the continuing, unmitigated expansion of the Academy.

by Hill Resident 

Is anyone taking into account that the Academy can and does spend taxpayers’ money in any way they choose with no regard or need for approval. For example, if the Academy had installed a sewer line extension 5 years ago or 10 years ago, it would have been much less costly than it will be now or in a year or two. The school chose to ignore the situation in preference to other expenditures among which was the design and legal costs of planning the fields expansion.

The work on fields expansion is progressing now despite the many conversations on budgeting. They have cleared paths and flagged 100 car parking lot, buildings and fields. Corner stakes for buildings sit in a foot of water (or did in Dec. 08 of last thaw), watercourses run hard through the whole area. It’s impossible to imagine how much it will cost to build a stable series of playing fields in the location. Also impossible is imagining what it will take to safely divert or drain all that water.

We haven’t had any say or choice on this expenditure, come this spring . . work will, no doubt, progress in costly earnest.

According to the Norwich Bull several school board members of the BOE in Canterbury voiced reluctance at a special BOE meeting on Tuesday to meet the request of the Board of Finance to install a spending freeze for the remainder of the 2009 school year and submit zero-increase budget for 2009-2010. Regarding the spending freeze this year, these Board members said that the existing budget was approved by voters and they feared the impact on students if limits were set.

“I think we made a commitment as a board to create the most responsible budget for the needs of the students rather than a specific dollar amount,” school board member Kimberly Coombs said according to NB.

NB reports that school board member Ray Sulich said he will propose an emergency spending freeze at the next regular meeting, because the motion could not be made during the special meeting. Other school board members questioned whether the emergency freeze was necessary. It would require school officials to get BOE approval for every expense beyond essential spending. But, Sulich pointed out that the town could not make up the revenue shortfall on its own by reduction of the town operating budget, because education is the largest portion of the budget.

“I don’t think it’s productive for the Board of Education, who is supposed to be supporting education, to say, ‘Let’s look at the numbers to see how much money we can give back to the town,’” member Heather DeLuca said (according to NB).