Woodstock CT Café

by Dean

Prop 46 is not going away this year or next. But it will go at some point, it is not sustainable. It will completely fall apart when the state decides to dramatically cut back our funding.

People will vote to amend Prop 46, they just need to get all of the facts and a good campaign needs to be run so they don’t just get CPS version of the “facts”. But that is a problem for a couple of years from now. This web site is a great start to people seeing the entire picture not just the picture that others want to paint.

Sure there are ideas to reduce spending at the schools, but every time you pull a stick out of the Jenga pile, you are risking it all tumbling down. I didn’t hear lot at the BOE meeting a month ago with the exception of going electronic (forgetting that it is impossible for us to give every kid a computer), cutting coordinators, and cutting admin staff which the administration says is absolutely needed. But none of these ideas was going to dramatically save anything.

You want to restructure the system (to Newcomer), but you do realize that after you do that it is very unlikely that you will get the same performance. Almost every magnet/charter school wishes they have the performance of our K-8. By creating another school, you would just create the need for more admin staff and administrators with almost no potential for improved results. Read the rest of this entry »

Today (Mar 30th) as the Café approaches the end of the first Quarter of 2009 – despite the anomaly of the 3rd quarter of 2008 – Café readership continues to grow. A total of 1273 articles and 12,780 comments have been posted since October 2005.

The data indicates that the frequency of visitation and the number of page turns fluctuates in parallel with the rate of articles published. The number of articles published each month can be viewed on the lower part of the left sidebar.

The Café estimates that there may be as many a 600-1000 people visiting frequently or infrequently by assessing the number of different Internet Protocol (IP) addresses that are recorded by our StatCounter, and hits on our BrightEgg server.

The graph below shows visitation by unique visitors for 13 three-month intervals going back to the beginning (Oct. 2005). The 1st quarter of 2008 was lost when the statcounter malfunctioned. The data (unique visitors) shows that the number of visits mushroomed in the 3rd quarter (June 21 to September 20) following publication of articles at an increased rate in June, July, and August. Visitation dropped in September with the drop in number of articles published.

Visitation by unique visitors jumped 18.3% this last quarter versus the 4th quarter of 2008. We should point out that there are visitors that our stat counter does not detect like Mindie who left a recent comment. BrightEgg says the we had a million hits on server from Feb 1 2008 to Jan 31 2009 – but our statcounter only detected about 250,000 page turns.

Quarter by quarter growth in Unique Visits and Page turns. The lower graph plots the unique visits by quarter.

Read the rest of this entry »

I’m sure some people do consider it a game, but only in the sense that the two older brothers were playing a game on “Trading Places”. I’m sure many remember the 1983 movie where two wealthy brothers placed a $1.00 bet on the outcome of doing an experiment with people’s lives. For them it may have been a game, but for the people actually impacted, not so much. So yes, some people may consider this a game. But I don’t think it is a game for parents looking at the prospect of lesser educational opportunity for their children (they didn’t seem to enjoy “playing” at the meeting in the beginning of March), for the children themselves who will have their futures harmed, or for the employees of the school system who stood to lose their jobs. Some people may consider this a game where their personal tax stakes are pretty low but for the people who have to suffer the impact of this “game”, it is no game.

On a lighter subject, yes with the bailout, an opportunity was lost to really show how harmful Prop 46 has been to our education system here in Woodstock. Trust me, we don’t have a problem with the system being too lean. Having said that, due to all the reasons I listed above I’m glad we were able to dodge the bullet. For those same reasons I’m also glad this didn’t become an opportunity to teach children to live within their means or any other such concept. That’s something the parents should be doing at home with $20 and a savings account, not with people’s jobs and our children’s educations. Once again, to the people impacted, this isn’t a game.

Thanks,

Kevin

This post represents my personal opinions and in no way should be considered an official act of the BOE or that I am speaking on behalf of the BOE in any way.

Discussion continues there on “Woodstock Traffic” “Reminder Trash” “Tractor Pulls” and other subjects of interest to the ‘Creator’.
http://www.woodstockcttalk.smfnew.com/index.php

by Con

You make some good points (to A Taxpayer), but your biased characterization and gleeful sarcasm disappoints me – this situation involves serious harm to many Americans and your sarcasm is inappropriate and misplaced. We no longer care to hear anyone say, yet again, “Gotcha!” or wax sarcastic to illustrate the power of biting wit. It’s almost as though you draw unseemly satisfaction at the misfortune of others – perhaps because you believe they all deserve it or because you’ve come to believe other highly biased accounts of the reasons for this mess. I don’t know why you insist on a sarcastic ’score-keeping’ approach to analyzing the problem. It’s as though you feel it appropriate to ridicule misfortune to prove a point. I mean, where do you get your information that “Its easy, its fun, and no one gets too stressed out.”? Most EVERYONE I know who is negatively affected is NOT having fun, do NOT find it easy and are VERY stressed out. This is the wrong situation on which to build an effective attack on ‘liberals’ or whomever you are blaming for a situation clearly caused by BOTH sides, that took years to develop and that seemed to take most everyone by surprise, except perhaps for a handful of non-partisan economists who were ignored. Read the rest of this entry »

from Arne: If the Federal government is going to mandate standards through the State, then they are going to have to figure out a way to pay for these mandates. The stimulus that will be received is payback to the town school system for those unfunded mandates.

By Taxpayer

Here is a list of unfunded state education mandates (can anyone think of anymore?): Is it right to mandate programs that municipalities cannot afford and then borrow on interest to fund them?

•    Legislation which requires a non-participating school district to allow a student to attend a magnet school and require the district to pay the appropriate tuition
•    Legislation that requires districts to assign a BEST mentor to every beginning teacher.
•    Require the establishment of internal suspension programs and significantly limit the number of external suspensions. Read the rest of this entry »

by Newcomer

Upon initially hearing about the stimulus money coming to our rescue this year, my first reaction was relief. Then I started to actually consider what this means. Aside from the National Debt implications which you discussed, which is a long-term concern, on a local level, we’ve done nothing to remedy the problem. Next year, and each year hereafter, we will find ourselves confronting the same dilemma.

Our dilemma is fairly simple. We have a spending cap which forces us to live within our means. Therefore, we have varied needs within the community which are forced to compete for limited funds. What will happen next year or the year after if all of our current National spending, in an attempt to spend our way out of this recession/depression, forces record inflation as some economists are predicting? Wait until we get a load of the price tag to fund education when the cost of fuel and electricity soar even higher, possibly to record levels and beyond. What will we cut then? Read the rest of this entry »

by Taxpayer

I’m amused by the term “The Stimulus Comes To Woodstock Schools” and with it a grand sense of elation. Of course, “stimulus” is just liberal double speak for “bailout”…its just makes us feel better. God forbid we are shamed and made to feel that we are getting “bailed” out for our careless mistakes.

But boy should we all feel good! What a great win-win situation! Obama saved the day! The schools are saved, the budget is at 0%! Everyone in Mayberry can sleep sound tonight.

But really? Is this really a good thing? Are we missing the opportunity that I hoped to see happen? The opportunity that the BOF hoped to take away? The opportunity to address our issues and learn from our mistakes? Or are we just punch drunk in Bailout Nation? Borrow and make our kids pay later nation.

As a parent I am often having conversations with my children about the value of living simply, within our means, making right decisions, teaching the value of hardwork, ect. Conversations that enforce conservative values that most of us have heard as kids and then pass down to our own kids. Perhaps we all fall short of this virtuous life from time to time and most of us eventually get it. Sometimes learning the hard way. But liberal politicians and their govenment loving constituencies seem to somehow miss out on this experience. They just don’t get it. Or maybe its just too hard. Read the rest of this entry »

Place comments to this article under Kevin’s article below. Admin

by Becki

Part of the complexity of discussing the budget is in our perceptions. Most of the time our discussions address the budget as a finite ‘thing’… as if it can be described with terms of weight, density, circumference and size. The budget is a dynamic collection of information that evolves day to day and even, at times, moment to moment. So, it would help if we started dealing with the budget more like a living thing than a stone wall.

Developing a budget is generally a rigorous exercise. There is an aspect that is predictable, but much of the other aspects are educated guesses at best. Putting together a budget for a taxpayer funded public school is an aerobic challenge. There are far more fences to jump, obstacles to navigate and legislatively (not often funded) imposed restrictions and qualifiers.

Sometime, early in the school year, the administration starts collecting data to start forming the next year’s budget. Mind you, the fiscal year starts July 1st and long before it is a third over we are taking the preliminary steps to form the next one. We are trying to figure out what something is going to cost in June 2010 from our desktops in October 2008. Read the rest of this entry »

by Kevin Ford 

I’m sure the Cafe will put up an article about this soon but Brenda and I hoisted up a drink to President Obama last night as the stimulus package to a large degree saved the Woodstock education budget.

I don’t have my figures in front of me but as I recall we should be getting over 200k from the economic stimulus package that will be rolled into our budget in one way or another. We also learned this week that the town locked in fuel oil prices for this year and they were substantially less than the original budget. There was also a confirmation that we will get our full ECS funds from the state next year (as much as Dr. Baran can be sure of these things).

The upshot of the deal is that the budget passed with a 0% increase and most programs remained intact. We will get SPICE, instrumental music, sports won’t go to full pay to play, etc.

What was a casualty? As I stated before I’m sure the Cafe will post a complete list but I remember most of the technology upgrades, the two buses, some student supplies, etc. As was suggested, the cuts were kept away from the students (as much as can be done).

One of the take aways from this is to point out once again that early versions of the budget are good for a baseline understanding but there are many unknowns. That’s why I was pointing out to Mr. Walker that any budget we came up with last week was going to be based in sand. This isn’t game playing on the part of the BOE, but prudence.

The buses are an interesting topic. Because of some changes in special education needs this year Dr. Baran hopes to purchase the smaller bus and mandated crossing arms with those funds at the end of the 2008-2009 year. The large bus is still getting cut again for 2009-2010. It would be great if Becki, as a bus driver, could give us her impressions of the current state of the fleet. Read the rest of this entry »

by Kevin Ford 

Anthony, With all due respect, you have some bad information.

1) You stated, “…I cannot offer specific items to cut, as I do not know what our total contractual obligations are. To the best of my knowledge, there has never been this type of discussion regarding the 2009-2010 budget held at a BOE meeting.” This is incorrect. The March 5th meeting with the public was all about what needs to be cut to get to 0% and what is best for the children to get there. A first draft of a 0% increase was offered at that time. The selectman and the BOF were both invited to this meeting as a tri-board event. The BOS (Anthony is not Alan. Admin) and the BOF declined but I don’t know if you were in the audience. We hoped the other boards would attend so we could have just such a conversation in public.

Of course underlining all cuts is the idea of what is best for the school system and children. Unfortunately their is neither agreement in the public or the board on what that means. It is inaccurate to state this hasn’t been discussed.

2) You also stated, “Putting forth a budget that defies the request of the Board of Finance (BOF) to keep all town department budgets level funded (i.e. a 0% increase over the previous budget) seems to me to be in direct conflict with what is in the best interest of the town and its residents.” I think you are missing some recent history here. The BOE asked for and received an extension to the deadline by the BOF. At the 11th hour we were informed due to statutory reasons based on the timing of the referendum vote we had to present something to the BOF this week. That is why there was a special meeting to put something out for the BOF on the 19th at the last minute. It is also why you see that weird language in the beginning basically disclaiming this version. This is not the final budget that the I plan on giving to the public. We will be going back over this tonight.

I did know that the percent increase was high and would likely lead to this type of condemnation on the preliminary draft we were forced to rush through. That is why I abstained from that vote.

3) Not to put too fine a point on it but I don’t go attacking your credibility in public so please don’t attack mine. This isn’t a game and I’m not “game playing”. Let’s leave all the innuendos for someone else.

Thanks,

Kevin

This post represents my personal opinions and in no way should be considered an official act of the BOE or that I am speaking on behalf of the BOE in any way.

 by the Creator

I’ve recently created a forum for Woodstock, CT at http://www.woodstockcttalk.smfnew.com/index.php . I figured it’d be interesting to try out a forum for Woodstock talk. I created things, looked at them for a while, received input from others, made change after change, and I think the website is about ready to get moving along. I would greatly appreciate suggestions and comments from all!

Thanks, ‘Creator’

by A Fireman

Response Time 

There are multiple federal agencies that establish acceptable minimums for fire fighting services in city and rural areas.

These agencies include, but are not limited to OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) EPA (The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), DOT (U.S. Department of Transportation), FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) as well as non-government agencies such as NFPA-(National Fire Protection Association) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute). These, along with various state agencies and insurance underwriters dictate the expected response times for emergency services.

Are you yawning yet? Don’t worry, it gets better. Keep reading.

For these reasons, the National Fire Protection Association, or NFPA, set a 6-minute standard — a guideline, not a law. In 2001, a 27-to-2 majority of its national panel of fire chiefs, firefighters, and others in the field set this goal for communities with full-time firefighters: 1 minute for the dispatcher handling a 911 call to alert firefighters; another minute for a full company of four firefighters to slip into their gear and get on the road; and 4 minutes to drive to the fire.

Service has always been slower in areas with volunteer firefighters, but it has gotten worse more quickly than in career departments. The share of volunteer departments in the United States hitting the 6-minute mark has fallen from 23.1 percent in 1986 to 14.3 percent in 2002. Although the NFPA exempts volunteer fire departments from its 6-minute standard, communities choose what type of fire department to have, and a fire does not burn slower when volunteers are coming to put it out. Read the rest of this entry »

by Anthony Walker

It is under great distress that I take pen to paper and write to you today.  I am writing because of the recent budget discussions between the townspeople of Woodstock, the Woodstock Board of Education (BOE) and the Superintendent of the Woodstock Public Schools (WPS).  In my opinion, the recent budget discussions have been horrendous.  As we all know, these are nearly unprecedented times facing our town and our people and I thought now is the time to stand up and let my voice be heard. 

First of all, let me start by saying I applaud any individual that is willing to make the personal sacrifices involved in serving on any volunteer board.  That being said those that are volunteering for these boards should be acting with integrity and in the best interests of the town and its residents.   Putting forth a budget that defies the request of the Board of Finance (BOF) to keep all town department budgets level funded (i.e. a 0% increase over the previous budget) seems to me to be in direct conflict with what is in the best interest of the town and its residents.  I simply do not see the advantages, for the WPS or the town, in having one board openly defy the request of another. Read the rest of this entry »