by Snuffy
The Academy Trustees have followed a consistent path for many, many years. Their goal has been to make the school politically and financially independent – predominant – over Woodstock’s public education system, its fiscal system, its land use regulation, indeed its entire political system. The Trustees have filtered their political minions into both town’s political parties and the key town boards – BOS, BOF, BOE. Most disgusting, they have supported and aligned themselves for years with the anti-public education propagandists of the CPS/Truth/Coalition, the Academy’s political “fifth column”, which hammers away relentlessly at the BOE with invariably false allegations of financial waste, fraud and abuse.
At this point, the Academy has achieved such complete political hegemony over the town as to make the relationship quite comparable to the status of an empire with its colony. The colony’s resources are usurped by the empire at will (i.e., the bond/guarantee to reconstruct the school; the sewer financing; the annual tuition) and on terms dictated unilaterally by the empire. When the relationship with the colony is no longer of use to the empire, the empire simply abandons the colony, as has been suggested by two former Trustee chairmen (Kaeding and Mussamecci) in reference to the school’s obligation to continue serving Woodstock’s students for ten years after the payoff of the bonds, without regard to the school’s role thereafter.
If the BOF is asking the BOE to develop a 0% overall budget increase, after normal inflation of 3%, this amounts to a 3% reduction in K-8 costs in inflation-adjusted dollars. If the Academy budget projects a 3% increase, and the Academy budget represents 1/3 of the overall BOE budget, then the BOE is being asked to reduce its K-8 costs by 4% in inflation-adjusted dollars. In this economy, this trend will likely continue for a period of years.
But the difference is much greater. The Academy has for many years padded its budget with expense contingencies and capital reserves, so they have a large buffer to get through a lean year or two without impacting services. The K-8 system, on the other hand, under the relentlesss pressure of the Academy-supported CPS/Truth/Coalition, has cleaned every crumb out of its cupboard, peeled off the paint for its nutritional value, then disassembled and burned the cupboard itself for heat. The K-8 system has no contingency. So the impact of these cuts will be very harsh on the K-8 system, while there will be no impact on the continual expansion of staff, programs and facilities at the Academy except to slightly moderate the pace of their grand ambitions for a real estate empire in central Woodstock.
Against the backdrop of this very harsh, impending reality for the town’s public schools, it is difficult to remain silent in the face of meaningless, ideological rants about inner city schools; hypocritical calls for civility by it worst violators; comments of BOE members who perceive themselves as passive, neutral commentators who see this all as a personal blogging experiment and who seem to lack any remote sense of public service; by the “encounter groupies” who want to be in charge of giant, town-wide therapy sessions that never resolve anything; and by BOE members who are obvious political pawns for the Academy and/or CPS/Truth/Coalition. For the “free market” enthusiasts, know that such a ridiculously lopsided financial relationship would never be tolerated in the commercial sector as a contract that does not contain a monetary price does not meet the minimal legal standard of a contract – so it is not a contract at all and would not be recognized as such in any court. Further, the state has granted a private legal entity a financial monopoly over a duly elected and empowered municipal board; a perversion of the very role of government.
Unfortunately, Harry Stefan is wrong. The problem will never be solved locally because under the legal circumstances arranged between the Academy and the State of Connecticut, with no input from the BOE, the town’s interests have been made subordinate – irrelevant really – to the expansionism and unquenchable financial thirst of the Academy.
The BOE has run out of time. It needs to get off its collective duff and do what any aggrieved party would do – aggressively explore all legal means to correct this problem through the press, the legislature, the courts, the state DOE or AG. Before it is too late.
What is the history of these politics. How long does this go back?
Based on these facts of having WA act as an independent school;
Then the BOE needs to rethink if it should be sending all of the students to one high school. Based on a lot of comments by the people in this forum it would make sense to offer a choice for the students/parents of the different high schools in the area. (Competition makes the best environment!)
This was said tongue in cheek because we all know that local town issues don’t seem to be able to follow the normal competition models of business!
Maybe we should be looking into if the local private schools are also looking at a 0% increase or if they are at 3%….
One thing that is great to listen to is Joe Breen the socialist who never backs down from a losing argument. Joe got his political butt kicked several years back because his arguments didn’t hold water then and certainly don’t now. I like Ron’s idea of a voucher system for the Academy and I think it is also applicable to the K-8 system. Lets offer a voucher to all the citizens of Woodstock and let them decide where to send their children. I know for certainty that the K-8 sytem would be the big loser in this contest. The Academy parents are pleased with the Academy and know the costs are reasonable. Something that can’t be said of your K-8 system. Your enrollment in K-8 has been falling for years yet your costs and buses keep just on going up and up. Funny thing about that, huh. Like all of the costly repairs for you new fleet of buses. How does that work Mr. Corden? One thing about the Socialists like Mr. Breen is that they believe if you keep repeating a lie it will eventually be adopted as the truth. The Academy has always been a good buy for the quality of education. Woodstock K-8 has always been an expensive and average education. Until the Board of Finance realizes what their responsibility is and their job function, Woodstock will be mired in this financial mess. Why doesn’t the BOF start asking questions, mainly because the answers would scare them and reveal how incompetent they have been for years. Go ahead and try to raise taxes like you have for the past 10 years with falling house prices, unemployment and a public who is less willing to buy into your public education. The Teachers Union has destroyed education and raised the cost beyond sustainability for the average American while reducing the quality of what our children learn. We have truly dumbed down America, how else can you explain our last three Presidents. Bill Clinton the amoral, sleaze bag and George Bush the liberal, dumb Neocon Republican who spent more money than LBJ on the Great Society and now to our final international socialist Barack Hussein Obama. Obama will spend more and more money, control more and more of our economy and then limit our freedoms and rights. Only a public school system could have produced as many morons as America has over the last 40 years.
Once again, Wetzel ignores well established facts and then generates his own reality.
He says that K-8 is expensive but the program is funded in the bottom of the state. This is a fact.
He also says that it performs poorly but it performs in the top third of the state. This is a fact.
He is either extraordinarily ignorant or he knows he is lying.
And if you state the actual facts, he just resorts to namecalling as that is all he really has.
Actually, when the Academy compares its costs honestly, on an apples-to-apples basis, including transportation costs and special education, they are at the high end of the range of their competitive set in Eastern Connecticut, with average academic results. The K-8 system has well above average acaemic results, with costs at the very bottom of all towns in Connecticut, and well below area towns such as Pomfret and Brooklyn. I would say Ernie is trying to get just a litle too much blood from this tired old stone.
Wetzel moved out of Town, but you can bet he’ll keep up this story for years and years- regardless of any change that may or may not occur. What the heck- it’s already two Selectman terms old and two Superintendent of Schools old and two (or more) Board of Ed’s old. Ernie- you need an UPDATE!
Snuffy,
Does the BOE budget distinguish between what amount of total transportation costs are for preK-8 and what amount of transportation is spent for Academy students? Likewise, does the budget break down how much is spent on K-8 Sped students per the number of Sped students in K-8, versus the amount that is spent on Academy Sped students per student? If not, should it be broken down this way?
Or does the BOE even know this info for the Academy? Does the Academy present an itemized bill when they bill the BOE? And if not, does the BOE have the right to request an itemized bill rather than a lump sum request?
Two years old but sadly still current
Not to beat a dead horse, but yes, transportation costs have gone up. Funny that diesel costs have risen as well. And what does WA pay for transportation? Oh wait, that’s right, they pay for extra-curricular transportation and the sending towns pay the everyday costs. Honestly, I don’t know why I even bother.