from Kevin
It’s 2012 and I’m going to make a few predictions on what is going to happen on the Board of Education this year. I’ve been watching the issues and votes of the members for several years and have a good idea of the direction that the RTC has been pushing. This is the first year that they will be able to implement their agenda.
1) The Woodstock Academy contract will be passed with the Woodstock Academy substantially getting everything they want (chance of occurring: 80-90%). This will be a travesty for the town.
– The current version is for ten years and keeps auto-renewing for another ten years. It will be very hard to get out of once we realize how large a mistake we made.
– The current version does nothing to protect the town financially. In fact it is much worse as it has a clause that essentially allows them to charge back any capital cost to the town whenever they want to outside of normal tuition cost. They want a new $45M building? Just charge the town. According to the latest version of the contract they can do exactly that. (the contract allows us representation on such a planning committee but says nothing of the makeup of that committee)
– Still no more representation. I unfortunately think that will never change.
2) To the extent that there are any positions that need to be eliminated, the coordinators will be on the chopping block (chance of occurring: 50-70%). I’ve heard time and time again from teachers and administrators how crucial these positions are but they have been a favorite target.
3) The superintendent’s contract will not be renewed or the position will in some other way be eliminated (chance of occurring: 99.9%). They almost did this last year but were thwarted by one vote. This will be one of the last acts in Craig Powers revenge on Dr. Baran for doing his job in relation to SPED and Craig’s child. If he can’t win in court, he will get revenge by going after Dr. Baran. For years Craig has been using Mr. Rosendahl, member of the BOE and the RTC nominating committee, to only allow Republican RTC candidates who are hostile to the Superintendent. Now they have all the votes they need. They will at least not renew his contract and if they can get away with it they will try a more permanent solution earlier before the next election.
Those are my predictions. None of these things will be good for Woodstock. We’ll see if I’m right.
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.
Have you ever thought of resigning in protest?
Resignation is the ultimate protest, but is it also the easiest?
Citizen,
Not really, I’m not big into giving up. Additionally, I don’t see that it would be particularly productive to do so.
Thanks,
Kevin
Kevin,
Thanks for your preview. The interesting part about WA and the contract is that until all of the sending towns find a way to get on the same contract end/renew dates there will be no leverage from the towns on WA. If a contract is signed as you predict, then the RTC should review what they stand for in regards to keeping costs down for the town. With a contract that is signed with no cap on costs, the town will bear the burden for all increases by WA without having any say. The limited seats that each sending town gets on the WA BOD is a joke because of being out numbered by the non-sending town members!
BTW: Thanks for the update about the changing length of term of the contact – 10 years of guaranteed income is a good number to use as collateral with banks and other loaning institution. Folks need to remember that in the last major WA expansion the town of Woodstock signed a 20 year deal so that WA could get the loans needed.
Too bad that Mr. Powers does not understand that superintendent are in demand especially when they show on their resumes that they handled budgets like Woodstock’s. If Dr. Baran is pushed out, the town better watch what the price will be to replace that position and what kind of leader that new person would be. (re: look at Killingly and Putnam for examples!)
If as you suggest there is a push to eliminate the Superintendent’s position all together, I would love to see/hear what the NEASC and the state has to say about a school district without a superintendent!
Craig Powers isn’t a Republican Kevin, he’s unaffiliated like John Dlugosz. Craig Powers has nothing to do with the Woodstock RTC so I don’t see how you can connect those dots Kevin.
Ron,
You hit the situation right on the head with the Woodstock Academy contract. It’s not that there is anything wrong or evil with the Woodstock Academy but at the end of the day a contract is a formalization of a business relationship. If we want an informal agreement we should have no contract and if we want a formal agreement we have to make sure both party’s interests are being protected.
I think Frank is nearing retirement age and may not relish starting at a new place at this point. He has done a good job in executing the board’s will and now it will be him who is punished for it. I’ve heard scuttlebutt of moving to a part time superintendent so that may be another way they try to get him out sooner.
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.
Loadstar,
I’m glad you asked! As most people know town politics do not fall on party lines. In fact there are special interest groups that span both parties. One of the most notorious of these is CPS (Citizens for Prudent Spending). Craig Powers is a longtime CPS member and leader. You can find his hands all over most of what CPS has done for the last six+ years or so.
Another very notable CPS leader, BoE member and acquaintance of Craig is Steve Rosendahl. Some of you may remember him from signing the CPS petition to unseat the BoE a few years ago, throwing a sheaf of papers at the Superintendent, lambasting the superintendent in the Villager newspaper while sitting on the BoE and signing a petition to put a CPS candidate on the ballot for the Board of Finance. I’m sure John can post copies of these petitions that show these two individuals showing up together again and again. In fact looking at who signed those petitions is always an interesting exercise.
The other aspect of Steve Rosendahl is that through all of this he has sat as an RTC member on the RTC’s nominating committee. He has had great sway on who is put on the ballot under the RTC. Recently the RTC also elevated him to vice-chair of the BoE. The RTC has shown itself to be more than compliant with the CPS influence within their ranks. CPS hasn’t been able to get what they want openly at the ballot box but they have found a willing partner in the RTC. As long as CPS keeps delivering them their 300-400 votes the RTC would seem to be more than willing to allow them to enact portions of their agenda as payment.
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.
Curious about Kevin’s (and others’) response to Connecticut receiving a C- and ranking of 26 out of the 50 states on the national report card that was published in the Bulletin and many other sources yesterday. Connecticut has one of the highest average teacher salaries in the country. (I believe only California is higher.) Is it reasonable to expect better results? Tops in spending for an average grade doesn’t seem right.
Ron, it’s difficult to follow you. Is the daily high expenditure made by the WA in massive water control and construction for this Athletic Complex just fine as long as you can envision a ball sailing across a field? Who will pay for this and when? Do I have two different Rons?
Kevin, everyone like you resigns in protest from town boards — if you do, you will only play in to the hands of those who do all the planning and zoning and wish for no protest in that.
WA parent. This is madness. I don’t know why or how Woodstock can continue as they have in education but I’m fairly sure that it won’t continue. I admire the spirit of grandiose aspirations re: the Academy but nothing about their apparent plan is backed by community consensus or involvment, well constructed planning,OR sound budgeting.
WA Parent,
I believe the C- rating for teachers was a bit misleading. The rating was for laws related to teaching and teacher evaluations.
That’s a fair question. For those of you who may not have it… (see Kevin’s new article. Admin)
JK, WA Parent,
I’m worried that I linked to the wronge study that recently came out. Since they are related to K-12 education most of them seem to bill themselves as “national report cards” and us a letter grading system.
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.
Marylou,
I am if you read my posts – pro education and understand that all of our schools need resources to stay healthy.
The issue is as Kevin explained that contracts that involve the town’s BOE need to be a two way street, not just one one. Signing a 10 year contract with WA would bind the town. Having all of the sending towns sign 10 year contracts with WA that and not using the same start and end dates leaves all of the leverage with WA and none with the sending towns. The 10 year span can only be looked at from a financial point of WA to allow them to go to banks and other lending agencies to show that they have a stable income base that will cover the terms of a long term loan. Wake up and smell the financial coffee that WA really runs on!
I will say this again – for the past 20+ year WA is a regional High School not a private school. This is changing with advent of WA drawing in more boarding students – thus does the pendulum swing to private from purely public.
WA needed to enhance it’s facilities because of the student population out growing the original capacity of the 1990′s (?) expansion. That plan showed the school growing from the 400′s to 850/900 students. This was needed to make the school stable it was close to failing/closing with those low enrollment numbers. Now the school is housing 1200+ students. The facilities need to be updated/expanded/enhanced to support a student population of 1200 – thus my supporting of the expansion of the athletic fields and infrastructure at WA. Please understand that WA is doing this without real input from the sending towns but by a small group of people mostly done out of public sight.
My two children attended and graduated from WA and all I can say is that the school did a great job of positioning them both to be successful in their college studies and for life. The school has it flaws like all learning establishments, but there are many more positives at WA than negatives. Look at the real in workings of the other area HS’s and school districts and you will see why people want to live their lives with school age children in Woodstock or Promfert. I know WA staff and staff at other area HS’s, and WA is a great place for the college bound students. My children are proud that they graduated from WA.
As with most of life – things need to be done in balance otherwise there are major ramification for long term health. Contracts with WA need to be balanced with the BOE budgets from the sending towns. I don’t believe that this has been the case in the last 20 years because WA hides behind being a private school when it wants/needs to in discussions and really has been a regional HS. (See problems with RHAM, and Parish Hill HS’s to see what problems a regional HS has with sending towns budget woes…)
So Marylou I am not flip-flopping on my views, I feel that I am continuing to try and bring light on what is the facts and not highlighting one sides “spin” vs the other sides.
Kevin, I didn’t “ask” you anything. You made a wrong, stupid and uninformed statement about Craig Powers and the RTC and I corrected you. All you’ve done now is to continue your ignorant, uninformed and wildly speculative rant which makes you look like a lunatic. You’re now coming across as foaming at the mouth and further reducing your already questionable credibility.
You make the CPS people look like the reasonable ones here with your crazy talk and outright lies. By all means, please continue.
Loadstar,
Yes, certainly one of us here is looking a bit, shall we say, unreasonable. I’ll leave it up to the reader to decide who.
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.
Ron,
How many boarders? Where do they live?
Thank you.
Ron,
Sorry, I was not clear. I meant to ask where in Woodstock do they live?
Thanks
Pardon my ignorance on the topic, but didn’t Dr. Baran’s contract get a 3 year renewal last year? Is his contract going to come up for vote again this year?
Ron, I am not in a position to judge how well the Academy does in educating high school students. I am happy for you and many others over what sounds like immense satisfaction with the school. I have no experience with the school in the way you have. My comments and criticism are always toward those few at the school that make the big ticket spending decisions, certainly not with faculty or students. I’d like to read your definition of “resources.” When you are not critical of the WA in posts, you are a champion for the new football ( 5 million dollar) stadium. You explain in detail and with anticipation as to how difficult it will be to see a ball in the sun. You describe why the school will need to have big lights blazing over every practice in the fall. Again, define resources? Will this incredible Athletic Complex relieve the overcrowding at the school? Will it bring much-needed deep pocket donors to the Academy? What are the short and long term effects of this money spent, that is, our money?
I wonder why the existing field wasn’t perfectly adequate to play football on? Or why the school doesn’t spend the money to put in a sewer line? The more kids – the more sewage. This problem is 22 years unmet. I know it’s a tad boring compared to football. I wonder why the school doesn’t invest in renovating the c. 1883 building so they have more classroom space or why they don’t communicate with the town taxpayer’s better or sending town’s taxpayers better? I wonder why town board and commission members act entirely complicit in whatever it is that the Academy wants to do and spend town money on? What do they know that we don’t know?
Ron, I wonder where you think the balance is if it’s not in taking care of infrastructure like sewer, additional classrooms, decent up-to-code housing for foreign students – you know basic things like that before building a football stadium covered with Astroturf. It is precisely the long-term health I am concerned about. But, I am concerned about this for everyone in town, not just the Academy. I’ve never heard anyone explain the wisdom of this expansionism now aggressively taken or in the wisdom of building this sports complex. I’m receptive to hearing it with an open mind. I’ve just never heard it. Are these good priorities? If so, why? And can we afford this? If so, how?
I agree that fixing up the Academy building is much needed. It is in severe need of new tiling of the floors and refinishing the wood floors, paint, etc. At least we got blinds in at least one classroom a few weeks ago. Before that, we taped newspaper to the window every time we wanted to use the projector.
In the meantime, the basement of the library is being torn up next week (classes will be moved out) due to mold that a teacher detected in one of the rooms. Some sheet rock will be replaced in this process. As far as I could tell, there were no dehumidification systems, but I believe it is air-conditioned, which only helps when it’s on.
Beyond those things and the sewer, the only other major issue I have is the walkways outside. Either they’re sinking or the grass is rising, but the result is in unlevel pathways that do not drain water, creating huge puddles everywhere. These uneven spots also make them need to put an excessive amount of salt down, which gets tracked in to the buildings.
Teacher’s Point of View,
Like the Woodstock Academy Headmaster, the Superintendent has his contract renewed every year so he has a three year assurance of employment. From what I have heard from several people is that this is standard practice and lack of such renewal is perceived as a vote of no confidence, i.e. that the BoE is planning on removing the superintendent and that person should begin the process of finding a new job during their remaining two years. This would seem to make sense as the BoE presumably wouldn’t want to force the superintendent to be distracted and spending time securing a new job.
One of the source I have heard this from I have a lot of faith in his domain knowledge, but even then what I have found frustrating is that I have found precious little confirmable information to understand if this is true other than word of mouth. At this point I might be down to manually calling different district offices to confirm that this is industry standard practice.
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.
Yes Kevin, we’ll let the voting public in Woodstock decide if your wild speculation is more in line with the average voter in Woodstock or mine. You can kid yourself into believing that everyone here on this site (which is only about ten people who pay attention to anything either one of us are saying) agrees with you but everyone I talk to in town thinks you’re wrong.
You can let the ten readers decide and I’ll let the 1500 voters decide, how’s that sound? You really need to start dealing with reality instead of the fantasy world of the WoodstockCafe Kevin, the truth will set you free.
Kevin–
How do you feel the Board will react to Dr. Baran’s proposal (to the Board on 1/26/12) to cut the time grade 7 students are taught reading and writing in half so that they can be taught Spanish? While Dr. Baran’s budget proposes eliminating 4 teaching positions (and 9 TAs), he is effectively eliminating 5 teachers (and hiring a full-time Spanish teacher) since one of the LA teachers will be forced from her position.
Yes, this will give the public the more time spent on foreign language, but at what cost? 40% of the current 6th grade is receiving intervention for reading. How will Spanish prepare them to meet the needs of the CMTs (and the Common Core assessment further down the road)?
Another Teacher,
I’m not a professional educator so this is only my opinion based on my own experiences as a student way back when…(see Newcomer’s new article. Admin).
Time spent on a foreign language is desirable, but not at the cost of reduced proficiency in the native language.
I couldn’t agree more Harry. I don’t think anyone is disparaging the worth of learning a foreign language. However, I don’t think anyone would claim that learning English is any less important. Every year there are things that come out in a budget that cause some teachers to scratch their head. Losing 5 teachers and 9 teacher assistants is just unacceptable in our current predicament.
Loadstar,
Given the DTC’s current lack of ability to run an effective campaign the RTC can pretty well do whatever they want and still win. That doesn’t mean everything they do smells like roses.
BTW, most people who visit web sites like this are spectators, not creators. If you are judging the number of visitors to the site by number who are posting, you are making an error.
Another Teacher,
Dr. Baran feels that moving to Spanish best meets the district’s changing needs. Over the next few months we will likely be digging into why he and the rest of the administration feel recommended this. I’m reserving judgment until I know more.
As far as cutting positions, I’m going to wait to see how that plays out. The vast majority of the BoE budget is composed of high school tuition, transportation, SPED and payroll. The balance of the budget (books, maintenance, etc.) has been cut to bare bones long before I was on the BoE. That’s why invariably when looking at cuts it usually comes down to looking at positions, programs or whatever capital maintenance we are thinking about doing.
It’s interesting because I got on the BoE I was thinking about all the creative ways to cut the fat only to find it wasn’t there. That phenomenon was also experienced by the last batch two years ago. Our four new members are about to get a crash course in it as well. It may seem simple to cut a few percent off a given budget until you faced with a budget where a few percent has been cut year over year for a very long time.
For the past few years our latest bag of tricks has had to do with early retirements and not replacing positions that were less needed. That’s about all played out now. Maybe we will come up with something else this year but it’s not sustainable. Eventually this game of musical chairs will stop and it will come down to major programs. Compared to many towns in CT we’ve been doing pretty well on that front, I hope we can continue it for as long as possible.
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.
When Joe Breen asked me how many people come to the Cafe, I told him “Why Joe, it’s just the two of us”
Wow Kevin, you sure do have an incredible ability to convince yourself of just about anything, don’t you? I don’t think all those spam bots, google & yahoo spiders and thieves from Russia cast votes in municipal elections in Woodstock so you just go right on believing that every voter in Woodstock follows this blog religiously and do all of your campaigning here!
Don’t blame the DTC for your failures, the bottom line is Woodstock is a Republican leaning town and all your rhetoric and propaganda posted here won’t change that. As I said before, there are really only about ten people or so who pay attention to anything you say here and I’d say 80% of them already are either your supporters or your detractors so whatever you say here doesn’t really matter. You’ve been awfully quiet at Board of Education meetings lately but your rhetoric here these days is worse than ever.
If you’ve got something to say, you have the responsibility as an elected member of the Board of Education to SAY SOMETHING at a Board of Education meeting Kevin, not keep quiet there and shoot your mouth off here.
I see I’ve hit a nerve. That means I’m doing something right. Try to relax; the increase in blood pressure just isn’t worth it.
BTW, on political matters I’ll take council on how to proceed for my allies, not someone who is obviously acting as an adversary. Nice try though.
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.
You didn’t “hit a nerve” Kevin and you’re not doing much right either, you made more outrageous statements and I called you on it.
Like I said, if you’ve got so much to say, why sit there like a bump on a log at the Board of Education meetings? At least Cliff Davis asks intelligent questions and thinks things through, you sit there and say nothing but have lots to say here, why is that?
If you’re automatically going to do the opposite of everything I suggest then DO NOT jump of a very high bridge, DO NOT play in traffic and DO NOT touch hot stoves, okay Kevin? If you wind up with broken bones and burned hands, don’t blame me.
Thanks,
Loadstar
Ok, Loadstar, LoL. The last time I didn’t say something at a BoE meeting was probably somewhere in my first two years when I was spending more time listening than talking (a trait I still use, I find it helps if you spend your time listening to others instead of thinking about what you are going to say next when they are still speaking). But sure, whatever you say.
So let’s not lose focus on the issue at hand. I made three predictions. Let’s see how they play out and how “outrageous” my statements will turn out to have been.
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.
It’s looking as if at least one of your predictions may not come to fruition. From the budget discussion we had with Dr. Baran, there are several teachers being cut, and nine teacher assistants. That’s a lot of people that actually work with children everyday in the trenches. However, there was no mention of cutting either of the coordinator positions.
Teacher’s
What you are looking at are the administration’s recommendations. They have been extolling the virtues of the coordinators for years so I doubt their recommendations will include cutting them. The question is, what will my fellow board members do when we start making our recommendations? This one is the most tenuous prediction as we have found ways around making these kinds of cuts on many years but they keep coming up again and again.
Hey, I really hope I’m wrong on these. But given the five-four vote to renew the superintendent’s contract last year and the fact that four of those who voted to extend it are now off the board… well that’s why I gave that one such a high probability that it won’t be renewed this year.
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.
Kevin, this is very good “(a trait I still use, I find it helps if you spend your time listening to others instead of thinking about what you are going to say next when they are still speaking)” that’s a very nice thing to say and I applaud you for that statement. To you and I that’s just plain common sense and good practice but I’m sure as you also know, it’s much more the exception than the rule on your average board or commission, or any elected body for that matter.
It just seems to me that since Linday Paul, Carol Andrzeicik and Kristen Rigney all got off the board, you’ve been much less engaged at the meetings. Now granted, there have only been two so it’s probably premature for me to be making generalizations like that so I apologize. If you’re truly living by your earlier statement (the one I quoted) then that is admirable. That being said, don’t be afraid to jump in when necessary. Yesterday I saw an advertisement/banner or something in New York City where a quote from someone famous said something like this “disagreement is necessary to progress” so don’t let us down, okay Kevin?
Thanks,
Loadstar
Post 20 a student says there is mold in the library basement.I posted in the past about that problem.The way things are being run up there its only the beginning of several problems that will be surfacing.
Loadstar,
Interesting observation. One thing I have noticed is that other members are much more willing to put their name to motions when I was one of the few to do it before. You tell me, during the last meeting on what topic did you notice I stayed silent on? I gave my opinion when the WA contract was raised, when the budget was brought up, about the need to replace the fuel oil tank, etc. However, I’m not going to be bringing up what I believe to be political motivations in a board meeting. I’ve never done that and the place for that isn’t board meetings. Politics belongs out here in the public. During board meetings I’ll stick to reasons why things should or shouldn’t be done, not to motivations behind how people will vote.
Are you sure your not trying to shift focus onto me? Valid tactic of course, but it’s just as valid for me to name the 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.
No Kevin, I’m not trying to “shift the focus onto (you)” I applauded your position and statement you made which I quoted in post 35 then apologized for jumping to an early conclusion (I said you “say nothing”) which I now believe is unfair. Again, my impression was that you seemed to be less outspoken now that the Board has changed and again, I admit I jumped to a conclusion because not enough time has passed to support or refute my claim so stop being paranoid and accept the fact that I admitted I was wrong, okay?
Loadstar, not sure of what your mission is with this. If you represent the RTC’s position re: BoE, it isn’t working to your or their advantage.
What’s important is this:
“Several teachers and 9 assistants” may be let go
Good education for all students in Woodstock is what this is about. Can we stick to the issues and facts please?
If you want to promote your position — you can do much better. You’re an intelligent guy (I think in that you’re a guy).
Fair enough Loadstar; I appreciate your point. You will have to excuse me if I seem a bit suspicious at this point in the conversation.
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.
marylou, I don’t have a “mission” here, you’re more paranoid than Kevin. I don’t “represent the RTC’s position” as I am not on the Woodstock Republican Town Committee nor do I speak for them. The “facts” are I felt Kevin Ford made some outrageous statements and he and I had a discussion about that.
Now you are claiming:
“What’s important is this:
“Several teachers and 9 assistants” may be let go”
where are you getting that from? Even Kevin didn’t make that claim and I don’t see where anyone else here did either.
I’m not sure what you’re “mission” is but please don’t drag me into it.
Thanks,
Loadstar
Loadstar,
I find it interesting that you keep distancing yourself from the RTC and in the next breath proclaim that what I’m saying here about their motivations is “outrageous.” How would you know? Do you know people on the RTC? Guess what, I know several too.
All the connections I made here between people are clear and in the public record. The bright line distinction that you keep bringing up about not being able to make connections between people with an R, D or I next to their name just isn’t borne out by the town’s history. CPS candidates have run as Republicans, Democrats and Independents just within the past few years. I connected the dots as you asked and you have been unable to show that any of the “dots” don’t exist, all you’ve got is claiming what I’m saying is “outrageous.”
Marylou’s claim is based on the initial budget choices proposed by the superintendent. So I guess that claim was true. Could you also be mistaken about other claims?
P.S. One thing new to the board is the Republicans and now the Democrats (including me) caucusing before the meetings. This started in December (as far as I know) with the Republicans caucusing before that meeting, presumably to decide on who they would vote in for officers and potentially who they were replacing Scott’s office with. The Democratic board members then started in January. While this is all perfectly legal it represents a shift away from the BoE doing its business in public and that concerns me. To the extent possible public boards should do their business in public, not behind closed doors.
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.