Woodstock CT Café

from John (March 31, 2006; exactly six years ago to the hour)

The recent Proposition 46 referendum (March 2006) was likely a tactic by Mr. Wetzel and the Citizens for Prudent Spending (CPS) and possibly the Board of Selectman (BOS) to destroy the Woodstock Board of Education’s (BOE) position with its projected budget deficit.

Both former First Selectman, Ernie Wetzel, and First Selectwoman, Ms. Wholean, spoke tepidly two weeks ago in the Villager before the referendum about their hopes that 46 would be repealed. Yet neither Wetzel, nor Wholean, lifted a finger (with the possible exception of the middle finger) to help promote the repeal to the Town citizens. This was a ploy foisted upon the Town electorate to suit Wetzel and the BOS/BOF needs. It can only be concluded that this was their strategy – e.g. re-enforce Prop 46 and completely undermine the BOE’s position.

It’s as though the BOS, the BOF, and Mr. Wetzel collaborated together with the CPS, to conspire to have a referendum to repeal Prop 46 that they knew could not win. There was no 200-signature petition to have a Town referendum. The BOS cooperated with these other conspirators by deciding that there should be a Town referendum even though 200 signatures were never obtained. Thus, the BOS nailed the BOE in a coffin with the referendum. They did so knowing that it would damage the position of the BOE irreversibly in their effort to secure a budget that would adequately support the Woodstock School System. To reiterate again-and-again, the BOS jerked around the Woodstock electorate to suit the needs of CPS and Wetzel’s obsessive attacks on the BOE. I remember feeling this way as I went to the polls that night after a long day at work.

Indeed, Mr. Wetzel has spoken venomously and obsessively about the horrible things the BOE is doing to the Woodstock Academy as though the BOE had attacked him personally (Wetzel was later added to the Trustees). To make matters worse, on a weekly basis the Villager chooses to interview spokesmen from the CPS starting with Wetzel and Schultz two weeks ago, followed by Mr. McCrillis last week, and then Mr. Whitham (past President of the CPS) this week. It has been stated at this website that Wetzel has a hotline to the Villager. It now appears that CPS owns this hotline.

The BOF can now point to a failed, fraudlently conceived referendum to back their position against the BOE. The position of the Board of Finance (BOF) as described in the Villager today demonstrated that the BOE is to get absolutely no relief from the BOF. This is indicated by the BOF denying use of emergency funds ($65,000) to pay the tuition fees for the seven Woodstock Academy students that exceeded the number projected in last years BOE budget. The way this denial is presented suggests that the BOF now wishes to punish the BOE for under projecting the number of new high school students as though the BOE should be clairvoyant to predict an influx of students.

The make up of the BOE is quite different this year than last with a new Chairman, Lindsay Paul and two new Board members, Carol Andrzeicik and Kirsten Rigney. Read the rest of this entry »

“The calculation of Proposition 46 in a revaluation year has been consistent over my 30 years as Town Treasurer and the legal opinions were consistent until 2006. At that time, a new First Selectman and a new Town Attorney produced a new interpretation which allowed for adding in the other increases in revenue which would be part of the calculation in a “non-revaluation year”.

The sequence of events at that time was as follows:

#1. A petition was submitted to hold a special town meeting and referendum to repeal the Proposition 46 Ordinance. The vote to repeal was held on March 14, 2006 and was defeated 499 to 1329.

#2. A second petition was then filed to amend the ordinance to use the greater increase plus the Exceptions allowed in a non-revaluation year. That vote to amend was held on April 24, 2006 and was also defeated by a vote of 673 to 1536.

#3. At the next Board of Finance meeting (May 9, 2006) it was decided that the voters had spoken and that the Board of Finance represents the townspeople whether or not they think that Prop 46 is prudent. The motion made at that meeting reads “while it has respectfully considered the Town Attorney’s new interpretation, the Board of Finance will continue to calculate Proposition 46 as it has previously been calculated in a revaluation year”. That motion was passed 4 -2.

#4. A subcommittee of the Board of Finance was then formed at the request of the Treasurer and upon the recommendation of the Town Attorney and the Auditor to review and make recommendations as to how Prop 46 is calculated and implemented. That subcommittee met with and/or had a conference call with all former Town Attorneys and Board of Finance Chairmen who had served since Prop 46 was adopted (1979). As a result of the committee’s findings, it was agreed that the method of calculating budgets under Proposition 46 had been consistent and had stood the test of time. Their report was accepted by the full board on November 16, 2010.”

An editorial in the Norwich Bulletin (not available today) urges amendment of Prop 46 in the upcoming referendum

from John who was then one of two anonymous Admins of the Cafe (April 21, 2006)

This story of early 2006 has never been more true than today.

I took time off from work this morning (Fri, Apr 21st, 2006) to listen to Everett Shepherd on WINY talk about the amendment to Prop 46 going to referendum on Monday. I was impressed by the clarity with which Everett articulated the need to make a change in the way Prop 46 is written. I learned things also that I did not know from Mr. Shepherd’s recounting of the history of Prop 46. As a permanent citizen of Woodstock, I thank him for such a masterful presentation on the radio. I can only hope that most of the electorate was tuned into this discussion.

In advance of the talk show, my biggest concern was that the phone lines would be flooded with nay-sayers who would then be allowed to continue their shouting campaign – but this did not happen, at least, until I out-distanced the WINY signal on my way to work. I learned later that the nay-sayers had used a fair percentage of the Villager’s pages to bark out their anti-repeal opinion.

Everett Shepherd reminded us that Prop 46 had been a non-issue up until the year 2000; however, he stated clearly that Prop 46 “hasn’t worked well” over the last 5 years. He mentioned the signs in town that state “It ain’t broke” but then emphatically he stated, “It IS broke!” This comes from the former chairman of the Board of Finance and one who openly states that he has always voted against repeal of Prop 46. Nevertheless, Mr. Shepherd has been in favor of amending Prop 46 for several years.

Mr. Shepherd described how State funding of schools has diminished significantly over the last decade leading to an increase of the burden of school funding by the towns. This, of course, is why many, if not all, of the school districts of Eastern Connecticut are dealing with large deficits and unfortunate cut-backs. He also reminded us that fixed costs such as gas, heating oil, electricity, and insurance rates have increased dramatically in recent years. Finally, Mr. Shepherd pointed out that Reval years used to occur every 10 years, not every 5 years, and that this change combined with increased costs and reduced State funding have created a “perfect storm” in the form of a budgeting crisis.

Steve Adams explained clearly how Prop 46 and its amended version differ and clarified the cost impact for the citizens of the Town if the amendment is adopted.

During this discussion it came out that for many recent years, the amount of Town spending allowed under Prop 46 was greater than the amount requested in the school and town budgets. Everett also added that he can speak freely now because he is not running for office. 

It’s my impression that in recent years the Board of Finance has put undo pressure on the Board of Education to reduce its budget proposal to a bare-bones request at the onset of the process (think Anthony Walker in 2012) without taking into account hidden costs such as depreciation of fixed assets. Thanks to the short-sighted leadership of Mr. Charles Snow, former Chairman of the Board of Education, the true needs of the school system were never articulated to the Board of Finance or even realized as the budget was formulated (again think Anthony Walker in 2012). The BOF compounded the problem by making it difficult for the BOE to obtain the necessary funding in spite of the fact that Prop 46 allowed for adequate funding in those non-Reval years. The BOE, likewise, compounded the problem further by cowering to the BOF. The Board of Selectman dropped the ball in overseeing proper accounting of the true needs of the Town (the salt facility, etc) although funding could have been available to prepare for replacement of fixed assets. The direct result of this penny-pinching by the BOF, and the cowering, ineffectual leadership of the BOE and BOS, is that we now have to pay for their robbery of depreciating assets with money that is not available because of Prop 46 in a Reval year. There has been no prioritization or intelligent judgment - just irresponsible leadership by a few who have deceived themselves with self-perceived importance… and higher pay to boot (Then First Selectwoman, Ms. Wholean gave herself a 9% raise the following year and a 13.5% raise over two years stating in 2006).

Our current leaders on the Board of Education have now stood up and stated the true needs of the school system in the face of criticism that they lack credibility because of the actions of previous Boards. In my mind, the new leadership of the BOE has earned credibility with the budget that they have proposed for the coming school year. Now, the BOF has to stand up and earn their credibility also. Previous leadership on the BOE and BOS – their failure to act responsibly – has put the Town in the situation that it is in today, and divided the Town’s electorate in the process.

from John (April 2006)

Lately I have run across quips like these almost on a daily basis. They resonate in my mind for reasons that must be obvious to the readers at this site. Just drive by Petey Racine’s house on Route 169 and see the sign that essentially says, ‘Petey Racine Rules’. This sign reaffirms that ‘Right‘ has nothing to do with the real world. I’m sure that these perceptions – like ‘You can’t fix stupid!’ – are also foremost in the minds of many Iraqis. But, it would be ridiculous to compare Woodstock to Iraq in spite of shared perceptions. Woodstock is more like Bahrain as intimated previously in In Woodstockistan and the adversarial ‘clique’ is becoming better defined.

There is a swami (Ernie Wetzel) at this site who claims ‘vast knowledge. But, right has nothing to do with the real world that ‘The Swami’ and Petey live in. The Swami and Petey have a lot in common, but I won’t go into that. Just as Café visitors have the liberty to express their thoughts and biases, we would not deny The Swami or Petey the right to express their views but this doesn’t mean that we should accept them as right. The Swami and Petey are the real world that those in the right just have to deal with.

‘Stupid’ will ultimately be fixed, but perhaps not quickly, although you never know. I would like to draw some inspiration from the source of Our Vallydictorian’s graduation speech. Faulkner spoke eloquently about what we must learn and what is really important. If we learn these things, we will not just survive, we will ‘endure’ and ‘prevail’ when ‘the last ding-dong of doom has clanged.’

For the time being where do we go from here? One option is explored under the article ‘Lets Not Stop Here.’ My preference is to have an optimally functioning Town that provides the best possible services to the community – a Town that is not divided by selfish people who have some personal agenda at stake. One example of a personal agenda would be the wish to pay little or no taxes at all. This point of view is illustrated in the article, ‘Cinquanta’s revenge.’ The same point of view is also expressed on Petey Racine’s sign where not only the victory in the latest Prop 46 referendum is regaled, but the ‘Selectmen’ are blamed. Sadly, the majority point of view in Town may have the selfish wish to pay little or no taxes at all. From what I have seen and heard, I don’t think I am creating a ‘straw argument’ when I say that the majority would prefer to pay little or no taxes. There may be some level of taxation that this majority would be okay with, but taxation for what? I am not at all clear what ‘what‘ might be. Read the rest of this entry »

from Fly-on-the Wall

The BOF meeting was an appalling show of attempted tyranny on the part of the chair. I don’t know how the other members let him get away with this.

There was a pretty good turnout for a mid-season meeting. Both hardliners Prop-46 (and anti-education budget) folks as well as some parents and other budget interests (Mary Weaver for the library, Dawn Adiletta for open space) were there. Dave Richardson was there to try to frame the education budget as the insatiable and uncontained consumer of town resources. Mr. Hosmer ran the meeting as if the citizens were rather an annoyance, and as if the drastic budget worksheet he had Barbara Rich draw up was the last and only word on this. He was irritated when he was challenged on his false assertions about the mechanics of Prop 46 in a reval year, the content of legal opinions on these mechanics, the existence of eligible “exemptions” in this year’s BOE budget, and actions that the BOF has taken in prior years with regards to these mechanics. He was dead wrong on several occasions, he tried to play fast and loose when called on this, and he tried to dismiss, belittle and ignore those who challenged him. It appeared to me that even his most loyal disciples on the BOF were uncomfortable with his actions. The interpretation can mean a swing of several tens of thousands, to several hundreds of thousands of dollars, in a very lean budget year.

The proposed budget worksheet would require $200,000 in additional reductions to BOE budget. Notable was the fact that Tony Walker did not defend the BOE budget nor advocate for the legal interpretation of Prop 46 that calls for some flexibility. No one on the BOF made a motion to accept the proposed budget worksheet as presented.

Glen Converse moved to accept the worksheet, with additions to be considered for the “exemptions” (essentially, the increase in costs for state mandates, but could also include emergency expenditures, legal judgments, and debt service). The BOE has identified and increase of about $59,000 for transportation in its proposed budget. Thus, Glen’s motion (passed unanimously) leaves the BOS and BOE the ability to identify and advocate for the exemptions in their budget, and the BOF will consider including these amounts in the budget. Glen Lessig was voted on as the new BOF alternate.

The BOE Finance Committee then met. They agreed to recommend to the full BOE two budgets:

- One which makes the additional $200,000 in cuts. This would contemplate eliminating of nine Teaching Assistants, among some other items including admin positions.

- One which identifies justifiable “exemptions.” With transportation, costs of SRBI*, and increases in state ECS** aid, the committee identified about $350,000 in increased costs from state mandates and increased state revs. I don’t have details but this essentially restores most of the reductions made before.

*SRBI - Scientific Research Based Interventions - Providing special help to children who are struggling in certain areas but do not need to be placed in a SPED program.

**ECS - Educational Cost Sharing. The money the state of Connecticut provides the district to help pay for local education.

from John

The video (taken 40 minutes after the killing) of Zimmerman entering the police station shows no blood or broken nose, nothing that suggests that Zimmerman was in a fight. So the police are part of this conspiracy with their phoney police report. The coroner saw no evidence of a fight on Trayvon.

I don’t believe any of this defense that is being put forth on behalf of Trayvon’s killer, George Zimmerman. They are trying to build a case against the slight and innocent black kid that doesn’t jive with bystanders’ testimony. If indeed Trayvon broke Zimmerman’s nose, which I don’t believe for a minute, the evidence suggests that he was fighting for his life against a would be, self-serving, bigotted wanna-be policeman with gun drawn who was stalking Trayvon even after being told “…don’t follow him.”

from Teachers’ Point of View

I feel it’s important to provide teachers with the tools they need to adequately educate children as well. I feel the most important thing we need is human support and resources. It helps to have enough teachers to keep class sizes manageable. It helps to have teacher assistants that can help us work with kids and better meet their individual needs. Coordinators, and administrators help keep all of us working together and in a way that is efficient and aligned. As the budget continues to get cut, we lose many of these resources. Will losing some supply money hurt? Sure, but not nearly as much as losing a Math interventionist that helps to support students struggling and bring them up where their peers are. Will it hurt to lose some professional development money? Absolutely. But not nearly as much as losing the people that keep our technology, media center, and other resources properly operating.

It can be very discouraging to work in a town that does not seem to support us financially. However, and I can only speak personally, none of these things would drive me from Woodstock. I have dedicated myself to educate the children of Woodstock. Every day I strive to help these kids grow, academically and socially. Honestly, I’ve grown quite fond of my fellow teachers, parents in the community, and the kids that I’m fortunate to work with everyday. I feel as though I’m part of Woodstock now, and Woodstock is definitely a part of me.

Continuous budget cuts will make my job harder, and will even have an impact on the children of Woodstock. However, it’s my job as their teacher to make that impact as small as possible. The kids should feel as little effect from budget cuts as possible. It’s not only my job to educate children, but my passion. I will continue to do so regardless of the challenges, and regardless of the hurdles placed before me. When all is said and done with the budget, I will continue to go into my classroom, greet my kids everyday, and do everything in my power to make sure they reach the highest potential they possibly can.

Also, student, you do our school system proud. You are a testament to all we do, and I hope you always keep your passion for education and fight for the very best of it. I don’t know who you are, and you don’t know me either. I’ll tell you one thing, though, I hope you’re a former student of mine. Nothing would make me more proud.

from A Student

from A Student: Well, teachers? Do you have any input?

On another note…. I know that most people in Woodstock (I said most) appreciate teachers and associate their skill with students’ skill as shown on standardized tests, but what happens if too many of our current teachers leave? Then we will really suffer the consequences and it will take years to turn things around.

How much longer can the budget be constricted before teachers start leaving Woodstock? I’m very interested to hear from the teacher(s) here on this issue. I can’t imagine it being very enjoyable for them to directly suffer from the budget cuts.

A teacher can only work with and do so much at a time, just like a mechanic needs the right tools (instructional devices) to get the job done and to not be overbooked (too many students in a class and other tasks). Would you rather go to a shop that is obviously well-equipped and well-staffed to have work done on your car or see few staff and a line of vehicles waiting to be worked on using crude methods?

Even constraints in the Academy lead to issues in the classroom; teachers waste time fumbling to get cheap dry erase markers and erasers that smudge when erased and break and run out of ink quickly trying to provide something students can read, as well as dealing with failing technology (speakers/projectors/extremely slow computers). Not complaining about the Academy or starting an Academy vs. WPS argument, but these are just examples of the idea of providing the right tools for the teacher.

This is how I view the budget cuts that result in less teachers, increased class sizes and opportunities, and less non-teaching staff to help bring things together and keep the operation running smoothly (such as coordinators, media clerk, nurse’s assistant, the proposed computer technician, etc.). The big idea here is that only so few people can do so much with so few resources, and great care needs to be taken to keep up with these needs.

This shift in education funding will no doubt win votes in certain circles but this shift will in turn harm the education and futures of all Woodstock students.

We is pleased to announce da graduating senior class from Woodstock High - the class of 2016
Motto – “We does da teachin ourselves and it ain’t costing too much”
Mascot - Swamp Pig
Nickname - Swamp Yankees
High School colors - brown, yellow, & green

CEO* & Superintended – Anthony Walker, D. Phil.
Chair of the Think Tank – Allan Walker, D. ?
Chair of the Fuzzy & Remedial Math Department – Dave Hosmer
Chair of the Secretarial Duties Department – Sarah Harkness
Chair of the Civics & Municipal Taxation Department – Hans Frankhouser
Chief Student Counselor & Paper Thrower – Steven Rosendahl

Other Special Facilities - The Very Aviary, The Eaffy Forensic Center, The Wholean Center for Elderly Tax Reduction

* Canine Enforcement Officer

My son’s Vallydictorian Speech:

“I does feel dat dis honor ain’t made me a man yet. My life’s work in da agony and sweat, not for glory or profit, is to create out of materials somethin dat did not exist before. So dis honor is only mine if I comes through life successfully. It ain’t hard to find somethin to dedicate myself for the money part commensurate (big word) with da purpose and significance of my origin. But I would like to do somethin with acclaim too. Dis moment is da pinnacle from which I might be listened to by da young boys and girls already playin da game of life with da same anguish and travail, whom is already dat one who will some day stand where I does stand today.

Until I learns things, I does write an speak as though I does stand amongst and watched da end of man. It ain’t easy to say dat we is immortal cause we endure dat when da last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from da last worthless rock hanging tideless in da last red and dying evening, dat even then there will still be one more sound – dat of my puny inexhaustible voice, still talkin. I refuse to accept dis. I believe dat we swamp yankees ain’t merely to endure but we will prevail. We is immortal, not cause we alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but cause we has ‘da voice’, capable of shouting down others. Da bloggers and da Villager writers duty is to write about things like dis. It is da writers privilege to help us yankees by lifting da yankees heart, by reminding him of da courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been da glory of all yankees past. Da voice is not merely be da record of Woodstockians, it can be da one dat props up da pillars of City Hall.” Read the rest of this entry »

from Nuclear Hobbit

Nuclear’s previous post.

I have found the oil companies drilling for oil and gas everywhere. It’s as if no one is talking about it. They are fracking in Ohio now. A pipeline that used to be bringing fuel from Colorado and another from the Gulf will now be sending it in the other direction. The number of jobs that will come of it nationwide will be incredible. In North Dakota, the company I was working for ordered 20,000 modular homes, 10,000 of which will be permanently made homes. There are no hotel rooms available anywhere in the region (Dakotas) and they now have more rental vehicles there than in Las Vegas. The Town I was in had one cop two years ago, now they have 18, six cars and a fire department on the way. The craziest thing I have seen was in downtown Torrance, California. You can pick your nose in CA without a permit. A subsidiary of Halliburton came to town, bought the Ace Hardware, leveled it, and built a giant aluminum shed. Inside there is a derrick drilling for oil. An old friend works there. He gets paid $750 a day to shake bottles of mud. Just thought you’d like to know. Been to 27 states so far this year. Got out to Argentina, Chile, and Trinidad Tobago.

The Cafe will provide free exclusive longterm advertising for anyone who can provide a significant monetary or in kind contribution to the Morse Farm, e.g. Randy Morse.

from John

I was shocked and deeply saddened to learn only an hour ago that some Morse Farm properties (the store and one of its houses in Massachusetts) were in danger of foreclosure this coming week before Randy filed for bankruptcy protection last week. I had not heard a thing about this until I ran into Randy while looking for some pansies in back of the store. I looked for news on this searching Google and found nothing although this is apparently no secret in Southbridge and Sturbridge where many have expressed moral support and many visit the Cafe.

The Morse Farm has been a victim of the a triple economic whammy in (1) Great Recession, (2) the reconstruction of Route 169 which took forever, and (3) the price of gasoline which deterred shoppers from driving to the store on the outskirts of both Woodstock and Southbridge. The high price of gas has also increased the cost of running the store and farming the properties.

Few people are aware that during the Farm’s mounting economic crisis Randy Morse had also been taking care of his mother before she passed away and continues to take care of his father in the same way. The emotional impact of Randy’s care for his parents was clearly evident to me while talking to Randy. This is no minor task in terms of time, cost, and sadness. Becki and I are all too aware of the difficulty of caring for aged parents with senile dementia after our seventeen months with my mother and father. This was hard enough with two of us doing this together, but Randy has been doing this mostly by himself.

Hardworking Randy has been generous to Woodstockers with his low prices and the quality of his crops, especially his corn. He has also quietly lent support to the East Woodstock Church and the Jog with Judy annual race.

Please consider driving to the Morse Stand to purchase vegetables and flowers and, if you see him, let Randy know that you care. The flowers I saw in back are near ready and I will transplant some in our garden now. Let’s not allow the loss of this fine business. As a reminder I have placed a banner at the bottom of the right sidebar. Small things help like a gift certificate for gas from a patron; or help with his father.

Our friend Randy Morse allowed us to drive into the depths of the Morse Farm in Woodstock, the former Eddy Farm, and photograph the vegetable plants that will feed many Woodstockians. Randy’s garden is a work of art that all of us should appreciate. These include garlic plants and an impressive field of asparagus ferns. We present the photos taken by Becki of this impressive garden. Read the rest of this entry »

from John

“Perfect” is how I would describe my experience with Stephanie Gosselin as our real estate agent. Selling a property in a down real estate market just after a Great Recession can be a trying experience for owners who need to escape from further debt and/or move on in life. Becki and I had this burden for more than two years and all of 2010 and 2011. We needed to deal with many problems with my parents 18th century 5500 sq.ft. house (which needed significant upgrading), and then sell the house and 166 acres of land. We had actually subdivided this property into four parcels to give us some options with potential buyers.

Stephanie helped us to price these properties appropriately given the current state of the market. Then with her unquenchable genuine enthusiasm, Stephanie identified a buyer who wanted the whole property. It took about four months for both sides to reach an agreement with Stephanie respectfully mediating and managing the process, and then sale was completed in a little less than five months within the contract. Throughout this process we were in continuous contact with Stephanie by email and phone. During this period I was reassured to learn that everyone in town who knew about Stephanie praised her skill at selling homes.

We wanted to pass our positive experience with Stephanie on to others in the Quiet Corner as well as out of state and out of country visitors to the Café who are looking at the Quiet Corner as a place to live.
Click to enlarge world map of visitors to the Cafe

This data reflects the scandalous situation that has developed in Woodstock. The Board of Education is robbing Woodstock children of their education and future. See it HERE. This has become the Republican Town Committee mission led by Republican’s on the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance, and the Board of Education. Anyone who questions what Anthony Walker is doing with the BOE budget is labelled “the usual suspects”.

Just heard that the meeting between the BoE chair, BoF chair and first selectman resulted in an agreement to cut the education about another $210K. This is really bad news for the education in Woodstock. John

see this Norwich Bull article

“We really put our kids behind when we don’t have these programs,” Board Chairwoman Yvette Jacaruso said.

The Board of Education passed its preliminary 2012-13 budget Tuesday night. It includes a 5.01 percent, or $3.4 million, increase from this year’s budget.

The proposed budget also includes $700,000 to add full-day kindergarten, $150,000 for supplies, materials and furniture and $224,00 for universal preschool.