Remember when I shared this on Blog Lebo a few years back? At the time, it was intended for the school board since there was talk of closing schools or cutting programs, in order to fund the high school project and cover rising pensions. It appears that our school board directors need a refresher course. Some may say that the municipality should place an order for the commissioners and a few advisory board members.
Saturday Night Live Debt Skit from ABI Videos on Vimeo.
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A few years ago, I had empathy for the Board in trying to make ends meet, until I realized the merry-go-round keeps turning year-after-year and little changes. It is the same music, the same sense of surprise, the same scowls, the same same.
If the administration was fiscally responsible, there would be a plan on how to "make it" year-in and year-out.
In the real world we call it "strategic-planning."
We would not be entertaining a $74,000 trophy case one meeting and discussing the decimation of educational programs the next.
And … the superintendent would never think of having a private bathroom. If we are cutting as far from the classroom as possible, we should be funding something on pluto, before this.
Elaine:
If you don't mind, I'd like to follow up your video with these:
LIFE OF DEBT (episode 1) and LIFE OF DEBT (episode 2).
The fact that the feds, the state, the municipality and the school district dump debt on us - not to mention the debt we assume for ourselves - is both funny and depressing at the same time because our leaders seem to think that debt is wealth. Sadly, a lot of people agree, demonstrating the failure of the public school system to teach economics.
Here's something I don't understand after watching the board.
Whether they use Cappucci's plan of drawing a small amount from the fund balance or Remely's $1.5 million to cover that only affects this years shortfall.
Next year they'll be down whichever fund balance they use plus whatever new expenditures are incurred.
Pension payments are predicted to rise every year. They've contracted with teachers and administrators to raises of 3.5% or up every year.
They have a habit of accepting huge change orders and finding new capital projects to buy.
They've been averaging $2 million budget increases since 2008.
There are forecast that PSERS alone will consume 33% of the districts total spending by 2020 or so.
About that time, they'll start thinking about redoing the middle schools again. And the stadium turf will be showing its age and wear & tear primarily because everyone enters the field at exactly the same place... from the Vomitorium.
Is it hard to imagine the conversations at those Superintendent lunches going something like this—
Little Sally Smith, 7th grader:
I was wondering about B. F. Skinner's 1948 conclusions on operant behavior.
Is he correct that there are only three operants that follow behavior, i.e., neutral operants, reinforcers and punishers. And what about the "Skinner Box?"
Super Super:
I'm thinking pizza! Do you like it plain cheese or with pepperoni?
I like to fold mine in half so the cheese and sauce squirts out the sides.
Oh, I also like selfies, do you like selfies?
Yeah 9:16 AM. Super Super Timmy was not a teacher of or certified in academic subjects while reportedly a teacher. He was a music teacher. Perhaps he taught students how to multitask by eating pizza while playing trombones ? And pizza was the only lesson in which he remained proficient ?
This "Super Super"... Who is he related to OR friends with? What is his "relationship" with the teachers union? The rumors coming out about the new contract are unreal. I only hope that this time people here wake up and revolt much like Baldwin did.
3:35 PM, what sort of rumors are you hearing?
Elaine
1:30 PM, here is the Super Super's Commencement Speech from 2013.
He has a gift of speaking with magical frogs. I hope he doesn't buy any magic beans in the next teachers' contract.
Elaine
More on Kubit.
Ed discusses this little fictional family merrily humming away on a $5,000 budget and uses them as a justification for not building any undue stress into the districts budget. He doesn't want ro make things tough on Timmy or Jan.
Unfortunately, Fast Eddie fails to take several realities into consideration.
His fictional family may be already paddling their asses off just to stay afloat right now. His .55 mill increase may be the straw that breaks the family's back. No stress there right, Eddie?
He fails to acknowledge in his quaint little family's budget, that they don't have tenure protection of any kind. In private industry they paychecks could go away real fast.
Plus, those wage earners that make "widgets" (that what Birks called the stuff made by private industry workers as opposed to the district's product of kids) can't hold those widgets hostage like unionize teachers can in most cases to get a raise.
Speaking of raises, is his family looking at a 7% raise next year? Do they contribute next to nothing for family health care? Are they guaranteed their employer will even provide coverage?
Do they have a lucrative pension plan far better than the average Pennsylvania workers'?
Do they park at their place of employment for free or do they face city parking fee increases?
Yeah its easy to spin fictional yarns about how easy it is to run a family budget, Eddie, we wouldn't want to make your job as school director to stressful!
Maybe you should ask Tim where the hole is the fictional talking frog fell in and watch as it bust its butt to climb out.
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