Myths & Obfuscation > published in the Ridgefield Press 04/16/2009

Several items caught my attention during this year's budget debate.

1. A woman stands before a group of parents at a town budget meeting holding cups from Starbucks to say that we should give up three cups of their coffee to support the school budget. This is not what I call a comprehensive approach to the very serious problem of funding education in Ridgefield. Don't you understand this was the height of arrogance, elitism and a cheap shot besides? There are many people in this town who don't go to Starbucks because they can't afford the overpriced, pretentiously named, fattening coffee and those people must also be considered during budget debates. It's not all  about you.

2. From the Ridgefield Press April 9, 2009, in a letter to the editor titled: Please Protect crown of the town, RoseMary Frederick, a former leader of the Ridgefield NEA, writes of the organization "We worked collaboratively for the best interests of students and district."  Let's not obfuscate the truth. The Raison d'être of the NEA is to represent teacher interests, pure and simple. It's a union. That's their first commandment. Your kids come second.

3. Again, from the Ridgefield Press April 9, 2009, in a letter to the editor titled: Infinite Campus was worthwhile, Sue Fernandez, current president of the RHS PTA, wasted an entire letter to the editor defending the purchase of a $100,000 data system when she should have been arguing for educational excellence. Debating the merits of this IT system is a red herring and besides the point.  The real point is making sure we spend money on education first, administrative IT systems second. It is a myth that any IT system will improve your child's education. It only facilitates administrative duties.  

I don't care about facilitating administrative duties. 

Budget Centers > Ridgefield Press article published 01/11/2010

Long have I wondered the real cost of some of our 'assets'. Right now we don't have a clear picture and it's no one's fault. It's the old "Does the golf course make money" dispute.

There are a lot of costs that are not obvious in the school and town budgets.

For example: What is the 'real' cost of operating the Venus building, Recreation Center, golf course, playhouse, athletic fields, library, senior center, recycling and dumping centers, Barlow Pool and Tiger Hollow?

Arguably these are valuable assets but I believe taxpayers have a right to know exactly what they cost to maintain. Currently this is not possible because of the way the budget is organized.

At a Board of Finance meeting (June 23, 2009), to which I was invited to speak, I suggested that cost centers be developed, i.e. that all costs (and income) associated with a center be stated together; including capital as well as operating costs.

For example, how many Parks Department man hours are spent on the athletic fields and golf course? What does it cost to maintain the Venus building and how much income does it earn?

Sitting across from me, the chairman's eyes glazed over as I made my pitch. He checked his Blackberry messages and tuned out. A board member stated they had a good handle on labor costs which represented most of the town's expenses (ergo, my suggestion seemed not worth further effort). Another member asked how many cost centers were involved. The last member present said they were 'sort of' following that path anyway (could have fooled me).

Finally, the chairman thanked me for my time and interest, excused me and moved on. It was if I had never been there.

Wrong.

I'm going to keep bringing this up until we taxpayers get some answers in black and white.

NYT > In Budget Crisis, States Take Aim at Pension Costs

This is an extremely important story as I believe it is a realistic harbinger of things to come. It will eventually filter down to towns like Ridgefield which is why we should be doing something about it now. Read the entire story here.

By MARY WILLIAMS WALSH published June 19, 2010

Many states are acknowledging this year that they have promised pensions they cannot afford and are cutting once-sacrosanct benefits, to appease taxpayers and attack budget deficits.

Gov. Pat Quinn said an overhaul would save Illinois’s pension system $300 million in its first year. But the fund is weakened.

Articles in this series are examining the consequences of, and efforts to deal with, growing public and private debts.

Illinois raised its retirement age to 67, the highest of any state, and capped public pensions at $106,800 a year. Arizona, New York, Missouri and Mississippi will make people work more years to earn pensions. Virginia is requiring employees to pay into the state pension fund for the first time. New Jersey will not give anyone pension credit unless they work at least 32 hours a week.

“We can’t afford to deny reality or delay action any longer,” said Gov. Pat Quinn of Illinois, adding that his state’s pension cuts, enacted in March, will save some $300 million in the first year alone.

But there is a catch: Nearly all of the cuts so far apply only to workers not yet hired. Though heralded as breakthrough reforms by state officials, the cuts phase in so slowly they are unlikely to save the weakest funds and keep them from running out of money. Some new rules may even hasten the demise of the funds they were meant to protect.

Lawmakers wanted to avoid legal battles or fights with unions, whose members can be influential voters. So they are allowing most public workers across the country to keep building up their pensions at the same rate as ever. The tens of thousands of workers now on Illinois’s payrolls, for instance, will still get to retire at 60 — and some will as young as 55.

One striking exception is Colorado, which has imposed cuts on its current workers, not just future hires, and even on people who have already retired. The retirees have sued to block the reduction.

Other states with shrinking funds and deep fiscal distress may be pushed in this direction and tempted to follow Colorado’s example in the coming years. Though most state officials believe they are legally bound to shield current workers from pension cuts, a Colorado victory could embolden them to be more aggressive. [snip]

Is a college education really necessary?

From a Huffington Post article:

The notion that a four-year degree is essential for real success is being challenged by a growing number of economists, policy analysts and academics. They say more Americans should consider other options such as technical training or two-year schools, which have been embraced in Europe for decades.

As evidence, experts cite rising student debt, stagnant graduation rates and a struggling job market flooded with overqualified degree-holders. They pose a fundamental question: Do too many students go to college?

"College is what every parent wants for their child," said Martin Scaglione, president and chief operating officer of work force development for ACT, the Iowa-based not-for-profit best known for its college entrance exam. "The reality is, they may not be ready for college."

President Barack Obama wants to restore the country's status as the world leader in the proportion of citizens with college degrees. The U.S. now ranks 10th among industrial nations, behind Canada, Japan, Korea and several European countries.

But federal statistics show that just 36 percent of full-time students starting college in 2001 earned a four-year degree within that allotted time. Even with an extra two years to finish, that group's graduation rate increased only to 57 percent.

From the Ridgefield Press > The fence is ok

"A painter survived getting impaled on a metal fence stake Tuesday morning after falling two stories off a ladder.

Ridgefield Fire Chief Heather Burford reported that the man, working with a crew at 263 Spring Valley Road around 11:20 a.m., fell about 24 feet from a ladder, onto a metal fence post that was more than an inch in diameter.

The fence stake punctured the man’s lower left side and went through his body and out near his clavicle, suspending him above the ground.

His fellow crew members removed the distressed man from the post before the ambulance arrived. The fall did not budge the metal stake, Chief Burford said."

Map > percentage of adults age 25-34 with college degrees listed by state

If the United States is to meet President Obama's goal of becoming the world's best-educated country by 2020, there is work to be done. Young adults with college degrees outnumber those without only in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. Click here for the map.

Denver Post > Teacher evaluation measure signed into law

Written by Jeremy P. Meyer
POSTED: 05/21/2010 01:00:00 AM MDT
UPDATED: 05/21/2010 02:52:04 AM MDT

A controversial teacher effectiveness bill that fractured the Democratic Party, made some lawmakers weep and led union members to protest on the Capitol steps is now law.

But Gov. Bill Ritter's signature Thursday ended only the first chapter of what is likely to be a long process to change the way Colorado educators are evaluated and how they get and keep tenure.

"This bill is about enhancing that profession through high-quality evaluation systems that will move us one step closer to the day when all Colorado students are taught by highly effective teachers in schools led by highly effective principals," Ritter said.

The law ties teacher and principal evaluations to student academic growth and changes the way

Sen. Michael Johnston, D-Denver, who wrote the bill, said the legislation is about recognizing and celebrating great teachers and leaders who never give up on their students.

"That is what this bill, at its heart, is all about," Johnston said. "We as educators are going to say, 'We're going to be there in the hardest time to let you know that we believe in you, regardless of how severe the circumstances outside of this schoolroom are.' "

Yet teachers, parents and students won't see the effects of Senate Bill 191 until it is implemented statewide in the fall of 2013.

The law now goes into its developmental phase — leaning on a 15-member council to define details behind the legislation.

The Governor's Council for Educator Effectiveness will have its third meeting today in the Colorado Education Association's boardroom. Its first order on the agenda: "Understand the implications of SB 191 for the council's scope of work and timeline."

"Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and do the work that the legislature was so kind to give us," said Kerrie Dallman, president of the Jefferson County Education Association and a member of the council.

By March 1, the council must define what makes an effective teacher and principal, develop a high-quality statewide evaluation system for both teachers and principals, and create performance standards for each category of licensed educator — among a host of other duties.

The council's recommendations will go to the State Board of Education, which must vote on the rules by September 2011.

"Right now it feels like an amazing amount of work as we head into the third meeting," said Dallman, who testified against the bill in both the House and Senate education committees along with other union representatives.

The CEA — the state's largest teachers union, representing 40,000 members — mounted a strong campaign to defeat the bill but also worked with lawmakers to add numerous amendments.

On Thursday, the union issued a news release saying it was committed to making the law work but still had concerns about the cost the bill would impose on school districts.

"We are pleased that some of the changes we suggested to the bill were included, but we still have a number of concerns about the implementation of this new law," said Beverly Ingle, CEA president. "For example, the law defines the outcomes of a new evaluation system before the council has had the chance to do its work of determining the system."

Ritter, however, praised the union in a news conference before the bill's signing — saying the CEA has been a strong partner in educational changes that have occurred in recent years. But CEA representatives didn't attend the event.

"I understand that (the CEA) considered Senate Bill 191 a bridge too far," the Democratic governor said. "There are a lot of people who said this was this big fight and that this would splinter things for a very long time. I have a different way of thinking about this. This is something that had to happen."

The bill isn't meant to be punitive and it will lift teachers up to being effective, he added.

"Over time," Ritter said, "we're going to get to a place where we are working together."

DETAILS OF NEW SYSTEM

• Evaluations: Beginning in the fall of 2013, teachers will be rated "highly effective," "effective" or "ineffective."
• Young teachers: "Probationary" teachers, currently those in their first three years, who earn three consecutive "effective" ratings become "nonprobationary."
• Veteran teachers: "Nonprobationary" teachers who get two consecutive "ineffective" ratings return to "probationary" status and will have a year to improve or face termination. Lawmakers estimate only 3 percent of teachers would lose their "nonprobationary" status under the new system. Teachers displaced from jobs would have 12 months, or two hiring cycles, to find a position before being cut from district payrolls.

Writer Contact: 303-954-1367 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com

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Other Links of interest on the same story

• Time for House to act on tenure
• Panel OKs teacher reform bill