IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

"It’ll be hard, tough — “devastating,” a couple of school officials called it — but the state’s 2.5% cap on municipal spending increases is a limit officials at [the] tri-board meeting said Ridgefield should stay under. [...] That’ll help keep taxes down."

And now the State wants to shift a portion of the teacher's pension cost from the state to the towns. 

That's the way this year's budget process began. It was certainly an important wake up call.

While I appreciate the Board members who spend hours on budgeting, most years the bottom line is aided by pulling a rabbit out of a hat. This year “Revenues exceeded budget by $1,460,000, due largely to collection of back taxes,” [BoF Chairman] Ulmer said." 

But it is my opinion that going forward, we must develop zero based budgets without rabbits because, eventually, they will go the way of the dinosaur & taxes will definitely soar.

[BoE] Ms. Baldwin drew a line with three supervisors. Mr. Hendrikson purportedly put $120,000 in the wrong budget column &  Ms. Manners is “[...] offended every year by the [BoF] who feel that they have to cut us [...]" 

OK. So everyone played their role in this annual drama.

I have long argued that Ridgefield should develop budgets & subsequent mill rates that are not subsidized by transfers from the surplus fund. 

Otherwise there will come a day when we will lose some services we currently enjoy or taxes will rise to a level that will limit the real estate market only to the wealthier amongst us.

New Canaan, Darien & other Fairfield towns have fine school systems but many of you, young families, can't afford to live there which is why you chose Ridgefield. Our real estate prices and taxes remain affordable and we have a fine school system.

Please, let's keep it that way.

Published in the Ridgefield Press

May 4th, 2017

The Greening of Ridgefield

By Jan Rifkinson

Ridgefield Press 06/07/12 

It was the last straw for me when the Board of Selectmen couldn't decide whether to say the Pledge of Allegiance before each meeting. While two or three board members voiced their opinions on this request by a town veteran, as a governing body they decided to check surrounding towns to see if anyone else followed this formality. 

This has become a frequent practice at the BoS. They like to hide behind common practice. They've become followers instead of leaders. 

So, it was to my great delight to read that every school in the Ridgefield School system has a garden tended to and harvested by the students.

Moreover, the food was used in their cafeterias. Bravo!

And most satisfying, the Ridgefield School system is the FIRST and ONLY school system in CT to do this. Kudos.

This is an example of leading with creativity, pro activity, responsibility and reality. 

School is not just about grades or SATs although those are certainly important milestones. No college is going to accept a student simply because they worked in a school garden but, I submit, it will make those students better people going forward.

At a young age they will learn that food doesn't come from a supermarket or a refrigerator. A lot of it – especially the most healthy of it – comes from the ground, delivered from seeds, soil, sun and water and nurtured by man with hard work. It's mother nature's gift to us. 

That knowledge -- and extrapolating those lessons going forward – is worth a bunch in the real world.

We need more of this kind of leadership. 

Propaganda & Baloney > Ridgefield Press 04/23/2011

The parents' education about the mandated $850k reduction in this year's requested 2.9% ($2,255,634) school budget increase was a "somber evening" intoned Ms. Low.

Baloney. A somber evening is when someone dies.

But Ms. Low was trying to send a message: the Board of Finance has done your kids a terrible wrong.

More baloney. Almost 100% of the adjustments that were eventually revealed -- after the voluntary February adjustments -- had zero educational consequences. (Do you wonder, as I do, why those weren't introduced in February?)

Instead of launching into her proposed adjustments, Ms. Low began by regurgitating the usual incomplete charts comparing Ridgefield to other DRG-As.

This was a further attempt to rile parents.

No where was the statistic that Ridgefielders' household income was the lowest of the towns she compared us to. Misleading you say? Maybe. We report. You decide.

Then came what she didn't want to call her "recommendations" -- but merely suggestions -- for those possible adjustments.  

Another message: 'I don't support these savings' ...even though we can afford them without hurting education.

Then some smoke & mirrors. We like to say Ms. Low's administration is the most transparent in recent history but I'm beginning to wonder.

Included in the adjustments was some low hanging fruit like raising RHS parking fees but she's leaving it to the high school to come up with $30k in reductions.

Then there is the expected savings from changing light bulbs but the $1.5 million capital request for that project hasn't yet been approved by the voters.

What happens if voters turn it down? 'Well, we'll find it somewhere else.' (Same for the Selectmen's budget)

A nip here, a tuck there. Death by a thousand cuts she called it but the students didn't feel the pain; only Ms. Low's ego did.

Teacher's Unions Explained

Labor vs Education > Letter to the Editor, Ridgefield Press, Published 2011/03/17

Parents, PTA, READ, etc -- you are all sheep. Why do you exhibit only Pavlovian reactions to school budgets without considering the consequence?

You use your considerable organizations to pressure taxpayers to pay more, but not for education. Of the approved 2010 budget, 81.12% went to salaries & benefits, NOT to education.

High School: 1 Principal, 4 Assistant Principals, 4 Deans. Really?

What is the school doing with the $59,800 taken in Tiger Hollow gate receipts? This could have been a German class.

Students from 7-12 grades could supply their own netbook to plug into the schools' formidable IT system & save several hundred thousand dollars annually. How many teachers would that represent?

And none of this would cost taxpayers one extra penny.

Believe it or not, I stand with you on educational values. So you tell me, what's wrong with the current picture:

1. Middle school German will be eliminated (Mandarin was already cut)

2. Again, no literacy teacher will be hired

3. Art classes will again be reduced

4. Eight teachers will be cut next year

Clearly, labor is costing your children some education.

The political pressure applied by you parents, PTAs and READ is misplaced. Like a laser beam, you should be focused on labor costs which can be contained. Excellent teachers should be paid more. Bad teachers should find another job.

I believe in the right to negotiate but I believe it is time to change our approach to labor negotiations in order to benefit our children's education.

We are not beholden to the unions. This attitude has been exhibited in the past but times change, the truth emerges and our negotiating principles must change too.

We CAN re-open contracts. I ask you: what do you think is going to happen next year when teacher payroll goes up 3.0%?

Mark my words, education will suffer.

01/31/2011 Letter to the Editor > Ridgefield Press "What, me Worry?"

Carol and I just returned from a little trip to Costa Rica & I came back a changed human. It was a wonderful, laid back  adventure. The natives were courteous, warm & welcoming; the weather delicious. It relaxed me, put things in perspective.

I now consider asking taxpayers for $167k to hose down some six year olds at the recreation center that already loses about $600k annually just another quaint Ridgefield idea. So is building a $20 million dollar library during these economic times.

The Board of Selectmen spending so much energy not approving a full (from part) time salary for Fred, our diligent parking cop, which would have been funded from the Branchville Parking fees while, simultaneously hiding a million dollar mistake in executive sessions.... Eh! Who cares?

And a measly 2.87% school increase on an $80 million dollar school budget. Oh pish.... that's just $2.25 million. What's that? A matter of foregoing eight or nine cups of Starbuck's coffee?

Finally, instead of the BoF asking embarrassing questions, I say give the Board of Ed the entire $89k they requested for a new boiler even though they will be reimbursed $60k by insurance (which they didn't mention). They can use the extra money for something educational.....or not.

That Ridgefield's income is flat and that property owners have lost another 6% of their home value just last year (http://tinyurl.com/5srjg5c) no longer concerns me. I'm calm and confident Ridgefield will rebound in the next 8-10 years.

In the meantime, raising property taxes a few points annually shouldn't cause alarm. We have a wonderful school system -- in the middle of the educational pack -- propping up our property values. And parents of kindergarten aged kids now have more free time to "shop Ridgefield".

I agree with Mr. Jewell. This space should be reserved for friendly letters.

CT lost out on $175,000,000 in Federal education grants. Now what?

From "The Day - State News"

Hartford (AP) — Connecticut's school superintendents will get a briefing on new education laws and how the state will cope with losing out on $175 million in federal school reform grants.

The superintendents and officials from the state Department of Education are planning to gather Wednesday at the Capitol for their annual update before the start of the new school year.

One topic will be revising Connecticut's school reform plans now that the state has failed to qualify for the Obama administration's "Race to the Top" education grants.

Connecticut requested $175 million to pay for a package of reforms passed by the legislature this year. State Education Commissioner Mark McQuillan is expected to tell the superintendents on Wednesday which reforms can still be enacted.

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. 

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.

Daily Beast > Teachers are professionals & should be evaluated based on their work, not their seniority

This is the basic problem for any school system, including Ridgefield. There is a place for unions. There is a place for guilds, but there is NO place for protecting mediocrity; meritocracy is what is needed.

When the principal at P.S. 40 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, talks about the impact on students of one of her best teachers, Malvola Lewis, her eyes fill with tears.

After growing up in homeless shelters, Lewis earned an education degree from Brooklyn College and returned to her old neighborhood to teach at P.S. 40, a historically hard-to-staff school. Now she’s one of the school’s strongest teachers; her students are making more progress than almost any other class in the school. And they love her.

Lewis is a terrific teacher. Despite her exceptional work, though, she (and thousands of teachers like her) may be laid off shortly because of antiquated seniority rules in New York City. The real losers will be children.  

Read the entire article here