Don't Take Away Our Cheese!!!!

[Enough]

Here's a link to the City of Buffalo School District website

http://www.buffaloschools.org/Commun...?subpage=36493

Outlining the steps parents have to take to email their politicians demanding that Patterson doesn't take away their cheese!

They know that the parents are so illiterate they even had Stephan write the letter so they just have to email it!

Dear Legislator:

I am deeply concerned about the negative impact of New York Governor David Paterson’s proposed budget cuts on the children of the Buffalo Public School District. A $52 million deficit would cripple our urban district, increase class sizes, and ultimately harm children.

Because of collaboration and the hard work of the Superintendent, Central Office Staff, the Board of Education, building administrators, teachers, students, and parents, the Buffalo Public School District has achieved numerous academic and financial accomplishments over the past three years, including:

• City Honors School ranked the 11th best school in the nation by Newsweek
• U.S. News & World Report ranked Leonardo da Vinci High School and Hutch Tech High School in the top 1,000 in the nation and ranked City Honors School the 35th best school in the nation
• Mathematics test scores up 96-percent over a two-year period
• English Language Arts test scores up 43-percent over a two year period
• Council of Great City Schools named the Buffalo City School District as a top performer nationally in financial management
• Expansion of foreign language programs to include Mandarin Chinese and Latin
• Extension of the school day one hour and school year by 20 days at 17 schools.
• Increased Advanced Placement (AP) courses from 14-to-146 across the District
• All High Schools now offer Advanced Placement (AP) courses
• Creation of two College Board Schools, with assistance from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with an intensive college preparatory curriculum: The International Preparatory School at Grover and Math Science Technology Preparatory School at Seneca
• Uniforms worn at 31 schools across the District
• Expansion of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program to the Stanley Makowski Early Childhood Center School #99 (candidate school)

For the first time in decades the Buffalo Public School District is heading in the right direction. What’s best for children is for the District to “stay the course” through the Academic Achievement plan and continue this path of success. In three short years Buffalo Public Schools were able to improve academically and financially after decades of decline.

What’s best for the children of Buffalo is not to simply throw money at the problem and hope this budget crisis “goes away.” Multi-billion dollar deficits will not disappear with a one-time bailout. What we need is strong legislative leadership who will implement the structural changes necessary for the Buffalo Public School District to continue the successful path of academic and financial progress.

Governor David Paterson proclaimed in his address to the citizens of New York that the State of our State is “perilous.” You can be the difference in changing our dire circumstances from one of peril to prosperity. We do not want the Buffalo Public School District to return to the dark days of teacher layoffs, low test scores, and massive deficits.

I implore you to work collaboratively with school administrators, union leaders, and fellow legislative leaders to solve this fiscal crisis and hold the children of the Buffalo School District harmless. Governor Paterson’s proposed budget cuts that will result in a $60 million deficit for the Buffalo Public School District is simply unacceptable.

Thank you for your time and attention to this important matter. I hope you’ll do the right thing and work collaboratively to save our schools, and offer the children of Buffalo the best education possible.

[mesue]

All I can think of if is a Neal Sedaka song ...
Sing with me now

Don't take my cheese away from me.
Don't you leave my wallet, bank account, retirement fund, condo in Florida, health care benefits for life
In misery
Cuz if you do, then I'll be blue.
Cuz budget cuts are hard to do.

[Mr. Lackawanna]

This post is about Buffalo's pending Public School Deficit.

Buffalo is facing a 51 million dollar deficit in this years school budget. This problem will be the same for every year unless the State or the Federal government increases it's aid for the schools. I don't think this will happen.

How will the city solve this problem?

1) It could lay off teachers.
2) The City could raise taxes.

Any of the above solutions will anger either a special interest group or the taxpayers.

Laying off teachers would be the best way to go. If you look at the results of a city public education it should not matter that much, if you have less teachers teaching. The children are not learning that much anyway.

[Dougles]

This post is about Buffalo's pending Public School Deficit.

Buffalo is facing a 51 million dollar deficit in this years school budget. This problem will be the same for every year unless the State or the Federal government increases it's aid for the schools. I don't think this will happen.

How will the city solve this problem?

1) It could lay off teachers.
2) The City could raise taxes.

Any of the above solutions will anger either a special interest group or the taxpayers.

Laying off teachers would be the best way to go. If you look at the results of a city public education it should not matter that much, if you have less teachers teaching. The children are not learning that much anyway.

First:
Why not try a too head attack to this. 1. The WHOLE SCHOOL SYSTEM, from admins down to the janitor takes a 10% pay cut! 2. If need be, they start cuting the LEAST productive teachers, even if their tenured!


Second:
Over the last 5 years the state has increased their FUNDING by 50%, yet has ANYONE in the cities taxes Decreased? That would be the only way i could EVER see them raising taxes.
If 5 years ago you paid let's say $2000 and this year you paid $1400, i coudl see them raising taxes a little!

[Mr. Lackawanna]

First:
Why not try a too head attack to this. 1. The WHOLE SCHOOL SYSTEM, from admins down to the janitor takes a 10% pay cut! 2. If need be, they start cuting the LEAST productive teachers, even if their tenured!


Second:
Over the last 5 years the state has increased their FUNDING by 50%, yet has ANYONE in the cities taxes Decreased? That would be the only way i could EVER see them raising taxes.
If 5 years ago you paid let's say $2000 and this year you paid $1400, i coudl see them raising taxes a little!

The Union representing the Buffalo Teachers will never consent to any pay or benefits reduction that would be a significant cost reduction. Even if this means that less of their union brothers are working. Their philosophy is take from the others but not from me.

[Dougles]

The Union representing the Buffalo Teachers will never consent to any pay or benefits reduction that would be a significant cost reduction. Even if this means that less of their union brothers are working. Their philosophy is take from the others but not from me.

And people wonder why their hated!!!

At my job, we all went this year without a pay raise, agreed to use X amount of pay time off and agreed to no overtime in exchange for no layoffs! Were not a UNION and it seems like we do a better job looking out for eachother than any UNION I've heard of!

[Anotherview]

The Buffalo School System should consider doing something similar to what was done in Niagara Falls.

They have one High School and closed the other small schools. Honeywell built the school and leased it back to the city for 99 years.

In Buffalo, they could build 4 schools. 1- North 1 -South 1- West 1 East of the City. Include grades K - 12

......There would be new and energy efficient buildings.

......Consolidate by choosing BOB (Best of the Best) Principals, Assistant Principals, Teachers, etc.

.....Include all the cultures, arts, technical training, etc.

[Dougles]

Include grades K - 12
I'm not sure how many people would want the 3 graders with high schoolers

......

......Consolidate by choosing BOB (Best of the Best) Principals, Assistant Principals, Teachers, etc.
I doubt the Union would EVER let this happen, all you'd end up with are the highest paid and most tenured

Not a bad idea though!

[steven]

They know that the parents are so illiterate they even had Stephan write the letter so they just have to email it!

Wow, what an ignorant thing to say.

Anyway:

In the Ken-Ton schools, it's a cut of 3.2 million dollars
(I guess that mneans if you live in Kenmore or the tonawandas your losing some "cheese")
In the Lancaster School it's a cut of 2 million dollars
(I guess that means if you live in Lancaster your losing some "cheese")

Etc etc etc.

Buffalo has the largest school district so it will recieve the largest cut.

School aid is estimated to be cut by 4.7 percent in Erie County and by 4.9 percent in Niagara County.

That means if you live anywhere that has kids you or your neighbors are losing "cheese"

also in the mix, deletions of $211 million for SUNY schools so if your kid is in college you will take a little pain on your "cheese" as well.

If you think this is just Buffalo your sorly mistaken. Its easier and more eye grabbing to mention Buffalo because it has the largest district and will therefor lose the most. Every district will be getting the old cut notice and just about every district gets State "cheese"

[Dougles]

Steven,

Now my question is this:
In 2004-5 NYS only funded 14B in school aid, this year (current) they're funding 21B, that's a 50%. During that time, did school taxes go down 50%?
If they didn't, where did all that extra spending go? And why can't it be cut now?

[WNYresident]

Steven,

Now my question is this:
In 2004-5 NYS only funded 14B in school aid, this year (current) they're funding 21B, that's a 50%. During that time, did school taxes go down 50%?
If they didn't, where did all that extra spending go? And why can't it be cut now?

Wow... I never looked at it that way.

You have a valid point. We should have a line item on school taxes called NYSTATE AID more than the year before. They deduct the aid from what the school charges us to operate in our community.

[Effigy]

Buffalos' School budget is 800 MILLION dollars per year. 51 million is less than a 6.5% decrease.

[steven]

Steven,

Now my question is this:
In 2004-5 NYS only funded 14B in school aid, this year (current) they're funding 21B, that's a 50%. During that time, did school taxes go down 50%?
If they didn't, where did all that extra spending go? And why can't it be cut now?

Schhool aid is out of control, no argument from me.

(Your beating me to my blog today )

Excert:

Even with a proposed 3.3 percent statewide cut in assistance, school aid still would total $20.7 billion next year. That’s a hefty 42 percent increase over 2003-04. That just doesn’t add up.

Teacher contracts, particularly in Buffalo are a big part of it.

[steven]

Great report on what needs to be fixed in The BPS

http://www.cgcs.org/pdfs/BuffaloPublicSchool.pdf

[Mr. Lackawanna]

Wow, what an ignorant thing to say.

Anyway:

In the Ken-Ton schools, it's a cut of 3.2 million dollars
(I guess that mneans if you live in Kenmore or the tonawandas your losing some "cheese")
In the Lancaster School it's a cut of 2 million dollars
(I guess that means if you live in Lancaster your losing some "cheese")

Etc etc etc.

Buffalo has the largest school district so it will recieve the largest cut.

School aid is estimated to be cut by 4.7 percent in Erie County and by 4.9 percent in Niagara County.

That means if you live anywhere that has kids you or your neighbors are losing "cheese"

also in the mix, deletions of $211 million for SUNY schools so if your kid is in college you will take a little pain on your "cheese" as well.

If you think this is just Buffalo your sorly mistaken. Its easier and more eye grabbing to mention Buffalo because it has the largest district and will therefor lose the most. Every district will be getting the old cut notice and just about every district gets State "cheese"

Cheese = Taxpayer Money

We all know when the dust settles there will be a huge increase in the area school budgets. These budgets will have to be voted on. Some of these school budgets will be presented with an austere budget that will punish the taxpayer if the budget is turned down. These school budgets will eventually be passed. They will be voted for by voters who look at the school system as a huge babysitter.