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Thread: Proposed Lancaster 2020-21 school budget

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by lord Geof View Post
    I have been, historically, very proud of our district, but I am very disturbed about many things happening in the district.

    1- We have had an extended period of "stay at home" and the kids and many curricula teachers have been going through a difficult time to continue the educational excellence that Lancaster has provided
    2- A good number of staff have had no responsibilities and have been home collecting full pay
    3- Those members of the staff that were requ
    ired to report earned a vacation day for each day of work.
    - Why did we not see furloughs?
    4- Lancaster provided thousands of free meals
    - Were all meals provided to qualified children?
    - Was this process managed in a financially prudent manner?
    - Did the district get appropriately reimbursed?
    5- The "notice" for board elections was not well publicized
    - One must question the insertion of Uteg Jr to replace his father
    - My contacts still have not identified where the notice, soliciting candidates, was published
    6- The budget announcement publicizied that the tax rate per thousand was historically the lowest requested
    - How disingenuous given the reassessment?
    - The presentation does not disclose the exposures, due to potential cuts in State contributions?
    - The presentation discloses no contingency plans,
    in the event Cuomo cuts the investment on education

    In fact, it appears that the district is asking for one of the largest increases in the WNY area, to pass theoretical cuts to the public, with no apparent contingency to offset the impact the public

    The final straw appears to be the manner in which our "mail in ballots" might be managed.

    7- These ballots must be handled independently
    - the initial indication was that Erie County Board of Election nominees would handle the administration of the vote
    - Rumor suggests that an employee of the district will be primarily responsible
    - How does this appear, if accurate, to the public?
    - If accurate, would staff feel their vote would be confidential, or potentially coerced?

    I have brimmed over, and apologize for the length communication

    All seems to out of kilter, and that management recently is actually MISMANGEMENT, and is not a service to the students and the community

    I welcome a retort to this communication

    The perception is very poor, and earns no confidence. The perception establishes no confidence in the integrity of the budget and vote.

    I cannot provide my support for the process or the budget.

    It's a No Vote from me
    The property tax increase and a proposed school budget increase does cause concern especially during these times (the COVID shutdown) where everyone is experiencing financial challenges.

    With regard to your statement about the teachers, lord when you mentioned a number of staff had no responsibilities, were you referring to the teachers? My daughter is a teacher and she can attest to the fact that teaching from home has been extremely tough. Teachers have had to retrofit their curriculum from lecturing face to face with their students to Zoom lecturing on a screen. They have had to literally create a new curriculum format. Teachers are working the hardest they have ever worked. Many districts did not get that week vacation as they had to continue teaching. I know so many teachers that start their day at 7 and end their day at 7 in the evening. On weekends, both Saturday & Sunday, teachers are clocking in full days. Aside from this new format of teaching, teachers are faced with multiple challenges such as their students emotional difficulties. Teachers are also mentoring their students parents during the lockdowns.

    I think the budget needs to focus on what the priorities are rather than fulfilling those nice to have's at this time of economic collapse. Voting NO is the responsible thing to do.

  2. #17
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    Why I am advocating voting ‘no’ to the proposed Lancaster 2020-21 school budget – and even for the contingency budget option.

    From the Lancaster Bee:

    Property tax will be almost half of revenue. The levy will increase by 4.62%, staying below the tax cap. The tax rate will be $14.89 per thousand, the lowest rate in 10 years, but taxes will be affected by property revaluation. According to Vallely, homeowners whose valuation increased by 20% or more will pay higher taxes. All other homeowners should see a decrease in taxes. Board Vice President Michael Sage noted that the STAR exemption is also increasing and that rebate checks will continue to be received from the state.

    1,700 square-foot townhouse units in my community had assessments increased from $141,000 to $195,000 (and more) – 38% increase.

    2019 tax liability – 141 x 17.92 = $2,527
    2020 tax liability - 195 x 14.89 = $2,904

    $2,904 – $2,527 = $377 increase in property tax

    $377-$228 (estimated increase by assessment increase letter) = $149 tax increase due to proposed school budget

    Proposed budget – no cuts in staffing, programs, $1.2 million budgeted for Group Home to educate seven intelligence disabled individuals, etc.

    $340 increase in Social Security this year. $377 tax increase? Voted ‘no’.

    Contingency Budget Option

    No increase in tax levy from 2019-20 budget. Spending reduced from $4.97 million (4.54% increase) to $2,46 million (2.25%).

    Property owners in my complex will still see a significant increase from just the assessment increase ($228), and then some from reduced contingency budget spending.

    we are being told that contractual expenses must be met? Oh well, I have bills that must be met as well. What should I sacrifice?

    I would vote ‘no’ to a contingency budget should it be proposed.

    This comes from an ardent budget supporter in the past 10 years.

    Lastly, there is no increase in the Enhanced STAR exemption this year.

  3. #18
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    Transparency, I think not!

    Lancaster school budget absentee ballots were supposed to be sent to all eligible voters and submitted for return no later than 5pm, June 9th. I am hearing from some individuals that they have yet to receive their ballot.

    Individuals who would have liked to listen in on Monday’s public hearing and/or participated in the budget presentation were unable to access the ‘zoom’ presentation because of lack of ‘zoom’ app or device. The school district promised a video recording of the hearing on the school website later in the week and, but it has yet to appear.

    Neither the Lancaster Bee or Lancaster Sun reported on the school budget public hearing.

    Questions on ballot counting and scanner entry operation and oversight have not been answered.

    Inquiry on spending $1.2 million on educating 5 or 7 individuals residing in an Aurora Street Group Home has yet to be answered.

    Property owners who will be paying significant increases in town and school taxes are being told the reassessment process levels the playing field where everyone pays his or her fair share of taxes. These individuals are questioning the fairness of Condominium Law 339-y where property owners receive exorbitant assessment reductions (up to 50% and higher) and where said reductions result in tax breaks that far exceed the costs associated with providing services not provided by the town - tax breaks that often exceed their entire HOA fee; and then some.

  4. #19
    Member gorja's Avatar
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    Originally posted by Lee Chowaniec:
    Individuals who would have liked to listen in on Monday’s public hearing and/or participated in the budget presentation were unable to access the ‘zoom’ presentation because of lack of ‘zoom’ app or device
    That's too bad. As HodgsonRuss had a zoom meeting for the Stutzman issue before the planning board the other night, they also had the phone in which I used to listen to the meeting.

    Inquiry on spending $1.2 million on educating 5 or 7 individuals residing in an Aurora Street Group Home has yet to be answered.

    I don't know if this page I found when looking through my home town budget meetings is related to your question or not.
    It's from Feb 10, 2020 -

    Executive Budget Summary
    Special Education Cost Shift
    ¤ Eliminate the state share of room & board costs for students with
    disabilities
    ¤ $25 million (18.4%) shift from state to districts


    Was that cost previously covered by the state?

    Georgia L Schlager

  5. #20
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    Its A Credibility Issue at This Point:

    With all that other posters to this forum have laid out as to the process, presentation and half truth scenarios as to the affects this budget will have on a good portion of this community, it boils down to a credibility issue for acceptance of such a budget. Without lack of presenting scenarios for all home values from 100K - 300K ( using the Superintendents $ 50K increase) and only using a scenario whereby those with $300K assessment going to $350K conveniently fits the scenario for acceptability, a lack of not having posted the board meeting video for those either not notified via the Bee or the Sun about such a meeting at this late date, or those that want to review again before they cast their vote, the District has slipped badly from a public relations standpoint. As a proponent of past budgets and the manner in which they were presented, I simply feel this time around, they missed the mark. I will grant them that they had to do so under extreme circumstances and other concerns relating to education with the virus, however we all have experienced a more stressful period with our own jobs and life activities. They all had to step up to the plate, but we all did.

    Because of this slip in public relations, I cannot support this budget for the first time in my over 30 years of past support. I appreciate the standing Lancaster enjoys in academia among the state rolls of other Districts, but it has come at a cost as we have seen our taxes rise. I was willing to pay for it in past, but the relative lack of empathy the District Administrators and BOE with a reassessment and this virus has shown is that the community and I feel myself have been taken for granted. They needed to present this better, get the posted board meeting up for review in time, and be aggressive as to the potential consequences to community's pocketbook. This should have been the year to tighten up programs and contractual expenditures. With a business as usual approach---Consider me Mr. Negative.

    I encourage you all who read this to look at the tax rates assigned to this budget to your recent Town assessment and see how you fare. If you think fair then vote yes. If you feel you were denied true transparency then vote no! If you do vote yes and this budget passes, look for future budget presentations to be cloudy...you have established precedent.

  6. #21
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    FYI, from The Buffalo News:

    School votes may be put off, and results could trickle in

    By Barbara O'Brien
    Published 6:00 a.m. June 6, 2020


    It has been an unanswered question around school districts for weeks: How will we handle voting on school budgets and school board elections, all with mail-in ballots, during this pandemic-affected year?

    The answer has never been clear. It just got a little murkier.

    Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday said he will decide this weekend whether to change the date of school elections.

    The elections in public school districts are scheduled Tuesday by mail-only ballots because of the Covid-19 pandemic. They are due by 5 p.m. that day.

    But some districts around the state, including six in Niagara County, have had trouble getting the ballots out. The vendor they hired notified them last week that the ballots had not gone out yet because the vendor was having difficulty obtaining envelopes.


    Some have suggested moving the election back a week, or accepting ballots that are postmarked by Tuesday to be counted.

    "I understand the issue and we're looking at it and we'll have a decision by Sunday," Cuomo said Friday in reply to a question at his daily coronavirus briefing.

    The school elections could have record turnout in most districts.

    Just don't expect to find out who won in every district on election night, whenever that is.

    Some districts, including all those in Niagara County, will be counting votes by hand. All but three smaller districts in Erie County have been told they can bring the ballots to the Board of Elections to use its high-speed scanner.

    But before districts count by hand or by scan, they have to open the envelopes, which are arriving by the thousands in some districts. And they can't start opening the envelopes until 5 p.m. Tuesday.

    About 2,400 residents voted last year in the Williamsville Central School District. The district had received about 7,000 ballots in the mail at the end of the week.

    Orchard Park has seen from 1,200 to 1,400 vote in recent elections. The district had gotten 5,000 ballots by Thursday.

    There were 386 people voting in the Depew school election last year. About 2,000 have sent in ballots so far.

    Why the big turnout? It could be because many people are still not back to work.

    But it also has to do with the ease of voting. No one had to request an absentee ballot, district clerks were required to send a ballot to every eligible voter. Many got lists from the Board of Elections, but you don't have to be a registered voter to vote in a school board election, so the pool of voters is larger.

    "An absentee ballot for school district is tough. A lot of people we don’t have ability to connect directly with," West Seneca Superintendent Matthew Bystrak said.

    There have been some problems. The vendor for six districts in Niagara County did not get ballots mailed to residents until last week. Districts offered to hand deliver ballots to those who did not receive them, and many put out drop boxes for those who did not want to mail the ballot.

    In West Seneca, a number of voters did not receive ballots. They have been calling the district office, which puts a ballot package together and has school buses delivering them.

    "We'll keep doing that right through budget day," Bystrak said. "It's a tough situation for everyone."

    The Erie County Board of Elections, which is preparing for the primary and 27th Congressional District election June 23, was planning to lend scanners to school districts. But those scanners can process 200 to 300 ballots in an hour, according to Elections Commissioner Ralph Mohr. The high-speed tabulator can count 18,000 votes in an hour.

    He notified district clerks Thursday that the only practical solution is to bring the ballots to the Board of Elections. Three smaller districts, Sloan, Cleveland Hill and North Collins, would be able to handle votes on-site.

    He said the Board of Elections will remain open "well into the night" for school districts to bring ballots to be counted, or they could bring them Wednesday, he said.

    The county also will provide transport cases and tamper-proof seals for the ballots to ensure secure elections, he said.

    District clerks said one election inspector will open the envelopes, another will remove the ballot. Someone else will unfold the ballots. They expect the process to take hours in some districts.

    "These are the circumstances in which we find ourselves, and our job is to make it work," Hamburg Superintendent Michael Cornell said. "We've used the term uncharted territory so often it’s just become a trite phrase."

    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark blazejewski View Post
    FYI, from The Buffalo News:
    An interesting Buffalo News report in that it opens with a statement that questions the handling of voting on school budgets and school board elections during the pandemic and with the mail-in ballots, and then only speaks thereafter on the importance of the school board elections, and nothing on budget voting.

    In Lancaster, the school board election is a given – three seats open, only three candidates. Two seats will be filled by returning incumbents, the third filled by the son of a retiring school board president. If there is an individual challenging for a seat as a 'write in' candidate, I was unaware of that possibility when I mailed my ballot in.

    I do know of individuals who have not received their ballots yet and a week’s voting grace is appropriate. More concern should be given to oversight and getting it right.

  8. #23
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chowaniec View Post
    An interesting Buffalo News report in that it opens with a statement that questions the handling of voting on school budgets and school board elections during the pandemic and with the mail-in ballots, and then only speaks thereafter on the importance of the school board elections, and nothing on budget voting.
    A friend of mine expressed serious concerns last week about "rumors" concerning the integrity of the vote-counting process. Those rumors seemed to have defied his logic and my own.

    This article appears to give strong support to some substantive areas of those "rumors."


    In any event Lee, those who blindly favor budget vote approvals seem to be well served by the chaos attendant to the pandemic and now the civil disorders.

    Welcome, to the post-Covid era of "The New Normal."
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark blazejewski View Post
    A friend of mine expressed serious concerns last week about "rumors" concerning the integrity of the vote-counting process. Those rumors seemed to have defied his logic and my own.

    This article appears to give strong support to some substantive areas of those "rumors."


    In any event Lee, those who blindly favor budget vote approvals seem to be well served by the chaos attendant to the pandemic and now the civil disorders.

    Welcome, to the post-Covid era of "The New Normal."
    Have no fear, Cuomo once again saved the day. His Eminence extended the vote counting day, the BOE is on it, and transparency and integrity will once again rule the day!

    Every voice will be heard, every qualified school board candidate elected, right?

  10. #25
    Member mark blazejewski's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chowaniec View Post
    His Eminence extended the vote counting day, the BOE is on it, and transparency and integrity will once again rule the day!
    Lee, just on a personal note, in light of the required signed affidavit on the ballot's return envelope, my wife has expressed some concern about the integrity of the secret ballot.

    Personally, I don't give a rat's ass who knows that I voted "NO;" I just want that vote counted, but she is concerned that her vote may be traceable.

    Just curious if any reader holds, or has heard of, such concerns?
    LIDA Member Rinow to Member Ruda: You were a sitting Trustee on the Board. Did you help support Mr. Sweeney getting a seat on the CDC Board?"

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by mark blazejewski View Post
    Lee, just on a personal note, in light of the required signed affidavit on the ballot's return envelope, my wife has expressed some concern about the integrity of the secret ballot.

    Personally, I don't give a rat's ass who knows that I voted "NO;" I just want that vote counted, but she is concerned that her vote may be traceable.

    Just curious if any reader holds, or has heard of, such concerns?

    Yes, many individuals have expressed angst that ballot signatures are required, for myriad reasons. Like you, I have no reservations to using my name and worry not about consequence – unless my 'no' vote ballot doesn’t make it to the scanner.

    Here, I believe a signature is necessary to give ballot submittal legitimacy. If anyone should be concerned about reprisal it should me as I have been a strong advocate for budget approvals in the past 10 years based on Lancaster’s academic achievement while being recognized as one of the most cost-effective school districts in the state.

    Not so with this year’s proposed budget. I believe this year’s budget spending is unrealistic and along with the town’s reassessment program a burden to many taxpayers.

    It was also disappointing to see Lancaster not make this year’s Business First’s top ten ranked school districts. It was in the top ten twice in the past several years and has not been in the top ten in the last few years.

    Top 10 districts for this year’s Business First ranking:

    1. Williamsville (Erie County)
    2. Clarence (Erie County)
    3. East Aurora (Erie County)
    4. Orchard Park (Erie County)
    5. Starpoint (Niagara County)
    6. Iroquois (Erie County)
    7. Lewiston-Porter (Niagara County)
    8. Amherst (Erie County)
    9. Bemus Point (Chautauqua County)
    10. Hamburg (Erie County)

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Chowaniec View Post
    Yes, many individuals have expressed angst that ballot signatures are required, for myriad reasons. Like you, I have no reservations to using my name and worry not about consequence – unless my 'no' vote ballot doesn’t make it to the scanner.

    Here, I believe a signature is necessary to give ballot submittal legitimacy. If anyone should be concerned about reprisal it should me as I have been a strong advocate for budget approvals in the past 10 years based on Lancaster’s academic achievement while being recognized as one of the most cost-effective school districts in the state.

    Not so with this year’s proposed budget. I believe this year’s budget spending is unrealistic and along with the town’s reassessment program a burden to many taxpayers.

    It was also disappointing to see Lancaster not make this year’s Business First’s top ten ranked school districts. It was in the top ten twice in the past several years and has not been in the top ten in the last few years.

    Top 10 districts for this year’s Business First ranking:

    1. Williamsville (Erie County)
    2. Clarence (Erie County)
    3. East Aurora (Erie County)
    4. Orchard Park (Erie County)
    5. Starpoint (Niagara County)
    6. Iroquois (Erie County)
    7. Lewiston-Porter (Niagara County)
    8. Amherst (Erie County)
    9. Bemus Point (Chautauqua County)
    10. Hamburg (Erie County)
    We did remain at #11, the same as last year.
    2017 - 8th
    2018 - 9th
    2019 - 11th
    2020 - 11th

    #5 in Cost-effectiveness
    #2 in Administrative Efficiency

    Georgia L Schlager

  13. #28
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    Wow, look at St Mary's
    2020 HIGH SCHOOL RANKINGS (WESTERN NEW YORK)

    • 1. Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Heart (Amherst)

    • 2. City Honors School (Buffalo)

    • 3. Williamsville East HS (Williamsville)

    • 4. St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute (Kenmore-Tonawanda)

    • 5. Mount Mercy Academy (Buffalo)

    • 6. East Aurora HS (East Aurora)

    • 7. St. Mary's HS (Lancaster)

    • 8. Orchard Park HS (Orchard Park)

    • 9. Clarence SHS (Clarence)

    • 10. Mount St. Mary Academy (Kenmore-Tonawanda)

    • 11. Williamsville North HS (Williamsville)

    • 12. Maple Grove JSHS (Bemus Point)

    • 13. Iroquois SHS (Iroquois)

    • 14. Starpoint HS (Starpoint)

    • 15. St. Francis HS (Frontier)

    • 16. Notre Dame HS (Batavia)

    • 17. Amherst Central HS (Amherst)

    • 18. Williamsville South HS (Williamsville)

    • 19. Lewiston-Porter SHS (Lewiston-Porter)

    • 20. Hamburg HS (Hamburg)

    • 21. Lancaster HS (Lancaster)

    Georgia L Schlager

  14. #29
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    And exactly where are the Delaware daisies of Canisius?

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by grump View Post
    And exactly where are the Delaware daisies of Canisius?
    Per Business First -
    Buffalo Seminary, Canisius High School, Nardin, Nichols School and Park School of Buffalo are among those that don’t participate in the statewide testing program. The lack of objective data for these schools prevents them from being rated.

    Georgia L Schlager

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