Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Math Spiraling in the NewTeachers Contracts, or, W...":
YOUR SCHOOL TAX BILL
October is the time when taxpayers receive their school tax bill. When you look at your tax bill it is time to question: Why is my tax bill so high and why does it keep going up every year so much? who is responsible for this?
the blame falls right on our fiscally irresponsible BOARD OF EDUCATION
Even if we have to replace this board one member at a time . with the exception of one new member, the rest of the board members needs to be REPLACED. They can take claim for all the great things that they have done, which does not mean anything when you can no longer afford to live here. Our biggest cost is LABOR and the board refuses to do anything to contain these costs. The board states that the children come first. If that is true than why do they continue to give big raises to the teachers at a time when we are in an economic depression and our aging school buildings are in need of MILLIONS of dollars of repairs . The school's attorney even stated at a board meeting that our school budget would be in a deficit with the loss of federal and state aid coming to an end . Yet they still continue to ignore the financial realities that we are up against. The longer this continues , the harder this district will fall wth layoffs, cutbacks etc
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people in this district always claim poverty. If that is the case then why didnt this district qualify for "race to the top" money while Jerhico and Syosset did?
ReplyDeleteClearly I am in the minority in Plainview. My kids love school and I've been very happy with the education they've received. Their teachers have been attentive and on top of their needs.
ReplyDeleteAny problems I have had while my children have been in attendance have been handled efficiently and properly. We've had academic problems, bullying issues on the bus and on the school yard.
My husband grew up in this town and came back here to raise our family here. He too has been happy with it all these years.
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ReplyDeleteClaiming poverty is not the issue. The issue is the amount of money that the BOE wastes each year by caving into the teachers union. why should our teachers be paid over $100,000 a year to have two months off a year, all major holidays , TENURE that nobody deserves to get, raise for just being there, and the list goes on and on. You may not be as happy when we have to start laying teachers off and cutting back programs because the districts mounting debt.The longer we continue to support the outrageous school spending the tougher the choices will be when the last dollar is spent.
ReplyDeleteIf you do not believe that our school taxes are out of control , just take a look at the school, tax bills of the town on the nassau county website under property search. All you need to do is put in the name of the street and all the addresses come up with their tax bills. It is outrageous to see what school taxes we are paying regardless of how good you think our school is. Maybe the reason Jericho and Syosset qualified for the "race to the top" money is that they have smarter administrations.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know why Jericho and Syosset qualified? What are the changes they agreed to implement?
ReplyDelete"The Race to the Top state competition is designed to reward states that are leading the way in comprehensive, coherent, statewide education reform across four key areas:
•Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace;
•Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals how to improve instruction;
•Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most; and
•Turning around their lowest-performing schools."
http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/nine-states-and-district-columbia-win-second-round-race-top-grants
I guess that would be interpeted as the Syosset Board of Ed, The Syosset teachers union, and the parents all working together for one common goal to the benefit of the children of Syosset. That is something that appears to be missing here in Plainview. I hope the Plainview Board of Ed and the Plainview Congress of Teachers are reading this .
ReplyDeleteThe fact that teachers in Plainview have tenure puts them in no different a category than any other public school employess nationwide. The process by which one attains tenure varies from place to place, not the universiality of the practice.
ReplyDeleteThere have been a few Plainview teachers and administrators whose granting of tenure I've seriously questioned. No argument there.
My personal take on the teachers here has less to do with their tenure and more to do with the quality of instruction our children get. Some teachers are beyond wonderful. Others are substandard. Most fall somewhere in between.
Whatever contractual discussions they're having right now, I hope the PCT will take steps to restore the community's faith in what I hope is their commitment to the children of this district. Sadly, the unofficial job actions taken last year have had an adverse effect on the community's trust in its educators. Hopefully, they'll find ways to turn things around so everyone will benefit, particularly our children.
I used to live in the Syosset district. I also have a number of friends living in Jericho. There are problems in those districts too. The grass is always greener as they say.
ReplyDeleteTo the person who posted on October 9th at 9:11PM, which building/s are your children in?
ReplyDeleteYou may not be in the minority in Plainview on the whole, only amongst those who post on this blog.
When parents are told that not all teachers are able to use "school notes .com" because they are not savy enough sends out a very disturbing message that these teachers who are not "savy enough" have no interest in learning to use the computer while they earn their 6 figure salaries. Pretty sad!
ReplyDeleteAt the last BOE meeting the Supt explained that Race to the top funding for LI districts is based on a prior years title 9 funding. In that year POB didn't receive any. So as a result we don't get any race to the top money.
ReplyDeleteThe two biggest challenges we as parents and tax payers in this district face is the PCT that only cares about one thing $$$ and the BOE who have yet to act fiscally responsible.
ReplyDeleteto the person who posted on October 11, 2010 12:54 PM
ReplyDeleteTo think that tenure has nothing to do with the quality of teachers would be just fooling yourself. There maybe plenty of really good teachers but for those teachers that need to be replaced, we can not get rid of them. WE are stuck with them. As far as the PCT restoring faith in the community , don't hold your breath. Last year the PCT showed what their priorities in this community with the outrageous contract that they received.
Can someone explain what Title 9 funding is. If I google it, it appears that Title 9 relates to the prohibition of discrimination against students on the basis of sex??? Perhaps that was a misquote in the post. If not, I'm not understanding how Race to the Top funding allocation was based on Title 9.
ReplyDeleteJust trying to understand how these other well to do school districts were able to receive the Race to the Top funding.
I think the poster meant title 1. that's aid for low income districts
ReplyDeleteTitle 1 was used to determine Race to the Top. As to how Syosset and Jericho qualify, go figure!? creative accounting? better reading of regs?
ReplyDeleteAs far as tenure not being able to fire ineffective teachers or administrators..that's simply laziness on side of administration. There is something called a 3020a hearing to remove a tenured employee. It requires WORK by administrators...work too many shy from.
October 11, 2010 4:32 PM
ReplyDeleteI have 6 kids. 2 went to Old Bethpage/Mattlin/JFK then we moved so 2 went to Stratford/POB/JFK then moved again, 1 is in Parkway and 1 is home schooled due to medical issues.
I've been all over in the district and while I agree that standards do vary from area to area, I've been happy with the schools and the education my children have received.
3020A does not solve the problem .Even though 90+% of our teachers maybe good ones. We are stuck with tenured teachers that we do not want. What does 3120a do? it pupose is for a school administration to bring discilinary charges against a teacher in order to get rid of them. What if you have a teacher who is just not that good? You can not get rid of them. What if the administration sees a pattern of children performing poorly in the teachers class consistently? you still can not get rid of them. In the corporate world and even in the "unionized " world where there is competion from a "non-union" workforce, if you do not perform up to standards you would be advised of your performance issues. If you then did not step up to the plate, you then would be replaced. That is the reality unlike enployment with Tenure. 3020a puts a huge and costly burden on the BOE and administration to a point that it is just about impossible to get rid of a teacher unless they are arrested. The only blame the Administration has is that they do not have the backbone to stand up to the PCT.
ReplyDeleteTenure is a universal practice in many countries throughout the world including the United States. Whether anyone agrees or disagrees, its existence in Plainview is no different than any other public school system nationwide, at least any other that I know of. It has both advantages and disadvantages. Without it, many highly competent teachers would either leave the profession or choose another career path from the start. With the required degrees and additional coursework, more money could be made elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteOn the negative side, tenure can pose a hindrance to releasing substandard educators, teachers as well as administrators. This is a problem. Although I've witnessed some outstanding and dedicated teachers here, I've experienced the opposite as well.
Over the years, I've observed both the hiring and tenuring processes in Plainview of both teachers and administrators. I think the district could improve in both these areas. The practice of nepotism/get hired because of who you know is no stranger to this town. Also, I've seen a few teachers and administrators granted tenure that I simply cannot comprehend.
Rather than complain about tenure over and over on this blog, it might be more expedient for us to pressure the district and the PCT to refine its hiring and tenuring processes as well as the system of ongoing evaluation of teachers and administrators. With this, we might be able to effect change. Whether we like it or not, tenure will not be abolished in Plainview or elsewhere any time soon.
What is the pupose of tenure? to give a person a guarenteed job for life. Who benefits from Tenure? Only one person, . There is no benefit at all a guarenteed a job for life. New York state is an "at will employee" state for all employees except teachers . Why should teachers share the same benefit that only the U.S. Supreme has. Are teachers at the same level as the Supreme Court? obviously not. Never say never Tenure can be changed if we throw enough politicians out of office in Albany. Besides if we did not have tenure in our district 99% of our teachers would not have a problem since we do have alot of very good teachers. As far as tenure in every other school district , one has to wonder would children benefit nationally if tenure was outlawed? very possibly
ReplyDeleteI agree with the poster at 7:30pm on 10/13. The reason I asked about how Syosset & Jericho qualified for Race to the Top is because I understood that there were requirements to implement new teacher evaluation processes, increasing more accountability. It would be interesting to see the types of changes they implement and perhaps that will give the parents of Plainview/ Old Bethpage more concrete information when making recommendations here.
ReplyDeleteNASSAU COMMITTEE APPROVE TAX REFUND PLAN
ReplyDeleteNEWSDAY OCTOBER,13, 2010 By WILLIAM MURPHY william.murphy@newsday.com
Legislation that would force
SCHOOL DISTRICTS and local governments to PAY their share of PROPERTY TAX REFUNDS, about $80 million a year, was passed through committees of the Nassau County Legislature Wednesday despite opposition from school officials and Democrats.
The Republican presiding officer, Peter Schmitt of Massapequa, said the committees were approving the refund plan and several.
The new requirements for teacher evaluation, etc were STATE based, not DISTRICT based. Individual districts were not awarded monies based upon this.
ReplyDeleteTo October 16, 2010 12:16AM
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you've seen a lot around the district. I think the fact that standards vary, as you say, is much of the reason behind the dissatisfactions posted on this blog.
Good for you that you've been generally happy with your children's experiences here. As I'm sure know from having 6 kids, every child's education is as good as the individual teachers they each get. They can therefore vary so much between children even within the same schoool building.
I personally think very highly of the Kindergarten Center, not so much of Stratford Road. Parkway is solid. I cannot comment about any of the others schools because the three I mentioned are the only ones with which I have personal experience. I can see where residents would have both good and bad things to say about this district.
Thank you POB Board of ED for that beautiful 10% tax increase in my school taxes. This is further proof that we need term limits for school board members . Maybe if we get enough signatures we can get a referendum on the ballot to have term limits on all Board of Education Members. If we had a mandatory replacement of at least two board members a year then there would be real change in our school district
ReplyDelete