Villlage of Bayville approves 19.5% tax increase for 2011/2012
Last night the Village of Bayville approved a 19.5% tax increase for 2011/2012 year. Residents packed the room while the Board unanimously passed the increase.
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Bayville Blog NY- Serving Bayville, Mill Neck, Centre Island and Locust Valley New York - Community: Villlage of Bayville approves 19.5% tax increase for 2011/2012
http://fios1news.com/longisland/node/1137
Can someone in the know tell me why it is better that we remain an Incorporated Village rather than join the Town of Oyster Bay? The way I see it joining the TOB would fix our pot-holed roads, enliven our downtown by enforcing rules for development for all people, not some people, cleaning up the disgrace that our blighted downtown has become, and fine commercial business owners that begin projects and quit, and those that leave dilapidated buildings exposed for the children of our village to explore and residents to endure. We are already paying for the NC Police, the State Pension System and other costly but necessary services, how much more would our taxes go up? 19.5% passed last night without resident input seems like a lot, my taxes are already really high and I no longer have a community that l a I am proud of, or a commercial area useful for anything other than getting my nails done, grabbing a sandwich or getting drunk. Our Village Board is made of nice people. We went to HS with them, they coach our kids, but they are not efficient managers of our money, our health, our community development or community morale. I think that we need professionals running this town not our buddies.
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Dear concerned,
As an Incorporated Village, we have developed our own zoning regulations which are independent of the TOB/Nassau County. If we were to disband our incorporated status, we would become subject to TOB zoning.
We would lose exclusive Village rights to our Village beaches, tennis courts and marina. Such facilities would have to be open to everyone in the County.
We would have to rely on the TOB/Nassau County for snowplowing and road repair. Have you driven Bayville Avenue and Bayville Road lately? How about Skunks Misery Rd? I'm afraid my entire transmission is going to fall out everytime I'm forced to drive those roads.
You would give up the most local of local control. Yes, Village taxes are going up. Now maybe all of the residents who moaned and complained about how miserable Vicki Siegel was as a Mayor will show a little more appreciation. The increase is the result of higher health care costs and pensions, foisted upon the Village by governmental dysfunction at the Federal level.
Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater just because the baby peed in your face this year.
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I think that giving up zoning control to people that are actually educated in community development would be a good thing. I think making zoning laws that apply to everyone (even your buddies) is a good thing. And I also do not believe that our taxes going up 9 months after Vickie left had nothing to do with Vickie. In fact I would have to say that it is why she bailed. I am very definitely not in the Vickie fan club and believe that it would have been better to name a brick wall after her than a bridge. She did nothing to bridge this community.
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Well put, even though our taxes are keeping me from retiring I agree with your statement, but I don't want to pay for someone else's retirement on my dollars............
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The only thing I can say about the 19.5% tax increase is "What for" what am I getting??? Let's see, higher taxes potholes everywhere, run down vacant buildings, empty buildings, potholes, run down beaches, even the Oyster Bay beaches in town are falling apart and they don't care. What is so attractive about Bayville what draws people here?? Nothing anymore it's becoming a run down forgotten town, it's sad it used to be a great place for people to come and visit for the day hang out at the stands get a bite to eat and go to the beach no more no body wants to come here anymore. Come on administration get this town back into shape clean up the mess by the stands it's an eyesore how long is that going to go on???? Get this town back to where it was many years ago and nice place to live, now not so much.
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FYI - Your school taxes are going up too, get out and vote everyone we are being taxed out of here!!!!!60% of school taxes are just for the teachers mandated raises and pensions of retired and present teachers WAKE UP everybody take a good look at what is going on here.
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I get the fact that we want to stay an incorporate village for various reasons but someone please tell me where are money is going. This debt owed is from Vicky Siegel's years of being mayor. Unfortunately Doug Watson has to take the brunt of it which he handled very nicely at the meeting last night. Revitalize is all they talk about but nothing gets done! Maybe someone should look at the salaries of the workers at Village Hall. Secretaries making 100K plus a year. Its a very poor run Village. Instead of being proud of our community we are ashamed. The Gold Coast is more like the Run Down Coast. Bayville is not what is should be and that's the bottom line!
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Wow!!! Maybe we can remove those cell towers now that we will have all of this extra income. This tower should never have been there. Mayor and Trustees, please do not take a chance on your residents health. Do the right thing.
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The Village knew about the NY State LOSAP mandates (for all NYS fire departments) for 3 years but did nothing. Responsible Villages, Towns and Districts began saving for this years ago knowing what was coming. Others increased slowly, Bayville hits with a 19.5 lb sledgehammer. Great job Bayville
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OK, 19.5%. Now get some BALLS and GOVERN! Pave the roads, get the commercial landlords to clean up and maintain their properties,get rid of the fountain, move the antennas, impose fines on stalled construction...GIVE US A BAYVILLE THAT WE CAN BE PROUD OF, GIVE US THE BAYVILLE WE ARE WORKING TO SUPPORT!
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Bayville Avenue is a COUNTY road. Go complain to the COUNTY about the potholes.
I would like to know where it is written that construction needs to be "completed" within a specific time frame. A Village has no legal right to force an individual property owner to spend money on construction on privately owned property. The only case where this could apply would be on a bid job for the govt. (Village) where there are provisions within the contract for set completion dates and penalty clauses for delays.
The ignorance of some Bayville residents is simply beyond words.
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Your comments are always, pretentious, arrogant and condescending.
Your perceived superior intellect, to us mere mortals commenting on a blog; to quote a Great Bayville Thinker is "simply beyond words".
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Maybe not written in the Bayville code, but in NYC, permits for construction projects must be closed within one year - residential or commercial. If more time is necessary, you may re-file and extend and pay another filing fee. You are also subjected to violations that carry stiff penalties if the rules are not followed.
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Common sense. This board of trustees did a great job. If they accepted everyones budgets as presented, the increase would have been close to 35%. They are the first board to make the cuts they did. Getting to 19% is incredible. The percentage is far greater than the actual increase if any.
They began with an incredible defecit and state mandates. When you receive less tax money because of lower appraisals, the gap has to be made up.
I salute the trustees and the Mayor for doing a great job in very difficult times.
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Unfortunately it is not "written" that construction has to be completed in a specific time frame. I am really tired of looking at the dirt hill that Mohring has amassed beside the beautiful homes that he built though. I am also really tired of the fountain(?) that seems to accumulate more crap around it but never actually spout water. The dirt pile/cement foundation at Steve's Pier is irking me. Onto the stands, where again we see another dilapidated Mohring property with construction refuse behind and a gate that remains open allowing anyone to enter and potentially hurt themselves because it is a dangerous building with holes in the floor(I have pictures). L'Epicure finally seems to have some action again now that spring has arrived which I am thrilled to see, and the building looks great. The restaurant at 18 Bay was being worked on but is currently held up by the Village. It was discussed at the Village meeting on Monday.
Onto roads. One needs only to drive down Arlington Rd. any day of the week, any month of the year to see that they are in a major mess. They need help. The side roads are horrendous. In no other town that I have been in are the roads in such a state of disrepair in the TOWN OF OB (Plainview, Jericho, Syosset, Hicksville). Yes there are potholes, but not to the extent here.
It is sad, it is an embarassment. We need LEADERS.
Asking a simple question about our status as an Incorporated Village and suggesting that changes within the Village be made in order to beautify the Village and potentially make our real estate worth something does not make me ignorant. Your statement does however make you sound like a bully.
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This Village and the Trustees have failed us and could have done more. They took the easy way out. We are the only Village who is getting this steep of a raise. Al the Villages are facing the same problems.
They could have made cuts to part time employees receiving benefits, a Village Lawyer who is not retired collecting his pension already, cuts to the firehouse whose budget went by unscathed, cuts to the Highway department who only has 1 mile of roadway to cover and repair and do a poor job at that (I am not speaking of Bayville Ave or West Shore which are not VOB roads).
Our Village looks terrible. Why is the TOB bad? So we have our own ZBA and ARB, look at the job they have done here. Homes that are built on irregular lots, people selling off their backyards side yards to build a home, flag lots squeezing too many homes on small lots. No regard to character or aesthetics has been given to any decisions made by these two boards over the years and the proof is in the pudding. Just look around! This is what other Villages pride themselves on, upholding these codes and laws to benefit their citizens and the quality of life in their Village.
How about our beautification committee and Village codes that are suppose to make us a beautiful Village? We have people with multiple boats on their property, people who park commercial vehicles over night, parking on the streets that are too narrow for one car passage, people parking on their front lawns and side lawns when they do have a perfectly good driveway. These are all violations of codes that a Village has and no one upholds them. We have rampant rental properties with absentee landlords and the tenants nor the landowners are responsible for the upkeep of the outside of these homes. These codes and laws are put into place for a Village so we can be exclusive
from the TOB and raise the standard of our quality of life here.
That is not happening here!
I do not know the answer. But this is not it. Raising taxes for the second time in two years at large percentiles plus the school budget increases....when are the people of Bayville going to wake up???
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Well said taxed. Too bad the right people aren't listening....
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test
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**I would like to know where it is written that construction needs to be "completed" within a specific time frame.**
FROM THE INC. VILL. OF BAYVILLE CODEBOOK
§ 13-9
Performance of work under permit.
A.
A building permit shall be effective to authorize the commencing of the work in accordance with the application, plans and specifications on which it is based for a period of 12 months after the date of its issuance. For good cause, the Building Inspector may allow a maximum of two extensions for periods not exceeding three months each.
[Amended 1-13-1975 by L.L. No. 1-1975]
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The tax hike is due to the irresponsible and unsupervised people in our administration from Mayor Doug( who is never around), the new board of trustees( having no prior experience at running a village),Marie the Village administrator latest hiring practices of the village office workers . Only these people can cause this type of a tax hike. Who is watching the hiring practices and salaries that this Village administrator gets away with. She has hired her family and friends at escalated and inflationary salaries with full benefits having no experience for the jobs they were hired for. The meeting the other night was disgusting with the Mayor and the Village trustees blaming everyone and everything on the prior administration. Maybe this Village should be taken over by the the TOB. It could not get any worst.
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FLY,
Very good points.
I was also at that meeting and I am outraged that both Newsday and the Oyster Bay Guardian mentioned the meeting was packed, but that there seemed to be no opposition to the tax hike!
The Mayor and Trustees announced at the beginning of the meeting that no discussion would be open until AFTER they voted. So once the budget was passed, people in the hall felt it was a mute point. I am appalled that their silence was taken as compliance and acceptance of the budget hike. I think that the fact that there were people present in the numbers they were present should have sent a clear message that the public was outraged by the tax hike.
Normal attendance at the meeting is surely not "packed" as indicated in both articles.
Ignorant,
Thank you for posting that Village Code. I am sicken by the number of started projects through out town with no completion. The Village seems to turn a blind eye to those projects, no violations are issued of fines collected ( which would be an additional source of revenue!)Instead, they turn their efforts towards good businesses that will bring appropriate aesthetics and good quality food to our public. 18 Bay is being given the run around and meeting such resistance and for what? They actually made a building down there look like a building fitting for a seaside village. Now they are entering their season to either "make it or break it" and the Village is stonewalling them. Where is the common sense????
In this economy and with the state of our "beach strip" aesthetics and lack of business, we should be moving heaven and earth to help them expedite their construction and to open for this season.
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MORE FROM THE CODE BOOK
I love the last sentence that states each day is a new offense-cha ching
§ 13-19
Penalties for offenses.
Any person who shall fail to comply with a written order of the Building Inspector within the time fixed for compliance therewith, and any owner, builder, architect, tenant, contractor, subcontractor, construction superintendent, or their agents, or any other person taking part or assisting in the construction or use of any building who shall knowingly violate any of the applicable provisions of this chapter, or any lawful order, notice, directive, permit or certificate of the Building Inspector made thereunder, shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or 30 days in jail, or both. Each day that a violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
[Amended 1-13-1975 by L.L. No. 1-1975]
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Dear Ignorant,
Bravo. Very good research. So the question becomes - how does the Village force a builder to complete a project if the builder/investor has run out of money?
If the Code you cited is followed, then the only option would be to pull the building permit, forcing the project to remain in its current state.
I'm interested in what you recommend as a remedy.
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Fines and more fines and if they don't have the $$ to complete, auction and sell to someone who can!
You file a permit - you finish the job. Or is Bayville the only place where you can just quit when the going gets tough?!?
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Happy to see everyone agrees that the tax hike is crazy for the Bayville home owners. Has anyone questioned why and how our village has gotten us into these dire straights? Could it be directly associated to terrible money management by our village administrator (Maria)? Please be aware that she also holds the title of The Village Clerk Treasurer.
Think clearly and come to your own conclusion, this administrator has also occupied those positions in previous administrations.
I also agree that Mayor(Doug) and this board of trustees kept the village home owners from voicing there disdain over the tax increase by having no discussion until after the vote was taken, like this wasn't planned by the mayor and the board of trustees days before this meeting took place. Please give me a break.
This Mayor(Doug)really paid close attention and learned from Mayor Siegel's antics while he served as a trustee under her administration.
As for the Bay 8 construction stoppage and the village rumor that the owner is unable to continue because he is out of money is not factual at all. Might the real reason be that the village has a disdain for that owner??? You, as Bayville homeowners must form your own conclusions on these matters while you are writing your next tax check to the village for its increase.
Please all be informed and ask Mayor Doug what are the yearly office salaries of the village Administrator and the other office employees. Would you believe the administrator makes over $100,000.00 dollars a year, only guessing so check it out on your own you might be shocked.
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This was copied and pasted from Newsday site. Bayvilleblog would not let me provide the link.
This is the REAL reason why our taxes are going up:
Bayville has plan to beautify its entryway
by PAUL LAROCCO
Bayville looks tired.
The waterfront village’s prime entryway, with faded crosswalks, rough roadways and unadorned or misaligned sidewalks, isn’t sending the message leaders would like.
“You want to get the feeling you’re entering into something,” said Mayor Doug Watson.
With that goal, village officials plan to start a $1-million streetscape improvement project through an eight-block radius around Bayville and Ludlam avenues, north of Bayville Bridge. The work, recently put out for bid, includes planting trees, installing new benches, and building new sidewalks and a bricked median for a still-unchosen outdoor sculpture.
The project’s centerpiece is to be colorful inlaid crosswalks surrounding a compass and rose design built into the Bayville/Ludlam intersection. Working with Manhattan-based Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners, the village adopted the idea from similar efforts in downtown Patchogue.
“It will lend itself to the idea that you should be walking here,” Watson said.
Nassau to help fund project
The village borrowed $985,000 for the project, supplementing it with a $40,000 Nassau County landscaping grant. Officials expect the work to take four to six months.
Simultaneously, the county will remove its old police booth at the northern corner of the project area and build a new one closer to the drawbridge. The new structure will have stone work mimicking that of the iconic bridge from Mill Neck.
The county expects to spend $210,000 to destroy the existing police booth, clean the site and build the new structure.
“The work may be a little bit of an imposition, but it’s worth it in the long run,” said Jean Mansueto, a real estate agent whose office sits on the corner of Bayville and Ludlam avenues. “The aesthetics will be wonderful.”
Bayville’s work continues a streetscaping trend among Long Island‘s villages and hamlets. Last year, Oyster Bay committed $3 million to street improvements in central Hicksville and later this spring will spend almost $6 million repairing the road leading into Syosset‘s transit district.
Mineola devotes a $200,000 grant each year to new street lighting, paving and planting, as it hones what smart-growth advocates have called a model of downtown redevelopment.
Adding value to businesses
“Those types of place-making enhancements add value to the commercial strip,” Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island‘s executive director, said of Bayville’s project. “It’s not like there’s vacant property they can redevelop in an aggressive manner, but they’re doing what they should be doing.”
The work will complement a 1999 project that converted an old gas station on the southeastern corner of Bayville and Ludlam avenues into a brick pedestrian mall with benches and a lamppost clock.
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so in other words the Village Square will look appealing and the hell with the west end of the Village that looks like it was bombed
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Newsday story (CONTINUED):
On a recent afternoon, that’s where longtime resident Aileen Potter encountered Watson.
She expressed surprise that the sidewalks, from the early 1980s, would be replaced.
“You don’t think they’re in good shape?” Potter asked.
“Well, there’s a little more to it than that,” the mayor replied.
Later, Potter said she understands the motivation to make the area more attractive.
“There really aren’t many pedestrians here,” she said.
While most of the nearby storefronts are occupied — including a luncheonette, real estate office and deli — getting around between them is difficult. Watson joked that, on one side of the street, “you hang on for dear life.”
NEWSDAY
There you have it. A one million dollar project approved by Mayor Watson to make everything pretty..........AT OUR EXPENSE!!!! I don't remember anyone asking me if I wanted that work done, do you? Well it's approved and somebody has to pay for it.
Lisa, after all these years, I have finally figured out why you always supported and backed Mayor Siegel. Remember that Joni Mitchell song, Big Yellow Taxi? I think the chorus was "You don't know what you got till it's gone"!!
You Bayvillians wanted her out so bad....now look.
Be careful what you wish for next time...........
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Patriot,
The project mentioned in that article has been in the works for years, under Mayor Siegel's terms here. It was suppose to have been completed by the time she left. Doug literally did not do a thing for it, it landed in his lap when he became Mayor.
I think it is needed. Our village looks depleted and worn. For the taxes we have paid and will be paying at least when you enter our Village it should be a shining star of the North Shore, not the laughing stock!
I also do not think this project is the sole reason why our tax hike is needed.
As for making construction limits. We have a code enforcer who enforces what he want when he wants. Put him on those particular projects that have been on going and have him serve them with violations, fines and appearance tickets like he does for a chosen few who live here. It will at least generate some revenue if not to put a fire under the owners of these buildings bottoms to speed things along.
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JERICHO DOES NOT HAVE IB....REMOVE IB FROM LVCSD
Top cities to live and learn in the Northeast 2011
What are most family-friendly towns in the Northeast? From cozy coastal hamlets to bucolic bedroom suburbs, we found the 10 best cities that rank tops in housing and public schools.
By GreatSchools Staff
Print Email
Page 5 of 10
Jericho, NY
Educational quality index: 94.17
Median home value: $644,890
Population: 12,812
This Long Island hamlet was originally settled by Quakers who opposed slavery by working in the Underground Railroad. Social conscience and humanitarianism are now local traditions, carried forth in the local schools. Jericho Middle School offers a discussion class that examines “privilege, discrimination, and oppression,” and has created its own Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund, and Salvation Army Clothing Drive. Jericho Senior High School celebrates "Diversity Day" and is also spearheading charity projects: a "Bowl-A-Thon" for Habitat for Humanity, and a basketball tournament called "Alley-Oop for Autism."
All this altruism doesn't seem to distract students from studying. Jericho High placed #2 in New York, and #32 in the U.S. in Newsweek's 2010 list. An impressive 83 percent of the 2010 graduating class completed advanced placement courses, with 95 percent eventually packing their luggage for four-year colleges and universities. Where are they going? Twenty-three Jericho grads are headed to Cornell, 20 to New York University, and seven to Penn State; others will attend MIT, Yale, Harvard, and Cal Tech. Brilliance with a heart – isn't that what every parent hopes for his or her child?
Learn more about schools in Jericho, NY.
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IB IS NOT A MANDATORY SCHOOL PROGRAM
REMOVE IB INSTEAD OF SCHOOL SPORTS THAT SERVE ALL OF THE CHILDREN AND NOT JUST A FEW
SAVE A JOB REMOVE IB
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Hey Meet the canidate Tonight H.S. Cafatriea. Bayville conservative Charles Murphy is running don`t like IB program. Vote for Him!!!!!!!!!!! common sense must be brought back into the fight!!!save our cummunities
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I just heard that there are 7 people running for the 3 seats .... I think I'll toddle on up and take a listen.
FREE "Doubt IB" bumper stickers for anyone who wants them - just find me at the meeting!
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If Charles Murphy will support the integrity of education and remove IB from LVCSD he gets my vote
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GET THE BUMBS OUT
VOTE FOR ANY ONE BUT THE COP, THE WHITE HAIRED OLD MAN AND THE SO CALLED PHD
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It's clear that the best choices that are going to bring some much-needed reform are Murphy, Stimola and Segura.
Remember to get out and vote on the budget!
Your votes will certainly count in the election of new BOE members!!
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Murphy, Stimola & Segura!!
The arrogance and wasteful ways of the incumbents must be voted out!
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For anyone who was at MTC last night who heard Walsh and Bellissari in their opening statements mention that LVHS moved in "rank from 900 to 137", perhaps you would like to know WHAT ranking they were referring to.
That "rank" comes from Jay Mathews' "Best High Schools List" which used to be published in Newsweek. I do believe LVCSD still has a page on its website featuring the "list". (of course, LVCSD can't be bothered posting March and April's Board Actions to its website, but who wants to know what's really going on anyway, right?) Newsweek, many will recall, was sold for $1 last year, and Mr. Mathews' vapid list will now only be published in the Washington Post. His List has been discredited by many and a number of local Superintendents (including North Shore) have refused to even participate.
It is time to get rid of these people who have no problem laying off 30 employees while rapidly approaching the $2 Million expenditure mark for IB.
$31,500 per student. Seriously? Vote for George Stimola, Murphy and Segura!
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That list is a bunch of nonsense and has no academic merit whatsoever. It's merely a ratio of how many kids are in the graduating class and the number of students who "sit" for AP or IB tests. That's the only way the rankings are determined. It's not based on success on the tests, success in higher education, etc. This may explain why, as an IB school, we are now offering a myriad of additional AP tests for the students to take. How is this possible you ask? In order to take an IB test you must take a class associated with it but to take an AP you just have to pay for the exam, no class necessary (the College Board is a money making organization too). I'm not sure, but I believe LV still offers only 2 AP classes in the Social Studies department and that's it but yet we are offering AP tests in a variety of other topics including Math, English, Language and more. Not only are we offering the tests for classes we don't offer, we are paying for review sessions for this class. The school's website has had an AP review position posted on there for quite some time. I'm not sure if it's still there but go on and read it for yourself.
The person who posted above is right about schools who have asked to be removed from this list.
Here's a very good article that deals with what a sham it all really is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/education/17education.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Not to mention the fact that, unlike almost EVERY other district on LI, LV pays for everyone's test whether it be IB or AP. In most schools it's the families who pay. I believe the number is somewhere nears $70,000 a year not to mention that a student taking 4 or 5 IB tests won't have to go home and tell Mom and and Dad that he/she needs more money to take an additional 3 tests. I can't see how taking 3 tests not associated with any class is going to make you more prepared for college. Given the new testing system employed in our district I will be curious to see how much our number jumps this year.
We need more transparency in our BOE and from our superintendent. We don't need the 2%-tax-cap-undfunded-mandate song and dance anymore.
Vote Segura, Stimola and Murphy as a step in the right direction.
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Great post, Anon. Actually, I figured it out for last year and the $ amount for JUST THE EXAMS was closer to $100,000. I cannot believe that LVCSD is adding 12/15 points to a student's GPA for IB SL/HL. How stupid are these people? Everyone knows that colleges UNWEIGHT the grades when considering a student's application.
These incumbents HAVE to go - and that Carr fellow is just another Progressive tax and spender.
(why did I get the feeling that Ron Walsh is remarkably similar to Donald Trump minus the hair and money?)
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Patriot,
Didn't mean to ignore your comment. I always stood by Vicki because she is an honest, decent, intelligent, informed, caring and responsible human being and Mom who believes in our Constitution and founding values. She loves Bayville and gave it her all.
I certainly won't criticize Doug for his performance so far - after all, no one ran against him and he is giving back what he can to our Village. He's been available whenever I've had a question for him.
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I AGREE!!! Let's clean house in the BOE!
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EXIT POLL POST BOE MEETING
45 BAYVILLE RESIDENTS THAT ATTENDED LAST NIGHTS BOE MEETING AGREE TO REMOVE IB FROM LVCSD
THE THREE CANDIDATES THAT SUPPORT REMOVING IB WILL WIN BAYVILLES VOTES
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@ANON
"the college board is a money making organization"
I cant stop laughing
IB IS THE BIGGEST MONEY MAKING ORGANIZATION ON THE EARTH SUPERSEDING THE COLLEGE BOARD....BUT IB DOES NOT DISCLOSE THEIR EARNINGS
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the film ib teacher just went on an all expense paid trip.....at the expense of the taxpayers to hawaii to learn ib....who else went?????
and what was the total cost for this trip?????
remove IB lets stop wasting our money on a program run by the UN
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@LOL - I do understand that IB is a money-making organization, but at least you have to take the class to take the test. AP has no such requirements - just fork over the money and test away!! I was merely pointing out how the students are being over-tested by taking tests for classes we don't offer in the district. In my opinion, the district needs to decide whether they want to be an IB school or not. The sham of shoveling kids into taking a multitude of tests and then bragging about being on the Newsweek list is BS. If they want to drop IB and switch to AP, so be it - but pick one...
@stopthemadness - Very interesting about the film teacher.....what's interesting is that the district is advertising a film teacher who I can only assume will replace the one we just sent for training....so the new one we hire will have to be trained too....is it possible that they are hiring another film teacher? i think not...
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Dear Anon,
Personally, I like the transparency and accessibility of AP. All of the AP detailed course descriptions are available online for free:
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/descriptions/index.html
Now Google "IB Course Descriptions". What do you find from ibo.org? Nada, bupkus, zip. That's because IBO requires you to purchase its course guides from the IB Store.
All transparency in LVCSD disappeared when it ushered it IB, dating back to 2002 when LVCSD first started spending your taxdollars on this educational scam. Remember how the BoE used to meet twice a month, the first meeting was a "work session" and the 2nd was a "business meeting"? Remember how the full budget used to be presented to the public for the budget meetings? Remember the days of Shared Decision making when the district actually put some credence into its Site Base teams?
Although Tony Singe and I disagreed ideologically on IB, I sincerely doubt that he would have supported the secrecy, obfuscation and abject disdain LVCSD currently displays towards its parents and taxpayers. Regardless of the issue, Dr. Singe ALWAYS gave the courtesy of a reply to a written inquiry. Not Hunderfund. Not this BoE. And now, to force the taxpayers to pay for AP exams for students who have not been taught the curriculum - I mean, I am simply flabbergasted. Back when IB was new and I fought to make the BoE retain AP as a choice, (and the parents still paid the exam fees), I recall there were 17 students in AP U.S. History. NOT A SINGLE STUDENT scored a 3 or better. NOT ONE! And that was when LVHS was supposedly teaching the course!
Where is LVHS's IB World School logo? Why don't they have it proudly displayed in the HS and on the website? Why doesn't the district ever release the stats on how many students actually earned the IB diploma each year? Why isn't anything ever mentioned about the IB program in Soundwaves, except to mention that the Valedictorian earned an IB Diploma? How can these so called elected officials claim LVHS offers 40 or 60 or whatever ridiculous number of IB courses, they spewed the other night? Where is the accountability? Where is the required 5 year IB review? Has anybody bothered to take a look at the school profile that is sent out to colleges? Pre-IB, LVHS used to list the 'mean' SAT scores for the school and for the top 10%. I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts you won't find that stat on this year's profile.
One other thing - can anyone tell me if LVHS requires students in IB classes to take the IB exam? I spent months in contact with Paul Campbell of IBNA in order to determine that IB exams are NOT mandatory for Certificate students. Obviously, they are for full Diploma students (all 20 of them?).
In other words, LVCSD is mandating that YOU the taxpayer, fund something that is totally non-mandatory.
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Since Hawaii was mentioned as an IB training site, I thought you might be interested in the flap this training caused out in San Diego:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/oct/26/schools-call-ib-travel-amid-hawaii-flap/
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Lisa,
I am worried about voting for Segura when she made a statment about not knowing anything about finances. How do we lose a man like Yao to her? I did like other things she said.
Stimola was impressive and I liked Murphy as well. Jus tnervous about letting og a mind like Yao. Although I do not always agree with him, you cannot dispute the mans knowledge of the budget and numbers/finances.
My children are in the MS and I do not want them to take IB. Am I crazy?
Interested in your thoughts.
Also, who took the exit poll????
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I think what we all need to keep in mind is the fact that we need to get new people in in order to attempt any kind of change. If the current BOE get re-elected it will certainly be more of the same. Also think that "on the job experience" also needs to be considered. I am sure the BOE members have become more knowledgeable (in certain aspects) over their years serving. Its time to take our schools back and stop the out of control spending! I think the only way to do it is to start with new BOE members who aren't afraid to stand up to the evil genius that is our Superintendent.
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taxed payer,
I spoke with Segura after the meeting. I have a number of concerns about her, #1 being that she is currently a union teacher in CSH. #2 was her support for a Model UN club and that she seemed genuinely confused why anyone would question the existence of such a club. While she was passionate about providing excellent education for ALL students, if it came down to it, I think she would automatically side with the union on an issue. But she did say she would consider eliminating IB.
As to Yao, 12 years is enough. It was a long time ago I remember having lunch with Yao and encouraging him to run. He is a very smart man. But I don't like his personal vendetta against BOCES or his consistent support for IB and lack of transparency. Actions speak louder than words and Dr. Chu's actions don't meet my expectations.
My gut feeling is the Board and Hunderfund want Walsh out and Carr in. We cannot let either Carr or Walsh get elected. This many candidates in the race really skews the vote. It MIGHT be better, odds-wise, to bullet vote STIMOLA and MURPHY and risk Bellissari or Chu getting back in.
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@Lisa....Yao is NOT smart
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@anon.....I realized your point after my comment....sorry
Yes I do agree with you....pick one and not IB
We spend 300,000 per year on IB if we remove IB we could save jobs as well as the sports program.
I know, I know sports!!! save sports what about education????
Our sports program is an education in its self.
Children grow being in sports mentally and physically.
We have awesome coaches and should not sacrifice loosing sports to keep a program that just services a few like IB
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@ Taxed payer
"Jus tnervous about letting og a mind like Yao. Although I do not always agree with him, you cannot dispute the mans knowledge of the budget and numbers/finances."
YOU R KIDDIN RIGHT
NERVOUS ABOUT LOOSING YAO BECAUSE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE BUDGET....LOL
LVCSD HAS A ENORMOUS BUDGET IF HE WERE KNOWLEDGABLE HE WOULD BE CHALLENGING THE BUDGET BUT HE JUST SITS BACK AND LETS THIS DISTRICT SOAK EVERY DIME OUT OF US
YEAH HE IS SMART HE IS LAUGHING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK WITH HIS IB COMPENSATION
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LOL,
I never advocated eliminating sports - ever. There is absolutely no reason to waste $300,000 a year on IB when we could be providing a much more rigorous offering of AP courses for FREE!
Haven't you read LVCSD's claim that 80% of juniors and seniors take at least one IB course? That's because the only "choice" is basic Regents. Eliminate IB so we can continue to pay coaches for sports. Why would eliminating IB automatically cause the district to eliminate sports? I'm sorry, but that doesn't make any sense.
Anonymous,
IQ and common sense are two different animals. Dr. Chu is indeed, a very smart physicist. However, he has allowed comradery and bowing to the Supt. to color his vote.
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@Lisa
what is the first thing to be cut from a school budget???
sports, school lunch, bus service, summer rec, music, band
mandated programs aren't cut such as science, math, english, social studies
However, IB is NOT a mandated program but they hide that behind the mandated
since hunderfunder has been in lvcsd she has organized assemblies prior to each budget vote telling the children to tell the parents to support the budget or they wont have sports, band etc
she has threatened the ancillary staff that if they don't support the budget or tell their friends to support the budget they will loose their jobs
" Why would eliminating IB automatically cause the district to eliminate sports?" not sure what you meant by this statement but taking IB out of the budget we would save 300 thousand or more if the budget was cut 300 thousand I would safely say the budget would pass therefore continuing the non mandated programs.......if yao was as smart as you say with numbers wouldn't he cut the fat????
so far he has shown no evidence in expertise in finance since he had been on the BOE
Lets not be fooled with titles, his so called PHd or so called title of physicist and assume that he is smart or has a high IQ
remember he made this district purchase the worst tech and we wasted thousands of dollars to replace it
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Lisa,
Thank you for your thoughts and the time in answering my questions.
Interesting point and take on Walsh. I am still amazed at his demeanor Monday.
Anonymous:
To defend Yao, I do think he is smart and he has a numbers sense, however, he is one sided in the spend and tax theory and I did not hear him explain how and where we could trim some fat.
I do agree with Lisa on the fact that 12 years is too long. I think fresh eyes would be nice.
I want to apologize for not using the spell check or proofing my last entry...so many typos!!! Sorry.
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Anonymous,
".if yao was as smart as you say with numbers wouldn't he cut the fat????"
He doesn't see IB as "fat" and he is a RINO, not a principled Republican. Again, just because someone is misguided ideologically, doesn't mean they don't have above average IQ's. Look at Bill Ayers. I'm not voting for Chu, he's disappointed me too many times, but I won't insult the man's intelligence in his field of science.
The Supt., the Board and the CPC are nothing but fearmongers. I am sick and tired of this district threatening to cut sports and busing if the budget goes down. They won't. How many times are you people going to allow these greedy spendthrifts to raise your taxes? You honestly think that kids wouldn't get to school if the buses got scaled back? Do we REALLY need to stop every 20' on Bayville Avenue? Wouldn't it be possible for LVCSD to hit up St. Doms for more money for transportation? Didn't I just read St. Doms just got a $10 Million gift? Don't you think the sports booster clubs would raise enough to pay coaches a salary if the district refused? I'm sure these good parents would.
Defy the fearmongering. Vote NO!
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Sure they can hit St. Dom'sfor more transportation money after they send St. Dom's the $20K+ St. Dom's is saving them to educate each child.
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taxed payer,
You were amazed at Walsh's demeanor? Really? Do tell. What was it that amazed you? The arrogance? The pompous, pretentious, obnoxious list of his "accomplishments"? His pronouncement that he "teaches" at Adelphi? Remember when he and Dr. Shear "taught" a class on anti-bullying? Bwahahaha! The two biggest bullies this district has ever seen.... what a joke!
I wonder if he was packing Monday night. I wore my Kevlar vest, just in case.
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Happy to see the discussion taking place about such an important issue - the election of new people to the BOE. Support the budget or not, but vote for new people so LVCSD can finally become a transparent, honest, district (it most certainly has strayed from that path in recent years). Please be sure to tell your friends, neighbors, etc. It's amazing how few people vote in this election yearly.
I will tell you that I, personally, have no worries about Segura at all because she will do things with the students' best interest in mind. The current board has lost it's way and in my opinion, each one is looking to glorify themselves. As for the finance aspect of it all, Hunderfund and her entourage prepare the budget, the board just has to agree on it. I think she's a better alternative to the 3 incumbents and Carr. I did some investigating and found out she works at Cold Spring Harbor which is another very respectable school. She can bring a perspective that has never been on the board. I have issues with Yao having served for so long and being part of the group who designed the new portions of the MS and HS building. Has anyone ever been in there? Whoever approved the plans must have been blind. New blood will be good for the students, the district and the community. I'm sure he's an intelligent man, but it's time to him to go.
Many of the candidates mentioned the lack of transparency in the district and Lisa in the post above brings up the CPC which are two crucial points in what's wrong with our district. Since the superintendent started, there has been no honesty or integrity in decisions being made. She quickly gave out her cell number to parents and aligned herself with the PTA, SEPTA, LVPC, MSPC, HSPC and the CPC (did anyone else notice how certain people weren't ever timed at the MTC night?). She speaks in circles, never answering questions, etc. We need people who will speak honestly and involve the teachers, students, parents and community members in decision making. Was anyone else appalled by the way the budget vote was handled? Four public budget forums that never once discussed the budget - just conspiracy theories, fear, dread (in typical Hunderfund fashion). Then, suddenly, a figure and a vote! It wasn't even on the calendar for that day. Very shady, in my opinion. As was the MTC night with a time, but no location - on the calendar or the website. Do you think they want people to know who is running? Where is the budget info. on the website? Where is the candidate information?
As for Walsh, well, after that one budget meeting where he made an ass of himself speaking to a woman in the audience I think it solidified my view of him as (to quote Lisa) "pompous, pretentious, obnoxious". His demeanor at the MTC night was deplorable and disgusting.
Segura, Stimola, Murphy - We need them.
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The thing that I find interesting is how the district pushes the "more rigorous" IB, but then the teachers are standing around outside until the entrance bell striking their lack of contract. How are the students supposed to get extra help when there are no teachers in the building?
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Let's see: Segura maxed out her credit cards and her husband takes care of the finances. She teaches in a district where they don't blink about passing their very high budget increases and parents donate millions to build arts and sports facilities. Oh, and her pension and health benefits re being nicely taken care of. Stimola lives with his parents and has no life experience, and Murphy knows how to cook. I don't want them to handle the district finances!
All this talk about IB. Why aren't more people here outraged at our state legislators where the true problem lies? They aren't such easy targets and would take actual work for the dissatisfied writers on this page.
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“Entertained” is misinformed, and making assumptions. "Stimola" as you referred to him, was student chair of the committee responsible for a $36,000,000 Room Rate Budget for two years at Stony Brook University. Stony Brook has the lowest annual room rate increase of any SUNY University. he also sat on Stony Brook's Food Service Contract Committee for two years, securing a final contract valued at $125,000,000- More experience than most, twice his age.
Clearly you were not in attendance at the Meet the Candidate's Night, as Mr. Stimola was the ONLY candidate, new or incumbent, to advocate the NECESSITY of lobbying New York State regarding redress of State mandates! Though incumbent candidates all whined about their hands being tied by the State, it was Mr. Stimola, who you claim has no life experience, who actually suggested that our district take action.
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Lisa,
I agree and thanks for the morning chuckle!
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BTW
Murphy's favorite quote on facebook is
Fuk Me ! I`am Shot!!!!
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entertained,
George Stimola was an outstanding LVHS student who was friends with students from all walks of life, regardless of their family income or ethnicity. He successfully graduated from SUNY Stony Brook in 4 yrs. and I believe is going on to graduate school. He was well informed and spoke eloquently at MTC night. So WHAT if he lives with his parents? This fine young man genuinely wants to give back to his community and what better life experience than to have gone through LVCSD in the past decade?
Do you honestly think our current BoE had any real influence on the budget handed to them by Hunderfund and her administrators? If you do, you are only kidding yourself.
As to Segura, I agree that her comment about her credit cards being maxed out was disturbing. Then again, can you vouch for the credit card balances of Walsh, Chu and Bellissari?
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entertained blathered:
"All this talk about IB. Why aren't more people here outraged at our state legislators where the true problem lies? They aren't such easy targets and would take actual work for the dissatisfied writers on this page."
Is that you, Ron?
Although I didn't vote for Cuomo, I was remarkably pleased with his recommendation to cap the salaries of Superintendents. It was unfortunate that the format of Monday's meeting did not allow for real discussion of the issue. Quite frankly, it was rather embarrassing to listen to the 3 incumbents suck up to Hunderfund (the million dollar couple, as I like to refer to her and her husband) and defend such outrageous salaries and benefits in the PUBLIC SECTOR by comparing the line used by private corporations to "attract the best people". Let me remind the incumbents that public school districts are NOT private corporations. To take this argument a step further, I firmly believe that there needs to be a consolidation of these multitudinous tiny school districts in Nassau and Suffolk and chop at the top. The individual "flavor" each community can still be retained while the responsibility of overall governance of those districts and consolidation of services can be reduced. For example, OB-EN, LVCSD, Jericho, Syosset and North Shore could combine to become one district. (As a City, Glen Cove would have to remain separate). The Board of Ed could be reduced to 5 members, one from each sub-district. One Superintendent. One Asst. Superintendent. One teacher's contract. One set of "standards" for all of the schools. One district website. One taxbase.
This sort of consolidation would still retain local control - control which the incumbents have handed over to Geneva, Switzerland and are taxing us to death for.
Here in NYS, teachers only contribute 3% to their pensions for the first 10 yrs. they are employed and then we, the taxpayers, pick up 100%. Wouldn't it be amazing if all of the school boards lobbied NYS to revise its pension contribution plan to make teachers pay more of their "fair share"?
One other thing. In the states of CT and PA, school board candidates run with political party endorsements. Those who try and claim public education "shouldn't be politicized" are Progressives who seek to deny the political influence of the teacher's union and the Progressive indoctrination agenda in our schools. I want to know whether our candidates are registered D, R or I.
Waiting on pins and needles for your reply, entertained.
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Lisa,
I an naive in this aspect...who makes the budget??? Hunderfund alone, or a committee? What role does the BOE have in making the budget?
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taxed payer,
As I recall, each building Principal submits a "wish list" budget to Hunderfund. These four budgets are then combined and reviewed, with some items slashed by Hunderfund and the Board, and are then distributed into the various categories such as instruction, building maintenance, supplies, etc. Capital projects, undistributed expenses such as pensions and healthcare, transportation, special ed, Board expenses, summer rec and other items of that nature, have budgets developed in the Central office and then everything is compiled by Adriana (formerly Richard Hirt's position). There actually used to be a time when parents were privy to what the individual Principals were requesting in their budgets. (I remember many years ago a rather big stink over Bayville Principal Dr. Young wanting new drapes for her office)
All of this former transparency has been dismissed as "micromanaging" by our sitting Board members.
Funny thing. I noticed the cement at the entrance to LVMS/HS is still all cracked and busted and I'm pretty sure the auditorium still lacks the air conditioning Richard Hirt swore we would have (and billed us for). The flooding of the MS due to shoddy construction and poor planning was inexcusable.
But on the oh so cultured side - are they still piping in classical music to the kids in the MS/HS between periods? That's vital, right? And this district needs to ask themselves why we lost Judy Marino to a parallel position in another district.
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I love this time of year
It is a time when we all bash the LVCSD but then wimp out and support the budget
VOTE NO
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@entertained -
IMHO, Segura was merely trying to point out her lack of budgetary experience by those comments. Remember, each BOE member was new at one point in time. If we are going to start looking at everyone's profession on the BOE, let's trash the insurance salesman, pre-school teacher, Safety Town cop, retiree and physicist while we're at it. What made them so qualified to handle our budget? Is it going to be written in crayon? Does it involve learning the rules of the road for cyclists? Your comments are unfair, biased and childish and draw attention away from the real issues here.
With regards to school repairs, I heard that the guidance offices are being renovated because they aren't too "attractive".
Another item that was recently brought to my attention that really irks me with regard to waste was the publication of the LVCSD Profile booklet. It's in PDF format on the school's website but it has been printed and distributed to local real estate offices. Had it just been put on the website I wouldn't have cared - but who knows how much it cost to print (not to mention the # of hours invested in its creation - is this what $250,000 gets you?). If you haven't seen it, please take a moment to go to the website to see what a joke it is. First off, the title page reads "LVCSD - A Very Private, Public Education". The booklet goes on to highlight the many "accomplishments" of the district while featuring quotes from PC members, Marcellino, and other odd choices. The greatest thing about it is that the only two schools pictured are LVI and BI (brick + columns = private school). Money was spent to print this. And the best part of it all was that no one bothered to ask the realtors what kind of info. people look for when they investigate a school district. Time to stop the insanity.
Segura, Stimola, Murphy
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Anon,
Thank you for bringing that unbelievable waste of our taxdollars and propaganda to our attention.
I am a Realtor. I can tell you that high end home buyers want Jericho or Syosset SD. The vast majority of people who purchase homes in the $1.5M range and up send their kids to private school if the home they love is in the LVCSD district.I don't know which is more obnoxious and pretentious - that profile - or Ron Walsh.
Not only that - THEY LIE!
" prestigious Locust Valley High School, a high school which Newsweek ranks 136th out of 27,000 high schools in our nation."
First of all - there aren't 27,000 public high schools in the U.S.
Second of all - Jay's list does not include public HS's like Thomas Jefferson in VA which has average SAT scores above 1300.
Third of all - Only schools which reply to Jay's "Request for School Info" form are ranked. Last year, I think this was approx 1,200 - 1,400 schools. In the past, Jay would e-mail me LVCSD's response. Our district "miscalculated" the EE rating and I questioned the number of actual IB/AP exams administered because I had caught Buonospina trying to submit a double count on IB exams a few years ago. The explanation was that because IB exams were given over the course of 2 days, they counted them twice. I remember Lauren Straub even defended that ridiculous attempt at manipulating LVCSD's ranking on the List by whining, "Tell that to my daughter who sat through 2 days worth of each exam!" And let me remind everyone of something else. Way back in 2004, when I asked to see the minutes and the research conducted by the "IB Committee" - the ONLY thing in the file - was a letter to Jay Mathews complaining about where LV fell on the list. At that point in time, it was around 317, I think. Then, when we went IB, we dropped off the list completely for a year, came back in at 900 and soared meteorically up to 137 once the district decided to force YOU, the taxpayers, to pay for all IB/AP exams.
These people lie, exaggerate and are so full of themselves it's coming out their ears.
Absolutely disgusting. How MANY of those "coveted" IB Diplomas were actually awarded? Don't see that stat, do you? How MANY students earned the Advanced Regents Diploma? Oopsie, no stat for that either! AP Scholars? Um, nope. We used to have 35-36 each year. How about LVHS's mean SAT score? Nope, didn't see it. THAT'S what homebuyers look for - REAL NUMBERS - not hyperbole!
A very private, public school. Barf!
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I just want to back up my claim that there aren't 27,000 public high schools in the U.S. The following are the most recent (2007-2008) figures available from the U.S. Dept. of Education:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/tables/dt09_093.asp
3 year or 4 year public high schools = 15,927
If our district can't even research and accurately report this stat, what are they teaching your kids?
Remember, the Newsweek List only reported on PUBLIC general high schools and public charter schools.
The only way we can come close to LVCSD's figure of 27,000 is if we are to add in the number of PRIVATE secondary and COMBINED (private elementary/secondary) schools = 11,850
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d09/tables/dt09_059.asp
11,850 + 15,927 = 27,777
Will ya look at that! Talk about comparing apples and oranges and trying to convince people they are really "buying" some kind of exotic fruit. Remember, this brochure of lies is going out to Realtors representing YOUR home values. Aren't you proud? Are you going to lie about the features of your homes when you go to sell them, as well?
I'm not even going to call this propaganda anymore. This is downright false and misleading misinformation.
And for this we should pay MORE? I don't think so.
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wait a minute - is "false misinformation" a double negative? I think it is. Let's just call it what it is - BS!
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The school budget will pass, just like the 19.5% Village budget passed. Accept the inevitable. You are all sheep. Bitch and moan as you pay the tax man. They own you. They control you. They make you dance. Yet, you think you can do something about it....but you cannot. Sheep. Follow your leader...the tax man has the final and last say. Look, no crystal ball and all that I say will be. Wake up!
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Lisa,
As you well know the 27,000 high school number came right from the Newsweek article.
The school district certainly didn't lie as it sourced the information.
Since you seemed to be mathematically challenged; if 6% equals 1600, 100% equals 27,000 (rounded)
http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools/list.html
It seems Newsweek, The Washington Post and Jay stand behind the research.
At any rate, even if your claim is correct, the district is still 136 of over 15,000 public schools. Top 1%, I'll take that!
Yes, and Jericho is even better. Now where did Hunderfund come from? Oh, yes Jericho, and someone told me she was Asst. Superintendent of academics and curriculum during Jericho's rise during the late 90's and early 2000's.
Boy, is the BoE dumb, hiring the person who drove academics and curriculum in the # 2 school district in the state.
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@the previous anon
You are failing to see that even being number one just means that we give a lot of college-level tests. A student could receive a 0 and that student would be part of that statistic. How can that one measurement alone make a school the "best" in country? Please take the time to read this NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/17/education/17education.html
It states perfectly why just giving tests shouldn't make any school great. I will quickly point out the schools in Florida on the list that were rated by Newsweek in the top 50 yet received a grade of "D" from the State of Florida. Of course the creator and publisher of the list is going to stand behind it. What else would you expect them to do?
I think many people are upset over the lack of transparency in the district, the favoring of certain parents, the fear-mongering budget meetings, snazzy, unnecessary glossy-printed brochures, etc.
BTW - Did you know that Jericho was happy to see her go? In the year she was hired there was a mass exodus of admins. from LV. Did you know that Judy Marino made a lateral move to a district that was farther away and paid less? Has anyone questioned the hiring of former Jericho teachers who aren't necessarily performing at the highest of standards? I'm sorry, but things need to change. Let's start with some new blood on the BOE and see what happens then.
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To Prior Anon,
The problem with your comment is the passing grade for Locust Valley is 61 (please read the chart) is actually quite high, in fact, higher than many of the schools ranked above it.
As an Jericho teacher, I know Anna quite well and can tell you most teachers and students were very sorry to see her leave. In fact, many teachers have maintained contact with her.
However, since she is so results focused, one either does the job or she makes changes, so I am not surprised she quickly cleaned out the dead wood when she arrived. Goodness knows this school district needed it!!
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Somehow I highly doubt everyone was sorry to see her leave! How come shes not still there if it was such a love fest?! If someone is that well liked, the district would have done whatever it took to make her stay. I guess money talks!
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Because she wanted to be a superintendent, and the current superintendent has no intention of leaving. Note, she was probably the highest paid Asst. Superintendent in the county when she left. Why? Because she was the driving force behind Jericho's meteoric academic ascendence. Jericho was NOT the academic powerhouse it is today, before she arrived.
I too doubt everyone was sorry to see her leave. She has zero tolerance for any teacher or administrator who doesn't give maximum effort and puts students first. HIgh performers and students and parents love her, slackers can't stand her.
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To All of the Teachers in the LVCSD,
I am tired of you wearing your black union shirts.
I am tired of going to school every morning and seeing your flyers on your cars that state...The LVCSD needs a contract
You want a contract then accept the one that is being offered otherwise shut up!!!!!
It is your fault, not the LVCSD, that you don't have a contract.
Stop whining and do your job
VOTE NO
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@Claire
Mrs Hunderfunder was asked to leave because she wanted to start IB and the community as well as the BOE said NO
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Wish she would have stayed in Jericho continuing to do the fine job she was doing there. I personally have yet to see such positive results here in LV. And please don't go into the whole Newsweek BS. Cause that is exactly what it is. Its a joke. Since she has been here our kids have turned into numbers and are being forced to take IB classes and AP tests just for the numbers game. Oh and weighting averages and lowering the GPA for the Honor Society really sounds like someone who insists on high performance to me. That is dumbing down the school! Oh who cares if you are in IB and get a terrible grade, as long as you sit for the test and we get the numbers for Newsweek thats all that matters. Oh and what would a Jericho teacher be on the Bayville Blog for? Interesting. Maybe you could get her to go back to Jericho!
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Are you really unaware that a number of Jericho teachers and employees live in LV? Wake up!
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@claire - The voluntary exodus of the administrators was prior to her arrival as her reputation preceded her. So far, she has removed very little dead wood, including former Jericho people. Why did students with over 150 cuts last year not face any repercussions?
@anon - Leave the teachers alone. I happen to think they do a fine job. They deserve to be paid just as well as the superintendent as they are the ones helping the students achieve the 99% graduation rate. Many districts around us have settled contracts. While I don't know why we haven't, it's time we do.
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Sorry to rain on your parade Anon, but since Anna was tenured she could not be asked to leave. Additionally, she NEVER discussed starting IB at Jericho and any administrator or teacher at the school knows this.
By the way, I agree weighting is wrong. However, by weighting grades less than other school districts, Locust Valley was doing a disservice to its students trying to get into colleges, especially the most competitive schools.
Jericho still weighs grades more than LV, and by the way, last year we had 8 valedictorians. It is an unfortunate game but if you don't play it the students suffer.
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This what IB is teaching our children
http://truthaboutib.com/breakingnewsopinions.html
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If they want to settle the contract then it is up to the teachers to settle it not the LVCSD
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@anonymous
Could you explain what you are saying? The district negotiates with the teachers. I don't follow what your point is.
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This blog precisely exemplifies the problem in our Village. The thread morphed from 19.5% taxes and the Village in a state of disgrace to the BOE. Enough of the ADD. Stay focused. BTW There was an article in the letters section of the leader from an "outsider" saying how gross the town looks. Great Job Mayor and Bored of Trustees (oops!).
Actually, I guess the morphing just means we have too many problems here. Get 'em all out.
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Anon who thinks I'm "mathematically challenged",
Apparently LVCSD's and your reading comprehension is not only challenged, but impaired beyond repair. Nowhere does the number 27,000 appear in the article. "1600 schools made the list". I'll repeat it again for you S-L-O-W-L-Y that those were the 1600 schools in the country who bothered to fill out Jay's form. Did Newsweek (Jay) bother to cite his source for that 6% figure? No. He did not. Because Jay is a shill for IBO. In addition to having his book about IB co-authored by IBO's Deputy Director General and published by an IB Board member's publishing company, he is also adored by George Soros' Center for American Progress. Are you starting to get the political bias here? And to remind you again, Newsweek, the "We're All Sociali-ts Now!" magazine, was sold for $1 last year and Jay's vapid and biased list will no longer appear in Newsweek.
I have published a report from the University of Cambridge, hot off the press, on the likely success of IB students admitted to Cambridge. In my article, I link you to the official IB Diploma results from LVHS. These are REAL numbers, real data and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we have flushed nearly $2M down the drain for IB in this district:
http://truthaboutib.com/breakingnewsopinions.html
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Lisa,
I'll try to make this easy for you,since elementary math and algebra seem totally beyond you.
If 6% = 1,600 schools ( as the research states) than 100% = 27,000 schools (rounded).
Now as to credibility, do I put more stock in the Wahington Post or Lisa? Now, that is a hard choice.
Furthermore, even if I were to accept the 15,000 school number you submit, the district is still in the top 1% of schools nationally. I agree with Claire, I'll take that.
Finally, I'll accept the judgment of admissions directors at Harvard, Cornell and Yale who praise IB, rather than a university outside the country.
By the way, you always avoid the real value of IB, THE CERTIFICATE PROGRAM.
The fact is approximately 80% of our juniors and seniors take an IB course. The IB program is open to anyone who is interested. Fascinating to note that the passing rate is 61, higher than the average passing rate for AP courses nationally.
So most of our students take an IB course before they graduate and more students pass them then the national average of AP COURSES.
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Beth,
You are working off a false assumption - that 1,600 = 6% of the total number of public high schools in the U.S.A. I provided you with stats from the U.S. Dept of Education. Please try and get it through your incredibly thick head that the 1600 schools which were named on the Newsweek List WERE NEVER COMPARED AGAINST THE OTHER 14,000 HIGH SCHOOLS!!!!
And our district is in the top 1% of WHAT nationally? I'll tell you what -the top 1% of morons like you who think a 10 syllable label accurately reflects student achievement and excellence.
So you accept 10 year old quotes spoon-fed you by IBO from admissions officers at Harvard, Yale and Cornell over just released study from Cambridge. Wow. Your intellect and xenophobia is blinding. Where is your IB "open-mindedness" and "internationalmindedness"? Hmmmm?
For the record, there is NO SUCH THING as an "IB Certificate Programme". An IB Certificate is nothing more than a grade report and a student receives one whether they pass or fail the IB exam - WHICH IS NOT MANDATORY according to IBO, but which our district is forcing students to take and forcing the taxpayers to pay $237 for every FIRST IB exam taken, $96 for each additional. Of those "Certificate" courses, at least half are SL or Standard Level. Children are being forced into these mediocre courses which MOST U.S. universities do not recognize for college credit because the only other choice is Regents. And you think that's a good thing? Dumbing down our school, eliminating choice and banging the taxpayers for it to boot?
I would also argue that open enrollment for AP or IB is a BAD thing. Why set kids up for failure? Look at the chart I have on my LV page comparing our AP results from pre-open enrollment days. The pass rates on most courses were in the 80-90% range. You can thank Jay Mathews for the ridiculous push to place unqualified students in AP courses, just so schools could claim a place on his ridiculous, now defunct, Newsweek List.
And seriously - $34,868 per student??? With a 2% decline in student enrollment?? A drop of 180 students since IB infected this district? I thought everyone would "flock" to LV because of IB, isn't that what we were told?
Lies, lies and higher taxes.
VOTE NO to a 5.81% school tax hike!
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Seems LV is very competitive, as far as spending per student, with other high performing school districts on the North Shore. Of these districts Locust Valley and Jericho are tied for first place in Nassau County with a Regent graduation rate of 98%.
Jericho LV North Shore Oyster Bay
Total Spending per Pupil $30,097 28,096 $31,447 $33,995
http://seethroughny.org/BenchmarkingNewYork/tabid/98/Default.aspxper pupil
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Anon,
BZZZZZT! I'm sorry, but your numbers are incorrect.
A budget of approx. $74M divided by 2,120 students gives you the almost $35,000 per student figure I posted above.
You don't want Beth to lecture you about your math ability, now do you?
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And since Ron Walsh is practically wetting himself that LVHS finally has 99% of its students attaining a basic Regents Diploma, I would like to point out that as far as the Advanced Regents Diploma goes, Jericho is still blowing away LVHS by 92% vs. 77%:
https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2010/8e/CIR-2010-280503060003.pdf
https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2010/6d/CIR-2010-280515030005.pdf
But of course, pay no attention to REAL achievement, right?
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The numbers I referenced compare the same year. I am sure if you divide the 2011 budgets of Jericho, North Shore and Oyster Bay by the number of students that their average cost per student will be about the same as Locust Valley. Actually, I did but why don't you do it for yourself.
Fact is the cost per student for LV is about the same as other top performing school districts on the North Shore.
Top
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Anon,
Your link is busted. Unable to compute.
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Current Director of Admissions at Harvard is William Fitzsimmons
http://www.admissionsconsultants.com/college/harvard.asp
NOT the Mary person quoted in the LVCSD Profile.
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Trying to find out who but, apparently, one of the teacher candidates is dropping out of the race. Rumor is he/she did not realize the amount of work involved.
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DISCLOSE THE PROPOSED TEACHERS CONTRACT
THE TAXPAYAERS WANT TO SEE WHAT IS IN THE CONTRACT BEFORE THE BOE APPROVES IT
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@Lisa......OOO OOO I KNOW I KNOW THE 10 SYLLABLE LABEL
Is it AKA IB??????
Beth learned her "numbers" from BOE member Chu
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"The fact is approximately 80% of our juniors and seniors take an IB course. The IB program is open to anyone who is interested. Fascinating to note that the passing rate is 61, higher than the average passing rate for AP courses nationally.
So most of our students take an IB course before they graduate and more students pass them then the national average of AP COURSES."
BIG FUC*ING DEAL.....ONE COARSE DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR THE IB DIPLOMA YOU HAVE TO COMPLETE TWO YEARS OF THE IB PROPAGANDA TO RECEIVE ANY COLLEGE CREDITS AND MORE AND MORE COLLEGES ARE NOT ACCEPTING IB.
THEY ARE FINDING THAT THE STUDENTS THAT TAKE IB ARE NOT PREPARED
VOTE NO
30,000 PLUS PER STUDENT IS TOO MUCH FOR WHAT OUR CHILDREN ARE GETTING
HOW MANY PARENTS SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR TUTORING IN THIS DISTRICT????
IF THE EDUCATION WAS SO SUPERIOR THEN WHY ARE PARENTS PAYING FOR TUTORING????
VOTE NO
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Apparently, the expectation from the unions is Segura and Stimola will cut friendly contracts. The current board will not give the teachers a raise (other than their state guaranteed steps and lanes)
It seems a 3.1 increase is not enough for teaches so they recruit Segura (a teacher) and Stimola (father,union maintenance) to get them the increase they want.
The unions (teachers, aids, maintenance) have officially endorsed them.
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Actually, you can get, and many students have received, college credit for Taking only one IB HL course.
One of the secrets behind the success at Jericho, and for that matter all high performing school district, are parents are always getting tutoring for their students.
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"fear mongering" Did it occur to anyone that things really are that bad? The budget to budget increase would have been about 6% without cutting things, but the proposed budget is 2.9%. What could the good news be?
People jumped ship after Shear didn't get the Sup. job.
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Stimola's father is no longer employed by the district. As for cutting deals with the unions, they were in favor of a cap for superintendents' salaries. Capping the superintendent's salary will set the stage for how all contracts go. Doesn't seem to me like they would be quick to give out a contract. But why shouldn't we be settling the contract with the teachers anyway? Jericho (our fav. school district to emulate) just settled their contract with the teachers. So did Oyster Bay, North Shore, etc....It's funny how the current BOE was so quick to extend Hunderfund's contract another year (it wasn't even close to expiring as the date was 2015) and guarantee her another paycheck of $250,000, $11,000 to her 403B plan, paid sick days, etc. She stands to make over $200,000 when she leaves from paid leftover sick days.
Again, when it comes to that Newsweek list, if they want to call it the Schools with the Most Testing, that's fine. But just because you can give a test to some students hardly qualifies you to be the best.
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i got a letter from my neighbor who is lobbying for everyone to approve the school budget vote on may 17. i am an out of work professional and will be forced to sell my house if i cannot find work soon. my company merged with another and several jobs, including mine were lost.
i can barely pay my bills - the tax bill is the worst.
this neighbor is a teacher at lvsd and makes $122,000 a year. it was published in newsday. i am NOT voting yes to this budget so she can make more whilst the folks on our block have to sell their homes to keep her fat and happy for the half day, nine month "year" she "works" and now wants more $$$!!!
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To concerned LV,
Clearly you have not been following events at the district for the past two years. The current BoE is extremely actively in lobbying state legislators and the Regents to get relief from unfunded mandates.
As a result of their lobbying the , "empty bus rule was rescinded this past week, which will save the district almost $100k.
You should follow events and go to the BoE meetings.
George, as you like to call him does not have a job, lives at home (thus pays no property taxes) and has not voted in a school district election. He is a very nice boy.
The comments he made at "Meet the Candidates" were extremely general and naive, and frankly came right from Lisa whom he discussed the issues with just before the event started.
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Anon,
You are a liar and an idiot. George came over and said hello to me before the MTC meeting and I had no idea he was even running for SB! I no longer receive the school calendar and had no intention of attending MTC as in years past, usually only about 12 people turned out. But I ran into Jeff Davis down at IGA and he said, "Oh, you should go, there are 7 people running!"
You see, the district no longer puts out the budget flier which featured the individual candidates with their pictures and short bios. He and my daughter were friends and worked on the plays together at LVHS. We briefly discussed IB - he told me his radar goes off whenever he is unable to account for program spending in a budget.
Yeah, I remember ol' Ron playing footsie with Tom Suozzi and bragging about all the wonderful "lobbying" he was doing. How'd that work out for us?
Stimola, Murphy and Segura are a breath of fresh air and sunshine is the best disinfectant!
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To Tapped out,
The teachers do not have a current contract as the BoE refused to give them a raise beyond the 3.1 percent the guaranteed by the state for their step and lanes increases. Can you imagine in these economic conditions a 3.percent increase isn't enough for them. That is on top of a 45 percent increase for pension plan contribution and 15percent for medical insurance.
The BoE asked them to take a hard freeze, in other words take the same pay as last year and the 3.1 percent could be used to avoid teacher layoffs. The union REFUSE!
Now the unions are angry with the current BoE and decided to.try and get a teacher friendly BoE.
George was asked to run by the Maintenance Union, and both he and Maria are endorsed by the teachers union. In fact, the teachers union wants anyone on the board rather than current members, since the current members will not give in to their demand for a larger raise.
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Lisa,
I am neither a liar or an idiot. I recently spoke with George; did you or did you not tell him your opinion on IB and about Board transparency?
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And let me apologize to George Stimola in advance if his giving me a warm greeting at MTC night costs him votes. I pay school taxes, I had two children go through LVCSD K-12, and if people like Anon are so petty and vile as to talk smack about this intelligent, responsible young resident and LVHS alumni who wants to give back to his community, well, I feel really sorry for you.
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Anon (if you are the same Anon),
You said:
"The comments he made at "Meet the Candidates" were extremely general and naive, and frankly came right from Lisa whom he discussed the issues with just before the event started."
The only issue, singular, we discussed in the most peripheral manner was IB. Shame on you for accusing this well spoken, informed and intelligent individual for supposedly colluding with me on his responses to the questions posed to him that evening. Really, how despicable.
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Lisa,
Well, now the truth comes out. You did speak to him about your opinion of IB, just before he spoke, and you did tell him the board wasn't transparent.
George has never attended a board meeting or voted in an election. He is a nice boy, his issue is he is very naive.
Mouthing your opinion on IB hurts his changes to get elected, as does the endorsement from the unions. Because of his youth, both you and unions feel you can unduly influence him.
In fact, I saw people yesterday distributing one of your comments endorsing him saying voting for George is like voting for you -- and we all know how that turned out, all four times. Give George a chance and stop talking him up, it only hurts him.
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I agree with Lisa and George.
Our teachers deserve our support. People keep complaining they make too much money. Actually it is a disgrace that the BOE won't give them a raise. The average teacher salary in this district is still under $100,000.
Other district agreed to pay raises. I support a new board that will pay our teachers appropriately, and if property taxes need to go up a little more so be it.
People are too focused on taxes, we can all afford to do a little more for our children. Hurrah for Lisa, George and Maria.
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Anon,
I'm not allowed to have an opinion on IB, Anon? I'm not allowed to share my opinion? You're a jerk.
4x? I only recall running 3x, where did you come up with 4? Those 3 runs were over the course of 15 years, and the 2nd time, before this BoE blackmailed the Leader by withholding its legal advertisements in order to get me fired and played every dirty trick in the book before the 3rd election, I garnered 1263 votes and the budget was defeated the first time around.
Since 2008, people have awoken to the corruption, dishonesty and lack of transparency of this Board and this district. Worried are ya? Good!
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Lisa,
Please, Joe, the deli man, received more votes than you the last time you ran.
i noticed you again said, "lack of transparency" on your last post. The same thing Anon accused you of telling George before he spoke. Hummm. Just a coincident I guess.
If the community has "awoken" why don't you run again?
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@anoa -
I'm amazed that you had the gall to put in writing figures regarding the teachers' contract when negotiations are closed. It's either #1 - you're an instigator and trying to stir things up or #2 - you're a current BOE member who has insight to the contract negotiations or #3- you're a close friend of a BOE member who has spoken to you and you didn't realize that no one knows anything about offers or contracts other than those people on the negotiations team. Either way, it's wrong. We can pay the superintendent top dollar but the teachers should suffer.
As for more waste, I'm sure all residents received Soundwaves this weekend. What a joke! What happened to the small postcards about the budget? Why do we have to waste money on a large, glossy-print love fest between the BOE and the superintendent? Can't we post this info on our website to save money?
As to the cuts mentioned, it briefly states that cuts to the arts and music were minimal. If you attended the Public Budget Forums it stated that at 2.9% budget would eliminate 20 minutes of General Music. That "minimal" cut is 1/3 of the music program in the elementary schools. We will now offer less music in the elementary schools than I can ever recall. So, we can spend money on glossy, fluffy publications, over $75,000 for students just to test them, thousands to "rent" plants for graduation, unnecessary repairs, etc. but we have to cut the elementary music program?
The community is paying for kids to be forced to take tests where in most schools the parents pay for the tests. This practice must stop.
Also, why aren't all capital improvement projects being listed? If we are going to spend the money, I want to know what's being done and why.
Segura, Murphy and Stimola - We need a change. I personally don't care how you vote on the budget, but we need more transparency.
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In several districts teachers voluntarily froze their pay. Try to get extra help in the High School. No one is there. They are outside not protesting.
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Bill,
You act as though "lack of transparency" is some sort of conspiracy theory. It's not. It's a fact!
"If the community has "awoken" why don't you run again?"
Gee, sorry to disappoint you Bill, but you see, now that we have put two children through university, despite scholarships, remaining in Bayville is no longer affordable for us. As soon as the house sells, we're off to greener pastures where our property taxes for the year equal what we pay here in a month.
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Is it really true that the unions endorse George and Maria. If so, that is disturbing?
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Anon,
The numbers and percents in my comments are all public and, in fact, were mentioned over and over at the Budget Outreach meetings.
a) 3.1 % is the average increase guaranteed this year to the unions for steps and lanes, even though there is no contract. It doesn't bother you that all union employees who qualify get on average a 3.1% increase and they want more?
b) The increase to the pension plan is 45% is again public and cover in all the Budget meetings.
c) The same is true for the health insurance of 15%. All these numbers are on the hand outs.
Dr.Chu mentioned, at MTC that these increases come to over $2,000,000.
STILL THE UNIONS WANT MORE AND YOU ENDORSE THEIR CANDIDATES.
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And what do the incumbents endorse? Limitless pay raises for administrators, dumbing down our schools, a globalist mentality and higher taxes. The Board has an attorney that negotiates with the union. Btw, what's the attorney's retainer up to? Last time I checked it was around $250,000 a year. I heard of a few lawsuits being "settled" over the course of the past few years, I'm sure the final cost for legal fees to taxpayers was substantially higher.
Time to stop the bleeding and cut wasteful spending at the top so we don't have to cut teachers, maintenance and SRAs from the budget. Fight the teacher's unions at the national level - not in a local school board election. Our teachers are our neighbors. I'm sick and tired of LVCSD residents trying to defend the belligerent, bullying stance of this district every time it comes to contract negotiations. I don't believe that the union is refusing a 3.1% increase. There has to be some other sticking point - like the year the district required the teachers to post homework online.
But shhhhh - this is a very private, public district!
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Anoa-
That figure of 3.1% seems very high to me for a step increase. While some step increases are higher than others (5, 10, 15, 20) I know the others are lower. I will verify the numbers on seethroughny.org where the entire teachers' contract is available. I do know that the teachers max out at 25 years so anyone who has reached that number isn't getting raise.
As for the pension system, teachers employed by our district certainly didn't create that system, nor were they the ones responsible for the downfall of the state's pension fund. That's something to look to Albany to correct. And teachers do pay into their pensions for a few years (can't remember offhand what the # of years is). As for health care, that's something that is negotiated as well. Many other districts have supported their faculty, sadly, our district took the easy way out and made them the scapegoat.
As I stated, many other districts have settled their contracts - including Jericho - that wonderful district we are trying to copy. Why haven't we yet? Why hasn't the district offered a retirement incentive to save some of the teachers being fired?
You don't see any problems with cutting music? Funding tests that every other school district has parents pay for? Renting plants at graduation? Moving meetings at the last minute? No public input to what repairs we want done? Special favors being granted? Hiring cronies?
I will support the new candidates because it's time for a change.
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Anon -
That looks like a good site but I couldn't get the contract to download - perhaps the server is being overloaded.
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Oh my goodness, asking teachers to post homework online. What will become of them. No reasonable person would believe that's a reason for not signing a contract.
If you want to see one of the reasons Jericho is so successful find our contract online and download it. Our commitment to students is substantial, The Locust Valley teachers live in a country club environment.
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Claire - you obviously are trying to promote the anti-teacher antics supported by the BOE and superintendent. My guess is you are somehow connected to one of them. I can guarantee you haven't the first clue as to how good our teachers are. My kids haven't had a bad teacher in all of their years here. You will find the teachers to be committed, supportive and hard-working. What about the LV teachers leads you to believe that they are working in a country club environment? Can you site specifics?
Isn't there a Jericho blog you could be following now?
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Anon,
Sure, I remember the big to do a few years ago when they when they were required to put homework assignments online. Also their contractual requirements for after and before school help is the bare minimum any professional should do.
If you want to get a detailed comparison go to seethrouhny.org and compare, either at the site or download, the Jericho's teachers contract and LV'S teacher contract and compare and contrast them.
I follow this blog because, while I teach in Jericho, I live in LV. As a teacher and LV taxpayer, I am appalled at what I see.
Criticize Jericho if you choose, but we have professional teachers dedicated to the children and the results confirm it.
I mean teachers walking around with buttons and green shirts trying to elicit pity and refusing to help the student in any way, if it isn't specifically in the contract.
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Claire,
Thank you for clarifying about the hoomework online issue, I thought you were doubting my memory (which I'll admit is getting a little shaky).
Notice how Anon is already trying to bully you to leave the blog. This is what's known as the Delphi Technique. LVCSD and the BoE have become MASTERS at this technique:
http://icuhollis.org/?page_id=641
So thank you for posting here and let the bullies stew in the mess they made and the loss they will soon suffer.
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If I am correct, the contract in place now was negotiated with the current BOE.
And also, perhaps the reason why Jericho teachers don't wear shirts or buttons is because they have never been without a long contract for an extended period of time. Didn't they just settle a new contract? @Claire - Perhaps you can clarify this issue for everyone.
IMO, I think the current BOE is not offering a contract so that people view the teachers as the "bad guys". I know everyone may not agree with me, but while at Jericho they may respect and value their teachers, at LV that professional respect doesn't exist.
As for results, according to what I've heard at the meetings we are tied with Jericho and Syosset for graduation statistics.
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I went to the Jericho website and saw the announcement myself. The teachers at Jericho aren't taking their 3.5% raise, but will still get the step increases. As a result, their contract has been extended for an additional three years. With two years where they will receive an additional percentage above the step.
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Anon,
" TEACHERS SUFFER," give me a break, most teachers in the district make over $100,000 a year, and that is based on last year's salary numbers, which were posted on this blog last year, and if you scroll up you can see them.
The unions, on average, have a 3.1% increase this year for steps and LANES and that is not enough. THE TEACHERS WANT MORE.
The current BOE won't give in so the teachers recruit and endorse Stimola and Segura. FACT
Read Newsday, teachers at many, many districts on LI have taken pay freezes and, in fact, have given back increases to save jobs -- FACT!! LV TEACHERS have done neither and want MORE, while some of our best young teachers are laid off. How selfish.
BYW, how do you know a retirement incentive was not offered this year? To the best of my knowledge that is not public information. Sounds like you are a teacher. If I am wrong, please source that information.
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Anon wrote:
"As a result of their lobbying the , "empty bus rule was rescinded this past week, which will save the district almost $100k."
Only a sitting Board member or one of their minions would have been privy to this information.
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Lisa,
As usual you're wrong. The district has been complaining about the rule for over two years and sharing the information with everybody, especially the fact that it cost the district $100k to implement. Since, it was rescinded last week, the superintendent has been sharing the information with everyone. I don't know if the information was formally sent out to Parent Councils but I do know, at least, some parent council officers know, and one told me this past week.
Additionally, my friend in central office knows, and we discussed it yesterday. It's no secret, it seems you are just out of the loop.
The real question is who would know that a retirement incentive was not offered, if, in fact, one wasn't offered.
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Anon,
Yep, that's me. Out of the loop. Just an ordinary schlub who has been forced to pay outrageous school taxes for 34 years in this district supporting the backroom, secret deals conjured up by our BoE and Superintendents.
Oh look! LVCSD finally decided to post the Board Actions from the month of March. Of course, we still can't view April's .... must be something in there they don't want the public to know before the vote next Tuesday:
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Board_of_Education/March_Actions_2011.pdf
And what's this nonsense about a "private endowment" to insure LVCSD can maintain its programs? That stinks of IB private support and we see what happened in Incline Village, Nevada when they tried to pull that stunt:
http://truthaboutib.com/usschooldisputes/ibininclinevillagenv.html
$35,000 per student paid by the taxpayers and LVCSD can't deliver a top notch education without MORE from the private sector?????
Maybe I should advertise my home for sale HERE: http://www.allied-media.com/Arab-American/muslim-media.htm
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FYI
Voting record of candidates for school budgets:
Stimola - once (2006)
Murphy - Never
Segora - last three years
Carr - 50% of the time
Chu - 100% of the time
Walsh - 100% of the time
Bellisari - 1005 of the time
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hey FYI,
Why don't you tell us which of them voted for Obama and UpChuck Schumer?
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Okay. Mr. Stimola has got me thinking. He called me this morning, bravo! He's been quite amused reading this blog. I'll continue to entertain.
But he professed to me that he is a strong supporter of Liberal, social welfare programs. He knew he was taking a political risk of loss of my vote. For that, I credit him with being open, honest and forthright. I appreciate that. I am strong in my convictions and I respect knowing what OTHER people's convictions really are.
In these dire economic times, I simply cannot vote for a Liberal. I'm sorry George. You know I like you.
So now, I have quite a conundrum as to whom to vote for.
I think I'll simply bullet vote Mr. Murphy.
Yeah.
Send a message loud and clear:
BUDGET - NO
MURPHY - YES
Oh, and FYI, my voting record is 100% since 1977.
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Maybe that was a very clever move on George's part to get me to publicly drop my support for him so the people who think he's my "puppet" (gosh darn big puppet) will say, "Oh thank God, now we can vote for George because SHE's not voting for him!" LOLOLOL .... oh, I do amuse myself.
Think about the "3rd place" spot and how the votes can break out - that's where the race is.
Will it be Walsh - Carr - Murphy in a 3 way?
Chu - Carr - Stimola?
I can tell you with this many people running and so many "factions" of the communities, it really makes it difficult to predict the final fall out.
Hey - let's start a pool - oh wait - is that illegal?
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Anon,
Glad you went to the Jericho site and noticed their teachers voluntarily gave up a 3.5% raise. At the same time our teachers (you) are protesting to get a raise.
Perhaps that is why they are the #2 district in NYS. I can't tell you how proud the district is of our teachers with their cute buttons and shirts lobbying for a contract when they already have an compensationincrease plus a large contribution (45% increase)to their pension, and their generous health care plan. Hey, some of us here don't have jobs and the teachers can't make do with these generous increases.
WHY CAN'T OUR TEACHERS DO WHAT OTHER TEACHER UNIONS ARE DOING AND TAKE A FREEZE OR GIVE BACK. jERICHO DID, AND OUR TEACHERS ARE GRIEVING FOR MORE.
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Don't know who voted for Obama and Chuckie, but I do know Carr didn't, he is a tea party boy.
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Bill,
Carr is no Tea Party "boy". The stances he took at MTC nite are at complete odds with Tea Party principles.
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The retirement incentive question was brought up at one of the budget forums in April. Someone in the audience stood up and asked if there was an incentive being offered. The response from the BOE and Supt. was no.
I'm not entirely too sure (correct me if I'm wrong) but no one other than the people negotiating really know what's going on. I'm curious as to how Anoa knows what the teachers are asking for. Has this become public knowledge? I didn't think it was legal to disclose negotiation items so if that's the case, than Anoa is just here to stir things up.
While Jericho is not taking their already contracted 3.5% raise, they will still get their steps. Then the following year will get a 1.9% raise, then a 0 the next and then 1.9% again. So, (correct me if I'm wrong) but by not having a contract, the teachers only got steps this year? Similar to what Jericho will be doing next year?
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How can anyone seriously consider Segura when she publicly states that, she isn't interested in finances and can't manage her credit cards. I mean this is our hard earned taxes dollars. It's embarrassing!
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It is not illegal to discuss negotiations. However,often times parties agree not to discuss in public.
I doubt anoa knows what is going on in negotiations, but it is reasonable to assume if the teachers already have what Jericho has (steps) and a contract still can't be finalized that they are looking for more.
As you know, as has been stated on this blog, the teachers will again get their steps next year and the following year and so on unless and until there is a contract. So with a guaranteed 3.1% raise forever, along with a generous pension and health care plan, which also remains as is, there is no incentive for the teachers to negotiate UNLESS they can get more.
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Hmmmm. I just read George's politics quote on his Facebook page. There might be hope. The "insane Liberal" is obviously conflicted with the "brutalistic Conservative". There's hope. I think he deserves a chance.
Murphy & Stimola
That's my final answer.
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George, why did you call Lisa and give her that info....you lost my vote! I cannot vote for a liberal who does not own a home and actually pay these crazy taxes.
I also do not think I can vote for Segura because of her statement.
I think the teachers in this district have painted themselves into a corner. They want it all and in times where people are giving up things in their own lives, they are easily disgusted by that attitude. They are also outraged by the behaviors of the teachers at recent concerts and threats of protests at upcoming end of year celebrations.
I do not know who is leading the teachers, but they need to step outside and listen to the people.
I guess I am voting Chu and Murphy. Murphy still has not disappointed me yet! Hopefully!
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Taxed payer,
Maybe you can sway me back to just bullet voting Murphy. I do appreciate George's honesty, though. An honest Liberal is hard to find.
I can't vote for Chu. The real goal is to get Ron Walsh off the Board.
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How do you bullet vote for a person? I know what it means, just do not know how to actually do it inside the voting booth.
Forgive me, I did not get the reference to swaying you back????
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I'm just wondering: If the Board believes the IB program to be so wonderful, and worth it's $s, then why not back it up with some statistics from Locust Valley, like:
The # of children that has participated
The # of children that passed
The # of children that received an IB Diploma... AND
The # of children who's IB credits were actually applied, when entering college?
This would certainly prove or disprove
the success of such an expensive program in these difficult economic times!
There was a time, not so long ago, when Locust Valley offered AP courses for 1/4
the cost of a college credit, paid by the parent, not the taxpayer...hmmmm.
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Taxed payer,
All a "bullet vote" means is pulling the lever for only one candidate instead of 3 for the 3 positions. The mathematical odds work in favor of that single candidate winning one of the 3 slots. (right Jack? Remember how you got elected that way? What a mistake that was!)
What I meant by "swaying me back" is that I am on the fence as to whether to cast a vote for George or not. He is charming, polite, friendly, open-minded and articulate, qualities I find the incumbents are sorely lacking. He appears willing to question and challenge the status quo. All pluses in my book.
For those who stoop so low as to make fun of someone who recently graduated university, is searching for a job but lives at home, let me ask you, have you had to look for a job in this market? In the private sector? And why did Obamacare extend parental health insurance to "children" up to age 26 if not to help young men and women like George out in these depressed times? At least he'll have time to actually read his Board packages and he seems very willing to communicate with individuals in the community. He listens without attacking and he seems very open and honest.
But there's the "aha" that gives me pause. Support for social welfare programs. Don't forget, George is a product of LVHS. He graduated in 2006 - look at that - the first year he voted! Our district has ALWAYS focused on the "collective" mentality instead of celebrating the individual student. In fact, the student award display case gathered dust all through George's time at LVHS, the last Class recognized was 2001, because administration was obsessed with implementing IB. George's graduating class was denied AP and Honors classes in 05/06. These kids never had the opportunity to enjoy the former 8th Grade overnight trip to Washington D.C. which was eliminated because a handful of kids behaved badly on a trip to England and the teachers refused to chaperone any more overnights. Band and chorus trips to Disney World were no more. All of the HS "perks" that most students in other HSs get (like a real Senior trip) were eliminated - for "the greater good".
I admire anyone who is willing to put themselves out there for voluntary service to their community, yes, even Joe the deli man. However, the incumbents have a long, clear voting record and it is not one that benefits the students or the taxpayers. The question becomes, "What is the individual's motivation for running?"
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ConcernedinLV,
http://truthaboutib.com/usschooldisputes/iblocustvalleyny.html
http://truthaboutib.com/images/LVHS_10_IB.pdf
As to how many college credits were actually earned by IB students at universities, I have no idea. I further question Dr. Chu's support for IB as his Salutatorian daughter with an IB Diploma and a "legacy" for Yale, was wait-listed for Yale.
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Correction: George graduated LVHS in 2004.
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Thanks for clarifying the bullet vote.
I agree with you. I give everyone credit who decides to put their name up on a ballot. At least they have the courage to stand up for something they believe in, try to be part of the solution and partake in the process of democracy.
At the end of the day, there will still be 4 remaining people on the board who do know how to run the board while others who may be elected are new to the board will have a learning curve.
I feel confidant that the four remaining would keep things going while the new people learn. Those four who are still on were new once too, with little or no experience on a board. So do not let someone's lack of experience on a board scare you away. Look at the way people handle their lives and businesses and you can get a good idea of how they would conduct themselves in a board situation. We are not voting for a President here, no one person who makes all the decisions, it is a board position.
I for one like to see people who will go on there and throw new ideas around and look at things with fresh eyes.
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It is very hard to vote for George with such a lack of real world experience.
I certainly don't fault him for not yet securing a full time professional position. Many 25 year olds are in the same position. This is a brutal economy but voting for a 25 year old without real experience is very difficult for me.
Additionally, he hasn't voted in a Budget election in the last four years and while I don't attend all budget meetings I don't think he attended any, before he decided to run for the Board. Frankly, I expect a little more for someone who will be managing a $74m budget. Not that I fault him, I certainly had no interest in attending board meetings when I was his age.
However, most of all I can't support a candidate who is endorsed by organized labor, especially a public sector union. I was just on the teachers' union site and that clinched it for me
Perhaps, when George gets some life experiences, gets a home and pays property taxes he will have the credentials to be a productive board member.
I have known George for years and like him and would like to vote for him but he is not qualified right now.
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Bill,
Perhaps it's time to rethink past voting habits and realize that George more than meets NYS requirements to run for SB:
http://www.nyssba.org/index.php?category=leadership_dev&ref=RunningforBoard&src=gendocs
"Generally, school board candidates must be at least 18 years old, qualified voters in the school district and able to read and write. They must be residents of their districts continuously for one year (as little as 30 days or as long as three years in some city school districts) before the election. They cannot be employed by the board on which they serve or live in the same household with a family member who is also a member of the same school board.
Local school board members in New York State are elected, except for those in New York City and Yonkers who are appointed. The method of election may vary from district to district. Check with your superintendent of schools or your district clerk to learn about the voting plan in your district."
I am going to take issue with NYS's presentation of some of the "qualities" stated, as I feel that there come times when a Board needs to change course and revise or reform current policies, not rubber-stamp everything as "Team Kiss the Superintendent's Butt". The Board is supposed to represent the taxpayers and parents, not vote in lockstep with the Supt.
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After visiting the Teachers' Union website, it is quite clear that they, and many voters alike, are backing all four candidates, hoping for a change, as they are and have been at a stale-mate with the current BOE for some time
now. As we all know: There are always two sides to every argument, and almost always, the truth lies somewhere in-between!
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anoa thank you for your response.
to many others here, if you think for one moment I am going to feel sorry for these people who work nine months a year, get every holiday off, have full insurance and pension plans AND make well over $100K a year, you are wrong.
I am voting NO. I am getting everyone I know to vote NO. If I could get my beagle to vote, he would vote NO too!
People are truly suffering out here. Taxes are insane. Homes are underwater. And you expect us to support a RAISE for these people?
One word:
NO
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Wow. Nothing like getting the local news on FIOS and CBS!
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/05/10/police-bayville-music-teacher-arrested-for-inappropriate-contact-with-student/
Absolutely disgusting. This is a pattern in LVCSD.
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@Tapped Out....I am 100% behind you.
I don't like to vote no but enough is enough
This district wastes too much money
I think the teachers deserve a good salary but it is time to step back a little and ask them to contribute more
I will pay for sports, drivers ed, drive them to school do what ever it takes to put an end to this
I feel sorry for the seniors who just cant pay an extra 2 dollars a month or what ever it will be
Obama is asking us to cut back so I think of all people those that supported him, teachers, should do what he asks!!!!
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Actually, I believe the issue is quite defined. If one believes the teachers are underpaid, and you are sympathetic to organized labor and public union then consider the four candidates endorsed by the teachers union.
If you believe the current BOE is correct by not yielding to the unions demand for increased compensation, vote for the incumbents.
Visiting the teachers web site clearly identifies this as "the issue."
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@Anon
how do you get to the teachers web site?
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I NEVER heard any of the four candidates endorse the union! The union has chosen to back all four new candidates, even after hearing one of the candidates state CLEARLY that he was for salary caps. The unions seem to be seeking change at any cost; the Union chose them: not the other way around!
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Anoa:
Here is the link, please note the teachers union is part of the AFL/CIO.
http://lvsea.com/default.aspx
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The salary cap has to do with the Superintendents' compensation, and in no way affects union negotiations. The assumption that a cap on superintendents trickles down is a fallacy.
Actually, George has made many comments about being the candidate for the workers, and the Maintenance Union asked him to run.
Yes, and if the union endorses all four new candidates that should tell us something; namely, the unions expect to get a better deal from them. Nothing wrong with that and if you think they should vote for three of the new candidates. I feel differently, but this is America.
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George stated to me that he has no idea what you people are talking about being "endorsed" by any unions and he certainly hasn't received any campaign donations.
And what of the Police Department union, hmmmm? Nobody cares about Mr. Walsh's union influence? The NCPD gets paid over $100,000 so they can sit 3 cars abreast down at Stehli's Beach while a tenured teacher is groping little children under the age of 10? How's that G.R.E.A.T. program working out for LVCSD? Looks like the district needs a G.R.E.A.T. program for teachers who can't keep their hands to themselves ....
Franks
Gillam
Benstock
Is there going to be another $500,000 "payoff" in this case now? I see his wife also teaches in the district and they live ONE block from the Bayville Intermediate School. This is one ugly hot potato.
George, you sure you still want to win?
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Does LVCSD not do any background checks on the people they hire AND GIVE TENURE to?
http://www.cjnj.org/html/sanctions/151NJ491.pdf
And I would like to know how stupid is the LVSEA that it would endorse 4 candidates for 3 seats? Is that really an endorsement? The only endorsement is anti-incumbent with a broad brush. I wonder if they created their "posters" with their "HIT" and the bat (such violence! where's the civility?) on school time?
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It is a FACT that there are at least a dozen LVCSD employees who have NOT been fingerprinted or had their backgrounds checked yet: There are costs involved with such services :[ !
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Costs for children. Fingerprints are $100. They piss that away like nothing.
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Lisa,
You and George seem to have quite a few conversations.
Of course the union vote is anti-incumbent, the current board will not give the teachers a raise beyond the guaranteed steps.
That is why they believe they are better off with a liberal democrat, like George.
Likewise they expect with the addition of Segura, a teacher, they will get additional support. Carr and Murph they through in hoping they might be sympathetic, at any rate they couldn't be worse than current board members who has said no to a pay increase for a year.
Make no mistake though, the unions are pushing for George and Segura.
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At the end of the day what matters to me is a candidate's philosophy on these budget issues and a willingness not to be a BOE conformist. Homeowners/taxpayers abound who are far less informed than George Stimola. Listen to him speak to the issues. He's got my vote.
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Just read the editorial from the Leader online. "The Publisher" is encouraging a "No" vote on the budget and supports Segura, Stimola and Murphy as new BOE members. Also smart of them to point out that the propositions we are being asked to vote on at "no cost to the taxpayer" are misleading as it was money previously obtained from reserve funds.
Why can't we know all capital improvement projects that are taking place?
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I'm aware! That's why I decided to "out" them. (I was being sarcastic)
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LOL! Looks like Jack Dolce is going to have to make a run to buy out all of the newsstand issues of The Leader again!
See Jack run! Run, Jack, run!
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Let's really be serious. It is crazy to vote for someone to manage our property taxes ($73m), who doesn't pay property taxes, doesn't have a job, can't afford his own living space, hasn't voted in a board election in five years, never attended a board meeting and is endorsed by organized labor and the teachers union.
Doesn't mean he isn't a nice person but certainly not qualified to manage millions of dollars.
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RonAnon,
Boy, you sure are scared of George winning, aren't you?
The bozos on the Board now haven't exactly done a bang up job of managing millions of dollars, now have they? Tax and spend, tax and spend, $35,000 per student .... hiring a consultant for Theory of Knowledge - oh THAT was really necessary - give us a break! My cat could do a better job!
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And still ..... NO April Board Actions posted to the LVCSD website. Imagine that. What's in there you don't want us to see, LVCSD?
http://lvcsd.k12.ny.us/board_of_education/board_actions
YOU WORK FOR US!!! SHOW US THE PUBLIC INFORMATION!!!!
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I just figured it out and my school taxes will go up close to $300 next year. Couple that with a $200 Village increase and I'm looking at a $500+ increase on taxes which were $2,300 TOTAL in 1990. Meanwhile, home values continue to drop.
VOTE NO!
There are 116 homes in Bayville with Lis Pendens (headed to foreclosure) on them. STOP THE INSANITY!!!!
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This was on the News12 site today:
(05/10/11) BRENTWOOD - With many Long Island school districts facing a financial crisis, teacher salaries and benefits are gaining attention in the debate over school taxes.
According to experts, you can't significantly lower costs without looking to the teachers. Their compensation makes up about 70 percent of school districts' budgets, and on the Island, educators are earning a median salary of more than $90,000.
This year, unions accepted raises of 1.5 percent or less because of the poor economy, but teachers are still entitled to "step" increases, which are automatic pay bumps based on experience.
With the "step" increases, a Nassau County teacher with six years experience and enough training credits could get a raise of about $5,000, or 6 percent. According to attorney John Gross, who represents local school districts, that logic doesn't make sense when other cuts are being made.
Teachers also contribute less for their health benefits and pensions than most private-sector employees. Those low rates often apply to retired teachers, many of whom are covered for life, while the cost to taxpayers rises to the double digits.
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VOTE NO!!!
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Most of all a Board members needs to provide sound financial management. That is why I can not support Segura. I mean she says publicly she is NOT INTERESTED IN FINANCES, AND HAS TAPED OUT HER CREDIT CARDS.
I work too hard to pay my taxes to support someone who isn't interested in managing my hard earned dollars, and can't manage her own.
Also, while I know Charlie for years, it is very distressing that he has never voted in a Board election or attended a board meeting. I think Charlie's interest ate elsewhere.
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Voting record, since 2007:
Simola - 0% Chu- 100%
Murphy -0% Ballarasi- 100%
Walsh 100%
Carr 50%
Segura 100%
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Should we be impressed that the incumbents voted 100% of the time, while sitting on the Board? I would think that to be expected, as they were voting for themselves!
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James,
I agree on Segura. That was either an incredibly stupid admission or worse, something she doesn't see any problem with. If she was a teacher in LVCSD instead of CSH, she wouldn't even be eligible to run.
MURPHY & STIMOLA
and may 3rd place go to --- I really don't care.
VOTE NO! We cannot afford another 6% school tax increase!
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To be fair, I think she was overdoing it a bit with regards to her statement about finances. It's important to remember that everyone sitting on that Board was new at one point in time. Who's to say that a Safety Town cop was capable of dealing with the finances? Or a pre-school teacher for that matter.
I know I will definitely be voting for Murphy and Stimola. I am uncertain of the 3rd. As for Segura, I don't mind that she's a teacher and I do think she will look to the best interests of the kids before anything. I liked how she said she would look out for the kids first, just like she does in her classes. She did have some good ideas at one of the public budget forums about wasteful items in the district. I don't know about Carr. It seems to me like it would be more of the same thing we're dealing with.
Whatever the case, we need new people. I feel as though the current members and the supt. are trying to make names for themselves and don't have the best interests of the children at heart.
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I'm not impressed that incumbents voted 100% of the time but I am very dismayed that two candidates haven't voted at all.
I mean all these years and Charlie has never been interested until he's told his wife may be excessed.
As for George, I chalk his lack of interest to his youth. Unfortunately, in my view , that is why the unions endorse him.
I saw a poster supporting him in the back of a teachers car this morning.
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I'm not convinced that George's voting record was because of lack of interest; rather a "logistics" issue. If he graduated in 2004, as Lisa has stated, he was probably attending college for most of this time period...
I think I'll check into this for myself.
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The issue for Stimola is far more than not voting and going to board meetings, it is obscene for someone who has never paid property taxes or managed a home/arpt budget to think he can be responsible for a $74m budget.
It is a question of maturity and life experiences.
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why would anyone take the word of an anonymous troglodyte as to someone's voting record?
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I am hardly ignorant but in fact rational. Voting records, as to whether someone voted NOT WHO, as I suspect, you well know, are a matter of public record.
Murphy hasn't voted and Stimolo voted once. To many people, a record of voting is an important indicator of knowledge of and interest in the issues. Frankly, I am surprised, given your politician leaning, that it is not consequential in your consideration.
To me it is, to you it isn't, that is the essence of a democracy.
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You know what question I wish I could ask all of the candidates right now? (Do feel free to log in with a YES or NO answer candidates)
Do you agree with the White House's decision to invite the rapper Common to the WH for a poetry reading during Police Week?
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The essence of a democracy? Hint: we are a Federal Republic, not a democracy. We may incorporate democratic principles, but we are not a democracy.
When I was growing up, at least in my family, voting used to be considered a very private matter. We are constantly deceived by "politicians" who say anything they think we want to hear in order to get elected, make grandiose promises and then do the exact opposite once elected.
I want to know how someone is going to vote on school matters in THE FUTURE. It is clear to me that the incumbents are Kool-Aid drinking, tax and spend, rubber-stampers who have disdain for anyone who dares to question what they are doing with our tax dollars.
LVCSD is a PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. It is NOT a PRIVATE school - it is NOT a Country Club. Let me repeat - LVCSD works for U.S.!
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You are right when you say they don't like anyone who speaks out. That was made pretty clear at the PTA budget meeting. I was actually taken aback by the way people were spoken to that night who questioned the way the budget forum was handled.
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Knowledgeable:
You've got me thinking now... There must be a New York State Law, that REQUIRES that NEW employees (of public schools) be fingerprinted AND background- checked, within a SPECIFIC TIME from the date of employment: I'll be checking into that one myself: "I'll be back"...!
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I strongly disagree with the President (actually the first lady made that call-- she has quite a bit of influence) inviting Common to the White House. The president seems to have little concern for the dignity of the Presidency. Not to get off topic, but I cringed when I watched 60 minutes Sunday, and Mr. Obama couldn't utter the words military or navy seals, instead he kept calling them "our guys." Please Mr. President some dignity, courtliness and respect.
I was taught the importance of voting and that if is a privilege, given to us, that we should respect. Who we vote for is our business but neglecting to vote weakens the fiber of the "federal republic."
I also agree with Adam Smith, who was the first to say, "the best indication of future behavior is past behavior"
That is why I can't vote for Charlie, to me, by not voting all these years he hasn't demonstrated the respect the right and privilege deserve. As for George, in my opinion, he needs time. I know you feel differently and I can respect that.
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This is a crucial time. There is an opportunity to re-direct the school district and help bring back some honesty and transparency that is sorely absent. We can't afford to wait another 3 years to take this step to take the district back. We need change, not the same old smoke and mirrors.
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Well, I'm going to take a different direction. I've been an involved parent for many years. I don't find the district secretive but rather, people are uninformed because they don't try to educate themselves. I feel the community is apathetic until a month before the election/budget vote as evidenced by the lack of people at board meetings all year long. Only the same few concerned parent council women come. Accusations are made about drinking kool-aid, secret deals, etc. It's easy to throw words around.
I've heard that board members have met with politicians and our regent trying to find ways to cut costs and even have been meeting with other local boards and school officials looking for ways to reduce spending. I got that information by attending a board meeting. Also, there is a reason that the 4 new candidates are featured on the union web site, this board is trying to negotiate a contract that won't bankrupt the district in the future. Other than Lisa providing information about IB, I don't see any solid facts being discussed, just empty words that any person can spout. I think someone has to present the other side. After all, we are all entitled to our opinions.
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Dorothy,
Sorry. Many parents have to work, can't get out to meetings in the evening, etc. This little "my friend who works in Central knew about it so you're just out of the loop" attitude simply doesn't cut it. LVCSD is one of the LEAST transparent districts I have come across anywhere in the country.
Why doesn't LVCSD have its Board Actions posted for the month of April on the website? Today is May 12. There is no excuse for that. Many school districts broadcast their Board meetings live via the web and archive them immediately for public review. Not here. If LVCSD thinks you are scrutinizing ANYTHING budgetary or policy related, they make you fill out a FOIL and wait over 30 days for the information. That's called obstructionism and lack of transparency. They follow a "playbook" and this behavior is exhibited by administrators and Board members in every district I have investigated where IB has caused controversy.
There's no such thing as coincidence.
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Lisa:
I believe it has to do with the announcement of another COSTLY state mandate for next year; having to do with Primary/Elementary Reading skills!
MORE MONEY, MORE MONEY, MORE MONEY!
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Knowledgeable2,
Well, I'm sure it's something. You know the old saying, if you don't have something to hide, why all the secrecy? I am so sick and tired of hypocrites like these incumbents claiming they are "so transparent" when they are as transparent as mud. They waste our taxdollars on superfluous, ambiguous, morally relativistic programs like IB and can only "defend" their waste of money and poor results by personally attacking the questioner. They will not willingly produce stats or IB budget allocations, they play games with a budget Code for IB, they bury the stipends in a different section and they outright lie about facts and for this - we should have Dr. Chu and Ron Walsh making decisions about YOUR taxes and YOUR children's education for 15 and 12 years respectively?
The one type of person I really can't stand is a liar. I don't take calling someone a liar, lightly. Oftentimes, people say something they believe to be true because they were told it by someone they thought they could trust. When shown that what they were told is incorrect, the reasonable, intelligent person with common sense will realize they were duped by the people they trusted, not cling to lies. Our Board Trustees are elected to a position in which they vow to uphold the public trust. Would you trust any of the 3 incumbents to take over your personal finances and raise your children? I wouldn't.
Guess who I just discovered was partly behind the sneaky machinations to try and infect the Island Park schools with IB? My old "buddy", Dr. Shear .... LOL! He was hired as a sick-leave replacement for IP's MS. Word is everybody in the school hated him. Thank goodness the regular Principal is back on the job and I won't have to run into him, although I would have paid good money to see the expression on his face when I walk into the parent meeting on IB later this month.
Let me repeat - these "change agents" for IB do NOT have your children's best interests at heart. They are egotistical ideologues who lack character and integrity - I don't care how many times they have voted.
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Public unions throughout the country have put many states on the brink of bankruptcy, NYS $9B in debt is one of them.
The teachers unions are among the very worst.To its credit the current BOE has NOT given into the thug like pressure of the union for additional compensation and a long term contract.
That is why the unions are endorsing any candidate who is not an incumbent. Endorsement by the unions serves to hurt to candidates, that and the fact that no candidate has emerged, with the possible exception of Carr, who is qualified.
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Anon:
There are many citizens, like you, who are STRONGLY OPPOSED to public unions:
As much as this may be ONE cause of this state's, and in fact, this NATION'S fiscal disaster, it is more-likely due to POOR FISCAL MANAGEMENT IN GENERAL!
Small scale? It's Unfathomable to me, that our BOE continues to defend the IB Program! Implemented in BETTER ECONOMIC TIMES, the cost of the program did NOT seem to matter as much as it does now, IN THESE MORE DIFFICULT TIMES. Never-mind about all of the "undisclosed" costs: An IB class can have no less than 8, and no more than 12 students per class; multiplied by the number of classes, how does the BOE justify this incredible cost (in terms of staff) when teachers are being "cut" FIRST?! Those children with deficits, God bless them, deserve and REQUIRE whatever programs are available to them, TO ACHIEVE SKILLS NECESSARY FOR A PRODUCTIVE LIFE. The "gifted", however, are being provided with a COSTLY PROGRAM, leaving the AVERAGE STUDENT (because of the cuts) WITH LESS STAFF FOR THEM, AND LARGER CLASSES. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! Citizens are BERATING OUR TEACHERS while this "red-carpet/preferential treatment" is supported by our board. As I previously stated, "Yes", we (the taxpayers) voted for IB, however it's obvious WE CAN NO LONGER AFFORD IT! EVERY STUDENT IS ENTITLED TO AN "EXCELLENT" EDUCATION...
ESPECIALLY THE AVERAGE STUDENT:
NO IB; then let's see how many teachers (and it's not just teachers) NEED to be cut! I too pay continually rising taxes, and demand TOTAL FISCAL ACCOUNTABILITY!
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I have the greatest confidence in Dr. Chu, and there is nothing to suggest anything but a man of integrity. He is an Einstein fellow with PhD in Physics, worked in the defense industry as a senior executive, was the Dean of CW Post School of Business, is a successful entrepreneur, and he and his wife have lived in the community for over 20 years and raised four children, three who went on to fine colleges and universities, and their youngest son is still in the LV school system.
His resume speaks for itself, and is in stack contrast to the new candidates.
Mr. Bellarisi is also a productive member of our community who has run a successful insurance business. His son, a LV graduate, teachers and is the trainer at our high school.
Ron Walsh has an impressive resume but is overbearing, nasty and condescending. I only wish the community had a qualified candidate to replace him. Unfortunately, no one has emerged, with the possible exception of Mr. Carr.
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What a tool!!!!! you hate the incumbents but you`ll vote for them anyway.Murphy didn`t vote so that pisses u off how about who cares its his right NOT to vote tool! did you serve?Military that is .I bet no way to beneath you, well he did.Tell Dr. hunder what ever it didn`t work Bayvilles voting for a Change the right Change!!!!
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Chu - has personal grudge/vendetta against BOCES
Bellissarri - votes on his son's tenure, stipends and contract
Walsh - &%^$@#*!%
Carr - IB lover and daddy of IB student
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Anon,
Your anti-union "logic" doesn't work as reason for the unions supporting the challengers, because incumbent Ron Walsh is a public service union member.
Try again.
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how does one unincorporate a village??
sounds like a great idea can't really see any reason not to.our roads are horrible beaches are ugly and in reality what do we get for our tax dollars garbage pick-up. Oyster bay has garbage pick-up.Can anyone really tell us where our dollars are going?
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Please document credible evidence of Dr. Chu's vendetta against BOCES, and how this evidence bases vendetta compromised the interest of the LVSD.
I, myself, am not a big fan of BOCES but
my concerns wouldn't qualify as a grudge.
I'll check the public record to see if Mr. Bellissarri voted on his son's tenure.
Walsh, very hard to argue with.
Carr - well since his daughter received a full ride to Cornell (almost unheard of with an Ivy ) and the college told his wife the IB curriculum was an important part of the eevaluation (she told me) you would expect he would
anon2, are you having a seizure?
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Chase,
I agree with you. We should un-incorporate. As far as I can see we are a Village in name and only to support a certain sect of the population, who are nearly all realted to each other, and keep them employed, and receiving pensions and benefits.
The Mayor and the trustees of this town should be embarrassed to show their face around here. With an increase like this, and the physical disrepair of the village it is an embarrassment They are not doing anything about it.
This town is slowly becoming a slum and everyone's property value is and will continue to tank.
Oh and by the way, Democracy is dead here. At least it is still alive and well in the BOE elections!
Bayville is holding a special election to run one year trustee seat vacated by Doug Watson. IMHO, they should have ran this seat last year during the real election.
The man they appointed for one year has refused to run, I guess he likes walking onto a board instead of going through the scrutiny of an election. This Village does do a thing or two to anyone who runs for anything!
So we have another hand picked guy who will run unopposed for the remaining one year term. I am sure next year the three trustees up ( whichwill include this new guy) will run unopposed again... making it a trifecta! Three elections in as may years with no opposition.
Democracy is dead.
And please, do not tell me it is because people are happy!!! Anyone who has friends, neighbors or socializes in this Village knows that is not the case. You do not have to look far or in too many groups to hear the same disgruntled comments about the condition of our Village.
I actually wish Stimols and Murphy would swith and run for trustee! I know it sounds selfish but that is where we need them!
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How many mailings on the school budget are necessary? It's bad enough that the glossy edition came first, followed by another legal size sheet, but now another?
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My husband is a police officer and they made many concessions and had pay reductions unlike the teachers union.
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Mary - everyone is making concessions. It's unfair to say that the teachers aren't especially given the fact that negotiations are not public. Any contract that has been settled recently shows the concessions made (especially now since Newsday reports every single one).
You neglect to mention the fact that police officers earn top salary in 5 years while most teachers have to wait 20+ years (depending on the contract) to earn top salary.
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Lisa,
I went to the administration to review minutes and confirm Bellissarri voted for his son's tenure. I tried to do so online but the site only shows actions by the board.
The May 6, 2009, minutes show his son Tim was tenured but that his father, Phil, recused himself and didn't vote.
If you have evidence that Phil voted stipends or contracts involving his son please produce them as I can find no evidence he did. Also, Thank you
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Anon,
That's good to know Bellissarri recused himself as it would be a conflict of interest. That's more than Ron Walsh would do when he introduced that ridiculous G.R.E.A.T. program. (Gang Resistance Education and Training). Why these incumbents treat LVCSD like it is some gang-infested ghetto in desperate need of social justice, is beyond me.
As to Chu, anyone can check his voting record on the BOCES budget.
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Just confirmed by a teacher that the the unions are paying all Murphy's campaign expenses. So if a voter supports the teachers and unions demand for an additional pay increase and as a result higher taxes vote for: Murphy, Segurs and Stimola.
If you support the current boards refusal for another pay increase support, Chu, Bellissarri, and Walsh. if you can't bring yourself to vote for Walsh vote for Carr.
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Bill,
WHAT campaign expenses?
Murphy, Stimola and Segura supported eliminating IB. Remove IB, LOWER taxes!
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Signs and fliers cost money.
Removing IB will not lower taxes or maybe a few dollars. Enough already.
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FACT: The signs were made UNBENOUNCED to the candidates- "UNAUTHORIZED CONTRIBUTIONS",(people should check these facts for themselves, I did) and FYI: ANY program (especially costly ones like I
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Oh ho! What's this I see? Signs for just Phil & Yao? Where's the 3rd Musketeer? What happened to that TEAM work and solidarity? Isn't that what we were told? They are a unified TEAM?
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CORRECTION- I mis-used a term, and would like to set the record straight: Although two candidates (that I know of) DID NOT approve the purchase of any signs, it is not considered an "UNAUTHORIZED" contribution.
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I am right with you about unincorporating. Our streets are horrid! We get snow plowed- that is it. And they do a lousy job of it if you remember this winter we had. Garbage collection can be handled by TOB.
Have you seen the state of our sidewalks, paths and beaches? HORRID.
As far as the "poor teachers" they are anything BUT. Maybe the beaches will be cleaned up when THEY start complaining as THEY sit on their bums ALL SUMMER and notice the trash isn't being picked up around them because the village is broke because they are paying for their "SUMMER VACATIONS" at $120,000 a YEAR salary includes!!!!!
VOTE NO!
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I absolutely disagree with dissolving Bayville's incorporated status. Why would you want to give up the most precious of local control when it comes to zoning, property ownership and village privileges? You want a new low-income government housing complex built in the Harrison-Williams woods? You want to open up the Bayville Village beaches, tennis courts and Creek docks to all Nassau County residents? Look at the condition of Bayville Avenue, folks. What makes you think Nassau County will adopt repair and maintenance of all of our current private roads with public access?
For some reason, newcomers to Bayville whine about those who volunteer to serve as Trustees and Mayor and think bigger government is the solution. It's NOT.
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Lisa, are you intimating that I am a newcomer to Bayville? Hmmm.... I have lived here for over 25 years. How long do I have to live here to be a "regular?"
Yes! Let's take a look at Bayville Avenue, or rather, let's try to fish out all the cars that have been swallowed whole in the pot holes....
Let's talk about the private roads- the bane of my existence... NOTHING gets repaired because they are "private" the Village has an "out" so they don't have to fix anything or resolve conflicts and the homeowners can never agree on plans for improvement.
I am a conservative and do not believe bigger government is the solution, as you said I do. I advocate better government... in other words- someone who knows what in hell they are doing!
The 25 year newcomer
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Chu, Walsh and Bellissari ALL approved the change to bill the taxpayers for the cost of IB and AP exams. When they actually "voted" on this, I cannot say, but I believe it was sometime two years ago. If someone else can locate the Board meeting at which this $100,000+ item was approved, I would appreciate the info.
Walsh, Chu, Bellissari and Carr, fully support wasting $10,000 a year for the IB membership fee. This fee also grants teachers access to the OCC (online curriculum center) but for you the taxpayers, viewing of that site is VERBOTEN!
Walsh, Chu, and Bellissari approved IB teacher training - IN HAWAII!!!!!!!!!
Mr. Buonospina receives stipends not only for being the IB Coordinator, but for being the advisor to the IB Leadership Club and the Model UN Club.
LVCSD pays over $5,000 a year in IB mailing costs.
LVCSD has averaged $2,400-3,200 a year "appealing" IB Diplomas where students only scored a 23.
How about the "exclusive" IB only field trips to China? Remember Dr. Shear's little trip to China costing the taxpayers $1,900?
One out of every 3 students who wastes their final two years of HS in the DP, FAILS to earn the IBDP. 1 out of 3.
Wake up people.
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To Concerned LV:
MY VOCABULARY is limited. Please tell me what unbenounced means. Thank you
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Anon,
That's the European spelling of "unbeknownst" , smart ass
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Lisa,
You throw a lot of numbers around and make a lot of accusations. Back them up with concrete evidence.
Your half truths are remarkable.
Sorry, to disappoint you but IB will never be cut. Even if the budget goes down and new candidates are elected The community loves the program and the parents rave about it.
if fact my child was an IB Diploma Candidate and missed the diploma by a few points. Still he got into a top college and received 12 college credits, hardly a waste of time.
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Bill,
The evidence is all in my website - look it up. I speak the full truth. It is LVCSD which is spewing half-truths and outright lies, when it bothers to provide any information at all.
I'm sorry your child wasn't able to earn even the lowest form of the IB Diploma with a score of 24. That's pretty sad considering a student could FAIL half of the IB exams and still earn the Diploma if the other half of their scores were good. Your idea of a "top" college and mine may be very different. Let me guess - SUNY Binghamton?
The community loves the program and parents "rave" about it? That's very funny. Keep deluding yourself.
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Let's NOT talk about "throwing numbers around" and "accusations". The "smear campaign" that has been conducted by particularly "anonymous" blog entries against a "certain" candidate, has not only been inaccurate on nearly All accounts, but has also twisted the facts to support their opposition to this "certain" candidate. IT IS NOT WORKING. Change is in the air: You can feel it like electricity my friend! When have the Leader, Teachers' Union, AND "Lisa" ever backed the same candidate? THIS SPEAKS TO A CERTAIN RESPECT. Do you really think THEY are ALL fools? They know where EVERYONE stands: THEY WANT AN OPEN, HONEST BOARD, THAT VOTES THEIR CONSCIENCE, NOT FOR A SPECIFIC "AGENDA", or they would NOT AGREE!
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ConcernedinLV,
What's your prediction on the budget? Pass or Fail?
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I'm not sure! This year "feels" different from other years, but typically our district tends to vote "FOR" the budget, fearing the "children" will be the ones that suffer, AND... What's the old saying?:
MAY THE BEST MAN WIN!
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ConcernedinLV,
If people really care about the children, they will put a halt to this insane runaway taxing and spending by LVCSD. Don't let the fearmongering status quo and PTA affect your common sense!
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it isn't the newcomers complaining its us oldtimers seeing how run down our village has become.Center of town is horrid. Town of OB does a beautiful job with upkeep of roads, beaches etc.
unincorporating has its plus's don't you think?
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Chase,
I agree it is not the newcomers to Bayville I was referring to either. It is life long residents with generations behind them that see the disrepair and the direction this Village has taken in the past 5-8 years. Even when the economy was good, our Village seemed to be slow on the uptake and miss the mark on planning and improving our Village.
There were some good intentions, but the overall plan and how to follow through never seemed to materialize and/or come to fruition.
Lisa, Do you think the ZBA and Architectural review Board has done this Village justice??? Look at the place. Until recently, flag lots were allowed and they ruined entire blocks and neighborhoods. That is the local control we want? Give into the flag lot because the local builder needed a favor answered?? If it was not for a select group of resident who vigorously fought against a flag lot subdivision a few years ago, the law would not have come to be.
Just like you predicted or voiced your opinion that we should redistrict our SD, the same arguments can and should be made about unincorporating. Even if it never comes to pass, a debate on how and what is going on here needs to be had. Like the BOE, everyone complains and does not do anything until tax increases are announced. People need to be standing up and heard. I think George mentioned that type of apathy at the BOE level regarding the public.
I appreciate anyone who devotes their time to any cause. Hoever, part of being on a public board is that you have to be confronted with issues that lie within your realm. Wo else is to blame other that the Vilage and the people who have run it for the condition of this Village and its entities such as beaches, roads it is responsible for, overall appearance, lack of direction?
The trustees and Mayor are and do receive benefits for their families for life and the Mayor position receives a full pension, the only Mayor on LI to receive a full pension for a part time "volunteer" job. I do not consider that type of compensation as volunteer work. All the other positions are paid with exception to the appointments on committees.
You are right 100% with the District. You have been right for a while but your approach has been off putting to some. Let the people who have a legitimate concern and issue with the appearance of this Village voice their concerns. We are not moving and we want this Village to improve and be the best it can be, for our families, our home values and quality of life.
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Taxed Payer,
I was a member of the Planning Board and Architectural Review Board from 1995-2000.I served with some excellent gentlemen and we took our positions seriously. The biggest sub-division at the time was the old Cotell estate (private road).
I don't know what's so terrible about the center of town - the clock is nice, the tulips were pretty when blooming ....
I know I didn't receive any pay, pension or "benefits" when I served on the Planning Board.
I know I didn't approve any flag lots during my term.
So if you want to assign blame, isn't it easier to find the agency responsible for the problem at the local vs. the Town or County level? Here you can demand accountability. But cite a specific problem, not something vague like the center of town looks crummy.
You wanna go after all of the Hispanics fishing off the bridge at night?
I'm with ya.
You want to challenge a particular zoning ordinance? Go for it.
But the benefits of being an incorporated village FAR outweigh the benefits disincorporation. If you think your home values are dropping now, watch them plummet if Bayville disincorporates.
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To Lisa
have you not seen the building that the deli is in? how about the building on the left entering town right before the
fish market? the roads are horrible has anyone contacted NC? yes the tulips are nice.
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Chase,
Well, the beverage looks the same to me as it has looked for 35 years, so I guess it doesn't bother me. I told them to at least replace the stained and faded curtains in the window, but it doesn't look like they've taken my decorating advice. Roger told me the whole building is going to be undergoing an overhaul and they wanted the "look" to be consistent.
Maybe I need new glasses but I don't see the litter and garbage everyone seems to be referring to and I know our Village guys help keep up the Adopt-a-Spots too.
Remember when Vicki got those ugly planters that looked like sarcophagus'? Everyone complained and they're all gone now. Do you think if Nassau County had installed those things you would have been able to get rid of them as quickly?
Small businesses are hurting. Real estate is tanking. You can't expect the Village to force private owners to accept a lower rent. If the owners prefer to leave these buildings empty, well, that's a problem. Maybe someone should talk to the owners about that empty Hardware Store. Unless you want the Village to declare eminent domain and condemn the properties, which really is rather anti-American, I don't know what you can do about it.
As someone pointed out though, if a year has passed and a building permit is still open, the owner should comply or be fined. That's Jim Goolsby's department.
And I thought you were going to call Nassau County!
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Flash, did you know that Charlie Murphy works at the Sewanaka yacht club and is the employee of Lawrence Lally a board member of the club. Mr. Lally is also the owner of the Leader who has always been an advocate against the teachers and the LVCSD. Both Mr. lally and Mr. Murphy are arch conservatives and the union I would expect are mostly democrats. I guess Mr. Murphy thinks got away with something since he has been telling everyone in bayville that the teachers union is paying for all of his campaign expenses. He really duped the union on this one, and since he is Mr. Lally's employee I would expect that he will certainly past information to the leader including confidential information regarding techers and other employees. So just remember this when you vote and for those of you out there who think Murphy is a great guy you may get what you wish for and don't fotget the teachers, they're only in it for the money they so desparatly want. They really don't care about the taxpayer because they think we have plenty of money.
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FYI,
Anyone who is a ignorant and writes as poorly as you do, does not deserve to be listened to.
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hahaha - typo - anyone who is "AS" ignorant
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Bingo! I was wondering why The Leader endorsed someone who never voted and never attended a board meeting.
So Lally picks his employee, really when you think of it no surprise, The Leader is a rag and never had any editorial integrity. Still the marriage of the tea party (Lally and Murphy) to the unions will make for some very disappointed people. Lally may have a few bucks but he certainly isn't very smart.
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Bingo! Now it makes sense. Lally endorses his own employee. I was wondering why he endorsed someone who never voted and never attended a board meeting. Now it fits, he can control his employee.
Not really a surprise when you think of about it. The Leader never had any editorial integrity. The fireworks will go of if Murphy gets elected and he has to deliver a raise to the unions. Lally will flip. Lally has a few bucks but no one ever said he was smart.
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Anon,
What makes you think they are "married" to the unions? That is the stupidest smear you've come up with yet. Chances are, someone like Murphy (and Lally) would support FIRING the entire teaching staff like that Superintendent up in Rhode Island had the balls to do.
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/02/16/rh-school-superintendent-fires-entire-staff-at-failing-school/
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Really, the unions are printing up Murphy's posters because he will support firing them? Talk about stupid.
So now Lally will try and control the school district through his employee, and you feel they will try and fire all the teachers (not even realistic) who paid all Murphy's election expenses.
Wow, are the teachers ever stupid, and you my dear, quite brilliant!
By the way there is a difference between "a" and "an"
AND PEOPLE TOLD ME i WAS WASTING MY TIME GOING ON THIS BLOG. THIS IS REALLY ENTERTAINING
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Dear Simon,
I corrected by typo correctly with "as" reflecting upon a state of ignorance. If I wanted to refer to the noun, IGNORAMUS, that is when it would be proper to precede it with 'an' ... for example,
It is hard to find an ignoramus bigger than Simon.
Just curious, when did Mr. Lally become the sole owner of Seawanaka Yacht Club?
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Lisa,Lisa, Lisa I believe the only ignorant person on this blog is you, maybe I should feel sorry for but guess what I don't. All you do is criticize anyone who disagrees with and you call them names. Very childish!!
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Well, Lisa my dear, perhaps you are unaware but the Superintendent, you refer to in RI, is a women. If so, I doubt she has 'balls." Did I miss something in anatomy? i don't want to use the term ignoramus but ...
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Though Lisa may be a "tough pill to swallow" at times, and often a bit "abrasive" to those who disagree with her, I find her both entertaining, AND enlightening, (occasional mistakes and all)as she readily admits when she's wrong (NONE of us are perfect) and more importantly, SHE BACKS-UP HER STATEMENTS WITH LINKS to see for oneself!
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Lisa is precisely why most Bayvillians do not bother with this blog. She is the definition of a cyberbully.
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Thank you, ConcernedinLV.
Funny thing, this blog is nothing but spam until I post on it, so cyber name-calling from LVCSD cowards like "anon", "FYI", "crunchy mommy" and "Simon" - is laughable.
Unable to defend their lies and defamatory allegations, they seek to distract from the issues at hand and resort to personal attacks.
@ Simon,
I don't know if YOU are missing something anatomically, but I used the term 'balls' figuratively, not literally. Obviously you missed the point that a strong Superintendent, one with business skills and the guts (do you prefer the word guts? Both men and women have guts, I'm pretty sure) to stand up to the union and fire the whole stinking lot of teachers for refusing to agree to a contract which asked for 25 minutes of their time without compensation - is an admirable position and something we would never see out of Hunderfund or supported by the current weasels on the Board. Would Murphy support such a move? As a Conservative, I believe he would. I don't know where Stimola would fall on such an issue, but I'm willing to give him a chance.
I notice no one came back with a link to demonstrate Mr. Lally's purchase of the Seawanaka Yacht Club. There's an old saying, if you can't back it up, shut up.
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One more thing - the per capita income for Bayville is $41,594:
http://realestate.aol.com/neighborhoods-Bayville-NY-11709/Bayville/id-11709
This is a comparable private sector/teacher salary ratio to what they were looking at up in RI. When a working couple making $80-85,000 has to spend $10,000 on property taxes for an average home on top of their mortgage payments, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand why voting NO on this out of control budget is our only hope for putting the brakes on the total destruction of the Bayville housing market.
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As a member of the board, Mr. Lally is the boss an old Charlie knows if he doesn't tow the line the same fate awaits him as hIs wife.
As you know, in NYYS a district can not just fire an entire teaching staff. Beside why would the district do so when it has the highest graduation rate in the county, and is one of the premier school districts in the country. I know this pains you but it is true. In RI we are talking about a failing school system, with a very low graduation rate.
Murphy doesn't know the first thing about education and only developed an interest when his wife was excessed. PROFF, HE NEVER VOTED IN A BOARD ELECTION OR ATTENDED A BOARD MEETING.
By the way, where is the evidence Dr, Chu has a grudge against BOCES? Because his voting record doesn't support their agenda? Please many people don't support particular agendas and it certainly doesn't mean they have a grudge.
I love the contrast in qualifications between Dr. Chu, on the one hand and Murphy and George on the other.
An Einstein Fellow, PhD, Head of a business school, Defense Industry Executive, successful entrepreneur, successful father who raised four children vs a nice 25 year old boy (George is a nice boy, I agree) who lives with his parents, doesn't pay property taxes, hasn't yet found his career, although I am sure he will some day, never attended a board meeting and voted once in a board election.
Now, I wonder who might contribute more to our school district? Yes,a real tough one.
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Anon spluttered:
"By the way, where is the evidence Dr, Chu has a grudge against BOCES? Because his voting record doesn't support their agenda?"
DOH! BOCES has an agenda? Whatever could that be, Anon? I'm glad you see a budget as an agenda, it is why I am urging a NO vote on LVCSD's. Could the BOCES budget be an agenda that is FOR THE CHILDREN? One which Chu has voted against? You can't deny it, because you know I am right. He could have recused himself. He didn't.
Enough said. Time for new blood.
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I know that we are constantly told that we are a top district, but I don't see it. For whatever reason the teachers are unwilling to provide extra help in the high school before school. My teaching contract states that I have to provide extra help 1x per week. I do it at least 3x a week. Why? Because I am a teacher. Yesterday when I left work at 5pm there were 6 other cars in the lot. Are there that many elementary school teachers still at work on a Friday afternoon in Bayville? LV? That is what makes a top tier school. You need teachers who will do whatever it takes to make their students successful, not people who are sticklers about how much time off they'll be getting.
I also would like to see the statistic of how many young adults only complete their first year of college away, and then return home. It seems like a lot around here. One has to wonder whether we are actually preparing the students, or simply throwing highly weighted grades at them to get the positive press. Perhaps it is due to the fact that parental opinions carry very little weight in college, so Junior finds the real world too demanding without a strong defense. Anyway, I'd like to see that stat in a comparative table to other districts.
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Dear Concerned,
You are right to be concerned. LVCSD's specious claim of excellence due to the Newsweek ranking is simply ridiculous. In fact, I am just about to send off an e-mail to Mr. Mathews regarding #13 on his 2010 list:
http://www.newsweek.com/content/newsweek/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools/list.html
Someone on this board made a comment about who is more credible, WAPO or myself. You see, I know a little something about N. Charleston, SC. It happens to be a gang and drug infested district. When my husband and I were looking around at properties last summer, we were specifically warned by locals to avoid the area. Note that the List does not have ** after N. Charleston to indicate that it is IB. In fact, Jay doesn't even call the school by its real name, just calls it an "academic magnet":
http://www.ibo.org/school/001132/
And let me once again remind LVCSD taxpayers about the Advanced Regents Diploma rates:
LVCSD - 77%
Jericho - 92%
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I'm sooooo tired of hearing about what other schools have/do. Perhaps it's this ever-present, "keeping up with the Jonses'" attitude, that is ruining our great school . Of course keeping-up with what's new, and what has worked successfully in other "premier" districts is important, HOWEVER, this does NOT mean that we should simply "adopt" what works well for them, as ours. Every district, though similar as they may seem, is different. Seems to me, that we're so busy copying other districts, that we've forgotten to think for ourselves. How about WE start thinking "out of the box", as these other districts did for THEMSELVES,(to become the "premier" districts that they are) and find what works best for LVCSD? Maybe then, for a change, other districts would look to US as an example. Do you think the top-notch schools "copy" other schools? They set the bar high, not by copying other districts as we do, but by breaking from the status quo, to implement what they feel works for their district. We're not doing that, we're just blindly following, hoping that it'll work as well for us. IT IS NOT! LVCSD is/was an excellent district: PLEASE! Let's start thinking for ourselves, really!
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I've heard we are referred to as "Jericho North" - could explain why so many former Jericho people are getting jobs here
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I agree enough has been said concerning the qualifications of the candidates. It is clear both Stimola and Murphy are not qualified, BUT ONE MAY HAVE CHANCE OF WINNING.
Why? Though he has some impressive qualifications, Mr. Walsh is almost universally disliked. He is arrogant, pompous, condescending and a bully. Many people will have trouble voting for him.
This opens up a position. It has nothing to do with the teachers supporting a candidate, or the academic performance of the school, or the financial condition of the district. It has to do with Mr. Walsh's deportment.This gives all the new candidates an opportunity, regardless of proficiency and aptitude.
My prediction:
1- Chu, big winner, almost universally respected, except of course Lisa
2- Bellirasi - solid record, solid citizen, well liked
3- Walsh, Stimola or Murphy. I'll pick Walsh. People will hold their nose and vote for him since Stimola and Murphy are not qualified.
4- Stimola - large family and Fire dept. and teacher vote
5- Murphy - Teacher and old time Bayville vote.
6 - Carr well qualified, a very successful businessman but totally unknown in Bayville.
7 Segura-sorry, can't manage her own credit cards.
My vote:
1- Chu
2 -Bellisari
3-Carr
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At the end of the day, what are people so afraid of? Even if you put three new candidates in, there are 4 remaining seasoned members that will be mentors and lead the way while the newbies learn the ropes.
I cannot take this notion that candidates need to be ultra qualified to win. In my opinion, a person who is successful in their field, has good skill sets, has a brain, can articulate their thoughts and is not afraid to speak up , especially to have a healthy debate on a board, is qualified to run and win.
People in this town and district like to put the fear factor in others by painting a picture of doomsday if people who they do not want to win, get in. Newsflash! some of our elected high-up officials win and hold government offices straight out of the private sector. That was what our founding fathers intended. Government for the people , by the people.
If you are a leader you know how to communicate, organize, brainstorm, solve problems and work with people. Those are skills that most successful people possess. They are the qualifications I look for in a candidate.
Chu is in for me, I am still between Murphy, Stimola and Segura. I want new blood, I like the idea that there will be differing views on a board.
After this election, lets talk about fixing the Bayville board and their monopoly of one party, one mind board rule!!!!
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Based on what you just said I'm amazed you would even have Murphy on your list. The man knows nothing and certainly can't articulate anything, just listen to him, mcase closed.
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Taxed Payer,
The problem as I see it, is even when we are presented with candidates who APPEAR to be able to politely disagree with a Superintendent's recommendation, once they attend the SB training in Albany, they are all instructed (badgered and coerced) into voting as a "team" in a show of "solidarity" for the Superintendent. Thus, if an issue cannot be resolved in executive session, it rarely comes before the public for a vote.
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To Taxpayer,
I too am confused. Does George Stimola even remotely
meet the criterion you set up?
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FYI,
I listened to Murphy at the MTC and what I heard was COMMON SENSE - something completely lacking in every 7-0 vote on this Board. I can't recall if it was Chu & Walsh or Belliassari and Walsh who both spouted the Newsweek crap stats. I'm in the middle of a back and forth with Jay. I called him out on his N. Charleston (#13) listing of last year. He told me, "Don't live in the past. My new list will be out on Sunday." So then I called him out on his 6% claim and provided him with my source for 15,924 schools. I am waiting for him to provide me with HIS.
Now, I'm sure Dr. Chu can blow me out of the water with his knowledge of physics. I would defer to him on any issue which required application of the laws of physics or calculations. But for some reason, he has blinders on when it comes to accepting and promoting propaganda like Jay Mathews' List and voting to spend our taxdollars on wasteful programs and glossy brochures using false prestige based upon a fraudulent list. That's not COMMON SENSE smart. That is disingenuous.
Think if Locust Valley was #13 on the Newsweek List -- OMG! They would be wetting themselves! But somehow, Jay created an "academic magnet" with 27 students to manipulate it into that position. An "academic magnet" that ISN'T, but is really an IB World School (but not noted as a ** school). Because when you run the numbers against the entire high school, it would probably come in at #1600. This is why Jay doesn't want to talk about it.
When you walk into Wheatley HS, enlarged pictures of the cast and crew from every year's plays are on display. Walk into Glen Cove MS and really incredible student art work is proudly displayed. There are many good things about our district, the best being THE STUDENTS and yet, they are only thought of as a number to shove LVHS up Jay's List. That's not only disgusting, it's demeaning and insulting to our intelligence.
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CORRECTION: There actually is an Academic Magnet School in N. Charleston - major mea culpa:
http://amhs.ccsdschools.com/
and it's not IB.
But I'm still standing by the 6% dispute.
Do you feel it is fair to compare a general public high school with a magnet school which requires pre-admission essays and applications?
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Riddle me this: Why is the gym roof not finished, after nearly a month, with the contractor having been thrown off the job, by those who run our district's facilities? Now, they're asking the taxpayers to support a 2 million dollar expenditure (from the Capital Reserve Fund) for MORE capital improvements, when they've been UNABLE to complete a job as simple as NEW ROOF? UNBELIEVABLE!
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Anon,
No, George does not fit that criteria for me but the other three newbies do. I thought I wrote earlier that although I did like what George said and how he spoke, I would have a difficuly time voting for someone who did not own a house here and pay taxes here.
FYI, I did not know if you were talking to me or Lisa??
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ON TUESDAY: VOTE NO
PROPOSITION 3&4
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Knowledgeable2,
Good question. And why hasn't the cracked cement in front of the MS/HS been fixed or the promised air conditioning installed in the Auditorium? It was more important to waste $50,000 on parking lot "studies", I guess.
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Hey, this is interesting. Looks like The Leader's website is down:
http://www.theleaderonline.com/
And still - no April Board Actions at LVCSD: http://lvcsd.k12.ny.us/board_of_education/board_actions
Such transparency! Yes, you sheeple should definitely support this amazing transparency and 21st century technological expertise....LOL!
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I was speaking to Taxed Payer and I was refrencing your second paragraph. The only criteria he might meet is suscessful in his field but I don't think so, he's just an employee of Lally. Suscessful chefs usually own their own place or are partners with someone who owns a restaurant. Neither of those apply to him.
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I wonder what the TOTAL amount of tax dollars is, that has been spent on "studies" and "consulting firms", for all of these fabulous "improvements" that our district has made in the past 12 years?
I've heard, that the "NEW" music wing's floor (circa 2006) has already had to be replaced, due to IMPROPER INSTALLATION: AND WE PAID FOR IT BOTH TIMES, TAXPAYERS!
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Everyone keeps talking about being qualified, but everyone was new at one point in time. I think we need some new eyes monitoring the way money is being spent in the district. Everyone on that Board is so enamored by Newsweek that they fail to see how insignificant and meaningless that list really is. And yet the school is willing to spend over $70,000 to over test our students.
As far as improvements, why is it that a list of improvements can't be posted somewhere? Is it necessary to re-do the guidance office? I hear the counselors have to relocate while it's being done.
What about all of the mailings? There have been 3 for this budget alone.
It's just time to change. Just remember that there are no qualifications to be on the Board (just being 18 and a resident). I am hoping that a new blood will invigorate everyone and restore some of the transparency and integrity that has been lost these past 3 years.
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Well, it is not the Newsweek survey, but this study ranks the District in the top 5% of all school districts in the state, and t#7 of 138 districts on LI.
Good news Lisa, this gives you an opportunity to tear apart another survey. It just couldn't be that LV IS A TOP SCHOOL DISTRICT. The surveys must be flawed.
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/NY/district/17700/search.aspx
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Rita,
I don't know why people are so obsessed with meaningless "rankings". At $35,000 per student, we should be #1. We're not.
The following e-mail arrived this morning. It came to me from Chicago, but it could have been written by an LVHS parent:
Comments: Hi-
I am the parent of a junior in HS in an IB Program. He is depressed, stressed out, and sometimes ill. He wants out of the program very badly, and in fact quit last summer only to be pressured back into it by the IB coordinator. It has been a terrible mistake as his junior year report card is a mess.
We are awaiting an appointment to withdraw from the program, but the IB director is warning us that he cannot withdraw from the program and stay at the school. She said he made a two year commitment and that he will be unable to take honors classes or AP classes.
My son is not interested in most of the classes he will have to endure next year and would prefer to follow his own interests and put together a maneagable class load. He is considering early graduation, which he does't really want, just to avoid another year in this program.
He is not a lazy guy or party dude. He is a very hard worker. But he also would like to play lacrosse and get a decent night's sleep.
He is also "required" to test in AP also, without any class instruction. This he is supposed to be educating himself on from a book.
Can a public school deny access into other classes just because he was in IB?"
-----------------
I hear LVHS is signing kids up for AP exams without the accompanying class or parental permission. That is UNACCEPTABLE, especially since WE THE PEOPLE are being forced to pay for these exams with our taxes. Looks like LVCSD is taking its policy advice from Chicago thugs. Enough is enough!
VOTE NO!
Murphy & Stimola
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@Rita -
What is the ranking based on?
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FYI
I think your reasoning behind Murphy's lack of experience is bizarre and condescending. Working as an Exec Chef is a tremendous undertaking that requires many skills and leadership. So he does not own his own restaurant....that is a very hard industry to own your own business in and the fact that he does not own his own is NOT a reflection of anything bad.
There are board members on there now and in the past whose only criteria was that they were a parent.
Do not put down Mr. Murphy.
Mr. Lally does not own Sewanaka so please stop perpetuating that lie.
Mr. Lally is a coniving man and I do not like him or his practices in business, but he is not Mr. Murphy's "boss".
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Actually the average cost per student is not $35k, and the cost per student at Jericho is substantially higher, almost 10%
2011/12 Budget #of students cost per student
Jericho $112k 3094 $36,300 (rounded)
Locust Valley $74k 2211 $33,400 (rounded)
One would expect the cost per student at Jericho to be lower than LV since economies of scale bring down average cost for larger units. I don't know if Jericho runs inefficiently or that LV is just very efficient by comparison.
9
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It is not quite so. According to State Education, Locust Valley has 2,900 school age children with 700 attending private schools. We pay for private bus and text book for about $5 million, would you say? Deduct whatever it is and you will get more accurate number.
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What is up with the leader online, do you think they smartened up and pulled the online version??? I know many people who would just read the editorials online and not buy the paper.
Even though we have 700 kids attending private schools, those kids parents still pay their full school tax bill. Only a portion of their kids education is being actually funded by the district. So the district is not truly paying the same rate per kid for education for those kids.
Also, I am not well versed in this, but isn't some of that money for books and testing etc. paid for by the state for certain private schools?
I would love to know the number of kids from Jericho, North Shore and Syosset who are sent to private schools. Are we average? Are we ending a large percentage of kids to private schools??? It would be interesting to see and compare.
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@Taxed Payer
You are absolutely right. I hope I did not come across with the impression that private school kids do not deserve private bus and textbook because their families do also pay taxes. The more accurate number is somewhere between dividing the budget by 2200 and 2900.
We are quite unique for the high % of kids going to private schools. jericho used to have almost 30% kids going to private schools but now only 2%.
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To Anon,
if you are really interested in the survey, hit the link and go to the site, and it explains the methodology. Basically, it takes all the english and math state assessment and regents for all school in the state, grades 3 through 12 and ranks the results.
It is an interesting approach. Locust Valley results are very impressive. Top 5% in the state is great, but #8 on LI is absolutely outstanding.
To me, the interesting side bar is Hunderfund was the Assistant Superintendent of Academics and Curriculum at Jericho during its rise to arguably the best academic school district in the state. Now it seems she is doing the same thing for LV. Of course the value structure of the community is different so LV will not be Jericho but the district has already become an excellent academic school district.
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Spoke with a couple of Locust Valley teachers over the weekend who are absolutely incensed that their union dues go to support three totally unqualified candidates.
So I asked them if they plan to do anything about it. They replied, no! Why ? The union acts likes thugs and just shouts everyone down, Apparently, Gabby and some union guy Steve from outside the district control everything. These teachers said the teachers from within the district don't support the union stance, and the younger teachers are totally turned off. . Well, I would guess so, since the union decided not to take a freeze on steps and instead decided to let some new teachers get laid off. Gabby said it's the district's fault. She claims this is a high wealth district and the board should have raised the budget more. She must be in dreamland.
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I find what you have just said to be highly unlikely. I would guess you're someone on the current board.
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Anyone know what is with the leader? Are they out of business? I got hold of a copy of todays Newsday. There is budget nd candidates information there.
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No, actually Gabby said that to a number of people. Are you Gabby? If so don't deny it.
love this blog whenever someone says something they don't like they say the person must be on the BOE
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Oh I love being right!
I just heard back from Jay Mathews. His source for coming up with the 27,000 U.S. high schools number was:
http://store.collegeboard.com/sto/productdetail.do?Itemkey=006593
That INCLUDES all of the private high schools in the U.S. which are NOT included in his ranking system.
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"Spoke with a couple of Locust Valley teachers over the weekend who are absolutely incensed that their union dues go to support three totally unqualified candidates."
Would those three be Obama, Pelosi and Reid?
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No, they were bonnie and clyde.
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Tapped Out,
I have no idea who you are. I had to read back to see what your position was on what.
Bayville Avenue is a County Road. The Village is not responsible for repair or maintenance of Bayville Avenue. Perry, Ludlam and Mountain are maintained by the Village, if you'll recall, Vicki wanted to blow up Perry Avenue because of all of the headaches it gave the Village.
Do you think TOB is going to "take care of the garbage", trash pick-up and recycling .... FOR FREE? Think again, muh dear. IF, TOB is in the position to add an entire village to its existing workforce and equipment, you will pay for it in your General Taxes. If not, then you will have to pay for private sanitation like they do in Syosset. The most recent report I could find was from 2005 and at that time, Syosset residents paid $913 for private sanitation:
http://www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/Comptroller/documents/Disparity_Report_2007-2.pdf
We do have an ordinance in place where if 51% of the homeowners in an association or on a block want their road fixed, they can contract for the work to be done and lien the property taxes of the homeowners who refuse to contribute. I have lived on the east and west end of town and both of the streets I have lived on are nicely paved and in good repair. The residents on streets like Arlington are simply dysfunctional and incapable of taking care of their road, expecting government to do it for them.
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Why quote some archaic Syosset numbers, when just around the corner in Lattingtown, garbage pick up runs $40 per month and you can throw out anything you want!
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I think the BOE and the incumbent candidates should be commended. There is no teacher contract. I think this is because their demands are unreasonable. Despite possible negative consequences the BOE is standing firm. So what happens? The union backs and pays the expenses for new people to get on the board for what reason? To be their puppets?
Although the present members were new at one point, many of them had a lot of experience dealing with the school system.
I looked up what a BOE trustee's role is. It's not as powerful as many on this blog think.
I commend anyone who decides to run for a volunteer position. As such, I don't want to say anything critical about them however, their lack of experience, voting record, and non-attendance at BOE meeting play a large role in whom I will vote for.
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Here is the LV teachers union slate:
http://lvsea.com/
Not me in case you want my opinion.
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Just got off Facebook: Stimola's posted some decent experience. Don't know who's been saying he's got no experience. Thought you had better see for yourself. why did he wait so long to release this info?
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@Anon
The union chief told me HE got Stimola to run so they can get better deals.
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crunchy mommy,
Proof please. Does that include trash pick up and recycling? Back door service? 2x a week or 3x? What's the name of the sanitation company that handles Lattingtown (and are you related to it?)
Remember, I AM the woman who fought the blue bags, and won.
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Oh Lisa, I just love how you took almost the highest number on that list, typical of your cyberbullying tactics. You also neglected to mention that Syosset has "back door" pick up. Shame, shame! Do you think that no one looks at the "confirmation" links that you post?
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I love it - put a spin on it.....You may chose the company you wish to use...you get a container (one yard for that price) they pick up 2x per week with "back door" service, you can request more if you like (my mom only needs 2x but if she has a big party or something she just calls for an add'l pick up for a fee of $10) And no I'm not related to the sanitation company - just the Lattingtown resident.
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Crunchy mommy,
I'm sorry, are you a special needs crunchy mommy? Is it your brain that is all crunchy? Have you checked the price of gas lately? I believe it was $4.29 a gal for regular, not even diesel. How about dumping fees? Yeah, I post links and named one of the closest geographic private pick ups. Bayville is 20 minutes from anywhere. It is going to cost an out of area sanitation firm big bucks to come into Bayville. You think they're going to do it for free? My God that I have to deal with idiocy like yours, it just exhausts me to no end!
-----------------------------------
So I went to see if I could hack (kidding!) the members only page of:
http://lvsea.com/members.aspx
Ummmmm .... hello? Do members read something different than we do? Because what is written there is bizarre beyond words.
VOTE NO!!!!
MURPHY AND STIMOLA!!!
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Since when is Lattingtown 20 minutes from Bayville, you old bat? Did you miss Glen Head on that 2007 list? My quote is CURRENT not from four years ago. Spew all the venom you want...it doesn't make you right. Didn't Jeff warn you in the past about your terrible behavior on this blog? When are you moving? Can't wait to throw the party! Who's coming?
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Btw, Lattingtown IS an incorporated Village. This discussion started because several posters were trying to claim dis-incorporating Bayville is a good idea. I have yet to hear ONE, logical, sane, fiscally responsible, community value reason WHY this would make any sense. Why would you want to give up the local control established in 1934 that once gone - you will NEVER give back. DO NOT GIVE to the STATE that which we have the RIGHT, as now established, to control. Bayville needs people to understand that in order for us to have LOWER overall taxrates than say Oyster Bay or Syosset, it takes more PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY and COOPERATION. We don't pay for sewer, we don't pay for TOB recycling and sanitation, we have beaches, tennis courts and docks JUST for Bayville residents ...
"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you got till it's gone ..."
Andrew Cuomo is behind a move to "nudge" incorporated Villages into disincorporating. Why? Think about it.
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Oh dear. Looks like crunchy mommy is off her meds. Jumps in to attack me personally and simply goes ballistic when I point out the total lack of depth and quality of her argument.
Why don't you have your rich Lattingtown mummsy buy my house, eh? $699,000, priced to sell!
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"Why don't you have your rich Lattingtown mummsy buy my house, eh? $699,000, priced to sell!"
Where do you live? Palace? It comes to $600 a foot.
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crunchy mommy we are coming to the "lose Lisa" party!
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born,
Better charge $25,000 a head and get together and buy the house so I can move the hell away from you sick, nasty, bitchy, heads full of mush.
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In other words, put your money where your big, fat, cowardly, anonymous mouths are!
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Glad to have you. Lisa is why most residents avoid this blog.
Lisa, if you will glance at the time stamps, you started the mud-slinging at 7:52pm, fact checker extraordinare that you are. I only responded in a way that you can understand (from the gutter). Then you implied my "mummsy" was rich because she lives in Lattingtown. Jealous, much? Please go live in NC ASAP! Your kind needs to stick together.
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why should I buy your shack....the way you are crying so much, looks like the tax man might come and snatch it from you. Then I can buy on the auction block for the 2 cents its worth. Bye-bye!
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*sigh* Now I'll type slowly for you, crunchy mommy. 7:44 comes BEFORE 7:52 (I'll give you extra credit if you can tell me by how many minutes!) Go read what YOU wrote at 7:44. Then I suggest you go sleep off all those cocktails you've be downing. There's a good girl. Sleep tight!
----------------------------------------
(from Facebook)
George Stimola
I am the first recipient of the Joseph N. Stimola Sr. Memorial Scholarship for Community Service, and the 2004 Presidential Freedom Grant. During my college career I was the student chair of the Stony Brook University Room Rate Review Committee. This committee, uncommon among American universities, oversaw, and approved budgets of $36,000,000 in both 2007 and 2008. Beyond this, I was President of the Stony Brook University Residence Hall Association, a representative body responsible for advocating on behalf of Stony Brook’s 9000 residential students.
In 2009 I was selected to sit on the West Campus Food Service Contract Committee. Over two years I traveled throughout New York and New England researching and evaluating the food service of various institutions, both public and private, in order to engineer the most desirable food service system for the unique demands of Stony Brook University. At the close of this two year research and evaluation process I voted with my fellow committee members to approve a proposal valued at $125,000,000 over a five year exclusive service contract.
I have also traveled to Albany on three occasions to lobby for Stony Brook University. As a student I lead a team of administrators, professors, and fellow students in valuable conversations and debates on the merits of public education with numerous state legislators. Stony Brook is one of the most highly respected institutions in the SUNY system, and with aggressive lobbying Stony Brook continues to garner some of the highest levels of New York State support within SUNY.
If given the opportunity I would eagerly apply this tireless devotion to the improvement of the Locust Valley Central School District. I am a true advocate for education. Indeed, I was named Student Advocate of the Year for Stony Brook University (2008). I have always kept the best interest of my community in mind. If elected, I can assure you that Locust Valley will receive my greatest effort.
I have been a dedicated community member all my life. I now seek to further my involvement by bringing my experience and youthful energy to the Locust Valley Board of Education. With increasing pressure from Albany the need for powerful lobbying presence is greater than ever. And with growing discontent over the controversial execution of district priorities it is imperative that a representative and knowledgeable community voice be raised on the board. I am both qualified and prepared to accept these challenges.
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Again Lisa, the name calling did not begin until your post at 7:52pm and your subsequent posts. Cyberbully is not name calling, its your title.
Go to bed already, old people need their rest.
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Ladies! Enough! Good God.
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Anon, you are right, sorry.
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LOL! Just as mush-head is yours, muh dear. Don't forget your anti-hangover med before bed!
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What union? "He"?
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Please, George is a nice young man and who has yet to secure his first job!
We know HIS FAMILY awarded him a SCHOLARSHIP and he along with half the LV graduates received a student service award.
His college resume is very weak but he does decorate and color it well. However, when you look at it he was involved in advocacy for residence students, a nice thing to do but hardly spectacular or exceptional. He was on the food committee, no big deal and was on a joint administration, professor student committee that "debated the merits of public education"
Sorry a weak college resume and no work experience. George may get elected but, if he does, it is an inditement of our community and our commitment to excellence.
George very well may become a productive contributor to society at some point (I hope he will) but currently, like so many other young people, he is a recent college graduate, looking for a job. Nothing wrong with that. Most of us were in his place at onetime.
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You read the same thing we did? Are you nuts? Can't color the facts kid. Nothing weak about it. Can't change his age, and I'd be hard pressed to come up with a 25 year old homeowner around here. Can't discriminate against age.
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"George may get elected but, if he does, it is an inditement of our community and our commitment to excellence." ~Derek
I hope George does get elected tomorrow. And if he does, it will not be an "inditement [SIC] of our community and our commitment to excellence" .....
.... it will be an indictment of the incumbents who have lied to the public, lacked transparency, recklessly wasted money and used bogus data to claim faux-excellence.
Go George! Go Charles! VOTE NO!
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information have always been provided at board meetings. lots of budget out reach have been conducted. if you want "transpaency", come to board meetings. don't come to board meetings, like you and some of the candidates including carr (see newsday) and stimola, and complain about "transparency"? that is absurd.
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Not me,
There is no public information regarding decisions voted on AT the Board meetings under the Consent Agenda even if you are present at the Board meetings and .... oh look ... still no April Board actions posted to the website:
http://lvcsd.k12.ny.us/board_of_education/board_actions
Vote the bums out!
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others may not know but you should, or you may just pretend you don't. nothing can be posted until the board meeting minutes are approved by the board at the following board meeting. this will be the end of my wasting time with you because whatever the truth is, you will always find a way to twist it.
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Not me,
That is absolute baloney. Many districts live-stream their Board meetings .... such as Oyster Bay:
http://www.obenschools.org/boe/
Oh look, OB-EN even provides monthly Treasurer reports, wow, how novel!
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listen, no wonder you are against ap and ib because you most likely will fail. before you accuse others of "baloney", do your homework first. you want a link, here is a link from oyster bay, the latest boe minutes posted as we speak is for the meeting on march 1. i am sure you will find other ways to twist things. you may not have a job but i do. good bye!
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http://obenschools.org/board/minutes.htm
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Not me,
Who said I am against AP? I am totally in favor of AP. I'm not in favor of LVCSD forcing kids to take AP exams without the accompanying classwork and forcing the taxpayers to foot the bill!
LVCSD just posted the March Board Actions last week. For the interested public unable to attend the evening Board meetings, being able to watch the meeting from the comfort of their homes allows people to be informed of what is taking place LIVE AS IT HAPPENS, not having to wait two months until the district gets around to posting the minutes or actions online.
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"being able to watch the meeting from the comfort of their homes"
what a phony you are. you think people in this town forget easily who you are? it wasn't long ago when your candidate mr. z ran for the board and cpc had the mtc night taped and televized. who was it that blasted cpc and they drop the idea ever since? it was you!
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Not me,
Oh ho! You mean the MTC night that Richard Shear conspired with the two female PC candidates and didn't inform Mr. Zaleski in advance? That meeting? I would have absolutely no objection to the MTC being live-streamed, as long as all of the candidates were made aware that such would be the case IN ADVANCE! You don't spring something like that on ONE candidate the night of the event. TRANSPARENCY!!!!!
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"TRANSPARENCY!!!!!"
I am all for it 100%. I think the union negotiation should be conducted in public and televised. Can you ask your candidate boy where he stands on that. If he says Yes, I may even consider voting for him.
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You mean to tell me that you are trashing your neighbors who are running for legitimate positions on the school board and are not trashing John Benstock, our latest celebrity, touchy-feely teacher? What gives? Are you going to vote yes for the school budget so that we can give John Benstock a raise for sitting home on his $106k behind? I bet this comment doesn't even get posted...........You can't touch this guy, only the kiddies can!
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Not me,
Are you really crunchy mommy under another cowardly fake name? Can there really be two such mental midgets in this district?
George is not my "candidate boy", moron. He is a fine young man who properly filed a petition to run for trustee and is one of seven candidates running for 3 seats.
Ask George your stupid question yourself. I would be too embarrassed to even repeat it.
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what are you so afraid of? didn't you say you want transparency? what's wrong with negotiating in public and televise it? So I am asking you - are you for it? Maybe you are not because you are pro-union. Proof: you endorse the same slate as the union. You also tried to hack in the union members only site.
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Not me,
Who you talking to?
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ROTFLMAO! Keep talking, "not me" ... How does one go from defending LVCSD for not live-streaming its BoE meetings to demanding union contract negotiations be televised? Hmmmm? Can you say cognitive dissonance? No, I'm sure you can't.
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@Lisa (so others know i am responding to you)
there you go again - dodging my question. did i ever defend anyone? no, i never defend anyone including you. so answer my questions: are you pro public negotiation? are you pro union endorsed candidate slate? and are you pro union?
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And let me repeat, LVHS is NOT 136th out of 27,000 U.S. public high schools because there AREN'T 27,000 U.S. public high schools and I can assure you Mr. Mathews is very unhappy about my little expose'. At least he provided me with his source. Now let's see if he corrects this year's List in WAPO. LVHS is 136th out of 1600 public magnets, charter and high schools which filled out Mr. Mathews form.
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If you want to discredit Stimola based solely upon his age then you must also discredit the countless individuals who have given to society while still in their twenties. You pick apart his resume as though heading multiple committees that oversaw budgets comparable to that of the LVCSD is on every college graduate's resume. Homeowner at 25 in this area? Without a fat inheritance, a winning lotto ticket, or a sub-prime mortgage, that’s just not feasible. And if our budget and subsequently our taxes aren’t put under control, then where is the hope for the youth to stay in the area, become homeowners, and raise families?
It is hypocritical to say that Stimola “may become a productive member of society at some point” and then deny him the opportunity to do so. He is beyond capable, and the fact that he is mentioned on this blog more than any other candidate denotes fear among the incumbents.
Segura/Stimola/Murphy
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Actually, the school is 136th out of whatever is the correct total number of public schools in the U.S.
Even if the school were 136 of 1600 that still is quite good but I'll wait and see what Jay reports.
In a post yesterday you criticized people for paying attention to these meaningless surveys.
You know that survey that has nothing to do with IB, and ranked LV 36th in the state (top 5%), and #7 on LI.
Be consistent either these surveys are meaningless and people shouldn't be paying attention or they merit the insane focus you apply.
I also read IB was in 6% of public school districts (and growing) but made up 25% of the top 100.
Regardless, of what you do and who is on the board IB is here to stay. The parents, students, community and colleges love it.
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It is no reflection on George but any 25 year old who has not yet entered to work market (AND MOST HAVEN'T) is not yet qualified to be on the BOE.
Especially, if they still live at home and don't pay property taxes.
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Funny. Years past, plenty of parents have sat the Board of Ed. while living in the house they grew up in. Didn't buy it, and not necessarily working. It's not right.
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I think it's great that a younger person has taken an interest in the school district. He was the most eloquent speaker at the MTC night. It's just a shame that the current BOE looks at the students as statistics and not much more.
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ANON claims:
"Regardless, of what you do and who is on the board IB is here to stay. The parents, students, community and colleges love it."
And you base your proclamation on .... ??? When was a survey of our teachers, parents and students EVER conducted on IB? Hmmmm? I'll tell you when .... NEVER! I tried very hard to have the district put IB up as a proposition on the ballot, the way drivers ed is offered. The NYS Commissioner shot me down. The Commissioner ruled that when it comes to curriculum, the BoE is basically omnipotent. So FINALLY, there are 3 candidates running who are willing to question and consider eliminating IB. Segura is an AP teacher. I have witnessed IB zealots threatening and silencing AP teachers in other districts in order to push IB. ENOUGH! Do you have any idea how much we pay for substitutes while our IB teachers are off on their little 4 day jaunts to Hawaii? No? Neither do I. It's a secret. But I bet its a lot. And that's over and above the $200,000 a year I can physically account for.
Your fad program has had its run. Time to kick it to the curb and reinvest in American exceptionalism.
I have to make dinner. I'll get back to you on the rankings because I think it makes for interesting discussion and I was unaware of the Schooldigger one. I'd like to look it over a little more before commenting on it.
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Quite impressive! IB SCHOOLS made up over 1/3 of the top 100. I was surprised since, while I know IB is growing, it is still in a relatively small number of schools. No wonder the administration and board like it.
Also, I was amazed at the quality (ee) rating. Locust Valley did even better than the 136 rating. With 61 %of its student passing IB and AP IT DID BETTER THAN OVER40 SCHOOLS RATED HIGHER.
So LV is rated 136 of all schools based on the % of students taking IB and AP but even higher when you look at the percent of students passing these courses.
http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/americas-best-high-schools/list.html
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Plenty of people rent their homes. Should they not be allowed to run for BOE since they don't pay property taxes?
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Judith,
Have I got a bridge to sell you! Keep drinking the Kool Aid!
ANON -
Had a chance to look a little closer at the Schooldigger rankings. These rankings are based on basic NYS standardized exams. Overall, LVCSD came in at #36 out of 647 NY districts and behind 12 other LI districts. Not bad.
The HS came in at #136 - DOWN significantly from #51 the year before. The only measurements were Regents English and Integrated Algebra. But let's compare that with Southside HS, the one which has been IB forever and which Ron Walsh thinks we should emulate:
http://www.schooldigger.com/go/NY/schoolrank.aspx?level=3
Oh dear. #671. And only 58% of SouthSide students passed the Algebra Regents? In the longest standing IB school on Long Island? That's pretty deplorable.
Judging by the drop in Regents Algebra scores across L.I. high schools, it would appear that it was either a very difficult exam or the kids weren't properly prepared.
I would like to see a NYS ranking of public HS's based on Advanced Regents Diplomas, mean SAT scores and number of AP Scholars/IB Diplomas to get an overall picture of excellence.
I would consider the Schooldigger rankings a more accurate picture of overall district competence in revealing the ability of the district to get its students to pass the basics.
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Lisa,
I feel sort of badly that we agree on voting no for this current budget. Why? Because I would much prefer to not have anything in common with you.
I am afraid you believe you are the self appointed, monitor, queen, knower- of - all- things Bayville.
It's really OK to disagree with the other folks here, but do so in a calm and understanding way. You are right, you do not know who I am. Is that a criteria for someone to post here or, for that matter, Live here?
Honestly, you are most disagreeable and I am agreeing with you.
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Dear Tapped Out,
My apologies if you felt my reply to you was in anyway rude. You stated you are a Conservative, yet indicated you were in favor of abolishing Bayville's incorporated status. I thought I mentioned several points regarding the roads and cost garbage pick up. You asked if I was intimating that you were a newcomer and again, I apologize that I didn't directly answer that question. With everyone else on this board hiding behind anonymous tags and attacking me personally instead of addressing the issue, posters like crunchy mommy tend to put me over the edge, so to speak. I'm sorry if some of the venom I feel towards people like that spilled over your way and we can agree to disagree on the incorporation issue. I'm also sorry to hear that you lost your job due to corporate merger and wish you well in the future. I've lived and paid taxes in Bayville for 34 years and watched our school budget go from $24M to $74M in less than 20 years. I'm glad we can agree on voting NO today.
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The Leader on line site is being redirected, it is not down. When sites are redirected it usually means the domain name has been forfeited through lack of payment.
If that is the case with The Leader it means in this day of the Internet the publisher couldn't make it work.
We deserve better. tHe Leadeer has become a real rag over the years. I wish someone who could run a newspaper would buy it.Lally has no idea what he is doing, and the paper is like his own private pamphlet to support his political views.
And the writing is so poor. It looks like there is not even copy editor. I rarely read it anymore.
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How long can you dueling idiots continue this garbage? Speaking of garbage...how is your music teacher John Benstock? Has anyone seen him lately? My kid is selling cookies and I am sure he would buy some lady fingers. He can place them on his pants and pretend he is working. Oh, I'm sorry...lady fingers are too mature for him. He would have to buy finger cookies because they are much smaller. I wonder if John Benstock has any crumbs on his pants. He doesn't like evidence. Has anyone seen crumbs on John Benstock's pants? Just asking.
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The Leader is the pits. They have blasted the school district which is fine, but people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. I went to the library to see what the paper cost and how much editorial it delivered in 2000. The paper cost $.40 and delivered a 40 page paper. Today it cost $.75 and the last issue was 20 pages.
2001 2011 % increase
Leader cost $.40 $.75 88%
LV Budget $43m $.74m 72%
So The Leader has almost doubled in cost (88% higher) and delivers about half the pages.
By comparison, the school district budget is a bargain.
People are justifiably angry with the increase in property taxes but The Leader's performance is much worse. T
We need new ownership or a new paper in LV.
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Stimola for BOE!
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Everybody knows why unions want their candidates get on the board, which guarantees higher taxes. You can look at any district or business with unions sit on the board.
NO UNION CANDIDATES:
NO CARR, NO MURPHY, NO SEGURA, NO STIMOLA
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Great Day for Locust Valley School District the residents have awakened.
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Great Day for Locust Valley School District the residents have awakened. It seems others on Long Island are not so lucky.
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The budget has failed! The voices of the people were heard today. Hopefully the LVCSD gets the message and starts to reevaluate. Nobody wants to see someone lose a job, but this has been a loooong time coming.
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THE CHICKENS HAVE COME HOME TO ROOST!!!!!!
This is what happens when you try to cover up alleged incidents involving staff members. Try and sweep it under the rug and this is what you get. This district should be ashamed of themselves.
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HE WON! I'M so proud!
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I am so proud of my Georgie! ♥
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I am so proud of my Georgie! ♥
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Well, well, well!
Power to the people!
THANK YOU voters of LVCSD.
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"The Locust Valley CSD 2011-2012 Budget Failed
Yes 1192
No 1312
For more budget information please visit News12.com or Newsday.com"
This is posted on the school's website. Could this be why people have voted it down. Where's the breakdown of numbers by town? Where are the results for the BOE candidates? Shouldn't they be supplying us with that info.?
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congrats to our new BOE members
please stand up for our children
put the past behind and make changes in our school district for success of our children
even though the state mandates programs to be cut from the curriculum think of the impact that will have on our children, music, sports, and art are more important than the IB program.
cutting the IB program will save those programs, it will also save jobs
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Does anyone have the exact BoE vote count? I'm a FIOS customer ... LOL!
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Dear Free Man,
I read the election outcome very differently than you do. Don't forget,LVSEA also had Carr's name among its endorsements. But Carr was decidedly pro-IB.
So our voters said NO to wasteful spending, higher taxes and lack of transparency and YES to the 3 candidates who would consider eliminating IB and restoring AP to the HS.
Job well done voters! Perhaps Dr. Hunderfund will listen to the people and make the call to phase out IB. The right thing to do is to finish out the juniors currently enrolled in the IB Diploma for 2011-12 and then kiss its Swiss ass goodbye! There is no long term contract or any contract with IBO.
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If the budget is put up for a re-vote, another thing LVCSD should consider is revoking the $100,000 in the budget for IB/AP exam fees. This can be done in one swift move as it never should have been forced upon the taxpayers to begin with!
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WE, THE LVCSD COMMUNITY, ARE NOW ASKING FOR DR ANNA HUNDERFUNDS RESIGNATION
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For Lisa, here is the breakdown from News12...
Locust Valley-Budget
School Budget
PASS 1,192
FAIL 1,312 (X)
Locust Valley-Board
School Board - Elect 3
Philip Bellisari* 818
Yao Chu* 902
Ronald Walsh* 774
Randy Carr 870
Charles Murphy 936 (X)
Maria Segura 985 (X)
George Stimola 1,119 (X)
Locust Valley-Prop 2
Driver Education
PASS 1,267 (X)
FAIL 1,168
Locust Valley-Prop 3
Capital Reserve Fund
PASS 1,510 (X)
FAIL 893
Locust Valley-Prop 4
Repair Reserve Fund
PASS 1,216 (X)
FAIL 973
Locust Valley-Prop 5
Library Expenses
PASS 540 (X)
FAIL 447
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Thanks so much, Tapped Out!
Newsday called for a quote regarding the election results. I guess I'll have to buy it tomorrow to see if she got it right!
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Shall I be the bigger person and not point out that Ron Walsh got the LEAST number of votes, less than I did last time I ran, less than Joe the deli man, less than a 25 yr. old who lives with his parents, less than a woman who has maxed out her credit cards .....
Nah.
Vindication is much too sweet.
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Lisa,
Be the bigger person. What I am about to write is not being written in an abrasive or argumentative manner, please do not interpret it as such.
Ron may have received the lowest this time, but wasn't this a re-election for him? That means that he has won, handedly I might add, in other years. He has served our community for many years and for that he should be commended. Even though you do not like him it is silly of you to point out the obvious. Especially when you have run multiple times and never won.
Be the bigger person and let the voters and the people speak for themselves. This election is not a reflection of you and your stance, it is more a message to the people who govern us in our Educational system that we are done paying. This election was and is a reflection of the economic times and the only way the people can speak out against the excessive taxation we are assaulted by at the Village and county levels.
Bayville voted the budget no, by a very narrow margin. It is normally not a no vote here. I believe it was a direct message to our Village. We cannot vote no for the 20% tax hike, but we can exercise our vote here in the education system to say no more.
Lisa, be happy it went your way and matched your ideals, but respect the others who ran and lost. It is not an easy thing to do, put your name on a ballot and run for BOE. Everyone should be thanked for their efforts and time served.
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Taxed Payer
Well said, I am no fan of Mr. Walsh but he serve the community for nine years. I am glad to see him voted off the board and rarely agreed with him and hated his bullying tactics. Still, I appreciate his contribution, and find gloating so very unattractive.
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Taxed Payer and aNON,
Glad you appreciated his "service". Frankly, I consider his 9 years on the Board an incredible disservice to the children and taxpayers of our district. I have no respect for a bully like him and there's an old saying, "What goes around, comes around". I have been the brunt of his personal attacks and nasty tactics for years, including comments on this thread that I believe were posted by him regarding me getting less votes than "Joe the deli man". I don't believe that the vote outcome had anything to do with the 19.5% Bayville tax increase but rather, represents an awakening among voters regarding the direction our public schools need to take in terms of curriculum and spending.
Consider my gloating "unattractive" if you will. I really don't care. Walsh should have locked his revolver in his car's glove compartment before entering the school building to bless us with his "service" and using his power as an elected official to bully the local paper by pulling the district's legal advertisements and costing me my job as the education reporter with his constant complaints.
"THIS is what democracy looks like!"
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Lisa,
I am not a fan of Ron Walsh but as well said above, he volunteered his service to the community for 9 years and whether we agreed with how he served or not, he still deserves our respect, particularly because it is always easier to criticize than to do. The same goes for the the other two defeated incumbents. We do have a representational democracy in this country, and if the voters of our community have decided that the three incumbents no longer represented a majority of their views, so be it; that is how the system works. I hope all of the protest voters don't regret their choices, but I fear they will.
As for you, while I respect that you were willing to put yourself "on the line" by running for the BOE several times, I think it is time for you to realize that you have become a joke in this community. You were not fired from your job as "educational reporter" because of Ron Walsh; you were fired because you couldn't be objective and misused your position to promote your own agenda. I was at board meetings where you would ask flagrantly biased questions, flip flopping between being a reporter and being a parent as justification. It was embarrassing to real reporters everywhere and a disservice to the Leader and its readers. You deserved to be fired.
As for IB, despite your endless campaign the members of the community still seem to support the curriculum. Perhaps they, like me, know that IB is highly regarded by prominent colleges: for example, I know one local student who gained a full semester's worth of credits at Bard College thanks to IB and another at NYU who also received the same. You may not like the IB program and that is your right, but to claim it is worthless is untrue. The AP program you speak so highly of does not result in college credits at schools like Boston College but does at schools like CW Post- I think that says something right there.
Lisa, you say that you are going to move? Well, move already. What knowledge and energy you may have brought to community involvement over the years has been superseded by your negative attitude, your inability to accept defeat, and most importantly by your nastiness to those that dare disagree with you. I have lost whatever respect I may have had for you many years ago and I'm sure I'm not alone. Move already!
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The teachers are having a breakfast celebration in the school cafeteria tomorrow morning before school.!
They use a school facility to celebrate because their candidates won?
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Anon,
The celebration is particularly astounding because the budget being voted down means more teacher and staff positions will be eliminated. To celebrate while their co-workers lose their jobs is a further indication of how removed from reality the teachers union is - and how the union's obstinance is hurting all of us.
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Goodness, Are the teachers who either lost or may lose their jobs invited? I wonder how Bellirasi"s son feels?
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Locust Valley Teachers Union (Locust Valley Schools Employee Association) is proudly hosting a celebration breakfast at 7:15am in the High School Cafeteria tomorrow morning (Friday, May 15 2011). This is to celebrate the defeat of the budget and election of the three union endorsed new candidates to the Board of Edducation. All are welcome. No RSVP necessary.
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Correction
Date: Friday, May 20, 2011 (not 15)
Time: 7:15am
Place: Locust Valley HS Cafeteria
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Is this a joke? Are they really having a party?
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What do you think? The teachers support the budget every year. Sounds like a disgruntled, soon-to-be former BOE member.
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What are you talking about ? " The teachers support the budget every year"
What does that have to do with a teacher celebration tomorrow? What are they celebrating?
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I was referring to the post above asking if it was a joke. Why would they celebrate the budget going down? (as indicated by post above)
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Again, I ask. what are they celebrating? Thirty teachers and staff members are losing their jobs, then the budget is defeated so a real potential exists that more teachers may lose their jobs, so what is there to celebrate?
Are the teachers celebrating their candidates winning in the face of these job losses, and budget defeat? Do they actually believe these new BOE members will grant them a raise? Even if they do, what about the teachers who lost their jobs? I'm sorry, I don't get it.
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I heard they were having a breakfast to boost moral and that apparently the teachers are being blamed by the admin for the budget being voted down. Not to mention, a lot of them are in jeopardy of losing their jobs. Typical and down right arrogant of the admin! Could never be that the people did not vote yes to the budget because they are tired of the same old same old with the SI and board. That, coupled with the crazy increase in Bayville taxes, was the straw that broke the camel's back.
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Move already said:
"The AP program you speak so highly of does not result in college credits at schools like Boston College."
Why do you insist on spreading misinformation?
http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/advstanding.html#IB
Please note, Boston College only recognizes a score of 6 or 7 on IB HL (Higher Level) exams. NO college credit for IB SL (Standard Level) exams.
Send me a buyer and I'll be happily on my way. Unfortunately, there are 64 homes currently on the market in Bayville.
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Lisa,
You obviously did not read your link. BC for the most part treats IB and AP equally: good scores affect placement, not CREDIT. However, beginning in 2011 "BC Students who score a 6 or 7 on three HL exams and a B or better on TOK may apply for advanced standing at the end of their first year at BC. Students who are accepted for advanced standing must graduate in 3 years.". This means saving a full year of tuition - not a bad investment!
And as I said, I personally know students at Bard and NYU who have graduated a semester early thanks to their IB diploma. That's not chump change either.
I believe IB is a more rigorous course of study than AP and better prepares a student for college. Of course I know that's just my opinion and that you won't respect it.
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Move already,
You obviously did not read my link. What do you think "advanced placement UNITS" are, genius? A UNIT = 1 credit DOH! You claimed Boston College does not recognized AP for college credits. You are wrong.
Btw, last year, 29 out of 43 LV IBDPers scored 'D's on TOK. My own kids always took 15-18 credits a semester, not 12. You can claim IB "rigor" from now till the cows come home, so how do you explain Boston College's recognition of all AP exams, but only half of the IB exams? A student with 5 AP exams would potentially earn MORE than 24 credits, and also be able to graduate early.
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WHY DOES THE LVCSD COMMUNITY HAVE TO PAY an extra 300,000 plus so that just a few children can get college credits?????
If any parent wants a rigorous curriculum send your child to private school....DO NOT ask the community to pay for it.
New Board members please save jobs by removing the IB program
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Anonymous,
I think the question should be, "Why does LVCSD insist on paying MORE money for an inferior, foreign, proprietary program which puts our students at a disadvantage compared to schools which offer 15 or more AP courses?
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Lisa,
Who can't read? The following is from BC's website and your link:
In general, a student scoring four or five on the exams will be awarded advanced placement. In some instances, a score of three will make a student eligible for advanced placement. In most cases, students do not earn actual credit, rather, they fulfill corresponding requirements in the Core Curriculum
TO INTERPRET, STUDENTS DO NOT RECEIVE CREDITS WHICH COUNT TOWARDS GRADUATION, THEY RECEIVE CREDIT FOR HAVING TAKEN REQUIRED CLASSES. So, if a college requires students to have 120 credits (15 per semester, although some schools such as Holy Cross only require 96), and that 30 of those credits be in required subjects such as History, Science, Math, etc, all the AP -and some IB - scores mean is that the student doesn't have to take those required courses. They still need the 30 credits however, and so can perhaps take courses towards a double major or some minors.
I accept your apology.
As for why all taxpayers should pay for the program, the same can be said for AP - why should we be paying for classes that theoretically only benefit a few? The answer is that the majority of taxpayers seem to want a high school that offers a rigorous college preparation program. The idea is to have a culture of excellence that extends down to even those students who may only be going to a community college -that learning is important for it's own sake. There is no reason someone who wants to be a plumber can't enjoy an AP History class or an IB Science class. We have decided to offer those opportunities. Of course there is no reason that these programs, both AP and IB, can't be eliminated if that is what the taxpayers want. It merely takes time because of course this is a representative democracy. By the way, I know many high schools that don't even offer AP courses because of the cost.
As
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From wiki:
"Political objections to the IBDP in the United States have resulted in an attempt to eliminate it from a public school in Pittsburgh.[35][36] Some schools in the United States have eliminated the IBDP due to budgetary reasons and low student participation.[37][38] In Utah, funding for the IBDP was reduced from $300,000 to $100,000 after State Senator Margaret Dayton objected to the program, stating, "I don't want to create 'world citizens' nearly as much as I want to help cultivate American citizens who function well in the world."[39][40]"
IB is a waste of money. I'm 100% with Lisa on this one. This district is trying to breed ultra liberal "world citizens" at OUR EXPENSE. Why is it so hard for some of you people to see what they are trying to do here. This is 100% political. Sorry, but I'd rather have a well rounded child with moral and religious values than have a child from the cast from the TV show Glee. Read between the lines on that one!
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Judith,
Have I got a bridge to sell you! Keep drinking the Kool Aid!
ANON -
______________________________
That's not funny. The bridge is NOT for sale! Even though taxes pay my salary I think I do a pretty good job. I pick the bridge up, I put the bridge down.
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Move already,
Your interpretation is WRONG.
ADVANCED STANDING - GRADUATING IN THREE YEARS
Students earning 24 advanced placement units (equivalent to 8 courses) through ANY of the aforementioned methods are eligible to apply for advanced standing. If granted, CREDIT for these courses would be applied to the student's transcript, accelerating his/her date of graduation by one year. Students, therefore, who accept this option MUST graduate in three years.
YOU stated Boston College does not award credit for AP. It does. I accept YOUR apology.
I do not know of a single other district around here that charges the taxpayers for AP exam fees. No one is suggesting eliminating AP courses (for which there are no outrageous teacher training, student registration and membership fees). I am suggesting the district remove the $100,000 expense from the general budget and put the onus back on the parents.
Thank you, Patriot!
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I happened to run into a board member who said that they see the message of the defeat as people being in dire financial circumstances. Many have lost jobs or are supporting their children who have lost their jobs, seniors having trouble living on their pensions etc. I find it interesting that Bayville which has many of these citizens only defeated the budget by 6 votes. Why were Mattinecock people knocking on doors telling people to vote no?
I'll say again, why aren't people taking the energy that they show here for debate and take it to a higher level where real change has to take place to effect taxes? Visit Mr. Marcellino and Mr.Levine.
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entertained,
You mean Charles Levine (D) who voted to approve the MTA payroll tax? Yeah, that'll do us a lot of good.
The people acted at the local level on the only tax measure they have the right to voice their stake in. Job well done. Enough is enough. And the Matinecock estate owner who pays $50,000 in school taxes would have seen a $3,000 increase if the budget passed.
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Give credit where credit is due. Lisa has worked tirelessly to tell everyone to vote the budget down every year since 1977 and finally the public appreciated her wisdom. We are proud of you, Lisa. We are so happy to see your interview in Newsday! Keep up the good work. Thank you.
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You do a very good job, Bridge Keeper. Thank you for making it go up and down for the pretty boats.
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entertained,
Well my take on it is that LVCSD took a shellacking the way the Democrats took a shellacking in November. People are sick and tired of tax and spend Progressives trying to mold their children into global citizen community organizers! This outcome is the result of a political awakening as a result of the disastrous decisions and actions of the Obama regime. IB is a political hot potato and will keep certain Republican candidates (Huntsman,Pawlenty) from getting the vote of the Tea Party and Conservatives. Those who support IB will never acknowledge the bigger picture, nor use real critical thinking skills to understand the magnitude of objections to IB that have surfaced in the past two years.
Think globally, act locally.
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Thank you for the kind words, Common Sense!
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Has anyone seen John Benstock? Was he at the breakfast? He gets a raise no matter what, even if the budget fails. Don't worry, though. This budget will pass because it failed by only a small margin. Who wants to bet?
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You are certain the Board will put out another budget?
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Locust Valley ranks higher than Great Neck South by Washington Post:
http://apps.washingtonpost.com/highschoolchallenge/schools/search/
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76 Jericho
85 South Side
95 Wheatley
96 Manhasset
99 John L. Miller Great Neck North
117 Cold Spring Harbor
120 Syosset
139 Locust Valley
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So, although it's printed now by the Washington Post, the method of determining the rank is still the same as Newsweek's? If that's the case, all it's based on is a ratio of # of college level tests taken (AP or I
Hey, LV was 139??? Weren't we 137 last year? Uh oh, we're slipping!! Let's add an additional $50,000 to the $100,000 we already spend to pay for the tests to administer more tests!
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Reporter,
Jay Mathews' list is junk. No one with critical thinking skills finds it the least bit credible. The Washington Post owned Newsweek.
And does anyone honestly think SouthSide HS is more "challenging" than Wheatley or Manhasset? Last year SouthSide had a 58% pass rate on the Algebra Regents. Pretty crappy if you ask me!
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WOW! Jericho dropped from 32 to 76. Quite a drop.
Noticed South Side had the second highest Regents graduation rate with distinction on LI. Ahead of Wheatley or Manhasset.. Locust Valley was in the top 10 percent.
Also noticed US News which ranked the top 100 in the country a while back, ranked South Side the top school on LI. Go to south side web site to note their academic distinctions.
South Side had their 8th grade students take the Algebra Regents last year, since the Regents was new, replacing the Math A Regents. Many LI schools did the same and that is why the Algebra Regents scores were low These students will take the test as 9th graders so you will see the scores for all these schools go up significantly.
Whether it's Regents with distinction or IB/AP measurement, South Side outshines Wheatley or Manhasset. While I still give Jericho the edge given their recent declines since Hunderfund left it may not be long till SS passed them. Right now the top there Syosset, Jericho, SS.
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It seems the high academic standard of IB is paying dividend for LV. it wasn't long ago when people compared the district to North Shore and Oyster Bay. Now, LV has left them in the dust.
Forget about the fact that LV is among the best schools in the country in poll after poll. Take a look at the Regent Graduation Rate with Advanced Distinction.
LV is eight among 124 school on LI and much higher than North Shore or OB.
Regents with Distinction
LV. 77 percent
NSS. 67 percent
OB. 62 percent
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Anon,
While AP allows students to sit for tests without taking the course and some schools allow student s to do so that is not the policy at LV.
The Washington Post survey has a rating for percent of students who passed courses. LV did great, and in fact placed higher than many schools who had an a higher number of tests per student. Compared with other top schools LV's passing rate of 63% is quite high.
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I am worried LV will drastically change its dirction. In the past, we had a highly educated and respected board. Now we elected people with no college degree to the board. People wants change and change there is. We will be preparing kids to vocational school like culinary school but that is not what my family wants.
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I agree. We elect three union candidates. The whole country is rejecting public unions and we elect the three union candidates.
The current Board stood up to the union demands and refused to give them the raise it demanded. The union won.
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What's wrong with culinary school? Murphy did not go to college and he has a job. Stimola graduated from college but he can't find a job.
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I'm sure the incumbents failure to get re-elected had nothing to do with the fact that people around here are tired of the fear-mongering, the lies, the unanswered questions, the bullying, the arrogance, etc.
What's wrong with going to vocational school? Do you have any idea how many of LV students attend BOCES for vocational training? And your claims of "uneducated" BOE members is false. Everyone elected 1 college graduate and a teacher (probably with a MA or more).
Stop spreading false information and stirring the pot even more. It was a clear message that people are unhappy with something. Instead of blaming the new people who will generously give of their time to the district, try to figure out how to fix it.
I did hear that the outgoing 3 have taken the loss very badly and behaved like spoiled children by threatening to be more "dangerous" on the other side, threatening contingency, blaming unions for their loss, etc. Perhaps someone would like to rein them in a little before the make even bigger fools of themselves.
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@Anon
I am glad there is someone agreeing with me. I can't find any information anywhere. I know Segura is a teacher and Stimola graduated from college. Do you know which college Murphy graduated from?
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Worried,
I am sorry your statement is by far the most ignorant statement I have seen on here!
How dare you dimisnish anyones work! If you were aware of the educational scope within a school, you would know that all children like all adults bring different strengths and talents to the table. Maybe there is a child for whom text book learning is not the way, wouldn't it be inspiring for them to see that people who did not for whatever reason go to college, chose a vocation they had a skill and talent in and is exceeding in that field and in life????
Do you honestly think that at any HS that all children are college material?? There are those for which a vocation is the right choice not a consolation prize that should be looked upon with disdain.
On the flip side because you did not attend college, does not meant hat you would not want that for your children or the children of your community. Many of us grew up with parents who did not attend college, but in our homes it was understood we would be attending college.
In addition, our HS is producing College level children who cannot read on grade level. I have heard many times over, including at the MTC night, that LV prepares them to get into College but not stay in college. So for all these years that we have had the elite in higher education leading us, what is that about??? Why do we have kids across the district in elementary school having Kaplan shoved down their throats before a state exam? Why? Simply put, because the everyday teaching is not getting the kids up to par to take the exam on their grade level. Why do we have kids in MS with an inane amount of one to one aides and the kids are still failing? Why do we have classes being realigned for entire grade levels to meet the needs of the overall population that cannot read on grade level??? Where has all the past brilliance led us?
Segura and Stimola are both college educated and educators themselves.
Our district will continue to have a high college attendance rate because of the world we live in and the area we live in. Do you honestly think that the direction of this District lies in the hands of the board alone? The board represents us the people and they will dictate what the people want to see if they are doing their job correctly. I do not think for one minute the old board or remaining board speaks for me or follows a path for this district that is bringing this district to the heights it should be at.
And by the way, I am highly educated from two of the most competitive Colleges on the East Coast.
Open your eyes Worried. Change is scary for those who are afraid to see others potential or who drink the Kool aid.
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@Taxed Payer
"Worried,
I am sorry your statement is by far the most ignorant statement I have seen on here!"
Unlike you, I did not have the chance to go to college but thanks to LV our oldest child in now in a top college. Our dream is for all our children to go to good college. I hope you understand why I am worried.
How dare you dimisnish anyones work
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I agree that having a college degree is not a prerequisite for being a good BOE member; one could argue that having board members with a wide array of backgrounds and experiences will bring new perspectives to the board as well as representing others in the community with similar backgrounds. I also think it is unlikely that we will suddenly start not caring as a district as to how our children perform on assessment tests and how many graduate from high school and go on to some form of higher education, be it a two year college, a four year college or vocational school. I think it's safe to say that as a community we all want our students to become productive and income-earning citizens in one form or another.
What is worrisome, however, is the fact that it was the three union backed candidates that won. While the union probably would have backed anyone but the incumbents, we still should be worried that the new BOE members will be embracing the union's agenda. Assuming the budget was voted down because people are tired of tax increases, why would we want to have board members in place who -if they believe the unions should have pay increases - will be for contracts that lead to even higher increases in the future? Right now teachers and staff salaries and benefits account for approximately 80% of the budget. The proposed budget included state mandated increases to the teachers pension fund of 40% and a 20% increase or so to their insurance fund. Furthermore, under NYS law, because the teachers are working without a contract they were entitled to a raise and step and lane increases that amounted to approximately 5%. And people wonder why the budget proposed an increase? The unions are directly responsible for the high costs of our budget.
My understanding, from a current union member, is that the current BOE has been firm in demanding a zero percent raise (there would still be step and lane increases) over three years. One would think that community members who favor keeping expenses down would be in favor of having BOE members who would continue to hold this position. The only alternative -if there were raises and larger increases for teachers and staff - would be to have fewer teachers and staff so that the budget could remain relatively flat. Is that what the community really wants?
I fear that by electing pro-union candidates the community has created the very thing it doesn't want: more tax increases in the future.
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@Move already
This year's defeated budget is 2.9. Let's see what the new budget is in coming days and then compare this year's final budget to the 2012-2013 proposed budget at this time next year. Only time will tell.
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Bottom line is that no one knows what has been negotiated so to speculate would be wrong and harmful to both sides. As for the union backing of candidates, I agree that the union would have backed anyone but the incumbents. But, to placate some fears, if memory serves, some of the new people were in favor of a cap on supt. salaries which obviously would have a trickle down effect to the teachers' salaries.
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Stop the crying. Teachers have been underpaid for years. Our pension plan and benefits make up for our salaries.
We worked with the BOE for a year to get a fair contract, now their gone and they have themselves to blame.They could have given us a reasonable increase and avoided this. Hope the remaining BOE members get the message.We only need one more member if they don't.
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To Anon,
WHat do you mean threaten contingency? Why do you think we voted the budget down. We still get an increase, I think 1.8%, with contingency.
If the BOE IS STUPID ENOUGH to put out another budget above contingency they will get their heads handed to them again. The budget defeat is about taxes that are to high. We EXPECT CONTINGENCY AND THAT IS STILL TOO HIGH
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My child was asked to take the AP American History test this year!!!!
He isn't taking AP American History!!!!
So why did the LVCSD administration talk children into taking the AP exam when they aren't taking AP classes????
I am guessing the same happened with IB tests????
Is our school district that corrupt they need to ask children to take AP and IB tests when they aren't taking the classes to boost News Week ratings?????
How long has this been going on?????
Anna Hunderfund..... the LVCSD is asking for your resignation
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@Just Curious
This is one of the major differences between AP and IB. With AP, one doesn't have to take a class to take the exam:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/about.html
On the other hand, with IB, it is required that one takes the class to be eligible to take the exam, which is one of the reasons why colleges like IB.
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http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/reg.html
If your school offers AP, contact your AP Coordinator to register for the exams. He or she will order the necessary materials, collect fees, and let you know when and where to appear for the exams.
If you are a homeschooled student or attend a school that does not offer AP, you can still take the exams by arranging to test at a participating school.
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@ IKnow
I think you missed my point
I believe it is unethical to beg children that are not in the AP classes to take AP exams just to boost the schools ratings.
Not only is it unethical it is also mis leading when a school posts how the students did in AP when they did not take the class
As for IB....it is a huge waste of tax payer money and colleges do not like IB over AP.
IB is the demise of AMERICAN EDUCATION
I believe the LVCSD has again pulled a fast one over on the community by having children that did not take an AP class take AP tests just to boost the overall academic scores and for Jay Mathews News Week Best Schools List
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"The demise of American education?" Exaggeration, much? Where are you getting your facts? I know admissions people at a few colleges and they think highly of IB. And most of the students I know who have the IB diploma thought it was excellent preparation for college
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Yes....The Demise of American Education
It is financially draining the system as well as dumbing down American History
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@Just Curious
It is not only not "unethical", it is commonly accepted practice among top schools. Have you ever heard students say "Why do I have to take this course? I know everything already." If someone knows the subject and is forced to take the course, that is truly a waste of money. I hope you get it.
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I do not know how that board operates in regards to voting. But there are still 4 members who remain on that board. So if in fact the other three new ones did want to support the teachers they would need at least two of the existing board members to win that vote.
I agree with what you wrote about the logic behind voting new people in, we want fiscal change and these candidates who were voted in by the population not the union, need to get that straight in their head.
I saw many teachers approaching George at MTC night, my advice to him would be tread carefully. The general public that I know who openly admit to voting no also feel the teachers have enough.
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@Taxed Payer
I totally agree with you. The public has spoken and the last 2.9 budget was voted down. There is no money to pay for any more raises. If the teachers contract calls for more raises, more jobs will be lost. One may say we can cut this we can cut that but everything else is minor compared to teachers pay. Did I get it right?
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If you have not visited their site lately, take a look at it yourself:
http://lvsea.com/default.aspx
It is this election was all about.
Support the UNION! They DESERVE it!
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To Just Curious,
You just made a strong case , if you believe what you say, for IB and LV.
IB does not allow students to sit for tests if they do not take the course and LV is a strong IB school.
If LV was looking to boost it's ratings it would be pushing AP.
You say LV begs students to take AP exams without taking the test. Cite specific examples. What teacher or administrator did so?I think this is a blatant lie, and I'd you make such
accusations you need to back it up. Was it the high school teacher or administrator? Was it the Superintendent?
You make very serious accusations so give us some specific facts.
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What's the problem? The teachers deserve to earn a fair salary. The current Board wouldn't give them a reasonable raise, so the union endorsed other candidates. Those candidates WON. The union held a celebration of this victory Friday morning. Why do you have a problem with the new Board giving the teachers the raise they deserve.
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@Peter
I will tell you what my problem is. The mandated triborough annual INCREASE of teachers compensation is more than the TOTAL salary of ALL the administrators. Let's say we fire ALL the administrators including Hunderfund, all the principals, Department Chairs, and so on. The money saved is not enough to pay for the current steps and lanes increases, health insurance increase, and retirement increases of all the teachers.
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The community spoke. We want to support our teachers and pay them a decent salary.
I asked a teacher wearing a button in front of the building,why she was wearing it? She said, Thad did not get a salary increase this year and felt they worked hard and deserved one. She said the step and lane increase barely covers increases in prices.
Stop complaining "My problem" the community voted the old board out and the teacher candidates in. So hopefully, the remaining 4 old board members will see the light and give our teachers, who make our district so great, a reasonable raise. We, the members of the comment have spoken.
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Stop all this talk about the teachers. Like it of not their candidates WON and they will get the increase they deserve.
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@Peter
What world are you living in. Below is PUBLIC information of what some of our teachers were getting in 2009 working for NINE months, EXCLUDING Release Time (like being Union OfficeS), Perks (like being Coaches or Program Directors), Health Insurance ($1500/mo for family), and Retirement contribution that we, the taxpaypers, are now paying.(Source: See Through New York)
Harrington, Gabrielle E $137,083 Union President, High School Teacher (1 class)
Palmer, Elaine M $125,838 Former Union VP, Elementary School Teacher
Mahoski, Shelly L $120,614 Former Union VP, High School Teacher
Fuggini, Francis L $122,966 Science Teacher, Coach of Two Sports
Aragonesi, Joseph $122,088 Enrichment Program Teacher
Cagney, Monica A $ Director of Summer Recreation Program, Elementary School Teacher
Kobus, Doreen A $$117,142 High School Business Teacher, Coach
Rupp, Beatrice $116,903 High School Business Teacher, Coach
Benstock, John E $106,903 On leave
A couple people are in favor of capping the Superintendent pay because it will trickle down. Guess what, Hunderfund has taken a three year freeze and nothing has trickled down to the teachers.
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I also want you to see for yourself the myth of "no raise", which the union has been complaining to we, the taxpayers:
Harrison, Joseph High School IB TOK teacher, current UNION VICE PRESIDENT:
Base salary, exclusing all Benefits and Stipend but with Steps and Lanes:
2007-2008 $108,880
2008-2009 $112,571
2009-2010 $115,778
Source: See Through New York
Now, do you see what it really means by "no raise". The old BOE kept telling us that the "no raise" actually comes to 3.1% average increase. Also, the Superintendent freeze did not trickle down.
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@Anon
My child and many more students who did not take the AP American History class were signed up by their teacher, who was probably told by administration to get students to take the AP history test
NOT BLATANT LIE
FACT
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truthaboutib.com
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This website is very accurate with what is going on in this country re: IB
http://truthaboutib.com
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What is the union's position with Benstock?
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Our children are being coerced into taking the American History AP exam, because there is NO AMERICAN HISTORY CURRICULUM IN IB, and colleges REQUIRE it.
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@Anon
Most colleges have American History as a course requirement in common coures. It is not always required for applying to most colleges.
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What exactly is a "fair" salary????
100,000 plus seems to me as more than fair esp when a teacher does not work 1950 hours a year.
Teachers do not contribute to their health benefits which should be part of your annual salary
What is a reasonable raise???
In most jobs employees have not received raises for over 4 years nor have unions settled contracts for the last four years. (FDNY no contract settlement for 4 years) but the FDNY still go to work and do their jobs and DO NOT wear union shirts or buttons to work
The union in LVSCD seems to be running the school district.
Our children are getting stuck in the middle
Who's at fault here????
After the arrest of the music teacher it would be in our childrens best interest to fire from the top down every school administrator in the LVCSD.
The BI principal seems to be a very nice man but he must be the first to go then Anna Hunderfund.
Knowing what I know from this incident this administration did not protect our children. From the first complaint the music teacher should have been suspended, legal should have bee called and an investigation should have been done.
Something went wrong in the process to have the Nassau County police arrest this teacher.
Very disturbing
If the admin of this school district did the right thing for our children this teacher should not have been allowed to work once they received the concern from the parent.
The two weeks he worked until the arrest put our children at risk which is a huge liability for the school
Who is paying for all of this??????
Teachers you want to settle your contract then that is up to you.
Until then work without one, actually with the old one, many union employees do until they come to
an agreement that everyone can be happy with
Stop putting our children in the middle of your negotiations
Stop wearing your buttons and shirts
ACT PROFESSIONAL....I know it is hard with the union mentality but you are all educated adults and you need to do the right thing. Take a step above the MTA mentality. Driving around town with your flyers in your cars is childish and unprofessional. Not only that but it sends a message that you cant move beyond what your needs are and maybe you should be considering another profession.
If you are making 100,000 or more as a teacher in this school district you do not deserve a raise....find another job
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Why isn't there any American History course in IB?????
Could it be that IB is Anti American?????
http://truthaboutib.com
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@FAIR
"If the admin of this school district did the right thing for our children this teacher should not have been allowed to work once they received the concern from the parent.
The two weeks he worked until the arrest put our children at risk which is a huge liability for the school"
My neighbor told me because his kid is a witness. John Benstock was "removed" from school and "reassigned" to work at home within 24 hours the school learned about it, and so was the NCPD. It took NCPD certain amount of time to arrest him, gathering evidence? The school did everything to protect the children in a timely manner. My neighbor is very pleased, not with what happened but with how it is handled.
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VOTE THE UNION OUT
The administration and BOE needs to put a contact together that will satisfy the teachers with the stipulation that if the contract is agreed on then the union must go.
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@Anonymous
"VOTE THE UNION OUT"
We just got three of our union candidates elected to BOE. Ha!
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@Anonymous
Unfortunately, that is against the law and so will never happen. Wish we could change the law.
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If a "Reasonable Professional" in fact posted the following and it wasn't posted by someone posing as an LVCSD teacher:
"We worked with the BOE for a year to get a fair contract, now their [SIC] gone ...
They're - the contraction for 'they are'. Good grief!
----------------------------------------
I Know said"
"On the other hand, with IB, it is required that one takes the class to be eligible to take the exam, which is one of the reasons why colleges like IB."
Uh huh. That would explain why colleges grant far more college credit to AP than IB, right? Wrong. You believe that colleges "think highly" of IB because you have been sold that propaganda by the administration.
IB does not allow homeschooled or AP students to take its exams for a number of reasons:
1. IB is proprietary. It's course syllabi are not available online for free the way AP is.
2. IB's biggest money makers are its applications fees, teacher training fees, annual membership fees, and student registration fees. IB's "strategic plan" is to takeover as many public schools in the U.S. as it can and then use the AP's openness and transparency to supplement IB's inferior program(me) so it can look better to universities and Jay Mathews.
3. Both Jay Mathews and myself were under the impression that IBO "required" students in IB classes to take the IB exams. THIS IS NOT SO! It took me awhile to receive clarification from Paul Campbell, one of the heads of IB North America, only the full Diploma candidates MUST take the IB exams. Yet LVCSD is forcing certificate IB students to take the IB exam - BECAUSE THEY ARE SOAKING THE TAXPAYERS FOR THE FEES!
I have heard that a number of teachers are VERY unhappy with IB.Seven years is an awfully long run for a "pilot program". I don't believe LVCSD conducted the "'required" 5 yr. IB review. I tried to get on that committee and Ron Walsh threw an e-mail hissy fit.
Teachers have NEVER (to the best of my knowledge) been surveyed as to their opinion of IB. Shouldn't their opinion count?
The FAIR thing to do is declare that 2011-2012 is IB's final year in LVHS. Finish out this year's seniors and cut bait NOW! Cancel all junior IB classess for the fall and implement AP/Honors instead. We wouldn't have to fly teachers to Hawaii to "re-train them for AP". All they need to do is present a syllabus in their subject to the College Board for approval. If they are the six figure professionals they claim they are, they should have no problem developing one off of the AP syllabi provided for free online.
I, for one, would like to see a simple survey issued to the teachers to which they could respond anonymously as to their curricular preference. As simple as:
Which would you prefer to teach? (circle one:
AP
IB
We don't need any drawn out, in depth essays on their "feelings" regarding IB. Pick one. If it's a tie - THEN you may have to get into deeper discussion, but if AP is a 55% or better winner, dump IB.
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Lisa, why bother with any survey. It is a waste of time as we all know it. We just show them that we have the power to vote down the budget. If they don't cancel IB, we will just vote the budget down again next year.
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not penny s
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Exactly right: THERE IS NO AMERICAN HISTORY AT ALL- NOT ONE CLASS! It's all WORLD HISTORY. And I'll tell you something else: Since IB has become such a "hot topic" of debate, I've been speaking to MANY parents of IB graduates from the district, and I've been told that while many IB credits are applied by a great number of colleges, IF YOU HAVE A CHILD INTERESTED IN A PATH INCLUDING GRADUATE/MEDICAL SCHOOL, THEY DO NOT ACCEPT THE IB CLASSES, AND ARE DENIED ADMISSION TO THESES PROGRAMS BECAUSE OF IT. No one is preparing our HS students for this, and unless an advisor at college happens to "catch" this glitch, the results are devastating. Those students wishing to further their education beyond a BS, need to RE-TAKE those IB credited classes IN COLLEGE, just so those classes are applied to Graduate/Medical school! THIS IS FACT.
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Employees who no longer want a union to represent them — whether it's because the union is undemocratic, corrupt, violent, or just plain inept — are entitled to seek an election to determine if a majority of their coworkers wants to drop the union. Such elections, conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLR
Employees who want to vote a union out have to circulate a petition calling for a decertification election.
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What bothers me is that the teachers mentioned above have been with the district for a very long time, some over 20 years. Some are coaches, club advisors, chaperones, etc. Where is all of that information listed?
As for the superintendent not taking a pay raise, give me a break! She's making $285,000+ a year and her husband is one of the people bringing home the top pensions in the state (over $300,000) and, in addition to his pension, is being paid $225,000 to be superintendent at Malverne. Are you kidding me?
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Lisa,
They're and their.
Sort of reminds me of your use of "a" "an" "as".
I would be offended if the teacher was writing something formal but because blog posts, by many, are fired off quickly they are full of spelling and grammatical mistakes.
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Ok I will first start of by saying that I think the teachers in our district are paid well but very deserving(most at least)! That being said, I think to list teachers who have been working in the district 20 years + and be mad that they make over 100,000 is ridiculous! Perhaps next to their names you should list how many years they have been working here or teaching in general. Unfortunately, the economy is terrible at the moment and I agree the BOE and the union need to come to terms on a fair contract. But don't blame people who decided years ago to go into the teaching profession like they are greedy and horrible individuals. These are the people who spend nearly ten months out of the year, 6 hours a day with your children so they can be contributing members of society. Many of them go above and beyond to teach and care for our children. And as far as the SI, she might not have taken a raise in however many years but if I were making over 750,000 (plus other perks) combined income with my husband I probably would be so gracious to pass up a raise as well.
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the union offered Benstock an attorney. He refused and hired a high powered attorney.
The union blasted Hunderfund for sending him home, the morning after the district found out. Said it was violating due process.
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@Anon
Hunderfund should have sent him home the day of the compliant not after the police arrested him
TOO BAD if the union blasted her....she had a serious complaint and if she contacted legal from the beginning they would have supported her in her decision to suspend him until the end of the investigation
It is NOT violating due process to suspend until the investigation is complete.....that is due process
Hunderfund should be fired as well as the BI principal
Man up....get a backbone and do the right thing for our children not the teachers
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http://www.unionfacts.com/union-member-resources/how-to-decertify-your-union
VOTE OUT THE UNION
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"VOTE OUT THE UNION"
And VOTE OUT any politician that supports or is supported by the union!
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I'm sorry, but I question the validity of that statement. How can we know for sure if that's what happened?
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From what I read and what is reported, teachers all over the state are taking pay freezes and in many cases agreeing to give backs. Yet, our teachers are not satisfied for a 3.1% step increase.
So they fired up their powerful union , manned the phones, printed up signs and posters, placed them all over the district and got their candidate elected
However, it probably doesn't matter since unfundated mandates leave districts no money for raises and next year there will probably be a 2% property tax cap.
The new Boards only choice, remember we are talking about tens of millions of dollars, is to layoff more teachers to provide the money for the remaining teachers. The current board wasn't willing to do that and they paid the price.
The teachers union is NY IS VERY, VERY POWERFUL. They call the shots in Albany and at the local level. It is the only state in the country that allows increases even when contracts expire. The old Board was stupid to think they could take on the union.
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"The teachers union is NY IS VERY, VERY POWERFUL"
VOTE THEM OUT OF THE DISTRICT
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We know for sure the district sent Benstock home the next day.
What confirmation to the union's reaction? Ask Gabby Harrington, the union president, if they immediately offered Benstock an attorney and if she objected to the district sending him home. I dare you, because as a union supporter, probably a teacher, you can't handle the truth.
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Enough about the union! The numbers for the recent BOE/Budget Election speak to much more than public support vs. discontent with unions! Get a grip! How upsetting is it, that our current BOE was "blind-sided"; unaware of the utter discontent of the taxpayers that they were representing? AND, what happens now, when the BOE puts-up the new budget? I should think that the threat of our children having to attend a school operating under an austerity environment would be of MUCH GREATER CONCERN to us all right now. AS USUAL, IT IS THE CHILDREN THAT WIND UP PAYING.
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What are you talking about, putting up a new budget? The community voted the budget down. Period.
New budget? Are you joking.The difference between the budget we voted down and contingency is 1%.As a taxpayer I am tired about hearing for years the children will pay. We pay, and the children have done very well.
I hope the board isn't stupid enough to put up another budget.The community has spoken.
This election was about taxes that are too high, and the
You are correct that the BoE didn't understand the "discount of the taxpayers" We are tired of high property taxes, and we said we ar exiling to accept contingency. Are you telling me a 2.9 % budget is unacceptable but a 2.3% budget is? Are you on drugs? What the community really wants is a 0% increase. Frankly, we deserve a reduction!
I am so tired of compensation increase, step increases, pension increases, health care etc.
We better not see another budget go up because it will go down even faster.
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The music teacher worked for at least two weeks after the complaint then he was arrested which would lead me to believe the school did not do a proper investigation and the parents pushed the police to arrest him
He should have been suspended the minute the principal got the complaint
It does not matter what the union says that is the proper thing to do to protect our children and if the school district notified their legal department once they go t the complaint they would have advised to suspend until the investigation was over
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I respect the courage of the BoE to toe on the union.
Once the union rallied against the incumbents and told the community to vote them out the budget defeat was assured. You don't vote incumbents out and then vote their budget in.
In NY you don' take on the unions as every Governor and motor of NYC has learned over the last 60 years.
The BOE were idiots, they should have done what every other district did and given in the raises.
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I respect the courage of the BoE take on the union but not their judgment.
Once the union rallied against the incumbents and told the community to vote them out the budget defeat was assured. You don't vote incumbents out and then vote their budget in.
In NY you don' take on the unions as every Governor and motor of NYC has learned over the last 60 years.
The BOE were idiots, they should have done what every other district did and given in the raises.
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"In NY you don' take on the unions as every Governor and motor of NYC has learned over the last 60 years."
What kind of a statement is this!!!!!!
VOTE THE UNION OUT OF LVCSD
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Benstock was suspended immediately , the complain was issued two weeks later as police were gathering the evidence but Benstock was at home during that two week period.
This is a serious issue and don' t make statements about it unless you know what you are talking about.
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Anonymous, you can' t teach in the NY public school system unless you are a union member. NY public schools can not hire a teacher who is not a union member.
Every public school in NY is unionized. The Teachers union in NY is the most powerful union in the state. and essentially run the department of education.
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Hey Lisa,
You supported all the three union candidates. Why are you so quiet?
Harrington, Gabrielle E $137,083 Union President, High School Teacher (1 class)
Do you know that is only for working for nine months? It is $180K if it were for 12 months. That is MORE than any administrator that has to work 12 months other than Hunderfund. Gabrielle Harrington is the SECOND HIGHEST PAID person in LVCSD!!!!!!!!!
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Harrison, Joseph High School IB TOK teacher, current UNION VICE PRESIDENT
Joe Harrison is the #1 IB supporter. He is teaching the popular TOK (Theory of Knowledge) course. He should resign!!!
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I wonder if the budget goes down again, and we adopt an austerity budget, if our district would continue to pay for and offer IB? That would be unbelievable, wouldn't it?
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@Anon
Even if you take Lisa's $300K IB cost at face value, it is not even 1% of the teacher salary.
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"the union offered Benstock an attorney"
Of course, Jane Benstock, his wife, is the union rep at LVI. If you want to know about the local union machinary:
http://lvsea.com/contactus.aspx
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Here is the list newsday is publishing regarding salaries. Many of these teachers have been there for quite some time and coach, lead clubs, etc.
http://longisland.newsday.com/templates/simpleDB/?pid=164&brand=newsday&fieldSelect-schoolDistrict=Locust%2BValley%2BCentral%2BSchools&searchField=firstName&q=
Seems as though those anti-union rants are by soon to be former BOE members who have been whining all about town and carrying on like sore losers. Blaming the failure to be re-elected on the unions shows just what was wrong with them and why they need to leave. They are failing to see the very clear message that was sent on this election day. As a child of a union worker, I fail to see the hate directed toward unions these days, especially teachers. We also tend to forget that teachers are our neighbors and fellow tax payers too.
As for the IB debate, teachers don't create their own schedules so to call for the resignation of a teacher who teaches an IB level class is, once again, just spewing vile, hate-filled messages that are misdirected.
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"As a child of a union worker"
Now I know it is you, George.
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@Anon
In your link:
Judith Marino
Locust Valley $180,971.88
Her job has been performed by Hunderfund at no additional compensation.
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Anon,
The newsday link you put up mixes 12 months positions and 9 months positions. Many administrators work 12 months for "unlimited" number of hours but teachers work 9 months of a year.
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Way back when employers were abusing employees unions were effective.
America was built on unions
Today there are only 30% of the unions left. That is because of the costs involved to maintain a union employment and more.
I work in a union environment and my spouse is in the union.
The costs involved with union to an employer is huge.
My spouce is in the union however he has not had a contract for over 3 years and does not drive around town announcing his employer is holding him back from settling his contract. He and his co workers as well as his union advise them to hold out when things are better you can settle your contract.
Does he and his co workers need a union??? NO
I work in a union environment. I am not in the union and my staff really should not be in a union. I feel my profession should not need a bargaining unit. My employer pay a competitive salary and offers a health care plan at a resonable cost to the employee.
Unions today are not needed. Empoyers have to follow the laws.
Teachers should be professional and should not need a union.
There is no hate for unions it is just that they are obsolete in todays world.
School districts could offer very fair and competitive salaries with good benefits without having to be involved with the teachers union.
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Many of us who feel public unions have gone too far are also children of union workers and in fact some are private union workers.
I haven't seen any ex BOE members "whining about town. Have you actually seen any of them do so?
This teachers union has gone way too far and many including some teachers resent it. Thousand of teachers around the state are being laid off, teacher unions throughout LI are taking freezes and giving back pay increases.
Yet, our union with a guaranteed 3.1% increase doesn't offer either, wears buttons and shirts in protest of not getting a larger increase and, this is the best os all, has a breakfast celebrating the election of their candidates. This while young teachers in their union are excessed to pay for their step increases and the budget is defeated potentially resulting in more teacher layoffs. Talk about pure selfishness
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Again, no one knows what is being negotiated but they are still working under an expired contract.
Does anyone know why Judy Marino left to go farther away at less pay?
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One can be pro-teacher and anti-union at the same time. I think everyone can agree that teachers in general perform a valuable service and deserve FAIR compensation. The problem comes with not only defining fair, but when you have a system that rewards seniority rather than merit, and creates guaranteed jobs for life. This is not a state of affairs that exists in the private workplace, and especially in this day and age, the concept of needing protection from your employers is antiquated. That is what labor laws are all about; they work for non-unionized workers so why not for those currently in a union? Furthermore, the reality is that while the school district may be the nominal employer, the real employer are the taxpayers of the community, and thus any increased benefits and raises come at the cost of higher taxes. In this current economic environment, when workers across the country are doing without raises and having to contribute more and more towards the costs of their health insurance and must set up their own retirement accounts, why should teaches not share some of the same problems?
I know many fine teachers in LV and Bayville. I also know some that should never have been granted tenure because they aren't effective teachers, and others that have been on the job so long that they no longer care about the students they teach. Teaching is like any other business - there are good apples and bad apples. The problem with teaching is that it is almost impossible to rid oneself of the bad apples.
I know teachers that are not happy with the union either. They were dismayed when teachers such as Rick Ceo were let go last year and offered to give up some of their salary to save jobs. The union said no. The same is happening this year: for example, under a contingency budget the two school social workers, Marianne Masopust and Marc Galloway, will probably be "excessed." Yet, the union refuses to make concessions similar to those made by other districts on LI to save jobs. Who is the union for if not ALL teachers? In truth it is an entrenched bureaucracy that exists to keep itself in existence. It's not about the kids and it's certainly not about keeping good teachers and other personnel. THAT is the problem I have with unions!
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Yes, while not an officer in the union, I am tired of Bea Rupp always complaining and driving around town with her cute little union sign.
I hear she sent her husband, an accountant. to a BOE meeting to harass the board and try and intimidate them.
Can you image. Paul Ruff, a trustee on the village Board who voted the village 19.5% tax increase complaining to the BOE about property taxes (2.9%) and his wife's pay increase.
Bea Rupp has always been about herself, even when I was a student there years ago. I think she typifies the union spirit " sacrifice our young union but get all we can for ourselves.
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"Bea Rupp has always been about herself"
Does anyone know if she is tenured?
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Marino was told she would not get tenure in her new position.
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Anon,
The former Bayville principal PG was promoted to be Sup at her new district. She planned on doing it for a year and retire. She raided Judy Marino with the promise that she will recommend Judy to be the Sup next year. That's what I heard.
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Actually, the social workers were put on the chopping block no matter what budget was presented. Apparently the district is looking to hire two more psychologists instead, even with the county wanting to partly fund their salaries (social workers). That had nothing to do with the union. It was a decision handed down from the administration and BOE.
Again, no one knows what has been negotiated between the union and the school district. To say they were unwilling to make concessions may be completely false. Did anyone ever think that maybe the district is trying to make them look bad? That it's all being manipulated by the superintendent and the BOE to draw the focus away from their inadequacies and make the teachers look like the bad guys?
As for the reasons for unions being antiquated, I respectfully disagree. To say that older, better paid teachers wouldn't be a target if the last in first out rule was taken away would be a lie.
The problem I see with tenure is that when an administrator hires a "friend" whether or not they are qualified doesn't matter and they will most likely be granted tenure because that administrator doesn't want to look foolish as having hired someone who may not be the best and any firing of a friend will bring bad PR. Does anyone know how many former Jericho employees we have working in our district?
A teacher gets observed as many times as necessary before gaining tenure. Three years is an adequate period to be assessed and after tenure teachers are observed each year.
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To Move already,
Great post, well stated, unemotional and factual.
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if is virtually impossible to remove a tenured teacher.
Even in sexual abuse cases if three is not a criminal conviction teachers often stay, unless there is an expensive buyout.
If a supervisor's or administrators success is tied to the performance of the teachers who work for them they will be only too happy to reward the teachers who perform well, and excess those who don't perform. It is what managers do in every other profession and business. The old union excuse is the targeting older teachers. Not true, the most effective teachers will be rewarded regardless of age. Frankly, I am more comfortable with a doctor or lawyer with experience, and throughout my career have noticed layers relying on their senior partners for advise.
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Forgive my late response. It is not impossible, only improbable, as most schoold DO prioritize their ranking and fear State scrutiny. What the hell is the use of ANY accelerated programming if administration isn't doing their job of mandated reporting, and following the State Law? Please read www.highered.nysed.gov?tcert/ospra/ch180laws2000.html. Since 2000, our school has failed to protect. Remember, K.Rice stated that Benstock's victims were as early as 2000? This means there were major errors on their part. In the Franks case, they wanted to settle before the state could come down and investigate. Why? I fear they were scrambling to deal w/Benstock.Failure to report-class A misdemeaner and 5G fine per occurence. Pass the trash law, pg. 11 of document indicates a penaly of 20G per occurence, and charge of a class E FELONY. I am contacting the state. This is a systemic problem in our school, in spite of all the efforts of concerned parents to make changes, admin. was deaf to our pleas. Hope I have your backing.
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Since it was a teacher that told me that it was the union who isn't willing to take a "no raise" contract - and that the union wouldn't agree to salary givebacks to save jobs - I think that's a pretty good source. The fact that the district may have to cut the social workers to save money (two higher salaries replaced with two cheaper salaries) is sad; I've seen what caring individuals Marc and Marianne are and they will be missed. And of course they aren't the only teachers and staff that are going to lose their jobs; again, one of the downsides of tenure is that you must usually cut multiple jobs to save the position of one older teacher.
Imagine for a moment New York State without tenure: if you are a good teacher, you will receive bonuses and raises to ensure that you stay in the district. Yes, theoretically administrators could reward their favorites, but if those teachers weren't really any good, the administrator would quickly hear about it from their boss, the BOE. That is how it works in the "real" world: a boss' job performance is adversely reviewed if the people they hire and keep don't perform. On the flip side, teachers whose performance is inadequate wouldn't receive raises and eventually would be fired if they didn't improve. The only real downside is that without tenure you could have districts poaching from other districts: a district with a higher budget could lure away better performing teachers with higher salary offers and bonuses. Thus you see the real rationale for a union: it's not to protect the best teachers - they would do very well in a world without tenure. It's to protect the worse teachers - the ones who are ineffective, or who do it just for the money and/or the schedule (and we unfortunately know some of those teachers exist; I actually know a few college students who have chosen teaching because they like the schedule and know it's a guaranteed job for life once you're hired and put the three years in. How sad is that for the children they will be teaching?)
People who chose to teach because they want to make a difference in a child's life and love passing along knowledge are wonderful. But let's not pretend that's every teacher.
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Why am I so quiet? Well gosh, I've been celebrating my daughter's graduation from NYU and her boyfriend's graduation from Columbia University. I also think it is ridiculous for posters on this blog to keep referencing the newly elected Board Trustees as "union picks". You seem either incapable or unable to understand that the union also listed CARR to vote for, or that Murphy, as a Conservative, is far from being a union patsy.
My $300,000 figure is low because it does not include teacher's salaries or salaries for substitutes when IB teachers are off to IB training. Nor does it include the stipends paid to IB teachers for IB review sessions. If you really want to tally up the money spent on IB, it should rightly include the teacher's and substitutes salaries and that brings us up over $1M annually.
I will state it again - the teachers should be surveyed as to their opinion. They are the educators. They are the ones who are forced to endure these ridiculous IB training sessions that are more like the old EST sessions than academic training. It is wasteful and downright STUPID to keep spending money on this mandated cash-cow for Swiss educrats.
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"Yes, while not an officer in the union, I am tired of Bea Rupp always complaining and driving around town with her cute little union sign."
Is THAT who that is? I saw that car the other day down at IGA and I was tempted to tell her to sign the damn contract she is being offered and that she shouldn't be raising my blood pressure with her stupid sign when I am about to pay inflated prices for food.
Next time.
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Lisa,
The union backed Simola because he is liberal. In fact his dad's old union asked him to run. Absolute,quid pro quo.
Segura is a teacher so the union can rely on her. She absolutely supports the teachers unions since she is a member. Can't have a more obvious agenda.
And the union picked Murphy because his wife was a LV union member who was excessed. Again a direct relationship to the union. He is angry about her being let go and has publicly said so
All three have a union agenda.
I noticed Carr DID NOT have the union signs. He did his own. Unlike the others he, apparently, did not want to be beholding to union money and influence.
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RealClearPolitics - Video - Teachers Unions Explained
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Sorry, should have included the link - always back up with a link as Lisa said.
Teachers Unions Explained
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kxc6kzH-uI
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Lisa, Perhaps you can help me with this:
What happens to the value of our homes, (being you're in the Realty business) if our district adopts an austerity budget? (My home has already lost nearly 2/3 of it's value since around 2000) I've heard that the value can drop significantly.
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...sorry; typo:
My home is WORTH only 2/3, it has LOST 1/3 it's value! (thank goodness)
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People believe what they want to believe! The Village of Bayville taxes did not go up 19.5%. That was the gap difference in money. Last years budget was$4,939114.00, this year is $5,223,526.00. A total increase of $304,412.00 which equates to a little over 5%. The $304,412. is the same amount as the State mandated Guaranteed pension increase and the State mandated Firemans LOLAP program. The budgets are all on the village web site. I'm not an accountant and I figured it out.The Board did a great job. Newsday and the Leader are out to sell papers.5% is not big news. The problem is the state mandates.
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Lisa
All courses cost money and AP teachers are suppose to be trained as well and AP exams cost money. Taking the normal expenses such as these and salaries away, how much does IB really cost?
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I don't know! Why doesn't the Administration/Board leak the cost of IB, like they've been leaking tidbits about contract negotiations; settle all of this debate, right quick, hmmmmm?
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The incremental cost difference between a full AP or IB cost is small. The district provided a cost analysis of the two a number of years back. IB is slightly higher.
But let's not Lisa highjack the blog to discuss IB. That is the only thing she wants to discuss, and frankly does a great job of getting everybody away from the relevant topics and on to IB.
For me, I admit I was not as informed as I should have been and didn't realize the union connection of the three new BOE members.
We cannot afford another pay increase for the unions.
Our taxes are high enough so the only place an increase can come from is teachers and employees. Program cuts hurt the students directly and are not big enough to make a real difference. Unless we cut the entire athletic program
The increase for pensions, steps and health care this year was over $2m. Where will we get money for a bigger teacher raise. From increased taxes. NO! From teacher and employees. I hope not.
Now I realize why the BOE said no to an additional increase.
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You are mis-informed. The candidates DO NOT have a union agenda: They want IB cost info, to see if it's worth the cost, honesty, and 0 waste. This is their agenda. I heard from the seniors. (citizens, not students)
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For those of you who want the TOB to take over the Village of Bayville, take a ride down to Stehl's Beach...Those buildings are a disgrace!! Also, do you ever read Newsday after a snow storm or watch News 12? People are always complaining that their town roads weren't even touched...I think our guys do a great job, try to plow some of these narrow roads with cars parked on both sides, not to mention the equipment that they are using..Walk in someones shoes before you shoot your mouth off about the job they do. Take a ride out of town and check out the litter on the sides of the road...Bayville is one of the best kept villages around. Lisa, I am with you on this one.
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The video on unions is really funny. If you haven't watched it scroll up and link it.
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I am not misinformed, all three new members have a union agenda, AND ALL THREE TOOK UNION MONEY FOR THEIR CAMPAIGN.
Union Agenda:
Segura -- a teacher. Closest possible union agenda
Stimola -- Union asked him to run
Murphy -- Wife is being excessed by the district.
AND ALL THREE WILLINGLY TOOK UNION MONEY AND SUPPORT.
Interestingly enough, Carr was his own man and refused the money and support.
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Say what you will, however you're going to feel foolish once they sit their term: Do you really believe that your blatant lies will remain secret? Actions speak louder than words, and the "truths" and "untruths" will be obvious, and undeniable, and what will you say then?
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I would like the anonymous incoherent posters on this blog to STOP trying to blame the ousting of the 3 incumbents and the defeat of the budget - on the union. Do you really think the voters of LVCSD don't have a mind of their own? Furthermore, would it make sense for the union to encourage a NO vote on the budget? I don't think so.
The issue IS IB! Many Americans have awoken to what a disastrous, wasteful, political FAD of a program IB is.
What's the first link on the following Tea Party website:
http://www.citizens4freedom.com/Articles/tabid/1387/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/4655/WARNING---WHAT-THE-UNITED-NATIONS-IS-DOING-TO-THE-AMERICAN-EDUCATION.aspx
Oh look. It's mine.
We won the IB war in Incline Village, Nevada - there we were able to stop it before it was implemented, even so, $100,000 was placed in Swiss coffers for NOTHING!
An IB war is on in Greenwich, CT - their Supt. just quit because rather than answer tough questions about IB, he throws a hissy fit and quits.
http://greenwich.patch.com/articles/with-dr-freunds-resignation-more-than-meets-the-eye
3 pro-AP candidates won and the budget was defeated because people are sick and tired of the lack of transparency and wasteful spending.
Whether it's $300,000 or $3,000,000, it isn't JUST about the money. IB has divided the staff, divided the students, divided the community and it is clearly political as well.
I don't know why people all over the country find my research credible yet right here in my home town, there are still IB zealots who refuse to put down the Kool Aid.
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entertained,
I have to tell you, it bothers me that everytime someone wants to calculate the cost of IB, they immediately deduct the salary of the teachers. If the teachers are only teaching IB, then they aren't teaching Regents or Honors or AP. Especially if it is one of the BETTER teachers, they get assigned to IB because the school is desperate for BETTER student achievement results. I will specifically point to the year 2007, when LVHS begrudgingly ran AP. U.S. History for 17 students. NOT A SINGLE STUDENT SCORED A '3'!!!!! (pass)
Why? Because LVHS assigned a crappy teacher to the class and clearly, the curriculum was not taught! At the time, I believe I wrote an LTE which the Leader didn't publish calling for the district to REFUND the $86 exam fee the parents had paid (not the district) because I felt the district had committed educational malpractice.
LVHS's handling of the HS course schedules and offerings since 2004 HAS BEEN HORRENDOUS AND EMBARRASSING! The longest running Principal, your current one, scares me, man. I don't scare easily. He's scarier looking than Ron Walsh. And it's not just a bald head thing, because Tom Hogan is bald as well, but he doesn't scare me one bit. I think I scare him, though.
So I'm not sure what you are trying to get at .....
From my perspective, there are no positives to IB in American public schools. None, nada, zip.
It doesn't cost the school district anything to have its teachers deliver AP courses or for the parents to pay the $86 test fee.
Right now, those same teachers must have at least $4,500-6,000 EACH spent on them for the 3 Levels of IB teacher training. So multiply that for however many IB teachers are in the HS. IBO gets and annual $10,000 membership fee. The IB Coordinator is a mandatory IB position - (AP does not mandate and AP Coordinator - it's handled by Guidance Dept.)For every IB student who takes ONE IB exam, there is $141 student registration fee. Then add $96 for every IB exam which the district is now forcing US the taxpayers to pay - UNLIKE the way it was in 2007 when LVHS failed those 17 AP U.S. History students. Then you have $5,000+ in IB mailing fees, mandatory stipends for the EE and CAS Supervisors ($3,500 each), you have IB materials (course guides which must be purchased) IB Conferences - last year's was at The Fountainbleu in Miami. Jay Mathews went too! Funny thing, they had a bedbug outbreak right after they were all there! LOL!
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Does anyone remember the senior trip to China in 2007 which cost over $3,000 per student and only IB students who had never gotten detention were allowed to go? Does anyone remember paying for Dr. Shear's little trip to China to the tune of $1,900? What's this obsession with China and an elitist few? Hmmmmm?
The Emperor has no clothes. Wake up people!
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Do you really want our schools run like the Chicoms? How more blatant can IB's agenda be???? If IB were pro-capitalism and pro-Western, would the Communi-st Chinese government allow the program in its borders? DOH!
Everyone wants to label me as "negative" - BUT I'M NOT! I am PRO-U.S.A. I am PRO-AP, I am PRO-fiscal responsibility, I am PRO-student achievement and PRO-individual accomplishment.
I am NOT pro-Union.
http://www.ibo.org/school/search/index.cfm?nextStart=1
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Lisa is a master at getting off the subject and on to her agenda. She does this no matter how many names she needs to post under.
However, when the union makes the calls, all day long, and tells voters to vote for anyone but the incumbents, people aren't going to then turn around and vote for the budget the incumbents present. Get serious.!!!
The current Board would not give the teachers a raise so the MOST POWERFUL UNION in the country pulled out all the stops. Vote the union people in by discrediting the incumbents. The budget is merely collateral damage to the union.
Hence, the celebration last Friday in the face of a budget defeat and the strong possibility of additional layoffs. Teacher unions like to say, "we eat our young., " meaning to get a higher raise or better/more benefits for the average union member we will sacrifice new members being excessed.
it will be quite interesting to see how the new BOE members vote when they realize the choice is more layoffs or a raise for the teachers.
In other districts teachers voluntarily gave up raises or actually gave back increases, but not our union. It wants a larger increase and will "eat its young to get it," There problem is the current board wouldn't let them do it.let's see if the new Board eats the young
If the teachers get an ADDITIONAL raise there will be massive layoffs. Let's see what happens.
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@Peter
You write well but I don't understand. What do you mean by "we eat our young"?
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Anonymous,
Thank you. If you reread the post I explain what it means in the forth paragraph.
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Obviously Peter was born without a sense of humor. "She With No Name" is what Tom Hogan calls me.
I didn't receive any phone call from anyone in the union.
How about someone who has time and seems to think the winners received money from the union goes down and FOILs the expense accounts of ALL of the candidates.
No one else had to discredit the incumbents. They did a fine job of it all by themselves. And Peter goes on to prove my point that the teachers in this district aren't so stupid as to advocate a position that would cost their "comrades" their jobs (that would be the teachers who vote in this district).
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Lisa, you always have good ideas. I may go to the district and foil the expense accounts of all candidates. Now, here is my question. What happens if there is PROOF in the submitted expense accounts of any candidates that received money or its equivalent, like free signs? I want to know what will your position be then?
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If you've been following the blog, or, if you scroll up, you will see that a candidate has already stated that signs were made WITHOUT this candidate being told: This candidate was told that since they were already made, the expense MUST BE SUBMITTED, REGARDLESS.
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We won the election, we shot down the budget. Now, we won again by re-electing our leaders for the positions of LVSEA President and Vice President for another two years. Great Leadership and the next one is our well deserved contract! Go to our site and you will see "Locust Valley Teachers Deserve a Contract" and we will win again because we have the BOE stacked up. All we need is one more vote on the board and we will get whatever we deserve!
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Many of the local teacher, not Bea Rupp, are quite angry with the union. And the young teachers wanted to skip a mandatory meeting but were told they must attend.
You got phone calls if you were a union member and the teachers asked for lists of anyone else who lived in the community. THOUSAND OF CALLS WERE MADE, most of my neighbors received calls.
Since the union wanted anyone but the incumbents they printed signs for all four new candidates. If one accepts then you accept a contribution.
Randy Carr refused, the others didn't. That tell you something very important: Carr didn't want the unions to influence his decisions if he was elected so he said no.
The others all pro union were only too happy to accept the contributions.
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Anon wrote:
Lisa, Perhaps you can help me with this:
What happens to the value of our homes, (being you're in the Realty business) if our district adopts an austerity budget?
LVCSD could do the smart thing and agree to phase out IB, in which case the budget will pass the second time around. In 2005, the budget was defeated the first time around and when the district agreed to reduce spending on IB from $100,000 to $60,000, the budget passed. Of course, both the $100,000 and $60,000 were fake numbers and the district spent far more than both, but psychologically, it seemed like a significant reduction. Real estate is down everywhere, but two house on my block have sold for $850,000+ within the past 12 months, so I doubt even if the budget goes down a second time, it will affect value. Purchasers most likely would be thankful that they aren't getting socked with a 6% school tax increase.
As to the signage - just because three candidates used the images created on the LVSEA website - does not mean that the union PAID for the signs.
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The unions paid for the signs, that is a fact. And the unions had dozens of people on the phones, that is also an expense.
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Murphy and Segura told people themselves that the union paid for everything. Are you telling me they were lying even before they started? Nothing about who paid for Stimola's signage but he has a rich uncle, who owns Buckram Stables. He doesn't need the money or even a job.
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The unions paid for Stimola's expenses as well. Note his signs were the union design, the same as Segura and Murphy. Carr said no, and paid for his own. HE couldn't be bought off.
What is amazing is that as the entire nation is turning away from public unions, our district moves in the opposite direction.
Don't we understand we can no longer afford the pension and health care expenses public unions receive. Everyone else seems to get it.
The current Board said no, so the unions recruited and paid the expenses of candidates who support public unions. The power of the unions prevailed. Now they will expect their payback. That's why NYS is bankrupted, the politicians get the support, money and backing of public unions, get elected and then pay them back with sweetheart deals through pension plans and other benefits. Our district is now a poster child of how it works. I am embarrassed.
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Again, say what you will , however you are incorrect. Stimola threw his hat in the ring LONG BEFORE ANY OTHER new, and some incumbent CANDIDATES (If you don't believe me, check the dates at administration) and LONG BEFORE ANY UNIONS WERE AWARE HE WAS RUNNING. THIS IS FACT AND YOUR STATEMENTS TO THE CONTRARY ARE INTENTIONAL DECEPTION! Proof's in the pudding, and ARE YOU GOING TO BE SURPRISED AND EMBARRASSED!
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Actually, I can't be embarrassed since everything I said is correct. Stimola filed to run only after the head of the of his dad's old union asked him to do so.
This information is right from the horses mouth. Ask either of them, they don't deny it.
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At this point it really doesn't matter if the union backed the three new BOE members are not; they've won and there is nothing that can be done about that fact. One can only hope that all of those who voted for "new faces" will not come to realize what all of those people who voted for Obama in 2008 because he was "change" have now realized: new does not equal better, new does not equal knowledge, and union endorsements are an ominous sign for those in favor of keeping costs down
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The Benstocks have the Nassau County Police Department in their pocket, as well as the Administration in the Inc. Village of Bayville. Do your homework. John Benstock will walk. We will pay dearly.
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This election is a reflection of our communities.
Credential - Does not matter, college not important
Voting Record - Does not matter, never voted was elected
Union Membership - Very important, this is a union friendly town. People agree that teachers work so hard and deserve a contract with raise
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For shame! Putting down an entire community, just because you don't agree with the election results: For whatever reason, the public spoke loudly. This can not be denied. Let's see what they do, and then discuss their merits, or lack of...
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And who paid for the Chu, Walsh Bellissari signs? We the taxpayers?
Someone should FOIL the candidate vouchers. I'm too busy.
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The game is over. Union has lobbied fiercely against the tax cap and it arrived:
http://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/cuomo-dems-back-property-tax-cap-plan-1.2895657
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Move already,
I seem to recall that Bellissari ran on the "Change" motto - and then he fell in lockstep with the status quo. I did not see print advertisements for ANY candidates, let alone ones stamped with "endorsed by the LVSEA". Print advertising is a lot more expensive than a bunch of wire signs and I still have not seen any proof that the union put up the money for them.
I'll say it again - this vote demonstrated that the voters are sick and tired of wasteful spending and sick and tired of the Trustees who rubber stamped wasteful spending for the past 9 years. This was a vote of NO CONFIDENCE in the incumbents. Now we'll have to see what change will bring.
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Lisa,
It makes no difference now with the 2% cap. Local boards are stripped of power.
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We need to aggressively lobby New York State Legislators- it makes a difference.
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The incumbents and Carr paid all their expenses, NOT THE TAXPAYERS.
The union paid Segura, Murphy and Stimola.
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The 2% property tax cap is the wrong approach to controlling taxes. It is an example of big daddy knows best, The way to control property tax is the way we did it this year. The local community votes the budget up or down. I don't want Papa Andy or anyone else telling me the educational needs and values of my community. I want the community to make that decision.
For example, i think it is crazy that Syosset pays its superintendent over $400k in compensation and $500k with benefits, but that is Syosset's decision. It is their money and their budget. I don't pay one cent of her compensation nor does our dear governor. It is the local community's choice how they will support public education. Quality education is highly values in Syosset and they feel the superintendent makes it happen and are willing to pay her. Their choice, not the federal or state government's decision.
Even worst, since the state adopted the federal governments "Race to the Top," policy, and accepted the feds money ($750m) it must abide by its rules, which include the its "core curriculum." All NYS must overhaul their own curriculum to adopt to the federal guidelines.
Within a few years, Lisa will not have to worry about arguing the merits of AP vs. IB. Neither will exist in NYS. The 2% property tax cap plus the mandated requirement of the core curriculum standard will leave school districts without the funds for either AP or IB. The only exceptions will be districts like Syosset and possibly Jericho which will override the 2% cap. A district can do this by getting 60% of the voters to approve.
'
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Well said Peter! Unfortunately most people don't understand this
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Please provide one example of when aggressively lobbying New York State legislators paid off.
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@Anon,
LV aggressively lobbied to have the Empty Bus mandate removed and did it.
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In essence, education is no longer a local issue. The state has decided what is best for local communities.It is no longer the will of the people.
Notice Cuomo and the state senate and assembly did not cap New York state income taxes. State taxes can still continue to rise to meet the bloated needs of politicians. The state has. a $9billion dollar deficit,is virtually bankrupted, and it deafly deflects the issue to local property taxes. Second only to California in liberal big spending policies,NYS will continue to bloat state government and now it controls education as well.
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Noticed how "quiet" this blog is for all you pro union guys? Their short lived "victory" now means nothing. By electing their candidates to the boe means nothing now because they can no longer push for a rich settlement that boe has been fighting for the community. All the LV union presidents have been telling people "2% will never come". Guess what, it is here sooner than they can imagine. Their anti boe campaign also brought down the budget.
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http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/board_of_education/board_of_education
There is "a special meet" tonight?
Why do you have to delve so far into the school's website to see this? Why hasn't this meeting been advertised more prominently? Are they discussing the new budget?
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Everybody knows about it. All the PTAs know about this, the unions know about this. The taxpaypers know about this. Where have you been?
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Peter and Anon are correct regarding the loss of local control with Cuomo's recommended mandatory 2% cap and agreement to comply with Obama's Commie Core standards and Race to the Top. Cede all local control to the Feds and retain the right to tax NYers income to the max - it's the Democrat's way. That's what NYers get for electing a Dem Gov. and why our young folks are moving out of state in droves.
What Peter failed to take into consideration, is that many more Title I districts will become IB as they make a grab for a share of the $10+ Billion in the 2009 ARRA (stimulus). A Perfect example of this is Long Beach HS which snagged $1.3M in order to implement IB which qualifies as an "innovative program".
This is social justice as administered by the Democrats. Vote it out in 2012!
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Excuse me, but I would like to know how the "taxpayers" know about this evening's BOE Meeting/ I've attended the past 10 meetings, and not only was it not announced, it's not on the school calendar either. Unless you're on the PTA or another "group" it is NOT common knowledge.
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We, parents of children in the district, get calls from LVCSD over everything the administration deems "important" to notify us about... I guess they don't want "informed taxpayers" because they choose to not even inform THE PARENTS WITH A SIMPLE PHONE CALL, EVEN WHEN THE BUDGET'S AT STAKE! THAT'S WHAT'S WRONG HERE!
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@Anon
"We, parents of children in the district"
Let's vote NO on the next budget.
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Just ran into a teacher, who says that it's bulls#$t that Anonymous claims the meeting tonight to be "public knowledge". Until an hour or so ago, none of the teachers were even made aware... public knowledge my butt! I CAN"T WAIT FOR THE NEW BOE MEMBERS TO SIT! THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN SMOKE AND MIRRORS, ALONG WITH THE BS ON THE BLOG: AND GUESS WHAT? NOW THE PUBLIC'S LEARNING ABOUT IT! OUR EYES ARE OPEN NOW. So I wonder who "Anonymous" could be? Someone from within "inner circles", working hard to feed fuel to the fire? Too late! We know what's going on, and as you can tell by last week's vote, "We're mad as hell, and we're not gonna take it anymore!".
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To those who are "union haters" (I am neither supporter or hater):
Please stop and think for a minute. Why do you think union members would advocate voting the budget down? If you've ever been in a "union" work environment, you would know that having a budget "go down", is much more detrimental to their employment status and salaries, than ANY lack of contract is. This reasoning does not support the facts.
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@Anon,
'that it's bulls#$t that Anonymous claims the meeting tonight to be "public knowledge".'
Can't you see? It is right on the district website home page:
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/
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Anon wrote:
To those who are "union haters"
the current boe put together the budget, the unions called lots of people and told them "vote anyone except the incumbents". does it take more than 1 oz of brain to figure out if the boe is so bad, the budget has to go?
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No brainer,
It's a "no brainer" for the public perhaps to make the assumption that you've got, however, it would be plain "stupid" for union members to vote down the only remaining chance at a raise, or relief from job cuts, really!
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I agree with you totally that it would be plain "stupid" for them to do so. I don't want to insult anyone but see what they have done. They were the only group that got on the phone bank to call people. The school did not do that, the boe did not do that, the parents did not do that (and I did not call anyone).
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No brainer,
I've lived in this district, all of my life, and for as far as I can remember, we got calls before every budget, to remember to vote "for the budget". I can't imagine things are so bad that they (teachers/union?) would actually ask residents to vote the budget down, and as a matter of fact, I'm quite sure they didn't, because I got a couple of calls asking me to "Get out and vote for the budget", from whom, I don't know.
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If you don't mind, read my posts. I only said the unions called to tell people to vote anyone but the incumbents. There are so many people got these calls I am sure being a life long resident of this district, it is not hard to find people who got these calls. Did I ever say they told people to vote no? I didn't. I did say that by tellling people to vote out the boe that prepared the budget, people will make the connection that the budget is bad. It is like fire the cook will lead people to believe the food is horrible.
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It's unfortunate that we now find our district so "splintered" about our Educational priorities: I hope that we can manage to span these gaps, and move forward with a positive environment for students, teachers, and administrators alike, so that we can continue to offer the top-notch education that we've grown to expect in LV. Without the cooperation of everyone, these new state mandates are going to "eat this district up"! I think we need to listen a little bit more, educate ourselves a little bit more, and then approach this problem from the viewpoint of knowing that an agreement must be reached by this district about MANY issues:
*BOE Transparency(openness)/honesty
*Evaluation of ALL programs, and their cost-effectiveness(including I
*100% accountability by teachers, administrators, and Board members
*0 waste of all resources, including; employees, services, and also with the maintenance of all of LV's grounds, vehicles/machinery, and facilities
Our district is worth the work!
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No brainer,
I appologize. I was directing my response to MANY entries: (yours being one of them)I'm sorry if it was unclear. There have been entries stating that teachers both called to support the new candidates, AND also to ask that the budget be voted down. THIS is what I find absolutely incredible- it just doesn't make sense!
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There is a very interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal (front page) about what public high schools around the country are having to do as a result of teachers' salaries accounting for over 80% of the budget, and taxpayers refusing tax increases: basically parents are now having to pay fees for anything that might be considered an "extra." So, a fee for each extracurricular sport, a fee for music and art classes, a fee for enrolling in an AP class plus a separate ($90) fee for taking the AP exam, fees for extra study materials beyond textbooks ... You name it. For certain families the fees for two children can add up to over $2,000! And certain districts grant waivers for lower income families while others do not. The rationale is that why should families whose kids are not participating in such activities and classes have to fund those whose children are? And the senior citizens are especially vehement about this issue. While it may be a while before this kind of situation comes to LV, I can certainly see us heading that way.
Check out the article and keep it mind - I would imagine there are taxpayers here that would welcome such a system. And plenty that wouldn't.
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Move already,
I read the WSJ article you mentioned. Interesting! A student have to pay to register for Spanish I. Total cost per year is over $4K. Holy macro! It is intersting that schools may charge for parking. That's an idea.
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No brainer,
I have heard that at least 2 incumbents made a couple of phone calls to local "groups" looking for their support. (I may be reading into this too much, but I believe that they were hoping to get their backing, to then utilize their "networking capabilities" to advertise their candidacy, however from what I hear, the groups declined to back them for different reasons. I believe that the incumbents did try, but were unsuccessful. (My sources are very good on this info.)
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The only reason I stated the above, was that this was also the first time for the incumbents to make signs and seek community support from networking with local groups (by phone). Strange year.
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I care less about who got elected than if the budget passed or failed.
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LVCSD should start by charging a fee to take the IB classes
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Move already,
Very interesting point. The district can start by reversing its ridiculous policy to charge the taxpayers for IB student registration fees ($141 each), IB exam fees ($96 each) and the smattering of AP exam fees ($87 each).
My daughter as an art major at NYU (Class of 2011, Summa Cum Laude, non-IB student - congratulations Bonnie!) often had to pay additional studio material/lab fees over and above the tuition for the course.
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Lisa,
Your daughter benefitted from LV paying #35K extra for attending the BOCES arts program. To save costs, that is the first one that should be CUT.
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It is outrageous the money taxpayers paid so your child could attend an art program at BOCES.
Who paid the transportation expense to take her back and forth?
You soaked the district. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Why should I pay if she has a special calling?
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Anonymous,
All programs offered by our district, need to be evaluated for their cost effectiveness, from an OBJECTIVE VIEWPOINT. This is our district's biggest problem right now; they seem to focus on certain areas for improvement; deflecting attention from others.
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@Anon
I agree with you totally. The $35K that Lisa never talked about is per year. Her daughter went for more than a year. District also paid transportation on top of it. Shear told people about her.
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@Anon
And her friends in school knew about her going to BOCES back and forth by special transportation arrangement.
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You've missed the point: Many children attend BOCES for a variety of reasons- It's ineffective to point at just a couple of examples, and of only one program of many. They ALL need to be evaluated.
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@Anon
I'm with you. All BOCES programs should be checked out. It is very expensive.
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What's wrong with BOCES? Many students learn a trade because college is not for them. Has anyone thought that the #'s w/regards to BOCES are increasing bc the academic program isn't there for the non-IB kids?
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It is outrageous the money taxpayers paid so your child could attend an art program at BOCES.
Who paid the transportation expense to take her back and forth?
You soaked the district. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Why should I pay if she has a special calling?
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Anon,
Of course! That's why I believe that ALL programs need to be evaluated, then weighed against each other as far as priority goes. For instance, as you say, there are quite a few children much better suited for a trade, especially with entrance to affordable colleges being so competitive today. This, I feel is a necessity. How about IB and AP? Let's see what they cost, weigh them against each other for cost effectiveness, then (probably) we can offer HS students AP courses, at a cost to the students' parents. If we evaluate each and every program in this fashion, imagine the money the district could save! In the future, should our economy flourish again, we can reconsider the district carrying the cost for these beneficial yet expensive programs- Makes sense, right?
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Anon..."It's outrageous..."
Please! Enough with the anti- Lisa thing! If you're that upset about Lisa's daughter, then how upset do you think you should be, learning that the district has paid for DOZENS of children to benefit from BOCES programs: with deficits, gifted, and average over MANY,MANY years!
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Lisa, what nerve. You complain about the small incremental cost of the district providing a top quality academic program available for all students, then milk the district to pay for a specialized program for your daughter.
Good for your daughter but why should I pay for it.
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@Anon wrote
Are you Lisa using a different name? Locust Valley has Art program but some parents insist that their children have "special calling" and demand that the district pay $35K a year plus transportation to send their children to BOCES instead. Take the in house Art program. Don't say the district is "wasting money" and in the meantime demand the district to use BOCES. One of such parent is taking a new boe member around for introduction.
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"Please! Enough with the anti- Lisa thing!"
Lisa is the only one I know champion "cut wasteful spending" and at the same time sent her own daughter to BOCES at taxpayers expense. $35K/Yr + Bus
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This may all be true, however, I'm really trying to think of how our district needs to proceed, now that the economy's so bad, and the budget went down. Our school's so used to spending ridiculous amounts of money on each student to begin with,(see today's Newsday) I can't imagine our administration making ALL OF THE CUTS necessary, with our cost/student figures so inflated to start with!
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"Anon wrote:
I'm really trying to think of how our district needs to proceed, now that the economy's so bad,"
80% of our cost is assoiated with teachers salary and benefits. that's why boe has not caved in to union pressure. steps and lanes alone is 3.1%, protected by law. if union does not give back, we will soon hit $40K per pupil and no one, i mean NO ONE, can do a thing about it.
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STOP WITH THE LIES!!!! You low-class liars are unbelievable! The district spent $8,500 per 1/2 day student per year, for the Syosset Performing Arts BOCES. Because LVHS eliminated AP English and was unable to schedule AP U.S. History or even Regents English or SS at LVHS due to IB, my daughter was forced to suffer through those boring basic courses at BOCES. This included a bus which she had to catch at 6:30 in the morning and wait for a transfer at Jericho in order to get there on time.
Now - as to your "top quality academic program", FINALLY the main-stream media - U.S. News & World Reports - has an article on IB. *WARNING* Progressives and Kool Aid drinkers should begin researching the author of this piece to attack personally:
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/05/26/international-baccalaureate-undermines-us-founding-principles?msg=1
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I'm aware of that staggering figure, however what I find unexplainable, is that EVERY other district in New York State now has to do the same for THEIR teachers, but find it much less a problem because their cost/student is much lower to begin with. All of this teacher stuff is mandated for every public district in NY, right? So, why is it soooo bad here, and not in other areas of NY state? INFLATED COSTS. Just look in Newsday today- We're DOUBLE the average cost/student, and that's BEFORE settling the teachers' contracts. And, by the way... the only way we got to this point, with teachers' salaries already so high, is because our recent BOEs and Administrators have already given so much. THIS IS NOT A NEW PROBLEM: This mess has been brewing for years. As our economy tanked, NY state compounded it with all of these ridiculous mandates; at the same time removing any funding they supplied us in the past. While I agree that the teachers' contract is a problem, if you look at the big picture, the problem REALLY is that our past/recent Administrations, have already "over-spent", making these new mandates impossible to work into a budget that's already bloated from poor fiscal decisions, that we're STILL PAYING FOR, years later. It's just too much at once, for a "little" district like ours. To me, it's like realizing that you're in debt, over your head, and so overwhelmed, you don't know how to begin... It starts with the admission that we "screwed up" and were "loose" with tax dollars for a long time before today... then...
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Okay, so $17,000, since your daughter was at BOCES all day. And, please be accurate: the reason she had to take the courses at BOCES was because scheduling of the classes at LV didn't fit with the BOCES program. It was not that the classes (obviously) weren't taking place at LV, it's just they weren't convenient if you wanted to attend BOCES. So the point is still the same: people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Your daughter received a benefit paid for by the taxpayers. Not that I'm objecting to that since we as a district - up to now - have been willing to pay for a few incurring a benefit that not all receive. But will they in the future?
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Move already,
Noooo, it was a HALF day program for $8,500 and she was there only for the AM session. Due to cost cutting measures, BOCES has now eliminated the afternoon session. As a district, we pay a fairly hefty fee to belong to the BOCES system which primarily benefits the most disabled students in our schools. Do you begrudge those special services for children with special needs and those with special talents? You have to audition to get into the Performing Arts school. They don't take just anyone.
AP English was NOT taking place at LVHS as it was discontinued with the implementation of IB.
In other states where districts aren't miniscule like ours and top heavy with administrators, magnet schools are common. BOCES is our equivalent of a magnet school. In addition to excellent Special Ed facilities, BOCES offers an aeronautics school, an environmental campus, the performing arts school, etc.
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@Anon,
"To me, it's like realizing that you're in debt, over your head, and so overwhelmed, you don't know how to begin... It starts with the admission that we "screwed up" and were "loose" with tax dollars for a long time before today... then..."
I share your frustration and I know how it happened since I have been a life time resident here. In 1984, the year Richad Hirt joined LV, it was the last time LV did not have a budget. I am sure you have heard of this thing called Triborough, which says the current contract continues when there is no new contract. The end result of that is that the union will only settle when there is something better. Otherwise they are guaranteed by law to continue what they have. So over the course of the last 27 years, we sank deeper and deeper into the teachers contact. No parents would like to even think about taking a firm stand on the compensation since money has been abound since 1984. Well, now the time is tough so boe is taking it serious with the union. See what they got. I hope they will not cave in even with the new union sponsored new members.
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Baloney Lisa , you chose to sent your daughter to a special program at BOCES which cost the taxpayer at least $17k and probably substantially more.
Then you criticize the district for not scheduling classes around the BOCES program to accommodate your daughter. What nerve!!!
Then you have the audacity to criticize the district for paying to have students take AP and IB tests to help them get into colleges.
As a taxpayer I have a big problem supporting $17k for an honor student to get access to a special program. YOU JUST TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ALL OF US. SHAME ON YOU!!!!!!
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Hey Lisa,
Exactly how much did LV paid for your daughter's BOCES attendance during her entire H.S. years?
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Lisa,
A friend of mine just told me that your daughter went up to Albany to lobby for more taxpayers money for the BOCES program. Is that true? Isn't that what "tax and spend" is all about?
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Simon,
You are a very bitter, nasty, man. My daughter auditioned for an opportunity that is available to ALL students in public schools in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. BOCES tuition is part of the general LVCSD budget which currently allocates approx. $35,000 per student in LVCSD. You want me to break out the per IB Diploma cost for every IB Diploma recipient since 2006? Because I'll be happy to and it amounts to a helluva lot more than $17,000!
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The total cost of the district budget is quite low and the average cost high. Why? Simple laws of economics. When there are fewer people to allocate the costs over the average cost is higher.
Think of your home. If your heating bill is $1,000 a year and just you and your spouse live at home the average cost per person for heating is $500. If you have 2 children at home the average cost drops to $250. This is why average cost is almost always higher with small businesses, schools or organizations, even if total costs are low and well controlled.
As to the "teacher stuff" most other districts have had massive cuts in teachers and cut backs in essential programs. Glen Cove has cut back teaching periods from 9 to 8. To date since LV's budget has been tightly] managed the district has no substantial program cutbacks, minimum teachers excessed, and no rise in class size. In fact, the no academic programs have been cut.
Also note the average cost per student is higher in top performing school district. The Regents graduation rate WITH DISTINCTION for iLV is 8th on LI placing it in the top 6% of school districts.
Note Jericho's cost per student is higher LV's by a couple of thousand dollars (note link from a prior post or go to "gothroughny.org) than LV even though it is a larger school and benefits from better economies of scale.
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@Anon,
I will try to explain it to you why. From way back when, LVCSD created six schools (AMP, LVI, BP, BI, MS, and HS) and six buildings (AMP, LVI, BP, BI, MS/HS, and Adm). In each building, there is a nurse, a library, and a custodial staff, which is unionized. If you look at Jericho, they don't have that many buildings. In addition, we are the geographically largest school district in Nassau County. It takes one hour to travel from Mutton to MS/HS. I learned this from one of the ousted boe member and it makes sense to me. He told me boe is working hard to address this issue but it takes time to fix it.
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No new taxes,
Yes, I am very proud of my daughter traveling to Albany as a representative of LIHSA lobbying for more STATE AID to BOCES. Hasn't every Superintendent from the beginning of time whined about cuts in STATE AID? Wouldn't that alleviate the burden placed on our local district and your school taxes? Hmmmm?
This is what democracy looks like!
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We have had 106 IB Diplomas awarded since the district began spending money on IB in 2002. We have spent approx. $2.5M on IB.
2 500 000 / 106 = $23,584.90 for successful completion of a 2yr. program
In 2007, the year my daughter graduated, the 86 students at the LIHSFA received $8.2M in scholarship offers compared to the $1.3M the 160 LVHS seniors were offered. What does that tell you?
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Each building except Adm.
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Anon,
Following your reasoning: Why then, are all things not relative? For instance, our district, having less students, should also have less payroll each week, less supplies, administrators, smaller facilities, etc., so the cost/student should remain relative, and it does not. It hasn't been for quite some time. The IB program is a costly program, that has entirely removed the option of a regular honors/AP program. It's not like it was "in addition to" or like we (the residents/parents in the district) even had a choice as to whether to adopt the IB curriculum, or not. Many of us, have come to realize, that this program MUST be VERY COSTLY, or the administration would have no problem quoting those statistics, like they do the other stats. Even with such a loud public outcry, as voting down the budget and the incumbent BOE members, I find that those in power, choose NOT to release the cost of IB. The only reason that I can POSSIBLY think of, is that the figures are upsetting. Why else wouldn't they release them? Even if no one had run the figures, if they're as low as BOE/Administrators say they are, THEN WHY NOT SATISFY THE PUBLIC WITH THE COST? THEY'RE HIDING SOMETHING, and I don't like it.
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Anonymous,
If you really want to go way back when, don't forget the whole Brookville School battle!
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@Anon,
If my memory is correct, one of the incumbents quoted the exact numbers for IB. People like Lisa would like you to buy her conviction to eradicate IB from all public schools. The fact is that unless we say we do not want to offer any college level courses, no IB and no AP, then the difference or incremental cost between the two is not much. I do not know the exact number but I think it is in the mid five figures. Personally, I don't care it is AP or IB but I do care that we offer college level courses so our kinds can be competitive. With that being said and the relatively small difference betwen the two programs (we offer both with far more I
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I understand about the physical size of our district, however LVCSD also is one of only a handful of LI schools that has MS/HS in the same building: this should compensate a bit. Also, you can't compare Glen Cove: It's a city, and the school's are run differently. Glen Cove's been either under or battling an austerity budget for years, so of course there have been lay-offs and cuts LONG BEFORE NOW, unlike LV.
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@Anon,
Ya, forget about GC. As you said, they are different from us in many ways. If you take a look at OB-EN and NS, you will find our cost is eitehr lower or very competitive while our results is ahaed of them in many ways, not to say our Girl LAX won the game.
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No compelling reason to switch?
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/05/26/international-baccalaureate-undermines-us-founding-principles?msg=1
How about $2.5M in savings? Because if the parents pick up the AP exam fees, it costs $0 additional dollars to run AP.
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Lisa,
Pay back the BOCES tuition before you compain about any cost. Did you answer the question from a poster before? How much have we, the taxpayers, paid for your daughters BOCES program in addition to the per pupil cost?
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Stop getting off the subject Lisa. You have been exposed as a hypocrite. Exactly, how much did the school district (tax payers) spend, including busing for your daughter entire high school career.
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Yao Chu quoted $75,000 for the cost of the IB/AP exams. That was shy. The exact number, which I calculated, was $96,000. That number does NOT include:
IB Coordinator salary $137,000
EE and CAS Supervisor stipends - $7,000
$10,000 annual IB membership fee
$5,000 annual mailing costs
$25-30,000 annual ongoing IB teacher training
$141 per student IB registration fee
Stipends for Model UN and IB Leadership Clubs
$3500-5000 for annual IB Conference
IB textbooks/materials - $25,000
TOK Consultant - probably $2,000 - 3,500
do you want me to continue?
A friend of mine in Volusia County, FL, has taken up the lack of disclosure of the IB budget with her AG. Unbelievably, her FOIA request has been put on "hold". Protection of withholding the cost of IB from the general public goes all the way to the top.
And btw, Glen Cove and Garden City had the good sense to turn down IB.
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Anonymous,
That being said, I would most definitely prefer the AP curriculum, because it's much more "a la carte" than IB. I really don't like the "narrowness" of the IB curriculum- it leaves the kids very little room for exercising their individualism or for deviating from their "core" classes for something interesting. I am also quite disturbed that there is no American History at all in the IB curriculum: My family and I are very patriotic, and finding it impossible to overlook this oversight. Also, the way AP courses are set-up, it would not be difficult to arrange for parents to pay for their child's AP classes, instead of the district- LV did it for years.
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Hey anononymous aholes,
Read back. I already stated the BOCES budget is INCLUDED in the General BUDGET. $17,000 for 2 years vs. $23,585 for each of your precious IB Diplomas.
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Lisa,
You don't get it. Taxpaypers want their money back from you. When you pay us back, it will help to lower MY taxes.
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@Anon,
You are certainly entitled to your opinion. I am not a certified K-12 professional. I will leave it to the experts who are paid to do that. The IB/AP merit is not just debated here. What I do find it offensive is that there are people who go on a mission to throw IB out and feed people all kinds of selective semi information. I have first hand information from college admissions that views IB very favorably.
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Anonymous,
When you get all of the parents of 106 IB Diploma recipients to pay back the district $23,500 each for the anti-American education they received on my taxdollars, I'll give the district back the $17,000 it spent on my daughter. I think that's very fair, don't you?
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Anon
You don't know the difference between fixed and variable costs so will will never understand the concepts of average and total costs and the factors that determine them.
School districts are prescribed to break out costs according to state codes. The state, as would be expected, breaks out budgets by "functions" not programs. ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS BUDGETS ARE ORGANIZED ACCORDINGLY.
However, since it bothers you so, ask the district to do a "cost analysis" of different academic programs. It can be done but there is a cost involved. Also the district can figure the incremental cost between different programs, which is the more important analysis. I believe the district did this a number of years ago.
The cost difference between running a full AP or IB program is small. It is not a decision point. Since Dr. Hunderfund was the Asst. Superintendent of Academics and Curriculum at Jericho during its meteoric academic ascendency an utilized an AP program and is now doing the same at LV with an IB program, I'll leave the decision as to what which program is best and under what conditions to her. After all she is recognized nationally and internationally as an expert on curriculum.
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I agree with Anonymous. I know for a fact that despite all of Lisa's posts to the contrary, colleges do look favorably on IB. And, if memory serves me correctly, when IB was first proposed, it was intended to replace AP and honors. It was in large part due to Lisa's "crusade" that we were forced to have - and pay for - all three
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IB Classes are taken by almost 80% of LV junior and senior students. Stop with the misleading IB Diploma nonsense.
Most students get an IB certificate for the HL IB courses they take, so stop the phony numbers.
IB is the best thing that ever happened to this district.
By the way, you really ripped the district off. Why should the taxpayer for for your "honor students" special program? $17 plus transportation, talk about greed.
And you have the nerve to begrudge poor families who get a $100 or so to get an AP or IB tests paid for.
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Are there only 10 students per AP class too? This makes ANY program expensive. I'm sure that colleges look favorably on IB, but with the lack of American curriculum, and all this crap about weighting grades, it sounds like a slippery slope. How can you say that there's not much difference between IB/AP? LV offered AP AND HONORS BOTH FOR MANY YEARS, AT NO EXTRA COST AT ALL TO THE DISTRICT: THE PARENTS PAID FOR THE AP. ANNA BROUGHT IB TO LV., AND IT ALTERED THE AP/HONORS STATUS. How much would it cost a parent to pay for IB? There is NO REASON that our district should CONTINUE to carry the burden of ANY COSTLY PROGRAM (in this economy) EXCEPT FOR THOSE WITH DEFICITS, AS THEY REQUIRE SUCH PROGRAMS. I have put three "gifted" students through the LVCSD, and did NOT REQUIRE ANYTHING MORE THAN HONORS, and guess what? They graduated extremely competitive universities,(and yes, they are competitive by anyone's standards) WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL COST TO OUR DISTRICT, AND THAT WAS IN GOOD TIMES. TIMES ARE MORE THAN TIGHT, AND I'M SORRY, BUT IB IS A LUXURY, NOT A Necessity, AND UNLESS WE CAN FIND A WAY FOR PARENTS TO CARRY THE COST, I FIND IT FISCALLY IRRESPONSIBLE TO INCLUDE A PROGRAM THAT IS EXCESSIVE, AND NOT REQUIRED. I believe this, even with one more, moving up the ranks quickly. We need to cut a lot more than salaries/teachers, and I'm tired of those in charge, avoiding the issue. $100k, $1mil, I don't care: It's simply not necessary.
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Is this a joke? We, the taxpayer, paid $17k for Lisa's daughter to take a special program? Plus transportation?
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Now I'M GETTING ANNOYED:
The ONLY reason that there are so many children taking IB, is that THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE!!!!! It is not the best thing... I graduated LV, so did three of my kids YEARS ago, and I still have one in there now. If given the CHOICE, I'll guarantee you the gifted kids would choose OTHER THAN IB. You can NOT assume the enrollment is proof that it's a great program- it's regular classes, or IB; THAT'S IT!
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I had no idea Lisa ripped the district off. Why wasn't this reported before?
Lisa you lost your credibility with me. Now I understand.
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Since Lisa's daughter went full day to BOCES the cost was not $17k but $35k, plus transportation.
What a phony!!!!!!!
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forget about truthaboutib.com....
the truth about Lisa is much more enlightening....
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Wait, I go to bed and wake up to find that you vicious, anonymous, lying, creepy morons are once again LYING about my daughter's education???? Are you all so freaking retarded that you cannot read?
Oh. Born in Bayville. That explains it. How did you get the priest to allow you to marry your cousin?
Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. NO, Anna Hunderfund did NOT bring in IB, Tony Singe did. NO, my daughter did NOT attend BOCES full time, she went for a HALF day session,
Once again - S=L=O=W=L=Y for the mental midgets of Bayville .....
AP and Honors do NOT cost any additional money to run.
ZERO
NADA
ZIP
0
IB costs at least $250,000 - 300,000 a year EXTRA to run.
ZERO - AP & HONORS
250-300,000 - IB
ZERO - AP & HONORS (if the parents pay for the AP exams as I DID!)
Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand to three-hundred Thousand for IB.
I don't know how much simpler I can make it for you idiots.
Get the 106 parents whose students "ripped off" the taxpayers to pay back $23,500 each for their phony IB Diplomas and then you can talk to me about being a "hypocrite".
Did you know every year LVHS pays IBO $400 apiece (it's probably up to $500 or more by now) to "appeal" the grades on IB exams where the student came in a point or two shy of the Diploma? Do you know how many colleges award sophomore status based on a score of 24 on an IB Diploma?
ZERO!
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Lisa,
Once again you are trying to side track the issue. The original post started with your talking about your daughter. It is about using taxpaypers money to pay for programs that are embelishment than necessity. What you are trying to say is that it is not fair. You are not the only one that use taxpayers money. Did I not get it rigth? (Not that I agree with you.) The point is not about a full day or half a day (both run the same shuttle bus for her). Even if you just used one dollar, you have no leg to stand on.
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once upon a time, i was in court for a traffic ticket and heard the following.
defendant: i should not pay any fine, your honor.
judge: why?
defendant: there are so many others that were speeding but never got caught. it is not fair. you have to make everyone pay, then it will be fair for me to pay for my ticket.
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You forced the district to provide a special program for your "honor roll" daughter. I paid for her bus very day as well. It cost the tax layers a bundle, you big phony.
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It appears that you think your daughter was ENTITLED to that special program, why didn't you disclose it before? What are you afraid of? Full disclosure is always the best policy. We want TRANSPARENCY from you since you are so full of it.
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u b the judge,
Ahold analogy but It I'd too kind and does does not go far enough. Since we know the district paid for parking and at least a half da.y BOCES program, a substantial amount, the analogy should be more like " a defendant in a dwi case said.....
All these years, I never knew what Lisa pulled offf.
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You know, there have been 23 postings since Lisa commented on her daughter's graduation, and ALL of them bullying. I've followed the blog, and know what's going-on, and find it SHAMEFUL that so many people, hiding behind their ANONYMITY, are posting these things: Not that I side with Lisa, but I am DISGUSTED at the behavior of COWARDLY anonymous people! At least have the decency to use your names! Some of you have also MALIGNED some candidates: MAKE SURE TO ATTEND THE NEXT OPEN BOE MEETING, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT, IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, SOME PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN MALIGNED, WILL BE MAKING PUBLIC STATEMENTS, ON THE RECORD, ABOUT THE FACTS; SOMEONE WITH A FACE AND A NAME, AND THE TRUTH. ALL OF THIS INCREDIBLY CHILDISH BEHAVIOR IS DETRIMENTAL TO OUR DISTRICT RECOVERING- HOW DO WE (OTHER BLOGGERS) KNOW THAT YOU ANONYMOUS PEOPLE AREN'T HIDING SOME ABUSES OF TAX DOLLARS YOURSELVES? TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT? NOT ON YOUR LIFE. WHEN YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO DROP THE ANONYMITY, PERHAPS I'LL CONSIDER LISTENING, BUT UNTIL THEN, SHUT UP! (And no, though you probably wish that I'm Lisa, I am not) Others do NOT enjoy being a spectator to all of your cowardly rantings; use a name, and gain respect- Our kids would be suspended for such cyber-bullying: GIVE IT A REST!
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I am not going to continue to argue with idiots. I cannot WAIT to move away from such sick, sick, people. I responded to someone else's point about people paying for "extras" in HS by mentioning how, at the university level, my daughter often had to pay for materials and lab fees. No one congratulated her on her outstanding accomplishment. No. Instead they attacked her for being accepted into a program that is available to ALL students who choose to audition for it and then lie about the cost to the district and make ridiculous claims about transportation and payback. Should the BoE members with special needs children who receive "extra" services until the age of 21 pay back the hundreds of thousands of dollars that have been spent on their children? You know who I'm talking about. Of course not!
Peace out. Enjoy your miserable, hateful lives.
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just FYI, Lisa posted 117 messages in this thread. as I said, U B THE JUDGE. commenting on someone married a cousin? i will never condone or side with anyone that posted such personal attack, not to mention pointing fingers at special needs children. such postings with or without names are bad. For this point, I BE THE JUDGE!
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Incredible Penny you chastise people for posting anonymous as you pst anonymous yourself.
Lisa deceived the district for years and cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars while attacking others for far less
No one thinks you are Lisa when you post. The difference in a coherent but sick style is obvious from your total disregard for the English langauge.
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I post anonymously, because I berate no one by name, only cowardly anonymous bullies. If one would like to publicly destroy someone's credibility, then don't hide behind the veil of anonymity; have the conviction to state your name, or show your face! You even have the GALL to criticize MY postings? And, by the way, I saw a couple of entries from "Penny", (scrolling up) but I have no idea to whom you are referring! My use of the English language is just fine, thank you very much... how arrogant!
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Lisa,
Congratulations on taxpayers money well (ab)used. When you posted your message, did you ever think about giving LV any credit for the fine education we, the taxpaypers paid, so your daughter got where she is today? Or maybe she all of a sudden became a talent after she got out of here? Out of your thousands of posting everywhere, did you ever say a single good thing about LV?
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VOTE NO
VOTE THE UNION OUT
SIMON YOU ARE AN A**
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Simon,
It is clear you did not receive an education.
Let me help you.
This district wastes tons of money on special needs. You all pointed out how Lisa abused the system.
We need to cut all of that out and we can start by cutting the IB program.
We can stop paying for AP and IB exams.
Children were signed up to take AP exams and were not in AP!!!! WHY???
So Simon...instead of playing Dick Tracy on the internet...who the "anon's" are
why dont you do some good for yourself as well as the community by educating yourself.
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I am tired of paying for all this crap. Why is my money being used to pay John Benstock while he is suspended? Now we are paying for the high priced attorney that he selected because he is able to afford him while he collects his salary of $107,000. That is an outrage! He did not want to accept the attorney the school provided because he is able to sue us with the money we are paying him! This is outrageous. He are paying him to sue us.....what a world.
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http://nj.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.19971015_0016.nj.htm/qx
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Benstock is a disbarred attorney too. Priceless. Only in LV, you can't make this stuff up!
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I know who all you anons are. you all use the bridge.
i see you come and i see you go. the bridge goes up and the bridge goes down. the sun goes up and the sun goes down. the tide goes in and the tide goes out.
only the bridge mechanic stays still I pick the bridge up and I put the bridge down.
summer is coming
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@Bridge Mechanic wrote:
only the bridge mechanic stays still
Don't you go home sometime?
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Ralph's Pizza 50th Anniversary Celebration!
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***REMINDER***
OPEN Board of Education Meeting:
7:30pm. at the LVMS Mini-theater.
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Where were the no voters last night? Probably home watching some dance competition or something. No balls!
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Maybe if we had been informed of the meeting instead of only the parents we could have shown up. From what I know most of the time was spent on student awards and the board patting themselves on the back for presenting a fiscally responsible budget and didn't start the discussion on the budget options until close to 9pm
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Let's see...if we stop paying John Benstock his salary, then eleven Bayville homes could be tax free for one year. I say we do a lottery. Since the school district approves of his behavior and continues to pay the creep, we should call it The Reach Out and Touch a Music Teacher Lottery. Must be over 18, of course, and no musical instrument required.
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entertained,
What would have been the point? Did they make a decision? No! Besides, I only learned of it yesterday afternoon when John Hildebrand of Newsday called for my opinion. Of course, Newsday, the left-wing rag is so in the tank for IB he mis-reported the cost of IB exams anyway.
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Lisa,
You are upset, you can't imagine how upset I am. He wrote nothing of what I told him concerning you, your daughter's, the extra tuition and transportation cost and BOCES.
He did call cal me late this morning and said he will be doing a full feature in BOCES and the cost and said my information fir perfectly. He plans to call me again next week?
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Anon,
I'm not upset. It's exactly what I expect from that left-wing rag. Why don't you call the Huffington Post with your fictitious "story" too?
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i went home. i came back. nothing has changed.
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LOL!
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HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY RALPH'S PIZZA – ESTABLISHED MAY 21 1961 In 1961 Ralph and Anna Camera opened Ralph's Pizza in Bayville to serve Bayville and its surrounding communities. Ralph and Anna believed in hard work, good customer service and served delicious food using quality ingredients. Nancy and Jerry joined the family business and are still using the 80 year old dough machine to make the secret dough recipe from Naples Italy that Ralph’s father used over 100 years ago. Since opening in 1961 Ralph's Pizza has expanded its menu. They now serve pasta special, calamari, fresh local clams, their famous Grandma Pizza and dessert can include homemade cannolis. Please join Nancy and Jerry in celebrating their 50th anniversary on June 4th and 5th, 2011. With the purchase of one pizza or more they are giving away 6 mini cannolis to thank their patrons for their support.
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Yesterday's Newsday reported that there is a possibility that the LV school district may eliminate some programs, including music. They should fire John Benstock's ass. Why the hell are we still paying him? Arrested for touching. Touching a child! A child touching his creepy teacher ass! And all you can talk about is your stupid programs. Shame on you. We should be protecting our children and eliminating that piece of trash. The school is okay with paying him his full salary after being arrested. What a country! Pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay pay
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something is definitely wrong with the guy's judgement. Being disbarred as an attorney in NJ for lying about the law classes he took is weird. wouldn't you just do the right thing after going through at least part of law school? Wouldn't you know better? THIS COULD BE COMPLETELY FALSE, but someone told that there was a similar incident with him a few years back that the district swept under the rug. Does anyone know if that is fact or gossip?
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so 12 teachers (not Benstock) and 12 aides are being let go by THIS board, huh? and we don't know whether LVCSD is putting up the same damn budget on the 21st or not? and Jack Dolce wonders why no NO voters showed up at the meeting?
Show up on June 21st AND VOTE NO!!!!
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I wonder why they didn't make a decision at the meeting the other night. They have had quite a bit of time that they have had since the budget defeat. I think it's more of a "show" than anything else.
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Village of Bayville Press Release
Site Plan Review - 24 Bayville Avenue
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bayville, NY - June 19, 2009
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Village of Bayville will hold a Site Plan Review Hearing on Monday, July 13, 2009 at 7:30 pm at Bayville Village Hall, 34 School Street, Bayville, NY. The purpose of said meeting is to review and if the findings conclude, to approve, the Site Plan for 24 Bayville Avenue, Section 29 Block D, Lots 1054, 1060, the property formerly known as Poseidon’s Cove, current owner Joseph Gallo.
All interested parties will have the opportunity to be heard at that time.
t is almost July 2011. WTF BAYILLE????? WORK FOR YOUR 19.5%!!!!!!!
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Village of Bayville Press Release
Site Plan Review - 24 Bayville Avenue
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Bayville, NY - June 19, 2009
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Village of Bayville will hold a Site Plan Review Hearing on Monday, July 13, 2009 at 7:30 pm at Bayville Village Hall, 34 School Street, Bayville, NY. The purpose of said meeting is to review and if the findings conclude, to approve, the Site Plan for 24 Bayville Avenue, Section 29 Block D, Lots 1054, 1060, the property formerly known as Poseidon’s Cove, current owner Joseph Gallo.
All interested parties will have the opportunity to be heard at that time.
It is almost July 2011. WTF BAYILLE????? WORK FOR YOUR 19.5%!!!!!!!
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22 Bayville AVE
Property Info
Property Type: Commercial
Style: Industrial
Price: $1,150,000
Status: Active
Sqft: 8,606
Lot Size: ,75 Acre
Year Built: 2011
Area: Bayville, NY
County: Nassau
MLS/Web ID: 2350908
Calculate Monthly Payment
Description
Waterfront - Wonderful Opportunity To Purchase Property With Approved Plans And Building Permit For Luxury Apartments And Retail Office Mixed Use Building. Overlooking The L I Sound.
FORCE THEIR HAND BAYVILLE!!!!!!!!GIVE US SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF!!!!!!!WE LOOK LIKE HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Why did they leave the fountain out of the picture. That is the best part.
GREAT JOB BAYVILLE!!!!! PLEASE. TAKE MORE THAN 19.5%!!!!!!YOU MORE THAN DESERVE IT!!!!!!!!!YOU WORK SO HARD FOR THE RESIDENTS!!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/14462107/38-Bayville-Ave-Bayville-NY/
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It says "historical" photo on that site. I think Soundview Cleaners has been out of there for a while....hence no fountain view. I think the fountain will look nice when it is finally completed. Looks like the owner bit off more than they could chew.
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If you look at the fountain, it rambles on to nowhere: it makes no sense, and can not work, which is why it was never completed. The owner's a strange guy, who has run into some legal trouble in recent years... Sad really; life-long resident...
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What I find sad is that this lifelong resident has to look at the disgusting state of this Village everyday and know that it is bound to go nowhere but down. Our codes are not enforced and everyone in charge is concerned about their HS buddies now grown than on doing their job. Is it difficult at times? Sure, but if you take the job you are required to see your task through.
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I agree. Totally ugly "fountain". Fix it so I can get my house sold and people don't have to drive past that eyesore!
So hey, what is it about "NO" does LVCSD not understand?
June 21st. Got it marked on my calendar.
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have you heard boe is having secret negotiation with the union so the budget revote will pass this time?
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http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Board_of_Education/bd_mtgs_June_7-11.pdf
We don't even know if it will be a reduced budget to re-vote on!
How sad that LVCSD has not had the decency or graciousness to congratulate and welcome the newly elected Trustees on its website.
However, the "end of term" date has been filled in on the Meet the Board page for the 3 incumbents ... LOL!
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Lisa,
You are slipping.
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Agenda/June_5_special_mtg.pdf
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My understanding is the Executive Session meeting will discuss any possible legal recourse to get the extra $50K expense back ($35 tuition and $15 transportation) from BOCES for secretly providing LISA'S daughter an education beyond the state requirements.
My questions are: Why was this kept secret by Lisa and why should I as a taxpayer pay $50k extra to educate her daughter?
This deserves a state investigation!
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Hey Ann,
You wanna keep publicly libeling me? You're a damn liar and I WILL take legal action against you if you persist.
Jeff and Barry - be advised.
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Anon,
Oooo, look at that, so I am .... LOL! Maybe Hunderfund is tendering her resignation. That would be sweet! There seems to be a trend amongst Superintendents to exit their contracts early when controversy arises. Let me know what happens!
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Lisa,
Who else is on your hit list?
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My "hit list"? Silly, Anon. Can't a girl speculate?
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Lisa,
Never heard a girl speculate. Always know a girl have a hit on someone, especially you.
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Funny, I never knew speculation made a sound. Perhaps you are thinking of expectorating?
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No, I am not thinking of expectorating as I don't think you have a deep throat.
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a fiscally responsible budget or not, i just ain't have the money. why should i subsidize someone wine tasting in adult education?
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Play Mahjong
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Agenda/Continuing_Ed_Spring_2011.pdf
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We have to pay 20% extra to live in this crap hole and the Village is just taking our money. Wow, a new police booth and sidewalks. Yeah, that's why I work so hard. Unbelievable! The school keeps John Benstock on full salary and there is nothing anyone can do about anything. Last year the Village increased our taxes 9%. What the f is it going to be next year? LV will just put out the same old ass budget because they know it will pass just like last time when it was defeated. They will get the word out and their cronies will vote yes and get it to pass. Accept the inevitable. History always repeats itself. Surrender Dorothy.
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FFup11111,
Actually, the reporting on the 19.5% increase is inaccurate. The 19.5% was the increase in "undistributed" costs (pensions health insurance) and the overall increase is in the 5% budget to budget range. The LVCSD budget amounts to a 5.81% school tax increase, even though the overall budget to budget increase is 2.9%
To the best of my knowledge, LVCSD is the ONLY school district on Long Island which charges its taxpayers for IB/AP exams and student registration fees (IB only - $141 per student). The cost of this item in 2010 was $96,000. If someone knows of another LI district with this policy, please let me know.
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Lisa,
How many school districts pay for BOCES arts program?
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Anon,
32
http://www.lihsarts.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=86783&type=d
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Sorry, make that 33 - Half Hollow Hills was listed on the same line as Glen Cove.
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UGH - I should have looked more carefully - 37.
Final answer.
37.
Shhhh! It's a secret!
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Lisa,
I am a supporter of all BOCES programs. I worked for them years ago and I know their true value int he educational system.
My question is this: Knowing your child was receiving a program that other mainstream population did not receive, for whatever the reasons are, how can you so vehemently be against other programs that kids receive in district and tax payers pay for? Or is your stance against IB purely an ideological opposition?
I can understand if it is based on the feeling that IB is a liberal programme, but if you are against taxpayers paying extra for a select group of kids receiving this program, then you should be against taxpayers paying for BOCES.
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Taxed Payer,
First and foremost my opposition to IB is indeed, ideological. I do not believe that American public schools should be subjecting students to a program which seeks to undermine our national sovereignty, America's founding history and which promotes UN Millenium Goals, the UDHR and "global citizenry". All of the lack of transparency in this district began with the implementation of IB. IB is a proprietary program. If parents want to know what is being taught, they have to purchase the course guide from the IB Store, unlike AP whose course syllabi are available online for free. Also, it is an academically INFERIOR choice when it comes to college credit AND acceptance. The claims by IB supporters that admissions officers are "clamoring" for IB students is bunk and nothing but hearsay. Sure, maybe if your kid scores a 43 on the full IB Diploma, but you want to know how many of those we've had in 7 years? ZERO! Our 'mean' IB Diploma score is '29' which doesn't even garner sophomore status at schools like SUNY Binghamton or Towson. IB has eliminated all but 3 AP courses, 2 of which are offered in 9th and 10th grades. Imho, IB is not only a 'fad' left-wing program, it is a scam. Remember, I work with parents AND school board members from all over the country. I see the exact same rhetoric used to "sell" IB to the community in district after district. I see the exact same stealth tactics to usher IB into districts and obfuscate the cost of the program in state after state. I have tracked IB's deliberate changes in its application procedure to cut the community and parents out of the process. I know firsthand, IBO's "collusion" with Jay Mathews and our district's fixation on the now defunct Newsweek List.
I was one of the co-founders of SEPTA in LVCSD and a member on the first Site-Based Team at Bayville Elementary. I believe in providing opportunities for ALL children so they can excel in whatever areas they have special interests or talent. My kids were not involved with Varsity sports, yet I never advocated eliminating football or field hockey simply because my kids didn't partake. Sports and music and the arts are all programs which a general public high school needs to offer. IB is an ideological, expensive, non-mandatory program which divides the community, dumbs down our school and drains resources away from other established programs.
Simply put, we as the taxpayers are not getting our Return on Investment (RoI) for IB.
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Good answer.
Maybe now others will stop harping on your daughters BOCES education.
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@Lisa,
as always, you only tell half the truth. when you were involved in septa, it was primarily for the gifted and talent. there were nothing at all about caring for the benefits of special needs. if anyone is an elitist, you are. stop lying about you are for all children.
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Taxed Payer,
Thank you.
full disclosure,
Who's lying, creepo? Yes, I chaired the Gifted and Talented Committee of SEPTA. So? You think some GT kids don't meet with the same sort of social problems as kids with learning disabilities? But unfortunately, in NYS, we do not have any sort of regs covering the GT kids, whereas ADA addresses the legal needs of those with disabilities. SEPTA parents worked together, for kids from BOTH ends of the spectrum.
Who do you think helped advocate to make ALL of LVCSD's schools handicap accessible? Hmmmm? Who do you think has also advocated (unsuccessfully) to make ASL (sign language) a course at our HS for the LD kids who have trouble with a foreign language? Hmmm? How about getting our district to recognize 504 Plans? I distinctly remember coming out in support of that. Who do you think also advocated for an elementary science teacher (also unsuccessfully) and ran a voluntary elementary science fair in Bayville (open to ALL Bayville students K-5)? Hmmmm?
Your hatred is ugly. Do us all a favor and go to the beach.
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Lisa,
It is fine if you have an ideological objection to the IB program: you are certainly entitled to your opinion. That is why we have Republicans and Democrats and other political parties. What I object to is you proclaiming yourself as an expert on what colleges do and do not value. How many college admissions officers have you actually spoken to? Furthermore, how many LVHS graduates' transcripts have you actually seen? How do you know that they are not receiving college credit for IB? You make these broad statements of "fact" and call yourself an expert when in fact all you are spouting is your OPINION.
On the other hand, I happen to have actually spoken to two college admissions officers, both private colleges and not on Long Island, and they both think highly of the IB program. In addition, I happen to know personally at least FIVE students who graduated from LVHS in 2007 and 2008 who obtained one full semester's worth of credits (not just for placement - rather, actual credit so they entered college as a second semester freshman) for their IB diploma. Granted, it's not a full year, but hey, last time I looked being able to skip a semester is worth at least $25,000 these days. And my sampling is admittedly small - I am sure there are other LVHS graduates out there that are similarly situated.
My point comes down to this, Lisa: you have your opinion, and that is fine. But please stop trying to pass your opinion off as fact because that is not fine. And by the way, I happen to share your opinion about the "need" for public schools to offer sports, music and arts programs. I am for those things. BUT, that is my opinion, and I am only one vote and one taxpayer. If other voters and taxpayers do not want LVHS to offer IB, AP, sports, BOCES, music, etc, well then we won't offer them. As taxpayers we have to decide what we want to pay for and what we don't. And the majority will win that argument.
One final note: I don't have a problem with the fact that your daughter took advantage of the BOCES Cultural Arts program. The district has decided to participate and pay for the program so of course any student that qualifies can participate. My "problem" is that you disparage other parents for making their own decision to have their child participate in the IB program. You think that program is worthless and disparage those families that think it is a good thing. Those families may think that the BOCES programs are a waste of money but they don't launch tirades and call you stupid and misguided. The only reason that people on this blog are jumping all over you because your daughter went to BOCES is because you don't treat people with whom you disagree with respect. If you gave their opinions the same amount of respect as you wish to receive for your opinions, you would not find yourself attacked as personally as you have been
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Move already,
I have no respect for anonymous people who viciously LIE about the cost of ANY educational program and who attack my daughter and myself because of their ignorance. Why on earth are nasty, hateful, LIARS entitled to my respect? Hmmmm?
You spoke to two admissions officers. Whoope-de-doo. I have spoken with dozens and researched the AP/IB admissions credit pages of HUNDREDS of universities, in the U.S. and abroad. Are you aware that the UK's UCAS tariff awards more points to a student who scores a '5' on 5 AP exams than an IB Diploma with a score under a perfect 45?
http://www.ucas.com/students/ucas_tariff/tarifftables/
Passing 5 AP exams and making application to a foreign university earns a student the APID - for NO annual membership fee, NO outrageously expensive junk IB teacher training, NO student registration fees, etc.
http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/program/initiatives/38601.html
IB sells itself as the "golden ticket" into the Ivies and promises of entering college with sophomore status. Your own sampling proves this snakeoil salespitch is a lie!
As a district, we have a community which as a whole, supports public education. We shell out the big bucks in property taxes so that we CAN offer a selection of programs. HOWEVER, when a district not only insists on offering a more expensive, inferior academic program at the expense of a much more fiscally responsible and globally recognized academic program (and one which the NYS Commissioner would NOT allow the voters to have a say on), the only recourse the voters have is to vote NO on the budget AGAIN. The voters are TRYING very hard to tell LVCSD, "Stop wasting money on an inferior product!" and "Stop charging us for IB/AP exams when no other district on Long Island charges its residents those fees!"
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@Lisa
i have a problem with your postion different from "Move already". To start, i preface my comment to say college degree is not for everyone. some of my children have college degree and some don't and i love them just the same. with that being said, i have serious problem with someone, who is neither certified, nor licensed, to impose her opinion on others in the realm of education, especially someone goes around with a fake ph.d. (in ib) degree while actually flunked out of college herself. I mean you that is in case there is any confusion whom i am referring to.
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I almost have to feel sorry for you Lisa: you have the unenviable talent of making people who may agree with you in many respects dislike you. As I have seen personally over the years you treat those who disagree with you with contempt and nastiness. You really are your own worst enemy. It is a shame because you obviously have energy and a certain amount of intelligence. But you just have a knack for alienating people.
And, by the way, do I believe you have spoken to "dozens" of admissions officers? No. As has been said about a mutual acquaintance, "How do I know she's lying? When she opens her mouth." That's what has been done by your own hand to your own reputation. Like I said, sad
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full disclosure and Move Already,
How ironic that full disclosure claims a college degree is not for everyone (agreed) and then goes on to criticize me for not completing university. For your information, I didn't "flunk" out, I chose not to continue. The PhD in IB tag I used at The Leader was a JOKE, you idiot. Obviously you have no sense of humor. However, former Director General of IBO DID call me "Mrs. Long Island" in his 2005 Plenary Speech and therefore you must bow to the tiara!
As to what you believe, that's your problem. I speak the truth. I back my statements up with verifiable links to data. Where are yours? I didn't call YOU a liar, MA, I said IBO's marketing was a lie.
I don't live my life worried about whether or not vapid, empty-headed Stepford wives "like" me or not. I truly don't care. In fact, I find it rather amusing when Bayville mommies who openly admit they never read a newspaper, book or watch the news, snicker to each other about what a "B" I am. Snicker away while your daughters are getting abortions and your sons are hooked on heroin. You know who you are. We'll see whose reputation is less tarnished in the end. I plan to be on the right side of history.
Btw, John Hildebrand is coming to the meeting tonight. He wanted to know if I was going, told me I should do my civic duty and attend. I said, "Eh, why bother? I don't need to sweat, (make that glisten), in the non-air conditioned Mini-Theater and have Ron Walsh snarl at me when I make a public comment." But you kids have fun! Oh yeah, I also gave him this blog address. He likes local gossip. Better behave yourselves!
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@Lisa,
" John Hildebrand...told me I should do my civic duty"
did he tell you that you should run for the board also? did you tell him that you ran five times and lost every time?
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Lisa babe, I just called. If the new budget goes down, BOCES arts will be eliminated. Make my day babe, vote it down.
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3x. I ran for the Board 3x, you idiot.
And that would be a shame if the idiots on the Board continue to fund IB and not BOCES. As I pointed out earlier, 37 districts send students to the LIHS for the Arts. In 2007, 86 students received $8.2M in scholarship offers from LIHSA compared to $1.3M for the 160 LVHS (I
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I apologize in advance for the length of the following post, but I consider what's contained here to be very telling of what is going on in our district. Many people who have no children in school may not have the opportunity to read the school newspaper. The following is the seniors' last editorial. I apologize if there are any spelling mistakes.
The Illusion of Progress: Why our “Points of Excellence” are Missing the Point
A farewell editorial by the senior editors of Spectrum
Despite how often the staff of Spectrum likes to express our disagreement with a school policy (which based on the topics of our editorials seems to be very chance we can get) the seniors want to emphasize in our last editorial that we do think LVHS has given us a great education. We are extremely fortunate to live in this district – we have had the opportunity to use resources and word with teachers on a level that some students could never dream of. We value the quality of education we have been given, but not because of our Newsweek ranking.
In fact, the statistics that raise our ranking on lists across he country, appear in pamphlets given out at public budget forums and are said at the beginning of graduation speeches given by administrators don’t mean much of anything to the students. Data and statistics aren’t a real means of measuring the quality of our education, but lately it seems as these insignificant factors are the most important.
The class of 2011 is the last class to have been in HS under two administrations. From our eyes, the climate of the school and what the administration puts emphasis on has changed significantly since we were freshmen. As evidences by the forceful push to join and stay in IB and AP classes, and the outstanding inflation of student grades, it seems that an obsession with proving our academic excellence by artificial means is distracting our school from actually bettering the student’s education.
More than one editorial our staff has written this year has addressed the harm caused by inflating grades through averages weighted on too generous a scale. Over the course of two years, the highest possible grade for a class has shifted from 106, to 110, to 115. Meanwhile, 100% still remains the standard among the student body. The bell curve of grading has shifted to the right – making the grades seem higher – but our standards of excellence have not shifted accordingly, leaving a false impression of improvement. As a result of this weighting, every single sports team has received the Scholar Athlete Award. Such a feat would not be possible without this weighting.
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Similarly, admission into “prestigious” honor societies loses its sheen when over half of the student body is admitted. When our Spectrum reporters solicited information for our Top 15 feature included in this issue, we encouraged students no to include the honor socieities in their list of accomplishments, as it serves as no distinction. Good news for all of the Free Masons of the world; that society is still prestigious.
One of the most outrageous reports used to enhance the image of the school is our famed Newsweek rating. Newsweek rates our school 136th out of 27,000 schools across the nation. However, this rating is based on the number of students who sit for exams, and does not take into account how well students score on these exams. Therefore, the Newsweek rating does not provide an accurate measure of how educated students actually are. Rather, it measures how many warm bodies fill the room on the day of the exam.
Another ‘accomplishment’ of the school has been to dramatically increase the number of students taking IB courses. Our graduating class has the largest number of students taking IB History of the Americas and IB English since the program started in our school, mostly the result of a push to take these college level lasses. There is nothing wrong with many students trying these courses, but the situation gets out of hand when students must slice through twenty layers of red tape to drop these courses, forty layers if they wish to drop the diploma. This leaves unmotivated students stuck in courses that are supposed to be significantly harder than any other course in the school, and teachers with the pressure to keep all IB students afloat grade-wise. Slowing down rigorous IB courses to keep students who are not quite ready for college courses on the honor roll is common. It negatively affects our preparedness for our tests in May and slows down the progress of our more motivated students. The less rigorous IB classes have become all inclusive HS courses with a fancy title, while the upper class Regents students have become a minority who presume themselves to be the lowest level of the class – an unbalanced pyramid of class difficulty that threatens to tip from its instability. Increasing the number of students taking advanced level courses and sitting for IB and AP exams only makes our school appear good – it doesn’t help our overall education or our college preparedness. Not everyone can take an IB class – they are college level for a reason. Students shouldn’t be ashamed to take a Regents level course, and we should not fail to support a healthy Regents program at the expense of IB and AP for the sake of our school’s image.
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So, why do we think we have received a valuable education from our time here at LVHS?
Even though many people don’t realize it, our school has so many resources that other districts don’t have the luxury to use. We enjoy the convenience of always being able to find a computer with internet access, if not in the library then in one of five of our computer labs. The superb resources at our school’s disposal has given students the opportunities to begin their own clubs, write their true opinions in their school paper, and pursue any idea they have to better their education or our school. This year, a book club and a recycling program began because of student initiatives. Also, students had a significant impact on the altering of the bell system this year.
The difficulty of the highest-level courses is also an indicators of the quality of what we are learning. Even though we think the rigor of IB fades as more students enter – there have been definite times when assignments and courses have pushed us to our limits. Assignments such as the extended essay and science research papers are a laborious process to complete, but it is so valuable to tackle a seemingly impossibly long task when we still have familiarity with our teachers. The same goes for difficult science and mathematics courses where, even for the best math student, studying is not optional if you would like to pass.
Above all, our close relationship with our teachers has ensured that learning outside the classroom is constant. Our school’s small enrollment means that many students have the same teachers for more than one year. As an editorial board, we agree that the student-teacher relationship at LV is so strong that our education is given on a much more personal level. These are qualities that cannot be measured and condensed into a statistic or expressed in a magazine rating. The focus of our district should be on keeping courses rigorous and providing student with abundant opportunities to further their education. For instance, money is far better spent towards an exchange program with Denmark than review sessions for AP tests that students are not required to take. In order to protect our school’s hard earned reputation, fewer resources should be devoted to the creating of illusion of progress, and more resources should be devoted to creating substantive improvements to our school.
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Thank you for sharing that, Anon!
The kids get it. Why don't the adults realize that ridiculously inflating averages and forcing advanced level courses on ALL regardless of the outcomes in order to play to a "national ranking" is merely an exercise in trying to pass off mediocrity as excellence?
Next thing you know we'll have 20 Valedictorians.
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One has to give the board credit for the new budget submission. The reduced the budget increase from 2.9 (defeated) to 2.7 and gone an included Driver Ed, Continuing Ed, and Summer Recreation in the budget to gain additional votes. Along with the responsible action of lowering the appropriated fund balance to zero, they are presenting for vote a tax levy of 5.78% vs the defeated 5.81%. Way to go BOE you heard the voters and reduced their increase by .03%. Residents get the word out NO is the only option to this budget like the previous one. Remember there will be a full court press to get Yes votes out so we need a strategy to get the No to respond in greater numbers. A No vote still carries a 1.53% budget increase with a tax levy well above the 1.6% CPI but it is better than 5.78%
To make this simple if you paid $5000 in school taxes 2010-2011 in 2011-2012 you would have paid $5290.50 with the defeated budget and if passed on June 21st $5289.00 for a savings of 50 cents. Now that is listening to the voters........
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Joe,
Thanks for the update! Glad I stayed home.
I would have spent more than $.50 in gas to drive to the meeting!
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Luckily it was on my way home and over before 8:20.
VOTE NO and everyone remind your friends and family to vote NO
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Lisa,
Let's do as you suggest and not consider weighed averages and advanced level courses. Let's just consider Regents test scores. When we do we find out Locust Valley is #1 on Long Island (tied with a few other top schools) with A 99% graduation rate.
Let's also look at the school's Advanced Regents with Distinction graduation rate of (77%) which ranks it #8 out of a hundred plus schools on the island.
The school district has come along way in just a few years and now is among the best on LI.
Of course, if you want to consider advanced level courses we know the school ranks even higher, but for now let's just consider the plain old regents diploma and regents diploma with distinction.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/table-of-2009-2010-school-report-cards-1.2695644
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Bill,
I do believe I made that point much earlier in this thread regarding LVHS's 77% vs. Jericho's 92% on the Advanced Regents Diploma. Yes, it's an improvement over when it was 67% - but it should be higher.
I have no objection to providing an ACCURATE measure/reporting of IB/AP scores. But apparently LVCSD thinks they are so bad (they are) that it refuses to make the scores public. It is why every year, I have to file a FOIA to get the most basic IB info such as how many students were Diploma candidates and how many actually were awarded the Diploma.
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Lisa,
Did you see this Newsday report?
'Gabriella Harrington, the teachers union president, confirmed that her group backed four challengers, including winners George Stimola, Maria Segura and Charles Murphy.'
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/smaller-budget-proposal-for-locust-valley-1.2938911
Guess you and the union have a united front and share the same values, and Gabriella Harrington confirmed it.
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To Lisa,
Jericho's Advanced Regent Diploma is 90% not 92%. The fact is LVCSD IS #8 on LI. Top 10% and you have never acknowledged this top performance and instead constantly bash the district's academics.
It is also #s 1 in in Regents Diplomas and you dismiss this accomplishment as well.
The truth is you have nothing nice to say about the district, but the facts point to a high performing school district, whatever the measurement.
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in today's newsday
"Many budget supporters agree that last month's budget rejection was the result of a bitter board election... Gabriella Harrington, the teachers union president, confirmed that her group backed four challengers, including winners George Stimola, Maria Segura and Charles Murphy."
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I have to admit that I have very little sympathy with those who complain about our students being pushed too hard and being perhaps "over challenged." First, let's start with a basic premise: I believe that everyone in this school district wants 100% of our students to graduate HS. I can't believe that anyone could possible be in favor of someone not graduating HS.
Next, since we are - for the most part - a district that favors sending our graduates to college (I know there may be some parents that either don't believe a college education is necessary or that their child doesn't belong in college, even NCC, but I think both of those types of parents are in the minority), then we have to make sure that our HS curriculum both prepares that child for college and helps them get into college. So, how do we accomplish these two things?
First, according to NYS law, we have to offer a Regents curriculum, which we do. However, while doing well in such a curriculum might be enough to get students into NCC and various state institutions and lesser out of state institutions, we know that more competitive colleges will want to see a more challenging curriculum. Hence, AP and IB (and I'm not going to debate the two here - enough to say they are both more challenging than a Regents curriculum). So, by having an advanced, harder curriculum we fulfill one obligation: helping our students get into the college of their choice.
The second part of my proposition above - that HS has to prepare the child for college - is where my point about "too challenging" comes in. HS is not the same as college! Wonderful students in HS do not automatically become wonderful students in college; college requires more time, more effort and more thought. 99% of the college students I know say they are forced to spend a lot more time on their college work than they did in HS - and that is whether or not they were Regents, AP or IB. So, assuming that you are someone who wants their child to go to college, complaining that LVHS is forcing their child to study too much is unrealistic - your child is going to have study much harder in college, so they had better learn how to do it now!
Furthermore, while I understand that there are HS students that are currently unmotivated and may not want to be pushed or challenged, are we really supposed to say that's okay? What does a 17 or 18 year old know about the "real" world? They may not be able to understand the value of hard work in the classroom but we adults certainly should. We should want our child to be pushed to perform to the level of their capabilities - or even beyond! A child who may think they can't achieve may - thanks to be put in an IB or AP class - realize that in fact they are capable and have more ability than they thought. Or maybe they just learn what it means to plug away every day and do your best - certainly a good life lesson.
I'm sorry, but challenging students to do their best is not a bad thing!
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Move already,
In addition to what you wrote, college scholarship is also of utmost importance in today's economy. Not sure if you know, LV students got better scores in PSAT in the last couple of years than any other time in LV history. Some of LV students are National Merit Scholars, which LV did not have before. If that is not high quality education, what is?
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Move already and Challenger,
Let's not forget that with times being so bad, some parents/students can not afford community college,(even if they do qualify for student loans) and because of the bad economy, the scholarships have become impossibly competitive now too!
Something that has not been addressed, is the stress caused by the rigorous curriculum of IB. I've spoken to both doctors and nurses over at the ER, who said that they voted "down" the budget for the first time in decades, and voted for new board members, all because they say they're sick and tired of treating high school students for "stress-related" illnesses, with most of the students mentioning "IB", and "I have to..., and..., and...". They say that it's often too much for the everyday "bright child", but great for the brilliant ones.
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@Anon,
Are you saying our students are genetically inferior? How come Rockville Center does not have an overflow in the ER? or Commack?
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I don't know that other hospitals don't have an "overflow", have you checked? I'm simply stating what was told to me. Perhaps LV considers more students to be good candidates than other districts; after all, they don't need anyone's permission to enter the program, right? I'm simply repeating what was told to me; it happens to be a valid opinion, considering it's origin.
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@Anon,
All opinions are valid opinion. Which hospitals were the students sent to? GC? How many? Did you get your source from Bayville FD and LV FD EMS?
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None of the above. The opinions were expressed by a doctor and nurse, who live in the district, and for that reason, I can not divulge anymore information, (It would not be right) other than the statement was directly from sources that I do not question. As far as "how many?", I would imagine enough to cause this reaction from these residents.
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LOL....Regents scores.
I wouldn't brag about regents scores
My son and many other children have taken the regents and got 100 on them.
He took the AP American History test, he was not in an AP American history class, and he said the test was very hard.
Why is there such a difference between the two tests????
(I know the district has nothing to do with the tests)
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Lisa,
Come out hiding. I'd like to hear you comment on Newsday:
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/smaller-budget-proposal-for-locust-valley-1.2938911
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I dropped Cablevision. What does it say?
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'Lisa wrote:
I dropped Cablevision. What does it say?'
You really know how to play dumb or maybe you are. How can you not having cable when your e-mail is l...3@optonline.net? In case you cannot read the original post, here it is again about what it says:
'Gabriella Harrington, the teachers union president, confirmed that her group backed four challengers, including winners George Stimola, Maria Segura and Charles Murphy.'
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anyone know what high school is offering drivers ed to out of district students????
I would like to give my money to a neighboring high school that will put the money towards the students education
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Bill,
I don't quote numbers without the ability to back it up. For the 2009-2010 school year, Jericho had 92% of its students earn the Advanced Regents Diploma:
https://www.nystart.gov/publicweb-rc/2010/6d/CIR-2010-280515030005.pdf
That is actually down from 95% and 94% the prior years.
Anonymous,
NYS Regents exams are basic high school level exams. AP exams are normed against freshman year college level courses.
Anon,
The stress imposed on IB students has nothing to do with how intelligent they are. Brilliance has nothing to do with succeeding in IB. IB loads obnoxious amounts of busy work on students, often requiring them to stay up until 3:00 AM to get assignments completed.
I used to supply links to incidents of IB student suicides until I got into a spat with an IB teacher from Wales who claimed just as many kids who took AP or A-Levels, tragically, committed suicide. I agreed that if he could supply me with a matching number of stories, I would take the links down. He did, so I did. There is nothing more tragic than a teen suicide.
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Lisa,
I haven't heard of any suicides, thank God, but I have known students that began cutting themselves, and who acquired eating disorders during their IB careers...
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To Lisa,
You bring up an interesting point when you compare Jericho to Locust Valley. The last year Dr, Hunherfund was at Jericho was 2007/08. In 2008 /09 she joined Locust Valley. Since that time Jericho's Advanced Regent Diploma rate has declined and Locust Valley's has increased dramatically.
Advanced Regent Diplomas Difference
Jericho Locust Valley
2007/08 94% 64% 30%
2010/11 90% 77% 17%
The decline of Jericho and rise of LV correlates directly with Hunderfund leaving Jericho and arriving at Locust Valley.
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u b the judge,
Yeah, Cablevision lets me access my e-mail but not Newsday or News12. What can I tell ya?
"Confirmed her group backed FOUR challengers".
Yeah .... so?
"Backed" doesn't necessarily mean financially and it's pretty clear to me that the union "backed" every non-incumbent.
Bill,
No - "I stand corrected, you were right, Lisa?" Tsk, tsk.
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Here it is Lisa in full
Locust Valley's school board Tuesday night called for a revote on a slightly trimmed $73.78 million budget, carrying a 2.7 percent spending increase and a 5.78 percent rise in property tax collections.
The board's unanimous decision was generally welcomed by a small crowd of parents and teachers, though some voiced disappointment that they couldn't vote a second time on the originally proposed $73.9 million budget. That measure, which would have raised spending 2.9 percent and taxes 5.81 percent, was narrowly voted down last month.
"I think what we've done is what people expected us to do," said Superintendent Anna Hunderfund. She noted the revised budget restored some programs originally slated for elimination, such as driver education, even with lower spending.
SCHOOL ELECTIONS: Budgets: Pass or fail? | School board winners
COMPARE: 2010-11 school budgets
Deborah Scuderi, a mother of two who attended the meeting, applauded the decision.
"I'm OK with the reductions, because I think they came to that figure without jeopardizing any children's programs," she said.
The revote will be June 21, the statewide voting date. Oyster Bay-East Norwich, Seaford and Westbury already have scheduled revotes on trimmed budgets for that date.
Next year, Locust Valley plans to eliminate at least 26 positions, equally divided between teachers and other staff. In addition, seventh- and eighth-grade sports teams will be combined. If the budget loses on a second vote, the district would drop to a $72.94 million contingency budget that would raise spending 1.53 percent and taxes by 5.4 percent, and eliminate more than a dozen programs including elementary foreign language classes.
During the board campaign, there also was some debate over the district's International baccalaureate program. Supporters say the college-level program has boosted Locust Valley's academic reputation, while detractors say students find it hard to meet the program's demands. That program will be retained next year.
Many budget supporters agree that last month's budget rejection was the result of a bitter board election in which criticism of district operations was publicly aired. In that election, three incumbents lost to challengers backed by local teachers who were angry at their lack of a contract.
Gabriella Harrington, the teachers union president, confirmed that her group backed four challengers, including winners George Stimola, Maria Segura and Charles Murphy. Harrington declined to discuss contract issues but emphasized that teachers support passage of the budget.
"I don't want to see anything happen to the programs we offer in school," she said.
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One morning, the husband returns the boat to their lakeside cottage after several hours of fishing and decides to take a nap. Although not familiar with the lake, the wife decides to take the boat out.
She motors out a short distance, anchors, puts her feet up, and begins to read her book.
The peace and solitude are magnificent.
Along comes a Fish and Game Warden in his boat.
He pulls up alongside the woman and says, 'Good morning, Ma'am. What are you doing?'
'Reading a book,' she replies, (thinking, 'Isn't that obvious?')
'You're in a Restricted Fishing Area,' he informs her.
'I'm sorry, officer, but I'm not fishing. I'm reading.'
'Yes, but I see you have all the equipment..
For all I know you could start at any moment.
I'll have to take you in and write you up.'
'If you do that, I'll have to charge you with sexual assault,' says the woman.
'But I haven't even touched you,' says the Game Warden.
'That's true, but you have all the equipment.
For all I know you could start at any moment.'
'Have a nice day ma'am,' and he left.
MORAL: Never argue with a woman who reads, chances are, she also thinks!
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I met that same fellow, very nice, let me go with a warning even after he caught me with a Egret I had bagged near the Bridge.
Then he said "but I have to admit, I've always wondered what they tasted like"
So I told him: "You know - they taste a lot like Ospreys!"
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Thanks Joe!
Well, I'm not impressed with LVCSD's "effort" to reduce the budget. And Hildebrand failed to address the cost of IB exams being billed to the taxpayers. I made it VERY clear to him that he got the price wrong in his last piece - for EVERY student who takes a SINGLE IB exam, the fee is $237 - not $92. Each additional exam is $96.
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." - Thomas Jefferson
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Lisa,
'Hildebrand failed to address the cost of IB exams being billed to the taxpayers'
Apparently he is smart enough not to listen to your crap.
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The stuff about the district paying for all IB and AP tests in 100% true. It's not crap. And we're the only district to do this. Basically testing the students is more important than retaining a faculty member to actually teach them as the cost of all of the tests surpasses $70,000. Also, let's not forget that most of the AP tests given have no class to correlate with them, which means the kids are merely taking a test and not really learning anything.
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The fact is LVCSD is one of the best school districts on LI. According to the 2009/10 NYS Report Card
It ranks #1 in Regents Diploma
it ranks #8 in Advance Regents Diplomas
Furthermore the trend is up. In 2008 the Advanced Regents Diploma rate was 64% in 2010 it was 77%. QUITE AN INCREASE!!
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It is not a coincidence that the increase in academic performance coincides with the arrival of Hunderfund. Jericho teachers who live in the district predicted it. She pushes herself and everyone around her very hard. By next year the country club teachers will start retiring.
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Anon,
Thank you. Using the exact number of AP and IB exams given in 2010, the cost to the taxpayers was $96,000. We hear Hunderfund and Board members whining about "unfunded mandates" ALL the time. But I guess they are simply deaf, dumb and blind when it comes to the taxpayers complaining about LVCSD forcing US to fund OPTIONAL ADVANCED EXAMS.
Bill,
I see you finally learned how to read the NYS Report Cards. Good job! If Hunderfund had concentrated on general education and AP instead of IB, LVCSD should have been in the 80-85% range like Syosset, Manhasset and Roslyn. Since you are such a 'genius' with stats, why don't you find me the 'mean' SAT scores for LVHS for the past 5 years? They used to appear on the HS profile, but disappeared once IB was implemented.
I will note that LVHS does a much better job with its SE students in terms of Advanced Regents Diplomas than any other district - 31%!
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I will note that LVHS does a much better job with its SE students in terms of Advanced Regents Diplomas than any other district - 31%!
I can note, from personal experience that LVCSD does absolutely 0 for Special Ed children unless they are threatened with a lawsuit. Even then, when they are given testing accomodations, the reader often reads the question and answer to the child in such a way that the answer is obvious. How many SE kids are staying in college? They are entitled to services in college as well.
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I've lived here for my entire life: I attended, and graduated LVHS, and if you think that our school shines ONLY because of Dr. Hunderfund, you are sadly mistaken. FOR YEARS, LV, topped the public schools lists , simply by great instruction, and curriculum. No IB, and no Dr. Hunderfund: Just fantastic teachers, a fabulous administration and board, and students, eager to learn! LVHS's success was established long before "lists", based upon data (which shows nothing of what was learned, merely how many children sat for a test). LVHS was equal to or better (comparatively speaking) measured by actual RELATIVE data: Test SCORES, graduation rate, # of Regent's diplomas (no advanced available back then) and % of students that successfully went-on to college. Dr. Hunderfund is simply the most recent to make LVHS move up the lists. However, other than the Regents and Advanced Regents percentages, I think the lists she wants us to top, are CRAP, and simply let our children "achieve" so meteorically( weighted grades, re-taking tests, that don't count until one scores well enough...)because the lists help to get children into college, and are not a true measure of the wonderful education that has ALWAYS been offered to our students. It's just like the recent "financial crisis": Those who were careful to not over-extend themselves, and banked some cash staved the crisis well. But, those who followed the trend, ignoring common sense, over-spending, while borrowing, did not fare so well. I truly believe that IN THE LONG RUN, we are selling our children and taxpayers short, with the IB program. Though it may help to get more children into college, I think that the weighted grades, and ridiculous lists we race for the top of, are misleading, and perhaps even creating college students, that while used to the lengthy work, are "ill prepared" academically, because we measure their "success" as students, with rose colored glasses on; ignoring the common sense, the baseless and questionable "lists" we mold our ENTIRE honors curriculum around. Many IB students are going to "crash" just like many borrowers did.
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Anon,
Great points! For all of those who sing the praises of IB, I'd like them to take a moment and consider why it is LVHS doesn't offer ANY advanced courses in micro or macro economics or even economics in general. Hmmm?
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I wonder how much LVCSD paid Russell Reid as a consultant for IB Theory of Knowledge training?
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Board_Actions/Oct_2010_Actions.pdf
Who is Russell Reid? A Google search only found me the following:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Reid
Hey, just sayin'. Seems a little weird. You've already got Benstock. Who is this consultant LVCSD is spending your "undisclosed amount" of taxdollars on?
Do YOU know?
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Please provide objective data demonstrating LV WAS PERFORMING WELL YEARS AGO. I can't locate any and the yearly state report cards don't support your contention. By the way this has NOTHING TO do with rating IB.
I remember Lisa pointing out four or five years ago LV trailing NS and OB. Now LV has left them in the dust, and according to the NYS Report card is now in the top 10% or higher among all LI SCHOOLS.
Please show me any documented information supporting LV as a top school district yearssss ago. It was as best I can determine a good school district, on the high side of average, competitive and slightly below NS and even or slightly above OB.
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you see! My point exactly! It was years ago, BEFORE districts sought to use "empty" statistics. The only statistics there were back then, were relative to how students performed on STANDARDIZED tests, and the grades achieved, not all of these statistics that prove nothing more than a school guided more children to take a test, instead of what they've actually retained!
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Lisa,
Holy smokes! I consider myself to be an open-minded person, and truly understand that there are many people who are born with such disorders, however I find it reprehensible that our administration either did not investigate his background thoroughly enough, or over-looked his past. Either way, SOMEONE'S asleep at the wheel, because this most certainly speaks to character; a trained professional improperly evaluating someone who, already is in a fragile state. Worse yet, he then refers these patients for PERMANENT LIFE ALTERING SURGERY, basically unprepared. Great!
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http://teachersunionexposed.com/howtofire.cfm
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Years back, there was a high school science teacher, whose students performed so badly on the Regents exams for a couple of years in a row, that the school managed to fire him, deny him a decent reference (after teaching for 15 years, so he WAS tenured), and basically ruined his reputation as a teacher. He became practically unhireable, from lack of references, and he eventually committed suicide in a local school parking lot, just to send a clear "F-U" to all involved. It was VERY sad, because he really was a nice man; just not such an effective teacher.
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Anon,
You posts just " beg the question" a phrase used to define illogical and circular reasoning. In essence you state as true that which you are trying to prove.
Who says " these statistics are empty? How do you know they are? Please provide proof or documentation
Likewise who says these statistics are empty? Document your contention. Certainly the State Education Department and the Colleges and Universities who use them feel differently.
Jericho has long been identified as a high performing school district bases on no small point these statistics.
Now that LV IS CATCHING UP you want to diminish the criterion
By the way, years ago,, 2003 TO 2005 I believe were the years, I did a detailed analysis of LV and how it compared on state assessment tests grades 4 through 6 and the results showed LV IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACT ANF FADING. In particular were poor English results with schools like Island Park outscoring us. Bayville Intermediate did particularly poor. Now this has all changed for the better. We are among the better school districts and Bayville's assessment recently are equal and sometimes better than LV Intermediate.
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Hey! Here's something interesting .... it appears that LVCSD failed to file the 990 Form to the IRS for the Civil Service Employees Association so now they've lost their non-profit status! Oopsie!
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/ny.pdf
23-7074853 CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION VALLEY CSD 140 BAYVILLE AVE BAYVILLE NY 11709-1607 05 05/15/2010 6/9/201
Anon,
They may be two different Russell Reids, but who knows?
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I am NOT trying to prove anything. I am simply stating YEARS of OBSERVATIONS, having lived through it, not researching it years later: I'm including DECADES of excellence; being in the top percentages of public schools. I am confused as to your request to "back-up" my view on "empty statistics": The empty statistics I refer to, are statistics that our BOE toss-out to us that sound sooo impressive, and then I find out that the statistics simply reflect the number of students who take (not even pass) a test. Please don't misunderstand me; there most definitely have been some recent administrations that were more lax than others (early 2000s included) and I'm sure that problems were detected and addressed. This is part of the problem, with setting a district's curriculum by lists, or tests: I know someone who graduated LVHS within the past 10 years, who did not have 1 grammar class in all of his 12+ years attending LV! Why? Because it wasn't on ANY standardized tests that were being given, and the students were instructed according to what materials they would be tested on! Does that sound right to you? Yet, the problem went undetected until classes of students were without grammatical training. I know our school has improved since Dr. Hunderfund has joined us, but she is only one of many, and has chosen one way of many to improve the school: I simply would have chosen another route- one based on test scores. And how SADDENED was I to find-out that a child with a 78 average (in I
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Bill,
You sound like Jack Dolce. Are you?
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Anon,
My point is you just stated "Decades of Excellence.. being in the top percent of public schools". Based on what????? Your observations?
I could just as easily say based on my observations "Decades of mediocrity.. being in the lower levels of public schools"
BOTH STATEMENTS ARE NOTHING MORE THAN OPINION. Back up your statement or it is nothing but unsubstantiated OPINION.
No, I am not, but thanks for the compliment. You sound like Dr. Yao CHU. are you?
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Bill,
I wish but I am not. I heard the same comment from Jack Dolce at a Board meeting sometime ago. That's why I asked. Even though you are not, you said the same thing he did.
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If you'd like to call it opinion, then call it opinion. You obviously did not grow-up around here: I cannot cite a "list", but that does NOT mean that it's opinion! It just means that I was a kid, there weren't the "lists" published back then, and there weren't computers to have access to the information you DEMAND AS PROOF. Just ASK SOMEONE YOU KNOW, WHO HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 30 YEARS OR SO. I do NOT disagree that LV is an excellent school, I simply disagree that this administration/Dr. Hunderfund can say that they made LV so great. THAT STATEMENT IS A GENERALIZATION THAT IS NOT TRUE.
As far as "parent", I've got to tell you: You, the parents, are your child's best advocate, and it's often an exhausting fight to see to it that your child's special needs are properly met. I found that too often, SE children are either treated as though too much is beyond their capabilities, or that a great deal too much can be expected of them. Only the parents really know how to maintain that delicate balance between pushing too hard, and not expecting enough- It's difficult.
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I grew up and lived in Roosevelt for over 30 years and just ask anyone who was around before there were computers and statistics, and lived in Roosevelt and they will tell you it is a great school district.
OK, THAT'S PROOF ENOUGH FOR ME.
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Hello...There are about 10 children that are registered for the Summer Drivers ED course who are willing to pay CASH to a neighboring high school that will offer drivers ed to out of district children.
Does anyone know what school district offers drivers ed to students of school districts who's budget has failed?????
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still looking,
i am looking too and found this one below. the cost for in or out of district is the same, $450.
http://www.northshore.k12.ny.us/RichRyan2009/2009%20application%20packet%5B1%5D.pdf
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@Anon
Thank you
i thought this district would offer it for a fee even if the budget was defeated or not!!!
Guess they don't want to make any money!!!!
Maybe instead of offering drivers ed for FREE
how about asking 450 like other schools do....STOP ASKING THE TAXPAYERS TO FOOT THE BILL FOR ALL NONE MANDATED CLASSES AND MAYBE THE BUDGET WOULD PASS
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still looking,
Glen Cove also offers to out of district but they want more money.
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Undocumented observations, generalities, hyperboles, distant memories, and unsubstantiated interpretations serve no purpose in meaningful, vibrant debate. It is important that we as analytical, fair minded, people make decisions and draw conclusions based on substantiated, rationally presented data and information.
Although uncorroborated and unproven arguments and assertions on the historic quality and caliber of education may be accurate, they cannot be used to bench mark current performance. To do so is illogical, and goes against the principles and norms of sound research, interpretation and evaluation.
Information detailing the "success" of the LVCSD since its inception can certainly be uncovered. Although the vehicles to locate this information may appear archaic, and the time needed to uncover it may appear great, the information's existence should not be in dispute. Therefore, until such time when substantiated data or information detailing continual, historic, academic success across age groups, and disciplines is provided, we as rationally minded, intelligent individuals must accept the particulars at hand.
Previous posts in this blog showcase academic improvements across multiple categories over the past 5-7 years. Curricular choices and personnel decisions may be bones of contention and debatable. However, to say the LVCSD has always demonstrated excellence in education, and rivaled other high performing districts appears unfounded.
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Hey Anon,
How do you reply to John Moe? He essentially but nicely said you are a fool.
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I love the pen names John "Mr. Hunderfund" Moe chooses. i know he is not really John Moe because when I go into Moe's they say "welcome to moe's!" not "here, have a joey bag of donuts and smothered in tortured, pedantic double unplus good think-speak." I would still get the joey bag of donuts anyway!!
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ACCOUNTABILITY.
This is a dirty word in LVCSD. We are in year seven (7) of IB. WHERE is the mandatory 5 year IB Review?
Here is an example of what is done in other IB schools:
http://www.c-ibo.org/Information/Letter/IBFiveYearReview.aspx
The only thing LVCSD has relied upon is the Newsweek rankings. I can tell you from my tracking of LVHS IB results that our pass rate averages 66% with a mean score of '29'.
STOP WASTING MONEY!
VOTE NO ON JUNE 21ST!
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I am not a fool. I don't have to prove anything. If Anon and John Moe believe my statement to be untrue, then YOU prove it. Simply because you can't find the information, does not mean I am wrong. And by the way, these are not "childhood recollections", but statements made FOR YEARS by staff and administrators at LV, so maybe you'd like to call THEM LIARS TOO!
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You know, the more that I think about it, the more aggravated I get: You accuse me of stating opinion and not fact, simply on the premise that you can NOT disprove my statement with "data". This sounds suspiciously like the same MO the current administration/BOE uses to discourage opposing agendas: I'm entitled to state whatever I would like, and if you can NOT disprove it, then YOU back down. Do you think that I'm unaware of how those "in charge" operate? By down-playing LV's long-standing history of education excellence, you are then able to put the current administration on a pedestal, by sighting improvements from recent "weak" administrations as proof, when you really need to PROVE that LV has ALWAYS been a weak school, AND YOU CAN NOT!
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Standards and Excellence
I understand Anon's point. As someone with over 20 years "experience" putting two children through the system K-12 and interacting and observing the various administrations over the years, the IMAGE LVCSD wants presented matters far more than the substance.
Back in the late 90's, we averaged 35-36 AP Scholars with every graduating Class. Remember, if anything, our enrollment has declined, not increased - (2% since 2004).
My concerns in those days were the lack of science at the elementary level and lack of coordination of curriculum between LV and Bayville elementaries. I mean, if a reading/research program was working well in LV, why wasn't the same program being used in Bayville? (I forget the acronym for it but I know there was a teacher in LV who specialized) The whole nonsense with schoolwide enrichment clusters and the push to eliminate individual awards and recognition was the beginning of the Progressive push for mediocrity, disguised as excellence.
In 2003, evidence that LVHS saw a 400% (Janet Ceperano-Wilson was the AS at the time) increase in the number of students who opted to take AP when the school went to an "open enrollment" policy was swept under the rug because LVCSD had to push IB.
We have spent approximately $2 MILLION on IB to date. Instead of thinking of this as a "pilot" program which should have been carefully evaluated in year 5, this district has hidden student results, hidden the actual expenses and relied on a bogus List created by an AP/IB shill. (WAPO also owns Kaplan which provides prep for the SAT and AP)
Now, you people can wake up and DEMAND your money's worth, OR you can fearmonger like Jack Dolce about "nobody wanting to buy a home in a district that is on contingency"
Damn right we have beautiful facilities and excellent teachers. Stop jerking them around and LET THEM TEACH real academics, not the "flavor of the week".
LVCSD is one of the LEAST diverse districts on Long Island. This social justice philosophy DOESN'T WORK in LVCSD. (personally, I don't believe it works ANYWHERE, but that's another issue).
The school budget vote is the ONLY power we have as taxpayers. It is the ONLY message we can send that we are not just unhappy, but ANGRY with the lack of transparency and manipulation of numbers to try and make itself look better.
Regents exams are the MOST BASIC STANDARD. My kids always scored in the high 90's or even 100 on most Regents exams. So to say 99% or 100% of our kids graduated with a Regents Diploma is great, but how well did they pass those exams? Then you have to look at a whole sub-category in the NYS Report Cards. 85 and above is considered mastery. You don't hear our district discussing those pass rates.
Likewise, LVCSD does not share its poor IB pass rates. Out of 43 kids, 29 scored a 'D' on their TOK essay. Wow. That sucks. I guess that's why LVCSD needed to hire a TOK consultant.
talk amongst yourselves
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Lisa,
There is no manipulation of numbers.
Locust Valley is #1 on LI in Regents Diplomas 99%. That is a fact.
Locust Valley is #8 on LI in Advanced Regents Diplomas 77% That is a fact.
Locust Valley is ranked 137 Nationwide by The Washington Post. That is a fact.
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Anon,
Are you so lame that you really don't understand that unless you can document your statement it is OPINION not fact. It is your responsibility to prove it not someone else's to disprove.
By the way John Moe didn't say your statements were necessarily untrue but only that they couldn't be verified or documented.
VERIFIED AND DOCUMENTED STATEMENTS HAVE MUCH GREATER CREDIBILITY.
Yes, you do have the right to state whatever you want and that is called OPINION, unless,of course, you can verify and document it t with facts
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Anon,
LVCSD does not report IB stats - FACT
LVCSD has had ZERO/0 AP Scholars in the past 6 years. - FACT
LVCSD is the ONLY school district on LI TO CHARGE ITS TAXPAYERS for IB/AP exam fees - FACT
Perhaps "manipulation" was a poor choice of words. How about "selective presentation"? If the numbers are bad, LVCSD doesn't talk about it and tries to cover it up by intensifying its focus on the numbers that make the district look good.
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Where did you get the DIRECT QUOTE you attribute to Mr. Dolce. I read the articles in Newsweek and attended the BOE revote meetings and nothing was mentioned concerning home buying no less a direct quote about home buying and contigency so I am curious as to the source of the QUOTE.
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Lisa,
I question your "facts." Have you actually looked at the budgets of every school district on Long Island to see if they pass along the costs of AP and/or IB exams to their taxpayers? And if you have, you really need to get a life!
If our district's taxpayers want to pay for the costs of those exams, that's their choice. Even if you disagree with it - a concept we've seen you have difficulty with.
You are the same person who a few weeks ago didn't understand the difference between IB and AP exams being used for placement credit and being used for real credit. Remember? So I do question your knowledge and alleged authority on how AP and IB are regarded by colleges.
By the way, I remember when my kids were in elementary school in the early 90's and we were
told that they would not be learning grammar because the teachers wanted to focus on encouraging the students to express themselves without worrying about proper sentence structure and the like. It wasn't until NYS instituted the ELA a couple of years later that grammar came back to the classrooms. And these are the same children that told me they felt unprepared when they went to college because all they had taken were AP and Honors classes. My child after them, who took IB classes, did not have a similar complaint. So I definitely feel we are a better district now.
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Mr. Dolce is quoted in Newsday saying down budget is like a black eye. Well, it can be two black eyes.
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Anon,
I DON'T HAVE TO PROVE ANYTHING! It REALLY BOTHERS YOU that you can not prove me wrong, doesn't it? Call my statement opinion, berate the value of residents who were/are here and know for themselves: Do you really think they're going to listen to you sing the praises of this administration, when you deny the reputation that our school had already earned before now? Good luck with that! Why do you think the residents voted the board members out? There is a HUGE population of residents who are SICK AND TIRED of being IGNORED by BOE members and the administration. Those in charge, have been sooo oblivious to anything except their own agenda, that they didn't HEAR their constituents' complaints; THEY DON'T LISTEN TO ANYONE BUT THEMSELVES. The BOE continues to disillusion themselves into thinking that this election was about unions: MORE STUPIDITY! Perhaps that's how they were elected, but that is not why they ran. ALL 3 new BOE members are eager to assess the IB Program FROM AN OBJECTIVE POINT, so we may FINALLY BE TOLD THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PROGRAM, instead of constantly deflecting IB questions to those fabulous statistics you love to quote. And, just so you know; I, and many other residents, believe an honest person's word over some of the bull sh*$t statistics that have been so often quoted. I'm telling EVERYONE I SPEAK TO, to check into the stats themselves, because it's been discovered that the BOE presents the public with MEANINGLESS STATS, like the Newsweek list. I'm horrified to see that SOME people actually accept these stats as proof of excellence in education! Look at the grades Lisa reported above... There's NOTHING excellent about that!
Move already,
I'm glad your child was prepared, cause I can name many that weren't: How do you think an IB student will fare, coming from a class of 10, and getting multiple chances to score well on a test, when they enter a COMPETITIVE university, with 500 students in a lecture hall, and 1 chance to take ridiculously hard tests,with a professor that could care less how you did, hmm? That's the stories that I've been hearing about... Shell shock.
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I heard from a boe member that they are not allowed to talk to anyone. Everything has to go through the boe president.
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AHA! Now we have the board where we want them! It doesn't matter what the board does, or even what the board doesn't say! We voted in 3 TRUSTWORTHY, HONEST, AGENDA LESS people, and if when they sit the board, they are stifled, if they can NOT make the board more transparent, then the public WILL KNOW WITHOUT A DOUBT that there are things being kept from them, as this IS NOT A PERSONNEL MATTER, and NOT something that must be dealt with IN EXECUTIVE SESSION, EXCEPT BY CHOICE! The BOE's TRUE COLORS WILL BE REVEALED, BY DEFAULT!!! Almost like "check-mate". The public's will, WILL ALWAYS WIN.
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Thanks Anon,
I read the quote in Newday from Mr. Dolce . It actually said, "There's a black eye in my mind with .contingency. "
So my question to Lisa what is the source of her DIRECT QUOTE.
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Anon,
AHA!
That's what you think. They won't know a thing if the BOE President blocks the information flow.
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You're missing the point! (and Proving IT , AT THE SAME TIME!) THE PUBLIC VOTED THESE MEMBERS IN FOR THEIR VIEWS ON TRANSPARENCY, (although the BOE STILL believes they had a union agenda, DESPITE the candidates' statements to the contrary) So, if the BOE President "blocks" the flow of information, THE PUBLIC WILL KNOW THAT THE HE/the BOE HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE. THE REST OF THE PUBLIC WILL TURN ON THE ADMINISTRATION, REALIZING THAT THEY'VE BEEN/ARE BEING DECEIVED: DON'T FORGET THAT THOSE WHO VOTED FOR AND SUPPORTED THEM WILL KNOW BY ACTION, OR LACK OF ACTION, AND IT WON'T REFLECT AT ALL UPON THE NEW BOE MEMBERS (WHO WILL DO ONLY AS INSTRUCTED); ONLY THOSE WHO DIRECT BOE POLICY... Check Mate.
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Are you angry? What's that all caps business? I am only pointing out you may or may not see the difference between the old and the new members, both can only act on what they know. You either assume the old members know more than how they act, which you don't know and cannot know unless you are one of them, or the new members will be able to find out more, again you don't know unless you will be one of them.
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There are often confusions and misconceptions associated with the fiduciary responsibilities a board of education- or any board for that matter.
Transparency, or a lack their of, is cited as area of concern. However, specific transparency sought by some is simply unattainable- often for good reason. A board of any kind must operate under narrowly and specifically defined sets of legal, financial, and ethical procedures, practices, and responsibilities. An abandonment of these organizational standards can not only result in inappropriate and disjointed communications being delivered, but state and federal legal ramifications and actions.
Unless one has first-hand knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of a formalized and regimented board, an appreciation and understanding of what can and cannot be divulged, through what means communication can and cannot take place, and legal ramifications of actions and inactions, critiques of behavior can be shortsighted or unfounded. Therefore, it is vital that we as the LVCSD stakeholders make efforts to conduct diligent and unbiased research into appropriate board of education operating procedures. Without such research and investigation, claims of unbefitting and inapplicable behavior are mere assumptions and serve no place in promoting and improving community involvement and educational performance.
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To those who are angry,
Got the following from LV site. I cannot agree any more with what's said. If you were there, you can attest.
"On June 1, 2011, our Board of Education held a meeting which was extremely well-attended by students, parents and residents. Expressions of gratitude and appreciation were shared with Board of Education members regarding their incredible contributions and the great strides that our District has made under their leadership."
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John Moe:
Thank you for your level-head approach to the topics of this blog. As a casual observer (never posted before) it is nice to see someone take the stance of educating themselves before flying off the handle with wild accusations and assumptions. You are a breath of fresh air to those of us who view this blog as a three-ring circus. Keep doing what you are doing!!
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Stacy,
You are so level headed yourself. Who would you say is the lead clown? Lisa? Who is the Joker?
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And may I add; there's a large population of IB supporters at stake here: Many supporters of IB also support transparency, as they're convinced that the IB Program is so wonderful that there's nothing to hide. Should the new BOE members remain as "silent" as the old ones have been, IB will lose some supporters fearing there REALLY IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEING HIDDEN- Why else would this information be kept so secret, and at such a cost as to threaten to "dis-empower" new BOE members? I'm not even sure of the legalities of that! The administration had better tread carefully here; they have quite a bit at stake, like their reputation.
Anon,
Do you understand that the new BOE members priority is "transparency", unlike the BOE members before them (that's what sets them apart) and none of us are stupid- we get the "executive session" thing. I've known, and know people that have/are sitting BOEs in different districts. I'm FULLY aware of the principles behind the need for executive sessions, as a practice of discretion, however there is nothing about "curriculum" that necessitates such discretion, unless we (the public) have been misled, or those with knowledge, have something to hide.
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Anon,
You keep saying "REALLY IS SOMETHING THAT'S BEING HIDDEN". Do you know our district, like all others, is required to have three independent auditors? Are you calling them dummies? LV got the highest praise from the Comptroller. Is he a dummy? Every peeny the district spends has to be accounted for and IB is no exception.
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I read the Dolce quote in The Leader while waiting for an egg sandwich. My apologies if I didn't recall it verbatim, but I'm pretty sure I did.
Dear Concerned,
Thank you for the surprise in my mailbox with no return address. While I suppose I should be worried about anthrax or explosives before opening an anonymously sent package, I opened it anyway only to find a voluminous spiral bound copy of LVHS's IB History of the Americas "review" book. On the cover are listed the LVHS SS teachers affiliated with its development.
Concerned posed some excellent questions such as who was paid to put this together, are there copyright infringements, did every IB course have books like these printed for every IB subject and what was the cost to the taxpayer. I do not have the answers to these good questions.
The review book is supposed to help IB students prepare for their 3 IB papers for the IB final. The Table of Contents cannot really count as a Table of Contents since it is just the broadest of outlines for Papers 1,2 & 3. There is no Index. There are no page numbers. Judging by the weight and thickness, I'd put this disorganized monster at about 300 pages.
The miniscule section accorded our Declaration of Independence contains illegible excerpts. In fact, there are many, many more pages dealing with The League of Nations, than there are regarding the Founding of the United States.
I do know the Board authorized stipends for IB extra help sessions.
But if EVERY IB kid got a copy of that rain-forest killing review book? Holy crap! What a waste of money! You mean to tell me something couldn't have been compiled on a CD for a boatload less money?
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CCC = Complain, Complain, Complain
Lisa,
It is not about IB, it is about you because you always complain bout LV, never said a single good word about LV (show me if you ever did so in your life). If it is not IB, then it will be something else. So ungrateful even when you made the taxpayers spent extra $BIG on your daughter's calling.
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from earlier today:
"Damn right we have beautiful facilities and excellent teachers."
Now stop being such a hater and a Kool-Aid drinker.
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Anon:
Thank you- so are you! That is certainly an interesting question, and one likely to live in infamy! I am of the mindset that people who can "do" and those who can't complain.
I look at things this way- if I don't know a fair amount about a subject, I keep my mouth shut. I for the life of me don't know the rules to rugby, so who am I to judge the coaches, players and referee?
You and John Moe are certainly well informed and educated. Keep fightin' that good fight! There are many of us out there who appreciate your approaches to the issues. Rock on!!!
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"Every peeny [SIC] the district spends has to be accounted for and IB is no exception." ~transparency
Well, no, that's not exactly true. LVCSD buries the IB costs throughout the budget. For example, that cost of developing that "review" book could be in as many as 5 different areas of the budget, none of them specifically coded for IB. Curriculum development, stipends, materials and supplies, staff development .... you see? So while LVCSD will put a specific dollar amount on items like Summer Rec, Drivers Ed, Special Ed, etc .... it will not categorize all of the expenses for the IB Program on one page. You have to be a really good detective and even then, it is impossible to FOIL all of the costs as it doesn't EXIST as a stand-alone document.
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transparency,
Why do you deflect? I most certainly have no doubts about the "handling" of finances in our district, (other than an "unaddressed" waste of resources) yet you turn my concerns from "hiding costs" to "improper financial practices". I am aware, and accept the audit that was done a few years ago- I've not mentioned anything about finances. The public feels, now that we're in a bad economy, we have the right, and the administration has the duty, to show the public exactly how their money is spent; including costs for programs. Other districts do it as a common practice, and the fact that our board REFUSES to even consider divulging such information, is in itself, suspicious to say the least. The decision to not disclose this information, is exactly that: a DECISION, not necessary, unless there's a reason ...
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John Moe,
You most certainly are right: There are defitely reasons to not divulge specific fiscal information- FEAR OF PUBLIC BACKLASH, that's what!
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I am graduating in a few weeks and have been extremely happy with my educational experience at Locust Valley. I took four IB classes and feel that I am better prepared for college because of them. IB expanded my mind and allows me to think more critically and analytically. I am better able to form my own interpretations opinions and beliefs. By the way, I took the IB Social Studies course and consider myself a well-informed republican and "history nut". Nothing in that course was presented in a biased, leftist, way. Just great information on the US involvement in world events. Fantastic!
Thank you so much current, administrators, teachers and Board of Education. Without your efforts, I would not be where I am today!
I LOVE MY LOCUST VALLEY EDUCATION- VOTE YES FOR THE BUGET!!
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LOL - okay, which BoE Trustee is posing as 2011 LV Grad?
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Anon,
"our board REFUSES to even consider divulging such information"
Can you provide documetation of previous requests as proof (date, name, and so on) that the administration did not respond?
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2011 LV Grad,
Have you got enough volunteers for your prom? I heard there is a problem.
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2011 LV Grad,
I wish you well: I truly hope that your hard work pays-off, and you find college to be all that you expected it to be and more. Good luck.
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The question was asked directly to Dr. Chu on MTC Night, and he just gave a "rough estimate" off the top of his head. That is not what is meant by divulging costs. It's simply either deflected with a "rough estimate" or by stating that "budgets are not prepared in such a way as to ascertain such costs: It will cost money just to find the cost of such a program!" I find these answers to be unacceptable.
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Thank you! I heard a few weeks ago from one of the student representatives that there was an issue with finding people to chaperone the prom. I asked my cousin who graduated in 2005 if her class had a problem like that and she said "no." I have not heard if it has been resolved. I it has- I have a great dress all picked out!
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Anon,
I was there at MTC night. As the rule of MTC night goes, all questions are addressed to all candidates. Nothing allowed to address any specific ones. Based on what I can remember, Dr. Chu did give the most detailed answer of all candidates within the allowed time. Is that what you claim "REFUSE" to answer the question? Why didn't you send a letter to the adminstration if you sincerely want to know the answer?
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Anon,
I was also there at MTC night. I agree with 'transparency' that all questions are asked of all candidates and not any specific individuals. As a matter of fact, Lisa asked the question "Are you in favor of eliminating IB?" was the exact question she asked.
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"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" ~Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987
Of course, LVHS IB students aren't taught this. Noooo, they are taught that Gorbachev magically made reforms because the SU was bankrupt and people were concerned about communism because they were poor. And that "Regan" [SIC - 6x!!!!] was just a President who spent enormous amounts of American taxdollars on the military. Hmmmm.
Oh, I WILL document this. No bias being taught, eh? LVCSD should be absolutely ashamed of itself. I'll come back and give you a link to it when I'm done.
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The question was a general question about whether each candidate supported IB, and if not, were they willing to get rid of it? (or something close to that) and Dr. Chu DID give the most detailed answer that I've heard yet: As I stated before, he even gave a "rough estimate" off the top of his head. I am sure to give credit where credit is due, and that's basically as much as I've been able to learn. You do have a good suggestion about sending a letter to administration, however, I suspect that I'll be answered with the other statement from above, saying it's too timely and costly to do. (I have already heard that response from someone else). Perhaps I'll try anyway, and report my progress on the Blog!
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Lisa,
"Put up or shut up!" ~Ronald Reagan on budget, February 22, 1982
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To Anon,
Are you joking? Hiding costs is an unacceptable financial practice. An outside financial audit would be charged with picking up such an impropriety.
You seem not to know the difference between financial accounting, cost accounting and managerial accounting.
Furthermore, the financial reporting structure is the same for ALL NYS public schools.
it is based on functions and if you read the statement it will show Line items like: Instruction, Administration, Transportation and so on.
From an accounting and financial analysis perspective this makes the most sense. However, the state could choose to organize school financial statements differently. Financial statements could be organize by schools for example. So we could see what the costs for the high school middle school and intermediate and elementary schools. Of course then everybody on this blog would be screaming the district was hiding the functional cost.
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Anon,
Dr. Chu mentioned a figure of $70,000 for the cost of the IB/AP exams alone. This figure is an underestimate as I calculated the exact expenditure to be $96,000 and change based upon the following:
http://truthaboutib.com/images/LVHS_10_IB.pdf
http://truthaboutib.com/images/LVHS_10_AP.pdf
Folks, I am horrified by this review book, unbelievable. These teachers not only can't spell Ronald Reagan's name correctly, the repeatedly refer to General Douglas MacArthur as Macarthur.
But how about this as a reference in a review outline:
Hungarian Uprisings (1956)
e)The United States makes it clear that it's not going to help or aid the Hungarians - doesn't want to piss the Soviets off
Isn't that a dangling participle? At LEAST say the U.S. didn't want to "piss off" the Soviets.
Geez!
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Btw, I'm going to retract my statement about "excellent teachers" when it comes to the LVHS SS Department after seeing this review book. Over $500,000 annually spent on their salaries for this biased junk? You have got to be kidding me.
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Joe:
You are right-on with your assessment. I have to assume your background is in finance because of your depth and breath of knowledge of the subject matter.
I myself work as a financial analyst and know that without proper training and schooling an understanding of ANY prepared financial statement cannot be achieved. Where I have found the disconnect to be is people's belief that private sector financials serve and operate under the same perimeters as public sector ones. In reality the two could not be further part. I myself have never worked in the public sector, but I have looked over the districts budget a time or two. Despite being in the business for over 30 years, I struggled at points with understanding the nuances of it. However, I know as a student of the trade that a school districts budget presentation is designed NOT for the district residents, but the state and federal regulatory bodies. Consistency is the name of the game, and as long as all organizations (in this case school districts) play by the same rules, then nothing is ever “hidden.” Oh, and in case some of you were wondering, all the evidence suggests that the LVCSD not only play by the rules game, but follows the rules to the letter!
People should look at the budget the same way they look at road signs- they are only helpful if you know the language and know what you are looking for. By the way Joe, I found your usage of the term “functional cost” of particular humor- as if this group of bloggers would actually know what that is or how to accurately interpret and articulate that concept. Ha-ha!
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I put forward a motion to have Joe and Bill be the financial experts of this blog...
Great job guys! Finally people with knowledge of the subject matter are getting involved and debunking some of the misnomers of the blog. Maybe you two and John Moe can get together in three years and run for the BOE. Although, I picture JM as more the academic type- sitting on his porch writing his memoirs while smoking a pipe! He most likely would not want to be bothered with such silliness.
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I finally realized the reason people on the blog allow Lisa to turn every comment into an IB related comment is there are only four people on this blog using twenty different names. At times they even try and change their writing styles. (Penny not you, since you just decimate the English language) From time to time the other ten or fifteen people who occasionally read the blog for laughs probably get frustrated and drop in a comment.
What a wast of time. Lisa is obsessed with IB and hating LVCSD, and Penny is just a negative nanny.
On balance, we have a terrific school district which like everything else in life could be even better.
However, if you spend your time listening to Lisa and Penny you will never move forward.
Four years later and nothing has changed. Same old nothing!!!
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Joe,
"Hiding costs" is not the same thing. When I use the term "hiding costs" I do not use it loosely, as you suggest. What you're talking about is "losing costs", and I do NOT accuse the district of that. There are ways to let's just say "obscure" costs, and don't be, or think that I'm so naive as to think that that's not a practice: Let's be honest here. If all were right, I would never have gotten the answer about it "costing money to find the cost", even if the budget IS arranged so the cost is not apparent. In financial times like this, when employees are being fired, contracts denied, AND a budget is in question, it is fiscally irresponsible to not know EXACTLY what each program costs, for an accurate cost analysis. You can say I don't understand, all you want: I understand when there's a problem with answering a very simple question; when one of the most controversial and costly programs is sheltered from the very same public scrutiny (which all other programs in the district are subjected to) Perhaps I'll get an answer when I write administration? Someone MUST be accountable for all of these costs, even if they're not set-up as "line items". It's simply a matter of administrative/board priorities: If it were a priority of theirs, these costs would already have been analyzed, and if they were, why not show us?
To arrogant Mike C,
Just because you're in finance, doesn't give you the right to put people down- I have already stated MANY TIMES that I am WELL AWARE that the budget is not arranged for easy analysis (if you scroll up) I find it absolutely irresponsible of our district, to not know what OUR PERSONAL PROGRAMS cost- We have enough administrators; money's not tight enough to warrant accountability? Bologna!
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Pete,
You are wrong- plenty has changed. There are now three board members who do not support IB, soon to sit the board. Stay tuned; it's going to get interesting.
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Joe:
What did i tell you? Functional cost goes right over their heads!! Maybe a prerequisite for complaining about a school budget should be the successful completion of managerial cost-accounting course. People might then get the silly notion out of their heads that costs are not structured into nice, little, neat categories. Where people get the idea that a "program's cost" is made up of individual items or entries that can be easily pieced together and summed is beyond me.
Ah, I have an idea! Maybe I'll offer to teach an adult-ed cost accounting class for lvcsd residents! Anyone interested?
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Mike C,
You guys all fell in Lisa's trap. She said is an earlier posting responding to someone saying that her objection to IB is fundamentably Idiotical in nature and really not about cost. She would object to IB even if LV gets federal grant to run IB that costs nothing.
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Excuse me! I did not EVER say it would be EASY, that was a prerequisite if yours! I said it was fiscally responsible for a "cost analysis" of the program. As a matter of fact, there's been no accountability for this program since it's inception! We adopted this "curriculum" that came at a cost, that no one kept track of? Who the hell is responsible? Don't tell me that's fiscally responsible; now no costs are clearly accountable for, and you think that's acceptable? This district is in a heap of trouble next year when the tax cap comes into play: I can't wait for the accountability exemplified then!
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You can see why I am not an english teacher. My usage of the english language is subpar. What I should have said was:
"Where people get the idea that a "program's cost" is made up of individual items or entries that can be pieced together and summed is beyond me."
For your sanity, please invest in a basic cost accounting course. I know all local colleges and junior colleges offer them. The "answers" to what you are upset about will most likely be explained to you in Chapter 2. Until such time, I urge you to quit communicating on topics you have little to no understanding of. Your lack of knowledge of the material only makes you look foolish to those who appreciate the complexities.
However, if you wish not to, I recommend some light research. Investigate the basic concepts of "direct costs", "indirect cost" "tracing" ", "allocation". Most importantly, look into what "cost pool" is.
(I recommend Tylenol for any and all headaches!)
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Anon,
I most certainly WOULD object if LVCSD was a Title I district like Long Beach and used the 2009 stimulus money to fund IB. It is JUNK education. Here is my article on the IB History "Review Book". Enjoy!
http://truthaboutib.com/breakingnewsopinions.html
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYdjbpBk6A
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And I really wish the Anons in this forum would distinguish themselves from each other because you are beginning to sound rather schizophrenic!
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Thanks Mike,
I am aware of the terms you've listed. Our board INSISTS that IB is NOT costly: Then, just as I was directed earlier today- PROVE IT, OR STOP INSISTING that it is a FACT that it's NOT expensive. How can they state that it's "inexpensive" when they can not account for these costs? Either they know or they don't, or are they speculating, which is it?
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@Pete
LOL...I's didn't git an ediscation at the scholarly lvcsd
I's lovs de negativity it makes me look younger
IB is jist a money wasting program git rid of it.
Stop wasting us tax payers money
U want individuation pay for it yourself
gist keep mandated classes and git rid of IB
Pete or Simon or Jack or Ron U's all gist so smart us love gist undermining people makes ur rock hard docent it
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I welcome the three new board members demonstrating their knowledge of the financial issues effecting the district.
Capital Structure and its relations to core curriculum is something I hope George can help me with.I find with the exception of Freidrich and Dolce the other board members very average in this arena. I know since I inquired about this to the board when state aid was cut.
I have never quite understood the Appropriate Fund Balance and its relationship to the tax levy and when Friedrich explains it he thinks he is talking to a Warton School graduate which he is but I am not so it goes over my head. Hopefully, Charlie will put it in more layperson language.
Maria, since she is an educator, will be interested in explaining the basics of cost accounting so I will be able to understand her presentation of the incremental cost differences among IB, AP and Regents instruction.
Yes, things will be different.
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Phil,
'Maria, since she is an educator, will be interested in explaining the basics of cost accounting so I will be able to understand her presentation of the incremental cost differences among IB, AP and Regents instruction.
Yes, things will be different.'
I totally agree with you that it will be different. Look forward to Maria talking about financial management.
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@Lisa
How about the Social Studies teacher that teaches our children that allah and God are the same!!!!
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@Pete
Is aint negitiv Is jist a redneck!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9carc9V9rFo
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i am not really qualified to say since I only need to read the words on the two buttons at work, one that says "up" and the other that says "down", but I still think that mr moe's latest post was especially
double plus good!
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Phil,
Things will be different because our district is going to have to face some real unpleasantries, in dealing with the state mandates AND the 2% tax cap: I dare say public education in general is soon to be in jeopardy, and I fear that the debate over IB and other such issues will only grow more heated as we near the implementation of the tax cap. How do you suppose our district will fare without the funding from NYS, new mandates, and the 2% tax cap? You shouldn't put the new candidates down: I'm sure that ALL new BOE members have a lot of learning to do, and it's not like anyone's clamoring to show them the ropes; not a model of BOE cooperation, and that also can be detrimental to the district.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6auZXmSi-84&feature=related
Kind of like the HS principal
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sorry this one is like the hs principal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWMBKZgbO6U&feature=related
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KcAxhDovkI&feature=related
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6Mh8MqE-Yw&feature=related
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Efb2hnRJ8oM&NR=1&feature=fvwp
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42WZ1P2j2U&feature=related
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http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/05/26/international-baccalaureate-undermines-us-founding-principles
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http://www.easyreadernews.com/23459/redondo-international-baccalaureate
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http://parentshaverights.com/International%20Baccalaureate%20Exposed.html
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Hey Anon,
I see your point but don't agree with you. I do like the posting of the other Anon and I agree with her more but I agree with that long posting from the original Anon the most and I will go that way. Unlike we Anons that we all have our totally different views and we hardly agree with each other, Lisa, on the other hand, is our top ventriloquist, whose voice comes out of various posting names including Anon. I am not a bridge mechanic but I know when the bridge is up, boats pass, and when the bridge is down, cars pass. Someone always passes with the bridge up or down.
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Boy, all of you anonymous cowards blew the chance to rake me over the coals for misidentifying Stalin as Gen. MacArthur on the cover of that piece of garbage IB Review Book! I'm glad my TAIB readers are a lot sharper than the Bayville Blog readers!
Of course, no taxpayer dollars were used in the publication of MY article. I have made the proper correction:
http://truthaboutib.com/breakingnewsopinions.html
To the Concerned parent who mailed me the book-
Thank you. It is sad that so many in our district are not merely afraid, but terrified to put their real names behind their words and actions. With a child in the "system" (gulag), I can understand why.
A team of researchers from Arizona have expressed interest in analyzing the entire Review Book. One of them is Deborah Niwa, author of the paper IB Unraveled:
http://truthaboutib.com/images/IB_Unraveled_3.28.10_Niwa.pdf
I appreciate their offer to dedicate many hours to exposing the lies taught by IB. I think I'll review it a little more first before sending it off.
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To Anon
From Phil
How can there be lack of cooperation when the terms of the new board does not begin till July. Please give specific details if you have them of current board members not cooperating and helping new board members if the new members have asked them for help. No speculation, actual examples.
Additionally, the BOE cut the Appropriate Fund Balance to zero which gives tremendous relief to the cost structure.
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Lisa,
I am Coward so you can just address me by name without name calling. If you do anything to me, my brother Bully will post here to straighten you out.
To start, my hat off to you for your smartness. What do you say about Reagan?
http://www.stfrancis.edu/content/ba/ghkickul/stuwebs/btopics/works/atcstrike.htm
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Lisa,
No one even reads your IB posts. We have heard the same nonsense for years. Meanwhile IB has gained tremendous strides and is in substantially more public schools than four years ago
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None are so blind as those who refuse to see. The LVHS IB Review Book is new this year. I can't help troglodytes who refuse to hold their public school accountable for wasting their taxdollars on junk and filling their offspring's minds full of mush with a left-wing rewrite of history. From day one, I have stated that Social Studies (via the IB History of the Americas and its IB Coordinators) is how IB mainlines its sociali-t heroin.
I present FACTS, not hyperbole and propaganda. It seems pretty clear to me that by electing 3 candidates who haven't drunk the IB Kool-Aid, the majority of voters in LVCSD have finally awoken to how they are being scammed.
IB is a scam. If the organization was in the least bit credible, why wasn't LVHS's IB authorization pulled for failure to file the mandatory 5 yr. self-review? Because IBO doesn't CARE, as long as the checks are good.
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Perhaps I should have been more specific: The administration has already shown a lack of cooperation: Were you not congratulated when you won your seat? How about the website: Did it simply state the election results, or did it congratulate the winners?The only thing these new members got, was a mailing about their "school board seminar".I'm sorry, but that's shameful.
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http://www.oms.nysed.gov/faru/PDFDocuments/B_Vote_RN_final_2.pdf
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If IB is so great, why is it that I don't hear of "private schools" adopting this curriculum. If this were truly a magnificent model for high school education, why are there not MANY private institutions using this fabulous curriculum? Can someone please give me a reason for such a disparity?
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http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Agenda/budget.pdf
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Notice the increase in "curriculum development" and "in-service training"? 62.5 and 76.92% respectively? The BULK of that $245,000 is for IB.
And these clowns couldn't find at least a full percent to cut?
VOTE NO!
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Lisa,
Do you know the so called "curriculum development" is to pay teachers to do the curriculum? Do you also know that for the same development work, LV has to pay top dollars than other districts because of the current teachers contract? We want change!
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Buy your 2011 Falcon sports wear
http://www.prepsportswear.com/school/us/New_York/Locust_Valley/Locust-Valley-High-School-Falcons/Featured-Top-Sellers/productlist.aspx?category=183&schoolid=165962&fltr=Gender_Men%2527s&prevTopCat=29
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Where's the reserve in the budget Cuomo wants the school districts to use to cover the cuts????
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Anon,
LVCSD has to pay teachers to "write curriculum" because IB does not sync with NYS standards. This has nothing to do with the teacher's contract. Obviously if teachers have to do extra work they should be compensated. However, this is UNNECESSARY and if LVHS would simply offer AP courses where the curriculum is already written instead, we could easily save at least $300-400,000 a year and have BETTER educational offerings.
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Lisa,
Your statement is totally incorrect. NYS Department has stopped providing resources many years ago and turned itself into assessment center. Every district has to pay to write curriculum.
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Anon,
Is that so? Then why don't you 'splain to me why LVCSD spends more than DOUBLE on these items than Jericho?
http://www.jerichoschools.org/finance/Budget1011/Budget2010_Wkshp-1.pdf
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Lisa,
What nonsense, in fact another bold face lie. I was at the BOE election night meeting and saw the elected BOE members being congratulated by current BOE members including those who were defeated. I remember saying to myself, "that must be difficult for Dr. Chu."
How do you know the new board members got a mailing on the new board seminar? ??
Does George tell you when he goes to the bathroom as well.
By the way nobody every congratulated me when I won, probably since I never ran.
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What????
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Lisa,
Remember me? You forgot I congratulated you when you lost every time. Try again and I will do my best.
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Anon,
What the heck are you talking about? I didn't write that post! I post under my name. Learn to read. And apologize.
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Anon,
I am not Lisa. I also revised my statement (if you'd scroll up) to read "administration" not BOE. Yes, some members of the board DID congratulate the candidates, including Dr. Chew, however, my statement remains- Other than those congratulations, and a couple of genuine offers of help from some remaining BOE members, the only thing the new BOE members received from administration, was their seminar materials. If you go to the website, the new candidates have STILL not been congratulated.
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Isn't it amazing how an anonymous BoE member jumps in to distract the conversation with stupid defensive, "we're so wonderful and magnanimous" nonsense as soon as we hit upon a GINORMOUS waste of money in LVCSD compared to Jericho regarding CURRICULUM WRITING AND IN-SERVICE? Just check the "Supervision" expense in that section .... holy cow!
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Btw, I know "Anon" isn't actually intelligent enough to use the word "magnanimous" which I put in quotes in my post above, but I thought it was better than repeating his line:
"Does George tell you when he goes to the bathroom as well."
So crude.
Wait a minute ..... are you Anthony Weiner?
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My questions remains how do you know the new BOE members were sent seminar material?
Other than congratulations and genuine offers of help what would you expect BOE members to do? I don't think they update the web site?
Please answer my question.
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So crude but it gets the point across. From my perspective I get it , I really get it.
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Lisa,
You write and always have under many names. Who could forget "PhD in IB." What an embarrassment.
Anon is clearly one of your favorites.
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Nope. My words are my own and I stand by them and sign my name to them. Why don't you write to admin and ask Jeff to trace the ISPs of the Anon posters on this thread? Hmmmm? Oh wait, that would mean there was proof that I'm NOT any of the Anons in question. No, you'd rather swim in your swill of a rotted imagination, hate and ignorance.
I happen to LIKE the old tag I used in The Leader forum because it's a JOKE - there's no such thing as a PhD in IB, just as the "Baccalaureate" IB claims it is awarding is NO BACCALAUREATE. In fact, the inspiration for the tag came from Richard Shear who said to me, "You should go for a PhD on IB." So I'm sorry that God didn't give you a sense of humor. Maybe there's a rehab for that sort of thing.
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Anon,
Why are you stuck on the BOE? I said administration. Don't you think central office should take a moment to congratulate the new members? (not the BOE members as I've stated, they for the most part, have)
How do I know about their receiving seminar materials? Obviously, I have been told this by a new board member: There's NOTHING inappropriate about that. Your nasty comments are quite unbecoming: I never ONCE said that any of this was member specific, and I find it objectionable that you take such liberties as to single-out one new board member, built upon FALSE speculation of who I/"Anon", am.
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The players on the Leader Forum are the same players on this Blog!
Lisa, watch out!!! Here come the black helicopters!!!!
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Anon,
Look at the posting times: Lisa could NOT be responsible. Please stop the speculating: Both Lisa and I know that you're wrong.
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So now your claim is the Administration didn't congratulate the new members. Really.? After the results were read at the BOE BUdget meeting anyone present would have seen Dr. Hunderfund congratulation the new members. Just ask your BOE friend, if this is true.
You made up a whole BS story now totally debunked. The BOE members and Administration offered congratulations and as you said "sincere offers of help"
The only think left is the web master didn't extend the congratulations the BOE and administration extended to the new members to the web site. My goodness, what a crime
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Interesting,
Your smear campaign has grown really old. Grow up.
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"The only think left is the web master didn't extend the congratulations the BOE and administration extended to the new members to the web site. My goodness, what a crime." ~Anon
Glad to see you recognize that the state of the LVCSD website is a "crime".
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In my opinion the only crime I have seen from the LVCSD was paying my hard earned tax dollars to BOCES for your daughter.
I give you credit Lisa, you really know how to milk the system, get thousands of dollars in tax payer money and then complain when other children get benefits.
Dis you ever thank the locust valley taxpayers for the generosity extended to your daughter?
You
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Why so bitter? It's not like I'm accusing YOU of anything? What is it with you and the board members? I corrected myself, and stated "administration". You should know though, that there WERE a couple of VERY RUDE GESTURES from certain "out-going members"; "accusations", rather than "congratulations" (and DON'T ask me to say who- I'm not stupid; they know who they are) and an over-all effort to "diminish" the victory these candidates had over the incumbents, by attributing it SOLELY to "union backing". SMEAR, SMEAR, SMEAR! No BS: all truth. You should also know that some candidates were "openly discouraged" from running by other sitting candidates, well before the election! I find this all to be charming, don't you? Let me ask you this: What have the new BOE members done to upset you so much? They haven't even sat yet! And to be sure to give credit where credit is due: there are two sitting board members who are the epitome of grace: They've been nothing but supportive, and had NOTHING to do with perpetuating the disgusting rumors that were spread about the new BOE members. It's funny: the new members are made fun of by so many for being "common", yet not one of them stooped to smear their opponents, or to address the never-ending string of lies that have circulated. The election is over. We must move forward. By the way, all of this began, when I asked Phil if HE was congratulated by the administration.. Funny that so many get involved.
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Anon,
Please note: I was also at the special BOE Meeting when the election results were read. When I was leaving, I witnessed a horrible display of "poor sportsmanship", directed at someone who hadn't even run! Perhaps this was attributed to having an "emotional reaction" to the shocking election results, however he is a board member, and should have exercised better professionalism- This was an intentional "dis", more rude than I can describe. This is why I've been led to feel that the behavior of some, is nothing short of SHAMEFUL.
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Hmmm, I wonder if I can get Lindsey Burke of The Heritage Foundation to review that IB Review Book.
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I wonder whose work that book is considered, since there is no copyright on it, it contains IB material, a student's notes and material from a textbook that is never credited. Looks like a slew of copyright infringements if you ask me. But I'm not an IP atty. Maybe an IP atty could weigh in on the matter.
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The new board members have done nothing to upset me. Rather you have. First by attributing actions or lack of actions to board members that were untrue and you were forced to change your story to administrators until that was rebuffed as well.
You are looking to create tension and problems where none exist and I won't let untrue statements go unchallenged.
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I have a problem with a new board member who publicly pisses the academics of the school and yet said nothing to back it up.
I mean the boy never attended a board meeting and only knows what Lisa tells him. Note the connection from Newsday to Lisa to George.
Although, I concede it is not his fault the district would elect a person who never voted in a board election, still lives at home, so he doesn't even have the responsibility of taking care of himself, no less pay property taxes and like many 25 year olds is searching for his first professional job.
It shows the power of the unions and George owes them big time. We'll see what happens
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Anon,
"You are looking to create tension and problems where none exist and I won't let untrue statements go unchallenged".
You DARE to place blame on me? Guess what! Now, I'm naming names, and embarrassing people that are not usually like this, but I'm not taking your bull anymore:
Tension existed from the day that Erica Bruno tried to embarrass and discourage George Stimola from running, while speaking publicly with him after a BOE meeting, long before the election. IT WAS OVER-HEARD BY QUITE A FEW PEOPLE, INCLUDING ME.
Then of course there was the "smear campaign" about "union backing" by board members, who continue to perpetuate the rumors(Ron Walsh, Yao Chu,Phil Belissari).
How about Mr. Walsh's comment to the Murpheys, about being more dangerous on the other side of the board room table?
Let's not forget the one that bothered me the most: Election night, leaving the Primary School, seeing Mr. Stimola Sr., extend his hand to Phil Belissari, and Phil scowled and told him, and I quote:" You used organized labor to win the election", he the TURNED HIS BACK, and left!
You say WHATEVER you want: This behavior is unacceptable, and I would NOT have used names, except you will not accept that you're WRONG until I've embarassed the people that you care for, BRAVO! I will NOT be your scapegoat
for "creating tension". You're right: I did change my story. I stopped protecting the guilty, to protect the innocent. You are the one causing the tension, by defending such abhorrent behavior. My statements are NOTHING compared to that which I've listed; but go ahead, and continue to say I lie. I've not lied about ONE THING.
And as far as Greg goes: Perhaps you, yourself have not been attending board meetings, because I have seen George at many before the election!
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So as you can see, the newly elected BOE members feel VERY WELCOME! As a matter of fact, just scroll up to see Phil (if it really was him) make fun of and put down the new BOE members on the blog-impressive, huh?
As I've said: Thank GOD for the two most decent board members: It is THEY who welcome the newly elected, and no one else.
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just so you know, I would never have said any of this, unless it was 100% true, and THERE WERE MANY, MANY WITNESSES TO Collaborate THESE EVENTS, so don't even go there!
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Anon,
Not sure it is the same Anon that made the two posts:
'Then of course there was the "smear campaign" about "union backing" by board members'
'just so you know, I would never have said any of this, unless it was 100% true'
The union backing is not smear campaign. It is reported in Newsday and verified by the President of the Teachers Union.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/smaller-budget-proposal-for-locust-valley-1.2938911
'Gabriella Harrington, the teachers union president, confirmed that her group backed four challengers, including winners George Stimola, Maria Segura and Charles Murphy. Harrington declined to discuss contract issues'
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Anon,
I think you owe the outgoing board members an apology for accusing them of smear campaign of union backing. There is nothing wrong with union backing. It is legal. The LV union paid for all the signage and set up phone banks telling voters to vote out the incumbents. That is fact, and again is legal. If you do not believe me, ask the union president. She does not lie, I believe.
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How about some common sense: The teachers union would have backed ANY CANDIDATE at this point, however, this in no way proves anything. The candidates made it CLEAR to ALL that their agendas had NOTHING to do with the teachers contracts,(Gabby included)yet people still seem to think that the new BOE members "owe" the union something, for their backing. Well- guess what! Won't everyone be surprised to find-out that Gabby herself says they owe her nothing...
Why don't you ask her yourself?
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"I mean the boy never attended a board meeting and only knows what Lisa tells him. Note the connection from Newsday to Lisa to George."
"The boy?" What the heck is that supposed to mean? I don't even buy Newsday and Hildebrand doesn't use 99% of what I tell him anyway! And I will repeat - I didn't even know George was running until the MTC night. I guess his honesty and "bold freshness" scares the pants off of the LV "mob". You'd think he was Sarah Palin the way you bozos carry on!
What you chuckleheads can't seem to get through your thick skulls is the union "backed" 4 candidates. The only one of the 4 that didn't get elected was Carr who was pro-IB. Your refusal to recognize how IB ideologically affected the outcome of the election is really not using your critical thinking skills.
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I most certainly will NOT and DO NOT owe ANYONE of them an apology: If there's nothing wrong with union backing, how DARE Yao Chu remark about the "Union backing" instead of a concession speech? HE WAS OUT OF PLACE. SO WAS Mr. Belissari's behavior and comments to others about organized labor. I am merely stating FACT; the truth hurts, doesn't it? If there's nothing wrong with being backed by a union, then why have some board members behaved in such a fashion over it? YOU owe the apology: YOU accused me of LYING, and I'VE PROVEN YOU WRONG; you still have the GALL to think that you're in a position to demand an apology! You believe that I'm trying to cause problems, when all I'm doing is calling you out on what you've said. The new BOE members have been dealing with NOTHING BUT TENSION, and it began with board members being PISSED that the candidates allowed the union to back them. This is undeniable, as there have been comments as recent as a week ago from some of these people, STILL insisting that "the union...". The outgoing members each contributed to the new board members feeling un-welcome, and if you recall, you said that "You are attributing actions or lack of actions to board members that are not true." I have stated fact, and backed it with names, dates, and places; These people were rude, and THEY owe people an apology.
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How about the incompetent admins being hired that can't do their jobs yet go on working at the school? Could it be that some of them are in some way connected to the supt. (whether it be from Jericho, Commack, Malverne, etc.)? Why are students who are caught with drugs not being suspended for extended periods of time?
Parents of HS students - go ask your kids- they'll tell you.
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Again your statement were that board members did not congratulate new board members and the fact is not only did they congratulate them but some offered them help. Then when these facts were exposed you switched your attack to the administration and when this was exposed as untrue as well, you were left with the fact that the web site was not updated to congratulate them.
So absolutely, you are trying to create problem with untrue remarks.
Now with your scheme unveiled you switch. Now it is no longer things the BOE and administration DID NOT DO, but instead THINGS THEY DID. A totally different point. A whole new approach, which has nothing to do with offering advise and help.
Regarding your new negative tact. If Mrs. Bruno did try and talk George out of running, what is wrong with that? Seems to me people do that every day. She may have good reason to do so. Whatever, it is her right and people try and talk people out of doing things every day. I don't see your point at all.
As to the unions backing the new elected candidates that is absolutely true. The unions had phone banks setup and called all the union numbers they could get and told the people vote for anybody but the incumbents. Not only is this verifiable, but Mrs. Harrington, the union president, gleefully admits it. Most people call that a smear campaign.
My recollection of Mr. Walsh's comment was he looked over to the current board members when he stated it. Goodness knows Mr. Walsh has been making obnoxious remarks to people for years so there is little here.
That leaves Mr. Belissarri. You didn't say if he shook hands with George's father or not. If he didn't that would be poor behavior. If he did and said your son had union backing, I think the comment unnecessary but nevertheless true. By all accounts Mr. Belissari is a nice guy. I might suppose he was a little unsettled.
I don't even know Mrs. Bruno or Mr. Walsh or Mr. Belissari except through seeing them at board meetings, so you personal attacks on them effect me little. Furthermore, there is very little in your remarks I see as embarrassing.
What i do find as embarrassing is you puerile, callow remarks meant to elicit, enrage, and infuriate apoplectic behavior. Shame on you.
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Anon,
The behavior of the incumbents is indeed, unacceptable, but thankfully the voters spoke loud and clear. It is unreasonable to expect apologies from sore losers who have spent years cooking the books. Just take it from where it comes and look forward to July 1 when they are unseated.
I would question what Ron Walsh meant about being "more dangerous" on the other side of the table. That sounds like a threat from a police officer, something not to be taken lightly. He has been reprimanded before for inappropriate comments as a school board trustee. Perhaps a call to his commanding officer is in order.
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Anon,
'how DARE Yao Chu remark about the "Union backing" instead of a concession speech'
I happened to be there that night. The first word out of Dr. Chu's mouth was Congratulations. I don't know what you consider a concession speech. Moments later, all the board members certified the voting results. I consider that very proper behavior. No need to reply. It will not be responded.
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Anon,
Of course you won't answer, because you know that I've already proven you wrong. Unbelievable to think that the word "Congratulations" has ANY weight or meaning, when it's followed by comments spoken to "diminish" the victory, like: how the opposition recruited the backing of unions to win.
Stop down-playing that which I've proven- I'm being gracious, and I'm the one that had to PROVE every word of what I've said.
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well I wasn't there, but it doesn't appear that Anonymous is DENYING that Chu made some crack about "union backing", merely trying to talk around it. I think there are many parents in this district who are VERY unhappy with the teachers wearing their union shirts who wouldn't be swayed in their votes on Board Trustees simply because the union backed FOUR people. There are many factors which came into play with this election and the incumbents met with the same kind of "shellacking" that the Democrats met in November. And, just like the Democrats, the losers are behaving badly.
Someone once said, "Elections have consequences". Who was that? Oh yeah, Barack Hussein Obama!
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Lisa,
Let's not get carried away... I'm SURE that he (Ron) was stating his intent to be even more involved, or to have more freedom (not being on the board) to do more: Be more effective. I just noticed your post, and DO NOT want this left un-said; he's really not a bad guy; none of them are. This was a surprising election, and I'm sure it's difficult for everyone.
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Lisa,
My brother Bully says hello. Hey, you and I finally agree on something. I just wonder Anon called every name out but himself. Oh, maybe it is herself, who knows. Interestingly, Anon heard what's said to Gerorge Stimola before the election and also heard what's said to George father at the parking lot on election night. I wonder. Is that you?
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Anon (...what I do find embarrassing...),
You have obviously NOT followed all of the entries associated with this subject. I started-off by asking "Phil" if he had been congratulated by the administration when he won his seat. I also remarked that the new BOE members do not feel welcome by the board, with the exception of two wonderful members. I was then RUDELY spoken to by "Anon" STATING THAT I WAS LYING. At first I hesitated to divulge the info, because I knew it was not a reflection of how these board members usually are. However, when "Anon" insisted that I was lying, just to make trouble, I suddenly found it necessary to defend myself. I was not lying about the out-going board members- they DO make the new BOE members feel un-welcome. If you'd like to be upset, then direct it to "Anon" who knew perfectly well what I was talking about, but refused to quit. EVERY ONE OF MY REMARKS ARE TRUE: PLEASE TELL ME WHAT I'VE SAID THAT'S FALSE: I don't even deny the union backing. Just scroll up and you will see. However, as "Anon" said: there's nothing wrong with being backed by unions: So why was it used to "diminish" and put-down the election results? These people WON FAIR AND SQUARE, and the out-going board members should NOT have behaved in such a fashion. And by the way, I said there are 2 members that are welcoming (That's out of 7: you think that's welcoming?)
Mr. Belissari turned, and put his back to and walked past Mr. Stimola's extended hand. Please don't tell me that ANY of this is acceptable. I said they do not feel welcome and (for some reason) had to prove it to "Anon". I DID.
I understand your point about Erica, however you were obviously not there: she was curt, cold, and a bit rude: Not at all meaning to be helpful, and she did it in an intimidating manner, with many around to hear- unprofessional: basically told him that his reasons for running were "not good enough". I do not wish to infuriate anyone. I WILL NOT BE CALLED A LIAR, OR SPOKEN TO RUDELY BY ANYONE, especially when they show no courtesy toward ANYONE that opposes them; That's why I was made to "prove" my statements, and even then, "Anon" continues to be RUDE. These are not "personal attacks" on ANYONE: simply "examples, with names, ans dates, and times; just as "Anon" so rudely demanded I respond with. You might say the new members were congratulated, however they were "empty" congratulations, as they ALL had disparaging remarks to follow, with the exception of the two members to offer help- Do you really feel that that's welcoming? "Phil" was on the blog making fun of the new BOE members, just today- It IS shameful.
Coward,
What the hell are you talking about? Who said anything about "before the election" and I never said "the parking lot" either.
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This is Bully. I come out whenever my sister is questioned. It seems all the belly aches about newly elected boe members (they are not "new" boe yet) not being welcome is centered on one person only. I just wonder why that is the case.
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I don't see how you arrive at that: These remarks were made to, and about all of the candidates, except for Erica's comment.
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Well Bully- I'm NOT going to be bullied, by "Anon" or you. I DO NOT want to argue- I never did; but I will NOT be called a liar by someone, then ridiculed for defending myself. Our district is divided enough, and there's no room for "sore losers" and that's just how they've acted.
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Come to think of it, "Anon" should be more careful about who she calls a liar: Perhaps you had better be sure that that's truly the case, BEFORE you antagonize a defensive response.
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Guys,
Chill out. My name is Bully with a cap B. I am not a bully. My sister's name is Coward with a cap C and she is not a coward.
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Are you crazy? You think I'm Phil Belissare? What an ass!!!
Fact is, you are a liar. You were caught in lies and changed your story twice.
By the way, the candidates were backed by the unions. That's not union bashing that's a fact, and the losing BOE members feel the union phone calls did them in. They could be right, at any rate its their opinion. Nothing right or wrong about it.
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Dr, Chu's remarks were gracious and he congratulated all the winners.
He first said congratulations and later went on to say he ran an independent campaign but lost to organized labor.
He may have. The teachers union is part of the AFL/CIO. He said nothing attacking the candidates.
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A winner's father put on his FB '3 down and 2 more to go next year' and then took it down. If that is not divisive, what is?
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Phil,
I am not a liar: Back-up your words with fact, just as I had to do. What EXACTLY did I say that was a lie? I gave names, dates places, just as instructed: YOU are the instigator: Just scroll up, and let's see who the liar is! (You KNOW that you posed as Phil Belissari, that is, if you're not)EVERY word I said is true, and by the way: You're beating a dead horse with the "union" crap. I've already said that no one denies the backing. I never said "union bashing" either! I said they're SORE LOSERS and have acted in a most "un-welcoming" way. You're the ass! You can't even recognize the difference between a person HESITANT to use names, and a person that lies! RE-READ: I have. I wait to hear you list the lies...
Anon,
You are correct, however nicely you present it; IT WAS, HOWEVER, A DIG TO THE WINNING CANDIDATES AND THE UNION, AND EVERYONE KNEW IT.
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Lie #1. BOE members did not congratulate the new members. When other bloggers pointed out they witnessed current BOE members congratulating the elected members you changed your statement from BOE members to the administration.
Lie #2. BOE members didn't offer any help to the new members. In a later blog you yourself admitted current BOE members did offer help to newly elected members.
Lie #3. The administration didn't congratulate the new BOE members. Again other bloggers witnessed Dr Hunderfund congratulating the newly elected members on election night.
Lie #4. Dr. Chu was union bashing. Not true, He merely pointed out he ran as an independent and was beaten by Organized Labor.
If I were to go through your posts I'm sure I could find many more.
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I talked to one of the winners. The person told me have spoken to current boe members before and after the election and got help. Another winner talked to the Superintendent before and after the election for information and got it. Unless they are liars, which I hope not, it proves Anon does not know what he is talking about. Maybe he is talking about his family member but it does not apply to all three winners.
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Anon,
You admit yourself, that you did NOT read all of the blog entries: If you had, you would have realized that I've more than proven my point of " ,,,It's not like anyone's clamoring to show them the ropes: not a model of BOE cooperation..."
Simply because 2 BOE members have offered their services: THAT's OUT of 7! Not a model of cooperation.
2. You are obviously a Yao Chu supporter, because if you ask ANY supporter of the new candidate's, they will tell you without a doubt, THEY FELT THAT WHAT DR. CHU SAID WAS A DIG. DON'T BOTHER TO TRY TO DISPROVE THIS, I'VE SPOKEN TO MANY ABOUT IT, AND KNOW THAT YOU WILL NEVER CONCEDE THIS, BEING A YAO CHU SUPPORTER.
"The administration did not congratulate the new BOE members..." Yes, Dr. Hunderfund congratulated the winners with a "sentence" after the election- I did NOT LIE, I simply find that a "brief, general congratulations" is the VERY LEAST a SUPERINTENDENT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR, and she was SURE to do the "bare minimum", as that's all of the congrats they got: A back-handed congrats from Yao Chu, and a quick sentence from Anna. This is no example of making people feel welcome- Most just did what they HAD to. As I said (because I AM HONEST) I had to commend the two BOE members that DID HONESTLY congratulate them, offer them help, and make themselves available to them, can you read? THAT'S ONLY 2 OUT OF 7: not even ALL of the remaining sitting members- THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE.
I never ONCE said that Dr Chu "union bashed" that was "Phil" who "denied" the union bashing which I never accused Dr. Chu of. (scroll up and see) I stand by my statement that EVERYONE EXCEPT DR. CHU's SUPPORTERS FELT HIS STATEMENT WAS A DIG AT ALL THAT OPPOSED HIM, AND IT WAS.
"Anon",
Help them with what may I ask? I believe you to be stretching the truth a bit. If what you say is true, who, and when? I suspect these questions will remain unanswered.
I'm aware of some of the candidates speaking with Dr. Hunderfund: THEY approached her, not the other way around. You also do not state that the new BOE members feel welcome, because you can not. You just keep trying to deflect, by stating "niceties" that have been offered, yet YOU CAN NOT REFUTE THAT WHICH I'VE STATED ABOUT POOR Sportsmanship, MAKING THE NEW BOE MEMBERS FEEL UNWELCOME.
YOU HAVE PROVEN NOTHING OTHER THAN YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO ADMIT WHEN YOU'RE WRONG. You're "splitting hairs" 'cause you can not disprove me! You really think the Murpheys feel welcome after the comment made "toward" them? How about the others, when the MAJORITY of the board CONTINUES to diminish their victory, over "union" crap; (they are STILL talking about it) that's why the congratulations are MEANINGLESS.
I know what I'm talking about... Where are your facts, "Anon"? How are we to believe you; support your claims with fact. Why not ask a new BOE member DIRECTLY; Perhaps you're afraid of their response!
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Anon,
You want names? On MTC night,I overheard your union president, Tim Cleary, telling people that he was reponsible for getting George Stimola to run for the board. Go check with him.
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So now LVCSD has magically been able to incorporate drivers ed into the budget in order to try and get it to pass, eh? I wonder whose kids are in line for drivers ed this year? Hmmmm ......
You know what? LVCSD could have done that and cut the $100,000 IB/AP exam fees at the same time to show a balanced, good faith effort to the taxpayers. But they didn't.
I'm still voting NO.
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You are unbelievable! Not only do you LIE but you SLANDER. I HAVE ASKED TIM COLLEARY directly; (and I am NOT who you think that I am) he UNEQUIVICALLY DENIES ALL RESPONSIBILITY, SIGHTING THAT HE HADN'T HEARD THAT GEORGE WAS RUNNING, UNTIL GEORGE HAD ALREADY BEGUN TO FILL HIS PETITION: YOU BETTER WATCH WHAT YOU SAY NOW! The reason I asked him, is BECAUSE I KNEW IT TO BE UNTRUE AND WANTED TO GO TO THE SOURCE MYSELF! You "OVERHEARD" I, ASKED HIM TO HIS FACE! Mr. Colleary, if you follow the blog, PLEASE WEIGH-IN. Funny that you switch the topic to "union" stuff, when you're cornered!
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Excuse me! I don't know what's going on here, but IIIIIIIIIIIIIII asked George to run, and you ALL have some nerve giving credit to others, and trying to cast a "sinister" shadow on it! He wanted to run for the board when he was in High School, and I discouraged him, realizing he would have been over-extending himself with college and all. Don't you guys have anything better to do than spread "rumors" about people?
Also, I'd like to make it clear that George met with Anna, Jack, and Gabby, so as to get a feel for where everyone stood on the issues- This is a reflection upon HIS diligence to getting his information, right from the source. This does not reflect at all upon the board or the superintendent's support of the newly elected: It simply shows that he's not deterred by opposition, rumors, or anything else.
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George's mom,
Good for you! Job well done! After the board meeting last week, I saw George and Dr. Chu talk and then walk out to the hallway together. About ten minutes later when I was leaving, I saw they were still talking. I don't know what they were talking about (not my business) but I saw big smiles on both their faces. Maybe George has already told you about it.
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Anon,
George is doing a great job of educating ME on school curriculum, policy, laws, and finance. He will make a GREAT trustee, as he does not discuss "particulars", while effectively "educating" those around him, as he always has.
I do feel sorry for those board members and Dr. Hunderfund though: I can tell you this: George believes that for proper communication networking, all info and statements must be verifiable by the original source, or he will not consider the info. This can be quite aggravating, but the result is "accountability", and is well worth the patience and effort! George will not let you down. He often reflects fondly of his experiences at LVHS, and is eager to enhance this pride by getting students and the community more involved; more "invested" in what our incredible school has to offer. Thanks for your vote of confidence: It seems that people seem to be happier being miserable, than happy
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LVCSD appears to enjoy not only spreading nasty rumors, but re-writing history to suit its own Progressive bias. More from the IB History of the Americas Review Book:
http://truthaboutib.com/breakingnewsopinions.html
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I find it despicable that a board member's mommy needs to defend him. What has this district come to?
Mommy go home. No wonder George thinks he is the so terrific. Will you yell at the superintendent if she disagrees with him. Oh, oh here comes mommy, daddy must be right behind.I would recommend you help him find a real job.
The district now has voted a board member who needs mommy's HELP.
You have quite an inflated idea of your son's capabilities. Like when you and Greg told everybody he was going into pre med to be a doctor. Students who went to school with him, knew him as an average student who did not have near the capability to go to med school.
The idea that you feel sorry for the administration and the board because super George has arrived is revolting. It is no wonder you hang out in this cesspool with Lisa and her merry band of three followers.
By the way Cleary told me directly and others as well that he asked George to run, so you should talk with him and get your story straight.
Well now we have George, mommy, daddy and Lisa on the board. God, help us!!!
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Why do you chastise? You know NOTHING!!! I asked George to run,(and guess what! There were witnesses when IIIII asked him; can you say the same about your "Tim" rumors?) AND I've asked Tim about his "supposed statement" and he DENIES IT ALL. YOU ARE A LIAR!!!
George does not need his "mommy" to defend him from jackasses like yourself, who spread lies: Just wait: Eventually he'll set the record straight.
YOU ARE REVOLTING: These people were voted-in BY AN INFORMED PUBLIC, they were not deceived about ANYTHING, and they made their choice. Too bad that you don't like it- LIVE WITH IT!
Also, if you're going to act like you know us so well, then why are you wrong about so much? George changed majors to pursue his love of American History: It had NOTHING to do with "Not being able to make the grade".
AND, HOW ABOUT YOU; YOU ANONYMOUS COWARD? I signed-on so as NOT TO BE ONE OF THE OTHER ANONYMOUS COWARDS ON THE BLOG; to ADDRESS ALL OF THE LIES that are so harmful to the DISTRICT itself.
YOU ARE A LIAR AND A COWARD!
PS- I have NEVER even met Lisa, so what are you talking about? YOU WILL NOT BULLY THE TRUTH FROM BEING AT THE FOREFRONT: Your lies will be exposed, but then you have the "protection" and luxury of your anonymity, so you won't have to suffer the public humiliation when you are SHOWN to be wrong. Jealous? Why didn't YOU RUN, IF YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SMART?!
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And may I close with this: THERE IS ABSOLUTELE NOTHING AVERAGE ABOUT GEORGE.
ANYONE SPENDING MORE THAN 5 MINUTES WITH HIM KNOWS THIS TO BE TRUE, and knows that you are wrong.
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Making sure to not leave any stone unturned, if Tim IS insisting that he "put George up for the board", then I must call HIM a liar too. I am the ONLY person to have asked George to run, and it would be stupid for people to listen to "unfounded" and "nameless" statements to the contrary. I was even present when Tim found-out that George was running! THIS is what they must have been referring to as a "smear" campaign, because it couldn't be farther from the truth!
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Tis true. I have never met Mrs. Stimola in person, however I would be delighted to share a cup of tea with her one day and sigh about the nasty, ignorant and vindictive individuals who live in LVCSD and post anonymously in this "cesspool".
Mrs. S. - George is a great guy and you have every right to defend your son against vicious lies. I am thankful that one of our LVHS grads is willing to volunteer to give back to our community, especially in light of the extreme political divide in our country. But I wouldn't let these handful of hateful morons upset you. They are what they are. Truth always wins in the end.
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Thanks Lisa. I signed on, and I've said what I had to say...
It's unfortunate AND obvious that some of these anonymous bloggers can not recognize truth from fiction/fact from hearsay, and enjoy promoting that which they've been shown to be untrue, regardless: What a pity.
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I hope no one outside this district reads this blog. How humiliating,a board's members mommy protecting him and singing his praises. It doesn't get any more embarrassing than this.
I wonder if Syosset and Jericho's board members have their mommies protecting them.
This is the lowest of the low.
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HENRY,
You read the earlier posts, Lisa has given this blog link to Hilderbrand of Newsday, the chief education editor "so that Hilderbrand and keep up on local gossip".
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Please tell me I'm dreaming. George's mommy is on the blog telling us how wonderful he is?
My God, he is suppose to be a man representing us on the BOE. Will mommy sit at the board table with him.
No wonder he lives at home. I could cry, this is our school board!!
Can't he take care of himself? My 22 year old daughter would kill me if I did something like this, and George hides behind his mommy.
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I am disgusted by the posts here. I would be more ashamed of being a nasty, hate-filled individual than George's proud mom defending her son who has been slandered on this blog for weeks. You both should be ashamed for hiding behind the anonymity of the blog to take cheap shots at someone who has an interest in public service at such a young age. I don't even believe that either one of you could even possible be a parent or if you are, heaven help your poor children. You are the embarrassment to our community and school district, certainly not George or his mother.
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George must be humiliated. I'm humiliated and I am just a community member.
Hey mommy, let your boy grow up. You are embarrassing our entire community.
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Hey Robert,
Speak for yourself, not the "entire community". You certainly don't speak for me.
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I agree with Anon, the posts here by anonymous people is such an embarrassment to the community. I am sure George also reads the blog and I commend him for not writing on here addressing some of the crazy comments being made. I am a mother and if people were writing such horrible things about my kids you bet I would stand up for them, regardless if they were 5, 25 or 55! Thats nothing for anyone to be ashamed or embarrassed about. The people who should really be ashamed are those of you who hide behind fictitious names and spew such hatred towards a young man volunteering for his community and his mother who is proud of him for doing so! Shame on you!
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I am an LV resident and Jericho teacher. Mrs. Stimola, you need not worry about Dr. Hundeffund. She is quite capable of taking care herself.
However, who do you think you are threatening the superintendent of the school and the school board. What nerve!
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Well the gang is all here.
George, mommy, daddy and nanny (Lisa).
George's mommy needed to get involved because Tim did or did not ask George to run? Give me a break! I
What will you do mommy when George gets a job and his review isn't as fine as you believe it should be? Will you call his manager and tell him how wonderful and smart he is?
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heavens to betsy dont make me turn this bridge around!
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'George, mommy, daddy and nanny (Lisa). '
Wow! What an entourage. Board meetings will be very well attended.
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What have we always been told important to make a school district successful? PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT! See, now we get it at all levels from Kindergarten to boe. Just be careful what you wish for.
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I hope Mr. H from Newsday if he is reading the blog as Nanny suggested he do will not write an article. It would be an embarrassment to the entire community. Imagine the headline:
"Board member and his Mommy threaten Superintendent"
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This is beyond ridiculous....why don't you all stand in the street and throw rocks at each other.
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Let's discuss something else.....what about the new Chowder House? What happened to 18 Bay?
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This occurrence is so upsetting. I doubt the teachers union knew in advance the quality of candidates it endorsed. It was just so determined to get more union friendly board members who might give in to there salary demands.
Other districts have doctors,lawyers,professors and business leaders....pillars of the community on their boards. We now have on our board a young man who hasn't yet found a job, no less a career and whose mother feel she still needs to protect him..
This would't happen in a community that cared about education and paid attention to the academic standing and business health of it's school district..
A board member's mother posting to tell us how wonderful her son is would not be appropriate if it were a student board no less the Board of Education.
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Oops, I should have written "their" not " there" and "its" not it's. Sorry, I'm still waking up and getting ready for work.
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Clair,
You are so right. Look at Oyster Bay board or North Short board. Nothing close to our new board. One year, my daughter ran for student board position and there was the "usually" stuff. Even then, I did not come out to protect her because that is part of growing up.
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Anon,
You wrote, I, ASKED HIM TO HIS FACE! Mr. Colleary, if you follow the blog, PLEASE WEIGH-IN.
I am still waiting for Tim to weight in.
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Anon,
Mr. Colleary's phone number is public information. Why don't you guys just call him yourselves to find out what he claims once and for all?
http://www.csealocal865.org/contact/contact.htm
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Claire,
Let me remind you once again that the Teacher's Union also "endorsed" Randy Carr. I sincerely doubt the 1,100+ taxpayers who voted for George Stimola are all card carrying union members. I can assure you the 3 votes from my family were all non-union.
Better to have a fine young man like George on the Board than a divorced 40 something union member who got kicked out of The Gym in LV for hitting on girls younger than George.
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Well said Clair, half asleep or not.
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Lisa,
Let me remind you that Randy Carr turned the union DOWN for their support. He was given union paid campaign signage but he refused to use them. See what he got!
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The embarrassment stems from a mother who lacks the confidence in her child to let him grow up and fight his own battles and a son who allows his mother to do so. if he isn't capable of facing distractors now is he capable of functioning as a member of the BOE ? As much as any position in public service, board members are constantly criticized. Will George's mother feel the need to fight his battles and distractors when the denouncements and vilifications are in earnest.
It has nothing to do with a union endorsement or a comparison with others. It has to do with actions which , at best, are unusual.
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Bill,
Don't worry about George and his mom. George will always have his Nanny to run to. She just posted this morning. Didn't you see it?
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"This is beyond ridiculous....why don't you all stand in the street and throw rocks at each other."
LOL! That's great. You win the Quote of the Day!
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Sorry, these cowards wouldn't come out in the street to show their faces...
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An excellent editorial that explains why neither teacher or school boards are the culprits.
Under the current financial structure boards of education are disempowered and teachers compensation will be static. Teachers want some increases but BOEs have no money to provide the increases, and Cuomo has now said local communities can no longer decide their fate by a majority vote-- a democratic principle going back centuries.
http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Tax-cap-makes-a-mockery-of-majority-rule-1420473.php
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Anon,
Not a clue what you are talking about. At MTC night, George said he will straighten out Albany for us. Let's see.
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Anon,
Did you read the link? Do you still not get it?
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Look up how much money teachers make.
http://longisland.newsday.com/templates/simpleDB/?pid=164
Vote NO on the 21st re-vote.
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not bad for a nine months job (source: see through new york)
Palmer, Elaine M $132,754
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I got a kick out of this video from the Heritage Foundation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7vpeY772xY&NR=1
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More nine months (not including benefit)
Aragonesi, Joseph $128,924
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go to see through new york, you will see for yourself that well over 100 teachers in our schoool district is making over $100,00 a year for a nine months job (not including benefits), plus the 3.1% increase on top of that. They find that not enough and deserve more.
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Whether the budget is voted up or down the teachers will get the 3.1% raise. it is the law! They will make the same. IF the budget is defeated the only things cut are the programs.
So if you want to vote the budget down fine but it will not effect teacher pay.
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And the more programs theperson staff needed to head those programs. VOTE NO on the 21st re-vote.
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Yes, additional teachers and staff can and probably will be cut but by law the salaries and benefits for those remaining can not be cut.
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I am a high school parent. I had enough with our teachers. They wear shirts and buttons at the school concert, they stay outside the building till the bell rings. They were not at the HS fashion show, refuse to chaperone the prom this year (even when it is extra $100 pay), heard about their not coming to HS graduation too.
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Yes, I had enough with the teachers as well, although I think most of it is a very militaristic union. I mean they have a guaranteed 3.1% increase but still want more.
However, they get this increase(3.1%) even if the budget goes down. If the budget goes down teachers and especially aids will be let go and that, in my opinion, is not a good thing.
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Unfortunately, teachers compensation will NOT be effected if the budget fails. Step increases and benefits are part of the state mandate.
The way the system works is that young teachers and support staff will be let go.
Vote the budget down if you feel it is the right thing to do but it will not effect the teachers who are demonstrating.
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All one has to do is to go on Newsday. The 3.1% increase may be "guaranteed" but almost every school district on Long Island gives concessions except ours. Sorry, why we are always the ones that have to give?
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Dear Born in Bayville,
18 Bay is alive and well doing business in Shelter Island.
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i swear one more bad word about my daughter and the voodoo dolls i have of you malcontents are going right in the microwave!
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Here is what happened to the voodoo dolls
http://img.youtube.com/vi/ELeQyS9AOUY/0.jpg
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STOP TEACHERS UNION IN THEIR TRACKS
Locust Valley Teachers Union to use NYSUT phone bank to promote budget vote, same phone bank backing Murphy, Segura, and Stimola:
http://leadernet.aft.org/formmaker/take/survey.cfm?id=0001470d-c360-26c5-bde6-13e5fd2dd586
Willingness to Serve - Phone Bank Volunteers for Budget Vote
The NYSUT Woodbury Office has given the LVSEA use of 8 phone lines at its Phone Bank on Monday, June 20th between the hours of 3:30pm and 7:00pm.
Phone Bank volunteers will call NYSUT/AFL-CIO members who live within the Locust Valley CSD and urge them to support the budget RE-VOTE on Tuesday, June 21st.
In the past, the LVSEA has had enough volunteers to complete all phone calls by 6:30pm. A light dinner will be provided for all phone bank volunteers.
If you would like to volunteer for an hour or two, please fill out the information required below and submit this form by Tuesday, June 14th.
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that wasn't really george's grandmother! knock it off mom, you are embarrassing me and giving voodoo a bad name!
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I drove over the bridge yesterday. It was very pretty. I saw the Bridge Mechanic's boat moored in the Creek.
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Hey! Did anybody see the full page ad in the Leader to vote NO on June 21st? Now I have to say, if someone's school taxes alone are $36,000+, it may not be a mansion, but that house is either waterfront or on acreage. Kudos to whoever spent over $500 to place that ad.
See? My house is a bargain with taxes under $9,000 and over half an acre! I think I'll run an Open House next week.
There's an interesting LTE from someone who wanted to obtain an absentee ballot, too.
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Lisa,
That $36,000 tax house, does it have a nanny's quarter?
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At last night's boe public meeting, only George Stimola showed up along with Daddy and Mommy, Nanny did not show up. Murphy and Segura were nowhere to be seen.
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OK, we get it. IB is bad, Swiss bastards. Vote it and the budget revote down. We are the only district paying for AP and IB exams. Benstock is an ex-lying-lawyer and potential predator, Lisa needs to sell her house. The new BOE was not properly welcomed, but was endorsed by the teachers union, George's mom is proud of her son, rightfully so. The bridge does, thankfully, go up, and down. WHAT ABOUT THE TAXES? WHAT ABOUT THE STATE OF DISGRACE THAT OUR VILLAGE HAS FALLEN INTO? WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR OUR TAX DOLLARS?
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Even without a new contract yet, LV teachers union considers this is a banner year of success. They think what they want is within reach. They are having another celerbration party today at the Glen Cove City Golf Course from 3:00 to 7:00. Wonder what time the teachers have to leave work to be there by 3:00.
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Anon,
I would guess 2:45 would get them there on time.
Hey, I just found out in addition to us paying for Richard Shear's pension, he's earning $800 A DAY as a substitute Principal down in Island Park.
$800 A DAY!
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Lisa,
2:45? Guess they can take the back roads through Lattingtown.
substitute Principal? Wasn't he an ass sup before?
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Anon,
Yeah, he was the HS Principal, then Asst. Supt and he thought he made a deal with the Board to become Supt. to replace interim Supt. Dick Hirts and when he lost the job to Hunderfund he "retired" in a hissy fit. The MS Principal in Island Park has lung cancer, poor dear, so they've had tricky Dicky in there as they seek to changeover to IB.
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Lisa,
"he thought he made a deal with the Board to become Supt. to replace interim Supt. Dick Hurts"
Really? Where you got that idea from?
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Lisa,
How come you only know about this after eight months?
http://www.ips.k12.ny.us/www/islandpark_school/site/hosting/loms_sch/interim_principal.pdf
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Anon,
I don't make it my business to "track" IB zealots, especially once one has supposedly "retired", but I was alerted to the big push to implement IB in IP by concerned parents and taxpayers about two months ago, and that's when I learned he was working as an interim there.
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Shear's good buddy, David Weiss, former IB Coordinator at SouthSide and VP at Commack (I
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Lisa,
Did you get the glossy postcard in the mail from PTA about Vote YES on Tuesday?
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Anon,
Nope. I did not. Did you get your notice from the Village of Bayville about the Trustee election on Tuesday? Isn't it stupid that you have to go to two separate polling locations? Couldn't the district and the Village have coordinated the voting all at the school for Bayville residents? So much for working together for the community!
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As a new comer to this blog, I am amazed at the amount of time spent on the discussions of the programs in the LVSD. Does Lisa have any other children presently in the school district? If not, then why does she care so much?
My children have graduated, and quite frankly, I have many more interests in my life than to debate about programs which do not concern my life. Does not this Lisa work and have hobbies? Maybe she needs to get a new day job. Whew! This blog is tiresome. Let's see how the new members of the board treat us taxpayers. Why should we pay for Driver's ED? Do the other districts still pay for that? And the greedy teachers who are asking for more than their alloted pay increases disgust me. Many people work for companies that do not even give cost of living raises and have not done so in 20 years. Shame on these greedy teachers who think that it is okay to raise our taxes to support their demand for raises. They do receive pay raises in their steps and lanes. And lastly, people like to complain heavily, but do you attend the BOE meetings to discover for yourself the truth? My understanding is that the meetings are poorly attended as are the Village board meetings. My! Don't we love to complain and listen to the words of those who want us to think that they are all knowing(he/she who would not be named).
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Lilgae,
how refreshing! maybe we should do what islip is doing, raise taxes by 9%, give teachers what they "deserve" (see their site), and layoff 9% of the young ones to balance the budget. in trying to find a drivers ed program for my son, i found out that all other school district make their students pay for it.
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Heard what happened in Malverne about the valedictorian? It happened here too a couple of years ago. The mother is a teacher in the district and she made guidance to recalculate the grades so her daughter became the salutatorian.
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Yes, The LV board was the only district on LI that did not give teachers and administrators raises for the coming year. The teacher's union is furious and campaigned against them.
So how do we reward the BOE members for their conservative fiscal policies, we vote them out. The teacher's union is ecstatic.
We, as community members need to be better informed.
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That $36,000 tax house ad in The Leader is bogus. It was created by the publisher, Lally. Backed by private school advocates (look at the ads) Lally will go to any length to diminish OB and LV school districts.
We need a real community newspaper.
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Lilgae,
Gee, not too judgmental, are you (whomever you are)?
Getting the truth out about IB is my hobby. I kinda enjoy standing up for the U.S. Constitution, limited government and American sovereignty. Our country is going to hell in a handbasket because of small-minded individuals like yourself who think that unless one is directly benefiting at any given moment from a public "entitlement", they should just shut up and pay whatever the "entitled" demand. It's really none of your damn business how I spend my hours or earn money. Who are you to tell me what I should or shouldn't be doing with my time, as long as my taxes are paid and I am a law-abiding citizen. You're bored? Click on a different page. This blog is nothing but SPAM for 6 months at a time until I bother to post.
Why should we pay for Driver's Ed? I don't think we should!
Why should we pay for expensive non-mandatory exams when no other LI district does?
Why aren't the LVCSD teachers grateful to accept the contracts being offered them?
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Anon,
I would love to see some real proof that Lally self-published that ad. Got some? Maybe I'll give Sally a call and see what I can find out.
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Lisa,
Please give Sally a call. Also ask her if Lally withholds letters to the editors that disagree with his position. Of course, valuing her job I wonder if Sally can be forthright. Perhaps she can, if the information isn't made public.
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Anon,
Sally said the Vote No ad was placed by a resident of Matinecock. As to the LTE's, that would be up to Ms. Colgate who I can assure you does not publish all of the LTE's submitted.
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Oh yeah. Sally also said that someone went around and bought out all of the newsstand copies of the Leader. She thought it was the PTA. I told her it was probably Jack Dolce just keeping up an LVCSD tradition ... LOL! I wonder if the Board uses your "petty cash" for its attempt to censor/silence local opinion.
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The real question is why should taxpayers pay outrageous tuition to BOCES so your daughter can benefit in her chosen field. The individual family should pay.
Yet, after receiving this extraordinary generosity you begrudge poor families the opportunity to have their children advance. Unlike you, a person of means, many poor families can not afford to have their children take multiple AP or IB exams.
To save taxpayer dollars I would rather have the district eliminate costly payments for a single student, like your daughter (receiving, $10k, including transportation it might be more) than eliminate the opportunity for hundreds of students to take advanced classes.
By the way, just curious, but I assume your paid for your daughter's drivers education or she didn't take it. I'm sure you wouldn't take advantage of the program and then look to deny others the opportunity.
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Lisa,
Please shut Bill up and tell him you paid for your daughter's drivers ed.
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Bill,
Please stop being a moron. Oh wait. You can't. Never mind. Let me amend that -
Please keep spewing your ignorant venom. I encourage free speech. I love when LVCSD IBelievers seek to personally vilify MY children for participating in a program which THIRTY-SEVEN (37) other LI school districts also offer to their students. In other states, this sort of set up is called a "magnet" school. Look it up.
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Anon,
Sure, I paid for it in my increased school taxes because the sheeple kept voting yes year after year on the budget!
Btw, my daughter drove herself to Syosset in her senior year.
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LVCSD owns two new Drivers Ed cars. Anyone knows how much they cost us? Any other school owns Drivers Ed cars? Did they auction off the old ones? I'd like to have a chace to bid on them.
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So you took advantage of drivers ed and now you want to end it for other children. typical of your selfishness.
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The voters of this district have voted for drivers ed for over 20 years, in part to support a safer community. Now, that Lisa's avoided the $500 charge for her daughter to take the class, she doesn't want other members of the community to have the same opportunity. I didn't hear her complain about drivers ed years ago.
Lisa so your child didn't pay for drivers ed but you want me to pay for my child. How neighborly!
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Bill,
I paid for my daughter's AP exams. I also voted against the budget religiously (which automatically was a NO to Drivers Ed until this recent "adjustment") and would have been more than willing to pay privately for driver's ed if doing so would have kept a lid on these out of control, over the top property taxes.
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Your daughter drove herself to Syosset her senior year because she took drivers ed, the course you no longer want the district to offer.
It's all about you Lisa, all about you!!!
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Lisa,
Here is what I see from you,
IB NO
BOCES YES
Drivers ED NO
How about musical? Yes or No?
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Richard,
As I said, I would have happily paid for my daughter to take driving lessons privately. If you can't afford to pay for driving lessons for your child, then you can't afford to legally maintain a car in NYS. How about a little personal responsibility instead of always asking the taxpayers to be your Nanny?
WHERE is the Driver's Ed line in the "new" budget?
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Agenda/budget.pdf
I can find Summer Rec. I can find Continuing Ed. Where is the Driver's Ed?
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If 37 districts pay for the BOCES "Performing Arts" type classes does that mean all the rest of the districts on LI don't? if so, that's over a 100 that don't.
Seems this district treats its students well, and that is a good thing.
Why would we pay outrageous sums for an individual to take a performing arts course and not pay the test fee for children of poor families to take AP or IB exams.
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Anon,
Musical/Drama YES - but we don't need to hire the director and choreographer from BOCES (sorry Abby) or RENT backdrops and professional musicians! LVHS also needs to change its "policy" about not allowing understudies for the leading roles!
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There is no longer a need for Drivers Ed. Lisa's availed her daughter to the program and now that she no longer needs it the heck with all the other families who paid their taxes so she could take the class.
SELFISH, SELFISH. ME, ME ME
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Anon,
Let's see, do you really expect kids from Montauk or Riverhead to commute to Syosset everyday for school? How about from Great Neck? Give me a break, there is no logic in your argument.
You want to set up ONE central IB HS and make that a choice for students in participating districts? I'm not thrilled with ANY U.S. taxdollars going towards IB, but it would certainly minimize the percentage that LVCSD taxpayers have to put towards IB.
Yeah, those poor families whose kids are driving the Lexus to school who have to pay for their IB exams. Stop it. For the truly needy families, there is always the Big Guy Foundation which will generously pick up the tab. The College Board also will adjust its rate based on need for its fees. IB, not so much and IB won't waive the $141 student registration fee.
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Lisa says,
I paid for my daughter's AP tests,so others should as well.
I didn't pay for Drivers Ed, but I want others to pay.
Richard is right, it's all about you!!
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How brilliant was it of the LVCSD clowns to allegedly include Drivers Ed in the re-vote? Way to really rile up your local monkeys, LVCSD. Uh oh, they're starting to throw their poo around!
How much money are we talking about? Hmmmm?
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Why should we pay the outrageous fees to BOCES for anything other than programs for special needs children?
Let the parents like Lisa pay for them. I mean more than 100 other districts don't pay for them.
This is where the real money is, not in test fees.
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It is more than outrageous that Lisa took advantage of Drivers Ed and didn't pay for it and now wants parents to pay for it.
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Phil,
I'm sorry, do you have a reading problem? I said I voted NO on the budgets in the past, which, if the budget was voted down, I was also voting NO on drivers ed. Of course you probably aren't aware that there are always a couple of hundred voters each year who vote NO on the budget and YES to drivers ed because they are two stupid to realize that in the past, the two were connected. So follow along slowly now, if I voted NO, that meant I accepted the fact that there would be no driver's ed and I would have had to pay for it myself. I paid for private instrument lessons and instruction for NYSSMA for both of my kids, an area where many other districts work with their students and involve them in competitions which LVCSD does not do.
Does your kid play football Phil? Basketball? Softball? Tennis? Golf? What's more important to you Phil? Interscholastic activities? Or Driver's Ed? The economy stinks, Phil. Cuts have to be made.
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Anon,
What makes you think there weren't any special needs children at the Syosset BOCES program? Do they have SE stamped on their foreheads?
JUNE 21 - STOP THE MADNESS AND STUPIDITY!
VOTE NO!
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correction - that should have been "TOO stupid" ...
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Lisa,
I guess it just makes you feel good to name call.
Please, I don't believe for a minute, and I don't think anyone else of sound mind, believes you voted the budget down when your daughter was going through school regardless of what you say now and what you said then.
Yes, you want to cut programs after you benefited financially. Of course TO SHOW YOUR GOOD WILL you can volunteer to pay back the the money the district (taxpayers) paid for your daughter's Drivers Ed program if the program is now cut. Fair is fair.
However, all this is really nonsense, the money is in compensation. Until NYS ELIMINATES the Triborough amendment which guarantees public employees raises even without a contract, and laws requiring school districts to pay an 8% return on pensions even when the markets collapse we are destined to financial ruin.
It is why Levitown just announced they are laying off over 100 employees. Why? They must pay step and lane increases as well as pension and health care increases. There is no money.
I know, you hate the BOE but unlike other districts they did not give in to the union demands. Problem is most of the expenses are controlled and mandated by the state. Wisconsin is a conservative state compared with NY.
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Lisa,
'WHERE is the Driver's Ed line in the "new" budget?
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Agenda/budget.pdf
I can find Summer Rec. I can find Continuing Ed. Where is the Driver's Ed?'
We are a democratic nation so one can criticize whatever you want. Oh, but do you mind learning to read budget before criticizing it? In the link you posted, there are the Expenses section and the Revenues section. I will be happy to explain to you what they mean. Expenses are money you spend and Revenues are money you receive. Are you with me so far? In the Expenses section, everything is aggregated, there is no line item for Drivers Ed, Summer Rec, or Continuing Education. In the Revenues section, there are line lisings for Summer Rec and Continuing Education because participants do pay. Since students do NOT pay for Drivers Ed, there is nothing under that title in the Revenues section. I do agree with you that one should pay to take Drivers Ed. When that happens, you should then see Drivers Ed in the Revenues section as well.
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Anon,
Sorry. Your "definition" regarding students paying as the reason summer rec and cont. ed are listed TWICE in the budget as "programs" doesn't fly. According to the revised budget, summer rec $55,500, and continuing ed, $48,000, are self-sustaining. They are listed both as revenue AND expenditures.
WHERE IS THE COST OF THE DRIVER'S ED PROGRAM?
In 09-10, it was $79,300: http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Agenda/May_2009_(2).pdf
$80,000.
Guess the Board should have eliminated the $100,000 for IB/AP exam fees, eh?
I DID just receive this fearmongering junk in my mailbox:
"the Board believes a contingency budget can have serious negative impact on a school district in terms of credit rating, leadership stability and outside perceptions of the district which are critical to property values."
And that's why many of us believe the 3 incumbents from the Board were voted OUT!
Say NO to fearmongering! Our property values are being affected because the school taxes are TOO DAMN HIGH!
Say NO to runaway spending!
Vote NO on June 21st!
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How come we don't have a Jr. ROTC at LVHS?
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'WHERE IS THE COST OF THE DRIVER'S ED PROGRAM?'
When it was a separate proposition the first time, I remember it was something like $110,000. Have no idea why it is up so much.
"the Board believes a contingency budget can have serious negative impact on a school district in terms of credit rating, leadership stability and outside perceptions of the district which are critical to property values."
I remember having heard the board president said something like that at the public meeting.
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Lisa,
The 2010-2011 Driver's Ed budget was $83,200.
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/News/Story.aspx?id=853
I cannot find what it was in the separate proposition either but it is definitely over $100,000. Does anyone remember?
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Anon,
That's a fair question, don't you think? Why is Driver's Ed up over 30% in 2 yrs? Enrollment is down.
More book cooking, I tell you.
And the Board President can fearmonger all he wants - it doesn't make the statement true. School taxes are TOO DAMN HIGH - making home ownership unfeasible when over $800 a month has to be spent on just the taxes on a VERY modest home in LVCSD.
Interestingly, if one refers to the 11-12 budget "brochure" - it states the cost of Drivers Ed to a parent would be $542 if the budget is defeated. Yet if we divide $110,000 by 150 students, we get $733. How does that make any sense?
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Just to clarify, all administrators are getting raises. They actually handed out all of the salaries at the mtg. where the adopted the new budget. And funny enough, with all perks and bonuses Hunderfund's salary is over $300,000. So, all together she and her husband are being paid close to $900,000 of the taxpayers money. She should have taken a pay cut.
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Lisa,
Good questions as always. Why don't you ask them to find out the answers and let us know before the budget revolt?
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/our_schools/driver_education_HS
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'she and her husband...'
That is the most absurd posting I ever seen. When you apply for a job, did anyone ever ask you what your husband or your wife makes so your salary will be determined accordingly? My wife does not work, will that get me more pay b/c I am the only breadwinner? Dr. Hunderfund takes on three jobs without asking for a penny more.
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Isn't it interesting how the 2011-12 Drivers Ed Proposition dollar amount has mysteriously vanished from the web and now an unknown dollar amount is magically incorporated into the "new and improved" budget? Shirley someone would have been able to "best" my Google skills by now ....
Wait, I know. I was able to get it wiped from the web so I could start a conspiracy theory about how MISLEADING and NON-TRANSPARENT LVCSD is when it comes to the budget because my kids took driver's ed and I'm so selfish that I just need to try and make the district look bad ..... LOL!
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Anon,
"Good questions as always. Why don't you ask them to find out the answers and let us know before the budget revolt?"
Nope. The district should have included drivers ed as a line item in the revised budget. I am sick and tired of their game playing. Enough games. Enough BS.
VOTE NO!
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Hunderfund hasn't taken a raise in the three years she has been here. No other superintendent on LI has done the same. What her husband earns has nothing to do with the value she provides the district and the salary the district pays her.
Any administrative raise is built into steps and lanes , which is state mandated. The BOE refused all pay increases for all employees.
The budget layout is dictated by the state. How silly to say the district is hiding the expense. Any deviation from accounting standards on the budget proposal would be cited by the auditors
The fact is Lisa was happy to benefit financially from the Drivers Ed program when it was available for her daughter. Now she doesn't want other families, who through their taxes, paid for her daughter's class to get the same benefit.
SELFISH SELFISH SELFISH ME ME ME
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Anon,
A lot of things used to be free. You can take bags on the plane and that used to be free. You get lunch on the flight that used to be free. When time is tough, one needs to look at everyghing again and not perpetuate the entitlement mentality - whatever used to be free should always be free.
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Newsday reports:
Locust Valley, for example, was the scene of a bruising school-board race in which three candidates backed by local teachers beat three incumbents. Among the losers was Ron Walsh, an outspoken Nassau police lieutenant who also sits on the regional school-board association's executive committee.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/school-budget-revotes-in-4-districts-1.2967334
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Teacher union phone bank - 3,000 calls in one night:
http://www.nysut.org/cps/rde/xchg/nysut/hs.xsl/newyorkteacher_021106nyt_9.htm
http://teacherweb.sewanhaka.k12.ny.us/~eroesler/FAV1-0000D2D5/I00D37E9D
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Anon,
You are so full of crap. Where do you get this nonsense about " Any deviation from accounting standards on the budget proposal would be cited by the auditors"? Is there an audit currently being conducted? Drivers Ed went from being a separate proposition to being incorporated into the budget, yet it is not shown. LVCSD has gone to great lengths to obfuscate where its "slush fund" is hidden in the budget.
Anyone who knows me knows I have consistently voted NO on the budget since the late 1990's because of what I have felt was wasteful spending. SO WHAT if my kids took drivers ed in 2000 and 2006? I was ready and willing to privately pay for drivers ed if it would have helped keep school taxes lower.
You are so selfish all you care about is not having to lay out $500 one year while raising everybody else's taxes hundreds of dollars year after year. Stop making this about ME and discuss the lack of transparency in LVCSD.
I could be wrong, but I was pretty sure Hunderfund was hired at $250,000 (+70 vacation days) and was given a raise to $285,208 plus benefits. You are correct in that it shouldn't matter what someone's spouse is making, except in the Hunderfunds' case, we have an example of a "power couple" earning almost $1M a year on the public dole. This is outrageous. Hunderfund oversees less than 2300 students. By contrast: Supt. Hatrick, who leads a school system of 57,400 students and 8,000 employees, received a 2007-08 salary of $226,564; no bonus; $15,000 in deferred compensation; $19,541 in insurance; $27,520 in expenses; $10,529 for a vehicle; and $42,377 in pension, for a total compensation package of $341,531.
http://www.loudouni.com/education/2009-06-17/supt-hatrick%E2%80%99s-salary-232680-unchanged-2008-09
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/education&id=7778676
You chuckleheads want to opine about educating for a "global economy" yet you refuse to look at the gross overcompensation and TAXATION being levied to support that gross overcompensation here in NY compared with another east coast state in our own country! What is your major malfunction?
Overseeing 2,300 vs. 57,000 students. Gee, which job is tougher? We need a MAJOR correction of public administrative salaries in NY. And while it is rare I agree with a Democrat, Cuomo had it right with his recommendation to cap Supt. salaries at $179,000 - something the 3 incumbents opposed and something the 3 newly elected Board members supported, if I recall correctly.
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From today's Newsday. Note the tax rate in LV and OB are among the cheapest in the county.
What this means is a resident in a $500k house in LV/Bayville pays LESS in taxes than a $500k house in most other parts of Nassau County, say Port Washington or Merrick.
This is a fact.
"The two neighboring school districts encompass some of the priciest real estate on Long Island's North Shore, home to rich-and-famous figures including entertainer Jennifer Lopez and Islanders owner Charles Wang.
Tax rates here are among the lowest in Nassau County.
Yet, Locust Valley and Oyster Bay-East Norwich are among just four districts out of 124 on the Island that are holding revotes on revised budgets Tuesday. Residents in both districts voted "no" on original proposed school budgets by narrow margins on May 17."
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Anon,
LV and OB-EN are probably two of the TINIEST school districts on Long Island. There are a few more homes on the market in the 500K range now since the housing bubble burst, but you can't get a really NICE house for $500K. How much lower would our tax rate be if OB-EN and LVCSD combined and eliminated all of the administrative duplication in the Central offices?
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Lisa,
Stop the nonsense. No one of sound mind believes you voted against the budget when your children were going to the school, and we only have your word you did not and that is worth absolutely nothing.
Second, Hunderfund has not received an increase, since she arrived here, and although the school is ranked eight in the district twenty superintendents make as much or more.
Next Drivers Ed at approximately $100k is 1/7 of 1% of the budget.That is about $1.50 per taxpayer.
You were only too happy to have Drivers ED FOR YOUR CHILDREN AND NOW YOU WANT POOR FAMILIES IN THE DISTRICT PAY FOR IT.
SELFISH, SELFISH, SELFISH, ME, ME, ME
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List,
Speaking of 'full of crap'.
Your crap #1
'Hunderfund was hired at $250,000 (+70 vacation days) and was given a raise to $285,208 plus benefits'
$250,000 has been her base salary and is still her base salary. Her gross has been $285,000 plus... since day one and is still the same.
Your crap #2
'except in the Hunderfunds' case, we have an example of a "power couple" earning almost $1M a year on the public dole'
You are talking with forked tongues. You said on the one hand it shouldn't matter while on the other 'except'. I will call it sex discrimination to say a wife is making too much because the husband is getting paid legal pension plus a job.
Your crap #3
'By contrast: Supt. Hatrick, who leads a school system of 57,400 students and 8,000 employees, received a 2007-08 salary of $226,564; no bonus; $15,000 in deferred compensation; $19,541 in insurance; $27,520 in expenses; $10,529 for a vehicle; and $42,377 in pension, for a total compensation package of $341,531.'
You are not even compare apples with orages. Don't know what you compare with. The two schools are in two totally different geographic areas. Even in upsate New York, the pay scale is about half what is here (so are the property values). Why don't you compare with Oyster Bay, Jericho, or Syosset for that matter?
Your crap #4
'I agree with a Democrat, Cuomo had it right with his recommendation to cap Supt. salaries at $179,000 - something the 3 incumbents opposed and something the 3 newly elected Board members supported, if I recall correctly.'
You are wrong. Segura refused to support the Supt cap at MTC night.
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Out tax rate is among the lowest in the county and the Leader and Lisa would have us believe just the opposite.
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Lisa,
Anon nailed you right on. Stop lying.
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Anon,
And clearly, you are not of "sound mind".
Why don't you ask Lauren Straub what my position on budgets was when my kids were in school? How about Jeanne Zaino and Patti Craft, the budget Queens? They talked enough smack about me over those years because I didn't wave their pro-increase budget pom poms.
You can call me a lot of things, but I'm not a hypocrite or a liar.
You are free to disagree with me on issues all you want. Base your arguments on FACTS, not personal attacks. You are NOT free to call me a liar and slander my "word".
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Lisa,
'How much lower would our tax rate be if OB-EN and LVCSD combined and eliminated all of the administrative duplication in the Central offices?'
Since you read up on everything that can be googled, I am sure you read the Newsday article:
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/education/outstanding-bonds-for-li-school-districts-1.2874480
You can see for yourself that LV is more financially sound compared to OBEN based on the amount of money owed. OBEN owes almost $8 million more in bond than LV. Why do we want to merge with them? So we can automatically owe million dolalrs more of unpaid debt?
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It is impossible to compare school districts according to size. Even though a district has 2300 students, building and ground maintenance are the same i.e. utilities, etc.. The number of mandated personnel are the same i.e. nurses, psychologists, etc. We have 4 elementary building! When it comes to the taxes received, how many businesses and shopping malls do we have that we can collect taxes from? North Shore even has LIPA. We have IGA and delis, a few boutiques, a marina and oyster farm to help our burden.
I've said it before. The problem lies in Albany. I wish Long Island could secede.
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Lisa,
'You can call me a lot of things, but I'm not a hypocrite or a liar.'
I vividly remember that at one of the many MTC nights when you were running (lost counts how many times), everyone was asked 'do you support the budget' and you, like all other candidates, said 'YES, I DO'. Either you were lying about suppporting the budget, or you said you were supporting it but voted NO, or you were just confused behind the curtain and don't remember what you did.
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Anon,
$285,208 is > $250,000 by $35,208. That is BASE salary (gross). Newspapers don't report an individual's "net" salary as reported to the IRS. Don't give me this crap that Hunderfund hasn't received a raise. Those figures do NOT include benefits.
It appears you are incapable of thinking outside of your really tiny box when it comes to public salaries and the education of students. A child is a child, whether they are in NY or VA. Why should a public administrator in NY get paid the SAME as an administrator who handles a district 25x the size in VA? Why do you think school taxes are MORE AFFORDABLE in states where the administration is streamlined?
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Anon,
You shouldn't have had so many glasses of wine before attending those MTC nights. I "vividly" remember your glassy bloodshot eyes and alcohol on your breath.
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Hey Lisa......wasn't that your girlfriend with the glassy eyes?
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entertained,
You make a very good point about LIPA - the Glenwood Landing plant has for a long time benefited residents of the N. Shore district by making a major contribution towards the school taxes. Back to my point - LI districts need to COMBINE. If the tax base for an entire school district includes GH, SC, LV, OB, EN, the Brookvilles, etc., not only do you eliminate MANY millions in administrative costs, you also incorporate more commercial enterprises which helps reduce the rate for individual homeowners. I think an entire Nassau County school district is too drastic a change, but I certainly believe Nassau County could be split into five or six large districts.
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Lisa,
'A child is a child, whether they are in NY or VA.'
Go tell your new union backed board members and our teachers union that.
'Virginia teacher salaries also vary depending on what grade level you teach. At the elementary school level, teachers earn an average of $58,842, while middle school teachers earn $59,532.'
http://www.teacher-world.com/teacher-salary/virginia.html
MANY of our elementary teachers making MORE than DOUBLE that amount plus the New York State pension.
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Lisa,
Here you are wrong again. First, you suggested that we merge with OBEN. That will instantly make LV residents owing $8 million of unpaid debt. Then, you suggested that we merge with North Shore because of the LIPA money. Did you read the Newsday article the other day? They will lose $20 million a year in taxes, and you are wishing that on LV residents? I am glad you are not in charge of my tax dollars.
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/2-steam-power-plants-to-be-closed-1.2962223
Maybe we can consider merging with Jericho but then you will be against it because Jericho passes their budget by a high margin every year and your little tricks will not work there.
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Anon,
Hey, I'm all for taking on the teacher's union. But no one around here is willing to be bold. You think there aren't enough new teachers around here that would be willing to be hired at $58,000? Fire the whole damn district and hire new! Just like that brave Superintendent in Rhode Island did:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-02-24/us/rhode.island.teachers_1_teachers-union-troubled-school-reading-specialists?_s=PM:US
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Anon,
I've said before, I don't read Newsday. That is very interesting and relevant information. NS homeowners will be tremendously impacted. Of course, LIPA claims ratepayers will save $72M, so I suppose some of the building maintenance expenses will be offset in utility rates. Include Hicksville, Syosset, Jericho and you bring in a whole commercial base. I just can't understand why so many people are opposed to REDUCING THE SIZE OF GOVERNMENT when it comes to public education. All of you keep looking at individual district "problems" which are becoming big issues simply because each LI district is so heavy on the top and insulated.
One Superintendent instead of 10. One Asst. Superintendent instead of 10. Consolidation of Central offices. You've immediately created at least $25-40M in annual savings. Communities can still have "neighborhood" schools, but such a move would also avail children of greater school choice.
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Lisa,
'Fire the whole damn district and hire new! Just like that brave Superintendent in Rhode Island did'
Except that it cannot happen in New York as you surely knows. Maybe Long Island should suceed from New York and be part of Rhode Island just like Block Island. There are many fine schools in Rhode Island. Maybe our kids can even get "in state" tuition.
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The Board of Education would likewise, have to be reorganized. Depending on the ultimate size of the combined districts, you could have one Trustee elected from each of the former individual districts. Fairfax has an 11 member Board. I'm pretty sure they also earn $20,000 a year for their "service", a nominal amount which I would not be opposed to. Our politicians get paid, why shouldn't Board of Ed Trustees?
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Of course NYS law forbids the hiring of non union teachers, so stop the BS.
OUR BOE stood up to the union demands for more compensation, they were courageous and bold and you and others rewarded them by voting for union backed candidates.
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Lisa,
'Our politicians get paid, why shouldn't Board of Ed Trustees?'
Now your unemployed friend is elected to the board, you try to get him some dough? Based on what I know from my boe contact, she is not in it for the money. Besides it will be below minimum wage at best.
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Lisa,
I called my friend, she remembers that you answered that you 'support the budget' as a boe candidate. She also remembers your glossy eyes who bankrolled your campaign - at least it was not the union. The bottom line is that you are a hypocrite AND a liar.
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Anon,
No, I don't know. The RI Superintendent was dealing with a teacher's union. Can you cite a NYS law which prohibits such discretion?
Also, please cite the NYS law that states that a teacher in NYS public schools MUST belong to the teacher's union. We CAN change things. NY should be a RIGHT TO WORK state! RI is not a Right to Work State: http://www.nrtw.org/rtws.htm
I just think that giving elected officials such as Board Trustees SOME compensation, however meager, makes them more accountable and obligated to the public instead of using the position to put on their resume' and support their egos.
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So Anonymous called her fellow anonymous lush who vividly recalls me supporting the budget. Yeah, ok. That sure is credible.
"Bankrolled" my campaign? LOL! Did you EVER see signs plastered all over LVCSD when I ran? No. You did not. Then again, maybe YOU did. Hallucinating seems to be a common event for you. Those acid flashbacks are a real bitch, eh?
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Lisa,
'Hallucinating seems to be a common event for you.'
Who is hallucinating? You forgot your big printed ad in The Leader? What's your problem?
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Anonymous,
You mean the one that ran the same year the Leader endorsed me? Yeah, that must have slipped my mind because Jack Dolce bought out all of the newsstand copies so no one would see it.
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Lisa,
'You mean the one that ran the same year the Leader endorsed me? Yeah, that must have slipped my mind because Jack Dolce bought out all of the newsstand copies so no one would see it.'
I have no idea what you are talking about. I get mine delivered to my mailbox.
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I was told that LVSD has top credit ratings b/c of its sound financial mgt and quality of the boe. Does anyone know if Moody's pull the credit scores of boe members when they decide on the district bond rating?
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uh oh - what's triggering the "submitted for approval" box?
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Pay the BOE are you kidding??? The BOE is governing agency, just like all the other special districts. Start paying them and you'll end up paying for benefits and retirement too. Don't open a can of worms.
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Let's try again, for those with very limited and biased recollections. In 2005, I ran, garnered over 1200 votes and the budget was defeated the first time around. When it was put up for a second vote, the Board cut the IB line item from $100,000 to $65,000, and it passed. There is NO WAY I supported the budget in 2005. Use some common sense, will ya?
As to the mass purchase of the Leader off the newsstands by LVCSD goons, it's a fact. It happens to be a very stupid tactic, one which only benefits Mr. Lally whom the district seems to hate and juvenile besides.
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Lisa tracker:
Lisa does not want to pay for AP/IB exams but wants to pay her friends on Board of Education $20,000 a year each (that comes to $140,000 for the whole board).
Lisa does not want to pay for Driver's Education but O.K. to pay for her daughter's BOCES America has Talent show (whatever she claim the meager amount is).
Lisa never voted Yes for the budget since the late 90's but said she would supprt it at MTC so she hoped that she could get elected.
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Anon,
No. I'm not kidding. You elect Town Councilmen, Congressmen, Senators, Town Supervisors, etc. They are GOVERNMENT officials. Why should they be treated any differently than any other government official?
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Anonymous,
Ahhh, such problems stringing a train of ideas together. I would support the consolidation of 10 districts into one, in which case $180,000 or $220,000 (which would in legal terms be viewed as "consideration") is a pittance in what would then be a budget in the hundreds of millions. You could also tie attendance regulations to that small compensation. Seems to me we've had quite a few Board members (Russo and Madsen come to mind) who were absent more than they were present at the meetings. Since our current Trustees volunteer, they can blow off attending meetings claiming work, (paid employment) or personal concerns take precedence.
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Lisa,
'Why should they be treated any differently than any other government official?'
I got it now. Actually, it is a very smart idea. we can now attract more unemployed people to run for boe and lower the unemployment rate. Obama must like your idea.
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Lisa,
You are not good at $, just admit it. LV is not deeply in debt as the others. Why should we merge with other districts with lower credit rating and burden ourselves with other debt? Also, you are reducing the number of valedictorians for our district at no real money saving. You are really stupid.
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Anonymous,
How would consolidation of districts reduce the number of Valedictorians, Ms. "rocket scientist"? Did anyone suggest closing all of the existing HS's and building one Mega-HS? No. No one did. Good grief! In Fairfax County, do you think there is ONE Valedictorian for the entire county? Of course NOT! Each HS has its own and I think there are 125+ HSs in Fairfax.
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Okay, I've reached my "trying to respond reasonably" limit. It's much too nice a day to sit here and argue with idiots.
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads (who aren't idiots) To the idiot Dads, well, you have a nice day too.
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Believe it or not, I agree with Lisa about consolidation of school districts. There is no reason we couldn't have one superintendent and Asst. Superintendents for a district which consisted of LV, North Shore, Oyster Bay,and Glen Cove. You could still have separate schools (and valedictorians) but have one central administration. Each area could even have it's own budget and debts but split the administration costs on a per pupil basis. Not a bad idea Lisa!
On the other hand, how can you call yourself a conservative or Republican or Tea Partier if you want to limit what superintendents can earn? The government should never be able to decide how much any person can earn, whether it be a superintendent, investment banker, plumber or realtor. That is antithetical to a capitalist system!
Finally, I must remind Lisa that she ran for the BOE three times, not only in 2005. You were against the budget - publicly - each time? I don't think so! And I too recall the full page ads purchased by your friend. You do have a convenient memory.
Folks, remember that if you vote no the budget is still going up. The only way to prevent future budget increases is to lower the largest component of the budget: teacher's salaries and benefits. Until that number comes down the budget can't come down. You could get rid of IB, AP, Drivers Ed, Continuing Ed, etc and our budget would still be huge on a per child basis. We have been overly generous to the teachers in the past and it has come back to haunt us
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'We have been overly generous to the teachers in the past and it has come back to haunt us'
We were tricked into it for over 20 years. It is the steps and lanes plus triborough (or we should call it rfk?), which says salary can only go up but not down, that got us into this shit.
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Voting it down will save us $1 million!
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I realize the no votes on this blog could less and would vote the budget down even if the budget actually went down. However, the difference to a taxpayer, based on current information supplied by th county,for a $500k house in Bayville is less than $12 a year between the proposed budget and the contingency budget.
So vote no to the budget if you wish but don't say or think it will save money.
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At the 2008 MTC night each candidate was asked if they support the budget. Lisa like each candidate said Yes.
I was there, as were many others.
So Lisa were you lying then or now.
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We need,for George's sake, to pay board
members.
I mean the poor boy is26 years old and still does not have a real job.
Take it easy mommy, you must stop fighting your son's battles. From what I have learned about hubby you will need plenty of time to protect him and
the consequences are much more serious.
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Incorporated Village of Matinecock
Section 23 Block X Lot Y
Acres 8.47
Total Living Area 5699 sq ft
Full Bathrooms 6
Half Bathrooms 0
Fireplaces 3
Number of Bedrooms
Additional Fixtures 5
Attic NONE
Basement Area 1/2 BSMT/CRAWL
School Tax $32,387.02
Library Tax $ 1,564.31
Total School Taxes $33,951.33
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Actually merging with Jericho would be financially unsound.
Please note the current budgets. LV wiped out the total Appropriate fund Balance of $1.5 million. This is an absolutely brilliant financial move. Jericho went the other direction and increased their AFB to $4.1 m. This spells financial disaster with a 2% property cap looming. This is a very BIG DEAL?
Lisa, please tell us why since you claim to know what is allowed and the format a budget must follow. Please explain what an AFB means and the significance of a 0 fund Balance and a 4.1 balance in preparation for the tax cap.
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$33k for 8 acres, and 6,000 sq. ft. Not at all unreasonable. It would cost much more in Great Neck, Cold Spring etc.
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Did you all have a nice Father's Day? I hopes so!
So I had to go back down memory lane to figure out what you clowns were squawking about .... still think you are remembering incorrectly. The last time I ran was in 2008, against the 3 incumbents who just lost. That year, the budget increase was 5.47%. There is no way I would have supported it. So I just went through some old Bayville Blog postings:
===================
No Money wrote:
I don't have kids in the school, so I don't vote every year. After reading this blog, I'm going out to vote for Lisa. must be a reason why some on this blog are threaten of her. I hope she can do better with the spending at the school. can't be worse than what we already have on that board. thanks for the information.
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Tuesday, May 20, 2008 2:24 PM 100% wrote:
I agree, after reading this blog, Lisa looks like the only one that has any knowledge about this district. She seems to go to all of the BOE meetings and has knowledge regarding the budget.
VOTE NO
VOTE for Lisa
================================
Voting NO was my position. That was the MTC which was held in the cafeteria attended by Maggie and the anti-cell tower crew. I remember now. Ron Walsh's little lobbying against the Inc. Village of Bayville's Board and Mayor. Oh yes, I remember all of his and Dr. Chu's specious lectures about TEAM WORK. And Phil ran on the "Vote for Change" motto - so original in 2008. The PTA screwed over that nice Kathy F. and oh yeah, that was the election that the LVPC Pres. sent out a bunch of e-mails the night before the election telling everyone to vote for anyone but ME.
Explain to me again what your problem was with my advertisement in the Leader? Btw, that ad was paid for by a number of supporters, not just one individual. You have a problem with union endorsements, a problem with private donors .... you just seem to have a problem with everything.
Move Already,
You question my capitalist/free market support because I support capping GOVERNMENT salaries? Our public school system is basically a sociali-t system. I would prefer to see ALL education privatized. But since the odds of that are remote, then in order to keep a lid on an out of control sociali-t hierarchy, I absolutely support capping income on GOVERNMENT RUN SCHOOLS.
Now, do I support the government stepping in and telling the Headmaster of a private school how much they can make? Absolutely not! As a private enterprise, the school should be able to charge whatever tuition it wants and pay its employees whatever it wants. A private school does not fearmonger to the taxpayers and count on the taxpayers to feed the union and the fat cat public administrators.
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Lisa,
Get off of this blog and go market your house!
Put as much effort into selling as name calling and we should be rid of you by the end of the month!
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Anon,
So in 2010-2011, LVCSD had 1.5M in its appropriated fund balance. The AFM, as I understand it, was always a "reserve" which the district rolled over from year to year. I recall in OB-EN, their AFM was reduced from 1.2M to $900,000 and change. So now, LVCSD has eliminated the $1.5M reserve, knocked it to zero and that $1.5M was spent on ...... ?????
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Lisa,
"The AFM, as I understand it, was always a "reserve" which the district rolled over from year to year."
Got you! You just "incriminated yourself" by publically acknowledging that you don't understand it.
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born in Bayville,
I know Father's Day must be difficult for you when your father is also your mother's first cousin.
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Actually having the relatives so close makes the holidays much easier
Now go find some real estate blogs or start up your own.
Got a name you could use - Lisa McLAUGHinstock or The BayVILE resident!
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Anon,
Then why don't you 'splain what YOU think it is. Go!
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http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/sfs/fundbal.html
How Large A Fund Balance?
Determination of an appropriate fund balance is a critical factor in district financial planning and budgeting processes, but it is strictly a local matter. The Department of Public Instruction makes no recommendation regarding the amount a district should have as its General Fund balance, except that the department encourages districts to seek legal counsel should they contemplate budgeting for and/or operating with a negative general fund balance.
A district with an appropriate fund balance can:
avoid excessive short term borrowing thereby avoiding associated interest cost.
accumulate sufficient assets to make designated purchases or cover unforeseen expenditure needs.
demonstrate financial stability and therefore preserve or enhance its bond rating, thereby lowering debt issuance costs.
The most commonly asked question regarding fund balance is how large should it be? Perhaps the best answer would be: "an amount sufficient that short term borrowing for cash flow could be avoided and would also allow the district to set aside sufficient assets to realize its longer range goals." However, this may not always be practical or politically possible.
"COVER UNFORSEEN EXPENDITURE NEEDS" sure sounds like a "reserve" to me.
So what did LVCSD spend $1.5M on, Mr. Gotcha? The money was APPROVED in 2010-2011. Where did it go if it is not being rolled over?
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http://www.schuylervilleschools.org/Budget/budget_terminology.cfm
APPROPRIATED FUND BALANCE: Any portion of a district's fund balance from the previous fiscal year that is used as revenue in the district's following year's budget. This reduces the amount of money that must be collected in taxes.
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born in Bayville,
Spare us tales of your inbred celebrations .... please
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Lisa,
AFB is like buy now and pay later, put on house charge so to speak. The money was spent way back when Dick Hurts was here. The rational has been there will always be more tax money coming in the next year to cover it so it can just be rolled over and over from year to year. The problem is that when the 2% tax cap comes, there will be no place to roll over. That is the reason LV takes care of it now.
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Anon,
Absolutely incorrect. The original AFM may have originated/been added to, many years ago, but the budget shows that there was $1.5M APPROVED in the bank in 2010-2011. If it was already SPENT prior to 2010-2011, then that column should have shown ZERO. Rolled over money does not create a tax increase. It is NOT being rolled over - it's GONE. Now what did they spend it on THIS YEAR?
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Lisa,
AFB is the equivalent of the federal government debt ceiling. The government can tax to pay bills or can borrow to pay bills. LV chooses not only not to borrow to pay bills but also to wipe out old roll overs. There is no "$1.5M APPROVED in the bank". Rather, it is $1.5M owed from long time ago.
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Anon 9:41 is correct. The AFB was paid off and is now zero. It was debt from long ago. It was paid from the current tax levy. By the AFB not rolling over as a source of revenue the tax levy needed to be raised. That is why the budget is only 2.7% but the tax levy is 5.7%
With a tax cap this was a very smart thing to do. There may not be money to pay off AFBs in the future.
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Chris,
In 2010-2011, there was $1.5M in the AFB. This is shown in the POSITIVE or REVENUE section of the budget:
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Agenda/budget.pdf
IF, our AFB was a DEBT, as you claim, instead of a RESERVE, then its elimination in this year's budget should have been reflected in the "DEBT SERVICE" (Undistributed Expenses) portion of the budget which is close to $3M. That $3M (which was INCREASED by 3.37%) should have been reduced to approx. $1.5M.
But it wasn't. Because the AFB was accumulated through taxation over the years. It is NOT accumulated debt. It is a RESERVE and now that RESERVE has been wiped out with one little MINUS 100%.
So I ask you again. Since it clearly wasn't DEBT, what did LVCSD spend the $1.5M on?
Who told you the AFB is the "equivalent of the debt ceiling"? I want to know which LVCSD representative is spewing that kind of misinformation.
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Lisa,
'Who told you the AFB is the "equivalent of the debt ceiling"? I want to know which LVCSD representative is spewing that kind of misinformation.'
It is not misinformation. By State Law, AFB is considered as "revenue" instead of debt because it is money to be spent. Why don't you take some courses in public finance to educate yourself instead of being so synical and accuse nice people here, who tried to explain to you what AFB is. You don't deserve it.
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Reading the blog, I can't believe my eyes. We have such arrogant and ignorant people like Lisa, who totlly misunderstood Appropriated Fund Balance but insisted that she knows what it is. We voted out some of the smartest and most honest Board members. It does not look very encouraging.
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The AFB is considered revenue for the current budget year generated from revenue from the prop year budget. The 2010/11 budget used the AFB toward the 2011/12 budget. However, note the 2011/12 AFB is 0. This means no money from the 201112 budget will be allocated (appropriated ) to the 2112/13 budget. The AFB from 2010/11 was used in the 2011/12 budget.
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APPROPRIATED FUND BALANCE: Any portion of a district's fund balance from the previous fiscal year that is used as revenue in the district's following year's budget. This reduces the amount of money that must be collected in taxes
This is correct. Hirt was at his job for many years so who knows when this started. A few million are left over so it's used the following year to reduce the tax levy. Now, every dollar is needed. This years rollover was 7.1% reduced to 2.7. That is probably why do drastic cuts in personnel are being made this year. The money is most likely being used to keep teachers this year, $1.2 million worth. The tax cap is on the levy not the budget to budget increase. If it's 2% with no AFB the entire amount can be used for running the district. Although, teachers are still vulnerable next year.
A point was made earlier that people complain about salaries and benefits yet union backed candidates won their seats. The union most likely sees this as the public supporting their demand for a new contract with the appropriate increases. What was the point of the incumbents losing? Change to get a new contract? A personality issue? IB, Drivers Ed, etc. cost the public a few dollars in taxes. It's personnel that is 70% of the budget. Shouldn't the trustees that were trying to hold the line have won?
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entertained,
What is your problem? Teachers union has won. They got three new on boe now. Suck it up and give them what they deserve, give them raises, incentives. If you dare to "hold the line" again, Daddy posted "3 down 2 to go".
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"By State Law, AFB is considered as "revenue" instead of debt because it is money to be spent."
Correct. The AFB is a RESERVE which is traditionally ROLLED OVER. Since it is "money in the coffer", keeping the money in the coffer for the next schoolyear would NOT increase the tax rate. It is NOT DEBT. The money was never BORROWED. It was accrued through PAST budgets.
"APPROPRIATED FUND BALANCE: Any portion of a district's fund balance from the previous fiscal year that is used as revenue in the district's following year's budget."
This is also correct.
" The 2010/11 budget used the AFB toward the 2011/12 budget"
Apparently so, all $1.5M of it. So now I will ask for the 3rd or 4th time - WHAT DID LVCSD spend $1.5M on in the 11-12 budget?????
"A few million are left over so it's used the following year to reduce the tax levy."
What "few million"? The AFB for 11-12 is ZERO. IF the $1.5M were rolled over again, as it has been year after year, it would neither increase or reduce the tax levy. It is a TAX NEUTRAL cash reserve, one that was hopefully earning some sort of interest.
"That is probably why do drastic cuts in personnel are being made this year. The money is most likely being used to keep teachers this year, $1.2 million worth."
Sheer speculation. You have no idea, based on the public budget, what that $1.5M AFB is being used for. By completely wiping the AFB to ZERO, LVCSD has left itself NO BUFFER for unexpected expenses or payment of bills that may come in before tax revenue hits the district accounts. LVCSD will now have to BORROW money if it encounters unexpected expenses. (increased legal fees for the Benstock lawsuit?)
Personnel/contracts constitute 80% of the budget, not 70%.
I do not understand why you people are simply buying the propaganda that the district has spent $1.5M on SOMETHING OR OTHER, as preparation for a 2% cap which isn't even law. You have now contradicted your statements that the AFB was "debt". You have confirmed you have no idea what it is being used for. The AFB never was and never will be a "debt ceiling" against which the district can borrow.
Salaries, healthcare and pensions will continue to rise. Those expenditures, if the 2% tax cap is imposed, will have to be paid from the tax revenue. If you are claiming that LVCSD has already allocated the AFB for 11-12 salaries, pensions, healthcare, then come next year, LVCSD will be facing massive layoffs and will have no reserve for emergency expenditures. Sounds like they're cooking up a major BOND ISSUE, if you ask me.
Take a look at Jericho. They increased their AFB by $600,000. Adding $600,000 to its $3.5M RESERVE FUND raised Jericho's taxes slightly. HOWEVER, Jericho also has a signed MoA from its teachers on salary and benefit contributions:
http://www.jerichoschools.org/BoE/MOA201104JTA.pdf
Why couldn't OUR BoE negotiate something similar with OUR teachers? Hmmm? THAT'S why the 3 incumbents were voted out.
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Addendum - I stated the following was correct:
"APPROPRIATED FUND BALANCE: Any portion of a district's fund balance from the previous fiscal year that is used as revenue in the district's following year's budget."
The word 'MAY be used' should be substituted for "is used".
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Let me also remind taxpayers that there is a line in the Instructional section of the detailed budget for "Undistributed Salaries". When I inquired about this line item, I was told it is used to cover the cost of potentially having to hire someone, mid year. Really? Seems to be quite a hefty figure for that purpose. The dollar amount budgeted from year to year varies, but has been consistently in the $350-800,000 range. So now we have over $2M floating around that we've already been taxed for doing ..... WHAT?????
Paying for Drivers Ed - 100,000
Paying for IB - 300,000
Paying for IB/AP exams - 100,000
Well, that's half a million. Where's the other 1.5?
WE DESERVE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY! STOP TRYING TO RIP US OFF, LVCSD!!!!!
VOTE NO!
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Oh dear. Looks like LVCSD isn't going to be giving the "new" Newsweek Best High Schools rankings much publicity:
http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2011/americas-best-high-schools.html
Now that Mr. Mathews has been relegated to the Washington Post, it seems LV doesn't rank anywhere on the List.
But I DO see Jericho, Syosset, Manhasset, Wheatley, Cold Spring Harbor .... gee, maybe those districts are doing something that WE should model .... nah .....
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Back to the AFB .....
This is really bothering me. I'm making calls. I want answers. I am NOT an idiot, I have read budgets and attended meetings for MANY years. LVCSD's accounting practices for this budget do NOT make sense.
NYS Law is a school district's AFB should not exceed 2% of the total budget. So in LVCSD's case, a $1.48M AFB complies.
Now, does the law state that a district HAS to maintain an AFB?
No. It does not, from what I can see.
The law DOES state that if this money is TRANSFERRED, it must be reported in one of five categories.
But this begs the question, if the AFB is for all intents and purposes, a "safety net" that it isn't costing us anything to hold onto and is probably making minimal interest ...... why are they leaving you with NOTHING????? Is that sound fiscal planning????
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CORRECTION:
The AFB should not exceed 4%. I was looking at an old audit. It crossed my mind that Jericho would have been in violation if the old 2% max was in force.
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Take a look at Manhasset's budget:
http://www.manhasset.k12.ny.us/files/filesystem/full,%20complete%20budget%20document.pdf
You will see that Manhasset reduced its AFB from $1.475M to a clean 1M. You can also clearly see that it would appear as though that $475,000 has been reallocated to the Appropriated Restricted Fund and there is a detailed explanation as to what those funds are being restricted to.
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Lisa,
You have no idea what you are talking about. I mean no idea!!
There is no restriction on the size of the AFB. The 4% restriction you reference is to the UNAPPROPRIATED FUND BALANCE. Give me a break.
The AFB is an income source and appears on the budget. The higher the AFB the greater the opportunity to reduce the tax levy but the greater the risk, With the advent of a property tax cap a school district is wise to reduce the AFB, since a tax cap reduces revenue and thus the ability of the district to continue to fund a budget through the prior year's revenue is substantially reduced. Thus, Manhasset and OB which reduced the AFB made wise decisions. LV's decision to eliminate it is even wiser. Jericho decision to raise the AFB is hard to understand from a financial perspective. In my opinion, very unwise. a
The Unappropriated Fund Balance is used to fund unexpected expenses or emergencies so your prior criticism of LV not providing for emergencies is totally wrong. The UFB IS RESTRICTED TO 4%, and for the most part is what the state refers to when it says districts should use its reserves to substitute for the reduction in state aid.
The Unappropriated Fund Balance is what is left over at the end of the fiscal year. As a result it does not appear on the budget but on the audited year end financial statements. LV's UFB is usually around 4%.
Before telling everyone that LV is hiding information and not proving for emergencies you should first learn the DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE UNAPPROPRIATED AND APPROPRIATED FUND BALANCES.
From a financial perspective LV IS VERY SOLID and in as a good a position as possible to deal with a tax cap.
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IS ED WATSON AT VILLAGE HALL/SANITATION RELATED TO DOUG WATSON?
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NO, Ed Watson and Doug Watson are not related! Ed has worked for the Village for over 20 years and is NO relation to Doug.
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Anon,
I'll certainly stand corrected on the 4% limit applying to the UFB, not the AFB.
"The AFB is an income source and appears on the budget."
Thank you. So it's not "old debt" or a "debt ceiling". It's a "reserve" which has accrued over the years and if not tapped, is rolled over year to year. Except this year, where LVCSD is wiping it out.
"The higher the AFB the greater the opportunity to reduce the tax levy but the greater the risk"
Why is the risk greater?
I have no problem with reducing the AFB to $1M. But why wipe it out? That makes no sense.
"With the advent of a property tax cap a school district is wise to reduce the AFB, since a tax cap reduces revenue and thus the ability of the district to continue to fund a budget through the prior year's revenue is substantially reduced."
Since when do we fund a budget from the prior year? If LVCSD gets a 5.8% tax hike this year (approx $4M), what is it using the other $1.5M for? You still have answered that question! Why is Jericho's increase in AFB unwise? It seems to me that if a cap on the amount of revenue is coming into play next year, it would be much smarter to have money in the fund to offset it. Jericho could pull 1 or 2M if necessary from its AFB next year to stay within the 2% cap. What's LVCSD going to do? We'll have NOTHING. How is that smarter?
So you are telling me the 4% UFB ($6M) doesn't appear on the budget - WHY?
I have been told by several extremely reliable sources that the AFB (and in the definition I posted earlier) most certainly CAN be used for emergencies.
Let's refer to the law and the budget:
http://www.p12.nysed.gov/mgtserv/propertytax/
Education Law Section 1608 was amended to require reporting of three parts of the fund balance if the proposed budget is adopted: (1) the amount and percent of the unappropriated, unreserved fund balance, (2) the reserved fund balance and (3) the appropriated fund balance.
Where is LVCSD spending the $1.5M this year?
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sorry, that UFB I suppose is around $2.8M, not 6M. Not that I can look it up anywhere.
Why isn't LAST year's UFB reported?
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Lisa,
I am no longer going to wast my time on a person who doesn't know the difference between the AFB and the UFB.
However, the $1.5 m was part of the revenue source for the budget, It was spent on the budget the same as property tax revenue and state aid was spent on the budget.. If there wasn't the AFB of $1.5m, the 1.5m would need to come from some other revenue source.
I don't know how to make it more simple. its like 2 PLUS 2 = 4. and if you can't get it , i can't help you
The UFB is the money left over when all expenses in the budget are paid and all reserves funded. It is not a budgeted amount but is reported in the year end financial statements. You can ask the district for these statements or foil them
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Anon,
Why can't YOU answer a very simple question - What did LVCSD spend the money on?
"However, the $1.5 m was part of the revenue source for the budget, It was spent on the budget...."
DOH! Nooooo .... and here I thought Walsh went out and bought himself a Bugatti. Why don't you just say, "I don't know, Lisa. I have no idea where the district spent the $1.5M."
"The UFB is the money left over when all expenses in the budget are paid and all reserves funded."
I see. Well, actually I don't see because this multi-million dollar slush fund is not common knowledge to the general public. I bet if most people were aware that LVCSD is sitting on a publicly unreported $3M pot every year, they would be more likely to vote against a tax hike, psychologically speaking, eh?
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Last try. When the district funds the budget is has a number of different revenue sources. Naturally, the largest is the property tax, another is state aid and a third is the AFB. There can be others as well, but for this example let's keep it simple.
So let's say the school budget is $100. Where will the district get this $100? Let's say it gets $94 from property taxes. Let's suppose it gets another $4 from state aid and let's suppose the budget from last year appropriated (key word) $2 to this year's budget. Hence the $100 to pay for the budget. So the AFB is not for any particular expense but part of the revenue source for the entire budget.
Do you now get it? If you finally do, think hard and you might understand why it can be very dangerous with a tax cap in place.
LV was smart to eliminate it
The UFB is not a slush fund and all school districts and most non profits have it. It is common knowledge and no one would run a business, organization or household without some emergency money. It appears on the end of year AUDITED financial statements.
School is over. You can say thank you but I won't hold my breath.
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Anon,
Nope. I still don't get it. According to your example, LVCSD is using that $1.5M for 2011-12 to meet the budgetary expenses and we are still getting hit with a 5.8% tax hike. That $1.5M was rolled over from 2009-2010. It wasn't "new" revenue" in 2010-2011. So next year, when the district may be restricted to a 2% tax hike, how is having NOTHING in the AFB beneficial to the budget?
You still haven't told me what PART of the budget LVCSD has applied the AFB to, nor does it make ANY sense if LVCSD can't buy down the tax cap (how about 1% instead of 2%?)
Seems to me this is LVCSD's way of getting a 5.8% tax hike passed THIS YEAR instead of having to ask for approx. 8% and has absolutely NOTHING to do with next year's potential 2% tax cap.
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How about a TAX FREEZE so public school districts can't play these stupid games with the taxpayers? I reminded a friend who's child attends parochial school to VOTE NO today and she said, "For what?" When I told her it was a re-vote on the school budget, she said, "What is it about NO don't these people understand? Do they really get to do that?" I told her "yes, they do, and get your a$$ up there to vote!"
CUT SPENDING!!!!! Spending $35,000 per student is INSANITY! VOTE NO!!!!
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ugh, I wish there was an edit button .... that should be "whose" child, not "who's"
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Lisa,
"How about a TAX FREEZE so public school districts can't play these stupid games with the taxpayers?"
How about a PAY FREEZE across the board for everyone, including no steps and no lanes? I know there is Triborough but the union can always voluntarily make concessions to spare we the taxpaypers. Until then, I will continue to vote NO.
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We need to get the NO vote out there. The Locust Valley Bayville Soccer Club keeps sending messages (violating their own email list use policy) pushing for the Yes vote. Clearly this is for their special interest of having everybody (all taxpayers)pay for the use of the fields by some (the soccer families).
The BS numbers they use have no basis in reality.
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How about a PAY CUT???? 20% across the board. Our houses have depreciated MORE than 20% in the past 3 years, so should the salaries of the public workers.
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We do we sign up? Is 20% enough?
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John,
Let's see, 20% of Hunderfund's 285,000 = $57,000 so then she would only be making a paltry $228,000! OMG, do you think she and hubby could survive? The $130,000 teacher would be reduced to $104,000 for 9 months work. Heck, even a 10% PAY CUT would knock millions off the total salaries!
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Lisa and John,
Union pays and fringes, excluding Hynderfund, is about $50M+. A 10% haircut will save $5M+ and a 20% haircut will save double that. You figure it out yourselves how much property taxes you will save.
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Anon,
It would be a major step in the right direction to see our taxes go DOWN, however incremental (a 20% cut would LOWER our tax rate by approx. 18%), rather than constantly going UP UP UP while our property values are still plummeting.
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Heck, why don't we cut salaries and benefits by 100% and have teachers and administrators pay us for to be able to teach our kids??? That's about as realistic as the 20% cut that Lisa and John are throwing around. There is only ONE way to ensure that salary and benefit costs do not continue to rise, and that is by encouraging the BOE - all seven members - to stand firm in proposing contracts that have zero percent raises and additional contributions by the union members towards their pension and benefits. Voting no on this budget will not accomplish that! The members of this blog would be better served by writing and emailing our elected officials in Albany to get rid of the Triborough law that allows teachers and other union members to receive a raise even without a contract than they would voting no on the budget. Here's the facts folks: WHATEVER HAPPENS WITH THE BUDGET VOTE, TEACHERS AND OTHER STAFF SALARIES ARE GOING UP NEXT YEAR. Sure, you can make a protest vote of "No" but nothing can stop that increase from happening. The only thing that will happen if you vote no today is that we will have a contingency budget - and the only ones affected will be the students. Yes, some teachers will lose their jobs but that's going to happen with either budget. And your taxes are going up no matter what.
As I said, the only way to change things is to tell all of our BOE members to stand firm - and that includes our newly elected, union endorsed, members
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Voting NO is a step in the right direction because worst case it starts us next year from a lower level so what ever the increase next year it will be less that the increase if we vote Yes. So once again I encourage all to vote NO.
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Vote NO will absolutely accomplish that. When closing the Brookville schools was the top issue, the community voted the budget down four times. Finally, the BOE then agreed to close down the shcool (with only four kids attending).
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Vote NO until the unions say YES (to concessions).
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"Heck, why don't we cut salaries and benefits by 100% and have teachers and administrators pay us for to be able to teach our kids???" ~Move Already
Ah yes. The critical thinking skills of the Bayville Mommy. Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Dismiss discussion of any sort of remedy to out of control taxes by tossing out a radical, extreme, ridiculous suggestion.
Many people in the private sector are thankful just to have jobs. They have LOST benefits and taken cuts in hours and salaries. Where is it written, other than in the teacher's union's now expired contracts, that we have to be held hostage to their demands?
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pass
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Read it and weep, a landslide
Yes No
Bayville 769 602
Lisa, you are now 0 for infinity.
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THANK YOU LVCSD
THANK YOU ELDERY ON FIXED INCOMES
THANK YOU SINGLE PARENTS TRYING TO MAKE ENDS MEET
THANK YOU TO THOSE THAT LOST THEIR JOBS AND ARE LOOKING FOR INCOME
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
I JUST GOT FREE DRIVERS ED
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LVCSD wiped out its AFB. How about my credit card balance? Will taxpapayers help me?
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As did all the children who went through the school system for the last twenty plus years, even those who went through during severe recessions and stock market crashes
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So - I hear Hunderfund congratulated the Jericho class at the moving up ceremony ... LOL! ....
Hopefully I won't be here to have to pay the 6% increase in school taxes next year. From where I sit, you folks just cashed in your IRAs early and the penalty you will pay next year will be dire.
I also heard little kids in Oyster Bay were outside holding signs which said, "Teddy Roosevelt would vote YES".
Disgusting.
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I would like to thank the 1300+ people who DID get out to vote NO. 46% of the vote is nothing to laugh at.
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54% to 46% is considered in most elections close to landslide
It's interesting in the last four years Bayville has been the strongest school budget supporter. Lisa, do you think that has anything to do with you?
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Anon,
Of course. It's always about me.
Just going to prove that Bayville has the most ignorant parent population.
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Scare tactic always works. Even Newsday reported the soccer club spamming the community.
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Lisa,
1300 is a record number of NO votes.
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And 1,500 is a record number of yes votes.
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"And 1,500 is a record number of yes votes."
But that's a lie. It never hit 1,500. The YES votes in 2010 was higher and the NO votes in 2011 was a record high.
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"And 1,500 is a record number of yes votes."
But that's a lie. It never hit 1,500. The YES votes in 2010 was higher and the NO votes in 2011 was a record high. The trend is clear.
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I heard even the AFL-CIO was making calls to members yesterday to get out and vote YES. And I got that from a very good union source.
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Lisa,
I know you are connected to the union. I trust your union information without a doubt.
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And the crying continues. The trend is clear. Let's look at the data
1ST VOTE 2ND VOTE INCREASE
Yes 1192 1494 302
No 1312 1304 -8
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Of course, because No voters were denied absentee ballots by design.
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How does one know if a person is going to vote yes or no when they request an absentee ballot?
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Anon,
I'm "connected" to the union? Because I am friendly with people who happen to be members of a union? The AFL-CIO is NOT the teacher's union you know. It's not ALL of the union workers who are the problem, it's the union leadership. I also happen to know union workers who voted NO yesterday.
There is tremendous political "conflict" for the person who is working hard at a union job and who also has to pay property taxes. On the one hand, many of these people send their children to parochial school, so they resent paying higher taxes for public school. On the other hand, they become outraged when it comes to situations like the one in Wisconsin, claim "union busting" and are also inevitably Democrats.
The conflict between personal self-preservation and the political bully tactics of unions is intensifying and will only get worse.
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Lisa,
You are right and you are wrong.
Wrong: "The AFL-CIO is NOT the teacher's union you know."
The LV teachers union (LVSEA) is under NYSUT, and NYSUT is part of AFT, which is under AFL-CIO. So our teachers union is a "subsidiary" of AFL-CIO.
Right: "It's not ALL of the union workers who are the problem, it's the union leadership."
Being a life long LV resident, I have a lot of friends who are teachers and aids here. They don't like what they see with the teachers union leadership.
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Anon,
Thank you for connecting those union dots for me. I did not realize they were affiliated.
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Good gracious, Bridge Mechanic, What'dja fall asleep yesterday?
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i know, i'm really really sorry about that, but we had interns this summer and i think some of them were these IB graduates, and, well, one thing led to another and i only got finished explaining about the "up" button before they threw me out and said they could do a better job and i promise it won't happen again.
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bridge mechanic---now that was funny!
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i know, i'm really really sorry about that, but we had interns this summer and i think some of them were these IB graduates, and, well, one thing led to another and i only got finished explaining about the "up" button before they threw me out and said they could do a better job and i promise it won't happen again.
Glad you're back in charge. Next time, count on the BOCES tech kids. They won't let you down (unless, of course, the boat has passed).
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Silver Fox is here again
http://www.theleaderonline.com/2011/June%2022/Page4.html
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Mrs. Charno gives quite a first class endorsement of IB. Her child, a 2011 graduate, is getting a full year scholarship.
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My cousin graduated so I went to the ceremony. The parents of the graduates speak highly of IB. One mention a number of schools on Long Island, including Long Beach are converting to IB.
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Long Beach? Isn't that where DR. Sheer was from? Remember when Lisa was blogging that there was an agreement between the BOE and DR. Sheer and Dr. Hurt that hurt was put in place temporarily tell Sheer was ready to assume the superintendent position. She blogged and told anyone who would listen.
Another one of Lisa's stories. Instead Sheer never got it and left probably because he listened to Lisa and thought he might.
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Lisa at the time was a "reporter" for The Leader before she was fired, which she blames on LVSD. She only reported unfounded rumors and is still doing it now.
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Ah yes, Mrs. Charno's LTE in the Leader:
http://theleaderonline.com/2011/June%2022/Page4.html
Why is she ashamed to mention the name of the "very selective" university her daughter will be attending? I certainly hope for her daughter's sake that the kid scores 30 or over on her IB Diploma, the results of which won't be known until July.
In her next paragraph, she gushes about Jay Mathews' now defunct Newsweek ranking of LVCSD. How many of you noticed that LVCSD doesn't appear at all in the NEW Newsweek rankings? Maybe they forgot to fill out the form.
Long Beach received $1.3M in ARRA money because it is a Title I school. Under the Obama regime's social justice initiative, over $10 BILLION of YOUR taxdollars are being used to implement "innovative programs" like IB in low-income schools. Note how Mrs. Charno uses the phrase "innovative programming" in her third point.
As to Dr. Shear, I thought I told you folks that he is the interim Principal at Island Park MS. Island Park schools feed into either Long Beach HS or W. Hempstead HS. And now IP is trying to force IB into its only elementary and MS:
http://truthaboutib.com/usschooldisputes/islandparkny.html
Bridge Mechanic,
That was very funny. But you messed up my Open House on Sunday! I expect better from you next weekend!
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Lisa,
Telling us what Sheer does now, does not explain the unfounded rumor you promulgated for years that the BOE HAD DECIDED Sheer would be the next superintendent replacing Hurt. You ranted and raved and it was all unfounded... as usual.
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It seemed very unusual to me that a week before the revote for the shcool budget, I went to get the Leader the local paper and to my surprise there was none left, on Wednesday when it came out. I just wonder if it had anything to do with the full page ads that were being taken out to vote against the budget?? It just seems to coincidental to me? Call me crazy but I think that those ads really made people wake up and vote, funny I didn't see any of them voting the second time around........And I thought it wasn't legal for Parent Council or the PTA to send out notices telling people to vote YES? After hearing the Superintendent say at the 8th grade moving up ceremony "Congratulations Jericho Class of 2011" I know that if the voting polls were outside those doors I would have voted a big fat NO and to think the budget passed.
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The graduation program list Emma Charno as going to Oberlin College ranked by U.S.NEWS as the #23 Liberal Arts College in the country. Actually, Mrs.Charno was was being modest when she said "very selective" " it was rated "most selective."
It was rated right behind Colgate and ahead of Bucknell, Holy Cross, Trinity and Lafayette. Nice company.
Congratulations and best wishes to Emma, a fine college for an excellent
http://premium.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/page+3
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Anon,
I never said "the Board decided". I said the talk around town was that Shear thought he had cut a "gentleman's agreement" with the Board that he would get the Supt. position, which is why he was promoted mid-year to the Asst. Superintendent in Charge Of Curriculum and Instruction. Everyone knows what a hissy fit he had when the Board hired Hunderfund instead of him.
Now let's discuss something REALLY interesting. Dr. Shear is not interesting. Let's talk MONEY.
I was doing a little research for some folks out in Ohio regarding ARRA money for their district. They were told the district received approx. $300,000. Turns out, they received almost $3.5 Million! So I said, oh what the heck, let me search LVCSD. First, let's look at the budget - you will see under revenue ARRA Federal Education Jobs Fund for last year $0 and for this year $0:
http://www.lvcsd.k12.ny.us/Assets/Agenda/budget.pdf
BUT .... when we go to Recovery.gov and plug LVCSD into the advanced search (and I've page shot the data because a link won't work) you will see that LVCSD actually received:
$1,430,069 !!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have posted it to my website for easy reference:
http://truthaboutib.com/usschooldisputes/iblocustvalleyny.html
Would somebody like to explain why a measly $7500 TOBAY Grant is listed but $1.43M in stimulus money is NOT?
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Sorry, that was a typo - it should read
$1,430,639
So let's see, we've got the $1.5M from the Appropriated Fund Balance that we have no idea what it is being spent on along with the $1.43M from ARRA, that's $2.93 Million not accounted for.
Susan,
Sally Bandow from The Leader told me someone from the Parent Council went around and bought out all of the copies from the newsstands.
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Lisa,
You are beyond dumb still not knowing how the AFB works, and I'm tired of explaining it to you. Go take a public accounting course.
ARRA aid was explained numerous times in board meetings. Talk to someone who there,not that I think you are capable of understanding.
I know WHAT REALLY HAPPENED the money was stolen and the auditors split it with IB.
Go file a complaint with the State Education Dept. All the records are public.
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Anon,
Obviously you are incapable of explaining where the money is being spent. You have no defense except to insult me. I know enough about accounting to know that if a district has a line item under revenue for ARRA grants and reports $0 but the district actually RECEIVED $1.43M, something STINKS to high heaven. Either direct me to another portion of the budget where those funds are recorded, or shut the heck up.
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Lisa,
Yes, years ago you blogged the Board decided and it was an inside deal that Hurt was there just till Sheer was ready. You even went so far as to say there would be NO SEARCH COMMITTEE.
Now you state it differently.
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$2.93 MILLION of unreported spending of OUR TAXDOLLARS!
I DEMAND an explanation!
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You have no record the money was actually sent, all you show is a ledger with no dates. How can you possibly state the district received$1.43m based on a ledger account? If you have a record of money sent and received please show it? Actually, I, like everyone who attended the budget outreach meetings, know exactly what happened to not only ARRA, but state aid as well. Please call Adriana and then the DA.
One last chance.
The revenue source of AFB is the prior year's surplus, if there is one. The 2010/11 AFB budget of $1.5m was a revenue source from 2009/10 budget surplus which was put into the 2010/11 budget through the AFB and had the effect of reducing the tax levy for 2010/11 by $1.5m
The 2010/11 budget has no surplus therefor there is 0 dollars in AFB revenue for 2011/12 budget. That is why the tax levy is so high.
Now do you finally get it? If so, why it smart for the district to do this with a tax capI
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LISA,
Go ask the district and if you don't like or believe their explanation go to the DA and Dept. of Education and stop grandstanding here like you know something.
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Anon,
The State Aid, which we received an additional $400,000 over last year, is accounted for in the budget as revenue. The ARRA is NOT accounted for in the budget. Are you actually trying to say that the ARRA money which is listed as distributed to the recipients (or sub-recipients) on recovery.gov was never distributed in 2010-2011? Since the bill only passed Congress in February of 2009, it seems to me it would have taken until at least 2010 for distribution. At the very least, if it was not, then it should be ANTICIPATED for 2011-2012. Yet again, we have a 0 in the column. The Feds are counting it as expended, why is LVCSD not counting it as revenue?
So LVCSD blew their $1.5M AFB last year when we ended up with a what - 5% increase? And this year we had a 5.8% increase because there was no "surplus". So next year, when the district can only levy a 2% tax increase, how will it possibly meet its outrageous expenditures without borrowing/floating a bond? Unless .... it suddenly magically coughs up the $1.43M from the Feds?
You know what? I don't care anymore. I just want to sell my house and get the heck out of NY. My goal is to make Move Already happy.
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Lisa,
Anon wrote:
The graduation program list Emma Charno as going to Oberlin College ranked by U.S.NEWS as the #23 Liberal Arts College in the country. Actually, Mrs.Charno was was being modest when she said "very selective" " it was rated "most selective."
It was rated right behind Colgate and ahead of Bucknell, Holy Cross, Trinity and Lafayette. Nice company.
Congratulations and best wishes to Emma, a fine college for an excellent student
http://premium.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/page+3
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Anon,
And it was necessary to re-post that why? If you think you are going to provoke me into linking and writing something negative about a named student, think again.
Please take the time to read this awesome letter written by a Mom from Ohio:
http://truthaboutib.com/aparentsplea.html
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I love the way Lisa references her own web site, the biggest propaganda site this side of Glenn.
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Anon,
It truly saddens me that not just you, but so many Liberals label facts which refute their own misinformation and rhetoric, as propaganda.
prop·a·gan·da
[prop-uh-gan-duh] Show IPA
–noun
1.
information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
2.
the deliberate spreading of such information, rumors, etc.
3.
the particular doctrines or principles propagated by an organization or movement.
TAIB does not contain rumors. My site exists to counter the propaganda of the IB Organization which is bilking the American taxpayer and indoctrinating children. My goal is to create awareness among Americans of the harm IB inflicts on our institutions of learning and the children.
Please take the time to read the following two essays submitted by students for $500 Scholarship I will be awarding. I personally mailed hard copies of the scholarship opportunity to LVCSD's Guidance Department, but unfortunately, I did not receive any entries from here. Voting is open until 11:59 PM July 3rd:
http://truthaboutib.com/2011scholarship.html
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Actually, politically I am a right of center as is my daughter who took the IB program.
I have always voted Republican and I am frustrated by the progressive agenda of the Obama administration and living in NY one of the most liberal and union friendly states in the union.
I am a free market supporter and detest centralized spending and the nanny state.
As for IB, academically I know it, first hand, as a great program. A slight liberal world view , which is more than offset through a strong curriculum.
My daughter (the IB graduate) is further right of center than me.
If you want to do something constructive join John Stossel and help make Americans aware of where there is a true, dangerous liberal bias effecting millions of students... colleges and universities. Now when my nephew was at Duke I was concerned with the political agenda.
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Anon,
Congratulations to your daughter for taking the most challenging courses offered at LVHS. We will have to agree to disagree as to what constitutes "academically great". AP course offerings such as Calculus BC, Physics C, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics and Statistics are considered far more academically difficult than any IB course save perhaps IB Further Mathematics which LVHS does not offer. In terms of university recognition, IB is considered college-preparatory while AP is considered college-level. Most U.S. universities do not recognize IB SL courses for college credit. There is no such thing as SL AP. This is not my opinion, this is a fact. One of my "unanswered questions" from the beginning of the implementation of IB was, "What is the difference in the 'degree of difficulty' between an SL and HL IB course?" The only answer I have ever received is "SL courses are 150 hours worth of curriculum and HL courses are 240 hours." Yet LVHS has spread Foreign Language and Math SL courses out over two years. To me, that seems like a very diluted educational offering.
I love John Stossel. I am very familiar with Liberal bias at the university level as my daughter just graduated NYU, probably one of the most Liberal institutions in the country. It pained me greatly to pay what we paid to send her there, but it was what she wanted. Her boyfriend, also a registered Republican, graduated from Columbia University, probably considered as politically Left as Berkley. They both survived with their Conservative principles in tact, but believe me, they were a tiny tiny minority of students who didn't vote for Obama. Basically, they never discussed politics when in school. (Her boyfriend did win brownie points with me when he went to see Ann Coulter at Columbia and got her to autograph her book to me). The DIFFERENCE however, between the bias that exists at the university level vs. our K-12 public schools is CHOICE and forced expenditure of taxdollars. No one is forcing anyone to send their children to university. College is not mandatory. I suppose you could go after the bias in State/Community Colleges as they receive public tax funding, but a private school is a private school.
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July 6th! Annual release of IB exam results! Looks like it's time for me to shuffle on down to Central and file my annual FOIL request for the results. I mean, it's funny how only people outside of LVCSD seem concerned about the lack of transparency or accountability for this program you have poured money into for almost 10 years. I was just contacted by a former BoE member from Michigan who wanted to know how to obtain her district's IB results. I wonder if the results were provided to our new Board trustees and if any thought or analysis is going to go into reviewing them? Or will the remaining "old guard" dismiss them as unnecessary to review?
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All this talk about nonsense and the village is D.O.A. when one of their own is arrested for sexual encounters with children. Hello....John Benstock.....
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well at least I don't have to worry about knocking down the fan-man when i raise the bridge - now there's a state of the art, college-calibre youth-sports facility where his runway used to be - so, you know, gunga gunga-lunga, we have that going for us.
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i don't really get the village is d.o.a. comment in relation to John Benstock.
Couldyou explain? The village did not hire him, the district did. He did live here but so do other convicted sexual predators. They also live in Locust Valley, Oyster Bay, Syosset and other towns. Check the registry..they are all Mr. B was not a convicted offender, so how would anyone have known?
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http://www.citizens4freedom.com
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http://www.citizens4freedom.com/Articles/tabid/1387/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/5390/Agenda-21-is-being-implemented-as-we-speak-in-EVERY-ONE-OF-OUR-TOWNS-must-see-video.aspx
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The above links are related to how IB's ideology is brainwashing our youngters folks
Remove IB from our public schools
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I filed my FOIA requests on Friday, July 8th with Bradley for the 2011 IB exam results and the 5 Year IB Review. Let's see how many "business days" it takes for LVCSD to attach those files to an e-mail and send it back to me. By law, LVCSD is supposed to comply within 20 business days which would put it at August 5th.
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Lisa,
What law are you referring to? FOIA only applies to information that is already readily available. It does not apply to information that needs compilation or presentation preparation.
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This website is all about Lisa. Why doesn't anyone care about John Benstock?
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deadvillage,
John Benstock was indicted by the DA. Unless you are a junor or a witness, there is no place for it on the blog.
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Anon,
Uh duh - your taxes pay for IB and part of what we get for our millions include an annual document which gives the IB exam results. Unfortunately, LVCSD refuses to make this information public. Here is last year's report, a report I have FOILed every year since 2006:
http://truthaboutib.com/images/LVHS_10_IB.pdf
So you see? No compilation. No presentation preparation. A simple file which can be attached to an e-mail. Same goes for the mandatory 5 yr. IB Review. The district should have a report on file.
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http://biggovernment.com/lrlee/2011/07/11/is-the-international-baccalaureate-programme-co-opting-your-child
Way to go Lisa on getting the Truth out about IB....WHOOHOO
SAY NO TO IBO
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Why wont the Town Of Oyster Bay fix the beaches that are in Bayville? Don't we pay enough in taxes??? The south shore has beautiful beaches and facilities. Oh thats right, the Town Of Oyster Bay supervisor lives over there... The TOB beaches give Bayville a black eye...
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/TOB-FOB-Town-of-Oyster-Bay-Fix-Our-Beaches/144001659010599
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Hey Lisa - You should FOIA the AP scores too considering we don't offer more than 2 AP classes yet the school gave more than 10 AP tests this year. Oh, and they paid for them too!
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Anon,
Yeah, I forgot to request the AP. Okay, maybe tomorrow or early next week. Mr. Chafetz said they would respond "no later than August 9th".
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It is more than the beaches that make this Village an eyesore. Gus' Pizza (dilapidated, and across from OUR beach), Ludlam Ave strip, Steve's Pier, L'epicure, Pig and Whistle, waste pipes on the sidewalks, unbuilt fountains with a pool staircase in it, weed filled lots...
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Blame it on Jim Goolsby the Building Inspector. That is his job.
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Jim is constantly overridden by the the Mayor and trustees. His hands for the most part are tied. Make a call, see for yourself. I've barked up that tree many times. The Mayor, first Vickie, now Doug,and the Trustees protect the people that they want. I encourage you to witness it for yourself.
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I think villages should be abolished. Let the county take over.
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stay off of the moors, beware the moon
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Anonymous,
That has to be one of the stupidest comments I've ever read.
Why don't you just ask the UN to take over? They're doing it already:
http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/
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Get off the computer & get a life!!!!!
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Anonymous,
Go live in Communist Cuba, you cowardly fascist control freak!
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For anyone interested, I have obtained the 2011 IB Exam Results and the 5 Year IB Review.
We flew a film teacher to Cardiff, Wales for IB training? Seriously?
The only "significant attention" this program requires is kicking it to the curb as quickly as possible.
http://truthaboutib.com/usschooldisputes/iblocustvalleyny.html
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I am shocked that someone was sent to "Whales" for training especially if you attended any of those budget hearings where it has been expressed time and time again that money is so tight.
But wait...any passerby to ANY of the schools can see that money clearly isnt' a problem given the amount of work being done JUST ON THE EXTERIOR!! I've heard the work in the MS/HS has made the building impossible to navigate.
I would like to see the district publish a list of EVERY SINGLE project that was done this summer and how much it cost (not just a select list, which they have already done). Then I would like to see the community use it against them when they start to moan and groan in February or March when the public budget forums start about the 2% Tax Cap and how we have no money.
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Anon,
I'm afraid you will have to FOIL the capital expenditure contracts and purchase orders if you want full disclosure. Expect to wait 20 business days after the date you fill out the form. LVCSD is not interested in transparency. LVCSD could have attached the documents I requested the day I stopped into Central. But instead they CHOOSE to make obtaining public information as difficult as possible. WHY? Why make information difficult to obtain IF YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE?
Obviously, LVCSD has a LOT to hide.
Btw, I found it fascinating that in an Ohio district where parents are investigating the misappropriation of Federal grant money on IB training, FOIL requests are responded to in 1-2 DAYS with the actual documents, not just an acknowledgement of receipt of request.
I hope our new Board members will give the Superintendent and administration a directive to be more responsive to public inquiries and make them understand that this is not their own little private Idaho.
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Everyone, PLEASE check out Donors,Including Bloomberg Save January Regents-NYTimes.com
This is great news for our kids!! Passed August 3rd.
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http://www.yaf.org
please join this September
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Please check out Donors, Including Bloomberg Save January Regents-@NYTimes.com. Great News for our kids!!
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http://www.yaf.org
A group will be forming in the high school, please join in September
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protectrkids,
Why is that great news? I always thought the Jan Regents exams (which maybe 3 kids other than 11th grade English take) were a total waste of valuable schooltime. There's no reason the English Regents can't be given in the spring when every other Regents exam is given.
Bloomberg is a pompous, social-st nanny. I can't believe NYers are such idiots they let him give himself a third term. NY deserves Alec Baldwin, next time around ...... LOL ..... hopefully I'll be out of NY by then .....where's Move Already? Why haven't you found someone to buy my house?
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Lisa,
The Jan regents offers kids a chance to practice the test, an opportunity for early graduation, and a second chance for kids who either did not pass, or like my kid and many of her peers, the opportunity to try again to get a better grade in prep. for college. I just don't think that is a waste at all. I do know that districts themselves were given a chance to pay for the tests to be administered and pay for it themselves, something like 10 bucks per test. Instead we are busy repaving and ripping out asbestos that should have been gone YEARS ago, and eliminating someone like M. Masopust, who was a completely dedicated and respected educator; I know the HS students are devastated by this loss. So, if Bloomberg or the devil himself wants to pay for the dang regents, I will be a bit Machiavellian about it, as MY focus is more on what is provided now for the kids. BTW, I totally agree about Baldwin, and will ask him to please buy your house LOL. Now THAT could solve alot of problems. But I sincerely admire your dedication and passion for the kids and community; whilst I may not always agree with you, Lisa, you have generated many a conversation benefiting this community to become more involved with our most precious resource-our children, and the respect we deserve as a community of concerned parents/taxpayers.
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Also, Gillam, whom my daughter had, was reported in 2003 and put on leave in May of '04 til ,Dec. 2004. He taught in Suffok BOCES and retired in 2010 with A Pension!!!! Hello-contact Bart Zabin st NYSED OSPRA division to lodge a complaint, as I have. DON'T PASS THE TRASH!!! Look at "see through NY for confirmation of info
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protectourkids,
Thanks for the kind words. So that's where Gillam went. You know we filed the initial complaint against him. And while Flowers and Tufel took our complaint seriously, my daughter was grilled mercilessly, as were her classmates and other girls who experienced similar assaults in the past were ignored by the school because "they didn't come forward when it happened". People like that should not be around children. LVCSD seems to have an overabundance of them.
No one outside of NYS even care about Regents exams. They are the equivalent of the TAKS or the SOLS, except the SOLS except the SOLS are administered in several southern states.
The public system has been destroyed by the Progressive movement and teacher's union and more and more people are choosing private school and home schooling.
Let's start a pool on how many students LVHS loses this year entering 9th grade. I predict 18. That's more than 10% of a class.
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Wow, Lisa. Didn't realize that. My daughter and two others reported a gross incident the minnute it happened, literally ran out of his class. Why did they (Administration) keep him on until december. Paid for 7 months?? Why did they wait so long to report it to the state? How did he re-cert to teach tech in Suffolk? My fear is that this whole thing was going on as the Franks case fallout was happening, and, oh guess what, they were simultaneously receiving Benstock complaints. Too many pedophiles to deal with, so rather than contact the state which would despose of them post haste, and with STATE tax monies, they bury the dirt and WE pay for the buyouts and administrative leave. I hold the administration at the time completely responsible for this. It is an outrage and an abomination. I garauntee, between buyouts, administrative leave costs, insurance and legal fees, our district wasted over 1.5 million dollars of our tax money. Again, I urge anyone who agrees with me to contact the NYS dept. of Ed. to file a complaint about this regarding promptness and failure to report. I know so many of us were in hell over these three situations alone, and no matter what your involvement was, we do have recourse. I begged, pleaded and worked hard, with many others to effectuate a positive change to no avail. Now, 11 years later, I am just furious. Administrators like the ones we have had in the past have to be scared into doing the right thing-fine. Get it to the state, and try to make this and the rest of our schools keenly aware that they work for us, and protecting our children is their first priority.
As for your prediction, I think it may be a little low! My guess is 20.
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Protectrkids,
I should have just let my husband take care of the situation without ever bringing it up with the school - but I wanted her out of his class pronto. They switched her to that wonderful older gent's class, oh gosh, what was his name, so nice. Maybe if 3 or 4 Dads of daughters who this perv hit on took matters into their own hands, this creep would move out of state.
We didn't press charges because there was no "touching" (thank God) and a 'he said she said' case never goes well.
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Lisa, we have to bring it up with the school. And we have to make sure they do the job for which they are paid, and firstly, provide a safe and less stress less environment in which to learn. About 3 or 4 Dads, I will put this as gently as I can. I did not have that choice, as my husband left me and the kids. The fight was up to me, and I am a "dog with a bone" when it comes to defending children, I am also a pyre-school teacher. I would throw my body in front of a bus for any of them, tho I hate to fight, and can't believe I have to. Point is, Lisa, a report to the state is on the record, officially. So whether it works out for your particular case or not, it sure could help the next victim. I'm ill over the fact that Gillam was at Boces, and cold have been with special ed kids. Come on, Lisa, if you have info that is valid and pertinent, please pass it along, so this crap cannot continue. Molestation is a "grooming process" and it is a short trip from offering ride home, or ice cream, or a higher grade for a higher skirt to touching. I really know you ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO DO THIS. While I will never judge anyone on their action, or lack thereof, the only thing I beg for is that their child get the therapy they need, whether they can come forward or not. I did it, my kid was seven at the time, and now 17 and disgusted at the current situation with Ben stock, urging me to pursue it. Just do it, like a NIKE commercial, and lend credence to this ahole not teaching, nor collecting his pension based on his bogus teaching time. Please hear me, with the heart of a mother. I can't live in this "Eden" for which I am so grateful, and not try to make it better for our kids. Put you dream into action with me; we CAN change our corner of the world.
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Protectrkids,
I admire your passion. However, the past is the past and my daughter is facing a bright and happy future now, I will not force her to rehash the horrors of LVMS. LVCSD is a district more concerned about "human life globally" than abuse of its students by overpaid, coddled, public servants.
Feel free to cite me as a reference. I'm sure the district must have some record of the complaint with Flowers and Tufel's signatures on it. I've done everything I could possibly do to create awareness in this community since the late 90's as to the dysfunctional philosophy driving the administration of our schools. I'm tired. With the exception of a few brave parents, most would not get behind me on the IB battle. Now you must deal with a UN mentality for all of your school operations. It's called "look the other way":
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/world/africa/04congo.html
Good luck with the blue helmets!
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I am truly glad that your daughter is doing so well, but I don't believe she would have to "re-hash" anything. Simply providing a copy of your report to the State would be enough. If you choose to do that or not, I do understand. And I will cite you as a reference, if need be. Thank you for that.
My child is in her last year at the HS. She is an amazing student/athlete, and is loved and admired by her peers. She shares my passion for advocacy and action, as each positive change we can push for makes us both feel that our struggles were not for naught. That is what we are made of, and it also has a very healing effect on the past, enabling us to feel strong and empowered.
While I am disappointed in your choice, I will respect that. But I will continue to urge others to NOT look the other way. I wish you all the best, Lisa.
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Oh hey, please make sure LVCSD doesn't hire this guy as Benstock's replacement:
http://www.wate.com/story/15251812/man-caught-masturbating-outside-elementary-school
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What the heck was the purpose of that snarky comment, Lisa? I did not tell you what to do, so don't you dare tell me. You can help with the situation or get the heck out of MY way and don't minimize this systemic issue. It is hurtful enough for the famlies of these kids, with out some pointless, insensitive comment from you. Shame on you.
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protectrkids,
Snarky comment? That wasn't directed at you - I saw that article on Drudge and thought I'd share it here .... geez .... I think its important to know the pervs with teaching licenses .... don't you?
I do not recall ever signing off on any sort of official report. Frankly, I doubt LVCSD has any record of the incident. If you want me to FOIL it, I'll be happy to. Now you've got my curiosity up as to whether anything actually was recorded. LVCSD requires me to wait 20 business days before it responds.
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with the rain swollen tides and all i think we should get at least one life gaurd down to the bridge in the summer. i know we are all on edge since mrs. vander-hoot's launch-incident down at soundside in '32, but its only a matter of time before one of those cut little equadorian kids chasing porgies gets swept away down here! i was told sean hannity was going to look into it, but i haven't heard from him.
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Porgies? I didn't know you could catch porgies in Bayville. I have very little luck fishing. I usually catch one of those ugly, spiky things, what are they called .... Bagalls? Is that like a porgie?
And I'll have you know I was reprimanded for misspelling Ecuador on my website by some snotnosed IB kid and I spelled it the same way you did with an EQu .....
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I anyone else appalled at the condition of our Village and lack of leadership during a major construction project?
Where do the leaders of Bayville think this Village is going? Why are they not actively working with the commercial property owners, businesses and chamber to enlighten them on their main street revitalization project and encourage these people who own and work there to participate and make their establishments more improved?
I get sick and tired of looking at the conditions of our business areas and seeing taxpayers money being put to use as a bandaid for a greater problem at hand.
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What's happening with the new LVCSD BOE anyone? I heard everyone votes the same way on every item including on Jack's 5th year as president.
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sick and tired taxpayer,
It is depressing seeing the vast stretch of stores for rent as one enters Bayville on the left and then the sad condition of the exterior of the Bayville Beverage and Deli building. It's beginning to look like urban blight.
Maybe the Village could pass a reduced Village tax rate to provide incentive for landlords to lower rental rates in order to encourage new business? Hmmmm?
I heard George S. voted against Mr. Dolce's continued reign.
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Lisa,
Aw, you're just angry at the deli man because he received more votes in the BOE election than you.
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Anon,
You're an idiot, I like Joe. He's a very nice man. Does he own that building? I'm pretty sure Vicki had gotten a grant to help the owner of the other strip where Joe's other deli is. Maybe the Village could help improve the one in town?
Maybe now people can appreciate how much Vicki did in terms of obtaining grant money to improve our Village.
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Vickie did nothing unless it somehow helped her or a cronie. I am pretty sure she either liked the building owner or it helped her in some way to throw business to H2M (you had to use them for engineering if you wanted grant money). Vickie did nothing to help new business in this town. In fact, she did everything she could to stall it. Especially if the new business interfered with one of her friends. That is why our Village looks like this. Doug was well trained.
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All this writing is nice, but everyone has to go to the Village Board Mtgs. ind out how our increased tax money is being spent. One example from the last meeting is that NYS DEC fined Bayville $10,000 for improper chemical storage and record keeping. Board sounded proud that they got the fine reduced from $40,000?
The Oyster Bay paper is no longer covering the meetings and this means that the transparency of our government will be non-existent unless the property owners and taxpayers attend the 1 - 2 bi-weekly meetings.
If you want to continue to pay higher taxes and really don't care that our gem of a village has lost its luster and is tired, don't bother attending.
aif you do care...come, listen, learn & feel free to question everything that goes on and is said.
This blog is a good channel of info for the residents, but it doesn't accomplish anything by writing the same stuff over and over. Going to the meetings is the only way to get the powers to be to do the right things for our Village.
See you next Monday...7:15 Village Hall.
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Bayville has always bee a shlock, summer bungalow summer community and always will be, regardless of the fact, that the entire community is now almost all full time residents.
Many of the homes look as depressed as the commercial sites. The problem is far beyond the village politicians , although they are part of the problem. The fact is their is no community pride. Instead the residents live with an inferiority complex and love to sing the poor me
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Concerned,
I guess the grants Vicki got to help the entire Bayville Park Boulevard section, the drainage projects on West Harbor and off Mountain Avenue, among countless others were "for her cronies"? Was seeking preservation status for the St. Gertrude's woods "for her cronies"? You people suffering from Vicki derangement syndrome are as pathetic as Obama supporters.
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Lisa,
Concerned has a right to feel and say what he/she wants to on here. You do it all the time. Let Concerned have his/her opinion.
The fact of the matter is, grants were used and the Village still looks the way it does. The condition of the Village did not just fall apart starting last July when Doug took office. He inherited many problems, a deficit budget and horrible blight in this communities business sections.
I am not sugesting any wrong doing, just ineptitude on the managing of how those grants/funds were used along the years. Also, grants are not free, they are taxpayers money. just not the Villages taxes
The past is the past, Vicki is our, Doug is in and lets help him and this board who seem eager and open to help. We have a great community and we have come together before and should come together now to make a difference in our Villages appearance.
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Lisa,
I am not really sure how to answer your post. While on the surface your point seems very valid, given the fact that the residents of that area appealed to the Village FOR YEARS to remedy the flooding situation at the entrance to Bayville Park Blvd. But at second glance, I realized that one of Vickie's dear friends lived in the house at the entrance to Bayville Ave., and again, if I am not mistaken, SHE lives facing West Harbor Drive. I guess I should be expecting a red brick divider out in front of my house. I'll move the cars to the driveway.
And, not that Obama has ANYTHNG to do with the disgrace that is Bayville, yes, I do support Obama. Not because I voted for him, but because he is my President. I feel that is my duty.
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Why are we still paying John Benstock? Why are we paying for his lawyer? Why are we paying for his taxes? Why are we paying for him to sit at home at full pay? I do not understand.
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We are paying him, and this entire situation is going on for way too long because the justice system is especially flawed when it comes to child abuse cases. The public at large needs to demand answers from our Superintendant as to why the state has not been contacted to revoke his teaching certification. This can be done BEFORE a trial, based on conduct unbecoming a teacher, and is far less expensive than litigating. It is paid for by the state, not our district. A man who parades himself thru parks, beaches, and discusses his case after church in Locust Valley is as unbecoming as you can get, and is in direct violation of Hunderfund's instructions to him. The public also has a right to complain to the Nassau DA's office. The defense is pleased as punch to collect their fees, and wait 'til the public outrage abates. If you truly are upset about this, please take your outrage and put it into action. A state investigation is the quickest and best way to revoke his license, regardless of his criminal trial. Put the pressure on NOW.
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Dear protectrkids....you are right. But Bayville is sleeping. We have let things go on for far too long. Many, many things.
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This is a school district issue. Other than the fact that we don't want people like this in our community, there isn't much Bayville can do at this time.
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It is never too late for anyone to "wake up" and do any or all of the things suggested in my Oct 7th post. How can anyone in this school district complain about taxes and not feel entitled to speak up? The last two incidents cost US over 1million dollars, whereas the state could have disposed of the creatures for far less in STATE funded monies. Sorry, Buzzy, but you are aptly named. Every tax payer can do something about this. Let's call it as it is: people are more concerned with being seen as "un-popular" or up-starts and do not wish to be associated in any way with this ugly issue. They ramble on about other issues with great pomposity, and ignore the responsibilities we have as adults in our community to protect our most precious resource, our innocent children. BTW, children are growing up and WILL question why their community failed them. What then? Mepham SD got behind their victims, and helped them heal as a community. Are we not as good as them? Or are we gutless people with our heads in the sand? Go on and wave to your neighbors at the post office, in the supermarket, and oh, make sure you give candy out to the kids on Halloween. Just let them know that you can't make a phone call, or take a stand 'cause you're sleeping, or it's not a good time for you. My guestimate is that over 250 people in our community have been directly affected by this latest debacle, if each victim has two parents, a sibling and one set of grandparents. If you don't want people like this in our community, then you should make it a place that has a ZERO tolerance for it. If not, shame on YOU.
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totally astonished at the condition of county and village roads where are our tax dollars going notified OB on several occasions on the condition of Bayville Ave. nothing done yet...when contacting village office get the oh its a private rd. well if my street or the ones surrounding me are private roads why do we get mail delivery, snow removal and trash and garbage pick up can some one answer me on this I'm confused.
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protectkids,
Why do you post that the state has not been contacted to revoke his teaching certificate?
Dr. Hunderfund was asked this question months ago and said the Department of Education was notified immediately and a request was made.
Not only that she went on to say the district asked the Nassau District Attorney's to contact the Department of Education and give them the facts of the case. The DA's office we were told did so but still the state has not acted.
The Regents and DoE are useless and do virtually nothing for our children.
Instead of spreading false information you could do something positive and call the Department Education and tell them you know they have been informed of this issue by both the district and the DA's office and demand to know why they haven't acted. You could encourage others to do so as well.
If you want to do something constructive as you claim call them
To Smart,
Unfortunately, the district is required by law to pay the accused until his certificate is revoked. Since, the DoE seems unwilling to revoke his license, he will continue to be paid until he either pleads guilty to the crimes or is convicted in court. If he is found not guilty he will be allowed to continue to teach. So please call the Department of Education with your concerns.
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Can the DOE revoke his license based on the charges without trial or admission of guilt??
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Anon,
I was not aware that of this. Exactly who asked this question, when, and in what forum? And just to educate you, Anon, I have spoken to Bart Zabin at the NYSDOE directly, as well as Ms. Finklestein, the ADA on the case on this matter, and we need more taxpayers people do do so. Have you done anything yet? Did you know that anyone who cares about this issue can file an online complaint? I did that, too.
ANYONE can notify the Commissioner of Education to begin a Part 83 Hearing. It does not have to come from the superintendent.
Jeff Silver, YES! A part 83 is a hearing that can remove a teachers certificate based upon "poor moral character." This is independent of any criminal conviction-it can be done NOW. Please join me in appealing to the State DOE and OSPRA (school personnel review and accountability). 518-473-2998. For more information www.nysed.gov and type in the keyword OSPRA.
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protectkids,
What nerve! As a parent of an involved child I don't need your mud slinging.
Find out what the district did before you throw out accusations. Dr. Hunderfund speaks to any parent asking information on this issue.
I spoke with her and the district filed a complaint immediately with the state asking for the removal of the teaching certificate. However, she is also very considerate of the needed privacy of involved parents. If you have a need to know go speak with her.
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Anon, What mud slinging? I, too am a parent of a child deeply affected by this, and I have nothing but support for the victims of this vicious monster. Dr. H has come out in full support of our kids, but my research has taught me that unfortunately, the justice system is ridiculous when it comes to addressing these issues in a timely manner. A State investigation by NYSDOE is separate and apart from a criminal or civil procedure, and is funded by the State, not our District. It only needs to prove that a teacher is "of poor moral character," and therefore, unfit to teach. Any complaints made to the school district at ANY time will be considered, in ANY educational setting, including tutoring in one's home. A state investigator, like Mr. Bart Zabin, would come down and conduct an investigation and interview the complaintants, maintaining their privacy. check out LAWS of New York 2001, CHAPTER 180:Law and Regulations:OTI:NYSED. We need to bombard the State into action, and I believe we can and must use every ppossible resource. Anon, if they take his certification he will be fired legally and we will not have to pay him any more.
My heart and prayers go out to you and yours. I survived this process, but will not put my head in the sand about the current outrageous situation in our school. I am trying to do whatever I can to help get rid of this monster. Please understand that I am on your side. The minute we can tell our kids that he is gone from our schools, a giant weight will be lifted from their backs, and God willing, we can begin to heal. Our kids deserve nothing less.
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Just saw this on Newsdays site
Bayville vote planned to allow exceeding tax cap
By BILL BLEYER
The Bayville Village Board will hold a hearing Monday night on a local law that will allow it to exceed the state’s 2 percent cap on property tax levy increases, if necessary, in its 2012 budget.
“It’s a tool,” Mayor Doug Watson said. “It doesn’t mean you have to use it or that we’re looking to exceed 2 percent.” Watson added that “when the two houses of the legislature and the governor passed this law, they gave us this tool that we can vote to override it. So we have to adopt it by resolution.”
He said the New York Conference of Mayors has encouraged municipalities to pass the exemption “just to have it at the ready. The State Legislature’s not going to come down and help us out of a jam.”
More: newsday.com/bayville
On Twitter: @BillBleyer | @LI_Now
The village is just starting to put together its budget and will present a preliminary document before a public hearing and then adopt the final budget in April. The hearing is at Village Hall at 34 School St. at 7:45 p.m.
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Did anyone read the article on page A21 in Newsday yesterday regarding the 18.6% increase for the residential tax rate for the village of Bayville yesterday? Along with the 73% decrease for comerdial properties. Does anyone else think that is a little lopsided. why are we giving comercial properties a rate of 27 cents per 100 and residential 1.3852 per 100. I checked with Nassau county and most other villages use either the same rate for comercial and residential or in some cases comercial is even higher than residential. Our mayor has decided to make residential a bargian and strap the residents of Bayville with a bigger burden. This guy is going to bankrupt this village.
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Commercial properties are not being updated most are rundown and unappealing visually commercial projects are left in completed like the Pier one property, the unfinished eyesore in front of the vets office the still vacant spot where Bank of America was the now empty lot with a lovely bulldozer (Maxi's) and last but not least the parking lot that belonged to Pier 1 fenced in with cars and boats stored there this village will soon see an influx of homes on the market at this rate its a disgrace.
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In contrast, while some people complain about school taxes the school building and grounds are well maintained and the children are getting an excellent education. Newsday just published the graduation rates and little old Locust Valley graduated 99% of its students.
The village needs to start over. Years and years of neglect are obvious. Driving through one can understand why a business would be reluctant to locate here and why residents would look to a cleaner, better maintained community -- VERY VERY SAD.
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Not unexpected to see how incompetent Mayor Doogie was at last night's VOB board meeting.
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What time are the meetings each week?
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