SALEM – Directors on the MSAD 58 school board continued reviewing the 2015-16 budget Thursday evening, after Superintendent Erica Brouillet informed the board that Kingfield selectmen were “displeased” with their town’s project increase in local assessment.
MSAD 58 follows a budget process that is utilized in a number of local districts. A finance committee of five directors assists administrators in developing a draft budget which is then presented to the entire, 14-member board. The board then proceeds through the budget, line by line, and makes cuts or additions. The final, proposed budget is presented to voters at the district-wide budget meeting, with residents setting each cost center. The budget that comes out of that meeting is then approved at referendum.
Directors are currently looking at a $9.5 million draft budget, reviewing the ‘special education’ and ‘other instruction’ cost centers on Thursday. If approved without any further changes, that draft budget would represent approximately a $466,000 increase, or 5 percent. According to the district, that $9.5 million budget would result in increases in the local assessment in all four towns: $27,000 in Avon, or 7 percent; $65,000 in Kingfield, or 4.5 percent; $51,000 in Phillips, or 6.5 percent; and $55,000 in Strong, or 6.6 percent.
The total budget number is likely to change before the school board presents a proposed budget to voters at the district-wide budget meeting. Business Manager Luci Milewski had already adjusted the draft from the previous board meeting to arrive at the $9.5 million figure, including accounting for a nearly 2 percent decrease in health insurance rates. That reduction, along with a decrease in the less significant dental insurance rate, is expected to save the district $135,000.
Prior to board discussions on the budget, Superintendent Brouillet informed the board that she had been contacted by Kingfield Selectman Chair John Dill. The chair had told her that the board had reviewed an earlier draft copy of the budget, which showed an $85,000 increase in local assessment rather than the more-recent $65,000 calculation. The board had voted to have Dill contact the superintendent to inform the school board that they were “displeased” with the increase.
The budget deliberations were also brought up by a resident in the public comment section of the meeting, when she read from a statement calling for Board Chair Dan Worcester’s ouster as chairman. Christina Haynes of Strong read from a statement, in which she said that 126 residents had signed a petition asking Worcester to step down as chair. If he did not, Haynes said, the aforementioned residents wanted the board to remove him by vote.
The board was first informed of the petition by Elizabeth Marble of Freeman Township at the April 2 meeting, who said she was dissatisfied with Worcester’s decision-making and leadership. She informed the board at that time of her intent to collect signatures for a “Declaration of No Confidence.”
In her statement, Haynes said that 126 was a significant number as it was one more vote than was necessary to pass the school budget last year. It was essential that the public trust the board and its deliberations in order to support the raising of millions of dollars to support the school district, Haynes argued. She said that supporters of the effort would continue to collect signatures.
“We remind the board that the community is concerned and is watching very closely,” Haynes said, “to see how you maneuver our schools through the challenges that we are facing.”
The board did not comment on Haynes statement. In a press release issued on April 10 regarding negotiations between the district and Mt. Abram Teachers Association, the board did address “recent attacks on the Chairman of the MSAD #58 Board of Directors,” saying that all decisions were made by all 14 directors. The Association responded by saying it had nothing to do with the petition, an issue it said should be settled by the board and the taxpayers.
In other business, newly-appointed Director Paul Orbeton of Kingfield was sworn in by Brouillet.
Brouillet also reported that two administrators, Technology Manager Angel Allen and Business Manager Milewski, had both submitted resignations. Applications and an interview process will be used to fill those positions and that of Food Service Director, which was overseen by Allen.
Thanks for the great article, Bulldog….There was also a lengthy discussion about how much money to spend on sweeping the schools’ driveways and mowing their lawns…more than $5,000. Board member Beth Luce suggested we move our kids backwards in technology by returning to laptops as wordprocessors rather than using ipads for research and programming. Board member Julie Talmage, who has a terrific grasp of school finance, questioned how much money employees of our district are making (certainly hope she questions why we’re adding in money to hire a new business manager and technology director. Could it be that the two currently holding these positions have been underpaid for the work they have done?) The Superintendent thanked those that have resigned, as the board sat there. Silent. Math teacher Brian Twitchell, who has been preparing our college bound students to succeed in challenging math courses for decades (current Vice Chair included, I will bet) presented to the board and was not thanked. Beth Luce suggested the board show their appreciation to the teachers on upcoming Teacher Appreciation Day. Here’s an idea: settle the contract! A Strong resident read a declaration of no confidence signed by taxpayers of Strong, Phillips, Avon, Kingfield and Carrabassett Valley asking the board to remove the board chair if he did not step down voluntarily. The board’s response? Sat there. Silent. THEN….Board member Lois Barker made a motion to add approximately $4,000 to the budget to pay for the actual days worked by the Dean of Students/Athletic Director. Thank you, Lois, sorry that got tabled. We’re still not sure if Robert’s Rules were adhered to during this period of the meeting. Anyone that has been affected by the role of the athletic director (attended or participated in baseball, softball, track, skiing, soccer, basketball, etc at any level K-12) is extremely grateful for all the work that he has done. So, let’s say a couple THOUSAND people have been assisted by Mr. Black and are grateful for his job well done, but a handful of board members are more concerned about removing dust from the blacktop. Sorry, Mr. Black, the actions last night were not representative of the district. We hope you will stay here and continue to make positive changes for our students….sentiments we also would like to extend to our administrators, our teachers, our support staff, our busdrivers and custodians, our ed techs, our contracted service positions, our business manager, our technology director, and a few of our school board members.
James Black, as well as fellow administartors, have done an outstanding job this year only to have the majority of the school board disrespect them with inappropriate comments and totally disreguarding their advice on the job they were hired to do. I once was very proud of our district. I can not say the same at this current time. Our school board is out of touch and does not care to listen to parents. Decisions are made outside of the school board meetings (which is illegal). School staff, kids and parents are disrespected and not listened to by a majority of school board members. The budget hearing is coming, the board needs votes to pass it. I suggest they start listening to the parents and the people who show up in numbers to these meetings.
I almost forgot. What kind of a school board raises pay to participate fees to $50 per sport per kid, then extracts $14,000 out of that account and puts it into the genral fund? Meanwhile cutting the athletic line and uniforms for HS athletic teams. MSAD 58 school board does.
What kind of a school board member does not show up to our HS, asks kids questions, observe the school day on occassion, and asks questions? The MSAD 58 school board.
What kind of parent is thinking VERY seriously about their kids’ educational future at Mt A bram HS? This parent.
If you are not there for the kids, then you should not be there. It says it right in your own Code of Ethics.
My deepest apologies to those school board members who do visit our HS, my frustration is not with you.
What does it say to all the taxpayers that signed the petition when the board chair doesn’t even comment on it? I do believe he was asked to step down as chairman. You’ve got to have a pretty big ego to think you’re above listening to your constituents. I can see if the other board members feel uncomfortable asking one of their own to step down, but there’s a lot of money at stake here and money talks. Pretty hard to generate revenue when you can’t trust the recipients.
Thank you, Ms. Marble, for the recap…Not sure I could have understood the article without your narration/interpretation/negative spin on everything school board related… I do not know your position with the school, but would bet you draw a paycheck from them each week. I am at a loss to understand how your constant flow of sarcastic remarks and negative comments toward the school board serves any good purpose toward moving this process along to an amicable conclusion. The SAD 58 Board of Directors has a tough enough job to do without someone constantly throwing stones at them while looking for publicity and attention…Perhaps you should consider running for the school board (oops..not sure you can if you do not live in a district town…Do your taxes help pay school budget?) Sorry, gotta run…I don’t want to be stranded in the same stream of negativity that seems to have caught you.)
Ouch, my feelings are hurt. Oops, more sarcasm. Sorry! Oops, a little more. You’d bet wrong that I draw a paycheck from the district every week, but you can rest assured I have spent a lot of time praising up the board and thanking them profusely for the job that they have done. I have been a supporter of our school board all the way back to serving as Student Representative to the board when we trekked over to the Superintendent’s office in Kingfield and although I don’t owe a no-namer any explanation, you can speak to many of the board members and I’m sure they’ll share with you the emails I have sent them expressing why I am concerned and my offer to be a part of positive change. There comes a point, however, when you decide that you can’t worry about what 14 people feel about you when there are hundreds of employees that need a little support, 700+ students that we could do better by, and thousands of taxpayers that need someone to speak up for them. Those board members that have the best interest of the students, staff, AND taxpayers at heart have my full support and they know it. I’d offer to save you a seat beside me at the next board meeting, but it sounds as if you already have one at the table. FYI Unorganized Territory contributes approximately 1.6 million dollars to the MSAD 58 budget each year.
Elizabeth, if I can call you by your first name, thanks for all your help, and your enlightenment on the issue(s) at stake. As far as the no-name blogger(s), spewing all of the dribs and drabs, separates them from lots of intelligent debates and only provide lots of pointless horsecrap.
I also don’t use my name for safety reasons, however, some that I have met, and shared a coffee time at the local DD, spent colorful moments live versus commentary here with others that are just another horse with no name and a persona non grata hateful cynics.
Who ever you say you are Ms Marble- I have been following your posts the past few years and it seems you criticize every board member depending which way the wind blows.
Your behavior is divisive at best.
Liz I commend you for bing a voice for the students and the district.Standing up for what you believe in is so very important.Anyone that knows Liz can tell you that she attends almost EVERY board meeting and has spoken with EVERY board member to become informed on what is best for the students.Can you say the same Jim or SAD Taxpayer.MSAD 58 is losing employees because they do not feel valued or heard right now.People are resigning and leaving for many reasons right now that need to be addressed.This IS a problem.I guess we could all sugar coat everything and lay back and watch but that to me is cowardly.I applaud Liz for standing up and voicing her opinion and FYI the Unrganized Territorry Makes their payment of over 1,000,000 to the state who sends it to our district.So clearly you do not know your facts.In my opinion as a tax paying citizens and a parent in MSAD 58 I wish we could have representation from the Unorganized Territories on the board.And as for the “stream of negativity” you mentioned , it’s been happening consistently at meetings.I suppose the comment recently from our Vice Chair that “Our School Suck” should be commended.In my opinion that is a negative comment and one of the many that have people feeling helpless with the current situation.Bravo Liz and thank you to the school members who are there right now trying to make good things happen for the kids and the district!
I do believe that the chairman of the board was elected by the town that he represents and not by Darren Allen and Liz Marble. I think that the board has a very hard job to do and if you people that are complaining so much do not like it you should consider running for a seat on the board.
Thanks to the School Board of MSAD58. Your doing
your job. Hang in there. I cannot make meetings but
review the minutes.
Tough times, I applaud these Board members trying to
clean up a decade of sketchy business.
Liz’s recap from the meeting is a very accurate one. If you would like to talk about being divisive, then let us ask ourselves who is really being divisive.
1. No teacher contract for 3 years (also employee wage freeze for 3 plus years)
2. Ed Tech negotiations are at a stand still
3. Pay to participate fee raised from $35 to $50 to help pay for soccer lights etc when there was over $20,000 already in the pay to participate account. Then account was raided to put $14,000 in the general fund. High School coaches and teams are well underfunded and not supported by the school board.
4. The resentment of adding a Dean of Students/AD to our HS for this year when we did not even have one the previous year. This is still a sore spot with the board chair as he voted against it. One of the main reasons the parent group supported the budget last year.
5. Cutting of programs at our schools and then saying “Our schools suck”
6. The attack on technology and the willingness by the board to take our district backwards in technology.
7. The unwillingness to listen to parental concerns.
8. The unwillingness of many school board members to visit our High School periodically observe the daily happenings, school events and athletic contests.
These are facts, but its had to argue with ignorance when you have facts.
Thank you, Stan for reminding all of us that the board chair’s term expires in June and that the people of Phillips need to show up at their town meeting to vote for school board representatives that will take care of students, staff, and taxpayers. I have the utmost respect for current Phillips board members Carrie Bredeau, Faith Richard and John Foss. Carrie is relatively new to the board, but brings with her an understanding of the town and an appreciation for teachers. Faith is compassionate and fair and always speaks her mind. John Foss spends countless hours researching and investigating ways to save our district money. What Stan is trying to say to the people of Phillips is that they have an opportunity to nominate and vote from the floor of their town meeting someone else to join this terrific team. Darren and I, the students and staff of MSAD 58, and the taxpayers of Strong, Avon, and Kingfield (not to mention the little UT) are hopeful for positive changes on our board and we’re counting on the people of Phillips. Thanks, Stan for leading the charge! The No Confidence Declaration was ignored by the chairman (as we expected), but it has served as a communication tool to get people involved and the support for our students has been overwhelming! See you at the next school board meeting, Thursday April 30th, 6:30 at Mt. Abram.
Since when has it become so wrong to be a teacher, administrator or a coach in MSAD 58? Why are the people who put in tons of hours daily to work with the youth in our area so resented and not given a fair wage? This is not the same place where I grew up. Where I grew up we cared about our schools, our kids futures, our community.
Why not have students sweep the driveways and mow the grass?
I know it is only a small part of the larger issue the board and district are facing, but wouldn’t that save money, teach responsibility and make the whole place look nice?
I agree with Stan….Better to be a part of the solution than a part of the problem!
Stan, you hit it right on the head. Of course you and I will be ridiculed if we don’t attend a school board meeting. That was what I was told on facebook..but as tax payers I have a right to express my opinion as everyone. It is a very hard job being on the board I’m sure. And if people don’t like what’s happening then they need to go to their town meetings and run for it. I personally wouldn’t want to be on the school board because of all of this. I wouldn’t dare to roll my eyes, or not respond, because it would be all over the county that I wasn’t doing my job.
I have known Dan Worcester all my life and years ago I had trouble with something at the school that the superintendent would t help me so I went to Dan, as he was chairman then and he helped me. He wants what’s best for the kids, and the ppl that are tax payers, no one is perfect, so if you don’t like him then run for his job and see if you are capable of doing it perfectly.
They say they have a petition with over 100 ppl signing it??? How many ppl are in the district? Guess not all have signed it
@ really? Because it’s a school system and not a labor camp
If we accept eye rolling from the Chair of a school board then we have an even bigger problem on our hands!When did disrespect become ok.What example does this set for our kids???A chairman rolling his eyes at people should be fired in my opinion.
OK TAXPAYERS AND RESIDENTS OF PHILLIPS….COME TO THE TOWN MEETING IN JUNE AND LETS RE-elect Dan Worcester to the school board so he can finish his job….it’s sounding more and more like a personal attack on mr Worcester than on his ability to do what is right.
Actually, Sue, we stopped the petition at 126 people (a third were from Phillips by the way) because it was only 125 people that showed up at last year’s meeting to pass the budget. See the significance? You are defending Dan, the person. I’m sure he is a very nice man, that’s not what’s in question here, nor has it ever been. The concern is with his actions as chairman which have been nowhere near perfect. We’re not looking for perfection. We’re looking for fair, professional, honest, transparent…to name just a few of our lofty expectations. The petition did not list his name, rather his position and we intentionally did not leave it in places of business or go online with it. As I stated in my initial report on the declaration, I apologize to all of you that are looking out for the feelings of the chairman and the board, but that’s 14 people total! What about the feelings and the concerns of the students, the teachers, the administrators, the parents, the taxpayers and their families? How can you overlook so many? EVERYONE is playing within the rules except for the chairman and it’s gone on long enough. Climb all over me and how negative and terrible I am, but if you jump to the chairperson’s defense, you are turning your back on an incredible number of people who do not deserve this type of treatment or the false impression they have been given that the chairperson is looking out for the best interest of the students and taxpayers. This is simply not true and it is a situation that he has created all by himself. This is not a popularity contest this is a matter of right over wrong. Walk into the Phillips School and you will see the awesome level of community involvement that shows how much Phillips cares about its school and its students. Not everyone can make it to school board meetings or has time to look into what is happening at the board level, but I strongly encourage all Phillips residents to start talking with each other about what they’re hearing and carry that support and love for their school into the doors of the town meeting in June and make sure your voice is represented in the board members that you elect (more often than not these are uncontested. Please find someone to run). Each town at one time or another has dealt with situations similar to this, but this situation now is more dire than many realize and the Phillips community is completely in control of the future success of our district. Please let me know how I can help.
Students DO NOT need IPads: waste of money. Laptops are more versatile (how are you supposed to learn to use Microsoft Excel or improve your typing speed on a tablet?).
As a parent and someone who takes their children to other parts of the state (and country) you see iPads everywhere in businesses and every walk of life. Ipads are way more versatile and levels the playing field for all students than laptops.They are also way more portable as I use it to record video and breakdown the video to use as a learning tool for kids. Notebooks and ipads are the wave of the future. This past weekend I went to many businesses in Southern Maine that used ipads or a notebook as a part of their business. I like them and as a dad and taxpayer want them being used by my kids. Thank you for your opinion but I respectfully disagree. Ive spent hours doing education research on these.
Liz,
Why are you so obsessed with raising more taxes and spend more money. It’s not just the boards fault that teachers haven’t received a “contract”! However name one teacher who is starving or not getting paid or going without insurance benefits! Hmmm. Teachers are still receiving benefits and SAD 58 is spending millions! The boards decision to reduce spending is what I would say is prudent financial decision making. Liz the community is sick and tired of receiving a tax bill and having the amount go up hundreds of dollars a year! Let’s make do with what we have and we have a lot now to be proud of! Stop spending please! If you want all of these things how about doing a huge fundraiser! Leave the poor alone!
For those concerned about word processing…the iPads come with external keyboards and the typing skills I learned from Mr. Dumont at MTA work perfectly on the iPads. Just saying.
Oh, my. You have me confused with someone else completely. I believe that the taxpayers are being fooled into the idea that the chairman of the board is looking out for their best interests. There is gross overspending in at least two cost centers that, without raising taxes this year, could fund programs and services (dare I say even the $4k for the Athletic director) for our students, without the budget going up at all. Thanks for getting involved and sharing your opinion, but if we could demand COMPLETE transparency in how we are spending tax dollars in EVERY area of the budget, you would not see an increase at all in our budget or your taxes this year. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify your misunderstanding of my position. At this point, I would encourage taxpayers to vote down the budget and start over without the board chair hovering protectively over these two areas which total more than 1.9 million dollars.
Is the money that SAD 58 receives from Unorganized Territories (Salem, Freeman, etc.) for student tuition? I was not aware they paid a percentage of the SAD expenses/budget….Seems odd they would pay a percentage of the budget when it is not shown in the breakdown of town’s share of expenses. Just wondering…
In reading many of these comments, it seems that the anger pointed at the school board is coming from parents with kids in school who want their kids to get all the bells and whistles at any expense and those who benefit directly (via paycheck) that feel they are not getting the praise they feel they deserve. Most working folks go to work each day, collect a paycheck on Friday and expect no more.. Praise is always nice, but not a common occurrence in most jobs. I am on a fixed income and unable to come up with additional funds for the ever increasing taxes needed to satisfy and keep SAD 58 happy. I, personally, see no problem with parents/students paying participation fees for activities since they are the ones that are benefitting from the activity. Just because teachers, admin, coaches etc. are not getting everything they want or praised at every meeting does not mean they are being disrespected by the board. The board is elected by their individual town taxpayers and they need to vote based on the taxpayers’ desires. They are in a very difficult position .Trying to please everyone is impossible. I am confident the school board members vote the way they feel the majority of their town’s taxpayers would want them to vote. In my book, the praise goes to the Board Members…I also feel it is up to the school board (not the public) to ask a chairman to step down, if desired,. They each have a vote in all matters and have the opportunity to “outvote” any matter they desire if they do not agree with a chairman’s thoughts. One person cannot rule when all members vote. I would be interested in knowing how many of the126 signatures received on the petition were from those with no connection to the district….
SAD Taxpayer,
Of course the UT would not show up in the town’s breakdown, it’s not a town. Respect is different than praise. All 126 votes were from taxpayers in the district; therefore every signature has a “connection” to the district, but not in the way that you’re implying. Please attend a board meeting.
Well said SAD Taxpayer. I myself pay taxes to three sad 58 towns plus 1 unorganized territory ( Salem). Let’s just say Salem is much cheaper then Phillips, Avon and Strong. Sick of school increasing taxes. No more. If you want more for the kids than parents should step up and do it. Dont rely on poor folks all the time. To the board: let’s keep taxes down! I have no problem with paying for kids to play sports etc. once you increase taxes they never will go down. Think about that!!!
Keep up the good work school committee.
It is important to keep the taxpayer in mind and not always cave in to the school employees.
I value the school employees like I do any working person. However, they cannot expect to continue with raises and benefit increases that the rest of us only dream about.
The reality is the private world is working harder and harder with fewer and fewer and still getting the job done. Let’s get the school department back in shape.
Just because someone asks the teachers and staff to do a little more or contribute a little more is not the end of the world. By all means, if you can find a better job with better pay and benefits and job security than you have now, do not let anyone stop you from going after it. That is what we do in the private world, but most of us realize that the grass only looks greener on the other side.
Again…Why wouldn’t the UT’s share of district expenses be shown in the total breakdown of various participants sharing the cost of the budget if the money were to share expenses? I don’t think it is because they are not a town.. The UT’s input of funds would decrease the amount needed to be paid by all the towns and completely change the picture of expenses apportioned..I’m still thinking the money received by UT is to pay for the tuition of the students living in UT and attending SAD 58.
Respect is different than praise..but the same terms apply in regular non-teaching employment as well…
Liz,I’m sure all 126 signatures were from district taxpayers.;they would be of no value to you if they were not.. Still no answer to my question regarding direct “connection” …How many signatures were gathered outside schoolgrounds?? How many teachers,coaches,admin. of SAD 58 reside in the district? Is the petition available for viewing?
I have the 27 page budget draft in my hands which includes the revenue provided by the UT as well as the towns that tuition their students to MSAD 58. Your guesses about how the district budget works are incorrect. I would suggest you pick one up and study it closely. Or, you could join me at the next board meeting and we could discuss it and I would be happy to show you the petition. Please wear a nametag that says SAD Taxpayer or else I won’t recognize you.
Ok kids…make sure we all go to phillips town meeting and vote for Dan so he can finish his job…….
I think your misinterpreting what Ive said. I dont mnd pay to particiapte, however we as parents were led to beleve when this was established that the funds would stay at the HS and would directly help student-athletes and their respective teams. Removing $14,000 from this account and putting into the general fund is not being transparent.
Also I do not want “bells and whistles” for my kids. I want to maintain what we have. The school had alot more in 2007, we are going backwards. Ipads are actually cheaper than laptops and have many programs better than microsoft word etc. ipads are equipt with keyboards attachments for word processing.
Also we are very understanding when it comes to the budget but we are looking to make cuts elsewhere instead of effecting kids indtr
Did you say…finish us off? Indeed.
Thanks for the invite, Liz, but guess I will leave the decision-making to those who have been elected to do so. Seems they do not need another watch-dog waiting to pounce and I prefer not to be a backseat driver. I am happy they are looking out for the taxpayer’s pocketbook and appreciate the time and effort they (meaning ALL of them) put into their duties. You sail your ship and I’ll sail mine….I will review the budget as I am truly interested in the $$ received (revenue) from Unorganized Territories. If the state’s $$ were for their share of the budget and not for tuition paid for UT students in SAD 58, that would appear to be taxation without representation for all you UT folks and I suspect you would be all over that too…
You neglected to tell me where the petition and signatures may be viewed…Is it in the hands of our school directors? If so, I can easily obtain the info I am looking for.
Hope Phillips folks will support their school board directors and allow them to continue trying to hold costs down.
SAD Taxpayer,
Are you sure you’re not a backseat driver? I’ll leave you with this…..I AM TRYING TO PROTECT THE TAXPAYERS! This can be done while ALSO looking out for the students and staff. It doesn’t have to be one way or the other. I have said it several times in this exhausting conversation. There is money to be saved in this budget! Do you only read your own comments? Fine if you, SAD TAXPAYER, hate teachers, kids, and the UT. But you also hate paying higher taxes each year, right? I’m trying to save you money. You personally. My UT taxes won’t go down if the school budget does. Do you get it yet? Transparency in all places is what I’m asking for. You’re welcome, SAD Taxpayer, for the hours I have spent at board meetings, listening and learning and advocating for our children at the same time that I am TRYING TO SAVE YOU MONEY. Hear it yet? I doubt it. Re-read above where you can find the petition.
This all looks like “typical” power struggling to me..
Obviously lots of folks have NO PROBLEM with the directors.
Contrary to what their OPPONENTS are shooting from the highest mountain.
These tactics appear desperate and UNproductive.
Doesn’t the fact that you spend half your time defending your rude behavior tell you anything?
You have become the issue.
If you really wanted solutions you would back off.
But you don’t…so you won’t I’m sure.
Keep your chin up board..
Motive,
I stand corrected. Backing off has always been the solution to injustice. Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
No one has given the dollar amount that the teachers have to pay for insurance and how much will the increase be. Would someone give me the amount please.
I shouldn’t, but I get a lot of my information from Facebook. Interesting to see which aforementioned position thinks it’s ok to poke fun at and minimize the effects of bullying on his page.
Stan:At the meeting in phillips when the teachers were discussing their contract with the board, i heard the following if it helps. With the salary step approved certain teachers with families on the scale would get $500 more and their insurance if approved was going to go up $550. So they would be losing $50. I don’t know all the details but that stuck in my mind.
Liz…This is my final comment as this conversation is wasting both our time…You might reread “Motive” as I believe he/she has nailed it!
Just want you to know that I have read all the other comments and found them interesting and insightful..without being rude and sarcastic… I think it is ridiculous for you to say I hate kids, teachers and Unorganized Territories…might as well throw in Apple Pie while you are at it! We just do not agree..period. You want the Rolls Royce version of schools for the kids and I want what I can afford…I want to be able to pay my taxes and my bills (including my own health insurance). I will not be able to do so if the school budget continues to skyrocket. It is scary to be on a fixed income and wonder if the house that you have worked hard to pay for will still be yours in the future or will it be lost to ever-increasing taxes.
and Yes, I did see that you are holding the petition. Since it is right in front of you, why not plug in the old calculator and give us a break-down of SAD employee’s signatures vs. non-school employee signatures and tell us where the petitions were made available for signing.
And since you have the budget draft in your hands, how about getting that answer for Stan…
If you are truly interested in working to the good of everyone, as you claim, perhaps you need to work on your presentation..You might want to focus on what is wrong with the budget and ways to correct it instead of what a poor job you feel the school board does… and stop trying to rally Phillips taxpayers into voting in a new director just because the current one stands his ground and because his thoughts don’t agree with yours.
Have a nice day.
SAD, it’s almost as if you haven’t read any of Elizabeth’s ideas. Sounds like she is trying to look out for your taxes and she did point out the problems with the budget. The petition that I signed (I pay town taxes) wasn’t on school grounds and didn’t have school employees on it. I’m going to do the diligent thing and look into this more closely instead of speculating anymore here. I’m all for anyone that is eager to save a little money and it sounds like she is. Perhaps you have an issue that isn’t actually about your taxes. Glad you are done spewing and leaving to enjoy your day.
It appears to me that the problem is that most of you think that you know better than anyone else. You know what is best, and are unwilling to hear the other side. No room for compromise. Gee, isn’t that what you are accusing Mr. Worchester of?
Right is one side. Wrong is the other. Not sure there should be compromise in this. Don’t back down Liz.
I think we should keep in mind we want what is best for our children and their education.Taxes are never going to go down.You should want to contribute to children’s education because they are our future. I had to have a conversation with my child two weeks ago explains why the Vice Chair made the comment that “Our Schools Suck”.I shouldn’t have to explain ignorance to my child amongst people that are supposed to be setting an example for other board members to follow and supporting our schools.The worst part was NO apology was given.Dont we teach our kids to apologize when offensive things are said.If you think our schools suck then wait until more teachers leave and the kids are left with new techers with less experience who are willing to work for a small salary.I have read al the comments on the chair Dan Worcester and it seems that people support him in terms of a person but his representation of having the BEST interest of education is questionable.I say this because wasn’t he a former MSAD employee himself who left the district and “resigned”. We seem to have a big divide between people who seem to think teachers are being over paid or don’t deserve health insurance. I am
Not a teacher but would 100 percent support my child’s teacher feeling supported and feeling like they are admired for what they do. I noticed the facebook page of the chair after it was mentioned here by another person. Another board member was making light of the people’s concern for bullying by the chair. Even if the board does not feel he is a bully isn’t there a way to address it besides making jokes on facebook. There seems to be a lot of work that needs to be done in the district. Lets give the kids the programs they deserve and make our district great! I am upset to hear that kids are paying to play sports and there is 20,000 in a fund already. Kids should be able to use this money to travel and have new uniforms or anything else they need. Who is in charge of all these funds not being dispersed in an accurate way??
It would be helpful to know the answer to my question, but I guess that no one knows.
Like we have stated before, we are not for big tax hikes. We just want to maintain what we have and address the needs of the students. The students need teachers, the teachers need to feel appreciated. This is a school. The atmosphere of the school resonates from the school board. And let me be clear. You are correct in saying we do have some great school board directors here in SAD 58. They however are in the minority.
I have listed some basic facts on here and yet they were met with sneering and unfounded responses. The needs of our students need to come first. Students need great teachers and a great staff. Many have held their heads high during this three year process AND the unwarranted scolding and questioning during school board meetings. Kids at the high school even get an opportunity to meet with school board members during one time during the school year. How many school board members do you think showed up to this? I can count them on one hand and their are 14 members. How do you think the students felt when only a handful show up? Like they dont matter. Isn’t this a school? If you were in charge of a company whose annual budget was 9 million dollars, wouln’t you think you would ask questions and visit the buildings and assets of that company? Of coarse you would because that is your job. Why is it then that certain school board members do not do the same? The perception is that you only care how much money you can save on your tax bill. Your job as a school board member is to think of the kids first and create a balance between taxes and the kids. Right now we are out of balance. Again we are not asking for “bells and whistles” We are asking for other areas to be more significantly impacted besides kids direct instruction. We are also asking for transparency which right now I have given you an example of in regards to the “Pay to Participate” information I listed above. I have yet to be given an answer. This wasnt tax money. This was fees and donations given by people and businesses who were told this would help the HS student-athletes and their athletic programs. Instead $14,000 was/is extracted and moved to the genral budget. This is not why I wrote $150 in checks this year so my kid could participate. I will GLADLY pay this fee, if it goes directly to athletics. I will NOT pay this if money goes into the general budget fund. This is not being transparent. I am a taxpayer, a dad, a coach. I would like an answer. All I hear is crickets. I believe it is a valid question and this is just an example and how parents and students are treated. Like a revenue source.
Thanks for not answering my question.
Stan I do not know the answer to your question.
This is just me saying this, so don’t go ballistic on me, I would rather have a little less in salary as long as insurance was offered to me. Even at a discount, or the employer paying for most of it or half of it. Insurance is not cheap, and I would rather make a little less as long as me and my family were insured. Have the teachers go out and try to find insurance for them and their fAmily.
Darren and all who think that IPads are the answer…please just imagine your children going to college or applying for a professional job with IPAD experience. These kids would get laughed out of the room. I have a professional career and we work with high powered workstations. High end processing programs only work with these types of systems. Don’t get me wrong, we do see Ipads…they seem to be great for checking in on Facebook, checking email, and trying to get a high score on Angry Birds.
Just saying…
This probably sounds very out-dated…but….I would like to see the students capable of doing math without a calculator, spelling without the use of spell-check, and able to write a sentence so that it is readable..penmanship has certainly been lost in this take-over by computers. just saying…I realize computers are important in this day and age but also feel the basics remain important also.