http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130323/NEWS02/703239927
Published March 23, 2013 in the Rutland Herald
School Board proposes new school budget of $27.5 million
By Christian Avard
Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD — A new school budget was approved by the Springfield School Board on Thursday. Now it’s up to the voters to decide at a special town meeting.
The budget committee and school administrators trimmed $384,623 from the 2014 proposed budget but added an extra $168,325 for a net decrease of $216,298.
When voters go to the polls in April, they will vote on a $27,534,541 budget which is $511,153, or 1.9 percent, more than this year’s budget of $27,023,388. The amount does not include the $651,380 River Valley Tech Center obligation, which voters passed on Town Meeting Day.
Voters defeated the proposed $27.7 million school budget by 149 votes, 917 to 768.
Budget Committee Chairman Ernest “Puggy” Lamphere said the committee was satisfied with the new cuts and they will ensure the budget passes the second time around.
“We accept, support, defend and sell it,” Lamphere said. “If you cut any more you’re hurting the kids. That’s where we stand.”
The $384,623 in cuts include reductions in health insurance costs, $103,000; reduction in superintendent salary and benefits, $12,950; a re-classification of assistant superintendent to curriculum director, $13,057; a withdrawn sabbatical request, $43,691; federal IDEA grant for one tuition student, $42,275; Springfield High School capital projects, $20,000; and Gateway program tuition reductions, $84,350.
Consolidation of school programs have also been factored into the reductions.
The Early Essential Education program will move from 109 Park St. to Elm Hill Primary School, and the Gateway Program will move from its Summer Street location to five first-floor classrooms at Riverside Middle School for a combined total of $65,300.
Gateway is a therapeutic and academic program for 18 students grades K through 12 who are socially, emotionally and academically challenged. A Riverside Middle School staff member expressed concerns over the Gateway move and whether it would compromise student programs that currently use the same classrooms.
Team Sojourn Facilitator Nathan McNaughton supports Gateway but said the rooms are essential for computer use, testing and group learning. Finding new locations in Riverside Middle School will not come easy, according to McNaughton.
“There is a cost. Dollars aren’t the only thing to think about,” McNaughton said.
Gateway Director Nancy Wiese explained that five rooms were necessary to teach 18 students in grades K through 12. She said placing students in fewer rooms would compromise the students’ education.
“We’re moving to one-on-one devices and computer labs will become obsolete. Let’s stop protecting ourselves against change. You are not sacrificing Riverside students by putting Gateway in the same building,” Wiese said.
The School Board added three items to the budget they determined to be priorities. They included $168,325, which will cover a Union Street Elementary School behavioral interventionist, $30,070; two out of district placements, $132,575; and a superintendent mentor, $5,000.
Administrators said the school budget vote may take place April 23. Superintendent Zach McLaughlin said they expect to choose a date in the coming weeks.
And this is without the stipend for the high school teacher's sabbatical, right?
ReplyDeleteAdmit it 8:55 you didn't read the article did you?
DeleteNo they did not. If they did it would have been clearly explained what reductions were part of the new budget and there would have no need to ask the question they asked.
DeleteIt is a lot easier just to post a comment than actually become informed.
Springfield=Merica.
I applaud a man taking the pay cut knowing what he is getting himself into and before he truly has even started.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, the medical cuts are not a result of the budget committee's efforts but rather the fact that the health insurance increase originally provided for budgeting was between 13 and 14% and the final rate was recently released to be an increase of policy costs of 10%.
I have recent experiences that lead me to believe that there are other areas that could be cut without hurting any students, but I will digress as for the most part, this is a reasonable budget.
I sincerely am saddened that the house purchase went down as it was an integral part to recovery of the area.
Let's hope the people with children in this community are able to rally those without in order to get this through this time.
Start a donation to purchase the house and tear it down.
DeleteI don't believe the house is going into the vote this time. Maybe next year.
DeleteWould have liked to see level funding. Zero increase. Interesting to see that they cut X dollars, then add in Y dollars. Why wasn't the Y dollar increase in the original budget? If it wasn't important the first time around, could it have been left out the second time around?
ReplyDeleteI wish my oil, electric, health insurance and gas bills were level funded.
DeleteYou wouldn't like it if they were level funded, 4:57:
Delete"Level funded" means you'd have the same amount available to buy them as you did last year, but prices will be going up. You'd have to cut back on heating, driving and health care (this last probably by facing increased co-pays or getting more "claim denied" and "claim disallowed" letters.
Sorry Chuck, Level funded means just what you said, the same amount available to buy them as last year, meaning level funding does include COLA. Thereby giving you the same purchasing power as the previous year, Level funding not including COLA is a true budget cut
DeleteThanks for the enlightenment! So, "level funding" always includes COLA, or does that have to be specified in a contract?
DeleteLevel funding is a politician's term, that has no set meaning. It could mean same as it was last year which is in effect a cut equal to the cost of increases, or equal to last years budget plus the additional cost of business.
DeleteSince when does level funded include COLA, Chuck got it right the first time around.
DeleteCome on! Let's mix Gateway kids with EEE! And throw in the fact that all Middle school aged kids are already a bit disturbed in the first place?
ReplyDeleteSo they make new bad choices we have to deal with, and it feels like voting yes is saying, "Yeah, great ideas folks." This is junk.
DeleteRead the damn article!!!! EEE is going to Elm Hill, not Riverside...
DeleteAside from not reading the article and not understanding that Gateway is going to Riverside and EEE is going to Elm, yeah they are consolidating and squeezing things together. Things are going to have to give if you want a lower budget...which is the ONLY thing voting down the budget means. Not protesting this is that decision.
DeleteIts a wonderfully creative measure to reduce the budget, why it reminds me of the good ole days the Duck Inn. Except it will be middle schoolers learning life the good ole fashion way of hard knocks, sometimes hard blows to the head and elsewheres. All in the name of good fun and austerity, life is good. But I still like that idea of consolidating the school system with the prison, now there is true efficiency in action. The only problem I see with this particular move is that the Town voted down the monies for HCRS. How are they suppose to keep all these people sufficiently medicated? Some thought will have to be given to that I guess. But hey, Union Street won't need to complain about parking anymore -- compared to the amount of parking that Elm Hill will have after EEE moves in they will have a virtual plaza. It is so wonderful to see Springfield in action, it just brings tears of joy to these old eyes.
DeleteI will still vote a resounding "NO!!!!!" on the budget.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you can do that. I believe you can only vote yes or no. They don't allow resounding anything.
DeleteWell, maybe you could spit on the ballot....
DeleteThe ballot is not worth my spit. Let's face it, the budget will pass. It always does. The ole' bait and switch routine is alive and well.
DeleteHey Spitter, you haven't lived here long have you?
Delete"...the budget will pass. It always does."
We fail budgets with regularity around here, it is what we do.
And we are very proud of our reputation for defeating budgets, it helps with our town image to defeat the budget two or three times. People looking to move here say, "Hey, that's where I want my kids to go, those people really pay attention to the school's budget." Yes, I practically have to fence people out they are just so eager to have their kids enrolled when they hear about our regular school budget defeats. Its tremendously inspiring you know, and great for the teacher morale as well. Just makes your heart swell it does.
Deletewhat i don't understand is,if they don't need the rest of the bond money for anything at the new schools(which we don't because we were gonna buy a house with it) and we are not buying the house,why don't they turn that $230ish thousand back in to make a payment and lower the budget more,why are we holding money we don't need,just costing us more interest on it,send it back,that money will disappear and we'll never know where it went
ReplyDeleteI think someone needs to ask them how much money in interest have we paid on the bond money that has been sitting for what four years? How much taxpayer dollars have been wasted in taxpayer interest and what would the potential savings in interest alone have been over the life of the bond IF that amount were paid back.
ReplyDeleteThese jackholes seem to think this is THEIR money to use, set aside or whatnot for whenever they need it and it isn't. It is the taxpayers money they are screwing with and THIS is the exact reason that Steve Heir and members of the board need to step down and or be removed. I haven't forgotton that they lost 10 thousand dollars from the student fund, never did account to where it went, came up with some lame excuse that the only records were on a computer that got flooded and couldn't recover the data, never mind sending the harddrive off to experts who do this for a living, we let some dimwit from springfield try to do it and worse yet...they replaced the money, (again remember they SAID they didn't know how much was missing) they replaced it with money from our budget 3-5 years later. REALLY....
Yeah let's be sure to focus on the bond money! That is really pretty important, if we can just keep our eyes on the bond money, don't ever want to take our eyes off of that. If we can just keep that focus then we can kind of frame it with the general ambience of drug dens, etc. to give the whole school consolidation a nice aroma, kind of like the medicinal aroma that will be floating around Riverside as it goes through its sporadic lockdowns next year. And I just love the smell of car exhaust don't you, it reminds me of the good old days when it used to have more lead in it. It should permeate Elm Hill as people try to figure out where to park. We best repay that bond money though in hurry it very, very important.
Delete“We accept, support, defend and sell it,” Lamphere said. “If you cut any more you’re hurting the kids. That’s where we stand.”
ReplyDeletePure tripe spoken by one who has suckled on the public teat for years.
Kids will not be hurt by lower budgets, but it's the usual tactic employed by weak ineptocrats who refuse to make the tough calls and resort to using kids as their shields.
The fact that new adds were made is evidence of the budget committee's incompetence to begin with.
Ano 3/24/13 4:59 - It’s easy to make negative comments about the budget committee on this blog, if you have all the answers, why haven’t you joined the committee. Oh that’s right, it would make you responsible and we would really know you know nothing about education or budgeting. It’s easier to make fun of people on this blog than to really get involved! I am not on the budget committee so I will not be armchair quarterbacking as so many people do here. The old saying, “if you aren’t part of the solution, you are part of the problem!” You my friend are part of the problem in Springfield, you like to bitch but don’t get involved in the community…..
DeleteIt sure is easy. Why its becoming absolutely too darn easy, I kind of liked it better when budget cuts were a little more subtle. But golly gee its really hard to beat the idea a displacing a bunch of middle-schoolers to wedge some behaviorally troubled kids in. I mean well ain't that just too cool. I mean if you are going to do something that cool, you really do have to hand it to Puggy. Course the parents may hand them something else, but ya got to admire the brass of that move. Be sure and find a parking spot early at Elm Hill next year, going to be a popular spot.
Deletekids will not be hurt by lower budgets? Your elementary diploma served you well!
ReplyDeleteCut the pensions!!! Renegotiate!
ReplyDeletewell- the kids were not hurt by the last budget so why the increase again? As a matter of fact, I believe the school loved the press and touted their increase in NECAP scores. So, why cant that be done again with a flatline budget? The little increase leaves no room to increase in years to come when we really need it!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately nobody is forward thinking. The water rates are set to increase again, the taxes are going up statewide, sales tax and gas tax increases along with income tax increases. The public cant keep green lighting money that we may REALLY need in another year. Those rents will be increasing including the Senior highrises that are subsidized by HUD for the low income seniors. We need to be smart about this and have some restraint for once and save ourselves for another year.
Nah kids those big whiners. Why I just think its a marvelous idea to mix the Gateway kids in with the middle-school kids, give them something to really cry about. Course you know there may be some parents that may not think this is a real Einstein move, but they tend to be whiners as well. And if we can just help NOSAG kill the biomass plant well then the water usage should go down and then perhaps we can land a NASA mission as our water rates go into the stratosphere.
DeleteOn the Bond, if I read this right in the past (and I may not have), the amount is AVAILABLE to draw down from the original approval. The money has not been accessed and therefore would not incur interest UNTIL we drew it down.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I could have read the articles in the past incorrectly, but that was the impression I got.
I did not see where it said we had that money sitting around not being used.
Also, if my information is correct, then there would be no way to turn it into a payment.
I'm not sure I'm crazy about the idea of having Gateway kids, who are in the program because they can't be in regular school being in the building (and presumably thereby having possible interactions with) the regular student body. These are kids who've been pulled for a reason.
ReplyDeleteClever, and you just figured that out? Good for you, very few other people did. Let's take the kids with behavioral issues so severe they cannot be handled in the normal school setting and put them in Riverside. [face palm] What a brilliant idea! I wonder if Puggy came up with that one.
DeleteOh Alpin Jack, what a failure to misunderstand. Why exposing the middle school students to frequent violent behavioral meltdowns is part of our training and exposure to their future lives. Why just think of the relief from the boredom of mastering academic skills provided by a dramatic increase in school lockdowns. Why this may make coming to school so entertaining that the school will be able to eliminate some art and music programs, maybe even some extra-curricular programs. They might want to consider introducing some self-defense classes though after they arm the teachers.
DeleteWell, I don't care for your sarcasm Boss Hogg. This is a legitimate way to reduce the school budget, everyone must sacrifice a little these days and it is completely appropriate for the middle-school students and teachers to share in that sacrifice. Exposure to behaviorally challenged individuals is necessary to reduce our cultural revulsion to violent misbehavior -- and this is a good place for the children to be exposed to such misbehavior and learn to be more sympathetic and tolerant of it.
DeleteConfucius say, more lockdowns prepare child for future at Springfield finishing school up on the hill. Perhaps HCRS open branch office at Riverside as well, teachers receive combat pay. Puggy have brilliant idea to consolidate services, thank you Puggy for your beneficient wisdom in this.
DeleteThat is disgusting Wanker Woo. It is extremely important that these middle school children be exposed to violent misbehavior at this formative period in their lives so they can grow to understand and empathize with such afflicted children. It is simply neanderthal of you to suggest that this would be anything but the sincere and appropriate manner of educational theory, to house children who lack sufficient behavioral traits to be enrolled in traditional schools with other children. How callous of you to suggest otherwise.
DeleteWanker Woo shame on you. Why experiencing the drama associated with Gateway is part parcel with the ambience we are trying to create in this community. They should do an admirable job in redecorating Riverside. It will make it oh so much more convenient to not have to send children who have strong behavioral issues clear across town, when we can park them right there with the class of children who are struggling to go through puberty. I believe it to be a wonderfully efficient plan, we can just ship them back and forth perhaps even share straitjackets. Just think of all of the cost savings to be achieved, a little scrunching together of all of the other students at Riverside is such a small price to pay for such convenience. Well I am sure that Puggy was right on top of this issue when he went out in the hallway to quickly tell the Budget Advisory Committee how to vote. Get the job done and Puggy personally said it was a done deal, the budget will pass if we don't discuss this little efficiency too much.
DeleteLet's vote the school budget down AGAIN and maybe we can consolidate the schools with the prison! You 'NO' voters get what you vote for....YOU IDIOTS!
DeleteA.) I'm a budget committee member and Puggy DID NOT tell or even suggest how to vote. I'm a big boy and can make decisions on my own.
DeleteB.) Of course many people here don't have the time or intelligence to join the budget committee. But they can sit on their fat a---- and make commits over something they know nothing about.
c.) It wasn't Puggy's idea to put Gateway into RMS, it was the school administration.
No wonder we can't get people to move into Springfield,all they have to do is read the blog!
7:44 That's the spirit, always thought there might be some incredible efficiencies achieved if we would just consolidate the prison with the school system. Just think of the tremendous savings in budgetary dollars we could achieve with such a move. Why I bet we could even vacate the new high school then so we could add that building to the other school properties for sale. What a marvelous idea. Have you considered running for school board on that platform? I think there would be several posters on the blog that would support that decision.
DeleteBoss Hogg...."new high school'?????
DeleteWe built the High School in the 70's.
I always figured you were lost in the ether.
Henceforth, I shall address you as 'HOGGWASH'....exactly what you are.
Boss Hogg, Hogwash, good shot 10:04...wonder how much that 40 year old piece of antiquity would sell for? Once they get Park Street and East School converted to halfway houses, maybe the High School could be converted into a mental hospital. That would get the school budget down to manageable levels. Then we can ship the older children directly to the prison, and maybe rent North School as a kind of prep school for those going on to college. I mean the ones not being groomed for prison.
DeleteNorth Springfield School is now owned by a non-profit you would have to rent it from Jean Willard.
DeleteCould someone explain why they are going to put children with severe behavioral issues, who were placed at Gateway because they could not be controlled in a normal school setting into Riverside Middle School? Is Riverside now to become an alternative school for children with severe behavioral control issues? Is this how all the parents and grandparents who supported the school budget are to be repaid? Why was this not discussed in greater detail before they put it in the budget? Were there no other alternatives?
DeleteI just do not understand you folks. Here we have around eighteen children who need our special attention and efforts so they can be trained not to hurt themselves and others. It makes perfect sense to put them in a controlled environment where others their age and younger are able to mingle with them. Its very important that they have opportunities to interact with other children so that they are less likely to hurt normal people who are not in the school environment later. Being exposed to other people their age when they have meltdowns, act out, or have to be restrained is very therapeutic for everyone involved.
DeleteAre you out of your mind Lisa?
DeleteNow don't you go picking on Lisa, you shouldn't judge people until you have lived a year in their med plan, that is what my grandson says anyway. Course he tends to get a bit rowdy now and then. Besides it is pretty clear that the Director of Gateway was foursquare in favor of the moving her darling little children into Riverside, and Puggy certainly put his and the budget committee's stamp of approval on that nice little slice out of the budget. Why that sailed through without discussion slicker than hair on a frog, I bet the faculty at Riverside kind of woke up in shock though. But they're tough cookies down there now that Puggy's wife has moved on...did she move on, can't remember. But no hard feelings there as the old commercial used to say, "A little jab'll do ya," right Puggy.
DeleteI personally love the fact that everyone hates the town government, hates the school and school boards, but then votes the way they did. The town was up over 3% or something bizarre like that and I never saw any explanation but it passed. They claim to hate the board but passed to give them $500 a year, but then fail the school budget. You people complain on here about fixing the town but when it came down to the school helping by buying one of the eye sores and tearing it down and putting parking, you turned that down. Do you think progress is free? Do you think some magical being is going to come here and wave a wand to fix this mess? Would the house across the street or the big one been a different outcome? The VNA received a lot of money, but you fight over piddlings for other programs???? I recognize there is an average of 28% of the households in Springfield that actually have children, that is the first hurdle as those without do not see the worth of education, clearly, but damn the people in this town crack me up. A few articles up on this blogspot and they are bashing the fire department. They bash anything and anyone they can and for what? When a resolution is presented they bash that. You people are a real group of miserable over entitled idiots.
ReplyDelete72% of Springfield households use VNA services which is why their article to receive such significant funding passed. Because you know VNA services attract middle class families to a town, not good schools.
DeleteBashing what we do, we veerryyy good at bashing.
Delete7:48, great post.
DeleteWhat about those of us who voted to acquire the house, and voted for the budget, and then turn around and find out they are putting Gateway in Riverside?
DeleteW.Tanner you can thank the 72% who want the 2013 children to be educated like 1947 and not be competitive. You can let them know that technology and educated teachers run from situations like this and eventually they will die younger because the good that is left will leave as soon as they can and will not be here to save them. You can thank the "no" people for the Gateway decision.
DeleteWell kind of need those VNA funds for the walking wounded don't we, I mean there are likely to be a few casualties at Riverside next year -- nothing major you know, just some cuts, scratches, maybe a few black eyes, etc. No pain no gain they always say, always been my motto. But some of those VNA may need to be diverted from the old people to help out the middle schoolers. We all have to sacrifice a little you know. Now if they could just consolidate the prison and the schools, my what a wonderful world that would be.
DeleteGet involved. Make an investment. Don't be a victum. Don't just make noise to feel like you did something. Create your future. Get out of the garbage pale.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, and while you are climbing out of the garbage pail, get a dictionary and start looking up how to spell words.
DeleteWell now Machine Tinker, as Andy Jackson once said, "Its a dull mind that can only spell a word one way." And "victum" kind of rhymes with "rectum" if you know what I mean, and if you don't then wiggle your ears a little and you should brush up against it given where your head is and when you pull it out, I doubt that it will be very "pale".
DeleteAnd I was feeling like such a smartie pants. Well so much for not being a victim.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the club, Machine Tinker and Lisa Lamely need to go find a motel room somewhere with their little nightmare children.
DeleteWell, Rutland just defeated their second vote on their school budget and I hope Springfield will do the same and set the same tone. We can do more with less. We should set an example for the state and be a model that we can change a failing system with hard work and determination and not bloated budgets and good money thrown over bad at the staff for their benefits. The staff need to buck up and quit their whining and sniveling and dig and and show your worth for once. Show what you are made of-prove to the residents, the town, the state that yes you do deserve more money and show them why! Until then lets level line the budget AGAIN with a no vote and call it a day!
ReplyDeleteBeen thinking about this I have, we need some more creative ideas like housing Gateway at Riverside. You know the State is in the process of constructing a new mental hospital, and in the interim they are housing mental patients at the prison. Now why couldn't we squeeze a few beds into the high school and house some of the mental patients there. Then the State would pay the school system for the use of the space. And it would be good exposure for some of the high school students to get a taste of what their future holds for them. Very therapeutic you know. Was thinking also about Union Street, have really not liked all the efforts to put those entrepeneurs and innocent landlords out of business, perhaps if we could work out some kind of barter system where the drug dealers had access to the school during weekends and holidays, you know to stimulate the economy. Kind of like a trade show which would attract more businesses of that ilk to the Town and keep the cash flow going so to speak.
DeleteHere is an idea Mr. Hogg, let's let the town manager also serve as the superintendent of schools. There really isn't a need for two leaders in this town.
DeleteChuckie sure did give up easily on this one! Must be the Vermont Workers' Center was lacking sufficient propaganda on this matter for him to cut and paste to the site.
ReplyDeleteHey, 1:23, good to see you've still got a foot in the game.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely depressing to see how vehement an apparent majority of Springfielders are against education. When nothing I say changes their heart, I get really depressed and give up. I've been looking at this thread the way a Silicon Alley entrepreneur would if he/she were thinking of moving a start-up business to this town.
I would fear for my children's future in a town so rife with knuckle-dragging mouth breathers who have no thought for a better future.
A first-generation Irish American in Arlington back around 1903 settled the town meeting debate whether to repair the bridges or improve the school by famously stating, "Let the bridges fall down! It is better to have intelligent people get their feet wet than idiots crossing a river dry-shod."
The troglodytes who have set the tone of discussion here are ensuring this town will attract even more people who can't appreciate educated citizens.
Well now Chuckie wannabe, I take that as downright insulting. Troglodytes are held in very high regard in this community. We do not necessarily want to attract people who can't swim to the community neither. See this town values the notion of rugged individualism and the honing effect of the law of the jungle. We are aiming to train our middle-schoolers in their survival skills. It could become important after the government confiscates all our weaponry you know. So we are going to start training our children in how to survive serious meltdowns right at the cusp of puberty -- we call it transition training from the nanny state to hunger games. If you would just stay current on the latest research you would understand the need for this. Sigh....its so discouraging having to educate you on such things over and over again.
DeleteDamn! You're right again, Boss Hogg!
ReplyDelete