Letter To The Editor – A Brief History Lesson

To the Editor:
If you have been paying attention to the discussion around the Goodermote-Willis building referendum you know I do not support this plan. The primary reason being that I was not aware of a plan until it was presented at the September BOE meeting when I was informed that I would not be able to play a role in the planning process. Given the back room development of this plan by Ms. Goodermote and Mr. Willis without any other Board members input I feel this is their plan alone and does not represent what I feel is in our District’s best interest. There are many other reasons, and, as you read further, they should become clear. You should also know that after a brief presentation and discussion Mr. Zwack and Ms. Finney voted to support the referendum and Mrs. Stewart, Mr. Webster and I voted against it. The opinions reflected in this letter are mine alone and do not represent the BOE as a whole or individual members!
In regard to the brief history lesson, I am encouraging all who will go out and vote for this referendum to consider some facts before doing so. Consider carefully how the leadership of Mr. Zwack has brought us to this moment in time.
Twenty years ago we had approximately 1,160 students and around 100 staff members. Today we have around 860 students and 189 staff.
We currently rank 74th out of 85 school districts in the Capital region. Check out the link below to get more information. http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/feature/schools-2011.
Our teachers are the rank 13th for compensation when compared to those same 85 school districts mentioned above.
If you divide our current budget of $17,374,400 by the number of students currently being served in our District approximately 860, the total cost per student is over $20,000. This figure is $2,000 more than the average for NY State.
Our graduation rate seems to hover around 70%! I would be curious to know what happens to that 30%? Check out NYSED school report cards that go back over 10 years; they are a good snapshot for determining if we are getting good results for what we are paying?
Keep in mind that we took over $600,000 out of our fund balance to maintain a 0% tax levy in the 2010-11 budget and an addition $400,000+ to do the same in this year’s budget. The savings account is being slowly depleted, especially since this year’s budget was reduced by $900,000. Their will be little excess at the end of this budget year.
We have serious health, safety and ADA compliance issues in all the District facilities due many years of neglect. We were told by our previous Board, which included Mr. Zwack and Ms. Goodermote that we would need more than 25 million dollars to address all the work. You can also watch a YouTube video on-line and hear Mr. Zwack say that “BES is safe, and I would send my own kids there.” Is the lead level still being monitored or is that no longer important? Is BES safe or does that depend on what building project is being presented?
I could go on and on about many other poor decisions, but you know what happens when I share FACTS, I get accused of being negative! Einstein once defined insanity as “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results!” Continuing to support Mr. Zwack and the Goodermote/Willis building plan is exactly what Einstein was talking about. It’s time to do something different and stop the insanity! Don’t let four BOE members tell you what is best.  Please vote on December 13 and you decide what is in the best interest of our children and communities?
John P. Nash
29 Agan Way, Cropseyville