Are You Ready To Vote?            In all suburban districts throughout New York State the school budgets have been finalized, the school board candidates’ petitions have been filed but YOU still have important work to do.             Tuesday, May 15 is the day voters in all school districts, except the Big Five, which includes Buffalo and Rochester, should plan on heading to the polling booth in their district to vote. School Board members, administrators, teachers and hopefully community members have been working hard to develop a budget that will adequately serve the children of the district, yet keep in mind the ability of district tax payers to pay the bills. Once again this has been a very difficult year for schools. Although State Aid increased this year, costs continued to rise faster than revenues and the State imposed Property Tax Cap of 2% is in place. As a result many districts have been forced to lay off teachers, administrators, and support staff again this year. In addition some districts have reduced budgets for sports, clubs, supplies, transportation, and employee benefits. Still other districts have chosen to close entire school buildings and share services with nearby districts. None of these choices are easy but they are necessary in the financial circumstances we find ourselves in. Hopefully you have taken the time to learn about the budget in your district. If not, you have one final opportunity. All districts will be holding a Public Hearing on the proposed budget, either this week or next. This year school budgets throughout our State will total more than $5 billion, yet normally less than 10% of the eligible voters generally take the time to cast their vote on the budget. I urge you to educate yourself about the budget and then exercise your right to vote on the budget on Tuesday, May 15.  Tax payers are becoming more vocal about increasing property taxes. School tax increases are a major contributor to the increases in everyone’s property taxes. School budgets are also the only budgets that local tax payers actually get to vote on. Voting for or against the school budget may send a message to other branches of government about the current mood of voters as it pertains to tax increases within their areas of responsibility. On Voting Day voters will also have the opportunity to vote to elect new school board members, or re-elect current members. Board candidates have gathered signatures on a candidates petition, talked to many friends, neighbors and community members, perhaps spent personal money on election materials, prepared position statements and made personal appearances throughout their community. All of this work in an effort to secure a non-paying, sometimes controversial, time consuming position on the school board. You can honor these dedicated public servants by taking the time to vote on Tuesday, May 15.I urge you to find out who the candidates are in your school district and determine which ones share your values and priorities. Board members are responsible to hire all employees, recommend an annual budget, approve textbooks and generally represent the community values and opinions. This is important work. 

         These are the most descriptive words in my opinion to describe the recent agreement among Governor Cuomo, the Commissioner of Education and the President of New York State United Teachers related to teacher evaluations.         

         “Good” because for the first time teacher evaluations will be directly tied to student performance and achievement and because all evaluation agreements negotiated locally are subject to review and approval by the Commissioner of Education. Until now teachers evaluations were primarily based on teacher performance such as their lesson preparation, classroom discipline, their level of expertise in their subject area and their willingness to participate in faculty development. Teachers will now be evaluated based on a potential score of 100 points. Up to 20 of these points will be based on student growth on state assessments, another 20 points on measures of student growth that are determined by the local school district. The final 60 points will be based on more traditional subjective means like classroom observations. The agreement also requires that every teacher must be evaluated at least once a year. Currently many veteran teachers are never evaluated unless they specifically request an evaluation. The specifics of the agreements negotiated locally will be subject to review and approval by the Commissioner. This oversight has never been required before. Teacher evaluation total scores will result in one of four ratings: highly effective, effective, developing or ineffective. This is where the agreement turns ugly in my opinion.           

         Teachers receiving an overall score of less than 65 will receive a rating of “ineffective.” A teacher who receives an “ineffective” score for two consecutive years “COULD” face termination under the state laws that govern disciplinary proceedings for teachers. Currently termination proceedings can take between one and two years to complete. How would you like to have your child in a classroom where the teacher has been rated “ineffective” for two or more years? This is totally unacceptable. As a comparison would you go to a medical doctor for treatment even once, who you knew got his work, correct 2/3 of the time? I doubt it. I know I wouldn’t. It seems to me that a teacher who receives an “ineffective” rating for two consecutive years SHOULD be terminated immediately, for the good of the students and their education.           

         The “ugly” part of this agreement is two fold at least. One is the President of New York State United Teachers statement about the agreement. He said, “This agreement signals the importance of involving teachers in creating the methods for evaluating them.” The fact is teachers have always been involved in negotiating the methods for evaluating themselves. This has led us to the lack of rigorous evaluations. In some districts the Board of Education has given the union the exclusive right to determine the evaluation process and criteria. Secondly there appears to be some confusion on the make up of the actual scoring. In other words what actually constitutes the break down of the scoring? Hopefully this will be resolved quickly so districts can move forward with this process.           

         Teacher salaries and benefits in the public school system are paid by taxpayers. Their compensation should be based on satisfactory performance that is measured in some significant degree by the way the students under their teaching learn. Most teachers are successful in teaching the students they are assigned and as result the students learn appropriately. These teachers will not be concerned about these new evaluation systems that are to be developed. It is the teachers who are concerned who probably should be and as a result should be assisted in finding other employment where they can be more successful. 

         This was the sign carried by some church goers in New York City after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld as “constitutional” a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the New York City Board of Education. This SOP prohibits churches in New York City from renting public schools to hold worship services on Sundays. As many as 60 churches have held worship services in schools in New York for several years.            

          The 2 – 1 Court decision held that schools could be used to hold discussion of religious materials, which the court described as “content” but the schools could not be used for worship services, “expression,” which would express the point of view discussed in the religious materials.  Immediately after the court decision was announced the schools gave the churches their “eviction notice” effective almost immediately.           

         The Court did take into consideration an earlier decision from 2001 when another court ruled in the Good News Clubs vs. Milford Central School District that public school classrooms could be used after school by Good News Clubs to conduct religious instruction. Subsequent to this decision school districts throughout New York State formulated school board policies that basically declared their campuses “open” or “closed.” Open meant any community groups i.e. churches, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, etc. could use the school rooms after school simply by requesting their use. Closed means no community group can use the facilities for any purpose at anytime. Most public schools declared their campuses “Open.”           

         This latest Court decision only affects New York City at this time and prohibits churches from using the public schools for “worship services.” This seems a very limited prohibition but as noted earlier removes many churches from the schools and forces them to find other places to hold their worship services. Other school districts across New York State are not currently impacted by this decision, but ultimately this decision may lead to other court decisions that could impact all schools in the State. New York City is governed by its own school board so even the State Education Department does not have authority in this matter.           

         The Alliance Defense Fund has filed a preliminary injunction in the case that would let churches continue to worship in classrooms. Even if this injunction is approved it is only a temporary fix of the problem. The New York State Senate has passed legislation which would override the court decision however the Assembly Leader, Speaker Sheldon Silver has not agreed to put this legislation before his branch of the legislature nor has he agreed to write a companion bill that could possibly be negotiated with the Senate. Readers are urged to contact Speaker Silver’s office in Albany at 518-455-3791 to urge him to offer a companion bill now.           

         There are multiple issues that arise from this decision but one that is critically important to The Teaching and Learning Institute (TLI Inc.). That issue is “INVOLVEMENT.” The history of this case shows that the Standard Operating Procedure that prohibits churches from meeting for worship in schools was originally prepared and approved by the school administration. When this administrative prohibition was originally challenged in Court it was turned aside by the Court because the Board of Education had not approved the SOP. Subsequent to this rejection by the Court the members of the Board of Education (7 people) approved the SOP and subsequently the Court found against the churches. The difference was the approval of the SOP by the seven people on the Board of Education. This is another example of the power and influence of a board of education. Our organization continues to advocate for people of faith to step up and get involved not only in their schools but particularly at the Board of Education level. Policies that impact not only the community but individual rights like these are made by the Board and Christians need to get involved.

         When parents in a local school district are asked to grade the school their children attend the grade averages B+ to A. This seems to indicate a great deal of satisfaction with the performance of their child’s school and the impact the school is having on the child’s learning. The final grade for schools in New York State is now in and the grade is 83.9 or B. Schools in Pennsylvania earned 78.7 or a C+. That’s the overall Statewide Grading Summary from the 2012 “Quality Counts” Report. This report published annually by Education Week magazine provides a state-by-state comparison of key education indicators and grades the states on their policy efforts and outcomes. In all the graded categories span more than 100 indicators, ranging from test scores, to teachers pay, from graduation rates to finances. The average grade for schools in the nation was 76.5 equal to a C-minus. The good news is that overall scores improved in 30 states during this past year. This improvement occurred despite continued fiscal pressures in all states.

         One of the indicators which draw much attention is that of per-pupil expenditure. In Pennsylvania the average per-pupil cost is $12,906 while New York per-pupil cost is $15,863. Large city districts like Buffalo, NY where the cost per pupil is over $25,000 certainly impacts this average in a negative way. Other states in this report range from a low of $8,363 in North Carolina to a high of $18,068 in Wyoming. The National average for per-pupil expenditure is $11,665. Interesting enough despite spending nearly $3,000 less per-pupil Pennsylvania schools scored better than New York schools in 4^th grade reading, 8^th grade mathematics and high school graduation rates. In Advanced Placement exams, specialized college exams taken by seniors in high school, New York schools nearly doubled Pennsylvania results, although both states schools showed significant improvement in this area. The high school graduation rate nationally was 71.7%, in New York State the rate was 71.8%, while in Pennsylvania the rate was 77.7%

         In the ever controversial area of teacher salaries, teachers in New York achieved a parity rating of 106.7% while Pennsylvania teachers earned 105.9%. This means that when teachers’ salaries are compared with other professions with similar educational requirements like, accountants, architects, registered nurses and physical therapists, teacher salaries on average are slightly higher. It is worth noting that if you factor in employee benefits for teachers, which often run 25% higher than the private sector, these parity rating really begin to climb. In my opinion it is unfortunate that teachers’ salaries and benefits are still not tied to pay for performance or student achievement in some meaningful way.

         Another comparison that often raises concern is class size, the number of students in a class with one teacher. Many people, including many teachers, argue for smaller class sizes even though educational research is very mixed on the impact positive or negative of class size. The Report shows that in elementary schools the number of children in the average class in New York State is 13.4, in Pennsylvania 14.3. This compares with an average class size in Utah of 23.5 students and in California 21.2. This appears to be an area where school districts could be looking to achieve some economy by increasing class size, perhaps without negatively impacting student performance.

         It is important that the reader of this material understand that local schools may have very different and unique circumstances that make comparison with a state or national study very difficult or even unfair. As a result I urge readers to use the information presented as a data point when asking local school officials questions about their school.

            This week New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled his 2012-2013 State Budget. The portion of the budget related to education will have significant impact on the education enterprise in the State.           

            There were four major areas of impact for education, State Aid for Schools, Teachers and Principals Evaluations tied to Aid, Pension Reform and Speedier Teacher Discipline Arbitration. This week we will deal with the first two items. Next week will we discuss the last two.

1)      State Aid for schools. An overall increase of 4.1 percent or $805 million with 76 percent of the $805 million going to high-needs districts. This is a significant amount of money. The problem is the way it is to be distributed. $250 million will be doled out in competitive grants based on performance and efficiency. Smaller, and perhaps some of the most needy schools simply do not have the personnel resources to write competitive grants, even though they may have high performance and be an efficient operation. $265 million will be given in expense based aid, i.e. transportation and school construction. In most cases this aid will be used to cover existing costs and will add nothing directly to help with student performance. The last $290 million will be handed out for basic classroom funding. When this amount is divided up amongst over 700 school districts there will be little money coming to most schools. Probably the Big Five will receive over half this money based on their enrollment. A check of some schools across the Southern Tier shows little or no increase in State Aid for them.

2)      Teacher and Principals Evaluations tied to Aid. There is an ongoing battle in many of the larger districts in the State about these evaluation instruments. In fact, nearly $1 billion of Federal education aid is now being held back by the Commissioner of Education as a result of the lack of agreement between teacher unions and districts on an acceptable evaluation instrument that is tied to student standardized test scores. A law suit has been filed by the teachers unions to prevent the agreed upon evaluations from going forward. The Governor has given the unions and the State Education Department 30 days to resolve this issue or he will impose an evaluation instrument. As might be expected union representatives are not happy about this development. The President of the Buffalo Teachers Federation stated, “Taking funding away from underfunded schools is like rubbing salt in a wound.” This comment from a union leader in a district that already spends $24,500 per student annually. The Governor has also stated that any district that does not have an acceptable evaluation instrument in place by January 17, 2013 will forfeit the additional aid they have received this year and will receive no additional aid next year.

             These are very tough measures but I applaud Governor Cuomo for taken these drastic actions to force unions to stop impeding the success of children by caring more about their members and the benefits they receive and the protection they have, than about the children.

            Have you ever said something then wished you could take back and perhaps wished you could know that no one else even heard you speak the words? Probably all of us have at one time or another.

            The Governor of the State of New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo probably had this happen recently. During his State of the State Address he said the following under the section related to education in the State.

“I learned my most important lesson in my first year as Governor in the area of public education. I learned that everyone in public education has his or her own lobbyists. Superintendents have lobbyists. Principles have lobbyists. Teachers have lobbyists. School boards have lobbyists. Maintenance people have lobbyists. Bus drivers have lobbyists. The only group without lobbyists? The students. Well I learned my lesson. This year, I will take a second job – consider me the lobbyist for the students. I will wage a campaign to put students first, and to remind us that the purpose of public education is to help children grow, not to grow the public education bureaucracy.”           

           I certainly agree that the purpose of public education is to help children grow, not to grow the public education bureaucracy. I would add the purpose is to educate all our children.           

           Many groups Cuomo listed as having lobbyists have publicly reacted to his comments. Local School Superintendents have spoken out in various media outlets claiming they are lobbyists or at least advocates for students. One spokesman for the New York State Council of School Superintendents said, “We welcome him,” and added that that is a good perspective for a state leader to take – to be asking how the actions of state government affect student learning. Teachers unions have long demonstrated that in many districts they are more concerned about improving the salary and employment benefits of their members than they are lobbying for their students to any meaningful degree. The State School Board Association has publicly reacted to the Governors comments as well. The Executive Director respectfully disagreed with the Governor then went on to outline all the efforts school board members make on behalf of students. Even the Democratic Leader of the New York State Assembly has criticized the comments, claiming parents are the real lobbyists for their students.

            I agree that parents should be lobbyists or advocates for their children, the students. Students cannot be there own lobbyists. Students in some school districts have been given a non-voting seat on the local school board in their district. This does not make them their own lobbyists however. Most students have little concept of the dollars it takes to run the educational enterprise. In many cases they are still learning that it takes money to put gasoline in the family car, it takes money to buy their clothes and often attempt to bargain with their parents by saying simply, “Everyone else has …” Fill in the blank.

            Rather than argue about who the lobbyists for the students are, I urge all of us, parents, tax payers, school board members, school superintendents, teachers, legislators and anyone else I have failed to mention, become lobbyists for all students.

      The New Year brings both plenty of reflection on the past year and the anticipation and excitement of a new beginning. Reflection on the past year and anticipation about the new beginning also occurs in education in a variety of ways.

      The success of the past assures us that most students will continue to receive a quality education from thousands of dedicated teachers and administrators. These students will also be encouraged to become people who live a life that exhibits good character, quality decision making and a genuine caring about other people.

      The New Year also brings with it ongoing concerns in public education. While overall students academic performance in most schools is consistently at a high level and graduation rates are 90% plus, concern still must be expressed about students in some districts who are not performing well and the districts graduation rate is abysmal. All students deserve a quality education that results in them achieving success and graduation from high school.

      Another ongoing concern for public education is financial. Despite what some believe and say, throwing money at an issue does not necessarily mean the issue will be made better. On the other hand not having the resources necessary to provide a quality education may impede student progress. Proper allocation and wise spending of the districts existing resources is imperative. In New York State the Governor and Legislator have agreed to give an additional $400 million to public education this year. This is about half of what has been given in some previous years. All school districts are also facing the full impact of the tax cap legislation passed last year. These factors will force school boards to be wise in their allocations and spending. This is a good thing.

      Finally who is elected to the district school board this May will also have tremendous impact on the school district not only for this year but for many subsequent years. This impact will be felt directly in the issues noted above, student achievement and district finances. Unfortunately, over the past several years in nearly half of all school districts in New York State the same number of candidates have run for the board as there are openings. This situation fails to give district voters any choice as to who is elected. This is the time of year that people who may have given any thought to running for their local school board should begin to take some steps toward making that decision. Initial steps might include attending a school board meeting, talking with current or previous school board members and volunteering for district committees or other assignments.

      Anyone interested in knowing more about running for their local school board should explore the various resources available at www.teachingandlearninginstitute.org

      2012 can be full of wonderful opportunities and excitement for all of us. We also have the unique opportunity to be involved in a variety of ways in our local public school system. I encourage you to make involvement a priority for you this year.

Federal stimulus money is gone … States are nearly bankrupt … Local taxpayers are tired of paying increased taxes to support public education. New York State has imposed a 2% tax cap. One forward thinking Board of Education member asks, “Where are we going to get the money now to support our schools?”

 Last year several thousand teachers, administrators and support staff members lost their jobs. The outlook for schools is even bleaker this year.

             It seems the desire to balance tax payer’s affordability with the financial needs of a school should be paramount. Unfortunately a school board member who thinks this way should be prepared often for opposition from every union affiliated with the schools, most administrators and even some fellow board members. The arguments against this point of view can become sentimental, “Shouldn’t we do all we can for the children?” or down right demanding and personal, “You can’t control costs on the backs of the teachers and others who have served the children of this district so faithfully for all these years.” People who continue to hold this viewpoint, given the stark reality of the current world we live in, are living in a “dream world.”

           One wonders how fair the average taxpayers of school districts feel about recent employment contract settlements, particularly in light of the fact that the average wage and salary increase for non-government employees in the 12 month period ending June 2009 was 1.8 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Raises in 2010 for non-governmental employees did not top 2 percent, and in many cases no raises were given at all, according to federal estimates.  Yet teachers are receiving increases of 3 to 3.95 percent.

 Teachers and school board members need to put the “dream world” of the past behind them and move into the new “world of reality.” What is the world of reality? Here are just a few aspects of it.

·        The national employment hovers around 9%

·        One in eight mortgages are in foreclosure or default

·        There was no cost of living increase in 2010 for Social Security recipients

·        State and local governments are expected to face billions of dollars in deficits.

 To move into the world of reality there are only two options. Increase local taxes or begin to downsize school budgets. School budget downsizing can mean making painful decisions about program elimination and staff layoffs. Like pruning a tree, the downsizing of school budgets can be used to some advantage—discovering and reducing programs of limited benefit, making instructional programs more focused and more defensible, gathering detailed information about the district staff’s effort, and tapping into staff ideas for cost-savings. Preparation is the best approach.

 Some districts begin by actively involving their communities in the “pruning” conversation. Residents are asked to choose which of the following items they would be willing to have the Board eliminate or reduce: Conferences, Equipment, Supplies, Field Trips, Athletics, Faculty or Staff. Generally the least favored items to eliminate or reduce are Faculty or Staff. This is understandable because people’s livelihood is involved. There are significant fallacies however with relying on only some of the other possibilities. Most responders have no idea how much money can actually be saved by eliminating or reducing of these items. Assuming the elimination of all Conferences, Equipment, Supplies, Field Trips and Athletics from the budget the total savings would be between 2% and 4%.

 In an effort to develop a possible plan for dealing with a major financial shortfall I put together a list of choices a school community might consider. The result of my work is the title of this article and my recently published book, Many Choices, Few Easy (Controlling School Spending). The list is divided into three major groups, immediate, intermediate and long term. The combined lists total more than 100 choices, few easy ones, but choices that most districts need to consider beginning immediately.

 This month I am offering a FREE copy of my book to everyone who contacts The Teaching and Learning Institute. Request your copy by email at tli@frontiernet.net or calling 585-567-2080.

              I believe public education is at a significant crossroad. I predict that record numbers of school budgets will be voted down UNLESS all members of the school community step up and make the difficult decisions necessary to control school spending. There are many options for doing this but few are easy. I urge you to be part of the conversation.

         The NYS Legislature has passed legislation to cap property tax increases by school districts and local governments. The new plan would require school districts to obtain the approval of 60 percent of voters to pass a tax increase above the lesser of 2 percent or a figure tied to the rate of inflation. Tax increases less than the threshold would require only a simple majority of voters for approval. As with the current budget process, districts would be allowed two chances to gain voter approval.                    

         For school districts this tax cap has dramatic implications. In order to comply with the cap schools will probably have to dig deep into the district Fund Balance again next school year, as many did this past year, drastically reduce programs or layoff more support staff, teachers and administrators.          

         There may be a hard lesson to be learned from this situation. For several years, while increasing revenues seemed not to be an issue, school districts continued to increase the annual budgets by adding new programs, adding more employees and increasing the tax rate local property tax payers paid. These tax increases averaged over 6% annually. When the economy began to decline schools paid little attention to this development and continued to spend and tax, even as State Aid decreased and the Federal Stimulus money was exhausted.  Only during the last three years have schools finally begun to monitor their increases more carefully. During this period of time tax increases have averaged under 3%. Unfortunately by this time tax payers had had enough and the outcry to legislators become very loud. As a result, the tax cap legislation was passed, even though 37% of the schools districts actually decreased their budgets this year.                   

         Within this new legislation schools were granted a few exemptions from the tax cap calculation. These exemptions include actual growth in the tax base, (where is this happening in New York State?) increases in assessed value, (which many taxpayers challenge with the assessor) certain large legal expenses, and pension costs attributable to increases in employer contribution rates greater than 2 percent, over which the school districts have no control.                    

         In commenting on this new legislation The New York State School Boards Association states “Low wealth and small rural districts will be unable to raise sufficient revenue to provide a sound, basic education.  High performing districts that rely most heavily on local revenue will find it hard to maintain existing programs and services.” These are the dramatic implications referred to earlier.                      

         One thing that might help this situation would be if NY State is able to increase State Aid for schools next year, or at least maintain its current level. This has not been done in a couple of years. Given our continuing economic circumstances increases in State Aid seem unlikely however.                     

         Last year, Dr. Ralph Kerr, President of The Teaching and Learning Institute in Houghton, NY authored a new book entitled, “Many Options, Few Easy,  Controlling School Spending.” The book offers over 100 ways for schools to control spending. A free copy of this book is available to anyone reading this opinion piece. Simply request your free copy by leaving your Name and email and mailing address at the Contact Us portion of this website.

                Schools have been using computers and other electronic devices for some time to help students learn better.  As new devices, such as the iPad, ViewSonic View Pad and ABCHOS  have become available students are being helped to an even greater extent. The applications available for these devices can not only greatly improve academic achievement but can help students boost their self confidence and generally they feel better about their ability to learn. Many of the applications are especially useful for Special Education students but other applications are available for regular education students as well.

                For example in Tennessee  a Down syndrome student has experienced much success using a variety of apps that work well with helping children with autism communicate. Deaf students in Pennsylvania and students with autism in California are using these tools to pave a fresh path to learning.

                One of the very useful apps is called Proloque2Go. Students can scroll through pictures or choose from phrases and sentences that they use often and the device speaks for them. The alternative for one speech impaired student was a 2 foot-long board that offered only a choice of six words at a time. In addition to this limitation the size of the board only served to draw more unwanted attention to the student.

                iPads start at $499. They are not only less expensive but much more portable, lightweight and convenient than laptop computers. They also have a built in keyboard. They can be customized for individual students and easily programmed to print to a wireless printer. The touch screens offer instant gratification for students with limited patience and those who can’t understand the connection between a mouse and computer screen.

                Teachers in regular education have found these devices very useful in working with students who may have a fear of math, or different learning styles. Math Nija is one very useful math app. Teachers say, “Students using Math Nija are not just normal kids but become a math ninja, which is a good thing.” The app starts with a brief game, then presents one math problem at a time. Some teachers in the Southern Tier of New York State have used these devices to greatly increase student’s abilities and interest in Social Students and English in addition to Math.

                As with any technology, particularly those which can access the Internet, teachers and parents need to properly supervise the use of these devices. Many school districts have existing policies for computer usage and more are developing policies related to use of all social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. These are issues that parents need to appropriately address during at home use of technology devices as well.