MEET THE BAUMANN SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS
SCHOOLS
061303 Let's get story straight about K-L spending hahahahahahaha
To the Editor:
The votes have been tallied, and it appears that many followed the urgings of CPSP to "vote no to force the school board to come back with a more realistic budget." I wonder if these voters are aware that the Katonah-Lewisboro Board of Education already presented one of the lowest school tax increases in the county.
That's right, according to the state Department of Education, only six out of 39 school districts in Westchester had lower school tax increases. Thirteen districts even faced tax increases of more than 10 percent. Yet, every district (with the exception of ours and Valhalla) passed their budgets. What does this mean?
Do voters know how our school district spending compares with others in Westchester? Take nine major budget categories covering everything from teacher salaries to district office expenses to transportation. Are you aware that our district does not place in the top 20 percent in any single expense category? We are in the top 40 percent for five categories, and the top 60 percent for two categories. We are in the bottom 40 percent for co-curricular/athletic activities as well as for state aid, the funds our district receives from New York State.
So, where is all this fiscal mismanagement CPSP constantly alludes to in its most recent mailer? Evidently, such inflammatory statements are not based on the facts. By comparison, our budget increase is not only realistic, but also quite conservative. If local newspapers presented all the particulars, perhaps voters would be better informed and less susceptible to innuendo.
Clearly, voters have been unduly influenced by a flier filled with inaccuracies, intentionally distributed just days before a vote, leaving no time to address its distortions (referred to as "budgetary low blows" in the June 6 editorial in The Record-Review).
It is puzzling to read about "luxurious surroundings" when our middle school has been overcrowded for years, and still has 130 students in excess of building capacity. Or take a closer look at the article in the flier about Lewisboro homeowners moving to Ridgefield, Conn., for lower taxes: In the same article, tax assessors from both towns credit "the size of the commercial and industrial tax base in Ridgefield" for the lower taxes there. Ridgefield supports quality education and does not neglect its schools under the guise of tax vigilance.
So, where does this leave us? When CPSP alleges that voting against the budget will not hurt the kids, it is mistaken. Our district is obligated by the state to meet expenses for retirement contributions, which have increased more than 100 percent, Social Security and retirement leave (another half a million dollars), as well as numerous mandates. Any additional cuts will directly impact our students by increasing class size and reducing educational staff, programs and opportunities. We must keep in mind our school budget is really all about educating the children of our community. Even in these tough economic times, nearly every district in Westchester passed its school budget. Why can't we?
(Because there is a small handful of residents a little more intelligent than the average brain dead taxpayer !!!-JPG)