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Thomas Troisi May 25, 2013 at 06:30 am
While not required to have the "title," I beleive that it would be penny wise and dollar…Read More and dollar foolish not to hire and pay the best person possible. The next several years will be challenging ones from a business perspective. Wantagh needs a quality person who can hit the ground running!
Chris Wendt May 24, 2013 at 08:57 pm
State law requires Wantagh to employ a school business official. Having an "Assistant…Read More Superintendent for Business" is not required. Some school districts employ a District Business Manager instead of an Assistant Superintendent for Business. Some of those District Business Managers have had business financial experience. A "District Business Manager" would probably not be eligible for tenure.
Many school boards would not consider hiring a "Business Manager" instead of an Assistant Superintendent for Business because the discussion generally breaks down to this:"No business manager from the business world would ever be able to understand all the technicalities of educational/school district business management".
While true, the inherent veracity of that statement may be the exact prescription necessary to straighten out public school finance operations!
Food for thought, Wantagh!
Boberto M May 15, 2013 at 06:40 am
Peter Mountanos, although young, actually shows promise to this community. When all of the…Read More candidates were answering the questions, he was bringing new ideas to the table and sounded very educated. He may be that candidate that turns around our school system. Mr. Mountanos just graduated our high school last year, so he knows our faults with our courses and other things like that. You would make the right decision by voting for Peter Mountanos next Tuesday!
Frankie Jay May 15, 2013 at 12:14 am
In my opinion, being class president for 4 years at Wantagh High School, Mr. Costello is what this…Read More community needs. His passion for this community and the students has been outstanding. A very motivated and dedicated man that will fit perfect in our board of education.
-Frank Walker
Cheap Sam May 25, 2013 at 12:45 am
I enjoy reading SS and Lynch posts too. It's an alternative to bulimia. I've lost a few pounds from…Read More the beautiful posts. Did you (SS) actually say that you enjoy reading Lynch's post? WOW! Keep hob knobbing and drinking that Kool-Aid. Your brains have been taken over by Mat Fields. This is like a bad Sci-Fi movie. "ZOMBIES OF SEAFORD".
Annmarie Lynch May 24, 2013 at 02:45 pm
Ssteacher thank you! You said exactly what I think! I will ignore her and you are right she…Read More doean't matter in my world. I am so happy the budget passed and so happy the UTS made a big sacrafice. Seaford is a great conmunity that's why I choose to raise my kids here!
salk May 21, 2013 at 12:31 pm
I sure hope there's some new blood that comes onto the board, rather than recycled Bill Russack and…Read More company. How can you vote for anyone that has been part of the dysfunction which is the Wantagh School Board for the past several years, over-seeing a revolving door at Superintendent.
The fact that the board has STILL never disclosed why the last superintendent was only on for 3 months and then left is very telling, even the district's own teachers don't know. I DO know they are embarrassed because they wasted millions of dollars on an outside search committee for the hiring, as well as tons of money in buying out his contract.
I've been told by many friends that are teachers in Wantagh that the board is IMPOSSIBLE to work with and thus the superintendent wanted out. (At least Maureen Goldberg is good and will put them in their place).
There is way too much nepotism on the current board and it needs fresh faces....(No, I'm not a candidate and don't have ANY ties to anyone new who is running).. It's just time for some fresh blood and stop the insanity.... A large majority of Wantagh teachers think the existing board is a total mess. Here's to some fresh change....
Matthew Provenzano May 17, 2013 at 09:57 am
Congrats to all! I'm really glad that this has continued after I've left, and I hope to see many…Read More more of these articles in the years to come!
Chris Wendt May 16, 2013 at 11:00 am
Wow, this is the real deal, accomplishment-wise! Congratulations!
Follow the Money May 8, 2013 at 04:01 pm
I am sure they are all nice, honest people that mean well but from what I have seen and heard, they…Read More all seem to spew the same old, tired lines and ideas and have not put forth any ideas that will dramatically change what is happening today i.e. year-after-year of rising property taxes.
Eric Jurist May 13, 2013 at 10:33 am
What do the seven candidates for the school board have to say about this issue? I invite their…Read More written responses.
eric May 23, 2013 at 09:45 am
Lorraine - here is a group that I would encourage you to participate with. Manhasseet Proponents for…Read More School Accountability (info@manhassetpsa.com) . below is the email which they have sent to their residents and others who support the efforts...I think you will find it interesting that their key statements is what most Long Islanders are also saying and agree with:
END TO RELENTLESS SCHOOL TAX INCREASES WHICH HAVE HURT FAMILIES, SENIORS AND BUSINESSES....THROUGH LEADERSHIP AND SKILLED MANAGEMENT THE DISTRICT SHOULD BE ABLE TO REDUCE EXPENSES WITHOUT AFFECTING THE QUALITY..these are all key points that you have been presenting....you are not alone. Progress/ change is in the future
THANK YOU
MPSA THANKS ALL THE MANHASSET RESIDENTS WHO SUPPORTED FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY BY REAFFIRMING THE TAX CAP IN THE MAY 21ST BUDGET VOTE.
THIS REPRESENTS AN ACHIEVEMENT NOT ONLY FOR MANHASSET BUT FOR THE ENTIRE ISLAND BECAUSE IT SIGNALS THE BEGINNING OF THE END TO
RELENTLESS SCHOOL TAX INCREASES WHICH HAVE HURT FAMILIES, SENIORS AND BUSINESSES..
HOWEVER, THE FIGHT FOR FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY IS NOT OVER. A SECOND VOTE IS REQUIRED ON JUNE 18th. IF THE MANHASSET SCHOOL DISTRICT
SUBMITS A SECOND BUDGET THAT IS WITHIN THE TAX CAP, MPSA WILL SUPPORT IT ON JUNE 18TH.
THROUGH LEADERSHIP AND SKILLED MANAGEMENT THE DISTRICT SHOULD BE ABLE TO REDUCE EXPENSES WITHOUT AFFECTING THE QUALITY
OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS.
OTHER DISTRICTS HAVE SUCCEEDED IN PASSING BUDGETS THAT ARE WITHIN THE TAX CAP AND WE KNOW MANHASSET CAN DO LIKEWISE.
MPSA
Lorraine DeVita May 22, 2013 at 10:48 am
A) I expressed my opinion that the budget WAS going to pass- and more importantly I completely…Read More understand why many would vote for it. FEAR
B) I never stated that I spoke for anyone but myself-
C) You might need to accept the fact that irrelevant to YOU and your buddies is not something I am worried/concerned about-
D) While many of you feel comfortable and accept the Quality of product we produce for our students, I on the other hand am not, I see what we ARENT giving them, the missed opportunities, the lack of vision,planning,execution, fiscal control, responsibility, transparency and educational priorities for ALL students. I am firmly convinced we CAN DO BETTER and NEED to do better for ALL of our students and for the community that pays the bills. > Whether you consider it rhetoric or not.. It starts with the leadership,an educational philosophy that demands Quality and Value for ALL students to prepare them for tomorrow at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers. Its HOW we spend what we do have that I am concerned about.
Mickey May 22, 2013 at 10:18 am
A nice final message Tho. Seaford has shown that we realize the importance of a strong educational…Read More environment. Our children are our most important concern and once again Seaford did right by them. As did our teachers, volunteering another year of salary freeze. Thanks to all who helped make this budget happen- and now on to the next school year with an intact program for our kids!
Lorraine DeVita May 9, 2013 at 02:26 pm
Annmarie-this seems to be soooooooooooooooo appropo -
Perhaps you need to on work upgrading what…Read More Howard Bloom calls- “the group IQ".
"Collective intelligence can be encouraged "to overcome 'groupthink' and individual cognitive bias in order to allow a collective to cooperate on one process—while achieving enhanced intellectual performance.” George Pór defined the collective intelligence phenomenon as "the capacity of human communities to evolve towards higher order complexity and harmony, through such innovation mechanisms as differentiation and integration, competition and collaboration." Atlee and Pór state that "collective intelligence also involves achieving a single focus of attention and standard of metrics which provide an appropriate threshold of action". Their approach is rooted in Scientific Community Metaphor.
Atlee and Pór suggest that the field of collective intelligence should primarily be seen as a human enterprise in which mind-sets, a willingness to share and an openness to the value of distributed intelligence for the common good are paramount, though group theory and artificial intelligence have something to offer. Individuals who respect collective intelligence are confident of their own abilities and recognize that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of any individual parts needed.Maximizing collective intelligence relies on the ability of an organization to accept and develop "The Golden Suggestion", which is any potentially useful input from any member. "Groupthink" often hampers collective intelligence by limiting input to a select few individuals or filtering potential Golden Suggestions without fully developing them to implementation.
Annmarie Lynch May 9, 2013 at 01:35 pm
I know that the reason you won't run for the Board is because no one will vote for you. You are a…Read More master at twisting the truth and changing stories to suit your needs and lets not forget a bully! Which is against school policy! Write what you want I just realized I am dealing with nobody.
Lorraine DeVita May 9, 2013 at 01:29 pm
NO annmaire- I STATED VERY CLEARLY we have too many adminisitrative personnel- There is a VAST…Read More difference between CLERICAL / MANGERIAL ADMINSITRATIVE personnel and ADMINISTRATORS. We only have ONE SUPERINTENDENT and yes i think we should LOSE the one we have - if you are going to quote me on anything..quote me on THAT. BTW obviously you are NOT one of the those "in the know"! lol..
Chris Wendt May 10, 2013 at 06:14 am
I am supporting Bill Russack without a doubt. Yes, we need some new folks on the Board, but Bill is…Read More definitely one of the current members we need to retain, precisely because of his record of accomplishments and the balance he has successfully been able to strike between the needs of students and taxpayers. Newsday, today, clearly points-up Wantagh's solid financial results under Bill Russack, by headlining the fact that the average Island-side tax proposed school tax increases are coming in at 3.27%
http://www.newsday.com/long-island/most-li-districts-propose-spending-or-tax-hikes-of-3-or-higher-1.5232968?cmpid=Newsday_Now
Dave May 9, 2013 at 07:22 pm
Nope. I'm not one of the candidates. Just a wantagh resident with kids in the elementary school.
Rob May 9, 2013 at 03:31 pm
Not that it makes a big difference to me but is Dave the person as David Hoffman?? Just curious...
Team Dawg May 12, 2013 at 08:01 pm
We at Team Dawg promote and celebrate the true Everyday Heroes that make a positive difference in…Read More our communities. The perfect example of such a hero is the teacher. The grades on a paper do not begin to show the true worth of these individuals who help teach, mold, and care for our children. Team Dawg thanks and congratulates this wonderful group of true Everyday Heroes!
Christopher Carini May 7, 2013 at 03:18 pm
Mrs coghlan is my daughters teacher and I have nothing but great things to say about her. She has…Read More done an excellent Job educating my daughter. The honor is well deserved
Follow the Money May 7, 2013 at 09:44 pm
It's about time we think outside the box on public education. We can no longer tollerate the yearly…Read More tax increases. Things will only change if people stop paying school taxes and make the "public schools" tuition based. They can then compete for students with the religious based schools. The competition will make the parents decide where their dollars should be going and thus competition will improve the "public schools" and drive the cost down.
eric May 7, 2013 at 01:03 pm
The questions for each Seaford resident are 1. Can you afford to pay another tax increase 3.59%…Read More (avg. $250 - $700) per year 2.will the high school tax continue to drive the value of your home down? 3. Does the value of this product/service decrease year after year?
Lorraine DeVita May 6, 2013 at 02:45 pm
interesting "language" used here- the funds are not "left over"- the bond is…Read More basically a line of credit -similiar to a home equity line of credit- we borrowed x amount- We pay principal &interest only on the amount we used.
We can only utilize the remaining monies without an additonal vorter referendum if they are under the specific identified scope of work. IF this was included under the original specific scope of work my questions are : Why wasnt this work done intitialy - This 'asbestos" issue was brought to the attention of the BOE I beleive LAST year why wasnt the work undertaken immediately and what is the exact cost to abate the asbestos. Has it INCREASED due to the delay in a decision by the BOe NOT to do this originally or even a yr ago? and finaly why if the district knew it had not completed parts of the scope of work from the orginal referendum did BC and BoE persist in repeatedly giving this community the delusion that the "funds" were "available" to be used for the Harbor access? Including expending monies for engieering reports etc. IF this particular removal of asbestos was not included under the original scope of work do we need a VOTE to approve the current asbestos removal? Are there any other asbetos issues that may need to be addressed within the district and what are we doing about those? This asbestos issue needs to be addressed for the health and safety of the students and employees. I am just concerned once again about the thought process, lack of priorities and procrastination combined with the time lapsed will cost us MORE money than originally thought.
David Hoffman May 7, 2013 at 01:41 pm
Chris, yes thank you. I do understand what you are saying and please note that everything you have…Read More said is a means for aid to not just me but for anyone who gets elected as a trustee. I am aware that is it extremely difficult for any person when elected to be able to change the resource constraints. My hope is we can find a way not to slide backwards and try ever to hard to figure out a way to make it better. Your informationn along with Tim's has been a tremendous help. I do thank you for it all!
Chris Wendt May 7, 2013 at 01:13 pm
I need to clarify my comment about standard deviation and the bell curve, and put this in proper…Read More context. I did not mean to imply that Wantagh teachers grades "on a curve"; I'll take you at your word that they do not. I was speaking to any set of results (grades, scores, times, etc.) among a cohort following a standard distribution curve. Yes the grades are the grades, but even the raw grades of 250 students in the same grade level can be plotted on what will reveal itself to be a bell(-shaped) curve. I hope this makes for better understanding.
Chris Wendt May 7, 2013 at 01:01 pm
Dave, I remember you well, and I have the utmost respect for you and admire your prusuit of a seat…Read More on the Wantagh Board of Education. I certainly do not have all the answers, nobody does. My comments are sincerely intended to be informational and hopefully, helpful. In July, there will be at least one new trustee on the school board, and I am deeply interested that this person is as informed as possible. You are describing a classic resource constraint problem. This is a problem that can be traced back thrity years in the making. My first school budget was $15 million, and we had the luxury of 44% of that budget being funded by state aid. Thirty years later and school budget has quintulpled to $75 million but the state aid funding ratio has been reduced by more than half, to 19%. I used to call this a "strategic withdrawal of state support for education". But then I woke up when I realized that, with two exceptions, state aid dollars had increased every year since, and discovered the problem was less of a state funding problem but was almost exclusively due to unrealistic funding expectations held for decades by the NY State Board of Regents, every Commissioner since 1989, and most school superinetendents and school boards across the state. Whomever is elected will have little or no ability to change the resource constraints, but will be challenged to the max to make do with what you get, and to hopefully not slide backwards in Wantagh's results or offerings.
Lorraine DeVita April 22, 2013 at 10:49 am
Vo reason- 11 Posts =85% ???? LMAO-so heres my final post on this article-
We OVER spend in Areas…Read More such as LRS and NON teaching employees , We throw money away that could be driven towards areas YOU ALL have concerns about keeping . Whether it be smaller class sizes, reading, Electives, activites or even MS sports. We Proportionately have more LRS emplyees and non teaching TRS Adminsitrative EMPLOYEES then OTHER SD's, LARGER SD's or even LIKE SD's. My question to you is WHY the disparity, why do we have such a higher ration then most others? Why arent we spending that money on the students and why do we never aget a clear cut concise answer from the district. Does THIS budget meet the needs of the students and the community. Does this budget address WHAt they are going to do in grades 1-2-3 NEXT yr with class sizes?
Does it address READING support and help on all grade levels.
Does this budget direct funds towards the students or does it direct money towards keeping a HIGH , VERY HIGH, RATIO of LRS to TRs employees. Is our goal the higher the MOSt people in NON teaching positions or is our goal to offer the best well rounded education to ALL students at an affordbale price to the community. We keep CUTTING teachers and we KEEP backfiling with AIDES , We cut Technology line items but we GIVE THe IT director a RAISE?
We CUT reading programs and we keep a plethora of Clerical?
This makes sense to you?
Annmarie Lynch April 19, 2013 at 12:29 pm
I guess you can't produce that revenue and yes almost all the kids take that class.
College Student Reflects on Election to Wantagh School Board
1 4 Recommend Andrew Coen (Editor)