Will Intelligence and Integrity Prevail Over Avarice and Myopia?
Michael Raucci
The following is a two part editorial dealing with education funding; first at the state level and second at the local level, specifically in Pine Bush, New York.
Part 1: The State
School districts across the state of New York have, over the past several months, have been engaged in the daunting task of creating a budget which on one hand doesn’t have a negative impact on education but on the other hand doesn’t overburden already cash poor and tax weary property owners. This has not been a typical year of school budget wrangling primarily because years of poor fiscal management and a lack of foresight at the state level has led to a 10 billion dollar shortfall in projected state funds. Newly elected governor, Andrew Cuomo, has opted to make up the difference by slashing state funded programs, primarily targeting public school aid and Medicaid, the fattest parts of the state budget. He has also vowed to not create any new or raise any existing taxes in this budget balancing maelstrom.
Governor Cuomo and the New York legislator are currently making well intentioned but short-sighted decisions which could lead to the shortchanging of an entire generation of students, the global devaluation of the United States and because for some politicians it’s the only thing that might stir their emotions, the staining of current leaders future political legacies. They are indiscriminately slashing education funding without taking full account of the future implications (which ultimately are disastrous) of this expedient solution to the state’s fiscal problems.
It is my opinion that Mr. Cuomo’s approach to a budget resolution has been hackneyed and blunt when precise analysis and surgical precision were called for. His administration has coined the termed ‘gap elimination’ as a way of disguising cuts to school aid, cuts which are not based upon substantive analysis of their impact and which are primarily being shouldered by the poorer districts in the state. Were these substantial reductions necessary? The answer is a resounding, “No.” It is only because of the fiduciary mismanagment of prior elected officials and the fact that Governor Cuomo and the state legislator are allowing a currently existing tax on millionaires to expire that these Draconian cuts become necessary. Were the tax on millionaires to remain, much of the pain associated with balancing the budget would be assuaged. Why would Mr. Cuomo, a lifetime Democrat, allow this to happen? The answer beckons back to the summer prior to his election when it looked like Republican Carl Paladino seemed to be gaining traction with beleaguered taxpayers, and in response, then candidate Cuomo pledged to not raise any taxes if elected. Recalling the politically disastrous effect, reversing a similar pledge had on former President George H.W. Bush, Cuomo had no choice other than to follow through. Had Cuomo known at the time that Paladino would eventually commit political suicide by ostracizing major voting blocks with vitriolic comments, such a pledge would have been unnecessary and would have given him more options as he attempted to balance the budget for 2011-2012. Still, Cuomo’s decision seems devilishly influenced, as it puts his own political life ahead of those to whom he has sworn to serve. By using the term ‘gap elimination’, Mr. Cuomo passes the buck (or fails to – pun intended) to local school boards and taxpayers thus redirecting the ire of taxpayers away from state officials.
In the process of developing the details of their somewhat reckless budget, the governor and some legislators embarked on a smoke and mirrors blame campaign for the budgetary problems. In an attempt to transfer much of the blame, Governor Cuomo, and politicians across the country have created scapegoats in the form of teachers, school administrators, school boards and unions. These politicians have effectively shifted the dialogue away from their fiscal irresponsibility to the aforementioned groups, citing lackluster performance on standardized examinations when compared to other countries as proof of their ineptitude as a whole, when such a comparison creates a grossly inaccurate representation of true knowledge and performance given the great variability in how these tests are administered and perceived in the various countries. Somehow, the effigy of an economy soured and nearly bankrupted by greedy bankers and brokerage houses and left unchecked by self-motivated and unfocused politicians has been left at the feet of educators who have been portrayed as ineffective , self-centered thugs who raid state coffers for their own enrichment while the children they are meant to lead drown in a sea of mediocrity. So now politicians are loudly calling for accountability amongst educators and they are publicly attacking tenure, educator salaries and benefits, and implied bloated administration and bureaucracy. - (Wisconsin’s governor and Republican controlled legislator have gone so far as to denude unions’ collective bargaining rights.).
How could the citizens of New York State allow this kind of political demagoguery and propagandist manipulation to go unchecked? Perhaps, because they don’t have all the information or because they don’t want to know all the information. They are weary; weary of politics, weary of politicians, weary of wasteful spending, and weary of the rhetoric. The public has become inculcated to the stagnation and misdealings of Albany and recalcitrant to the idea that it could or will ever change. Ironically, it is this ubiquitous trance created by years of political ineptitude that has resulted in an Ethos of collective vulnerability to sensibility as people across the state seem to be willing to dismiss the sins and misgivings of politicians and Wall Street gluttons to leap onto the misguided bandwagon of teacher bashing.
If politicians are successful in shielding the general public from the true purveyors of fiscal irresponsibility and the state and national discussion focuses instead on American students’ test scores then the manner in which teachers teach and students learn will unfortunately turn from critical thinking and analysis to those very superficial things which are easily assessed; didactic thought and associative regurgitation as we steer towards becoming a nation in decline.
Part 2: The School District
In part one of this editorial I examined the reasons for the current budgetary crisis and I explained how the state and politicians have shifted the social discourse away from their fiscal irresponsibility to perceived educational mediocrity. In part two, I will look at Pine Bush Schools, a district which encompasses 7 townships in 3 counties to see how it has handled the devastating cuts in state aid and the rising criticism from politicians.
Pine Bush Schools and taxpayers represent one of the hardest hit districts in New York State, losing nearly 16% of their funding due to an imperfect state appropriation formula and Mr. Cuomo’s “gap elimination” program which unfairly burdens poor districts and rural middle class districts, particularly, those with little to no commercial or industrial tax base like Pine Bush. The predictions for Pine Bush have been dire from the outset, with Superintendent Philip Steinberg predicting 2011-2012 layoffs in the district to be between 40 and 140 for the coming school year. This would of course be on top of the massive cuts endured over the past two years. Were there problems with overstaffing? Probably, but most programs and staff had already been cut to the bone in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011. Where did these numbers come from and how could a school district survive so many layoffs? The high end numbers came from the possibility of the implementation of Mr. Cuomo’s 2% property tax cap proposal. That tax cap has been shelved until next year but its prospect looms large over this rural district that cut to the bone last year and will be cutting into the bone this coming year.
Pine Bush will endure massive program cuts, reallocation of funds, severe reductions in elective courses and in after school programs and sports. Every student and every program will be affected in some negative way. In an unfair irony, Pine Bush is not paying the price for its own fiscal irresponsibility, in fact, Pine Bush ranks near the lowest in Orange County in per pupil expenditures at $9101.00. It is paying the price for Albany’s years of ineptitude.
But Pine Bush officials, teachers, students, parents and community members are banding together to make the best of a state budget that unfairly overburdens them. Last year when modified sports had to be cut from the budget parents, teachers and students raised approximately $100,000 to pay for the sports programs. This year with teachers again looking at significant layoffs, the teachers union proposed and authorized a give back of approximately $375,000 to the district and educators are scrambling to reorganize programs so as to minimize the academic damage created by the loss of funds. The school board and superintendent have been charged with the dual responsibility of creating a robust and effective instructional program while at the same time protecting the interests of community taxpayers who must pay for the majority of that program. Given the current situation those two edicts seem to be discordant. How can they create a school budget which doesn’t sacrifice the futures of 6000 children but at the same time doesn’t force property taxes so high that families are foreclosed on and seniors have to choose between eating, buying needed medications and paying their school taxes? The board and administrators with the help of teachers has created a budget which represents a .13% decrease from the prior year’s budget despite inflation and contractual increases. Because of reduced state aid, however, a 5.99% increase in the tax levy will be required in order to implement this budget.
In the end, no one in Pine Bush will be satisfied. Administrators and Board members cannot fund and implement the type of instructional programs they would like to, teachers are being asked to do more with less supplies and assistance for more kids and for less money, parents realize that the reduced services in the schools could potentially put their children at a disadvantage in the future, and taxpayers are being asked to shoulder a hefty tax increase during economically demanding times. There are no winners in the 2011-2012 school budget debate and creation, but Pine Bush by collaborating and sacrificing as a united community is ensuring that there will be no losers either. Pine Bush Schools has taken the high road, and in doing so, they have adhered to their principle mission as educators and taught their kids that winning is not necessarily getting what one wants or what one deserves but persevering when times are tough without compromising one’s integrity.
So kudos to Pine Bush for finding a way to cooperate when things became difficult, for not devouring one another in a potential eat or be eaten scenario, for putting aside differences in order to create an environment that despite possibly lacking some of the educational options of the past will be robust in the spirit that propels learning for their kids and exemplifies the best of humanity. And shame on elected officials for not doing their due diligence when it came to extrapolating the impact of their education cuts, for balancing the budget on the backs of children and the poor, while giving tax breaks to the wealthy, and for illegitimately scapegoating educators and fostering divisiveness within the general public as a method of reflecting blame for the current economy away from themselves and their cronies.
Next year in Pine Bush, there won’t be enough computers, students will learn on software that is obsolete, there won’t be enough teachers, classrooms and labs will be overfilled to the point that safety concerns will arise, there won’t be enough teachers or aides to provide all the necessary courses or supervision, athletics and sports teams will be significantly tapered, after school programs will be nearly non-existent, and students will walk farther to their bus stops. Guidance counselors will fill the shoes of psychologists and teachers will buy supplies from their own pockets. Despite all this, Pine Bush teachers will teach to the best of their ability given the circumstances at hand and Pine Bush students will learn; because the educational community and the local community of Pine Bush are committed to their children and believe that education is the most valuable gift that can be given and that it is the salvation for children that want to dream big and be successful and it is the foundation for communities and countries that wish to prosper in the future.
Perhaps out of this crucible of educational teeth gnashing and blood-letting, schools like Pine Bush will rise like a Phoenix, reinventing themselves, education, and how learning takes place in the 21st century. Pine Bush has developed the mentality and fortitude that could allow that to happen. The big question is, “Can such a transformation take place as educational spending dwindles, as our political leaders mismanage the government and its finances, and as the causes of our current sour economy and state and national failings are not properly vetted and the truly complicit individuals or groups are not held accountable?”
Note: Since writing this the Pine Bush community passed the school budget which featured a 5.99% tax levy increase, substantial reductions in extracurriciluar activities, including sports, reduced educational offerings, and staff reductions approximating 50 people.
