Over in the East Windsor School District they have an interesting race underway - they have fewer candidates than they have open seats on the board. Only two of the three incumbents choose to run for re-election (see story in The Times) - this has the effect of letting almost anyone fill the third spot, if they get the most write-in votes.
There is a ex-member of the school board that is interested in rejoining the board, but it will be interesting to see if "Mickey Mouse" wins the third seat...
Sunday, April 15, 2007
H.R.811 - Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007
While you are standing in the voting booth this Tuesday, think about the process of voting – how do you know your votes are being counted? Our Representative Rush Holt is sponsoring House Resolution 811, Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 which, among other things, would require voter-verified paper ballots be produced for any possible recount. No matter which political party you identify with, this is an important topic, especially since the last few efforts to modernize our election process have produced such mixed results. Increasing voter turnout in elections is only worthwhile if we can accurately count how those votes were cast.
I urge everyone to contact Rush Holt and share your thoughts with him on this important topic. His federal website has numerous ways of contacting him at http://holt.house.gov/.
I urge everyone to contact Rush Holt and share your thoughts with him on this important topic. His federal website has numerous ways of contacting him at http://holt.house.gov/.
A few final thoughts as you enter the polls...
In this, my last Letter to the Editor before the election on Tuesday, I wanted to share a few final thoughts before you head into the voting booth and make your voice heard in this election.
If elected, I will work hard within the current school board to continue and build upon the great leaps in communication with the community we’ve seen these last few months – the effort the School Board has shown this budget cycle has been commendable, and should be expanded to more topics. School Busing should be funded by the School Board, and I propose to work with the New Jersey School Board Association and other School Boards to try and bring sanity to the funding process. Our Special Needs students deserve opportunities equal in every way possible to those offered to our mainstream students, and I believe their education should be funded by the state to ensure there are monies for every need. I believe the Practical Arts classes are vital, not so much for the subjects they teach, but for their ability to connect with students that may otherwise feel like outsiders at school. I also feel our curriculum may need to be reviewed, to ensure the offerings we have mesh with the needs of the students – I fear our students are studying topics for the sole reason of passing mandated tests. I believe that if we need to assess Activity Fees to fund after school activities, we should see an increase in the activities offered – not just maintain the status quo at an increased price. I also believe that were I elected to the School Board, I would do my best to represent the interests of all the residents, those with students in our schools, those with students in private schools, and also those families that have already sent their children to school in all three municipalities, not just Hopewell Township. My extended thoughts can be found on my blog, at http://hansen2007.blogspot.com/.
With 7 candidates vying for two open spots representing Hopewell Township on the School Board you have numerous viewpoints to choose from – I encourage you to vote for the candidates you feel best reflects your views and opinions. In an election like this one, it is important not to vote for just anybody on the ballot – the spread of votes across so many candidates will (I expect) cause the winners to be determined by just a handful of votes – if only one candidate appeals to you, consider voting for just the one candidate (this is called a “bullet vote”).
This has been a fascinating experience for me, and over the last few weeks I’ve learned about the hopes and frustrations of many in the Hopewell Valley regarding our School Board, and win or lose, I’ll cherish each and every conversation with my extended neighbors.
So please, get out and vote on Tuesday – I hope all will vote to accept the School Budget and second question as proposed, and vote for the candidate (or candidates) that best reflect your views and opinions.
Thank you,
Ken Hansen
Hopewell Township
If elected, I will work hard within the current school board to continue and build upon the great leaps in communication with the community we’ve seen these last few months – the effort the School Board has shown this budget cycle has been commendable, and should be expanded to more topics. School Busing should be funded by the School Board, and I propose to work with the New Jersey School Board Association and other School Boards to try and bring sanity to the funding process. Our Special Needs students deserve opportunities equal in every way possible to those offered to our mainstream students, and I believe their education should be funded by the state to ensure there are monies for every need. I believe the Practical Arts classes are vital, not so much for the subjects they teach, but for their ability to connect with students that may otherwise feel like outsiders at school. I also feel our curriculum may need to be reviewed, to ensure the offerings we have mesh with the needs of the students – I fear our students are studying topics for the sole reason of passing mandated tests. I believe that if we need to assess Activity Fees to fund after school activities, we should see an increase in the activities offered – not just maintain the status quo at an increased price. I also believe that were I elected to the School Board, I would do my best to represent the interests of all the residents, those with students in our schools, those with students in private schools, and also those families that have already sent their children to school in all three municipalities, not just Hopewell Township. My extended thoughts can be found on my blog, at http://hansen2007.blogspot.com/.
With 7 candidates vying for two open spots representing Hopewell Township on the School Board you have numerous viewpoints to choose from – I encourage you to vote for the candidates you feel best reflects your views and opinions. In an election like this one, it is important not to vote for just anybody on the ballot – the spread of votes across so many candidates will (I expect) cause the winners to be determined by just a handful of votes – if only one candidate appeals to you, consider voting for just the one candidate (this is called a “bullet vote”).
This has been a fascinating experience for me, and over the last few weeks I’ve learned about the hopes and frustrations of many in the Hopewell Valley regarding our School Board, and win or lose, I’ll cherish each and every conversation with my extended neighbors.
So please, get out and vote on Tuesday – I hope all will vote to accept the School Budget and second question as proposed, and vote for the candidate (or candidates) that best reflect your views and opinions.
Thank you,
Ken Hansen
Hopewell Township
Thursday, April 5, 2007
The 5% Solution - I Hope Not!
Our $62,000,000 school budget looks like this: 62% goes towards teacher salaries, and that expense is mandated by a negotiated contract with their unions, and as such is un-changeable. Benefits for teachers and other administration adds another 13% to this pile of un-changeable expenses, and after you add the 7% of the budget that goes towards debt service, that takes about 82% of our school budget off the table!
So what is left in the budget? Operations and Maintenance accounts for about 8% of the budget, and covers required expenses to keep our school s running and safe – not too much to trim here. Transportation accounts for about 6% of the budget, and nearly all of it is mandated by the state, so again it is not negotiable.
Administration accounts for an additional 3%, and since most of their activity is required to ensure our schools are operating in accordance with all regulations, nothing can really be cut from here either.
Last year, our budget had a number of Capital Improvements that amounted to just over $2,000,000. Regrettably, I’ll pull all of those costs.
I would not hire any new teachers to replace out-going staff, and would instead take the opportunity to revisit class sizes across the district, and staff only those positions absolutely required to meet state and federal requirements. This would mean some teachers would be re-deployed outside their current department for emergency assignments, and courses would be cut. Busing is next up – Hazardous Busing amounts to about $400,000, and when facing cuts of this size, it puts my position on Hazardous Busing to the test. I feel that busing is the responsibility of the School Board, and while I am tempted to take that $400,000 and eliminate it, I can’t – many families rely on busing, and our schools are not configured for a few hundred of parent drop-offs each day. Cutting Hazardous Busing creates too many risks.
So where are we? I’ve saved an estimated $2,000,000 by refusing all capital investment, and I’ve trimmed our teaching staff by as many positions as possible without laying off any teachers. If 13 teaching positions are cut across all 7 schools – that amounts to $1,000,000 in savings, figuring an average $75,000 per eliminated teacher, based on $62,000 in average base pay, plus estimated $13,000 in benefits that are saved per teacher. But at what cost?
We would have bigger class sizes, reduced choices and opportunities for our students across all grades, teachers teaching outside their area of expertise, and a physical plant that is at risk of serious failure during the coming year.
Cutting 5% out of the school budget, when over 80% of the annual budget is non-negotiable, means you really are being asked to cut 25% of the negotiable budget, let’s all hope this hypothetical never comes to pass, because the impact of this one year’s budget cut would be felt for years to come, to the continued detriment of all the students in our district.
So what is left in the budget? Operations and Maintenance accounts for about 8% of the budget, and covers required expenses to keep our school s running and safe – not too much to trim here. Transportation accounts for about 6% of the budget, and nearly all of it is mandated by the state, so again it is not negotiable.
Administration accounts for an additional 3%, and since most of their activity is required to ensure our schools are operating in accordance with all regulations, nothing can really be cut from here either.
Last year, our budget had a number of Capital Improvements that amounted to just over $2,000,000. Regrettably, I’ll pull all of those costs.
I would not hire any new teachers to replace out-going staff, and would instead take the opportunity to revisit class sizes across the district, and staff only those positions absolutely required to meet state and federal requirements. This would mean some teachers would be re-deployed outside their current department for emergency assignments, and courses would be cut. Busing is next up – Hazardous Busing amounts to about $400,000, and when facing cuts of this size, it puts my position on Hazardous Busing to the test. I feel that busing is the responsibility of the School Board, and while I am tempted to take that $400,000 and eliminate it, I can’t – many families rely on busing, and our schools are not configured for a few hundred of parent drop-offs each day. Cutting Hazardous Busing creates too many risks.
So where are we? I’ve saved an estimated $2,000,000 by refusing all capital investment, and I’ve trimmed our teaching staff by as many positions as possible without laying off any teachers. If 13 teaching positions are cut across all 7 schools – that amounts to $1,000,000 in savings, figuring an average $75,000 per eliminated teacher, based on $62,000 in average base pay, plus estimated $13,000 in benefits that are saved per teacher. But at what cost?
We would have bigger class sizes, reduced choices and opportunities for our students across all grades, teachers teaching outside their area of expertise, and a physical plant that is at risk of serious failure during the coming year.
Cutting 5% out of the school budget, when over 80% of the annual budget is non-negotiable, means you really are being asked to cut 25% of the negotiable budget, let’s all hope this hypothetical never comes to pass, because the impact of this one year’s budget cut would be felt for years to come, to the continued detriment of all the students in our district.
It Can't Happen Here...
The East Windsor Regional School District recently put through a set of budget questions to the voters that would put the fate of numerous school projects and initiatives (full-day Kindergarten, non-Mandated Busing, and additional teaching staff positions) directly in the hands of the voters. It could never happen here in the Hopewell Valley Regional School District (HVRSD).
Why do I say that? It's simple - East Windsor choose to put all the nice to have programs in supplemental budget questions and is relying on the voters to approve the spending of monies above what the state allows in it's 4% annual budget cap. But this could never happen here.
See, in our school district only a handful of voters turn out each year to vote on the school budget and any open board positions, and if just a few more voters are against the budget than for it, then the school board is left to juggle spending to somehow provide enough monies to provide a quality education to the students.
If the Hopewell Valley Regional School District put Primary Strings, After School Activities, Hazardous Busing, and Practical Arts classes in a separate budget question would enough parents show up to approve these programs?
When the participation levels in prior school board elections hover around 20% (or less), a vocal minority can overwhelm a passive majority easily. Our budget problems here in HVRSD will only get worse for the foreseeable future - there is no silver bullet to solve our problems. Simple budget caps solve NOTHING, in fact they punish our children with school budgets that grow at a rate lower than our actual expenses rise, putting a long-term squeeze on every district. The state needs to revamp the entire school funding process, and instead of handing out money based on the affluence of a district, should hand out monies to address particular needs (special needs children, school construction, and others) and turn-over the day-to-day funding of school operations to the districts. Now, there will always be districts that can't afford to provide an adequate education to their children based on their tax rolls, and it is reasonable for those districts to get additional monies from the state, but this current system has got to end.
Why do I say that? It's simple - East Windsor choose to put all the nice to have programs in supplemental budget questions and is relying on the voters to approve the spending of monies above what the state allows in it's 4% annual budget cap. But this could never happen here.
See, in our school district only a handful of voters turn out each year to vote on the school budget and any open board positions, and if just a few more voters are against the budget than for it, then the school board is left to juggle spending to somehow provide enough monies to provide a quality education to the students.
If the Hopewell Valley Regional School District put Primary Strings, After School Activities, Hazardous Busing, and Practical Arts classes in a separate budget question would enough parents show up to approve these programs?
When the participation levels in prior school board elections hover around 20% (or less), a vocal minority can overwhelm a passive majority easily. Our budget problems here in HVRSD will only get worse for the foreseeable future - there is no silver bullet to solve our problems. Simple budget caps solve NOTHING, in fact they punish our children with school budgets that grow at a rate lower than our actual expenses rise, putting a long-term squeeze on every district. The state needs to revamp the entire school funding process, and instead of handing out money based on the affluence of a district, should hand out monies to address particular needs (special needs children, school construction, and others) and turn-over the day-to-day funding of school operations to the districts. Now, there will always be districts that can't afford to provide an adequate education to their children based on their tax rolls, and it is reasonable for those districts to get additional monies from the state, but this current system has got to end.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Hopewell Borough
This is the Hopewell Borough example, again, the family will remain constant, except there will beno Busing Fee, since Hopewell Borough is outside the Hazardous Busing region for both the middle school and the high school:
Valuation of home: $452,312 (Avg. Assessment)
Number of students: 2, one in middle school, other in high school
Location: Inside the Mandated Busing region
So, lets look at Hopewell Borough:
2006 Taxes paid: $4,790
2006 Activities Fees: $0 (included in 2006 taxes)
2006 Busing Fees: $0 (included in 2006 taxes)
2006 Total Taxes & Fees: $4,790
2007 Taxes (est.): $5,066 ($276 increase, both proposals approved)
2007 Activities Fees: $150 (100% increase)
2007 Busing Fees: $0 (0% increase, outside Hazardous Busing region)
2007 Total Taxes & Fees (est.): $5,216 (8.9% increase)
An 8.9% increase in out-of-pocket costs for a family with two students seems quite high for the same level of services. Of course, the Activity Fees are optional, but many consider the services it funds essential.
Valuation of home: $452,312 (Avg. Assessment)
Number of students: 2, one in middle school, other in high school
Location: Inside the Mandated Busing region
So, lets look at Hopewell Borough:
2006 Taxes paid: $4,790
2006 Activities Fees: $0 (included in 2006 taxes)
2006 Busing Fees: $0 (included in 2006 taxes)
2006 Total Taxes & Fees: $4,790
2007 Taxes (est.): $5,066 ($276 increase, both proposals approved)
2007 Activities Fees: $150 (100% increase)
2007 Busing Fees: $0 (0% increase, outside Hazardous Busing region)
2007 Total Taxes & Fees (est.): $5,216 (8.9% increase)
An 8.9% increase in out-of-pocket costs for a family with two students seems quite high for the same level of services. Of course, the Activity Fees are optional, but many consider the services it funds essential.
Hopewell Township
This is the Hopewell Township example, it was preceeded by the Pennington Example, and will be followed by the Hopewell Borough example. In each example, the family will remain constant:
Valuation of home: $549,400 (Avg. Assessment)
Number of students: 2, one in middle school, other in high school
Location: Inside the Hazardous Busing region
So, lets look at Hopewell Township:
2006 Taxes paid: $6,188
2006 Activities Fees: $0 (included in 2006 taxes)
2006 Busing Fees: $0 (included in 2006 taxes)
2006 Total Taxes & Fees: $6,188
2007 Taxes (est.): $6,153 ($35 decrease, both proposals approved)
2007 Activities Fees: $150 (100% increase)
2007 Busing Fees: $300 (100% increase)
2007 Total Taxes & Fees (est.): $6,603 (6.7% increase)
A 6.7% increase in out-of-pocket costs for a family with two students seems quite high for the same level of services. Of course, the Busing and Activity Fees are optional, but many consider the services they fund essential.
Valuation of home: $549,400 (Avg. Assessment)
Number of students: 2, one in middle school, other in high school
Location: Inside the Hazardous Busing region
So, lets look at Hopewell Township:
2006 Taxes paid: $6,188
2006 Activities Fees: $0 (included in 2006 taxes)
2006 Busing Fees: $0 (included in 2006 taxes)
2006 Total Taxes & Fees: $6,188
2007 Taxes (est.): $6,153 ($35 decrease, both proposals approved)
2007 Activities Fees: $150 (100% increase)
2007 Busing Fees: $300 (100% increase)
2007 Total Taxes & Fees (est.): $6,603 (6.7% increase)
A 6.7% increase in out-of-pocket costs for a family with two students seems quite high for the same level of services. Of course, the Busing and Activity Fees are optional, but many consider the services they fund essential.
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