Hebron Dollars & Sense

auntie wrote:
Perhaps the BOE should issue a reminder to all staff that they cannot use the school property to influence the budget outcome. To that regard, is the superintendent's blog itself a violation, or is it merely a tool used to communicate information and answer questions? Looking at the superintendent's comments on her blog, I don't see any that directly request folks vote one way or another.

I was told today that the Superintendent's office this week formally notified all staff (including teachers) regarding the appropriate use of municipal resources, and the SEEC rules regarding communications that can/could/would/might be construed as influencing budget votes. I forgot to ask how this message was communicated: email, department meetings, etc.

With regard to the Superintendent's blog: I'm not sure I agree with you on that. For example: there was a blog stating that town employees were getting a 6 1/2% pay increase, and went on to compare that salary increase figure with teacher salary increases. We all know that is not true.

Second example: there are constant references to a loss of 10 (sometimes 11) teachers as a means of reaching a 0% budget increase, or even reducing the currently proposed budget a dollar. Reading the blog, someone comes away with the impression that there is one and only one way to reach 0%, and that is by firing teachers. We all know that is not true. Right off the bat, the "elephant in the room" (AKA ADK) could be eliminated, and with attrition rates, the teachers re-assigned, rather than hiring more teachers to meet the needs of an all-day Kindergarten program.

So while not a specific violation of SEEC requirements, there are "subliminal" messages being sent out via the blog. I have been told by at least one public official that they're almost afraid to go to Ted's anymore because of upset parents approaching them and saying all kinds of things... when asked, "Where did you hear that?" the response has consistently been "from the Superintendent's blog." Or at least that has been the experience of that individual, who then has to explain what the real situation is.

"SUBLIMINAL" You Say Eh

Well Put Admin

NUFF SAID

Auntie,

I really wish you'd share that data with us. Show us what has convinced the BOE that the district is "woefully underfunded." Seriously, if there is data that I am not aware of, I would like to know it. Because it scares me to think that our BOE shares a belief that is driving their decisions, yet they have no concrete evidence to back it up. That would mean they were blindly believing something they've been fed. And that is no way to make decisions that will have an effect upon countless people's lives.

Food for thought regarding education - from 10/12 Wall Street Journal.
online.wsj.com/article/SB120425355065601...i=t0:a16:g4:r2:c0:b0

Excellent article!

AGREED!! This link should be sent to everyone .. the CT Dept of Education, the CT education commissioner, the district superintendent in Hebron, the local BOE members, the RHAM board and even the local papers. Post the link on the document tab, it will eventually be lost within the responses on the forum. There should be no copyright issues sending the link, right? Thank you for sharing Loreta!!