Martha Sciremammano, BCSD Board Member, asked ASI to let everyone know about BCSD e-News.

e-News is an e-mail system that allows the District to send information to anyone interested.  The sign-up process is easy and can be done via the www.BCSD.org web site.  e-News does not overload your inbox with e-mails.

ASI suggests that anyone that wants notification of meetings that would be of interest to the general Brighton community sign-up for e-News.

The following was e-mailed via the BCSD E-News on January 13th:

The community is invited to an open forum with the members of the Brighton Board of Education on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room, Administration Building, 2035 Monroe Avenue, Rochester, N.Y. There is no specific agenda for the forum, just an opportunity for residents to have some informal open conversation with the members of the Board of Education. For more information, contact Marvin Sachs, President, Board of Education at 473-9731.

ASI Commentary:  Scheduling an open forum with the Board is, of course, a very worthwhile action.  However, ASI is extremely concerned with the timing and publicity.

#1.  Why are we only getting 7 days notice?

#2.  Since this announcement was sent only via the BCSD E-News, the BCSD Community (admin, teachers, and Parents of students) ALONE will know that this meeting is scheduled.  The larger Brighton Community will not be aware of this opportunity.

If the BCSD Board really wants to get input from the larger Brighton Community, then it must make a greater effort to publicize the event.  For example:  Post it on the electronic signs at the High School, the Library and the Fire Station;  Put up a banner at the TCMS corner; Post colorful flyers at 12 Corners businesses; Post an announcement in the local community newspapers (assumes more than 7 days notice).

This lack of notifying the greater Brighton Community is a re-occurring issue.  It happened with the budget vote.  It happened with the Superintendent Survey.  The BCSD Board seems to believe that an E-News blast is sufficient to “get the word out”.  They do not seem to understand that E-News only goes to the School Community.  Maybe that’s the intent(?).

Again, if the BCSD Board is honestly interested in input from the Brighton Community (Vs. simply the School Community), then it will make the effort to more aggressively publicize events that effect all Brighton residents and schedule the events with reasonable advanced notification.

New Year’s resolutions are generally about personal matters: diet, exercise, smoking.  But what about the public sphere? What possible individual resolution could make a difference for an entire community?

The answer is easy.  Please add it to your list.  VOTE ON TUESDAY, MAY 19, 2009. By casting your ballot on the proposed Brighton School Budget for 2010, you will exert considerable influence over public events of direct consequence to you. Here’s why:

• The Brighton Public School tax is the single greatest expense (about 70%) on your total property tax bill, which, even if you rent, you must pay.  Individuals, and the town as a whole, cannot afford the trend of ever rising local taxes.
• Currently, about 5% of Brighton residents vote. In a vote as small as this (about 1500 people turn out) your vote most definitely counts.

Mark your calendar now.  Local control of our public schools is a precious right in our free society. Use it or lose it.

P.S. If you would like a reminder to vote, and occasional brief updates on what ASI is doing to get out the vote, simply send an e-mail to:

TheTeam@ASIBrighton.org with the words “Keep Me Updated” in the Subject.

ASI-Brighton will NOT give your e-mail to any other organization under any circumstances.  You may cancel your ASI updates at any time with an e-mail and the words “Cancel Updates” in the Subject.

ASI needs your help!  Join us!  We have a lot of work to accomplish and we need your ideas.  Send an e-mail to: TheTeam@ASIBrighton.org.

The Democrat & Chronicle, December 15, 2008, discussed a potential halt to increases in NYS Aid to Education and possibly even a decrease in the amount from last year (2008/09 school year).

The following chart was included in the article:

Note that Brighton received a 55% increase in NYS Aid from 2004-2008.  (Of interest:  Pittsford received a 72% increase….makes you wonder how the aid formula works?).

The issue that the ASI-Brighton reader must understand is: The higher the aid dollars, the lower your school property tax becomes WHILE the District can spend more money. Don’t roll your eyes…you need to understand why:

The “Budget” is an expenditure plan.  It says the District plans to spend (say) $10,000.  Where does the revenue come to meet that expense?  It comes from a variety of sources…sales tax; rentals; Investment income;, NYS Aid and property taxes.

Let’s say that the above revenue items BEFORE property taxes totals $7,000 including $1,800 in NYS Aid.  That means that the Property Tax Levy will be $3,000 ($10,000 - $7,000)…spread over all of us taxpayers…to pay for the $10,000 budget.

If in the above example, NYS Aid is increased to $2,000, then the Property Tax Levy is reduced to $2,800.  As NYS Aid goes up, the Property Tax Levy goes down.

What’s really interesting is that the District can spend more money as the Aid increases while keeping the Property Tax Levy at a relatively acceptable increase.  Here’s how:

Let’s say the District “knows” that NYS Aid will increase from $1,800 to $2,000.  The District can then increase the Budget (remember…it is an expenditure plan) by $200 and still deliver the SAME Property Tax Levy as they had last year!

That’s why the Legislators (and unions) want to maintain increases in NYS Aid.  You, the taxpayer, get a relatively constant, and acceptable, property tax increase while budgets can increase by the 10 year average of 6.5% in Monroe County.  You don’t “see” NYS Aid when you pay NYS income taxes.  You “see” your property tax bill.

Now….the NYS Aid increases appear to be coming to an end.  Will you vote “Yes” for a major property tax increase to cover a decrease in NYS Aid?

The following was read at the School Board meeting December 9, 2008:

I would like to make the Board and any public watching this broadcast aware of two items that came to the attention of our Affordable Schools Initiative group this week.

The first item was the US News & World Report 2008 ranking of 21,000 US public high schools.  (You can read the full article at the following web link:)

http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2008/12/04/virginia-school-tops-the-best-high-schools-list.html

Brighton HS received a silver medal ranking and did not make the top 100 list.  Both Pittsford Mendon HS and Pittsford Sutherland HS were in the top 100.   Last year, Brighton HS was #57.

The Newsweek Magazine rankings for 1,300 public high schools placed BHS at #158 this year.  We were #26 in 2003 and were in the top 100 until this past year.

When Brighton is in the top rankings, the district trumpets our success.  When we fall in the rankings, the district tells us that the measurement criteria are flawed.

Brighton is slipping based on some objective educational outcomes.  We are not educationally the same district that we were 10 years ago.

Does this mean that Brighton is not an educationally good district?  Of course not.  Brighton continues to do an excellent job educating our students.  But it would appear that we are living a bit on past laurels.  The Board should be concerned with this slippage in objective educational outcomes.

This decline comes in the face of a 35% expenditure increase since 2003. There is a clear disconnect between spending and educational results.  Again, we believe the Board should be concerned with this disconnect.

The second item that came to our attention is a Wall Street Journal article written by an economics professor at Loyola and a public policy institute senior fellow.  I will provide you with copies.

The title of the article is:  A Property Tax Cut Could Help Save Buffalo

(You can read the full article at the following web link:)

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122852270789884347-lMyQjAxMDI4MjA4NjUwMjYyWj.html

The article argues that cutting property taxes will stimulate the economy and that western NY urgently needs property tax relief.

Here are some high points of the article:

• Between 2000 and 2007, western NY has lost 32,000 jobs and continues to lose significant population.
• Upstate school enrollments have fallen by 15,900 since 2000 while 5,000 new teaching positions and 7,400 new non-teaching positions have been added during the same period.
• San Francisco and Boston are cited as two cities that faced similar job and population losses during the 1970s and 80’s.
• Yet today, both San Francisco and Boston are growing.  A key factor to this turn-around was limits on property taxes.

Affordable Schools Initiative is concerned that this coming year, with the serious national and NYS economic condition, the Board may be faced with major financial issues.

Affordable Schools Initiative believes that past budget increases are no longer sustainable…especially if NYS aid stays flat or falls.  We urge the Board to be aware of the economy and the negative effect that increased property taxes will have on our town.  We urge the Board to consider a 2009/10 budget where no property tax increase is required.

Thank you for your attention.

TIME magazine, Nov. 26 edition, features Michelle Rhee, the controversial Washington, DC Chancellor of Education.

While the Washington, DC school district is more similar to the Rochester school district than Brighton, the article is well worth reading.  I suggest that it raises a number of issues that EVERY school district, urban or suburban, should give consideration:  Teacher effectiveness; Test scores;  Tenure…to name a few.

Click the link below to read the TIME article:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1862444,00.html

The Nov. 13 Wall Street Journal article paints a very dark future for the NY State economy.

NYS has been highly dependent on Wall Street profits to generate tax revenue.  As we all know only too well, the party is over.  The WSJ does not think the “good times” are going to return.  Increased regulatory controls will limit the huge profits that Wall Street has generated during the last decade.

Read the full article at:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122653542508722577.html

With State school aid and Medicare the primary two expenditure categories in the NYS budget, these two costs must be reduced.

What does this mean for local property taxes?  As state school aid declines, local property taxes must increase …unless school budgets are reduced.

The D&C, Nov. 13, 2008, reported that Gov. Paterson has proposed a reduction in NYS school aid for the current (2008/09) school year.  Is the educational sky going to fall?

Personally, I am opposed to mid-year adjustments in NYS school aid

However, NYS embarked on unprecedented expansion of school aid under Gov. Spitzer (2007/08).  As usual, the NYS legislature did not critically look at our state’s financial health.   Let’s remember that NYS school aid comes from NYS taxes.  I warned of this eventuality at a Board meeting last year.  Unfortunately, it is “time to pay the piper”.

We can look at the NYS school aid numbers in a more understandable manner using the actual NYS aid percentages.  Let’s say:

In 2006, your rich uncle gave you $1,000.

In 2007, this nice uncle gave you $1,047…a 4.7% increase.

In 2008, this very generous uncle gave you $1,229…a huge 17.4% increase over 2007.

In 2009, this uncle promised you $1,379…another large 12.2% increase over 2008.

Today, the uncle’s financial condition is in the toilet so he says he has to cut back on his promise.  You, of course, tell him that you counted on that money and it has already been spent.  He is sorry, but he is in serious financial difficulty.

He says he must reduce his gift by $108 (7.8%) of the $1,379 that he promised.  You still will get $1,271.

$1,271 is a 3.4% INCREASE over 2008.  It is a 27% increase over 2006.

Yes, it is not the 12.2% that you thought you were going to get.  But for the current economic times, you can argue that 3.4% is a reasonable increase.

Of course, the primary problem is that you (the District) have already allocated all of the anticipated revenue.

Certainly, deciding where the District is going to find $983,000 (the proposed reduction amount) in mid-year is a serious task.

However, the FAIR Plan was rescinded.  This means that next year, the District will receive the normal (approx.) $1 million from the Sales Tax that was not budgeted this year.  The District will also receive an (approx.) $200,000 payment for back Sales Tax revenue that was not received this year.

Is the educational sky falling this year?  I believe there is a combination of financial approaches that will allow Brighton to weather the school aid reduction this year without affecting program or teachers.

The more pressing question:  How will the District deal with a 3.4% (or less) increase in NYS school aid next year?

Did you know that under the 4% tax cap proposal, you LOSE the opportunity to vote on the school budget if the proposed tax increase is under 4%?

That’s what the The New York State Commission on Property Tax Relief recommends!!

This proposal will almost insure that every school budget will generate a 3.99% tax increase!

The ONLY direct tax vote we have is school budgets.  Note:  Only the suburban districts have this vote.  The Rochester (city) residents do not vote on the Rochester School District budget.

This tax cap proposal is now being considered by the NYS House and is being pushed by the Governor.

PLEASE!  Write your state legislators NOW.  ASI-Brighton is opposed to this tax cap because:

1. 4% is far too high of a bar for a school tax increase, and
2. We lose our school budget voting power if the proposed school budget tax increase is less than 4%.

This “cap” sounds like three-card-monty to me.  And the taxpayer loses every time.

Marvin Sachs, our School Board Chairman, has invited all Brighton stakeholders to participate in a survey regarding characteristics desirable in a new superintendent.

Unless you check the Brighton Schools web site regularly, are a PTSA member, or have children in the schools, you probably won’t know about this survey. So, even though you are an important stakeholder, i.e. A TAXPAYER WHO FUNDS THE BRIGHTON SCHOOLS, your voice will not be heard.

If you are reading this, I urge you to go now to the Brighton Central Schools web site, and fill out the survey.

In the space for comments, tell the school board how important it is that we hire a superintendent capable of achieving fiscal restraint in our district.  All of the characteristics listed are great, but unless our district can curtail its budget, population loss will continue to erode the tax base and our town, and its excellent schools will continue to deteriorate.