School Budget Down; Levy Up
Mar 29th, 2010 | By Greg Hazley | Category: On tap, SchoolsSecaucus officials presented a $32.2M budget to the public on Monday night reflecting a reduction in spending but also carrying a tax increase to support school programs as well as offset state aid cuts.
Ed Walkiewicz
The 2010-11 budget is a 3.3 percent ($1.1M) cut over this year’s levy, achieved by consolidating positions, reining in costs, and trimming programs like poorly attended extracurricular activities, said Superintendent Cynthia Randina in a presentation attended by a few dozen residents and town officials at Huber Street School March 29.
To partially plug the loss of $1.7M in state aid, the budget calls for a tax levy of $31M, including a 2.5 percent tax increase to raise $757,729. That represens a $49.50 hike on the “average home,” although that figure will likely be slightly higher for many homeowners.
Randina said that the budget not only maintains the current level of education in the district but improves and adds programs across all grade levels, from Princeton Review programs for SAT/PSAT prep in high school to new literacy and math programs at the elementary level.
“Not only did we sustain our school system, we’re maintaining and enhancing it,” said board of education trustee Frank Trombetta.
The eight trustees voted unanimously, 8-0, in favor of the budget, which goes to voters on April 20.
Randina said that among the financial challenges faced for the budget cycle — in addition to the 100% aid loss for next year — were a mandate to use the town’s $800K surplus, and a complete cut in aid for free and reduced lunches, a program used by one-fourth of the district’s 2,400 students.
“As recently as a month ago we were prepared to go to the public and not ask for a dime,” said board president Jack McStowe.
Business administrator Ed Walkiewicz said that keeping the budget tight with tax increase at 2.5 percent — below the state-allowable 4% — carries the inherent risk that if the budget is defeated by voters, the district would be forced to cut staff and programs and likely increase class size.
Cynthia Randina
Among the programs that could face the ax if the budget is rejected are full-day kindergarten and pre-K program, athletic programs, after-school activities, field trips and summer enrichment programs.
A handful of residents spoke in favor of the budget, while none raised any opposition at the hour-long public meeting. Applause followed both Randina’s presentation and the board’s vote in favor of the budget.
Mary Ann Weiner, a board of ed candidate in the April election, said the “average home” figure is likely undercalculated but spoke in favor of the budget while urging other residents to pass itbecause, she said, the school system is what attracts people to Secaucus.
“People move into and out of towns for the school systems,” she said, noting that Secaucus schools are a benefit to property owners.
Further cost saving measures outlined by Randina include a plan to solicit competitive proposals for health benefits in the distrct, evaluating the need for replacement of retiring staff (when not mandated), and a lease-purchase plan to build a fiber optic network that will save telecommunications costs.
Trustee Dora Marra praised Randina’s move last year to shift higher-paying supervisor jobs into director and department chair roles across several disciplines, a plan estimated to save $1.2M over two years. That somewhat controversial effort resulted in the elimination of an assistant superintendent and eight supervisors, positions replaced with four full-time directors and five department chairs receiving stipends rather than full salaries.
“That saved a lot, a lot of money,” said Marra.
Some figures presented Monday night:
2009-10 tax levy – $30,309,145
2010-11 tax levy – $31,066,874
Increase – $757,729 (2.5%)
Administrative costs per pupil: $1,693 (12% below the regional average)
Tax Levy Calculation:
General fund: $32,186,721
State Aid: 0
Extraordinary Aid: -$38,000
Medicaid Reimbursement: -$24,379
Misc. Revenue: -$251,050
Fund Balance (surplus): -$806,419
Total tax levy on ballot: $31,066,874
Budget breakdown 2010-11:
Regular education: $11,487,346
Pension/benefits: $6,088,804
Facilities: $3,340,698
Student support: $3,331,201
Administration: $3,046,640
Special education: $2,170,071
Transportation: $1,223,376
Co-curricular/Athletics: $958,599
Total: $32,186,721
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We just started putting them together so you can get them here in a few days!
Thanks for the report! Does anyone know where information/bios about the Board of Ed candidates can be found?
Defeat this budget!!!!!! Approximately 20% of this budget is to pay pension/benefits. How about we start making employees of the SBOE contribute to paying for these. My family has to pay for our benefits why shouldn’t they. Now I will have a child going into kindergarten and she is going to get the shaft. Field trips are a joke. We pay a portion of them anyway.
Vote yes for our kids and yes for our town. This budget is reasonable, fair and the best thing for us all.
What did the Adminisrators or Teachers give up in this budget to maintain all programs? Any givebacks? Yeah right- you do it all for the kids!. The BOE votes unanimously in favor of the new budget. Surprise, surprise!!!!. Most are tied at the hip to the teachers union and would not or could not vote no. Board members that are teachers or former teachers are an express and implied conflict of interest on the BOE and should not be allowed to run for the office. The fox watching the hen-house. Thank God for Governor Christie!!!!!!
There seems to be a lot of anti-budget, anti-school board, anti-school administration noise on this website. But when you have the chance to stand up in the community and wage your complaint in public, you don’t show up. So shut up! If you don’t like the budget, stand up and run for the school board or at least show up to the biggest meeting of the year.
I am all for this town and yes for the kids. But not at their expense. Most people blindly vote for a budget and don’t care whats in it. Last years budget was almost defeated. We can do better.
Some of us can’t attend meetings because we have other commitments like WORK! I will speak with my VOTE!!!!
Can anyone provide last year’s budget figures?
As an independent voter, I think it is a mistake to look at the current budget without understanding the changes from the prior year’s budget. Also, to rely on negative rhetoric or emotions would be misplaced.
If there was an increase in all departments across the board, I would certainly have issue with this budget. However, I would like to see and understand the changes first before making a decision.
I don’t get off until 7 and get home until 8. Like skiddoo said, not showing up does not implied that they can do what they want.
Budget information was published in the Home News as required by law.
123skiddoo there is something wrong with you. A good Education system raises property values.
Looks like you might want to get a job if you have time to comment during the day.
The coach and educated both sound like they work for the BOE.
@educated- this indeed is an oxymoron!
If you had bothered to read and actually comprehend what I wrote you would have seen that I do in fact work evenings that’s why some of us can’t make town council meetings or school board meetings.
Let’s rob children of an education! /sarcasm
The children aren’t being robbed of anything.. They will still receive the education that they got before the budget cuts… Yes, there might be 4 or 5 extra kids in a classroom… what a tragedy! /sarcasm
They will only be robbed if the teachers will not do their job because they didn’t get a raise this year. I don’t see how skipping a trip to the bronx zoo or not adding another truckload of smart boards is robbing the kids. The rest of the world is cutting back and sacrificing during difficult economic times… The kids can do without a trip to the zoo like my family did without a vacation.
Comment #11 (whom I refuse to refer to as “educated” after a comment like that)
Really? telling someone that they should get a job if they have time to comment during the day… Have you ever considered that people work nights, overnights, weekends, and schedules that might not fall in line with a normal 9-5…. of course not because based on your other comments on this site, you are ignorant to those with opinions other than your own.
5 more kids is a lot!
Teachers and administrators need to give up something. I am tired of hearing about how teachers are underpaid. Maybe they are underpaid in the southern states but not in the north and certainly not in New Jersey. Have you seen their salaries? It is outrageous. And they get all the holidays and vacation days off that the kids get and then entire summer. Go to the high school on a weekday and at 2:30 pm the teacher parking lot is just about empty. Most of us are only two thirds through are day at that point. And teachers get to accumulate sick days. How many of you who are not teachers get to do that? How many of you even get sick days?
Many of us who work in private industry have had to face layoffs, pay freezes and in some cases job cuts. Most of us have to contribute much more than teachers do to healthcare costs and many of us do not have pension plans. Some of the Federal stimulus money went to keeping state and local jobs such as teachers, but those of us in private industry received nothing. It is time now for teachers to pay the price. Why should we pay more in taxes when many of us are already hurting. Why should we be the only ones facing cuts.
Ian,
I could not agree more, and it seems there are quite a few who feel the same way based on the comments that were made on other BOE articles. I am so fed up with everyone saying that the “kids” will lose…..How is this? As George stated, the only way the kids will suffer is if the teachers refuse to teach because they did not receive raises. It is absurd that teacher’s salaries continue to rise while workers all over the country are taking pay cuts and losing their jobs. I don’t dispute that teachers work hard and deserve to be compensated, but the salaries need to reflect the times. These are difficult times and the budget cannot continue to be raised in order to raise teachers’ salaries. A job that pays between $65,000 and $120,000 for 180 — 6 hour days of work —- (blah, blah, blah bring work home….blah, blah, blah raising children because parents don’t) —- is not reasonable at this time under the current economic conditions. Of course, a paycut is never going to happen, but based on the fact that it is impossible to cut teaching positions once a teacher is tenured, there should be some sort of freeze on excessive spending…and this means no raises and no ridiculous spending on unnecessary supplies and equipment. The children will not suffer if the teachers continue to make the money they made the previous year, or if they have to continue to use the same computers they used just 4 months prior (during the previous school year), so please, all you town criers for the “benefit of the children” let’s be realistic and call a spade a spade……you are not speaking out on behalf of the “poor deprived children”, but more for passing a budget that will continue to raise salaries of those that are already overpaid.
Just a little something that I noticed while we are on the subject of voting and BOE—–the poll featured on the home page of ESecaucus indicated 270 voters cast their votes for the candidates. Funny thing is there are a total of 577 votes casts. Ironic that this seems to be the way the actual voting is conducted!
Very good story of a sacrifice that a superintendent made to keep the cost in check…
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20104050330
Ian: Teachers will be required to pay 1.5% of their base salary to their health benefits. Most school districts have been paying into them already. Indeed there are sacrifices to be made and I completely understand. What I can’t comprehend is that you believe that the parking lot at the high school is completely empty and teachers are gone by 2:30 pm. That is impossible since the lot is full of SUV’s and Lexuses sitting in idle as mommy waits to pick up Susie and Jeffie because the little kiddies do not wish to benefit from exercise on a warm spring day and walk home from MillRidge Rd to Maple St or Grace Ave. Have you been to the high school lately? Do you track the registration tags of the teachers at the middle and high school? I know plenty of the teachers who stay until 4:30 – 5pm. Some leave early and travel 20 miles from home only to come back at night for some activity or fundraiser going on at school. Some are coaches and some are extracurricular advisors who stay after to help the kids become better citizens…Some just stay behind and tutor kids with calculus problems or science projects.. Have you sat in a classroom lately? Have you watched a teacher perform?. Sit in a class and attempt to keep 25 students interested in a topic for 5 minutes without 5 simultaneously shouting to you if they can go to the bathroom, 2 wanting to go to the nurse, 2 arguing with each other, or 3 are taking out their cell phones and texting. Do you have a bachelor’s degree? Hey, you know you can still become a teacher if you still want to…
This budget will get a big fat NO from me and anyone else with any sense in this town.
Educator,
If you are that envious of the parents with the SUV’s and Lexuses and you don’t believe that you are receiving fair compensation for being an “educator”, then hey, you can still become something else. You seem a little disgruntledwith the 25 students shouting if they can go to the nurse, bathroom, arguing and cell phone usage. We have all attended school at one time or another, and as I recall, teachers did not allow that type of behavior (oh, yeah, and their salaries were quite lower).
Educator,
You really think that being at work at 7:30 and being ABLE to leave at 3 pm is hard work for teachers? Grading paper at home is hard work? Handling kids is hard work? Please listen to the other side rather than going on with your propaganda. The taxpayers in town do not have swiss bank accounts continue to pay into the ever increasing amount of property taxes especially in this environment. They are human too and have a family to raise and rent and mortage to pay. Stop saying: “It’s for the kids.” That statement is the biggest load of bs that I have ever heard. The amount that we pay into the system, while working, does not get the return on capital that we get should get. This is true from elementary, to high school, then college. The NJEA and the teachers are loosing perspectives and credibility by continuing to ignore the actions that are necessary. The tv ads could easily target at the right areas (administrative costs, amount of school districts, Abbott, etc), but they choose to ignore it and instead trying to tell us “Governor Christie can solve this problem by continuing the tax on the rich, something that they have been paying already.” Are you kidding me? Corzine passed the ‘temporary’ tax in order to take care of the problem that he have no guts of taken on. There are enough studies out there that prove that rich can and will do what they can to avoid taxes, including moving out of the country. So when the super rich moves out, who ultimately pays for the tax increases that was passed down? The middle class. Then what? It’s a vicious cycle that won’t solve the problem by itself. Yes, Christie and his proponents should not merely focus on teachers but you know what, he can’t come out and attack everyone at once (more specifically the politicians, police/union, and firefighter/union). The biggest target is the teachers and more specifically the union for a reason. I would argue that union has serve its purpose that’s why only 7% of the workforce even have a union now.
In my current position, I work from 9 to 6/7pm and sometimes as late as 8 or 9. This is actually the easiest schedule I have so far. In my previous job as a consultant, I stay as late as 12 midnight on a salary with no overtime. Let’s just say it’s common in the private industries and something that I don’t actually complain about because I actually love what I do. Maybe the teachers and public employees can start with that thought in mind. Also, every job has its own problems and perks. It’s not only the teachers that have to face problems everyday. I have worked many different jobs in my life, from restaurant to customer service to cashier to accounting to finance to IT, I have learned that positive attitude goes a long way in helping you make the best of it. As for being a teacher, it simply isn’t for me right now as I still enjoy my job tremendously.
Educator,
Are you for real? Coaches and extracurricular advisors are paid EXTRA for these functions. I am the parent of a student in the Secaucus school system who required tutoring and the tutor was paid EXTRA for this. We may not all have your level of education to be an “EDUCATOR”, but we did not just fall off the turnip truck and we certainly are aware that there are extremely few teachers (if any) that would do coaching/advising/tutoring without proper compensation.
Educator, you wrote: “Teachers will be required to pay 1.5% of their base salary to their health benefits”. That is a very small amount of money compared to what those in private industry are paying. So a teacher making $70,000 a year has to pay $1,050 or $87.50 towards health insurance. Big deal. I have to pay a lot more than that and everyone I know has to pay a lot more than that. And it is not just what we have to pay every month towards health insurance. It is also the benefit we get. Not only do I pay multiples more per month than you pay, but I have a large deductible and a large copay. I have a $20 copay for Dr. visits. Others I know have a $30 copay. And the copay on prescriptions is even higher. If I have to go to the hospital or undergo some medical procedure I have to pay the first $1,500 of medical expenses before insurance even kicks in and then I have to pay 20% of everything else above that. I know many people who have $2,500 and even $5,000 deductibles. Do teachers even have a copay or deductible or coinsurance?
And when I lose my job or retire, I lose my health benefits, but I and most everyone else in this town working in private industry will be paying for your health insurance for the rest of your life when you retire. The benefits and retirement costs that we pay for teachers is outrageous.
I get 3 weeks vacation per year. How many months vacation do you get? If it were up to me you would be teaching all year round. And you would be working a full day. And you would have to do your job or lose your job.
I have been to the high school many times at dismissal and the parking lot clears out quickly, maybe I was wrong by writing 2:30 pm above, but certainly by 3 pm the lot is deserted except for those sticking around to make more money coaching and supervising some other activity. I know teachers and have teachers in my family. They don’t rush home to work on lesson plans or grade papers. They have been teaching the same classes for years and know the lesson plans by heart. They are bored, but happy to have chosen such a cushy profession with generous benefits.
While I have not looked at their work, I look over the english, social studies and other papers that my neice writes and while she is a good student she makes many mistakes (as I’m sure you notice I do) and it never ceases to amaze me how little the papers are marked up. In some cases there is simply only a grade thrown on the paper with the comment “Good Work”. What about the spelling mistakes and run-on sentences and poor punctuation and lack of a closing paragraph? What about some feedback on how she could have reorganized her ideas to make a better paper? What about asking her to rewrite the paper after making suggestions on how it can be improved?
And then there are the ridiculous projects that these teachers come up with for her to do. Projects that require her mother who works two jobs to go out and buy materials and help her with because the teachers don’t help and only provide vague direction. Projects, projects, projects. Give me a break. Teach the basics. Teach. Prepare the kids for college. Work a full day or take a cut in pay and benefits.
And I’m not sure why you point out the suv’s and lexus’s that the parents drive. Not all of them do. My lexus has a big dent in it and it runs rough and I cannot afford to fix it. Take a look at the cars the teachers drive. I don’t see a difference.
Vote no on the tax increase.
Anyone who votes YES on the school budget is out of their mind. There is plenty of money there otherwise the top people would be worried about their raises. If they want the teachers to freeze their salaries why don’t it happen from the top down. Get rid of all the Chairpeople and put the teachers back in the classroom.. There would be less of a need for substitutes and more time for the teachers to do what they are supposed to do. And as a parent stop with the one session days. Students need all the time they can get to learn.
I think palofsecaucus has a very good point! People from the outside looking in think it is all peachy, but its not!!! People on the inside can not speak out because of retaliation and if you don’t think that goes on you are crazy…The Budget the budget if we have no money then why is the adminisators still spending money? All the technology they installed and want to install more when we know the buildings can”t handle what we have???Sure they want teachers and support staff to take a pay freeze, but will the adminisators take one too? And someone please tell me when the BOE will stop saying we save money by not hiring a assistant supererintendent!! Mr. Merlo retired 4 yrs. ago, and we all know why he became a assistant super….nice pension….We have way to many chiefs in these schools and not enough indians. Its seems only the chiefs are very worried about the budget passing, afraid they won’t get all their stipends, the indians are only trying to do their jobs without all the intruptions, teachers being pulled out of classes, classes with subs, half days, libraries closed, if they were worried about the kids they would make the best of it with what we have which aint bad. Some classes still don’t even have text books…and whats this $49 per household, thats if your house is only worth $150,000.00 give me a break, wake up secaucus and smell the coffee. Maybe if we weren’t so over the top Gov.Christie wouldn’t be having a field day on the teachers union….
Monkeyface is right about not replacing the Assistant Superintendent position. This position was not replaced before this superintendent came here and saying that this she created a savings to taxpayers is not only misleading but a lie! Don’t be fooled, this administration has wasted a ton of your tax dollars on creating MORE administration positions and has wasted even more of your tax dollars on a huge number of consultants and other waste. The new technology while in theory sounds good has been implemented as poorly as it could be! The administration just went out and bought a ton of equipment without even considering if the infrastructure couldn’t handle it. They should have tested this new tech out first with a pilot program of willing teachers first. You often here the slogan about putting the students first, this administration is not putting the students first, they are putting themselves and their friends first.
Talking about technology, this administration created a new directors position called a Technology Director last year. They hired a guy with questionable credentials for $140K. This guru is now retiring after only 10 months!
I am not against the budget if the money is to be spent correctly! It should go to hiring teacher and programs which directly help the students. This administrations record on spending is a failure, so you need to consider that when voting on the budget. Even with all of the state cuts this administration continues to find money, which unfortunately isn’t being spent well.
The Board of Ed elections are hard to decide. Ideally I would like to see candidates that are not educators or have relatives that are educators or want to be politicians or are essentially puppets for politicians, for they all not only have biases, but benefit financially either directly or indirectly! I think ideally a perfect candidate would be a business owner as they would be good at evaluating cost and also someone with a true concern for what is best for the children, whether or not they have children in the school system.
On the pensions, this is an issue that has been ignored for a long time. Christie is right to be addressing this but his mistake is that he is trying to do too much too quickly and is being a tyrant about it. The pension system should be set up more like other retirement packages out there. You invest a certain amount towards your pension and your employer (the Town here) matches a certain amount towards it. You choose your investments and basically you get that when you retire. The current system is broke and needs to be fixed but is won’t be fixed overnight.
NAA: Yes Handling kids is hard work. You should come into a classroom and try teaching 25 adolescents at one time since you are a know-it-all. I don’t teach in Secaucus, but in a different district. Try teaching kids whose parents neglect them and beat them at night. Try teaching kids who come to school hungry. Not rying to spill “propaganda’ on you . Try teaching math or science to kids with different learning levels and abilities. Sometimes we are the only role models these kids have. When we grade papers it is time to give kids positive feedback on how to improve themselves. Maybe you should get off your high horse and spend six weeks in classroom before you start bashing teachers. As for Just Don’t Get it, your name is fitting. You are clueless to what goes on in a classroom these days. 25 yrs ago kids din’t have cell phones or some sort of technology where they could send messages to their friends while in class. Better yet, are you aware more of these teenage kids are sending explicit photos to each other on these gadgets?. What coach do you think is going to give up Saturday mornings or Evenings to coach a sport for free? What if someone coaches a team that is not a teacher? Should they be compensated? Wow I can’t believe some of the ignorance on this site…
For the Record,
Obviously you are an educated person, capable of getting a different job if you so desire, so if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Of course teachers should be compensated, and THEY ARE. I am just sick and tired of all the whining about having to pay a portion of health benefits and no raises. Wake up and see the real world. I have not received a raise this year and I am not even offered health benefits at my job. My husband is 2 years without a raise and he pays 50% of his health benefits, plus a huge copayment for any medical services provided. Stop with the entitlement attitude and be glad you have a job. If it is that difficult and you are so undercompensated, then why do you do it? Obviously you are disgruntled with the parents, cell phones, explicit photos and adolescents, so find a job in the private/corporate sector and go without a raise for 2 years, pay 50% of your benefits, and worry about losing your job due to layoffs everytime to report to work. I think you will agree that listening to whining from teachers whose benefits and salaries are paid by taxpayers who may have recently been laid off, is a bit of a kick in the @$$. And by the way, if you are teaching children who are being beat by their parents at night, and you remark on that with such a flip attitude as if it is a normal occurrance, then you are failing in doing what is required of teachers, and that is reporting such an instance to authorities.
Kyra: I am a taxpayer in this town also. And it the abuse that a student has received been reported to the proper authorities (DYFS) I do not disagree with the paying out of health benefits, and possible pay freeze , but I cannot fathom a “flip” (as the word you use) attitude and the lack of respect for the teaching profession. You ask why do I teach??? Because I feel I do make a difference in some of these kids’ lives…They come back to me after graduation and say hi to me..Sometimes I see them out in the street and they recognize me..Some send me a thank you note…That’s what I need to make it all worthwhile…I am not disgruntled. I don’t act like I am entitled… But with comments from some of these adults on this site it is rather disturbing and disheartening to see such a lack of respect for the education profession, that I wonder if some parents are teaching respect at home… And as for the real world Kyra, I worked in the private sector….I decided to walk away from the the fonancial fled 15 yrs ago and went back to school to become a teacher.
Excuse the typo in the above post (…. the financial field 15 yrs ago…..)
For the record, apparently you don’t know how to read and don’t understand what I wrote at all. I was referring to the fact that Educator feel that a teacher’s job is the toughest in the world because they have to handle all the kids and all the grading. But guess what, if you step back out there in the real world, every job out there is as tough if not tougher than teaching. So handling clients, making financial decisions, protecting lives, etc. Hell, even a cashier in a hell hole can expect to risk his/her life everyday. It’s a job, not a vacation. Don’t think teachers have it the hardest. Don’t get me wrong, I love my most of my elementary and high school teachers. And I believe I made my point before, a lot of other states and other places have better system without all the attitude some of the people in NJ’s system have. I think your attitude and response prove again that some in our education system just don’t listen very well. Did I say the teachers don’t deserve to be paid well? Look at some of my response to various post and try to absorb what people have to say rather than reject them as “know it all”.
Let me repeat what I’m say in detail so you can understand:
Teachers and educators are compensated well, in fact, maybe too well in “some” situation, especially the aids, supervisors, administrators, assistants, etc. Can we take a look and see if all that assistants and aids is necessary? Like the police force in Hoboken, can there be too many chiefs and not enough indians for our schools?
There is too much waste in the system, especially relating to administration costs. Help to push the unions to bring those issues to the surface when we as a state is facing a financial crisis that is caused by years of wasteful spending. Do not pushed against a governor for cutting budgets because guess what his job is million times more stressful than any single teacher in any given day right now. I don’t agree with the degree that he cut some of the budget, but he is doing something rather than pushing the deficit to our children and our children’s children, something Obama (I voted for him, sigh) likes to do unfortunately. That is unless you think making every single government bankrupt like GM’s union did with GM is a good idea.
Priorities of our education system is messed up. This is why our nation have to import mathematicians, engineers and scientists because our education system don’t provide enough of them and don’t provide the quality that is desperately needed. There are plenty of people that keep on blaming the corporations that hires overseas or import the talents from overseas, please look at our education system and our culture. Parents is 80% at fault if their kids fail but that 20% in teachers’ involvement is just as important. These feelings of entitlement is scary at best and can kill our nation at worst.
When the economy is in a crunch like it is now and with inflation close to 0% and most people don’t get raises but stagnant earnings and cuts, clamp down just like the private industry does. Why is that so hard to ask the public system to do when every dollar counts and can make a difference between drowning and surviving. This is especially true now that state is in such a big crunch. I mentioned all the cuts in benefits in another one of my post. My new company have held salaries the same for the past 2 years but everyone is grateful that they have a job. One person raise the question of the stagnant salary recently with the higher up, he was fired the same day.
Governor’s cuts are going to hurt every single one of us, from commuting cost, to taxes, to service cuts. I have to ask my parents to sell their place and move in with me last year because their property taxes went up more than 50% over three years and they are not earning any more income and can no longer work as they have all sorts of medical problems from years of overworking and exhaustion. So is it so wrong to ask the government to have some considerations when spending the taxpayers’ money properly with maximum efficiency? We the income earners may still be ok with these types of tax increases but there are a lot of people out there is barely surviving and will now have to give up their homes because they can no longer afford the luxury of paying these exorbitant taxes. Even so, I support the governor and hope what he is doing will eventually get rid of excess that exist in our system, I hope you do the same.
Don’t be disturbed and disheartened and be part of the solution. Push for change. If the public unions don’t wake up soon and understand the situations that we are in, they will likely be the first one to go when the going gets tough. Adjust and adapt and don’t always go with status quo.
By the way, I’m not a know it all, but I hope to learn as much as possible. I will most likely be teaching too 20 to 30 years down the line when my passion for my interests runs dry and I want to pass down whatever I learned to the future generations.
Hey Kyra,
You have to earn respect to recieve it.
Sorry NAA…It’sjust that some comment by people like Ian and Teddy and Kyra are downright insulting to teachers…I agree there must be cuts….I understand that sacrifices have to be made. I know that we will have to pay 1.5% of our base salary into health benefits.. What I can’t understand is the lack or respect for teachers ….Is Christie himself cutting his 178,000 dollar salary? …He has own kids enrolled in private schools…Was anyone feeling sorry for teachers in the late 70′s when the average teacher salary was $7500?? Now we all hear “You ONLY work 9 months” “The teachers parking lot is cleared out by 2:30…Where are they?” “YOU recycle the same plans year in and year out” …NAA, I’d just like some of these keyboard jockeys who write anonymous posts to come and see the good things teachers are doing in the classrooms and how they are shaping the future…The ignorant posts and demonization of teachers needs to stop…NAA you don’t sound a know it all and I understand where you are coming from…Teachers are not the villian…The kids today compared to 15 or 20 yrs ago are quite different ………I love what I am doing and feel like I make a difference
Stupid is as stupid does….nice work secaucus another year of misspending of our taxdollars. You want to know who voted in the budget, renters with kids going into pre-K. scare tactics works everytime …hope their rent goes up as much as our taxes
by the way has anybody read the reporter today? now walkiewicz and randina are investergators? funny didnt know that was included in their job description….strange business going on at SBOE
You’re absolutely correct monkeyface.
If you go onto Face Book you’ll see a lot of Secaucus residents who posted their excitement over the budget passing Wednesday morning. I was shocked to see how many of them don’t have children… even more shocked to see how many don’t have children and are renters.
Any ideas as to why this demographic would be so concerned over the school budget? Any thoughts as to why they were so happy to see it pass?
It seems to me a lot of favors were called due and a lot of future promises were made. Politics as usual in Secaucus. Nothing has changed. Not one bit.
Hilary doesn’t have a clue in what she’s talking about>>>>
Golden Rule,
You have quite a way with words there………..how about you defend your statement instead of acting like a teacher grading a paper.
Hey LAT;
How about this?
Everyone loves to bash the teachers. Everyone is a so called education expert. Most people on this blog enjoy bashing teachers. Most bloggers love attacking the idea that we get the summers off and that we don’t have to pay in our health care (we do) , or that we get out at 2:30 and run out to our cars and head home quickly. Funny thing is, no one here seems to have a clue on what we do in our classrooms and how we get the students prepared for life after graduation. No one sees the look on a kid’s face when he /she finally understands how to solve a math problem, how to dissect an earthworm, how to construct a website, how to write a resume for a college application, or how to master playing the flute. No one sees the work going behind planning the lessons. No one here sees how much money a teacher takes out of his or her own pocket ($ 500 a year) to buy supplies to make the lesson more interesting and enjoyable. No sees the frustration on a teacher’s face when a kid comes to school hungry or disheveled because the parents forgot to feed and their child. No one sees the money we donate to help a kid and his family with some rent with the possibility of facing eviction. No one seems to care that a teacher sacrifices a weekend to set up a fundraiser for a class by doing a tricky tray or car wash. No, what most people on this site seem to care about is the “Christie guided notion” that we are drug mules or we are riding the gravy train. Did we in fact cause the pension system to be flawed? Are the state politicians accepting a wage freeze? They should lead by example…We are paying into the pension system.
It’s a shame that teachers are held in such low regard in the US whereas countries such as Finland, China, and Japan the school teachers are treated with dignity and respect. I see a lot of teachers becoming innovative in their lessons and making use of the technological machinery at their disposal. I see a good number of teachers motivate their students to improve their standardized test scores. I invite anyone who thinks they might have the ability to stand in front of a class of 26 adolescents and capture their attention for 80 minutes . We all love to bash, but of course, if you want to be a teacher go get your certification. You still have the time to do it.
Yes, due to the fact that we live in the inner city, it is necessary for teachers to feed their students because parents forget to do so. It is also very common to have a teacher pay rent for a students family. Last tricky tray I went to was organized by the PTA and students. No one says you are riding the gravy train, all we ask is that you stop the whining and complaining that you work SOOOO hard. We all have a living to make. Some have the credentials and connections to get a teaching job with the board of education, some work in the private sector, and some work in the public sector. The squeaky wheel gets the oil and unfortunately, in Secaucus, the teachers are the squeaky wheels. Kudos that you have your certification and your teaching jobs, but really????? do you need to be patted on the back and praised constantly for doing what you are paid to do?
MM:
No we do not need constant praise. The bashing will never stop. Why? Summers off and so called 7 hour work day. Easy cushy job in the eyes of the public. Just looking for some respect. If any of the bashers decided to give it a try, they might see that there is more to teaching than meets the eye….No complaining here. I truly am grateful for my job. Just trying to crush the untruths that the teaching profession is a cushy job.