State budget chair Ben Barnes, formerly in charge of Bridgeport Board of Education finances, told the Connecticut Post:
“I think that the city and the board of ed need to get on the same page about school finances,” said Barnes. “Frankly, there is not a very collaborative relationship.”
If I’m Mayor Bill Finch, if I’m Mary-Jane Foster, if I’m John Gomes and anyone else running or thinking about running for mayor I say abolish the whole damn education system, let the state take it over. The state has taken over other dire community school systems upon request. Do any of the candidates have solutions to fix the current education mess under the existing structure? Of course not. So scrap it and start over.
Read more here.
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Truer words were never spoken. The entire BOE needs re-evaluation. Also the City of BPT. The State needs to intervene to stop this corruption. We cannot leave justice in the hands of the unjust. Dan Malloy must intercede and bring this bullshit to an end.
Ben is right. It is good to hear the truth.
Bill just got told to Ben Dover!
Barnes can go suck an egg, he was the problem not a solution.
He called for privitization, left a sexual harassing asst. super and a not-qualified janitor in charge of millions of budget bucks.
He wants privitizing, he only needs to look at my union who sells us down the river and crawls in bed with dirty Finch.
It’s time for the state to send in auditors to go over the mayor’s fake budget. This is a budget that hides millions in its salary accounts. This is a budget that is not making required pension payments.
These auditors should also look closely at the school budget. It’s time someone came in and showed the entire city and BOE are being mismanaged and the residents and employees are getting screwed.
This administration is so inept, in reality we need 2 financial review boards. One for the general operation of the city and its departments and a second to take over running the BOE. Its painfully obvious we do not have the people in place now to do this job.
tc’s right, so vote John Gomes!
Once again tc is a TruthSayer! Click on below to listen to the Litany of Ain’ts and Broken Promises by Bill Finch.
fosterforbridgeport.com/fosterformayor/gallery/radio/
How to fix: Education
If the goal is to give kids the tools to succeed, then our educational system gets a D+. And yet, year after year, complacent school boards, administrators, teachers, unions, textbook publishers and other interest groups just keep on doing the same things that didn’t work last year.
articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/HomeMortgageSavings/HowToFixEducation.aspx
Barnes is right, the City and BOE need to get on the same page. I have never seen a mayor who so blatantly disregards our children to get back at the school superintendent. His latest move with AFSCME pushed the BOE budget right off the cliff. We need a new mayor to come in and rebuild that relationship. I don’t care if you like Ramos or not, we all need to get on the same page. Our children’s future depends on it. Actually, I would LOVE to see a joint statement released by Mary-Jane and Gomes.
Barnes was behind blowing millions on Bodine, he has no credibility.
Malloy won’t give us squat dollars, Finch didn’t support him.
Gomes and Foster did.
Gomes and Ramos are both from the same country and would work together.
Union–
Are you seriously so racist you think the only way people can work together is if they’re from the same country? Do everyone a favor and crawl back into the cave you came from.
I realize you are MJ’s cheerleader, but all I said is they are from the same country and will work together. My union sold its soul and cut-throated Ramos. Finch did it.
What is prejudiced in what I said? You grasped for the race card, bad move, MJ won’t like what you tried.
Aren’t we all from the same country??? You know, the USA?
Once again the City of Bridgeport needs the State to send in the Financial Review Board no matter who gets elected mayor in order to protect Bridgeport from itself.
POVERTY IS CONQUERED BY THE RAPIER OF EDUCATION.
The City of Bridgeport is in a difficult place when education matters are considered.
In simple terms, you have a buffoon for a mayor and opportunists for Superintendent and BOE Chairman.
The only possible solution for so important an issue is to bring in the State immediately to appoint a Special Master to take your system from chaos to producing well “qualified” graduates capable of contributing to commerce and, therefore, their individual financial security. This is not happening in Bridgeport for obvious reasons.
A Special Master has been appointed in Windham County. The irony is that the metrics in Windham are better then similar metrics in Bridgeport. The local community needs educated people to enter the workforce. No skilled bodies … no commerce.
Finch is a dreadful excuse; so is Ramos. Do the right thing, people of Bridgeport. Get rid of them both.
Stone,
A rapier will get you killed unless it is handled deftly. This crap would not have happened under Max Medina’s watch. Finch loaded this commission with a bunch of lackeys who follow instructions. They are played like the fools they are. Giving Finch the access to millions of dollars to play with. We need to clean out all of the City offices starting with the BOE. I encourage the State to intervene. We hire idiots who graduate fools. Now I know some of the students who actually paid attention learned. However most can’t make change. To kill a weed rip out the roots. The sooner this entire structure is changed the sooner we graduate intelligent students. MALLOY, send in the watchdogs.
Stone Barrington’s poverty was conquered by the rapier of Affirmative Action not education. 1965 was the year I became part of the first generation in American history to subsidize their peers through Affirmative Action and I am prepared to use mankind’s most accurate measuring device to prove it!
Stone Barrington, convince me I’m wrong and I will apologize profusely and sincerely.
Take the Fifth and I will use you as a proxy for American Affirmative Action and the role I played in your success.
Ramos was humiliated and shot in the back by Finch, he will back J. Gomes for mayor.
While I am certainly no fan of Ramos, the most egregious sins against the children of this city were perpetrated by the board itself, specifically those board members whose strings are pulled by Finch and Stafstrom.
Did Ramos put up the we don’t need Finch billboard at exit 25?
How many of those DTC lemmings who will vote for Finch have children being destroyed in Bpt Schools by Finch’s deals with devils?
Ben Barnes is quoted several times in the Post:
“I don’t have $20 million available …”
“I don’t buy it that they have too much money in Bridgeport, but I also am not sure they are in the best position to make the best of a difficult circumstance.”
“There are a lot of people working for the Board of Education. It’s a big employment program in many ways.”
“I think that the city and the board of ed need to get on the same page about school finances. Frankly there is not a very collaborative relationship.”
Those quotes and other statements in today’s CT Post indicate they are from someone who took the measure of the various forces who work at cross purposes in this City on the education of our young people.
From the broadly reported activities of the Mayor’s office and BOE/Supt Ramos’s statements, I think Barnes has outlined our Bridgeport situation very well. (By the way, how many OIB readers understand the State of CT already is paying close to 80% of City education operating expense and depending on the project 90-95% of the Capital costs?)
Of course when we take money from the State and then fail to have enough kids at a given school, we stand to give back funds, funds that we don’t have. That is poor planning. That is very expensive. That is inexcusable. But it is part of the Dunbar closing and transfer of children dynamics announced by Superintendent John Ramos weeks ago, before reversing himself.
Some people have suggested putting all education activities under our “strong Mayor form” of government. Personally, I think our Mayoral form may be strong, but our Mayor is not!!! And when he makes frequent and wrongheaded mistakes or the system has insufficient checks and balances to help get the City back on track, we stay in trouble. At least the BOE can be removed if we are dissatisfied. Candidates for the BOE next time should contrast their knowledge of and different activity proposed for that Board. For instance, why at this late hour is there no Plan A budget, no Plan B budget, and I guess no Plan C budget either for the year ahead? Contingency planning should be a part of leadership life!!!
The answer probably lies in a leader who has too many mandates facing him (or her) and seemingly too few dollars and other resources in saying, “What is our basic purpose? What mandates from the State or rules from other parties must we observe absolutely to keep children and personnel safe, provide meaningful classroom instruction and exercise true but not absolute stewardship for the rest of the rules and mandates?” Then act. Not everyone will be happy!
An executive may find it necessary to offer apologies in many cases for not living up to every mandate, inasmuch as many mandates are presented but not funded appropriately. However, apologies rather than asking permission would at least indicate those in charge see a path to pursue. Time will tell whether the current crew with the titles and leadership mantle can find their way to a productive path. They are playing in overtime this year, and as Barnes says, they knew the Federal funds were not going to repeat.
Barnes comments about efficiencies not achieved yet (though audits revealed them more than a few months ago), through terming the educational system a “big employment program,” and the lack of collaboration offer insight into opportunities today. Will the people we pay step up to their work?
Barnes was part of the problem during his tenure with the BOE. This did not happen overnight. It was not long ago he was in charge of the budget and not only did he not recommend a state takeover or sound an alarm that anything was amiss, he was head cheerleader for spending money he knew the BOE did not have on Bodine. It is ironic he would make these comments now.
BPT 1,
I did not follow BOE financial issues while Barnes was active. My memory tells me there was never enough money because of State mandates and urban issues. But we never have been clear about how the money provided really gets spent. The failure of the requested multi-stage audit process to yet be complete and followed indicates there is plenty of pressure to delay that activity.
On the other hand the comments he made today are relevant in their simplicity and apparent truth. Barnes may be a team player. Represented Bridgeport BOE for the seasons he was here and moved on to play for the State team. As long as he was paying attention when he was here his words bear value to us. The tone of the interview did not seem angry or vindictive, in fact the quotes are mild, relative to some of the things said about other City workers on this site.
Barnes was parked in his positions with the BOE by John Stafstrom, who controls the board president, until Malloy had hopefully made it to Hartford. He came in as the Director of Operations, then filled a dual role as the Finance Director after they got rid of whomever it was who was there before him. He was not here long–less than a year if I recall–but if he was paying attention he should have said something while he was here. Being a “team player” and turning blind eyes to what goes on here is why the city is the shithole it is.
It’s not that I don’t agree with what he’s said, I just find it sad he didn’t say it when he was in a position to do something about it, or at least to raise a red flag.
What do we really know about our city, its finances and history?
Sheila from Truth in Accounting calls in to Bridgeport Now TV tonight at 8:10pm to discuss the city’s financial issues. Are unfunded liabilities more than we think?
Then Bridgeport history, invention and innovation with Charles, the renown historian. The city struggles to bring industry into town, yet some historic buildings are blight. We illustrate and discuss what made the city so great in the past. I hear from the Barnum Museum favorable historic tax credit legislation was just signed by our new state governor. Bridgeport should make good use of this. The Arcade is a lovely success story, Middle Street a failure. The old Boys and Girls historic building sits at an important pivot point too downtown, from new train station, new court building to Main St and Majestic Theatre. This building has even more broken windows this week.
By the way, attend important BOE meeting next Tuesday June 28 to find out what’s going on. I expect all Mayoral candidates to be there.
“… The state has taken over other dire community school systems upon request …”
True, Lennie. Taking it over doesn’t necessarily mean turning it around. How many of the school systems taken over by the State have been dramatically improved? Besides Lenny, you read what Ben said. “You’re on your own.”
“… Do any of the candidates have solutions to fix the current education mess under the existing structure? Of course not …”
As I recall, candidate Dan Malloy had plenty of solutions to fix the mess. But for now, we are on our own. We have to wait ’til next year for Malloy and the legislature to reveal their plan. I noticed the words “existing structure” raising their hands to get my attention. Am I to understand that Lennie Grimaldi feels the fix to the City/State’s education problems lies in changing the “existing structure” the schools operate under? I’m not too sure the state can do a better job even with a new structure.