Bridgeport needs a replacement for the antiquated hulk called Harding High School. The money is in place, but time is running short to approve the site plan. Does the Connecticut Working Families Party that controls the Board of Education understand that? Education Bridgeport scribe Megan DeSombre writes the school board is “completely ignoring the fact that the Board must first approve the building project’s site plan before a remediation plan can be finalized by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.”
“A new Harding needs to be built as soon as possible.”
This is the message Harding High School student Jequan Norris wanted city officials to hear when he met with them for a roundtable discussion prior to Monday evening’s rally.
Norris had previously reached out to the mayor’s office, showing them pictures and video of the deplorable conditions at the 89 year old school.
During the meeting, he described bathrooms without doors, ceilings with missing panels that exposed leaking pipes, rodent droppings, and classrooms without windows or proper ventilation.
Norris, a junior at Harding, feels that a new school will have a positive effect on student pride and morale.
Like many others in the city’s east-end and east-side community who came out to Monday’s rally, Norris wants the Board to act quickly and approve the school’s site plan.
Unfortunately, time is running out for Harding. The Board has only a month to vote on the project’s site plan, or the state may take away the city’s grant.
Currently the Harding High School project is stuck in the Board of Education’s Facilities Committee, chaired by John Bagley.
So far, the committee has refused to vote until a remediation plan is submitted–completely ignoring the fact that the Board must first approve the building project’s site plan before a remediation plan can be finalized by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
So if the board approves the site and the remediation proposal is not adequate, what recourse does the BOE have to stop the project?
This is just so much bullshit, pure and simple. I agree with Jennifer, how do you approve a site without knowing the remediation plan? It’s political bullshit placed as an obstacle to this project by the city or by the state.
Now for the facilities committee with both John Bagley and James Holloway, tell us what contaminants are on the site. What’s the problem with telling us? Are the contaminants worse than we were first told? Get off your collective ass and tell us.
On Feb 25, 2014, the CT Post editorial board addressed the issue and the required sequence of events for approval. From that editorial:
Robert Bell, assistant director in the DEEP’s remediation division and a man who’s been in close contact with GE, said he’s confident the remedial action plan being put together by the company is going to meet the high standard required for reuse of the property for a school. As Bell said recently, “You could put a surgical center or a day care center” on such a site provided the remediation is up to a high standard.”
Nevertheless, he said he does not expect to see the final written document until “late winter, early spring.” And in that case, the DEEP will wait to review the final document before saying ‘yea’ or ‘nay.’
It seems perfectly reasonable for the president and members of the school board to reserve their final decision, too.
Source: www .ctpost.com/default/article/Only-if-clean-GE-is-spot-for-school-Harding-5267230.php
At the BOE meeting the DEEP guy said he will e-mail the plan to the BOE. But these ‘plans’ seems to be kind of standard. The clean-up specialist, hired by the city, said they plan on removing the top six feet of soil, putting down an impermeable membrane and replacing the soil with six feet of clean fill. Under the buildings the soil will be stripped to 4 feet as the concrete slab will act as a cap. The deepest well was far deeper than six feet and the deepest contamination was found to be eight (not sure about that) feet but only in some areas.
At the meeting they said the contaminants were: Lead, like the lead in the paint on your walls. Petroleum products (volatile and non-volatile), like the gas and oil on the floor of your garage. Arsenic that is a leftover from burning coal. Like anyone with a house that had a coal furnace, coal stove, coal steam train or coal power plant would have. As long as you do not eat the stuff and a lot of it, it won’t hurt you but not good to have around just the same. Which you won’t after the remediation is complete.
Regardless of what was done, could have been done or should have been done, we need to decide what to do. We have this land, cleaned to a residential standard and 80% funding. The DEEP and the cleanup specialist will supply the BOE with the info as soon as they can. We sell the old Harding and its contamination to BPT Hospital and use that money to build the new Harding. If the BOE is that concerned and really considering this plan they would have hired their own specialist by now to tell them what was done and what is left to do. This is why I think they have already decided to torpedo the new Harding. Maybe if we change the name from Barack Obama HS to Baraka/Obama HS they will be fonder of the idea.
Or, we pass. The city will be on the hook for the cleanup cost and BPT’s children are left in the contaminated mess of the old Harding. Then we look for a new place (17-acre sites are falling out of the woodwork in BPT) for a new Harding and deal with all that contamination. We could build it on top of the graveyard. It would be the city’s first indoor, covered graveyard. We have to buy the land; we would only get 60% funding and push the project back 1-2 years. The old Harding is only worth so much so this school will have to be cheaper than the current plan. Of course, this will give us something new to argue about.
As for the rhetoric re the WFP controlling the BOE …
There are two WFP-endorsed members of the BOE (Chairwoman Baraka and Bagley), one Democrat cross-endorsed by the WFP (Mr. Baker), and the remaining six are non-WFP (three Dems who celebrated their 2012 election victories at Testo’s with Mayor Finch: Moales, Illingworth, and Kelleher, see
www .ctpost.com/local/article/Working-Families-Party-seeks-to-become-a-rising-3838677.php;
three challenge-slate Dems who defeated Finch’s slate in 2013 primary and garnered the most votes last Nov: Hennessey, Gardner, and the cross-endorsed Baker; and, last but not least, Republican Larcheveque.
You might fact-check what’s being reported by your go-to “scribe” Megan DeSombre. I saw her at the April 7 BOE meeting video-recording away. So how did DeSombre miss when BOE CFO Marlene Siegel stood before the board and clearly explained there will be north of $13 million in ADDITIONAL costs to the BOE budget over the next five years due to the charter schools in Bridgeport? As I understood Ms. Siegel’s discussion, this will be due to additional bus routes and additional special-ed counselors billed by the charters to the BOE. And so, how is it then DeSombre writes on her sorry excuse of a blog:
“You see, members of the Bridgeport Board of Education are under the sad misapprehension that charter schools siphon funding from the local school district. They don’t, which is why approval is handled by the state board in the first place, and why the local board has no standing of any kind–legal, logical or ethical.”
?
Anyone interested in looking into whether Moales is violating the city’s “Ethics Code” in concurrently serving on the BOE and the board of Capital Prep Harbor School?
From section “2.38.030 Standards of conduct” (online at
www .bridgeportct.gov/filestorage/89019/89540/97196/19-11Ch.2.38_CodeofEthics.pdf):
“No official or employee shall have any interest, financial or otherwise, direct or indirect, or engage in any business employment, transaction or professional activity, or incur any obligation of any nature, which is in substantial conflict with the proper discharge of his/her duties or employment in the public interest …”
“Specific Conflicts. No official or employee shall … Vote upon or otherwise participate in any transaction, contract or sale with the city or in the sale of real estate, materials, supplies or services to the city or from the city, if he/she has a personal or financial interest therein.”
Pete, your points are noted and as chronicled on OIB and other places Moales has had a host of questionable issues. The reality is, however, the WFP–for now, anyway–has coalition control of the school board and in the case of Harding is driving the process with Sauda Baraka as school board chair and John Bagley, head of the school board committee overseeing the Harding plan. The WFP has often cited its coalition control of the school board.
Lennie–and that is without mentioning the “10th” member of the BOE, Maria. She is no longer WFP, but she is a definite influence on the WFP coalition. And if Pete is at the meetings, he sees how she is able to get away with actions others are not. I.e., shouting at the board from the crowd, manipulating sign-up sheets, given the floor at committee meetings–in particular the Harding meeting.
I do agree the BOE should see all of the remediation plans before approving anything and have final say. This is a serious matter. But even if the plans are solid, will they decide based on plan merits or for political reasons?
I think the BOE should also be working with the State on the funding of the project. It is my understanding the 80/20 funding could be lost if this site not approved. The ratio would change to 60/40? Perhaps they could make a case we are grandfathered in on the 80/20 until a suitable and safer site is found.
Good points, Lifelong. And yes, timing is an issue … but let’s not again rush through a vote because of some political sideshow … that we all may end up paying for later. Your grandfathering idea is excellent.
So the best you’ve got is Maria Pereira has shouted at the board, manipulated sign-up sheets and was given the floor at committee “meetings,” in particular the Harding meeting?
Maria Pereira is a Harding High School graduate, therefore she has a vested interest in the school. John Bagley, another Harding graduate, opened the floor to EVERY single speaker who wanted to speak in favor or against the Harding project. What many of you don’t know is Mayor Finch and Adam Wood contacted the labor unions and asked them to show up en masse at that meeting because the BBOE was trying to “kill” the project. They did come out to do battle, however after hearing the public comment and the DEEP presentation, they starting asking questions about the safety and contaminants as well. Ruben Felipe, Borges and James Holloway all spoke in favor of the project, you don’t seem to have a problem with that. Quite a few of the laborers shook Maria and Carmen’s hands on the way out and thanked them for the information they provided. Basically, George Garcia and Ruben Felipe were upset their angry mob left with valuable information and were fine with waiting for the remediation plan. Their own plan completely backfired on them. The ONLY committee meeting Maria has spoken at since she came off the BOE is the Harding Committee meeting.
The BBOE puts up a sign-up sheet at every regular BOE meeting. The sheet is pulled at 6:30 right before the meeting starts. Maria went up at 6:25 to sign up a group of speakers who were all present and sitting in the room. What difference does it make who signed them up? Would there have been a different outcome if all the speakers stepped into a line to sign up? She was just trying to be courteous. There was not a single speaker who signed up who did not get an opportunity to speak.
Give us ALL the examples of when Maria has shouted at the Board since she completed her term on the BBOE.
You constantly attack Maria for such petty things. What you demonstrate by your attacks is Maria is effective. If she weren’t, you and others wouldn’t bother to attack her.
The BBOE has absolutely nothing to do with the funding of new school construction. The state bonds for the 80 or 60% and the city bonds for the 40 or 20% match. The building does not come under the authority of the BBOE until the keys are handed over. Once that is done, it is governed and controlled by the BOE. The best way to explain it is they become long-term tenants with a lease that cannot be terminated by the landlord. The landlord is responsible for all major repairs and the BBOE is responsible for general maintenance and upkeep. Once the BBOE is done with the school, they hand the keys back to the city. The city does whatever it wants with the building at that point. It is against state law for local school boards to OWN any property.
People came to that meeting to object to the BOE taking back the maintenance dept. No one knew the public would be given a chance to speak on the Harding project and, therefore, was not there for that purpose. Public speaking was not announced as is required. This was objected to and dismissed. The WFP just did what they wanted. Most of it was nonsensical rambling. Only WFP and their minions were allowed to speak When the DEEP guy tried to address concerns he was interrupted by ‘what about this’ questions. The entire thing was ghetto. A pure shambles of people speaking out of turn, rambling claims of munitions storage bunkers, shouting, a lynching in the narrowest definition of the term. People try to speak but the BOE guy never looked up. He had his marching orders.
Really, Sarah Littman from CT News Junkie posted a copy of the letter Charlie Carroll’s brother issued to his union membership. The letter asked the membership to attend the Facilities Committee meeting because the BBOE was trying to kill the Harding project. One of my former neighbors told me he asked several laborers why they were at the meeting. Every single one of them said they came because their supervisor told them to attend.
There is absolutely NO requirement under Robert’s Rule of Order or the Freedom of Information Act that mandates public speaking must be noticed or listed on an agenda. The agenda item must be listed, not the speakers addressing the items on the agenda. The Chair has broad powers when recognizing speakers. Even Mark Anastasi informed the Policy Committee Mr. Bagley had not violated any policy.
“Only WFP and their minions were allowed to speak.” That is a blatant lie. Do you consider Ruben Felipe, Borges and James Holloway WFP minions? What about all the laborers recognized to speak? They came out because George Garcia and Adam Wood were trying to stir the pot.
Moales made several points of order that were not recognized by Mr. Bagley. Mr. Moales is not a member of the Facilities Committee, therefore he cannot raise a point of order, make a motion, cast a vote, etc. Don’t be upset because Mayor Grinch, Adam Woods and George Garcia’s plan completely backfired on them. They got exactly what they deserve.
So who paid the challenge slate to mount such a formidable campaign? As far as the charters are concerned, they seem very upset about the cost of the bussing. Yet the ‘controlled transfer’ program causes students to be bussed all over the city. They bus kids all over to go to the magnet schools. If they want to lower the cost of bussing why don’t they act to fix these problems? All the complaints they have about the charter schools are also true of the magnet schools. That is, if these costs are real. All these kids are going to eventually need to go to a different school, move and graduate. They always seem to adjust the bus routes accordingly. They may even to be able to consolidate bus routes at a cheaper cost. The special ed teacher issue is the same as the busses. Class consolidation will allow the district to continue with fewer teachers.
Someone commented on this in the Post. I couldn’t find the post but it went like this. The charters may even add money to the district. $13 million over five years for two schools. Since the new Harding cost ~$70 million, $13 million for 2 schools is cheap. $13 million breaks down to $2.6 mil/year at 1.3 mil/school. Bpt spends $12K/student. If each school serves 109 students the district would break even. Depending how many grades are in school K-6, K-8 it would be 12-15 kids/grade. It sounds like the WFP BOE and WFP Super are being hypocrites or they are just not smart enough to figure this out on their own. It could also be their agenda is not about the kids. It is about the money.
The ethics conflicts are problematic. Hennessy is an ex-teacher. The WFP was backed by the teachers union. It would seem as if both sides are conflicted. The city is riddled with these conflicts. However, this doesn’t inherently discount the charter schools. They crowed when the BOE won the charter revision because that is what the people chose. Look at the waiting lists for the charter schools. It is what the people are choosing. Choices are always better when they choose the way YOU want, but you win some, you lose some. If you want the charters gone, take away the students. No students, no school. The charter schools are a choice while the district schools are not. People have to go out of their way to NOT go to a district school and this is what they are doing. For once, people are taking a personal interest and stakehold in education. With all the BOE programs and efforts it took charter schools to do this and the BOE wants them to stop.
BOE SPY,
You might check out an interview Bill Moyers recently did with a former advocate for charters (until 2005), Diane Ravitch, author of “Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools.” Ravitch once served as Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander in the administration of President George H.W. Bush.
billmoyers.com/episode/public-schools-for-sale/
Ravitch also has an excellent post on her blog explaining the differences between charters and magnet schools, here:
dianeravitch.net/2012/09/09/charter-schools-an-magnet-schools/
Finally, something interesting Ravitch had to say about Paul Vallas in 2012:
“I know Paul Vallas and there was a time about a decade ago when I thought he was the most promising leader of school reform in the nation. I was impressed by his energy and his quick intellect.
“Because he is so smart, I hold out hope that he might be the first of the reform A-team to see the light, as I did around 2005.”
Source: dianeravitch.net/2013/05/12/paul-vallas-nixon-to-china-moment/
OK, all those ads report the same thing. Hearing the same thing from a multitude of sources does not make it true. Especially if all those sources are the same source. They say ‘in Ohio 9% of the charter schools receive 38% of the CHARTER school funding increase.” OK, so what Bridgeport collects an inordinately high percentage of the state education money. How much money is 38% of the charter school funding increase? Figures don’t lie, but liars can figure. They also seem upset with who runs the charter schools and who funds them. Why does that matter? They seem to be run by good managers and funded by people who ‘learned’ how to make a lot of money. It is about the kids and the education. Many of the best colleges in the country are not public colleges. Is this a problem for anyone? Magnet schools do boast of their higher scores. They have bulletin boards right at the front doors. Even when they are not true or from years ago. She says charter schools raise their own money. Well, good. That is a good thing. Magnet schools apply for their own grants and have sponsors, gifts from alum. The BOE is quick to privatize its services. Before the city came back they had private trash collecting, private lawn services. They still have private services in the after-school programs. Suddenly, when it is the teachers, privatization is bad. Ravitch says ‘Some charter schools are nonprofit but pay exorbitant executive salaries and management fees.’ How much does a Superintendent of Schools make? And that goes up every year, except for Vallas who made less than Ramos. A principal makes $125K. She ends by saying ‘Magnet schools are part of the public system; charters are part of a separate system, which has its own interests, its own lobbyists, its own separate advocacy organizations.’ What corporate public school provider pays for all this? So charters would be OK if they had the same interests, lobbyists, and advocacy organizations? Wouldn’t that make them just as bad as our present system? Isn’t the point to improve the system?
Public education, with years of experience, is doing a bad job. Let the people choose. Charter schools are not mandatory. All you have to do is beat them at their own game. Use all the public years or combined teaching and administering experience and pull the students back. You can do that, right? You do not see charters in cities with good school systems. Or you can just defund the charters and you will be like the model-T. Available in any color you want as long as it is black.
Mr. Felipe, as an aide to Mayor Finch you should be aware the Bridgeport Public Schools do not pay anything for control transfer students transportation costs. If a parent control transfers their child, they are responsible to transport their child.
Magnet schools ARE public schools which are fully funded by the BBOE and are under the authority of the ELECTED BOE. Charter schools are run by private entities that charge exorbitant management fees and do NOT have a single ELECTED member. To put it in perspective, Great Oaks will “manage” 1,500 students in its first five years and earn $1.6 million. Capital Prep will “manage” 2,300 students its first five years and earn $2.6 million. In the same five-year period, the superintendent will supervise 97,000 students and receive approximately $1.2 million dollars.
Last year, over 6,000 students applied to enter our magnet schools. Only 1,200 were accepted and 4,800 were rejected because of the unavailability of seats. Your argument is there are 1,100 students on Bridgeport charter school waiting lists and therefore we need to have more charter schools. Then doesn’t that argument clearly support the expansion of magnet schools significantly outweigh the argument for charter school expansion? I am quite confident if the names on the charter schools waiting list were cross referenced with those who applied to magnet schools, the vast majority sought access to our high-performing magnet schools and simply did not gain entry. In addition, every single magnet school SIGNIFICANTLY outperforms every charter school located in Bridgeport.
Charter schools create MORE bus routes, not fewer. Just one bus route costs the BBOE over $65,000 annually. The BBOE administration has publicly stated approximately 92% of the students attending the Bridgeport charter schools would require no transportation if they attended their neighborhood school. In other words, there would be $0 in transportation costs if these children were walking to their neighborhood schools.
Clearly, you are a POOR “BOE SPY.”
Is my perspective off or can you clarify? Just the BOE super will make $1.2 million dollars. But in the same period the entire Great Oaks company will make $1.6 million? Is that $1.6 million going to one man or the entire group? If it is going to an entire group our perspective would be a lot clearer if you counted the BBOE super and his entire crew. Besides, I could care less how much someone makes. That is not my business. I only care about performance. Not all BOEs are elected. BPT’s is but that is not always the case. You say ‘6,000 students applied to enter our magnet schools.’ How many is that per school? We have many magnet schools and not as many charter schools. ‘Every single magnet school SIGNIFICANTLY outperforms every charter school located in Bridgeport.’ How do you rate this outperformed-ness? Would that be from fudged grades, altered test scores that are meaningless or is this just your opinion?
You should make more Magnet schools. That would be good. You have a 1/4 BILLION dollar budget. Make it happen. Tell us about the bus routes that having swimming at the two BOE pools creates. How about the Aquaculture school? Does that create bus routes? Do the magnet schools create bus routes? Over 6,000 students applied to enter our magnet schools. Only 1,200 were accepted and 4,800 were rejected. So those 4800 kids just get screwed. Thank God they had a charter school option. Do YOU even believe yourself when you talk?
What if the school ‘control transfers’ the kid? Then who pays the bus cost? You might also want to fact check that parent part. You are correct about the policy but those policies are not always (almost never) followed. You will see a lot of X-fer kids getting bus tokens in high school and getting off school buses in grade school.
And btw as for the big money the WFP gets, spare me … much of it comes from small contributions and union members who are NOT the Koch brothers.
Mr. Felipe, you stated “Here are the test scores for your schools. Only two schools have little green checks. They are both magnet schools and the ones that are allowed to discriminate on what district students are allowed to attend. Two schools have little safe harbor symbols but they are not magnet schools.”
What evidence do you have that any of Bridgeport magnet schools “discriminate?” You need to read the report that was issued by Voices for Children this past week. It repeatedly states CT charter schools are “hyper-segregated” and are the MOST segregated schools in CT.
Vallas only had one full year of CMT and CAPT scores and that was for 2012/2013. They were the WORST standardized test scores Bridgeport has had in over five years. There were SIGNIFICANT decreases, not increases. Vallas’ legacy will be he balanced the budget on the backs of all students, but especially special-needs students.
Increasing the STATE contribution by $150 million would not have any effect on Bridgeport’s mil rate. You either have difficulty with comprehension or you’re related to Megan DeSombre. The $25 million figure was the amount the Bridgeport Public Schools would lose over the next five years in order to fund the transportation and special ed. costs for the six state charter schools located in Bridgeport. It also includes the loss of Title I funding. You cannot calculate the estimated cost of educating every child in Bridgeport based on the number of schools because every school had a different number of students enrolled and Bridgeport Public Schools serve significantly more students who require special ed. and English language learner services. The Bridgeport Public Schools spends approximately $30 million on special ed. services annually. Your calculations and estimates are completely inaccurate and have no basis in fact.
What else do you have for me, Ruben?
Once again, you need to work on your BOE SPYing skills. Schools cannot and do not initiate control transfers of students. That process can only be initiated by a parent. The BBOE policy requires any high school student who lives over two miles from their school must receive bus transportation. If you only have 10 students who qualify for bus transportation on a particular bus route, why would you pay for a $65,000 bus that can seat up to 40 students? It is significantly more cost effective to issue the ten students bus tokens.
What else do you have for me, Ruben?
You still think I am a ‘Ruben’ person? Just another one of your falsehoods. By discriminate, I meant the school can refuse entry if the student does not pass interviews and tests. You can’t go if you are not ‘smart’ enough.
It is indifferent if the $150 mil comes from property TAX, income TAX or sales TAX money. It would still be a hardship on taxpayers in the stressed economy. The hardship would affect BPT more than others because they are already overtaxed and overstressed. The anti-reform mantra ‘mo money.’ Even with a significantly higher expenditure, New Haven does not have significantly higher performance.
Vallas gave a ‘grade level test’ that was separate from the CMTs. It was an internal test for internal use. The idea the CMTs were lower for the year Vallas was here tells us what? A kid in the fourth grade gets an 80 on the CMT. Vallas comes and is opposed by the teachers and the same kid gets a 40 in the fifth grade. Then Vallas leaves and that same kid is back to an 80 in the sixth grade. Hmmm??? If anything, that points to cheating, not poor performance by Vallas. If you can’t add in fourth grade, you can’t multiply in fifth grade. Due to the interdependent nature of education, any drastic swing in test scores points to false scores. If anything, the scores while Vallas was here are the true scores. The teachers were too afraid to cheat because they were not sure if Vallas would support that and they wanted to see Vallas fail and may have sabotaged the test. It’s all about the kids (yeah right).
I did not say the DTC members were unsupported. But the rhetoric that implies the WFP are the little Davids who struck down the DTC goliath is a pipedream. Both groups have more similarities than differences.
All this tit-for-tat is indifferent. If the only way you can ‘beat’ the charters is to defund them, public education is in sadder shape than we know. No way the public schools can compete in any other way? If the public schools were doing a good job at a reasonable cost, we would not be having this conversation. Right now, they are doing a terrible job at an unreasonably high cost.
I would like to more deeply explore the voting issue. How many people in BPT actually vote? 10%, but the idea is they ‘could’ vote. They just don’t. Unless you live in BPT and you are an illegal immigrant. Then you can’t vote. What about the kids who attend Aqua, Fairchild, etc. and do not live in BPT? They do not get to vote for the BOE. In towns that have an appointed BOE, they don’t get to vote. What about a Charter school that has a board and is publicly traded? If you are a shareholder you CAN vote. If you choose not to be a shareholder, that would be the same as being a citizen and choosing to not vote. Then you have the voter fraud that is rumored to be rampant and confirmed to be in BPT. This disenfranchises the voters. That would mean that, even if you do vote, you did not vote. Someone simply fraudulently cast a vote to ‘cancel’ your vote. Then you have the campaign finance issue. If the WFP were not backed by big money they would not have won. You could surmise they are more beholden to the big money than the lowly voter. So whose interests would they really have in mind? One of your problems is you do not get to vote for the charter school leadership. Really?
There are only three officers of the Great Oaks Foundation and they will receive ALL 1.6 million. The principal, administrators, teachers, etc. are funded out of the operating budget, not this $1.6 in “management fees.”
We do not have more magnet schools than charter schools, you are incorrect. There are four elementary/middle magnet schools and one magnet high school. There are four elementary/middle charter schools and one of those charter schools serves high school students.
I have never seen any evidence or heard of any reports of “fudged” or “altered” test scores in the Bridgeport Public Schools. Can you post your evidence of your claims on OIB? The standardized test scores are easily accessible on the CT State Department of Educations website. It is not my data, it is theirs.
As far as the “1/4 BILLION dollar budget,” according to Malloy’s own Education Cost Sharing Task Force, Bridgeport is the MOST underfunded district in CT. The amount was estimated to be $43 million per year. To help put that in context, New Haven and Bridgeport both serve just about 21,000 students, however the state ECS allocation for Bridgeport in 2014/2015 will be OVER $150 million dollars LESS than what New Haven will receive.
Whether a school has a pool or not does not affect bus routes. Magnet schools do create additional bus routes, but they are Bridgeport public schools which are governed and controlled by our ELECTED BOE, not private entities. The vast majority of parents would love to see a magnet school in every neighborhood, not charter schools. By expanding neighborhood magnet schools, you would be able to reduce their transportation costs.
How do you propose expanding magnet schools so that so many students don’t get “screwed?” How is the most underfunded district in CT supposed to accomplish this goal when six charter schools will siphon over $25 million dollars over the next five years? How do you expand magnet schools when Mayor Grinch refuses to follow the Minimum Budget Requirement as per state law? The contribution is not an option, it is the LAW.
I absolutely believe everything I have stated here, in fact all my statements can be verified by simply accessing public records, data and district budgets.
What else do you have for me, Ruben?
I do not know any Mr. Ruben. Here are the test scores for your schools.
ctayp.emetric.net/District/SchoolList/10015
Only two schools have little green checks. They are both magnet schools and the ones that are allowed to discriminate on what district students are allowed to attend. Two schools have little ‘safe harbor’ symbols but they are not magnet schools. The other magnet schools have little red ‘x’s. Seems as if they did not do so well. 🙁 I wish I could find the ‘grade level testing’ Vallas did. Those results were very interesting. It would be interesting to compare that grade level testing with the CMT scores.
You think we should invest $150 Mil more in our schools to put us in line with New Haven? That would be a mil rate increase of about 12 points. That would be a burden on taxpayers. This web site:
www .schooldigger.com/go/CT/districtrank.aspx
shows BPT as #161 of 164 while New Haven is 156 of 164. Both districts scores are statistically the same. The difference is so small it could just be luck. You are suggesting we increase our school budget ~65.5% to do about as well as we are doing now. Bpt has 34 schools in the district. It cost us $250 mil. The charters do six schools for $25 mil. If we ‘sold’ all our schools to the charters they could do the job for $143 mil. That would be an 8.5 mil tax decrease.
The pool busing cost comes from busing kids from their schools to the school with the pool. They do 5-6 schools a day once a week. The kids go to Blackham or Thurgood Marshal, swim for 20-25 minutes then back to their home school. This seems like a lot of expense for a very short period of swimming. The difference this short and infrequent training could make in a kid’s swimming ability doesn’t seem to justify the cost.
You really need check your information before posting. Only 25% of students who attend Aqua and Fairchild Wheeler are from surrounding communities. Aqua is not the primary high school for a single student. Every child is enrolled in a traditional high school and only attends Aqua for two periods per day. All Bridgeport students who attend Aqua are officially enrolled in either Central, Bassick, Harding or Fairchild Wheeler.
Charter schools in CT are required to be non-profit. There are no publicly traded charter schools operating in CT. However, it is all a scam because they charge exorbitant management fees.
The WFP is not backed by “big money” and the largest union in the state, the Connecticut Education Association is not represented on the WFP State Committee/Board. The CEA funded an independent expenditure for the Democratic primary which totaled a little over $100,000. They spent significantly less in the general election and the only thing they did for the WFP candidates was they created a piece of literature which featured both the Democratic and WFP candidates. There were several organizations that promote charter schools that created an independent expenditure that funded the ROW A candidates in the primary. Where are your concerns about these charter school organizations that funded the losing Democrats?
What else do you have for me, Ruben?
‘Only 25% of students who attend Aqua and Fairchild Wheeler are from surrounding communities’ and they can’t vote for who runs the school. Less than 25% of BPT students attend charters and they can’t vote for who runs the school. It is the same.
Lennie, ask Andre Baker where he stands on the Harding project and where he thinks the coalition you refer to stands on it. According to the simplistic DeSombre take (i.e., WFP is blocking giving Bridgeport kids a new school), you’d have to believe Baker, as part of that presumed voting bloc, would therefore be slowing down the project. I think you’ll find that’s not the case. And, during an unexpected chat with John Bagley two weeks at the checkout at Stop & Shop, I got the very strong sense he wants an open and deliberate approach that requires the BOE receiving a final remediation plan before giving the greenlight to the project. Is that too much to ask? Or would it be preferable to shoot first and aim later w/lots of commotion and added expenses (a la the driveway debacle)?
Thanks for the input on Baker. He needs to be a stronger voice on the BOE. Perhaps he holds back in the public meetings as to not add to the arguing, etc. It’s unfortunate, but the way some of these things play out, the simplistic view (WFP in control) is the accurate view … at least publicly. Perhaps it is different behind the scenes. We shall see.
Andre Baker as a Council person earned my respect for attending budget meetings and asking questions which were certainly in order. He often came away dissatisfied with the answers provided, I can tell you. (Perhaps you understand I have found good answers and changes in process not up to the need for governance reform in Bridgeport.)
But I have watched Andre chairing the BOE Finance Committee for several months now. They are learning what the BOE budget is about from the variety of materials offered in OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE and TRANSPARENT manner each meeting to all in attendance by CFO Marlene Siegel. I think it is safe to say Baker, as well as other Finance members attending are asking questions and getting supported answers. We are getting to crunch time for all budgets for next year. Let’s see what the new BOE does with the info they are learning and can rely upon. They have choices and need to indicate their priorities. I believe they will do their work with more intelligence and in fairer order than has happened in recent years at the City Council level. No small part of this is due to the effort to grasp the complexities of educational funding and balancing budgets.
Meanwhile the City exploded a bomb on the new Superintendent by advancing the concept of moving almost $10 Million of City programs over to education. Whether that is still on the table or not after meetings on Friday is not clear to me. But shock and awe may have been the Finch intention.
We have watched him avoid funding the MBR in more than one year recently and have kept the OIB audience aware of this lack for the past six months or so. The State threw down a gauntlet in a way by coupling the terms of the 2013-14 MBR completion and the MBR as part of 2014-15 budget. But the Mayor has not signed on to this yet. What game is he playing? Is this the varsity game or a sandlot effort to have his way? Time will tell.
While I agree with you Pete, I think the position of the DEEP is why go through the work and expense to present residential standards on a property that is not in the development stage. It is taxpayer dollars that will pay for the report unless GE has agreed to foot the bill up front for the report, then it is a horse of a different color.
Jennifer,
At the Feb 11 BOE Facilities meeting, I learned the following (glad to e-mail my self-typed notes to you if you’d like):
GE is paying for the remediation and for the report–they own the land that needs remediating.
Just a thought: We wouldn’t have to pay DEEP to be involved if GE hadn’t polluted the site and if they didn’t want to transfer the property to the city, right? Alternatively, we could be a pollute-all-you-like Libertarian utopia. 🙂
At the Feb 11 meeting, the DEEP representatives, Mr. Robert Bell (robert.e.bell@ct.gov) and Ms. Amanda Killeen (amanda.killeen@ct.gov) spoke. Killeen said she’s been overseeing the GE site remediation for at least six years.
From what I saw on Feb 11, yes there were a couple regrettable political-circus elements going on. But of more importance: The frustration on the BOE side was palpable … and arose from the fact GE, DEEP and the City have been talking about this site remediation and using the site for a new Harding school without communicating substantively with the BOE, until Feb 11.
To this point, during the meeting Andre Baker asked Rev Moales: “Did you give the public a chance to understand and to speak … and to see a presentation from the DEEP?”
Soon after, Baraka said: “When the BOE approved the [GE] site, it was contingent on getting certain information, which we still haven’t received. We’re charged by state statute to have this basic information and, for a brownfield, we must know if it’s been properly remediated.”
Later, Baker stated: “The committee needs to see the site plan and an explanation of the cap and plan.”
Later, Larcheveque to DEEP’s Mr Bell: “When GE submits the remediation plan, you review and decide to approve it, correct?”
DEEP: “We review it and give extra attention to it for a school. We make sure they [GE] follow the plan presented to us.”
Larcheveque: “It’s verified by the DEEP?”
DEEP: “Yes, when they say they’re done, we check to ensure they followed it.”
Gardner asked detailed questions of the DEEP experts. Useful information was produced. Follow-up information from DEEP to the BOE was promised.
Later, Baraka: “The concern is we’ve not received anything and the process is moving forward. It’s hard for us to make decisions … when we don’t have the information.”
For one, I’m glad to have critical thinkers on the case … and working to ensure the DEEP is involved and the BOE is fully kept in the loop. Thanks Joe Larcheveque, Andre Baker, Howard Gardner, and Sauda Baraka for being on the case.
Thanks, Pete!
Peter, you are gathering facts as I do. I have previously mentioned the remediation activity at Columbus School that has been completed for some time, and which is in process at Longfellow at this moment.
It should be easy to check the extensive record of the Building Committee to see what the process was (or has recently been) in each case. There may be more instances in the out years than these two also.
Regarding BOE member Bagley, I have hoped he would be more open on what he is seeking, but then I have not had the opportunity to see him at Stop and Shop as you have. I can tell you the BOE Finance group is proceeding in an open and deliberate manner to learn about the construction of the budget. I also know the City budget timetable will bring on its own constraints on deliberate. I think your choice of driveway debacle is off base to some extent because there appears to be no hint of conflicts of interest or self-dealing and the actual test drilling info was available to the School Building Committee since March 2013. The potential loss of all (or an increased 20% percent of participation by the City) in the Harding funding is a serious consideration. Perhaps it is “crunch time,” as in the final moments of a close basketball game, to practice good defense but make sure we don’t foul out? Time will tell.
Thanks for pointing to retrievable precedent, John.
Where you write:
“your choice of driveway debacle is off base to some extent because there appears to be no hint of conflicts of interest or self-dealing and the actual test drilling info was available to the School Building Committee since March 2013.”
But at a certain point in the past there appeared to be no hint of conflicts for the driveway, John. But it had to be done or else … we’d have to shutter the airport. Speed swept things up and … you know what happened. Like you say, time will tell. Make haste slowly … follow the rules (get the info you are required to get), be open, accountable, and transparent. That’s what I saw the BOE doing, despite some political nonsense from the usual suspects.
Lifelong, your criticisms below are fair. Every official should be held to the same standards.
These conversations are educational to those of us not familiar with some of the inner workings of city gov’t. Helps fill in all the blanks that are left out in the CT Post and the obvious slants of some of the Blog sites (of course not you, Lennie … LOL).
Regarding this BOE, I’m highly critical of their tactics and some of the outside influences. However, I do like the fact they are not a rubber stamp. Tough questions need to be asked, especially on financial matters in a city so highly taxed like BPT.
When it comes to the Airport with the Mayor and Council President McCarthy serving on the Commission but don’t really know what is ongoing? And until last November a Council person was employed at the Airport? And the Manager of the Airport was given the opportunity over the years since Finch election to operated in deficit annually. Does all of that smell? Have we been writing about this sinkhole for some time?
The School Building Committee in contrast, spending a lot of State and City funds very regularly has seemed to have info available to all who care to seek it and it seems timely as well.
This is different where the Finch finger is on the pulse and restricting time, info and input. Perhaps I am overimpressed, but I like to find good things growing and working and salute them. Who has said anything good about the operation of the Airport for the benefit of a few at great expense paid for by all for the few? Who benefits? Who pays? The Airport employs 13 people, is listed by the City as a non-essential service and loses more than $300,000 per year. Why? Time will tell.
A discussion with a former BOE member today was, the BOE could approve the site and if they did not agree with the remediation, vote to not fund the project, which would stop the building of the new school. The further opinion was, this is payback to the Mayor by BOE and WFP for the takeover of the school board and voted down charter revision, as the site was chosen by the City Administration and not the BOE.
The BOE doesn’t have the final say over school building plans … that is the Mayor and the City Council as the city owns and funds new schools, not the Board of Ed.
If it’s as cut and dry as you stated, then what’s the problem with the BOE asking questions? Are you saying the BOE is a toothless tiger? You know the issue here is the mayor can’t control the majority of the tigers or get them to perform when he snaps the whip. Bill Finch should go into the tiger cage at Beardsley Zoo at night and practice the skill. I did it for 10 years.
I am confused. If the city owns and funds the new school, then why don’t they just build it? Why does the BOE have any input at all? Why are we having all this argument? Build the school and hand it to the BOE. Do what you will with it.
BOE, why don’t you talk to your boss the Mayor. The last time Bill ran for re-election he had no problem taking credit for construction of the schools that were built during his first term. That is BECAUSE they belong to the City govt and the city receives the money when school buildings no longer needed are sold. I have to go now … working on my taxes. Have a nice evening.
Thanks Pete Spain, you’re among the best of the best informed Lennie has been around long enough to recognize Megan DeSombre is nothing but an Excel Bridgeport scab. We didn’t hear a peep from any of them with regard to Bill Finch’s reluctance to properly fund the BOE. So what if the Charter Schools take away funds from the Public School system? I guess DeSombre figures with YouTube she can injure the majority on the BOE. Injuries lead to scabs, but rest assured, any scabs on the BOE majority due to your caused injuries will heal. Scabs like Meagan DeSombre never heal.
Joel–whether she is a “scab” or not, I have no problem with a lot of Megan’s blog. I do not know her. I do not know Jon Pelto either, but he has a blog and he overlooks a lot of how his favorites on the BOE act. They both provide their own take. So on her blog she highlights their behavior and conflicts.
Funny, when the “Finch” BOE was in charge, every slight, insult, power abuse, etc. by them was highlighted and condemned. I have seen YouTube videos of Moales acting up, etc.
But now there is the new power, and many of you support that new power, you are okay with some of the questionable tactics they use. Allowing the public to take over meetings, allowing the public to directly address the BOE. Allowing the comments from the crowds during the BOE meetings. And at the end of the day it is “all about the kids” … BullS#!T …
Right on, Joel.
A really key Bridgeport story (one John Lee has been on for a long time) is the “minimum budget requirement” (MBR) funding … and Finch’s to-date FAILURE to uphold his promise to the city and state last year to fully fund (as required by state law) the MBR for 2014-2015. His proposed budget does not.
According to what I heard BOE CFO Marlene Siegel present at the April 7 BOE meeting, failure to meet the MBR in the 2014-2015 budget will cost Bridgeport north of $5 million over this and next fiscal year in state funding.
Somehow Finch thinks “in-kind” services will cut it–but the state law requires cash. So unless he cuts another deal with the state this year, the cash will have to come from his budget. If Finch can for a second year in a row get an OK from the state to circumvent the law and do an “in-kind” deal for meeting the MBR, then maybe we can all ask to pay our property taxes with “in-kind services” instead of cash? A few chickens and about 35 weekends of hard labor down on the farm should do it.
Finch is quoted in the CT Post this weekend saying there’s no issue with the MBR … it’s all been put “to bed.” See:
www .ctpost.com/local/article/City-BOE-disagree-on-budget-obligations-5380787.php
If that’s true, why are heads of the State Dept of Education and the OPM coming to Bridgeport to meet to discuss the MBR payments with Bridgeport Superintendent Rabinowitz … and Finch, TOMORROW?
This “in-kind services” argument sounds like the fight my wife has with the kid. He wants lunch money. Then he spends that money on cell phone apps. She started making him lunch at a cheaper cost. Her primary concern was the kid getting a nutritious meal. His was getting the money.
If the city provides a service that would cost the BOE $100K why does it matter if they get the money or the service? Even if it cost the city $80K to provide that service it would still cost the BOE $100K to get it whether the service comes from the city or a private trash hauling company. The city’s way it is cheaper for the taxpayer. I mean, did someone get burned when the city started picking up the BOE trash? Another problem is: when the BOE takes on an employee (custodian, guard, para, etc.), the city takes on a pension obligation, workman’s comp and health insurance. Should these costs fall solely on the city, should they split them or should the BOE pay the cost of its employees? Since the city took on crossing guards, maintenance and guards, the combined departments cost less than both departments did individually. What is fair? If the BOE takes the guards back the cost would be $100K but it only cost the city $80K because the guards do other things in the summer. Should the BOE pay $100K, $80K or nothing for this service? Should the city give the BOE the $100K just to get it back or deduct it from the MBR? What do we do in our personal lives? If you pay you kid $20 for mowing the lawn and he owns you $5 for his cellphone, do you give him the $20 and wait for your $5 or just give him $15? What “in-kind service” does the BOE specifically object to?
So Ruben, the “in-kind services argument” is just rhetoric and baseless? Are you aware the state Board of Education was so concerned that the City of Bridgeport was not meeting the funding requirements of the Bridgeport Public Schools, it hired two consultants to audit three years of records?
During the Fabrizi era, these two auditors completed two year’s worth of audits. They found approximately $7 million dollars in fraudulent charges to the BBOE for “in-kind services” and for the Internal Service Fund. In essence, during the Fabrizi administration, $7 million dollars was stolen from 21,000 students and the BBOE so the city could pad its budgets. They actually described charges to the BBOE for the Internal Service Fund as “illegal.” These auditors were working on the third year’s audit when they resigned because the Fabrizi administration did everything in their power to hinder their audit. However, based on the work they had completed before resigning, they estimated the BBOE would be underfunded by over $6 million in that year alone. Tom Sherwood was the OPM then, and he is the OPM now.
This was occurring in several urban cities and was a significant contributing factor as to why the legislature changed the law and eliminated in-kind services and moved to a 100% cash contribution from the cities going forward. Calculating “in-kind” services towards the required CASH contribution is against the law. End of story.
The City of Bridgeport does not pay $1 towards the BBOE’s health and workman’s comp benefits. That is covered by the Internal Service Fund and the BBOE contributes over $30 million dollars to that fund annually.
The BBOE also pays 100% of the salaries and benefits of every BOE maintenance employee, security guard and school resource officer. The City of Bridgeport does not contribute a single dime.
The bottom line is both “in-kind services” and the “Internal Service Fund” simply serve as mechanisms for Mayor Finch, Adam Wood and Tom Sherwood to steal from the BBOE and more importantly, the 21,000 students who attend the Bridgeport Public Schools. The BBOE should withdraw from the Internal Service Fund and NEVER allow the City of Bridgeport to supplement in-kind services for cash. SHOW ME THE MONEY!
What else have you got for me, Ruben?
Dave, BOE SPY is not Ruben.
Then that is a problem. My comment was based on the idea a fair charge was being traded for a fair service. Your charges or financial improprieties and fraud are shocking. You would think the BOE would call the cops or hire an investigator. Especially now that Vallas put the BOE’s books in order. You did not mention who went to jail for all this theft and fraud, or do we not put people in jail for that anymore? I often read these wild accusations of fraud, financial impropriety and theft. Yet no one goes to jail. Why would you think that is? The state investigators found that illegal things are going on. They got so frustrated they quit. Does that work with murderers and robbers too?
So Ruben, the “in-kind services argument” is just rhetoric and baseless? Are you aware the state Board of Education was so concerned that the City of Bridgeport was not meeting the funding requirements of the Bridgeport Public Schools, it hired two consultants to audit three years of records?
During the Fabrizi era, these two auditors completed two year’s worth of audits. They found approximately $7 million dollars in fraudulent charges to the BBOE for “in-kind services” and for the Internal Service Fund. In essence, during the Fabrizi administration, $7 million dollars was stolen from 21,000 students and the BBOE so the city could pad its budgets. They actually described charges to the BBOE for the Internal Service Fund as “illegal.” These auditors were working on the third year’s audit when they resigned because the Fabrizi administration did everything in their power to hinder their audit. However, based on the work they had completed before resigning, they estimated the BBOE would be underfunded by over $6 million in that year alone. Tom Sherwood was the OPM then, and he is the OPM now.
This was occurring in several urban cities and was a significant contributing factor as to why the legislature changed the law and eliminated in-kind services and moved to a 100% cash contribution from the cities going forward. Calculating “in-kind” services towards the required CASH contribution is against the law. End of story.
The City of Bridgeport does not pay $1 towards the BBOE’s health and workman’s comp benefits. That is covered by the Internal Service Fund and the BBOE contributes over $30 million dollars to that fund annually.
The BBOE also pays 100% of the salaries and benefits of every BOE maintenance employee, security guard and school resource officer. The City of Bridgeport does not contribute a single dime.
The bottom line is both “in-kind services” and the “Internal Service Fund” simply serve as mechanisms for Mayor Finch, Adam Wood and Tom Sherwood to steal from the BBOE and more importantly, the 21,000 students who attend the Bridgeport Public Schools. The BBOE should withdraw from the Internal Service Fund and NEVER allow the City of Bridgeport to supplement in-kind services for cash. SHOW ME THE MONEY!
This issue also leaves me stymied. We do need to do something about Harding and Bassick. This is true. Things are moving, both forward and backward, as far as Harding is concerned but nothing is cast in concrete and probably will not be for a long time. What confuses me is how does this apply to Bassick? The two issues are not connected and need to be tackled one at a time.
You need to paint your house. You form a plan to paint the kitchen. The wife starts in on ‘what about the living room?’ You can’t paint both right now. So the best ‘new plan’ is to paint neither. How will this lead to any improvement? You may want to wait on the Bassick idea because after (or if) Harding is built and we have the two new high schools and Central, will we need Bassick? We had three crowded high schools and now we have five. How ‘crowded’ were those three schools? The population of BPT is only growing at a rate of 2.8%. How much of that 2.8% is high school age kids?
Over 95% of children who are enrolled in our magnet schools enter in Pre-K or K. How can a child who is four or five years old take a “test?” Four- and five-year-olds cannot even read or write. We don’t even start testing students until the third grade.
So your increased mil rate argument has been abandoned. Okay, well let’s move onto your new claim of increased taxes. I never stated taxes should be increased. I have an idea, why doesn’t Gov Malloy stop giving large for-profit companies millions of dollars to move from one city to another because it will “save” jobs? Here is another idea, STOP funding charter schools until your urban public school systems are FULLY funded.
If funding is not part of the solution, then why does Fairfield, Westport and Greenwich spend so much more than the urban communities on education? The majority of residents in these communities are Republicans and conservative on spending. If funding doesn’t contribute to better educational outcomes, why aren’t they simply investing the $13.5 per students that Bridgeport does? By the way, every one of those suburban communities is FULLY funding education, unlike Bridgeport.
The only standardized tests recognized by the state of CT, are the CMT and CAPT tests. That is because every child in the state answers the exact same questions, unlike benchmark tests that are developed by district and are not consistent statewide.
Bridgeport students experienced the WORST CMT and CAPT test results in over five years, because of the destruction created by Vallas, period. Vallas was not an educator, he was and is a fraud. So before Vallas graced Bridgeport with his presence, you believe there was rampant cheating in our schools, yet Bridgeport was ranked as the third-worst performing district in CT. Isn’t the goal of cheating to inflate your test scores and grades? You have no basis for accusing Bridgeport’s educators of “cheating” and you know it. Then you claim when the Michael Jordan of education reform arrived, Bridgeport’s teachers were afraid to cheat. They stopped cheating so they could “sabotage” Vallas. No one “sabotaged” Paul Vallas but Vallas himself.
I am just curious, is there a fee to gain entrance into the fantasy world you live in, or is it for free?
Yeah, the entrance fee is 41.1 mils. I have a kid in your schools. My fantasy world is more of a nightmare. Thanks for that.
Greenwich does spend more than BPT or does it? Greenwich has a lot of courses and sports teams BPT does not (like horseback riding and polo). Greenwich pays its teachers slightly more than BPT. Greenwich teachers are at a higher step and have more education than BPT. You would have to make BPT and Greenwich equal before you talk about per-student spending. Greenwich offers foreign languages that BPT does not. Horseback riding does not help a student on the CAP test. If all my teachers have doctoral degrees and are on step 12 and yours have BAs on step one it would look like my students see more money than yours do. That is not true. My staff just cost more. Greenwich pays more for the same things and buys luxury things that BPT does not. Having gold-plated urinals does not improve education. As a percentage of land value, BPT outspends Greenwich. BPT spends $250 mil out of a $7 billion grand list or 3.6%. Greenwich spends $174 mil of a $24 billion grand list or 0.73%. BPT spends 5 times more than Greenwich of what it has toward education.
Under your plan, BPT would spend the same as Greenwich. Greenwich spends $18K and BPT spends $12K/student. Increase BPT by 65.5% and BPT would be spending $20K. Then BPT would be the #1 school in the state or we would just also have golden urinals? Be in the top 10? Are you volunteering to pay for some of this?
So we have had the worst test scores in the state. Vallas comes and the kids learn nothing and forget some of what they knew. Vallas leaves and they return to normal. That is what happened? With all this poor performance, you are still against charters and had nothing to say to Ramos.
Well of course Greenwich offers many courses and sports programs Bridgeport CANNOT offer. That is because of the disparity in the per pupil expenditures. DUH???
Bridgeport has a significant number of teachers with Masters degrees. I agree the Education Cost Sharing formula is regressive and hurts the urban cities. That is exactly why there is a lawsuit that is going to be heard this fall. All the plaintiffs are from urban communities and Malloy is doing everything in his power to have the case dismissed or postponed.
On a cash basis, Bridgeport doesn’t come anywhere near Greenwich’s per-pupil spending. The mil rate doesn’t matter, cash does. For example: Greenwich High School serves 2,600 students and has 22 counselors and a Guidance Director. Central High School serves 2,200 students and has 4 counselors. Do you honestly believe a disparity like this one does not play a role in Bridgeport students’ academic and college success?
Bridgeport does NOT have the “worst test scores in the state.” New Britain and Windham do. Do you know how many charter schools currently exist in those towns? NONE.
Yes, but does having a Lacrosse team help a kid get a better cap score? If it does not, you would have to deduct that cost from the per-student number Greenwich has over BPT. Bpt also as an economy of scale. Let’s take a football field. The cost of that field is spread over all the students. That cost would be about the same for all districts. If one district has 1000 students and another has 2000, the smaller district would pay double/student for that field. The cost of the field to the smaller district does not indicate their students get a better education from the money that is spent. Again, New Haven, as you pointed out, pays significantly more/student than BPT without significantly better performance. Their school score is about the same as ours.
How many counselors does NH have? School Counselors in New Haven do not seem to help. Personally, I believe truancy officers would be more helpful than anything else. You can’t educate the kids if they are not in the school.
Dave Moore “And btw as for the big money the WFP gets, spare me … much of it comes from small contributions and union members who are NOT the Koch brothers.”
You’re kidding, right? It’s a fact the teacher’s union gave almost $150K to the challenge slate for the BOE election. And we all know (whether formally endorsed or not) Baker, Gardner, etc. had heavy support from the WFP. And the union got the new contract they wanted.
The teachers union is big money? Really … that money is the pooled dues of hardworking teachers, not multi-millionaires. Maybe you should stop listening to people like the tea party.
Hard working? 185 days a year for $42K to start maxing out at $85K plus pension, benefits, longevity, summer school pay, sick days, vacation days, etc.
Read for yourself:
/www .nctq.org/docs/Bridgeport_Contract_2011-2014.pdf
I am sure the garbage man was crying in his soup for them this winter. Maybe you should try working a real job.
Doesn’t the average responsible employer offer these same benefits? My friend works for a reputable retailer, has no college degree, is 26 years old, and is earning $65,000 a year. She receives two weeks paid vacation, has a 401K, has personal and sick days, has health coverage and receives an annual raise.
You honestly believe a starting teacher earning $42k and a teacher with 20-30 years of service, earning $85k per year is unreasonable and exorbitant? Please.
Let’s take George Garcia, Director of Public Facilities. In 2009, he was a custodian in one of the BPSs. Mr. Garcia does not hold a single certification in any trade, he does not have a college degree, he has no background in engineering, yet by 2013, he is named the Director of Public Facilities and earns $130,000 a year. In a short five years he went from mopping floors to managing over a billion dollars in pubic school and city building assets. Mr. Garcia’s only qualifications are his mother is Ana Garcia and his aunt is Rosa Correa, both of these women are Finch loyalists and operatives. If this isn’t a case of who you know instead of what you know, I don’t know what is. I was shown a copy of his resume in 2010 and he had so little work experience he still had his management position at an Orange Julius listed on his resume. What an absolute joke.
Are you upset about Mr. Garcia’s salary, pension, benefits, sick days, personal days, vacation days, etc.? Probably not.
I am glad to hear about your friend. Sounds like she does a good job. As a retail worker would you say she FAILS to make a sale 60% of the time? If she did what would her employer do? Give her a raise? A 401(k) is very different from a defined pension. The teachers did have a crappy health plan. It was a good idea to change that. If I am unhappy with Mr. Garcia’s job or not is indifferent to this conversation. However he seems to be the best guy who has held that position in a long time. There are plenty of people in the city who have a higher failure rate than Mr. Garcia, not including the teachers. I am sure there is someone who would be better than him but the city has been unable to find that guy. Mr. Garcia does not fail 60% of the time.
I want to go back to college. My plan is, simply, to make as much as I can. What professions would START me at more than $30/hr and max out at $61/hr? OR, 185 days by 7.5 hrs/day. Also, I want to only do my work for four of those hours with three hours being ‘prep periods’ to do that work with all the benefits. I know teachers ‘work hard,’ but who doesn’t?
f you take 52 weeks and multiply it times 5 workdays per week, the average person works 260 days per year. Now you have to exclude all federal holidays and any additional holidays a particular employer may choose to recognize. Bridgeport Public School teachers work 180 and this already excludes all federal holidays. They earn very few personal days and receive vacation time that can only be utilized with an administrator’s approval. It is the role of the administrator to ensure vacation days are not being taken during key timeframes and there are not an excessive amount of employees out on the same days. Teachers are not paid for summer break, but a teacher can request their salary be distributed over a 52-week period instead of the 180-day school year. It is the same salary no matter what period of time it is paid over.
Tea Party? Thanks for the laugh. So now if you are a Democrat with a difference of opinion, you are tea party influenced … LOL.
I did not say they were big money, but $150K for a BOE election is big money.
And I don’t know of many unions whose members are multimillionaires. If there are, which industry are they in because I need to change professions.
You know what’s sad? We all (me included) saw this story and we all jumped into our political argument. And in doing so we did what we accuse the city and the BOE of doing–completely ignored the student’s video and the concern by the student over the state of the school–not for him, but for the next generation of Harding students. All about the kids???
I do support the new Harding and charters. Big surprise, right? This is why. The old Harding and the BOE are a mess. Are the new Harding and charters perfect? No. They may not even be better, but will they be worse? Will they be cheaper? If the charters end up being worse than the BOE, it will be easy to go back. The BOE can take over the charter schools or just put the kids back where they came from. With the new Harding, not so much, but it’s highly unlikely the new Harding will be worse than the old one. The old Harding is pretty bad. If the new Harding has problems, we can go after GE if they ‘cheated.’
I supported the WFP because I knew the DTC was bad. I am not happy with that choice. Yes, I am saying I made a mistake. Hard to believe, I know. I may go back to the DTC or another group. Right now, charters are that choice. But I am fickle and that may change as well.
As far as the money goes, fixing education will fix the money. If 20% of the kids in the system end up on welfare or in jail, that is bad. If we improve the system and only 10% of the kids end up on welfare or in jail, then that cost us less. That money could be put toward education or, God forbid, left with the taxpayer. Then the 10% of kids not costing us will be working and paying taxes. We would be getting a little money from many instead of a lot of money from a few. If we saw an 8% increase in performance it would be easier to be happy with the 8% contract raise the teachers are getting. If we heard more ‘this is what we are going to do’ rhetoric and less ‘this is why charters are bad’, supporting the BOE would be easier.
I just don’t understand, you stated “the BOE is a mess.” How can that be? Vallas just left a month ago and the corrupt Democratic machine just lost control of the BBOE and its budget in early December. Remember, the Democratic machine controlled the BOE for over 30 consecutive years. If the BOE is a mess, isn’t that a reflection on Vallas, the machine and the Democratic BOE members who controlled the BBOE, along with the complicit Republicans, for that 30-year period? You certainly cannot hold the minority responsible or accountable for the “mess” created by the majority, can you?
I honestly do not know a single person who does not support the building of a new Harding High School. This issue at hand is building it on the largest brownfield site in CT. The plan is to build Harding on 17 acres of “remediated” land. The school will then open with 800 students, faculty, support staff, etc. The remaining 60 acres that will surround Harding will be remediated while the school is open and occupied. That remediation will not be completed until 2019/2020. Is that really fair and responsible to the students and staff who will be in that building day in and day out?
The current Harding serves about 1200 students right now, The new school is being built for 800. If the school is going to serve a third fewer students, why can’t it be built on its current site? The answer is simple, Bridgeport Hospital wants to expand and needs that Harding land to do so. Expanding Bridgeport Hospital will not contribute $1 to the tax base. They are the second-largest employer in Bridgeport, but how many of their good-paying jobs go to Bridgeport residents? In addition, a GE VP serves on Bridgeport Hospital’s Board of Directors.
Teachers received a 9% increase over the next three years. A 3% per year is pretty standard and reasonable. In the last three-year contract, they received a 0% increase for two of those years. They also agreed to increase their share of healthcare costs to offset their raises. Bottom line, Vallas negotiated the new contract, not individual BOE members. If you have a problem with the new BEA contract, shouldn’t you be upset with Vallas?
I guess. All the other city workers are getting what, 5-10 furlough days? A lot of people are losing their jobs, taxes are going up and pay cuts are rampant. If 3% is ‘standard,’ what are furlough days? The city, including the BOE, is the number-one employer in the city. How many of the teachers live in BPT? The BOE was improved by Vallas. He came in with ideas. He sought to move and seemed to have some idea of what to do. That movement may have been forward, at worst sideways. In less than a year he fixed the financial accountability, got new books, put in laptops and iPads, stopped the closing of schools and teacher layoffs and brought millions in grants and forgivable loans. You can say it is thanks to him they had the money to give those raises. He probably wouldn’t have used the money for that but he may have. I am sure you can counter all those things with bad things because that is what you do, but it is movement.
All of BPT is a brownfield. Steel Point was a residential neighborhood and needs remediation. The DEEP said the pollution on the property was not that big a deal. The guys doing the testing and remediation just need to wash their hands before they eat. Last time they did remediation at Harding they were wearing moon suits. How fair is it to the students and staff to have them stay inside that building? Remember, I did not say ‘perfect,’ I said ‘better.’
I do hold the past administration accountable for the current BOE situation. That is why I replaced them with the WFP. However, they are disappointing me, too. Vallas seemed to have ideas and a plan. The DTC BOE and the WFP BOE just seem to bicker and throw blame around. If nothing else, Vallas was a beacon of light in a very dark place. The WFP was so focused on throwing him out they did not even bother to line up a replacement. They and you have a number of (let’s call them) excuses on why the new Harding or Barack Obama High School (let’s call it BO-HS) is no good, but no other plan. These agreements are just hypocritical. These are just like the anti-charter arguments. The DTC and WFP are consumed with this behavior.
The argument goes like this. The old Harding has pollution (lead paint, asbestos, God knows what else) in it but BO-HS MAY have residual pollution. The old Harding has sewage flowing through the halls when we get a heavy rain but BO-HS MAY get residual pollution from the surrounding land. Harding has polluted soil in the football field but BO-HS MAY have pollution flow down from Remington Woods. You can spit into Remington Woods from Multicultural and High Horizons Magnet schools and they are the best schools in the city. This would seem to indicate this pollution is good for education. The DEEP says the land will be clean but can we trust them? We aren’t going to hire our own expert to look into it. We are just going to cast deflections, rumor and innuendo. We are going to lose the 80-20 building funding. We do not have another proposed building site, no plan, no idea of what to do between when we cancel our current plan and come up with a new one. We just want to cancel this and then nothing. I, for one, am tired of this tactic. People are lined up at the charter schools so their kids can go to school and stand SOME chance of getting an education. I am sure they line up at the magnet schools as well. I like the idea we are getting two new charter schools. I would like the idea we are getting two new magnet schools but we are not. I cannot hope and dream on the hypothetical of what we might or could do. I have to stay with what we ARE doing. If we close the charters, then what?
This is what I have to do. I have to stand in line at the magnets and charters to get my kid in school. If this fails I have to falsify an address in one of the surrounding towns so my kid can go to school there. If I get caught I have to go to jail. So I have to move. The wife and I both work. We cannot pay any more taxes. We cannot afford private school. We cannot miss work. We cannot lose our jobs. We cannot wait until some kind of pipe dream plan comes to fruition (not that you have one). We need something and we need it now.
Let’s say you are a renter and you complain your apartment needs to be fixed up. As the building department, I come by and agree. The landlord disagrees but will re-do the house. I say no because the landlord and I have a personal grudge. I am going to do you a favor. In your best interests, I am going to put all your stuff in a U-Haul and knock the house down. Don’t forget to pay U-Haul, find a new place, come up with rent and deposit and thank me for helping you out.
So “ALL the other city workers are getting what, 5-10 furlough days?” That may be occurring in the fantasy land you reside in, but that is not the case in Bridgeport.
How many city workers live in Bridgeport?
The BBOE was DESTROYED by Vallas. So you think Vallas was a knight in shining armor? He balanced the budget on the backs of children, especially special ed. students who are required to receive every service identified in their Individual Education Plan. Vallas blatantly violated the federal American Disabilities Act by failing to provide these required services and he is your hero. Vallas never laid off a teacher, he just allowed 72 certified staff members to resign or retire and then never replaced them, but he is your hero. Clearly, not filling these positions impacted students negatively, not positively. The forgivable loan was nothing but a bribe by the state. I will give you the money needed, but in turn the Commissioner of Education will play a deciding role in the selection of the next superintendent, but he is your hero. Vallas purchased $10 million dollars in new books without going out to bid, which is a violation of state law and city ordinances. Vallas publicly stated he was going to raise millions to offset the costs and never raised $1, but he is your hero. The contract has now been renegotiated to $7 million dollars because there was a lot of material being purchased that was not being used.
One’s health, well-being and safety are much more valuable than having a new high school. Placing 800 students in a new building that can cause significant health risks is not “better,” it is worse.
The only individual who conducts himself in a disrespectful manner is Moales. Since the new Board has taken their seats, he has publicly called Ms. Baraka a clown, a bully, a liar, and had the nerve to state his deceased father told him Sauda was a liar. Moales is ignorant, idiotic, ignorant, disrespectful, ignorant, and just plain dumb. No one else on the newly elected Board has displayed this behavior.
The plan for a new Harding is quite simple. Build the new Harding in its present location.
P.S. I wouldn’t count on those two new charter schools yet.
You know, I and mine are a ‘working family.’ We just want to send our kid to school. You are going to torpedo tBO-HS and we will not have a charter school and the magnet schools are full. I will remember to thank you when I vote AND I am the 1 out of every 10 people in BPT who vote. To think, you criticize someone else for being ignorant, idiotic, ignorant, disrespectful, ignorant, and just plain dumb. That is the pot calling the kettle black. I honestly hope the commissioner of ED comes and throws all of you out on your butts. I will teach my kid myself.