I happened to read the senior newsletter today and saw something that shocked me - 864 Templeton household were helped by the food pantry in 2012.A total of 750 children between the ages of 0 and 17. and 508 adults 18 -64. Okay we have 8013( roughly) people in Templeton - so total Templeton people helped 1258. that's 15% of our town population. 864 households were helped. We have approximately 2900 household in town that's 29% of Templeton households needing help.
Sooo let's see according to the comments that were made - 1258 people should move out of town. Oh wait this includes 750 children at least 500 of them must be in the school system!!!!
Maybe these numbers will help people understand that many people here in Templeton are struggling to feed their children. Just some info for you all. No hee hee's on this blog - this is a serious problem in this town too many children going hungry.
Thanks for reading my opinions and comments! Pauly
And the only positive thing in these kids lives, Pauly, is school time. There has to be a way to get this done! Please go to the SC meetings & try to see what they are up against.
ReplyDeleteIf there is no compromise on the dollar figure from the school department, please VOTE NO on August 22.
ReplyDeleteIf Templeton's assessment is NOT reduced, please VOTE NO on August 22.
So that additional money the school district received from the state where did that go?
Didnt it go to reduce the assessment from 691 to 5-something?
DeleteI believe the wording of the warrant article is for the exact same amount as in April, May and June. So where did the additional money go that the school district received from the state?
DeletePlease VOTE NO on August 22nd
Didnt that money become available AFTER the June ? Isnt that where the "NEW" number came from? Sorry, cant remember the exact number, but it was 5something instead of 691.
DeleteI believe the school is still looking for the full $691,000. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
DeleteDoesn't matter when the money became available. The increase in funding from the state was known at the STM on July 27th...so where did that money go? How is the school district using this money?
DeleteThey used it to lower the assessment. UGH! Tried to save the town some $. Yet again, you should know this and instead try to portrait them as all evil.
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ReplyDeleteI found a better way to phrase this. YOU PEOPLE ARE INSANE! ... The override vote was for the town, NOT the school. The school will get ots budget no matter what you vote. The DESE ensures that! The DESE could care less about the hwy dept. GG & SC has been telling you this for months. When you voted no for the override, you ensured cuts to the rest of the town. WAKE UP PEOPLE! Get an override & move on. The override is for THE TOWN, NOT THE SCHOOL. The more you vote no.....the more it costs us all.
ReplyDeleteThe override in April and again in June was for the SCHOOLS!
DeleteThe override number was never reduced for the override in June.
Please VOTE NO on August 22nd
huff n puff you obviously can't see what the School Superintendent is doing, she is making a precidence if the TOWN does the override this year she will want one next year and the year after that and the year after that and on. What the School Superintendent doesn't get is that the people who live in Templeton are people of modest incomes, and many on fixed incomes. As Pauly pointed out there are many that receive assistance from the food pantry. YOu must make your budget within the income of those that will be supplying that money. You cannot squeeze money out of an empty pocket.
DeleteThe override was for the town. Again, the schoil budget is virtually guaranteed by the state. In order to not cut other srvcs in order to fund the school, an override was needed! You should know how this works! Why keep flipping it onto the school? If the town fails because of this, it is NOT the SC'S fault. They warned you & you chose to ignore them.
DeleteThe townspeople voted TWICE and voted down the override for the SCHOOL... TWICE. It IS the school committee's fault for not reducing the figure for Templeton's assessment. END of story.
DeleteWho is "they"? When and where was the "warning" given?
Please VOTE No on August 22nd.
Because you lied to them & didnt inform them what would happen if they voted no! You should know this stuff, you are a selectman. Were you absent at the meetings too?
DeleteI hope the SC sticks to there guns & forces you to admit you were wrong.
I am done argueing with you, as clearly have no idea how a school system works. You & your lackeys keep voteing no. Your costing us 60 g's a month. Good job.
And if anyone is wondering, YES, now Im attacking. The BOS is no place for ignorance.
My vote counts as 1 vote. I did not campaign against the override.
DeletePlease VOTE NO on August 22nd
The school still needs and wants the money! The Superintendent is not against the town! She is working to make the school more self sufficient. I'm voting yes. Not my concern where the money comes from I voted for the override. Good luck BOS
DeletePoison Ivy -
DeleteI truly hope you never need emergency services here in Templeton. I do mean that, not as a threat, but really mean it in the sense that an emergency situation doesn't happen to you or your loved ones. Not everyone is so fortunate to have never needed the services of public safety.
It should be the concern of everyone in Templeton that public safety is at risk. Supporting the overrides that failed, will not help you if you have an emergency and public safety is cut.
I don't find your words threatening, but thank you for clarifying. Besides Police our other services are already a joke. I have many neighbors that would have been better off getting a ride to the ER then waiting for our services. I would most certainly drive my children. I dialed 911 once and no one came to my rescue except police.
DeleteHey PI well spoken!
DeleteNice job trashing public safety and EMS services. Way to go!
Who really needs ambulance, fire and police and highway services anyway!
Huff n puff . Apparently you could care less about the rest of the people in this town . because if you did you would stop and take the time to read the statistics that were just mentioned above again and again until you actually figured out what that says about the people that you want to give more . It must be nice to not have been affected by the worst economy in nearly 100 years ! Lucky You . So my friendly advise to you is Start caring about your community and I am sure the community will Eventually return the favor .
ReplyDeleteI do care for the community, which is why I voted FOR the override! The school doesnt have to/ cant cut their budget anymore & they know that. Its virtually guaranteed & THEY TRIED TO WARN US!!!!! Nobody listened. Now the town is in a mess & blameing the school. The budget IS the budget. Period. They will get it. The override was FOR THE TOWN!
DeleteAnd personally, the economy hit me hard. But I kicked back & started my own business that is doing well. So dont preach to me about the economy from the "M" mansion.
well they have to match this grant may be this is where the money is going???
ReplyDeleteFrom the US forest Service:
Baldwinville School District Gets $250,000 Forest Service Grant for Design of Wood-Fueled Heating System
A Massachusetts school system has been awarded a $250,000 federal grant to help it design a wood-fueled heating system for its schools. - The Narragansett Regional School District in Baldwinville has been awarded the Woody Biomass Utilization Grant by the U.S. Forest Service, one of 10 projects funded nationwide through the grant program. Each project will use woody material removed from forests during projects such as wildfire prevention and beetle-killed trees, and process woody biomass in bioenergy facilities to produce green energy for heating and electricity. The grant will help the school district pay for engineering services for final design, permitting and cost analysis of the project.
Grant recipients are required to provide at least a 20 percent match for the grant funds. The Baldwinville project is the only applicant from the Northeast to be awarded a grant. Most of the approved projects were from the far west, including projects in Alaska, California, New Mexico and Oregon.
so we have to spend 50k to save millions? Where is the bad in that!? GREAT JOB whomever got this!
DeleteThis is good news!
DeleteHow many people think this new biomass development will result in an assessment reduction for both Templeton and Phillipston?
DeleteKeep holding your breath!
the plan as presented to me is to use bio mass to reduce oil costs so then with that savings the district can handle more of the costs increases (less $$$ for override requests) which on its face seems like a great plan. However, the system has to be bought then it has to operate under standards. These things can be checked out at the mount, they have gone almost total green. It is worth a shot, to use a quote from the blog. It needs a very good plan and I hope less money spent on studies than has been spent on the elementary school project. The number that will be presented at the joint meeting should be available mid week of next. Now for a fun thought, the time to look at the next district budget (FY15) should be right about December, most likely when we will have a final answer for the FY14 budget. December should be the time to go line by line of the school budget. We cannot wait until May to do these things. That's how we ended up here. I hope to speak with the school committee and ask them if a link to their web site can be put on the town site and if the school committee meetings can be placed on the town website so people are better able to track the meetings. These things do nothing to solve the issue at hand but I believe moving forward, it may help us avoid this in the future. Now I only hope that a person does not think offering up this information / opinion on this blog by a selectmen is causing a negative effect on the town.
DeleteGood ideas Jeff. Its nice to see positive ideas on how to avoid this in the future. Also, doesn't Seaman Paper have a bio-mass heating system?
DeleteI think the study hall time "donated" by the Advisory board should be listened to with respect and not taken for granted. The Select board also is a gift of a donation. For the betterment of the town of Templeton. When the money in town was less than needed we asked for more,the schools asked the highway asked the fire asked and others too. I recall the senior center got the only extra and they i might add deserved it 100%. They have paid in more than the rest of us and pinch the dollars more and more every year. To state you were hit hard should make you think of the others who were not so/as "lucky" to do what you have.Look at the amount we pay for what we get and you will soon see why the overrides will never pass. If you were at the last STM to see the seniors that showed up it was for them to protect their rights and to protect their vote.They were joined by many others that are tired of the give us more and more.The facts won't change soon and will be a slow change as we evolve to be a more thrifty town one way or another.When i hear people say voters don't support the schools i ask you where did 1/2 of the tax money go, "to the schools".Study hall is now over!
ReplyDeleteThe school committee has been told for years and did not listen about the budget. Give raises when they did not have to do so. When most were going without and still are. By the way Huff n Puff please post your business on the blog I'm sure it will help your bottom line.It has mine!
Again. Does anyone know how a school system works? On average, a towns total budget includes OVER 50% to its school system. It is the biggest expenditure in EVERY town/city. Its the biggest thing in EVERY town. EVERYONE goes thru it. Hell, its the basic reason(not
Deletethe only reason)
we even have taxes.
The school has been cutting for 10 years, contrary to popular belief. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE YOU SPEAK! SCHOOL TAUGHT YOU THAT!
It use to be a tax bill for Templeton was divided and had line charges for school and town budgets. I remember people who had no kids complain they were paying to educate kids and had none of their own in the system. I was lucky to have had 4 children of my own go to gansett after my wife and i both did. This whole issue of money starts at the federal level and is way above a little town like Templeton to fix. I can remember the struggle we all had with bills and cost going out of sight.Much like now the last 8-10 years we burned up our reserves and now want to make people pay more for something they don't use.Laws like Prop 2 1/2 were a tool from the people that wanted budget explosion to stop. We were asked or forced to vote over and over and ignored time and time again. Now if your opinion is based on living in Templeton as long as allot of us and the seniors.We have paid in to the schools amounts ENOUGH to educate students to learn to learn. When do you get a clue and figure out the cuts to be able to tell people with honesty are needed. Start with money paid for wages. Not with athletics,sports programs,late buss,ect. When i see the cuts to fix the budget come from the kids every time it tells me one thing.It's not about the kids. This is not only my opinion its of many i talked with also.I don't know who huff n puff is or even care to know. But the people in Templeton are tired of the things like the way the schools always pit the supporters/taxpayers against the kids. The school average pay increases are 4.5% not negative 4.5% average administration increase 6.5%. Not bad for 10 years of cutting. Was a budget with any cuts inflated prior to the so called cuts? Like the federal fuzzy math add 30% cut 20% and your hero. When i look at the NRSD budget i gasp at the amounts i see and have to wonder how the amounts for things got to where they are. What would they be if the budget was a private or charter system. I think we can agree the time has come for the budget to be reviewed by people who are not a part of what Templeton is now!
ReplyDeleteI would urge a "no" vote or a motion of some lower amount we can all live with. Greed will only result in trouble Templeton will suffer from.We are suffering ENOUGH if you haven't noticed in Templeton. Show us what can be done for the kids and not to the kids for a change.
ugh. its like shoveling against the tide. The Supt. has adked for help & offered time n time again to go line by line thru the budget with anyone that has any ideas. The BOS said No. What did you say David? Did you offer to help? Or just sit back n complain?
DeleteYou have to vote on the certified amount. As long as the SC keeps certifing an amount......thats it. Make all the motions you want, they carry no weight.
Keep voteing no, its costing us more n more every month.... DO YOUR HOMEWORK
Exactly when did the BOS say NO to reviewing the school budget line item by line item? Date and time please! Facts please...
DeletePlease VOTE NO on August 22
I would suggest that the School Committee take a good hard look at the following link.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.4j.lane.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/4j_sustainablebudget_schoolboardstrategydirection_2011-02-02.pdf
It goes to show what can be accomplished if you have the right headset. Please note that this is apparently a much larger school district, but it goes to show that if **everything** is put on the table, a lot can be accomplished in order to arrive at a sustainable budget. I do not see **any, none, nada, zip** of this type of thinking happening in Templeton.
Alternatively, the only other solution I foresee is a total collapse and bankruptcy of town government. That would be a revolutionary (not evolutionary) process to produce meaningful change. There would be a lot of "collateral damage", but throughout history it has produced meaningful change. Sometimes the "house of cards must tumble down" in order to rebuild from the ground-up. Just my .02
http://www.4j.lane.edu/communications/sustainablebudget/outcome/
DeleteAnd to Huff n Puff...before you attack me like you attacked Mr. Smart -- be aware that I have met with Ms. Miller on several occasions to express my opinions. When my children were in school, my wife volunteered and helped in the classrooms for many years. We transported students to sports events, helped with fund raisers etc. Can you say the same? I don't see very much from most parents today except "gimme, gimme, gimme"
DeleteI never attacked, just trying to state facts on this VERY antischool blog. And yes, I can say the same. We graduated a kid & have one now in Gansett. We are both very heavily involved parents at the school. Your barking up the wrong tree on that one...trust me.
DeleteHi Tom
ReplyDeleteIf the school committee can't come up with a compromise figure, then I think the chances of them looking at alternatives that you mentioned are slim to none. I hope the school committee proves me wrong, but I doubt they will support a compromise figure.
Please VOTE NO on August 22nd
Compromise is a two way street. Where is the town compromising? It takes 2 to compromise.
DeleteIt is no longer under the Town's control. The school committee will run the joint town meeting and voted on the wording of the warrant article for the joint town meeting. The wording of the warrant article contains the same assessment to Templeton for an additional $691,000 than what was voted in Templeton in May.
DeleteIt is on the school committee to offer a compromise figure BECAUSE THEY are in control of the joint town meeting - not the Templeton BOS nor the Phillipston BOS.
Please VOTE NO on August 22nd
Oh yeah, why did the school committee schedule a meeting on August 5th at the same time as the Templeton BOS?
DeleteIsn't that curious?
I'm so sure that wasn't intentional!
Ooops! I forgot:
DeletePlease VOTE NO on August 22nd
APPARENTLY They learn from the best! Sounds like something the BOS would do!
DeleteI believe the town compromised last year by cutting department budgets and this year by level funding.
ReplyDeleteI think HUFF is PUFFING some wacky stuff, He/She hasn't a clue what He/She is talking about.
ReplyDeleteremember this in December
DeleteI do not subscribe to the "we can't afford it" argument. If you do a little research you will find that argument used against any proposal to spend money both in good times and bad times. If you reduce the taxes to nearly ZERO there will still be some portion of the taxpayers that say they can't afford it. So where to draw the line in the sand? When to "fish or cut bait"? My argument centers around HOW the money gets spent and my personal bitch is SPECIAL ED and NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. Those are the two biggest HOAXES ever foisted on the taxpayer. The joke among many educators calls it "EVERY child left behind" due the ridiculous unfunded mandates. SPED ? HA. Every kid with a twitch get an IEP. Every kid with a discipline problem that the parents should be addressing gets an IEP. How many IEP's (at what cost) can a classroom teacher handle before the whole class gets dragged down to the lowest common denominator? In my humble opinion SPED has become a cottage industry for those who derive their income from it. How about spending some extra bucks on the smart kids, someone who might cure cancer someday? Some kids DO need the extra help, but 20% of them, give me a break. Scale it back to the truly needy and we'll probably have a budget surplus.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion the only way to stop the skyrocketing education budgets is through civil disobedience. JUST SAY NO. If enough school districts draw the line in the sand, the morons in Malden will be forced to take some sort of action and find a fairer way to finance the schools.
By the way, I am NOT anti school. My wife was a teacher for 30 years, I taught high school for 10 years and my children are college educated. My opinions are derived from first hand experience.
Good blog Tom. I agree with your observations about Special Ed. It's like having the fox watching the hen house, having those who derive their income writing plans that increase their share of the budget. But as long as we continue to have educators running school administration there is no incentive to change. Why do we not have business managers instead superintendents? Why not an MBA instead of an M. Ed?
DeletePlease tell me you guys arent attacking the special needs children & the system in place to help them!!! Talk about preying on the weak. Hell, its probably worthy of a discrimination suit!
DeleteJUST THE FACTS!!!
DeleteTomJ SPED is a MUST program! No child left behind should have been funded when set up thank you Bush! It became a burden! I would take some of those thoughts more personal but I feel you have your plate full trying to get the sewer company out of debt.
Deleteto HUFF m PUFF:Please re-read what I said. Many children do need assistance, but not all the ones in the programs, and certainly not at *ANY COST WHATEVER IT TAKES" remember, I have first hand experience with the leaches that propose these sped plans. Its more about maintaining a paycheck than helping the truly needy.
Deleteto Poison Ivy: Sure, its a "MUST" program but at WHAT COST? There comes a time when other students must get access to education. With a limited budget, every dollar that goes to sped is a dollar taken from the mainstream students. How fair is that? Currently the morons in Malden demand we spend "whatever it takes" Do you think $1million on 4 students makes sense? I do not think so. Sorry !
Call me mean and unsympathetic if you wish, but I am tired of seeing tax money wasted on many of those that really should be in the mainstream and made to behave. Like I said before its become a cottage industry for the sped workers. We cannot afford to spend untold amounts of money on wasteful programs that do not produce results. I can provide multiple examples of what I am referring to. The problem is that what I am saying is what many are feeling but are afraid to speak out for fear of being "against the kids". I am for the kids, but I am also against *wasteful* spending. You are also entitled to your own incorrect opinions :)
To Mark: Ruth Miller has a business degree from Boston University (my alma mater), and I respect many of the tactics she has used to obtain a budget. I would not want her job for a million bucks. I place blame on the State and Federal governments for unfunded mandates and other unreasonable requirements. I think its time to rise up and say we aren't gonna take it any more.;
DeleteI'm speaking in general, Tom. What I wonder is why education managers always come from education. Why not industry? It seems like they move around a good deal.
DeleteDetroit is bankrupt and Chicago is also in bad shape. It was caused by poor management within government. Mass. has been using very optimistic projections for pension returns. The federal government is spending money it borrows from China. I think many Americans believe in Santa Claus, because we tolerate this irresponsible type of governance.
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ReplyDeleteYou talk like a "big dog" when no one knows who your are. ...just saying big dog
DeleteDarling I'm no big dog! :) however I know many people and always deliver in my promises.
DeleteBy the way huff n puff and poison ivy. I am a reasonable person and open to other ideas. If you can reasonably dispute any of the comments I have made, I will be quite happy to discuss and if you are correct I would soften my position against unhelpful and wasteful programs.
ReplyDelete