More Coffee, Please

Some day, I’m sure, I’ll have the time to mention something other than district finances. But until that day comes…

Maybe I can get the school board to approve a clothing allowance.

Mr. Neil Moriarty’s lawsuit against the district pretty much went nowhere. From what I understand, the judge was faintly amused about what the big deal was, since Mr. Moriarty finagled his position back not long after.

As for the issue of “joint” meetings, apparently the judge thought the language ought to be cleaned up, but not worth ruling on.

The video will soon be posted here, as well as other budget and school board items. It should be worth watching.

In other lawsuits…

The town of Sullivan is facing a counter lawsuit from the Hoffman family for misuse of funds and to call a halt to the town’s suit over early retirement. They want the selectmen to call a halt to the suit until the town has had a chance to review and vote as to whether they should continue it or not.

They’re also asking the selectmen to reimburse the district for their legal fees. I imagine, given that Sullivan is paying both for the the suit and for the defense, this would probably help them a little with their taxes.

The video of the budget committee meeting on January 3 is now up.

The conversation at the start is fascinating. People can also check out the 1:53 – 2:01 minute marks for some interesting moments.

I think what’s most amazing about MC² is a student with an interest in learning about civics can see it in action. We have a group of kids who show up to school board meetings, speak at deliberative sessions, and get involved. This is what we want our citizens to be capable of, and it’s marvelous they are.

They know Robert’s Rules of Order, too.

On the other hand, it’s also marvelous when any kid does so. I know of at least four at MRHS who are getting involved, who are tired of seeing what doesn’t happen in their school. That’s not many, but wouldn’t it be marvelous if the next time there’s a court case involving the school, every freshmen in 9th grade Civics spends a week researching the background and then goes to see it?

What a wonderful field trip that would be.

For those who are keeping an eye on things, and want to know when school board and budget committee meetings are, the link is on the school district webpage. The next meeting is tomorrow, January 15.

The real meeting to pay attention to is February 2, at the deliberative session. It’s possible to change a budget—up or down—there as well. Mark your calendars.

On Thursday, the budget committee cut one million dollars from the school district budget.

I’m having a hard time understanding something: Why not just ask for the resignation of the administration?

Assuming positive intentions, the only way it makes sense to cut that much money from a budget is if the members who voted to do so truly do not believe that the schools are asking for what they need, but instead are asking for more, knowing they’ll get less.

If that’s the case, then it’s clear they don’t trust the people who have been hired to give them good information. If they don’t trust them, then they should really ask them to go.

There’s only a touch of facetious here. In every job I’ve worked, I’ve depended on my superiors to do what they said they would, and in turn, I’ve needed to be trusted to handle my own tasks well, without anyone looking over my shoulder. I may make mistakes, but I firmly believe that everyone on either side of the conversation knows that the mistake came from the best of intentions.

But if my superiors truly believed I was lying to them, I think they would be justified in asking me to leave. If I thought they were lying to me, or wouldn’t do what they said they were doing, then I would want to go. ¹

Otherwise, cutting one million dollars from the budget makes little sense. It’s not as if there were careful deliberation, a balancing of numbers and the realization “there’s some fat here to be trimmed.” No, this was “I make a motion” followed by “I second” and then an 8-7 vote and “poof!” a million dollars down the drain, and schools need to figure out what to cut.

I don’t think rational citizens would do such a thing, unless they secretly doubted that all was needed? And if they doubt, then they should hire people they trust…?

Just a thought.

As Dr. Kaplan pointed out so eloquently, the by-laws of the budget committee seemingly do not allow an individual to hold two town offices at once:

Because the committee depends on the public trust of its impartiality and authority for its recommendations to be approved by the voters, members should avoid any actions that create a conflict of interest or that give the appearance of a conflict of interest. [emphasis added]

If this is true, then this might be something which should be rectified. Integrity is a hard taskmaster, and should be endeavored in all things to be strictly adhered to.

Just a thought.

There’s a warrant article scheduled to remove the budget committee entirely. It was tried two years ago, and failed, and now is being tried again.

For the record, the MRSD is the only local community with a budget committee, and one of the few in the country. I’m wondering what purpose is really served?

Just a thought.

While I’m thinking of the budget committee, a quick review:

Swanzey has six members, and 1.238 votes.
Richmond has one member, and 1.177 votes
Fitzwilliam has two members, and 1.17 votes
Troy has two members, and 1.072 votes
Gilsum has one member, and .849 votes.
Sullivan has one member, and .815 votes
Surry had one member, and .738 votes
Roxbury has one member, and .259 votes
There’s a school board rep, with .249 votes.

I understand the reason for the lack of “one man, one vote” the budget committee is adhering to. It makes sense for the population in the district.

But it doesn’t seem right to take all six members of Swanzey, which according to the 2006 census has a population of 7,320 and 1,467 children to match the votes of Richmond, which has a population of 1,172 and 271 school age children.

I’m also wondering why Fitzwilliam and Troy, which are both far larger than Richmond, have smaller vote totals.

It doesn’t strike me as a terribly well thought out division. I understand that we want to ensure smaller towns have a voice, but a Senate brokered by a Connecticut Compromise this does not seem to be.

Can anyone explain to me why it’s like this?

1 I think the darkest day in my working career was the moment I realized that, even with the best of intentions, one of my superiors might not be capable of seeing outside the box enough to really effect the kind of change discussed. It wasn’t a failure of action, but of vision—the individual truly couldn’t imagine how to do the things that needed to be done, even though they wanted to see it happen. They could see the destination, they knew where they were, but every step along the way did nothing to help get to the end. I couldn’t stay there, after that. ↺

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Budget Committee, Monadnock Community Connections School, Monadnock Regional School District, School Board, School Funding

Gregarious

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