Budget

First off, I am not going to state whether to vote YES or NO on the budget or for that matter how I am going to vote. I am not against the teachers in any way either – how they put up with some of these parents I’ll never know. I do have to say that the furlough would have been a win, win and that the teachers lost much more than they’ve gained, but they are not politicians, they are teachers, and they listened to some bad advice. On the other hand, these teachers probably know full well that significant cuts can be made that will not affect programs or students. The root of the problem is that voters have pretty much bottomed out on trust of the BOE. What needs to happen in order to pass the District 13 budget is that most of the BOE members & Superintendent have to stop playing their endless head games with the public whom they deem as not intelligent enough to see their hidden agenda. This is no delusion on my part and let me give you several examples:

1) Several years ago the BOE resubmitted the same budget back to the public w/o change when they claimed that they couldn’t interpret the NO vote. They couldn’t tell if it was voted down because of a RESULTANT 3 MIL INCREASE or the elimination of a part-time library position. “My, that’s a tough one to figure out”. Now at a recent meeting before sending the budget back for a THIRD vote Mr. Hennick entertained the idea again after listening to a resident’s suggestion who said reduce it by a $1 and send it back for a revote. He recanted it quickly but the sentiment was clear. Some people never learn!

2) When the new Durham Town Charter was up for voting there were several additional questions on the ballot. One was “Should the BOE members be voted in the General Election”. The public voted YES. Was anything changed by our leaders and the powers to be? NO! Of course the Charter committee who was against this in the first place sneaked in the statement “This method of election is contingent on the approval of a District referendum providing for a four-year term for the Regional Board of Education. Otherwise, the method will revert to the previous method of election by town meeting.” I and others are still waiting for that District referendum. Well the BOE, who also was strongly against it, managed to somehow sandbag the process. SO MUCH FOR THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE. Of course their reason was that it would politicize the BOE. Well Mr. Hennick was just up for re-election against a Republican contender last month and both parties were fervently behind each candidate even though they objected to their way of handling the affairs of the BOE. So much for that theory.

3) For the many years I have been living in Durham, why hasn’t the BOE sent out a confidential survey to all taxpayers to solicit candid and truthful information about what people are looking for in a district-wide education system. An expense well spent and they could do it, if it was on-line, to be based on a unique Tax ID to prevent padding it. It could ask: What programs are important? What are not? How important is this dual elementary program to parents? They may be surprised by the result. Many people, as the BOE knows full well, are very intimidated to speak their mind at the meetings for fear of being ostracized by there neighbors or are just fed up with the BOE's tactics. I remember when Maryanne Board was first elected she did the same thing for the town itself (not education), so it’s doable and it was helpful. If the BOE does not perform this simple effort, then I can only conclude that 1) they do not want to hear the truth, 2) and are perfectly content with listening to the same very one-sided voices at the meetings. They can stick to their usual stance that "we will only listen to those who come to the meeting", but then don’t complain later about being blind sighted.

4) Number #3 is a good lead into this next issue: There was a survey on the Durham Town Web Site several years ago when the budget was first voted down. It solicited voter feedback on several questions as to why voters turned down the budget to try to interpret the “NO” vote. I was monitoring it very closely and over the course of many days the selection that was in the lead was “Because the budget was too high”. It was way ahead of the other one “because too much was cut”. If memory serves me right it was 1000+ to 700+ but don’t quote me. Then “magically” the results were reset and the final results were inconclusive. Nothing was documented to the board or in the TownTimes. What happened to the results!

5) I hear over and over again from the BOE that the public overwhelmingly voted for the sports complex. WRONG AGAIN. What the public voted for was the roofs, wells, and a sports complex. To combine into a single referendum a safety issue that could result in loss of life with an extravagant expenditure is reprehensible. It is equivalent to extortion. “Vote for our elaborate sports complex or we’ll have the roofs cave in and leave the water unsafe to drink”. Yes the track condition was unsafe and I for one walked the area and was supportive of completely replacing it along with the tennis courts, but AS IS! When did it go from THAT to this extravagant colossal project? This was complete trickery and game playing on the BOE’s part. Also if the BOE didn’t want the expense of two bonds to submit, one for the roofs / wells and the other for the sports complex, why didn’t they pose the referendum to the public as a series of 3 incremental questions: 1) Do you want only the roofs / wells replaced, 2) Do you want the Roofs / wells replaced along with the track and tennis courts AS IS 3) Do you want 1 & 2 plus the sports complex? Simple and no misinterpretation of a NO vote. They did not do this because they knew that question 2 would have had the most votes and number 3 would not. I hear over and over again that this was put to a vote and people voted for it – It’s a done deal. That may be so and that is the democratic process, but the BOE has to act with fiscal prudence and not present to the people a totally irresponsible expense in the first place, especially when there is no way we can possibly maintain such a complex.

6) This shell game that is going on with this current budget, with its so-called round of cuts, is simply ridiculous and is a new low and needs no explanation as I think most are seeing right through it.

The final result of this game playing by the BOE is that you not only have the town of Durham divided with senior citizens against parents, but you also have a district that is strongly divided – Durham and Middlefield. These wounds will never heal until the BOE becomes a more honest and transparent institution.

VOTING NO, BUT WISHING I COULD VOTE YES

With its willingness to spend millions for athletic facilities while cutting language and other important programs, the Board forces me to vote "no." If that wasn't enough, the use of "reserves" as budget-reducing gimics and the cozy realtionship with the unions has undone any confidence I had left in the Board. We need a long range plan from members who can balance needs and wants. Not this bob-and-weave, year-by-year stuff we've been seeing. I don't want to vote "no," but it seems the only responsible choice.