Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Thank you to Clarence Voters and the Kids who Rallied

Although the budget vote was ridiculously close, the board election was a blowout for the pro-school candidates, and for that we give thanks.

But.

On Tuesday, students rallied in support of their schools - in support of their education, and yes - in support of their teachers. During that rally, someone passing by in a car took the time to slow down, roll down a window, and yell at a 14 year-old girl and boy that they are "brainwashed scumbags".

Let me tell you what I think of that - are you paying attention, Ellie Corcoran? You, who claimed up and down how evil all of the parents and students are, while maintaining this phony sheen of decency?

Whoever would take the time to roll down a window and call a high school freshman a "brainwashed scumbag" is the lowest form of scum. If you want to ignore the kids, go right ahead. Indeed, that is what a reasonable adult would do if they disagreed with them or what they were doing.

But to take the time and effort to yell an epithet at a kid ranks among the most cowardly and pathetic thing an adult could do.

Let me share with you something I found on the internet - never mind who wrote it or where I found it. It was posted in direct response to yesterday's drubbing.

It appears that there are still plenty of people who are not bamboozled by the Clarence Teachers Ass. as indicated by the votes. I'm sure they will continue to stack the deck, slander and vilify anyone who opposes their kingdom. I am sure they feel righteous in what they are doing because that is what they have been brainwashed and conditioned to do.

To use the term "brainwashed" in a conclusory way - without any evidence - to describe a political foe is just lazy. No one was slandered by anyone, and no one is brainwashed. Just because someone doesn't see the world the way you have it skewed in you mind doesn't make them "brainwashed." Likewise, if someone takes a position counter to yours, it doesn't mean they've been "bamboozled". Again - lazy, conclusory name-calling is the mark of someone who pays scant attention and doesn't have the wherewithal to consider other points of view. 

The idea they are teaching children yet conduct themselves in a manner that suggests "win by any means", even if they have to exploit children and intimidate people is a sad state of affairs. 
Whose child was "exploited"? By whom was that child "exploited"? In what way were people "intimidated"? Did anyone call any of the school opponents a "brainwashed scumbag" yesterday? No. Clean your own damn house before you start bitching about other people's. 
They have forgotten for whom and why the school board exists. 
Um - the students. 

For them it is another domain they have claimed and will do anything in their power to hold on to. Unfortunately they don't realize the impact they are having on the tax paying residence of this community and the other community's around Erie County. 
*Residents. The taxpaying residents of Clarence are doing just fine, with their comparatively ultra-low taxes and excellent school system. I could go through the data and the fact that the author of this whinging diatribe pays less now in actual dollars in school taxes than he did in 2006, but there's no point. There is no rational argument that people like this will ever listen to or consider. None.
Unfortunately many folks will be forced to sell their homes and move to other places to sustain. I find it very disheartening that people that claim to have all this compassion and caring for children can be so ambivalent toward the tax paying citizens, all for their own greed. Please don't feel a need to respond to this, this is merely my opinion... I hope I can still keep that!
Greed. That's what this is about - the greedy, subhuman, brainwashing, horrible teachers. They are the root of all evil in this person's mind. They exploit children and are politically ruthless. Right? Getting rich on the government teat, with their "salary" and "benefits" and "pension" and "summers off".

Class warfare is all that is. Jealousy. "It's not fair" as the cry of the aggrieved tea party collectivist, ignorant of the inherent irony.

No one is "ambivalent toward the tax paying citizens" - least of all the teachers who, if you'll recall, also pay taxes. If they live in Clarence, their taxes are significantly lower than in other places. The taxpayer in Clarence has very little indeed to complain about if you compare it to similarly situated communities. No, we're not like Mississippi or Alabama, and thank God for that. Our schools actually function - especially Clarence.

No, I don't get a teacher's pension, but I don't sit here whining about it, and I don't try to fail school budgets over it. After all, it's state law - you can fail every fricking budget from now until eternity,  but it would have no effect on how pensions are statutorily set up.

The upshot of it is this - if you want be involved, do it. If you want to change the way public education is funded or regulated, go for it. Want to change the testing scheme? Knock yourself out. I might even help you.

But if you attempt time and time again to fail school budgets and fuck with my kids' education in order to make some impossible point, or for anything less than school board malpractice, then you're punishing children over your own political agenda.

That, my friends, is untenable.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

VOTE YES. VOTE MICHAEL FUCHS AND DENNIS PRIORE


Today is Tuesday, and the polls are open until 9pm. It is more critical than ever before that you vote YES, and that you vote for the only candidates who are acceptable for the Clarence school board.

MICHAEL FUCHS and 
DENNIS PRIORE

Our "MD" slate. 

Michael Fuchs is an incumbent and has served the district and its students and faculty well. He is against unsustainable cuts to educational opportunity for our kids, and wants to restore the district to its former excellence. He has worked for Rich Products for well over a decade, handling the finances of a huge local corporation. He has the skills, education, experience, and integrity to continue serving us well for the next 3 years. 

Dennis Priore is a longtime resident of Clarence and a former principal and school administrator. As a recent retiree, he has time, knowledge, experience, education, and skills to marshal in order to serve our district. He knows how budgets and union negotiations are made, and he has pledged to balance the needs of the students with the expectations of taxpayers.  

Michael & Dennis are the only candidates running for school board who are homeowners and school taxpayers. 

Michael & Dennis are the only candidates running for school board who are on the right side of this ongoing battle, and they won't let the students be further harmed by financial shenanigans or disastrous tea party austerity. 

As if that wasn't enough, let's take a look at one of their opponent's closing argument. It perfectly distills all of the reasons why he is an unacceptable and noxious candidate for a school board. Uneducated, inexperienced, with absolutely no credentials or resume, this person is all bluster and no substance. 


Let's examine. (All [sic]). 

Here are your CTA Endorsed Candidates for this election. The teachers union likes to say that they are "supporting our students" or “fighting for the children”. It's just as absurd to say the Iron Workers fight for steel, the UAW fights for cars and the Operating Engineers fight for heavy equipment. The unions exist solely for the benefit of their members and their own interest. The school board exists to represent the people of this town. The CTA does not need representation on the school board. They have things like the Triborough Amendment in place to stack the deck against students and taxpayers. If you think that the endorsement of these candidates by the CTA shows that these candidates put students and taxpayers first, you are sadly mistaken. 

It takes a special brand of malevolent cynicism to conclude that the teachers are full of shit when they say they're fighting for the children whom they teach. It takes an even more special type of ignorant, noxious attitude to assume that teachers are just in it for greed. 

Here's the thing that Joe doesn't understand - mostly because he evidently never so much as received an associate's degree after high school (his resume is a closely guarded secret he won't reveal) - teachers didn't attend 4 years of college and then an additional few years of postgraduate study to obtain their M.S. and teaching certificate in order to get rich. 

If they wanted to get rich, they could have gotten an MBA and traded commodities, or become entrepreneurs. Instead, they joined a noble profession for which Joe Lombardo has no respect. 

None. 

Some punk kid decides he doesn't like unions or teachers, (or teachers' unions), so he just accuses them all of being greedy pigs at the public trough, driving around in their Bentleys on their $60,000 median salaries, right? They couldn't possibly be in it for the love of teaching or the thrill of educating and molding young minds, because that sort of notion is not one that Lombardo has any concept of. 

An ironworker may be proud of the work that he or she does - constructing the skeletons of large buildings, and their union helps to ensure that they're paid a fair wage and receive decent benefits for their labor. A UAW member is proud of the product that he or she helps to manufacture, and wants to make sure that they're paid a fair wage and receive fair benefits for their labor. 

A teacher is proud of the work that he or she does - educating the next generation of Americans. Educating the kids who will heal Joe Lombardo when he's sick; who will represent him in court; who will manage or create the company he patronizes; who will entertain him on stage or screen; who will score a touchdown or hit a home run. You denigrate teachers, you denigrate the very foundation of our society. 
The veracity of unions in our schools is really taking its toll on student opportunities and taxpayer’s wallets.
That is not a sentence that has any reasonable meaning in the English language. Which taxpayer's wallet? "Veracity" means truthfulness. 

It’s such a blatant and rampant problem that even polar opposites such as Governor Cuomo and myself, recognize what’s going on. http://www.nydailynews.com/…/andrew-cuomo-rips-teacher-unio… Don’t be mislead by two candidates and a group of people who have established that they stand with an industry that collects $220 million annually to perpetuate and expand a gluttonous and overly generous contract in the name of education. 
Here's the question they'll never, ever answer:

How much do you think is a fair salary for a teacher? What do you think are fair benefits for a teacher? How would you - as a school board member - make changes to the state laws governing teacher pensions? How would you work around the Triborough Amendment and beat the teachers into submitting to your austerity wage cuts and slashing of benefits? 

85% of Clarence teachers are ranked as "highly effective" by the state. 

On what insane lunatic planet does someone institute punitive wage and salary cuts against a workforce that regularly exceeds expectations? Shall we have an army of the worst teachers who can't get a job anywhere else come and educate our kids for $10/hour and no benefits? 

It’s been shown time in and time out, that they put themselves ahead of everyone else, while sacrificing opportunities for students. 

I'll say it this way: Joe Lombardo must not have ever talked to a teacher and actually asked them what their job entails. He assumes they show up at 8, leave at 3, take summers off on the Cote d'Azure, and spend the rest of their time making sure their BMWs gleam in the sunlight. I'll say it this way, too: Joe Lombardo doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about. 

School districts have lost all bargaining power because entrenched politicians are paid off to write laws where the union will always come out the winner. 

And as a school board member, you'll do what about that, precisely? Start a coup? 

As a taxpayer, a resident, a parent or a student, you only have two choices in this election tomorrow.

That's right. MICHAEL FUCHS and DENNIS PRIORE. The only two candidates who are campaigning on a platform of stronger schools, rather than demonizing the very teachers who help make our district what it is today. 

MICHAEL FUCHS and DENNIS PRIORE are the only candidates who don't refer to teachers as "gluttonous," or use the pronoun "they" to describe these educators who repeatedly and consistently go above and beyond for our kids. 

MICHAEL FUCHS and DENNIS PRIORE are the only candidates who aren't pitting "us" against "them".  Literally - read Joe's thing again. It's all resentment, class warfare, and visceral hatred of teachers, and the notion that they be remunerated fairly. 

MICHAEL FUCHS and DENNIS PRIORE aren't afraid to put their resumes out there for the public to review and assess. 

The "J" in "J&J" stands for "joke". 

Vote Michael & Dennis.  You have until 9pm to do the right thing .

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Lombardo Attacks Priore

Poor Joey Lombardo. He took the time to access the wifi in mommy and daddy's house to excrete this:


Obviously, this kid is still smarting from how poorly he came across during the candidate forum earlier this week.

Coming from a kid who doesn't pay property or school taxes, perhaps Joe knows a thing or two about "gravy trains".

Dennis Priore was on the job educating kids for 36 years - since the 1970s; long before this kid was born. (They get all ornery when you accuse them of not supporting teachers; why, Joey's so fiscally responsible that he suggested the district should have bonded the restoration of 11 positions with a one-shot bit of borrowing. That's right - taking on debt with no state aid to fund teacher salaries - even Jason Lahti thought that was a ridiculous waste of breath.) A less fiscally prudent idea I've yet to hear.

In fact, it's barely an idea - it's a mouthnoise.

Anyone who thinks Dennis Priore doesn't deserve the retirement and pension he worked his adult life to earn is devastatingly wrong, and the notion offends even conservative sensibilities.

But since the person attacking a retiree's pension is some kid still dependent on mom and dad for the roof over his head, that displays a shocking lack of knowledge, intelligence, and seriousness wholly unbecoming of a public official.

Furthermore, Dennis Priore does a lot more than "squat". He volunteers his time with the Clarence Youth Bureau. He volunteers his time with his church, and with CSEF. (did Lombardo give so much as a cent to CSEF? No.)

Priore volunteers for non-profits like the Clarence PTO and the Choral Boosters. Dennis has earned our respect, he's earned his pension, and he gives back to the community.

All Joe Lombardo does is bitch and whine, mostly about taxes he doesn't even pay. Shame on him.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Petulant Candidate Doubles Down on Lottery Scheme

Joe Lombardo has things to say about the lottery. Let's examine. 
Since the people who incessantly ask for more taxes don't understand what happens with NYS Lottery money, I will briefly explain.
They're not asking for "more taxes" from you. You don't pay any to begin with. You live with mommy and daddy in their $500,000 property. 

Even more importantly, how disgusting and vile is it that funding of the schools is, in part, dependent on the lottery. Nevertheless, the NYS Lottery has raised over $35 billion for education in the state since its inception in 1967
#1- The lottery has decreased its revenue contribution to education from 55%, when it was founded, to 33% today.
#2- The lottery spends a larger portion on its own marketing and administration than ever before.
#3- The lottery has grown the size of its payouts considerably over the years. This allows the State to collect more income tax on the winnings which go directly into the coffers of Albany instead of to the schools.
So, Joe, why not run for NYS Comptroller? Assembly? Senate? Governor? Perhaps use your father's Republican connections to get yourself an appointment to the NYS Gaming Commission
The reallocation of how the lottery spends its money is pretty far outside the jurisdiction of a local school board trustee. "Pretty far outside" being a euphemism for "not at all within". 
We could also look at the most recent internal audit from the Lottery and determine that revenue in 2014 was $9.226 billion, and net proceeds for aid to education were at $3.173 billion in FY 2014. The 2014 revenue figures were up 3.3% over 2013, and aid to education was up 4.2% over the previous year. 
Why, Clarence is asking to increase its levy (not the tax rate) by 3.8% versus a cap of 4.8%. 
The NYS lottery has grown every year since its its inception in revenue, payouts, aid to education, and also in administrative fees. This is sort of what happens when things grow and become bigger. They cost more to operate. That's not necessarily indicative of failure or of being spendthrift. It just is. 
Furthermore, if you factor in federal aid, lottery money makes up a whopping 5% of total NYS school spending in a given year. Of its 2012 state aid, Clarence received about $5.7 million from the lottery. 
The decisions that affect how the lottery doles out education money versus how much it spends on overhead are ones that are not made within the halls of the Clarence Central School District, and Joe Lombardo would be as effective on that issue as, say, a housecat.
I do enjoy the "ulterior motives" in #3 - it's almost like reading Infowars! 
It's more likely that New York State increased the size of payouts to make the lottery more attractive to the poor schmucks who play it. It's also true that New York has joined some multistate games that have huge payouts. How New York State will generate more income tax from a Megamillions or Powerball winner in California or Michigan is anyone's guess, but our newest NYS Comptroller / School Board candidate has the answer, I'm sure!
A school board that claims to be fiscally responsible would pursue the exploitation of lottery funds instead of asking the local taxpayers for more and more. Those who cry that these are State issues and nothing can be done either don’t know what a school board is elected to do, or don’t want the system changed because it’s benefiting them.
Are you calling Mssrs. Showalter and Lahti fiscally irresponsible for failing to go after this lottery inefficiency!? 
Now, as far as what a school board does, let's ask the NYS School Board Association
Commitment to Public Education
A school board member takes on one of the most important citizen responsibilities: overseeing the education of the community’s youth. In these challenging times for public education, school boards are seeking men and women who find excitement and satisfaction in confronting tough challenges and working collegially to rise above them and help students in their communities succeed.
and 
Responsibilities of a Board Member
With schoolchildren always their ultimate focus, school board members act officially at the board table, working with other board members to serve students and accomplish the following:
  • Create a shared vision for the future of education
  • Set the direction of the school district to achieve the highest student performance
  • Provide rigorous accountability for student  achievement results
  • Develop a budget and present it to the community, aligning district resources to improve achievement
  • Support a healthy school district culture for work and learning
  • Create strategic partnerships with the community stakeholders
  • Build the district’s progress through continuous improvement
  • Adopt and maintain current policies
  • Hire and evaluate the superintendent
  • Ratify collective bargaining agreements
  • Maintain strong ethical standards
Did you see the part about, "go after the state lottery and the gaming authority?" No - hell, I don't even see anything beyond making sure the schools are as good as they can be. 
How much hard earned income or retirement you give up in taxes is just a joke to some people.
No. 
The joke is that a guy who doesn't pay a cent in property taxes would lecture schoolparents about how we need to fail the budget and elect him so that we can get more of our 1/670th of a share of lottery proceeds. Those of us who don't live a lifestyle that's subsidized by mommy and daddy; those of us who have actual responsibilities and care about the decline in the schools over the past 10 years are aghast at the sort of semi-informed and factually tangential manipulations of which this anti-schools crowd is capable. 
There's a joke, alright, and for the 3rd year in a row, the same crowd is trying out the same, tired joke on schoolkids. 
You know what else is a joke? 
That the people who want to fail the budget are too cowardly to come out and say so on their own signs and lit. They know how idiotic they'd look trying to fail a budget that's 1% under the cap, that they just left it out. 
Of course, it's more likely that they left it out to create confusion in the minds of people who pay scant attention, and to ensure that Joe Lombardo and Jacob Kerksiek aren't automatically associated with an ask for a "no" vote. 
That, my friends, is pretty much the dictionary illustration of coward
Michael Fuchs and Dennis Priore, on the other hand, are proud of their backing of a "yes" vote, and have allowed their names to be used on signage and literature asking for a "yes" vote. Michael Fuchs and Dennis Priore are not cowards - they are not embarrassed of their support for next year's budget. 
That's one of the many reasons why Michael Fuchs and Dennis Priore are the only acceptable choices for Clarence school board in 2015. 
Another? 
They're the only candidates who actually own their own homes and have a legal obligation to pay school taxes. 

Friday, May 8, 2015

Your New Assessment and School Taxes

So, my dear Clarence resident, your assessment went up? Shot up? I feel you. Your natural reaction is likely to be outrage, and you're probably very concerned about what this will do about your taxes - including school taxes. (If your assessment shot up by a ridiculous amount, CHALLENGE IT).

Let me talk you off the ledge. First:



1. YOUR TAXES ARE NOT LIKELY TO CHANGE DRAMATICALLY. As far as the school tax levy is concerned, that amount needed to be raised has already been determined - the increased value of the town isn't going to make the levy go up (or down); it will remain constant. That gross levy amount is divvied up to all property owners in proportion to their values, based on their property assessment. EVEN IF YOUR ASSESSMENT DOUBLED, THE SCHOOL TAX BILL SHOULD REMAIN THE SAME. In point of fact, because of the increased assessments, the school tax rate may actually decrease.  Home values are outpacing the increases in tax levies, and because many assessments seem to be in excess of the 3.8% hike in the school tax levy, it is a mathematical certainty that the school tax rate will decrease (again) to reflect the town's increased value.

2. The School District had nothing to do with this. Assessments are handled by the town, and the assessor, whom we share with Lancaster.

3. On the bright side, an increased assessment is a good thing; it is a reflection of the free market and indicates how desirable our town is. A townwide assessment like this hasn't been done in several years, and property values have shot up since the last one came around.

4. With respect to the school district and its role in your property value, the connection has never been more stark - your property value going up so dramatically is a reflection of the fact that, among other things, you live in a community that boasts a high performing, cost-effective district. If you're pissed off about your school taxes because of the re-assessments, don't be. After all, you're not going to be paying any more, and the low school taxes in Clarence as compared with other communities helped contribute to the increase in your property value.

5. ANYONE WHO TRIES TO USE THE REASSESSMENTS AS A REASON TO FAIL THE SCHOOL BUDGET IS WRONG. They're either being willfully ignorant, or they're deliberately lying, because the reassessment will NOT CHANGE YOUR SCHOOL TAXES. The levy of $75,392,337 has already been set, and if property values are going up, the rates will go down to raise that money. The rate is calculated by dividing the levy amount by the assessed value of the town.

Here are some more facts:

- The estimated tax rate ($15.37) that is in the proposed 2015-16 budget is based on total assessments that are not inclusive of the most recent re-valuations. The school district used the 2014-15 total assessed value numbers to determine the estimated tax rate. This is usually done in order to be conservative and to make sure that the actual tax rate determined in August when the final assessment numbers are in is lower than the estimated tax rate put out with the budget.

- The school tax levy doesn’t change, regardless of changes in the total assessed value for the towns that make up the school district. The tax levy is apportioned across the total assessed value in order to determine the tax rate. When the total assessed value increases, the estimated tax rate decreases because the levy is apportioned over a larger total assessed value.

- If there is a big jump in total assessed value for the towns that make up the school district, the estimated tax rate of $15.37 will certainly be lower. The one element to factor in is the exemption provided to veterans. That exemption will likely shift approximately 1% of the total tax levy to non-veterans. Increases above that 1% - which are highly likely given the fact that a number of homes were reassessed - will mean that the actual tax rate will be lower than $15.37.

- If you compare the published total valuations from the Town of Clarence website - the increase in value year over year would be $217,403,602. The tax rate would be $14.28 (you can go to the Town website to see the actual assessed value for the school districts).  Given that rate – a 200K house that was reassessed at 215K would have a total tax bill of $110 – in line with what the district estimated.  (Caution – the town numbers are estimates at this point and do not include challenges and other factors – they will not be final until the summer).

- NYS provided the district with a town "true growth factor "of 1.5% (prior to reevaluations) so the district is very confident that the actual tax rate will be much lower than the estimated rate of $15.37

- It is worth remembering that the increase in taxes year over year will be rebated to homeowners by the state in November.

Please don't let people take advantage of others' misunderstanding about this process. One anti-school board candidate is so afraid of the truth, and of people correcting his misstatements, that he goes on wild deletion sprees every day.

Know that anyone who tries to exploit the reassessments in order to fail a school budget is playing games, manipulating the truth with propaganda. Frankly, anyone who says the reassessments should reinforce the need to fail the budget - you know, like this:



Thursday, May 7, 2015

Unprincipled and Unethical School Opponents

Ellie Corcoran and her candidate, Master Joe Lombardo, made as much political hay as they possibly could from some correspondence Corcoran had with Middle School Music Teacher Nancy Benz.

In the past few years, 9 music teachers have been let go from the district, and Benz must now do the work of two teachers. Corcoran - who pays 33% less in school taxes on her home than in 2006, and Lombardo - who pays no school tax whatsoever because he lives with mom and dad - have the gall to accuse Benz of whining.

Regardless of what you thought of Benz's letter, here is the text of something she sent to me several days ago:

"Unfortunately, a private email was sent out for public comment without my permission". 

I also wanted to point out, within the context of the fact that it was a private correspondence that Corcoran and Lombardo had no permission to publish, this reaction from someone:


"Destructive class envy proponent".

"She should be held accountable for her irresponsible comments."

Held accountable how?

Irresponsible how?

She expresses her opinion, experience, and point of view and she must be publicly vilified and, on top of that, subject to some sort of punishment?

What does "destructive class envy proponent" even mean?

These people will not rest until they privatize public education and either force you to move, or hand you, let's say, a $4,000 voucher to help you pay to send your kids to private or parochial schools, which cost more than twice that for each kid at even the cheapest private school.

If they get their way, here is Clarence's future:


Tuesday, May 5, 2015

The Dog & Pony Show


Ellie Corcoran says that I "lie", but what she really means is that I don't let her get away with her own lies. It's not as easy as in 2013, right? I can understand the frustration.

It's not as easy as in 2013 when Joe Lombardos Senior and Junior teamed up with Junior's girlfriend to deface a picture of current board member and 2013 candidate Tricia Andrews. As she tells it,

It was Joe, Danica and Joe's dad... They sat in the front row on candidates night... They had either the Bee ad with our pictures and write ups, or the district budget paper... I think it was the Bee though... They had Joe [DiPasquale] and me crossed out (our pictures that were in the paper with big red x's)...when we talked especially when I talked Danica would stick out her tongue, Joe made faces... all rolled their eyes and shook their heads whenever we spoke and held up the paper with our pictures crossed out. I should have ignored it but even when I wasn't speaking they just stared at me and instead of me looking away I stared back and got into a staring contest. Mind you I just had been diagnosed with whooping cough and had a 103 fever. So it was an all out perfect night. The administrators were sitting about 7 rows back and never saw this going on.
These people are petulant and mean children. Schoolyard bullies. We will not let them get away with this sort of behavior - behavior that is violative of the school district's rules of conduct - again.

In the meantime, let's analyze a letter our brave truth-teller Ellie Corcoran wrote to the Buffalo News in 2013:

Clarence needs to teach students ethics, respect
Recently, an outrageous Clarence school budget with a 9.8 percent tax increase was voted down. This budget was of great concern to all Clarence residents. The behavior of school district employees was not only intimidating, but displayed a complete lack of disregard for anyone who opposed it. As a former teacher and senior citizen, I believe the most egregious act was the involvement of children to get a favorable vote.

It would seem to me that there is nothing more honorable than having kids be involved in their future, and in elections. 


Students were told to make sure their parents voted “yes” or their favorite programs would be gone. 

And that would have come to pass, had parents not rallied to raise the almost $300,000 needed to restore those programs. 


They wrote glowing compositions about their school and were encouraged to read them at public budget meetings; and their attempt at guilt toward taxpayers displayed an unprofessional “dog and pony” show effect. 
What is disrespectful or unethical about kids speaking up for themselves and their school? 

On the day of the election, students lined Main Street with “Yes” signs and shouts to anyone driving by. Eighteen-year-old students, who never paid a property tax in their life, were encouraged to vote yes. 

The kids line Main Street with vote "yes" signs every single year. 2013 was no exception. 

But as for the kids not paying a property tax - Jacob Kerksiek and Joe Lombardo, Jr. don't pay school taxes now. They cannot credibly complain about unsustainable taxes because they are not invested in the district; they do not pay the taxes about which they complain.


Furthermore, “Vote no” signs displayed by senior citizens were vandalized or removed. I spoke to parents who were opposed to the tax hike, but were afraid to voice their opinions for fear of retaliation toward their children. At the May 28 budget meeting, the audience booed a senior gentleman as he tried to speak on behalf of seniors.
For sure, the vandalism and removal of signs is a despicable act, but you certainly can't indict all the kids for the acts of an unknown few. Furthermore, those budget hearings were quite contentious, and I recall quite a few boos and hecklers from the "no" side directed at school supporters. Something about stones and glass houses comes to mind. 
Yet the fact of the matter is that teachers contribute only 8 percent toward their health care and administrators contribute nothing; and contributions to their hefty pensions are minimal. Many Clarence senior residents, as well as lower-income families, simply cannot afford an increase in property taxes so that Clarence staff members can have this luxury. Yet senior citizens were mocked for their efforts to defeat the budget by the same people who had everything to gain.
Seniors? What do they have to gain? Students? They weren't fighting to "gain", but to "keep", and they were, in the end, unsuccessful without private intervention. Teachers? They didn't retaliate against anyone. In point of fact, it is the lower-income families who send kids to the district who suffer the most when these budgets fail. They don't have the resources to find private alternatives like wealthier homes can. 
What happened in Clarence during the last few months was disgraceful, but the lack of professionalism displayed by staff members taught children an ugly lesson. Perhaps ethics and respect should be a major part of the core curriculum in Clarence Schools.Ellie Corcoran
Who better to condescendingly lecture school supporters about ethics and professionalism than the woman who wrote this?

Monday, May 4, 2015

A 60% Increase in Teacher Salary in Just 6 Years! #RespectTheTaxpayer

Ellie Corcoran says I'm fat and ugly. Here's what I say: she's a hypocrite. How do I know? A tipster sends along these bits of information.

Recall that Ellie said (all sic):

I too was a teacher, and avery good one, so I know money doesn't make a good school. In fact, I had 34kids in a classroom w/ no aide in the inner city. Do you think you could dothat? I also have a masters degree. I only made $10,000, however, when Itaught, and I loved it. My life is not unhappy, and yes, there are wealthypeople in Clarence; but there are plenty who are strapped, and who have losttheir jobs, and these increases can't continue. If these librarians andteachers were so important, why weren't they reinstated instead ofpurchasing artificial turf, or holding classes in gourmet food, interiordecorating, foods around the world. It's pretty easy when you spend someoneelse's money. Why don't you chip in a little more for your health benefits,if you care so much. In fact your salaries are pretty decent for workingonly 9 months. I don't begrudge the salary you make, but I do get prettysick and tired of all the bragging I hear, and how wonderful you are. Education is supposed to teach you problem solving and to think outside ofthe box and find creative thought provoking solutions. Yet, all I hear is"Let the taxpayer" pay for it; but you never look at the seniors on fixedincomes or people who are struggling now. Open up your eyes, Nancy. Theother 1/2 is out there, also, and someday you'll hopefully realize you justcan't have it all...especially at someone else's expense....so quit yourwhining and act like a professional.

Ellie graduated Boston College in 1962.


She was hired as a kindergarten teacher in the Boston schools in 1963:


According to the inflation calculator, $4980 in 1963 is the equivalent of $38,200, and that's for a first-year kindergarten teacher with just a bachelor's! Here is the current salary schedule for the Clarence CTA:


The salary for a 1st year Boston schoolteacher with a B.A. in 1963 was almost identical, given inflation, to that of a 1st year Clarence schoolteacher with a B.A. in 2014.

In 1970, Ellie came up again at the Boston school board, but now her salary was $7900!

You guessed it - $7900 in 1970 is the equivalent of $47,791, about the same as a teacher in Clarence with a B.A. at step 9

You'll notice that Ellie's total raise in pay from 1963 - 1970 was a whopping 59%! That was in just 6 years, to boot! It takes a Clarence teacher 9 steps to make that kind of pay raise. 

It just goes to show you, what's good for the goose is "unsustainable" for the gander. 

This is hypocrisy at its most rank. 

Friday, May 1, 2015

How Not to Be a Bully, By Ellie Corcoran


Then: 


She came back for more, because "bully". 


And the piece de resistance: 





Joe Lombardo and Ellie Corcoran Put a Teacher in Her Place

Mrs. Benz works in the beleaguered and understaffed Clarence Middle School music department. Unlike you or me, her livelihood is left up to an annual plebiscite. I'm sure being short-staffed and being made to be the scapegoat for every perceived tax ill is exasperating. She sent a letter to Ellie Corcoran, who is leading the anti-school effort this year, and candidate Joe Lombardo responded (in red below). 

It's not a letter I would have written, nor would I have counseled her to write such a letter. It's aggressive and somewhat obnoxious. But it exists, and we can handle it. What's more interesting here is Mr. Lombardo's response. He is, after all, running to be a trustee of this school district, and how he responds to an angry teacher speaks volumes about the kind of board member he would make. tl;dr: don't let this guy within a mile of that board. 


The administration cannot cut mandated classes, so it has no choice but to go after enrichment and extracurriculars. You guys hate it because the optics of kids losing teams, clubs, and activities is horrible, and because it energizes and motivates parents to react.

Bringing up your "motivation" for running is an interesting point, however. After all, Joe, you don't pay school taxes in the district; you don't own a home and you don't own real property in Clarence. You live in the home your father and mother own, and in 2014 they paid 11% less in taxes on their $500,000 property than they did in 2006.


From $6,234 to $5,524.  An 11% drop seems pretty sustainable.

Why is a "zero increase in the payroll" important? They're not even entitled to a raise that's in line with the rate of inflation? Are you going to try and break the contract, revoke teacher's contractual raises and risk spiraling the district into litigation? Would you spend taxpayer money on frivolous retribution and lawsuits, putting further pressure on the school budget? This is utter madness, and completely irresponsible. 



Correction: 96% of property taxes that Erie County collects do go to pay for Medicaid. But so what? That's a meaningless statistic, based on the fact that it's still less than 20% of the total county budget. Furthermore, county taxes have nothing whatsoever to do with school taxes. 

As school trustee, what does Joe Lombardo think he'll do to lower the Medicaid burden on Erie County? (Spoiler alert: nothing, because it has nothing to do with anything. It's just a way for anti-tax people to throw shade at the poor.)

From this report

In New York State, the State government requires county governments to administer and provide Medicaid services and to pay a portion of the cost of Medicaid. Until 2006, counties generally paid 25% of the total cost of Medicaid, the State paid 25%, and the federal government paid 50%. This was not an exact ratio of county share expense, as certain adjustments to the funding formula, including in long term care and nursing home expense starting in 2004 reduced county share expense...
...Presently, due to these various funding adjustments and also due to the State’s “Medicaid Cap” process, the Erie County share of Medicaid expense is approximately 15%. That said, the County’s annual expense for Medicaid-MMIS is still the single-largest appropriation account in our operating budget.
and


98% of the county budget does NOT go to Medicaid. If Lombardo can't get that simple fact right, he can't be trusted to handle a $75 million school budget. 

Benz's point wasn't that Clarence doesn't pay for its Sheriff protection; her point is that other communities help pay for Clarence's police protection. We also use the State Police, which means that taxpayers from outside the region pay for our protection. Well, young Mr. Lombardo seems to be a fan of wealth redistribution!


Yeah, I could have lived without this quip from Benz. The reason "Johnny" or "Jane" might get a ride in the morning is because the bus run is later in the morning and parents have to get to work, and can't wait around until after 8am for the bus to show up. But that doesn't mean we don't need buses, or that we don't need to replace aging and inefficient buses. 

Furthermore, Lombardo doesn't understand the difference between the operating budget and a capital bus proposal - $4 per year is the tax burden to buy safe, new buses. What Lombardo is telling me here is that he wants the kids to be on aging, inefficient buses that use more fuel (wasteful), and that break down more frequently (safety issue). Some trustee. 

But notice too that Lombardo doesn't understand that property taxes are not based on "percentage of income"; they are based on value of property. Lombardo's own property is worth zero dollars, so he has the luxury of paying zero dollars in property and school taxes. 

Another sarcastic quip, and he responds with a sarcastic quip. How many of these teachers whom you so despise spend money in the community now

So, as school trustee you will go to Albany, change the state constitution, and otherwise fundamentally change the way that New York State operates? How, precisely, will you do that? 

But according to this study, New York is 41st in property taxes, and does not pay "2-3 times the national average in school taxes". Westchester, Nassau, and Suffolk might pay that, but not Erie County. But even more significant is that Lombardo's campaign started out by demanding local authority and control of the school district, yet compare that to

“The more emphasis you put on local autonomy, the more you’re going to have local taxes picking up some of what, in other areas of the country, would tend to be state-level responsibilities,” says Joan Youngman, senior fellow at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, a Cambridge, Mass.-based think tank that researches land taxation issues. “When there’s an emphasis on local government, it often means there’s an emphasis on property tax.”
See what's happening here? 

That's weird, I don't get to vote on my electric or gas bill, and those are monopolies. I don't get to vote on my cable service, and that's a monopoly. I don't get to vote on the town budget, and they hold a "monopoly on community service", so Lombardo is full of shit here. 

Vouchers? That is huge. Lombardo is signaling that he is in favor of fundamentally dismantling the Clarence Central School District and privatizing education. The cost to send a kid to, say, Nichols or Nardin is $16,000 per year. Each. My school taxes to send two kids to Clarence schools is about $4,000, and it's based on the value of my home. 

Lombardo wants to give me a voucher for $4,000 to send my two kids to some private school? Or to enable families to take their "voucher" money out of the district and completely decimate public education in the town? 

This isn't a struggling district that justifies charters or vouchers - it's the 3rd best district in all of WNY. It used to, of course, be 1st, and had never until 2013 been below 2nd place, but systematic dismantling of public education over the past few years has jump-started the decline. 


You do not think that teaching is "noble" or "important".  You think that teaching is minimum-wage work. We didn't have a "lesser product" until the tax levy went down - go look at the tax records I posted above. The decline came from divestment. You would continue that. 

War on teachers and teaching. Clarence teachers are 13th highest paid: to say they're 10th is a lie. 13th is a verifiable, Google-able fact. 

UPDATE: On Facebook, Joe Lombardo's girlfriend takes me to task, arguing that the teachers are 10th highest paid in Erie County. So what? Counties don't set the rate of pay, so arbitrarily removing Niagara Falls, Niagara-Wheatfield, and North Tonawanda from the tote is nothing more than a cynical way to make Clarence teachers bigger villains and to artificially massage your point. Politics at its worst.  

Only veteran teachers with 20+ years of service earn anywhere near $90,000, which is a comfortable wage for a veteran professional of any sort. If you don't like the horrible health benefits that Americans put up with in the private sector, maybe you should work to improve the health benefits that Americans receive, earn, and pay for in the private sector. Resenting the teachers for having good health insurance, given that they're only paid for 10 months of work and work far longer hours than the actual school day without extra remuneration seems fair. 

UPDATE: A teacher writes that, "One of his bullet points regarding healthcare for life is a lie, we're on our own when we retire." So, there's that too. 

But wait for it...


Ms. Benz is a 25-year veteran of the Clarence School District. If $93,000 is too much, how much do you think she should be paid, Lombardo? How much pay would you take away from her? How much would you stick it to her on her health insurance? 

Ms. Benz's letter may have been intemperate and unprofessional, but she didn't make it public. Lombardo did, and his reply is not only factually inaccurate, but just as unprofessional and completely unbecoming of a putative trustee. 

There's more, though.  Here is Ellie Corcoran's own reply: 


Please don't tell me about the lives you touch. I too was a teacher, and avery good one, so I know money doesn't make a good school. In fact, I had 34kids in a classroom w/ no aide in the inner city. Do you think you could dothat? I also have a masters degree. I only made $10,000, however, when Itaught, and I loved it. 

What year is this that you made $10,000? Teaching has changed a lot since the early 60s, and we now know that class size makes a huge difference. That's why private schools advertise their small class sizes. If you're saying that teachers nowadays should operate the same way you operated in, say, 1963, that would ignore 50 years' worth of research and data on what makes a good and efficient educational system. 

My life is not unhappy, and yes, there are wealthypeople in Clarence; but there are plenty who are strapped, and who have losttheir jobs, and these increases can't continue. 
Poor Ellie Corcoran. Making do with a 33% drop in her school taxes as compared with 2006: 


If these librarians andteachers were so important, why weren't they reinstated instead ofpurchasing artificial turf, or holding classes in gourmet food, interiordecorating, foods around the world. 
The artificial turf was voted on, and approved 2:1 with an historically high turnout. Capital projects cannot, by law, be paid for through the operating budget, and the state will cover 70% of the cost. There are no courses in "gourmet food, interiordecorating [sic], foods around the world" because you helped abolish the home & careers department in 2013. You can't even be bothered to take your BS semi-information and verify its truth before vomiting it out of your keyboard. 

You have a fundamental misunderstanding and ignorance about how the school budget works. 

It's pretty easy when you spend someoneelse's money. Why don't you chip in a little more for your health benefits,if you care so much. In fact your salaries are pretty decent for workingonly 9 months. I don't begrudge the salary you make, but I do get prettysick and tired of all the bragging I hear, and how wonderful you are.
How DARE people praise the teachers who help to educate their kids?! How DARE these people earn a living wage with good benefits? 

Education is supposed to teach you problem solving and to think outside ofthe box and find creative thought provoking solutions. 
Great point! So, name one "out ofthe box" or "creative" solution that you or Showalter or Lahti have proposed. 

Yet, all I hear is"Let the taxpayer" pay for it; but you never look at the seniors on fixedincomes or people who are struggling now. Open up your eyes, Nancy. Theother 1/2 is out there, also, and someday you'll hopefully realize you justcan't have it all...especially at someone else's expense....so quit yourwhining and act like a professional.
Whining vs. resentment.

To reiterate: brave Joe Lombardo, who really showed this uppity teacher, doesn't pay any school taxes because he doesn't own his own home. He lives with his parents.

Joe Lombardo's parents, for their part, own a $500,000 property with an agricultural tax break (we pay for that), and the school tax on that property is 11% lower now than in 2006.

Ellie Corcoran's property is charged 33% less in school taxes in 2014 than in 2006.

And you have the nerve to accuse this overworked teacher, who is now doing the work that used to be done by two, of whining?

Vote YES and Vote "MD" for Michael Fuchs and Dennis Priore on May 19th. Anything else would help elect whining liars.