Public Hearing on Veteran's Exemption: 12/15 at 6pm at Ledgeview

The regularly scheduled Clarence Board of Education meeting takes place on Monday December 15th at 7pm at Ledgeview Elementary's library. 

At 6pm, however, there will be a public hearing on the proposed school tax exemption for veterans. 

Most Clarence taxpayers are likely willing to honor our veterans, and would support a school tax exemption for them - even given the fact that school taxes would have to be raised on the rest of us to cover the difference. 

However, people should make sure that the school board doesn't do what they just did in Niagara-Wheatfield. Specifically, no decision should be made until we have all the information in as to how this will affect non-veteran taxpayers and their STAR exemptions. 

See this article in the Buffalo News regarding what just happened in Niagara-Wheatfield: 

Although the financial impact of the alternative veteran’s exemption was sketchy, five board members agreed to accept the resolution following a public hearing on the issue on Wednesday night.

The tax exemption will provide veterans a reduction on residential property assessments prepared after March 1 for school tax calculation. The law covers combat, wartime and disabled veterans with respective exemptions of $6,000, $4,000 and $10,000 on their assessments. The maximum exemption a veteran could receive would be a total of $20,000 for one who served in combat and was disabled.

No board members said they opposed the exemption but most wanted to know how the plan would impact other taxpayers.

We shouldn't have a problem supporting the exemption, but we should demand that the details of how it would affect the district and non-veteran taxpayers be a prerequisite to any vote. 

Furthermore, at least a few of the veterans lobbying for the exemption have not exactly been supporters of the district in the past. If an exemption is passed, Clarence voters should echo the concerns of Niagara-Wheatfield board member Gina Terbot, who noted: 

Terbot, who said some in the district said they would not support the district’s budget in May if the exemptions passed, told the 16 veterans at the meeting to come out and help get the budget passed.

Meanwhile, they're having a tough time in the Iroquois district, too. If the exemption passes there, 

...homeowners would pay an additional 1.5 percent in taxes to make up for the exemption.

Had the exemption been in effect for the 2014-15 school year, Iroquois district residents would have paid between $24 and $24.40 more per $100,000 of assessed valuation.

But it's not as simple as just that. 

George explained that the district’s reimbursement through the School Tax Relief Program, or STAR, would be affected by the alternative veterans exemption.

The state reimburses school districts for veterans who have a zero exemption on their school tax bills through Enhanced STAR.

However, the alternative veterans exemption comes off tax bills first, and the balance is removed by Enhanced STAR, which means the state would no longer be required to reimburse the difference to the school districts.

That puts more of the tax levy on the rest of the residents.

“A lot of these veterans have a zero exemption,” George said. “So this 1.5 figure is low; it will be higher.”

Board member Thomas D. DiScipio questioned whether it’s fair to offer the exemption to one group and exclude others who could also benefit from tax relief.

“There are some residents in this district who aren’t veterans and are in financial dire straits,” DiScipio pointed out.

One thing that the school boards in Iroquois and Niagara-Wheatfield can agree on is that it's unbelievably irresponsible for the governor and the state legislature to make local school boards shoulder not only the political burden of dealing with the implementation of this exemption, but by not funding it and requiring other taxpayers to foot the bill from within the district. 

If it is to be the policy of New York State to implement these sorts of exemptions, then it should be implemented everywhere, and the state should cover the cost.

Clarence Schools Bond Proposal Passes: Real Work Begins

What are you doing the next seven weeks?

If you care about Clarence schools, you'll be joining the effort to pass the two bond resolutions to finance 30% of critically needed repairs and upgrades to the district's buildings & grounds; the remaining 70% will be covered by the state.

Monday night, the school board voted 6-1 to bring the resolutions to the voters in a special referendum on November 18th. Roger Showalter was the sole "no"vote.

There appears to be no debate over that portion of this capital project that deals with repairs and mandated upgrades to the school buildings and bus garage. Roofs are in critical need of repair, many buildings need asbestos abatement, and other items relating to health and safety need immediate attention. These are problems that have, in some cases, not been addressed in generations.

There was, however, some concern-trolling from Mssrs. Showalter and Lahti over the proposal to replace some high school playing fields with modern artificial turf and a new scoreboard, and it's easy to dismiss this part of the project as optional or frivolous.

Well, it would be, except for the fact that sports are mostly played on these fields during the Fall and Spring - seasons not known for their dry predictability in western New York. In the Spring of 2014 alone, over 110 events had to be canceled because of wet, muddy, and unplayable conditions on the playing fields. If the district invested in turf and drainage upgrades, conditions would be playable in any weather except lightning.

Trustee Matt Stock argued that the tipping point for him was the fact that the fields are a school and town asset, and that turf would enable them to be utilized more often, and the money to maintain them would be better spent. It hardly makes sense to pay desperately to try and make fields playable if the weather won't cooperate.

Think of it this way: if you're a sports family, you have pride in your school community and you don't only want your physical education infrastructure to be excellent, but you recognize that it's in the civic interest to ensure that all of the school's programs are top-notch. By the same token, even if your family isn't involved in sports, it's in everyone's broad interest to ensure that the sports programs have modern fields that cost less to maintain and result in fewer injuries to players.

The meeting itself was unusually well-attended, with many parents speaking in favor of the one point of contention - the turf fields.  They spoke of how embarrassed the district should be over the dilapidated conditions of the high school field infrastructure. Just last Friday, a part of the bleachers broke during a varsity football game. (The bleachers are covered by the repair part of the capital project).

There was some debate and disagreement initiated by Trustee Roger Showalter over the actual board resolution about the two capital projects.  He objected to there being only one resolution, because he wanted to vote for the repair piece and against the turf piece. There was some clumsy fumfering over Robert's Rules of Procedure, and the district's lawyer explained that any last-minute effort to strike and amend the board's resolution would result in the contingency being omitted.

As it currently stands, the passage of the repair bond is contingent in part on the passage of the turf bond. Specifically, if the turf project is contingent on the passage of the repair project - it is impossible to pass only the turf. (It is, however, possible to vote in favor of, or against, both. It is also possible to vote for the repairs and against the turf, but not vice-versa).

Showalter and Trustee Jason Lahti complained that they were "concerned" about public sentiment over the turf. It should be noted that not one person rose to spoke against the turf at any recent school board meeting. They suggested that there might be an effort to defeat the turf proposal that might spill over and cause the repair piece to fail.

Trustee Susan Altman noted - correctly - that the board's resolution was simply to present these items to the voters, and that this wasn't technically an opportunity for the board members to voice their specific support or objection for the underlying substance of the capital projects.

The effort to strike and amend the board's resolution failed 5 - 2.  The board then voted on the existing agenda item, and it passed 6 - 1 with only Showalter dissenting.

Over the next 7 weeks, expect thousands of dollars in mailers, ads, and signs to pop up throughout the town to reject the whole capital project.  Expect numerous Bee Heards and letters to the Bee's editor to relentlessly attack parents, students, and the board for allegedly "disrespecting the taxpayers".  Why?

Because the board voted to pass a resolution to make repairs and needed upgrades to assets that the taxpayers own and use. 

So, over the next 7 weeks students, parents, teachers, and alumni will need to coalesce and fight hard to get the vote out and energize the apathetic. We will need to set the tone, agenda, and message before the other guys do. We will need to get the parents who don't bother and don't pay attention to wake up.

The next 7 weeks will be tough and possibly as hard-fought as the 2013 budget. This time, we need to be ready.

If you want to help, please send an email to fixclarenceschools@gmail.com.  Don't wait for someone else to do it - we need people to put out signs, make calls, canvass, write letters to the editor, do Bee Heards, and leaflet at sporting events. It's up to you.

Fix Clarence Schools!

Today is Monday September 22nd. Tonight at 7pm, the Clarence school board will vote to put two bond proposals before the voters.  If approved, the district will finance 30% of the cost of necessary repairs and upgrades to buildings and grounds, while the state will fund the remaining 70%. We, as a school community, must show the board that we support this effort.

Earlier this year, a task force of board members, school officials, and community members met and analyzed enrollment in the Clarence Schools, as well as a wish list for the district's buildings and grounds.  The task force reduced the "wish list" to a "needs list" and recommended two separate bond proposals be put forth to finance needed upgrades and repairs.

Despite a current downward trend in enrollment, new development in town as well as an aging population is going to lead to turnover and new residents. There is no guarantee that enrollment will continue to trend down, and at this time no schools are slated to be closed.

At an August meeting of the school board, Superintendent Hicks recommended that the task force's repair & maintenance piece be reduced to $30.9 million.  The district would need to raise $9.3 million, and if successful, the state would fund the remaining $21.6 million.

The second bond would be for turf playing fields and other improvements at the high school. The athletic field bond would be for $5 million, including a $1.5 million town investment to leverage $3.5 million in state money.

The passage of the athletic bond is contingent on passage of the repair & maintenance bond, but not vice-versa.

Bonding and state financing such as this is only available for capital projects involving the school district's buildings & grounds. Despite the devastating losses in faculty, administration, social workers, and curriculum that the district has endured over the last few years, we cannot borrow and leverage state money for any restoration of personnel or programs.  We must continue to press the board and wage that battle.

With respect to repairs, the district has waited 40 years to undertake a comprehensive program to address deteriorating schools. This is the time to do it, when we can marshal 70% of the cost from outside sources.

If we do not pass it now, we will need to pay to make the repairs and mandated upgrades out of future operating budgets, and the town will have to cover 100% of the cost, rather than 30%. Here is how the money will be spent on needed upgrades and repairs: 

Here is the information on the athletic field drainage repair and upgrades: 

The school board is poised to vote on these proposals at tonight's monthly meeting, and it is expected that the bonds will be put to the voters sometime in mid or late November. Although there appears to be unanimity on the repair piece, at least two board members are anticipated to be "no" votes on the athletic field proposal, arguing that turf fields are a "luxury" and not a necessity.  

But something has to be done. In just the spring semester alone, over 110 events had to be canceled due to unplayable fields. If the school had turf fields with the associated drainage upgrades, the only impediment to gameplay would be lightning. Due to the evenness of the turf, you eliminate natural imperfections, leading to a reduction in injuries to players. Newer synthetics have been devised to reduce the harmful effects of "turf burn".  The cost to continually maintain natural grass fields for gameplay in WNY's unpredictable climate is in the tens of thousands of dollars, and when you have a particularly wet spring such as this year's, no amount of money can bring the fields up to playable condition. With turf, the maintenance is practically non-existent by comparison. Furthermore, when it comes time to replace the turf, the cost to do so is significantly less than the initial investment to construct all of the substructure and drainage. 

A study of a Michigan State University field showed that annual maintenance costs could be reduced by up to 20% over that of a natural grass field and that a savings of up to 40% can be seen in costs for maintenance equipment.

While this turf proposal will likely be spun by some as school district greed, it makes good business sense to improve civic assets such as this. These fields aren't just the school's - they belong to everybody, and the entire community has an opportunity to enjoy and use them. We should expect that our assets be - at the very least - usable, given the money spent to maintain them. 

There's a petition online urging the board to adopt the task force's recommendations, and it's close to 400 signatures now. Please go sign it, attend the board meetings, and contact fixclarenceschools@gmail.com to get involved in the coming campaign to fix our schools. 

As Goes East Ramapo, So Goes Clarence?

This is an absolutely heartbreaking story of an anti-tax takeover of a school board in downstate New York. Clarence came close, but it must never, ever let this happen.

Listen here

Lahti and Stephen: So Happy Together

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Right on the corner of Main & Goodrich, there's a big "Stephen Development" sign, and next to it a sign touting IQ Modular Homes, which is supplying the pre-fabricated bits of Stephen's new shopping center.

Recall for a moment that Paul Stephen has been actively funding and supporting school board candidates who want to cut and weaken the school district. Recall that his are the deep pockets that fund Lisa Thrun's tinpot AFP astroturf effort to ensure that kids get to school in unsafe, dilapidated, rusting, broken-down buses. These are people for whom student safety takes a back seat to an extra $6 per year in the bank. (Now you know the price that the tea party places on your kid's safety.)

Paul Stephen has been vocal in town about ensuring that a proposed local law limiting multi-family housing be made more flexible. I favor smart growth in the town that follows the principles of new urbanism; walkable neighborhoods that are built for people rather than cars, and mixed-use development that doesn't require residents to have to drive to accomplish every activity of daily living.

So, while Stephen seems to have good ideas about Main Street, this project at Goodrich is about as far away from new urbanist principles as you can get. It's nothing more than a copycat of the plaza at North French and Transit - ground-floor retail, 2nd floor residential, and parking in front. If you want to build a proper walkable community, you build to the sidewalk and put the parking out back. Stephen talks a good game about urbanist principles, but he's not delivering, what with the trailer park and the motels.

Furthermore, among a large number of school families, Stephen's name is mud.

Stephen's reputation isn't only because he bankrolled the 2013 no vote, or the anti-bus effort in 2014, or backing Worling's campaign.

The unforgivable thing he's done is to back tea party activists to implement a "divide and conquer" strategy pitting school families against seniors.

The resentments are still raw even today, and people are angry at seniors. But the "seniors" aren't some groupthink collective that votes in lockstep, and dividing the town this way is cynical and completely counterproductive. Those who stoked these divisions are not deserving of respect or support.

So it is that Paul Stephen is doing business with IQ Modular, which is a company owned by the Lahti and Showalter families.

iQ Modular Homes was founded in 2005 by Lahti and his in-laws – members of the Showalter family – who own and operate Buffalo Tungsten Inc., a local manufacturer of tungsten powder products. At the time, there were no modular homebuilders in the area.

To what extent are Lahti or Showalter colluding with Paul Stephen to, e.g., elect Worling or agitate against the bus proposal that they voted for as board members? This whole thing reeks to high heaven, and our kids' futures are being held hostage by big business interests in town. But even worse, in order to get what they want, these deep pockets are dividing the town for their own financial self-interest.

Sour Grapes

From this week's Bee Heard:

New school buses, really? I think we have enough buses if you count all the SUVs and mini vans that drop their kids off at school every day. We have a huge problem at the middle school with half-empty buses and hundreds of vehicles that cause daily traffic jams before and after school. Maybe these parents could arrange car pools, so we could eliminate the need for new buses and daily traffic jams. 

Right. Maybe we can ask Santa Claus to use his sleigh.

There is no problem with "half-empty buses", despite the fact that many kids get dropped off. Also - the reason we need new buses isn't because we need MORE buses.  It's because the EXISTING FLEET IS TOO OLD AND UNSAFE

Sorry that your need to avoid a "traffic jam" outweighs the needs of kids to get to school safely.

You know, I see a big parking lot with a lot of cars in it at the Senior Center.  Based on the logic shown above, they don't need a taxpayer-funded shuttle bus.

Never let it be said that Clarence doesn't have a whole lot of selfish people.

The Clarence School District has more than 92 buses, 46 with more than 100,000 miles and no buses newer than 2010. I am a taxpayer with a 1995 and a 1999 car trying to keep my head above water. After 10 years, they are complaining it’s difficult to purchase parts for their buses. Well, give me a list of the parts needed and let me see if I can find them. Also, let’s find out the cost of contract transportation so taxpayers can compare costs. This is ridiculous.

What's ridiculous is that you haven't gone out and "found out the cost of contract transportation" yourself, oh woeful whiner. You're a taxpayer with a 1995 and 1999 car, so maybe we can hire you to transport kids, right?

Mold Makes the School Go 'Round

Here are some more pictures from Clarence's school buildings: 

Mold: Neither delicious nor nutritious. 

Painting over the mold: not optimal

Perhaps some repairs might be needed. Perhaps some ceiling tile should be replaced.