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Woodstock Times - Featured Arts | 5/14/2009 |
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| | Laurie Osmond, Dan Spencer and Tony Fletcher
[ Dion Ogust ] | |
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by Lisa Childers
Three for three
Two incumbents and one community education activist are facing election to the three available seats Onteora Central School District board of education in the Tuesday, May 19 voting that will also see residents cast a yea or nay on the proposed 2009-2010 budget (see accompanying article).
Rumors of a last minute stealth write-in candidate notwithstanding, Laurie Osmond, Dan Spencer and Tony Fletcher are likely to be installed, with the only question being which two of the three will occupy the three-year terms, while the finisher with the lowest vote total will fill the two years remaining on the term of the now-resigned former board president Ralph Legnini. The three year terms will begin with the start of the new school year on July 1. The two-year term begins immediately.
All three candidates have children attending school in the district and reside in the Woodstock area. But they have diverse opinions on the district's master plan and budget concerns. Common threads between the three can be found regarding teacher's contracts, where all agree that board members should sit at the negotiating table (according to Osmond, there was not a board majority to agree upon this last year.) Additionally they would all cast a no vote on the Large Parcel Legislation, if a vote is necessary later this summer. And the three have prioritized ways to begin community dialogue on the district's future. During interviews, all three went to great lengths to describe the beauty and joy of living in the Catskills and everything it has to offer.
...frustrating, gratifying
Osmond is currently serving as Vice-President of the school board and is seeking to continue as a trustee after a one-year term. During this time, she has been an active member of the Onteora Green Committee and Policy committee. She is also a member of the Phoenicia Elementary PTA and the Ulster County Chamber of Commerce. She is a self-employed video producer and writer. Beginning first as a part time resident, she has made this area her full time home for over ten-years.
Osmond described her first year on the board as, "challenging, frustrating and gratifying." She doesn't see the tension between high per pupil cost in the district versus declining enrollment as a black and white problem. She explained that property taxes cover 75 percent of the budget, with retirement and health care costs spiraling out of control, and that locals must foot the bill. She views it as a larger, national debate, with the district doing its best to keep costs down. Additionally, she said the 300 square miles of the district's roads leadd to the highest-in-the-county transportation costs (with fuel prices increasing). Osmond said that such costs do not have anything to do with education and that "its pitting property owners against teachers and students."
She believes closing West Hurley school was a mistake, will not support closing Woodstock to re-open West Hurley and will not entertain the thought of closing Phoenicia. She views local schools as part of a community fabric.
When West Hurley Elementary closed she noted that taxes did not decline. "West Hurley is tough, we inherited a vacant building that is costing the district money." She said there are many ideas in the community focused on solutions and she supports forums with open discussion.
Osmond agrees that more thought should be put into a Middle School option. "I think we do need to discuss it from an educational point of view, the area we need to look at is the two-grade middle school." She said that everyone appears to agree that the two-year system is not the best structure. She wants to revisit the initial proposal from KSQ architects of Plan A, a grade 6-8 middle school and three elementary schools.
Osmond supports the proposed 2009 budget and believes spending has been projected at a minimum. But she voted against it, concerned over the cuts in district social programs, such as INDIE and social workers. And she addressing what some have called high per-pupil cost in special education. "I don't think that we should be demonizing special education kids." She admits it is expensive, but said the district achieves results in good education and does not want to break laws or refuse needs. Osmond attended Brown University and San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication Arts.
Looking at different options
Fletcher hails from England, but has spent his last 21 years living in New York. He became a citizen in 2007. He and his family were initially second homeowners' in the Hunter area, but in 2005 settled in the Onteora district specifically for the schools. Since then he has been an active participant in school issues, seen at nearly every school board meeting and is a member of the Communications Committee. Fletcher is a freelance writer and music journalist with a soon to be released book titled, All Hopped Up And Ready To Go: Music From The Streets of New York 1927-77. He writes a music and arts website titled ijamming.net and is an avid skier. Fletcher was an active participant in the school elections last year supporting candidates of his choice and said he noticed that voting numbers in West Hurley declined after the school closed. "I feel very sorry for what happened at West Hurley School and it's a concern that that area is not represented." He believes the board and community need to discuss plans for the district, adding that the closing of West Hurley Elementary was a "learned lesson in poor planning."
He completely disagrees with adding grade five to the Boiceville campus Middle School based on feedback he received from public concerns. But, he said, "Beyond that, I believe we should look at different options." He said he supports community schools and is against closing elementary schools. Fletcher sees what some have called the high per pupil cost of education, including special education, as getting a bang for the buck. He notes that Onteora has a 91 percent graduation rate. Also more students go onto higher education than any other school in the county. Because of this he believes that Onteora's success can be used as a recruiting tool in order to address declining enrollment. Only half-joking, he said, "You could actually make an argument of what's happening is we are educating our kids so well that they move out of the district and take good jobs somewhere else. So declining enrollment is not a failure of the school district." Thus, he views declining enrollment as not a school problem, but a town problem where affordable housing and good paying jobs appear to be less of an option. Although he views the 2009-2010 budget as sound, he found alarming cuts in education for the most needy kids. "I am not happy with the cuts that come through in this budget - a combination of social worker, FACETS program and the summer school all targeted and cut."
Part of a community
The board appointed Spencer following the resignation of Ralph Legnini in February. He described his two-month tenure as a learning curve, challenging but rewarding. He has lived in the area for approximately 17 years, transplanted from the western part of New York. He works as a Senior Applications Engineer and Project Manager at Ametek Rotron, and is a member of the Woodstock Rescue Squad. He was part of a group of parents who petitioned in 2008 for a Child Safety Zone along the Route 28 corridor that was eventually approved by voters. He has traveled extensively while climbing some of the world's highest mountains.
Spencer would not give an opinion on closing a school or expanding the Middle School, but instead believes it is all part of a process and his job is to listen. "I don't have an agenda per say on what should or should not happen to the buildings." He said he believed the overwhelming defeat of four board members who favored a pathway that led to the closing if the Phoenicia Elementary School, to be accompanied by a $70 million bond proposal for restructuring, indicated a flat out rejection to the project. "When an elementary school is part of a community, it is hard to justify taking it away." He believes it is time everyone begin working on a new plan, focused on input from the public while keeping cost in line with declining enrollment. He added, though, that enrollment has "stabilized" and is no longer in the freefall stage. "My job if elected (he is worried about a write-in candidate) is to elicit ideas and strong points from people." He explained in that in order to gain outside funding, whether it is private (performance contracts) or through grants, a plan needs to be completed by the board.
Public support he noted was key to moving ahead with changes. "We need to make our meetings as inviting as possible," he said and his goal is to kick start the process. What to do with the West Hurley building and expanding the Middle School is also part of a larger discussion. He called West Hurley a "gem," and would like to see it as a learning campus but explained that the building itself is too small compared to Woodstock Elementary.
Weighing in on the per-pupil costs in special education, he said the board must do what is right for students. As far as recent cuts in social workers he said, "Everything is in place to re-hire people to address all of those needs. I trust the administration, trust the leadership and they have to respond in a quick way."
Spencer graduated from Clarkson University with a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and minor in computer science. From SUNY, Delhi he has an Associates in Civil Technology.++
All candidates have used the web as a communication device. You can find Fletcher and Osmond at Facebook.com (OsmondFletcher09) or Twitter.com/osmondfletcher. The two are running as a team.
Spencer offers his own website at http://sites.google.com/site/danspencergetonboardocs/.
Onteora budget calls for 6.38 percent tax increase
Voters in the Onteora School district will go to the polls Tuesday, May 19 to elect three members to the Onteora District Board of Education (see accompanying article).
But voters also will choose to approve or kill three propositions - the first of which is the budget for the 2009-2010 school year.
A copy of the $49,865,219 school budget that would increase spending from the previous year by 3.5 percent, and increase the tax levy by 6.38 percent is now on file at the district's schoolhouses from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day prior to May 19 except Saturday, Sunday and holidays. The document is also available at the town libraries in the towns of Hurley, Olive, Phoenicia, West Hurley, and Woodstock during regular library business hours.
The spending increase in the proposal falls below the level of a contingency budget, imposed if the budget fails to gain a majority of voters and trustees decide not to allow it to stand for election again. However, the district would not be allowed to increase its spending, rather would be required to cut more than $100,000 from equipment.
Prominent cuts in the budget include reducing the funding for the INDIE program to $50,000 - a reduction of $70,000, that will cancel the day program on Route 28, leaving only the after-school portion to be conducted in Woodstock; eliminating one in-house social worker at a total savings of $101,630 (including salary, benefits and retirement); and eliminating the FACETS (Family and Child Early Treatment Services) program, a further savings of $65,000. One teacher is eliminated, and others on a middle school team are to be reassigned.
"The budget keeps the spending increase at the same low level we've been doing for years," said District Superintendent Leslie Ford. "Other districts have had to cut more."
Ford said that federal stimulus money, to the tune of $700,000, has been included in the plan, and that more is expected for next year. "It's the third year, after the stimulus is over...what happens then?" she asked.
Trustee Dan Spencer agreed with the Woodstock PTA that voters should recognize that the reason proposed tax levy increase is 6.38 percent is because last year's tax levy increase was 0 percent. "This is a two year tax levy increase. The budget increase from last year is 3.42 percent," read the PTA statement.
Voters will also be asked to approve or disapprove the purchase of two new school buses, slated to replace two older vehicles, each with over 200,000 miles clocked on them. At a cost not to exceed $94,500 is a 65-passenger bus; a 28/30-passenger bus not to exceed a cost of $47,500 is also requested. This is a five-year bond with the State reimbursing approximately 30 percent of the cost.
Voters can also agree to free up to $350,000 from the 2008-2009 fund balance to allow for additional purchases for the High School-Middle School auditorium renovation. This includes electric winches for lighting and scenery. This is not an additional tax. The money already exists, but its use must be approved by voters.
Polling places
Voting will take place 2 p.m.-9 p.m. at all four elementary school polling centers - West Hurley, Woodstock, Bennett and Phoenicia.
Kindergarten-through-grade six students will have an early dismissal at 1 p.m. A special meeting of the board of education will take at approximately 9:30 p.m. at the Onteora Middle-High School, Boiceville, to accept the public's verdict. If the budget fails, the board will choose at that time whether to put it up for another vote, amend it and put it up for another vote, or to impose a contingent budget, as prescribed by law. ++
Lisa Childers
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