Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 04:24 pm
What's self-serving is the BOE getting the teachers union and the PTA to do their dirty work. This…Read More clique of 5 do not want 2 more members to rock their little boat. And they have the audacity to call any residents that challenge them a "special interest group" when THEY are the ones guilty of that. Concerned citizen is right, if it wasn't so sad it would be laughable. But it's all so sneaky and underhanded that I am not laughing.
concerned citizen May 21, 2013 at 04:14 pm
If it weren't so sad it would be laughable. I guess they are concerned that they may have to…Read More increase the 16K that they put in the budget to pay for the BOE to join some national organizations. I thought that that line item was eminently worth cutting half a nurse or a guidance counselor. Everyone should take the time to read the budget, not just the summaries that the admin keeps publishing...
GM May 21, 2013 at 03:37 pm
The irony here is that the special interests control the Board now, and they are putting out…Read More information about Prop 2 saying that "by adding 2 Trustees, we risk having special interests get on the Board. These guys are a riot, Alice! The Board represents the Unions really well. We need somebody to represent the Students now. (Again, student cuts for 7 years including teacher cuts, funding raises for employees for 7 years.)
concerned citizen May 21, 2013 at 04:16 pm
Need some business people with a backbone on that board -Vote against any of the incumbents
Concerned Commackian May 21, 2013 at 03:32 pm
Unless you consider his self proclaimed ability to "convince people I am right" electable…Read More talent
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 06:35 pm
And LaJa, I can't say if I liked the answers or not as THEY WOULD NOT PROVIDE ANY. That's my point.…Read More
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 04:29 pm
That's my point Concerned. And Laja, you are quick to assume that I am part of some group. I assure…Read More you, I stand very much on my own and have my own thoughts and opinions on things. I don't need a group to tell me how to think. The PTA should NOT be lobbying for the BOE. It is not their place. Yet they do so, with no valid reasons. And they DO owe any parent who inquires an explanation.
concerned citizen May 21, 2013 at 04:09 pm
Were they on the BOE too? If they were then i would believe it as I saw them in action during one of…Read More the last budget meetings, I could not believe what I heard. Imagine a board member calling a parent "learning disabled" because he asked her a question she did not like. You accept the responsibility then you must be accountable to give the people the information that they are entitleed to. Honestly, I don't think that they should not have even taken one side or the the other. It is not their role to promote one political agenda over another.
Jack W. May 21, 2013 at 06:11 am
MJS - I know that it's not their "title". But the issue was that someone was insistant…Read More that only George Morgan had "Thoughts and Ruminations" and when I told him that was not true, he insulted me without checking the facts. I am so turned off by people who post nasty comments, which is abundant on The Patch. Now, at this point this issue is moot and irrelevant, as Concerned said. LET'S GET OUT AND VOTE!
Jack W. May 20, 2013 at 10:40 am
Exactly Concerned. But the point is not moot and irrelevant. Retired stated above "The only…Read More blog with that title belongs to GM - George Morgan GM is not JT... Can't you even read? " I doubt if you would let someone who is so wrong about something and then insulted you remain unchallenged.
Boards
All Boards » Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 04:45 pm
LaJa. First, I don't hide behind initials or some fake name. I can't take you seriously when you…Read More won't reveal who you really are. Secondly, I am not part of any group whatsoever. I do not need others telling me how to think. There ARE citizens in this town who are not happy with the current board and their ways, who do not need to be part of an organization of some sort to try and initiate change. Finally, it's funny you accuse me of being a part of something that I don't even know what it is. I've never heard of TaxPac in my life.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 10:55 am
Now, this morning, I hear that the PTA is telling people that they are opposed to Proposition 2 in…Read More order to keep "special interest groups" from taking over. How can parents in this community, whose children are in the system, who want to make positive change for those children, be a "special interest group"? It blows my mind, how in politics, people can twist things so badly to meet their own agendas. It is all quite sad.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 08:18 am
Last night, I had quite the email exchange with members of the PTA Executive Committee. Not only…Read More could they NOT provide me with an answer as to why they've chosen not to support Proposition 2, all I received was snide remarks and avoidance. Not smart or professional at all.
In fact, they seem like quite the joke. I guess they are more of a social club who makes decisions about an important vote without doing their homework and then pushes that decision on the community (via street signs and phone calls to parents). I believe the public deserves a valid answer as to why they've taken their position. Unfortunately, they can't provide one. It makes me ponder if I should even bother to support the PTA in the future (as I have in the past with both my time and money). They certainly don't seem to be making decisions in the best interest of our children. It is all quite sad.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 10:53 am
Last night, I had quite the email exchange with members of the PTA Executive Committee. Not only…Read More could they NOT provide me with an answer as to why they've chosen not to support Proposition 2, all I received was snide remarks and avoidance. Not smart or professional at all. In fact, they seem like quite the joke.
I guess they are more of a social club who makes decisions about an important vote without doing their homework and then pushes that decision on the community (via street signs and phone calls to parents). I believe the public deserves a valid answer as to why they've taken their position. Unfortunately, they can't provide one. It makes me ponder if I should even bother to support the PTA in the future (as I have in the past with both my time and money). They certainly don't seem to be making decisions in the best interest of our children.
Now, this morning, I hear that the PTA is telling people that they are opposed to Proposition 2 in order to keep "special interest groups" from taking over. How can parents in this community, whose children are in the system, who want to make positive change for those children, be a "special interest group"? It blows my mind, how in politics, people can twist things so badly to meet their own agendas. It is all quite sad.
Concerned Commackian May 21, 2013 at 01:34 pm
Whatever you say LaJa......whatever you say. Where is the sneaking around? Wasnt everything done…Read More according to the law? I think your goal is sensatuionalism rather than serious debate.
LaJa May 21, 2013 at 11:12 am
By the way, I am not in any way associated or affiliated with any union...
If you and your group…Read More are not affiliated with TaxPac then you should know that the platform Tampellini and Hartman support, along with the sudden urgent need for 2 more board seats, is taken straight from the TaxPac play book. You can agree with them, as that is your right BUT you must also know where their rhetoric originates and educate yourselves as to what TaxPac as a group wants here on Long Island. If the TaxPac agenda was above board and positive for LI communities there would be no need for them to sneak around and attempt to gain entry into communities through back-door maneuvers like the sudden need for 2 more seats...when Fusco couldn't get in last year either.....
At least know that you are being played.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 08:19 am
Last night, I had quite the email exchange with members of the PTA Executive Committee. Not only…Read More could they NOT provide me with an answer as to why they've chosen not to support Proposition 2, all I received was snide remarks and avoidance. Not smart or professional at all.
In fact, they seem like quite the joke. I guess they are more of a social club who makes decisions about an important vote without doing their homework and then pushes that decision on the community (via street signs and phone calls to parents). I believe the public deserves a valid answer as to why they've taken their position. Unfortunately, they can't provide one. It makes me ponder if I should even bother to support the PTA in the future (as I have in the past with both my time and money). They certainly don't seem to be making decisions in the best interest of our children. It is all quite sad.
Commackvoter May 20, 2013 at 10:24 pm
I know what the word increase means! You mentioned it above about insurance rates going up. You see…Read More when a member of the BOE gives his kid a job in the district, then that adult child (24 yrs) takes a 15 yr old student to a hotel for sex and gets arrested, then our insurance company has to pay to settle the lawsuit, dont you think our insurance rates go up John. Sure you dont believe it - Read all about it http://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/cops-commack-hs-coach-faces-sex-abuse-charges-1.1711455 Time to break up this 5 member coffee clotch and their you scratch my back I will scratch yours.
John Smith May 20, 2013 at 10:12 pm
Can I ask you an honest question? I hope this doesn't sound to condescending because I really am…Read More curious. Do you understand what the word "increase" means?
MJS May 21, 2013 at 05:30 am
JSMITH - I have no desire to run for the Board b/c I for one believe you and other people like you…Read More aren't worthy of people like me and others, like Mr. T and Mr. H, who want to make a difference and are willing to make the sacrifices needed to do it.. You don't deserve them..but thankfully they are more altruistic than I am so they are willing to ignore the hatred spewed by minority voices of people like yourself who try to keep the status quo and preserve their self-interested agenda.
GM May 20, 2013 at 10:30 pm
It's always interesting to watch the fear in the faces of this Board and its operatives when they…Read More are opposed. At present, the power is with too few people and perhaps the community will agree it's time to balance the power by voting YES for Prop 2.
Why would a democracy vote down more representation?
We fight for more representation in congress so why does the same argument not apply here.
John Smith May 20, 2013 at 10:15 pm
MJS - that I agree with you on. There are definitely people just waiting to see if Prop 2 passes…Read More and are prepared to run. You and your Tax Pac buddies - they want to get 4 seats (including Tampellini & Hartman) so they can run us into the land of 7% tax levy increases like Baldwin and Sachem with their poorly thought out short term solutions! Thanks for helping to make that clear. I appreciate the help.
Concerned Commackian May 20, 2013 at 03:45 pm
Im concerned with the rate of spending increases. You cant talk your way around them no matter how…Read More hard you try. And as to this "district has no control" argument, thats a cop out and you know it. While the state tells the district what percentage of salary it must pay into the retirement system, if the district had done a more effective job of limiting the growth in compensation, not only would salary expense been lower, but the amount paid into the retirement system would have been lower as well. And John, care to calculate how much the additional state aid to the district this year lowered the levy? Im sure you dont.
John Smith May 20, 2013 at 02:19 pm
Or you could think about how spending is going up over 4% (the majority of which is fueled by costs…Read More that are mandated by law -- Teachers' and Employee's Retirement and Insurance contributions -- over which the School District has no control), but the tax levy is only going up 2.91%, which means the School District -- gasp -- might be doing a good job finding alternative sources of funding other than the taxpayers.
Again, look at the info for yourself, not through the eyes of a biased Tampellini/Hartman/Tax Pac supporter.
LaJa May 21, 2013 at 10:38 am
As usual the TaxPac group resorts to name-calling and bullying. Much like the school yard loud mouth…Read More who simply could not get the other kids to agree with him.
Must be getting increasingly frustrating to all of you. Year after year you try to break onto our community intent on doing damage and year after year you are turned away at the gates.
Perhaps it's time to pack up and retreat.
TheRube43 May 21, 2013 at 08:53 am
Something jumps out at me. "We don't want to spend down our unrestricted reserves or we will…Read More be like Sachem. But if the district doesn't over budget line items then they have no choice but to spend those reserves. Things happen during a school year - whether it is a special ed student moving in or a superstorm causing all sort of havoc. So the district has to overbudget so they have enough for those contingincies.". We have a contingency fund for emergencies. Things DO happen. We spend from the contingency fund. Next budget, we replenish the fund. We never let the fund diminish past the year it was tapped. Overbudgeting for "more emergencies" seems wasteful. People would understand if there was a budget increase due to a catastrophic emergency - enough to cover the dip into the contingency fund. And where is it spelled out what's "budget" and what's "overbudget" for each line item?? I'm not trying to be snarky - I'm just trying to get a handle on things.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 10:54 am
Now, this morning, I hear that the PTA is telling people that they are opposed to Proposition 2 in…Read More order to keep "special interest groups" from taking over. How can parents in this community, whose children are in the system, who want to make positive change for those children, be a "special interest group"? It blows my mind, how in politics, people can twist things so badly to meet their own agendas. It is all quite sad.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 21, 2013 at 08:20 am
Last night, I had quite the email exchange with members of the PTA Executive Committee. Not only…Read More could they NOT provide me with an answer as to why they've chosen not to support Proposition 2, all I received was snide remarks and avoidance. Not smart or professional at all.
In fact, they seem like quite the joke. I guess they are more of a social club who makes decisions about an important vote without doing their homework and then pushes that decision on the community (via street signs and phone calls to parents). I believe the public deserves a valid answer as to why they've taken their position. Unfortunately, they can't provide one. It makes me ponder if I should even bother to support the PTA in the future (as I have in the past with both my time and money). They certainly don't seem to be making decisions in the best interest of our children. It is all quite sad.
Commackvoter May 19, 2013 at 11:28 am
Yes John Smith, agree that the PTA SHOULD have video taped and posted it somewhere for the community…Read More to view. This is the 21st century and there is no excuse for them not offering this for those who could not attend. Same goes for the CUFSD but at least the law prohibits them from banning taping public meetings.
Commack Voters Head to the Polls
A steady flow of voters trickled into the Commack High School gymnasium Tuesday to cast their vote on the 2013-14 school budget. The budget is set… at $179,386,921 and carries a tax levy increase of 2.91 percent. Residents are voting on the spending
Comment Recommend Amanda Lindner (Editor)