Volunteers Needed!

Volunteers are needed to remind voters of the referendum. If you would like to help voters get to the polls please let us know!





We do NOT call to influence the vote, just to remind about the date!

Some more thoughts about those "greedy" teachers

1. Several people suggested teachers should be "thinking of the kids" instead of themselves. They don't seem to realize that's what teachers DO; they think of the kids. A certain segment of people in town think programs and teaching can happen effectively "without" teachers. Programs and teaching doesn't happen in a public school without certified teachers.

2. One man suggested the town look into teacher "pensions" for some kind of give-back. If one checks p. 32 in the yellow booklet of the Lebanon Annual Report for 08-09 they will see that the Town doesn't put anything into teacher retirement plans. Teachers money is not "matched" and many teachers have lost their "nest egg" in the recession too.

3. Most people don't realize that the State of CT dipped into teacher pension funds and reallocated them to use a few years ago during "lean times" and had to be challenged (along with other CT civil servants like police) to get that issue addressed, over time.

4. Most people don't realize teachers no longer buy into Social Security as they used to.

5. Many older teachers are facing continual reductions to whatever S.S. benefits they might have accrued before 2 laws came into effect that penalize teachers. So, teachers who had worked during the summer or part-time to make ends meet, or in a different profession previous to entering the teaching profession, have been losing S.S. points each year. Some teachers have already been bumped below the 40 points they'd earned before these laws.

VOTE YES ON MAY 11th.

Town Meeting or Teacher Bashing?

And a lovely town meeting it was. But I'll try to stick to the facts.

1) The teachers' union agreed to two furlough days for next year.
2) Before the furlough is taken into account, the average teacher raise was 4.75%. And that number was thrown around a LOT.
3) Starting salary in Lebanon is under $30,000 (just so we see what we're talking about here--they're not rolling in money!)
4) People are VERY upset that the teachers are getting a raise at all.
5) To some people, the whole reason we're in a budget crisis at all is because of Those Darned Greedy Teachers.
6) There goes my objectivity.

Beyond that, the group of moms (and one dad) who spoke out at the public hearing in April were dubbed the CML: the Concerned Mothers of Lebanon. Great! Let's DO something, CMLs! I think that, even though we'd like to see a bigger budget (really really like to see it!), we need to vote YES at the referendum vote on May 11th to protect the money we did manage to secure. One person tried to make a motion that the town budget be reduced by $300,000 (to be subtracted from the BOE budget, naturally), but that wasn't legal. Whew! We need to do some serious campaigning to get this vote through, I think. If you want to help, let me know. We have to get out the vote on May 11th.

Do you have more to add? Got clarifications or corrections? Send them on! If you want them to get posted, just leave me a comment and I'll make a new post. The point of this was to share info. So share! Pass it on.

BOE to make a statement

Stay tuned... the BOE is going to make a statement at the town meeting to the effect that they still stand by their 5.36% (increase) budget. As do many parents and Lebanon residents! If we vote NO and answer the exit question about the BOE budget not being high enough, will the BOF find a way to shift more funds to education?

Tyler Field project

On a more positive note...

The Tyler Field project is up to #26. They want to make it to the top 10. Help by clicking here. You can vote once every day through the end of April!

What Now?

Now what? It seems that 1/3 of what the Board of Ed asked for has been allocated. One Third. It's something, to be sure, but it is not enough.

I, for one, am disheartened that with 1/3, teachers and programs will still have to be cut from the schools. I am disappointed that education isn't prioritized more highly in this town. I am saddened that, in this rough economic time, we can't cut in other places first. I know that almost every area of the town department received less than it wanted. But it is also true that these programs we're losing will take a long time to reinstate, if they ever come back. Music in the middle school. Foreign language. Science enrichment at the elementary level. Instrumental music. Sports. Computers. Art. Not an area has been untouched, has it? And the loss of thirteen talented, dedicated people is a lot to swallow. If my memory serves (and forgive me, sometimes it doesn't), the Lebanon School District will lose 10% of its faculty. Ten Percent.

Ouch.

So, I'm not sure where we go from here. Please, help! Let's see if anyone has more ideas, more money! Let's toss some around! I am not happy or willing to let all of that education go. And I hope you aren't either.

We got $300K*. Is that enough?

The BOF voted to include an increase to the BOE budget of $300,000. It's something, but it's not enough. It was suggested by an outside source that supporters call the BOF members at home. If anyone finds their information, please publish it. I'll work on it, too.

Our 152-signature petition was accepted as correspondence, but not as an official petition due to some legal technicalities. The main thing is that our voices were heard and noted and not ignored. Erin organized it and did a GREAT job!

The BOF has a tough job, and they are trying hard to be fair and to spread a very small pie around to many hungry people, so to speak. They may not be able to give any more, but we can still ask. We can't give up! This will lead to loss of jobs and programs--it's just not enough.

Remember, education is not just for OUR children. It's for everyone's future. Encourage even those who do not have children in the school system to support the important cause of education.

Thanks. Our work is not done yet. Pass it on!






*I had 2% and $339K in my notes, but it was past my bedtime. Thanks to those who caught my (unfortunate) mistake!
B.