Wisconsin...

I have a picture in my mind (or used to) of Wisconsin being populated by polite and well-mannered people.  Like Miller Place.  Now, look at this video posted by Ann Althouse on her blog of Sarah Palin's Tax Day/TEA Party speech in Madison, WI on Saturday:

About 2 minutes in there is extensive video of a guy screaming "shame, shame" while hiding his face and attempting to stop the filming.  The crowd is doing it best to drown out Palin.  They only want one viewpoint heard -- theirs. So much for free speech.  Heck, so much for common courtesy! 

This is what the left and the unions do -- they shout down, browbeat and attempt to intimidate their opposition.  They use these tactics rather than debate because their positions have very little merit.  Will we see this type of behavior in Miller Place?  We are starting to.  At the last board meeting, the teacher's union president spat out a "thank you' to one of the board trustees who had the temerity to point out that maybe the deal worked out with the teachers was not a good one for the district's long-term fiscal health.  Rather than counter his detailed arguments she accused him of bad faith, said that she was not about to take a vow of poverty (I don't remember that be discussed), and then stormed away from the microphone, to the applause of the teachers assembled in the auditorium.

The country/state/county/pick one is BROKE.  There is no more money.  The public employees must realize that the people who pay their salaries, pensions and benefits are tapped out.  They don't want to hear it, though, let alone understand that it is true. So, the public employee unions are channeling their inner two-year-olds and covering their ears and yelling  I CAN'T HEAR YOU (just like in the video).  In the long run it is not going to work, but we are in for a few years of this stuff.  Madison is now; Miller Place is teed up for the (near) future.

Miller Place school board adopts a budget....

... at what cost?

The agenda handed out mentioned "amendments" to the employment agreements of some of the bargaining units, most notably the teacher's union. My guess is that if the meeting went according to the administration and 4/5ths of the board's plan we would never have learned the details of the deal with the teachers.

Trustee Mike Unger took a lot of heat last night.  He simply pointed out that the deal that the board was about to vote on was not a good one -- AS POINTED OUT BY THE DISTRICT'S OWN LAWYER.  That certainly should have, at least, been discussed among the board before it was presented as the saving grace of the '11 budget season.  What did he get in return?  The ire of the teacher's union, as evidenced by the glares aimed at him from the audience.

As he pointed out, it is a very short term solution to a long term problem, and he is absolutely right -- the problem will be back next year, and it will be worse.  Many in the auditorium wanted to shoot the messenger.

And I hate it that the unions turn every criticism of them into criticism of the teachers themselves.  The union's job is to negotiate the best deal for the teachers.  The board is there to protect the interests of the residents, but the teachers unions have made it an art to equate hard-nosed bargaining tactics with disrespect to the teachers.  And, too often, that tactic works in their favor.  It is nonsense and dishonest.

To the person who equated paying school taxes to buying gasoline at Hess -- do you have any idea how NOT correlated those examples are?  No one is mandated to buy gas from Hess.  One can take the bus, or carpool, or ride a bike.  While gasoline is certainly a necessity, is not purchased by anyone by force of law.  Taxes, on the other hand, are extracted from us at the point of a gun (don't pay your taxes and armed people will show up and escort you away).  You can, in a fashion, "negotiate" what you pay for gasoline by moderating your consumption. Try negotiating your tax bill.

I close with this interesting article on tenure.  It talks about it in the university setting,  but it has the same implications in K-12, too.

W.W.B.S? (What Would Belushi Say?)

Well, this was the final "budget hearing" meeting. What was accomplished over these past four meetings? Nothing. The board, administration and the unions (er, units) missed a great opportunity to take control of this crisis, hammer out a deal and present it to the crowd and show how all of the interested parties could work together for the common good -- themselves and the residents. Lumps would have to be taken, but if all shared in the pain the taxpayers would have, in all likelihood, rallied behind them and passed a budget.

But, noooooo.

We went to four excruciating meetings, each one building on the pointlessness of the one before. The bad news was presented as a done deal, the crowd complained, cried, begged, and exhorted, all probably for nothing. We were presented with no valuable information. We are still in the dark as to what negotiations are taking place with the unions -- we don't even know if there are any negotiations. All we know is that 30+ teachers are likely to get the axe, and all of the good stuff that the kids participate in is getting cut. And, we are gonna get a big tax increase. So, what was accomplished?

Other districts in the area have worked together and taken proactive steps to save jobs, programs and present a unified, coherent plan to their residents. Middle Country comes to mind. Their unions all agreed to concessions and they worked out a deal with the district. Then, they let the residents know what they were doing. There is a high probability that their budget will be passed because the residents there have been kept informed, and the unions got a PR coup by proactively making concessions. They acknowledged to the people that pay them that they understand we are in tough times, and they wanted to do their part. Good for them.

Mr. Mangani, you told the audience that the board is kept well informed via the state's clip service, so you all must have known about the Middle Country deal. Why didn't you at least try to get out in front of this matter, rather than have these pointless hand-wringing meetings?

What do we have in Miller Place? A board that answers very few questions and hides behind legalisms. They should have been having round-the-clock talks with the unions right after the first budget meeting (debacle) and then presented something to the public at the next meeting, and by the third meeting that information would have been digested and we, the taxpayers, would at least have a reasonable picture of what to expect for next year -- program-wise and tax-wise. Instead, we heard more of the same. Nothing.

Now we learn that Jim Moran has quit as president and trustee. But, did he really? The email read by Angela Guido was confusing, and even the board seemed befuddled. And then(!) we learn that two or possibly three trustees (did that include Moran?) will not stand for reelection. My guess is that the two who should go will not be the ones leaving. What is going on here?

Some valuable questions were asked again last night -- again because they were not answered by last night as they should have been. A parent asked what AP classes were being cut. That should be an easy one to answer especially since the schedules are already be made up (or may be completed by now) for next year. Why won't they answer the question?

The agitated guy spoke again last night, but this time he was more like Columbo than My Cousin Vinny. I think the new persona works well -- run for a seat! I would vote for you!

Another rumor floating around is that the PTA president is going to run for a board seat. That would be a bad move as this person is widely thought to be way too friendly with the administration and the teachers. The district needs someone who will represent the residents and not be a rubber stamp for the unions and administration.