All of these are symptoms of a much larger problem: government waste. NJ is corrupt. Fight to change it, locally with our village gov and the bathroom at vets... then fight in Trenton with your vote.
Until then, dont make the children of Ridgewood pay for past mistakes. This bond vote comes at a critical time. Our schools are in need of repair.. NOW, not later, after you all "send your message" to the administrators, secretaries, and teachers out there. Stop mixing the facts until their suit your view. PS... same secretaries, teachers, and administrators whom you'll all be buying holiday gifts for next month. Tell them then to their faces that you think they're overpayed. Opps..! I didnt think you would.
Critical vote... critical time. My family supports this and we are willing to pay more per year to service this debt. Interest rates are historically low. Do it now. 3-4 years from now, when the economy has turned around, you'll all be on board? No way. You'll then be complaining about the high interest rates on the bond. You cant have it both ways.
If you have a leaky pipe in your house, or a leaky roof over your head, do you fix it? Do you take out a home equity loan, at low rates, to do so? Or do you sit your family down at the dinner table and say "This is a lesson for you all. We're going to suffer through it. Just ignore the water and the mold." OR, do you address the need... fix it, and get on with your life? Find a way to pay for much needed repairs and improvements? Would you tell your kids that the leak was from the previous homeowners, so you dont want to pay to repair it?
We support this, as do MANY families in Ridgewood. Dont bother with your references to my "BRATS"... it wont change my vote.
YES !
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15 comments:
From reading this blog, I believe most posters are of the opinion: 1) the RPS admistration is top heavy and inefficient 2) the teachers are not overpaid but rather, overcompensated in terms of benefits and retirement packages 3) the curriculum needs and overhaul -- certain portions of it read - (Open Circle) are just a huge waste of money.
Future BOEs must get a spine and address these issues. Until that happens, I am inclined to vote no.
9:05,
You can add 4)re-districting to relieve over crowding at GW and opening Glen instead of adding more classrooms, again, to Hawes 5) set up a capital improvement fund for rainy days and projected expenses for the buildings.
Until these things happen, I am voting NO!
For the last bleeping time.....A BOE is not allowed to "save money for a rainy day." It is illegal. They must budget and spend on a yearly basis. That is why ever since somebody invented the pencil BOE's have had to float bonds to finance capital improvements. They can not budget enough money in any one given year to fund major projects.
As much as the BoE lackey 2:07 wants to assert the opposite, the district is allowed to have a capital reserve maintenance fund. Please refer to NJ State DOE:
http://www.state.nj.us/education/code/current/title6a/chap23a.pdf
Need an example? Teaneck just had a drawdown from their capital reserve fund for extra ordinary repairs:
http://www.teaneckschools.org/v2/download.php?file=823
Specifically, page 9.
Notice how the has to start to yell and lecture the rest of us? The real question to the BoE is WHY have you not established a capital reserve fund, as allowed by NJ DoE, and WHY are you not funding it??
Do NOT treat me, nor the concerned citizens of this Village as the imbeciles you think we are.
I have heard the same bs for 30 years. "its only a few dollars per year' etc etc. BOE has always spent like a bunch of drunken sailors. NO NO NO MORE SPENDING
Below is directly from the New Jersey DOE in response to an email I sent requesting information about BOE budgets and Capital Projects.
"Districts are permitted, but not required, to set aside funds into capital or maintenance reserve accounts briefly described below.
1. Capital Reserve – The capital reserve account allows a district to accumulate funds for future capital projects. Once funds are deposited into a capital reserve, they may only be used for capital projects and are not available to be used for general district expenses. The maximum amount that may be placed into a capital reserve is the district share needed for projects included in the long-range facilities plan prepared by the district. Deposits into a capital reserve can be budgeted in the annual budget, or can be made by board resolution between June 1 and June 30 with unanticipated revenue or unexpended appropriations.
2. Maintenance Reserve – The maintenance reserve allows a district to accumulate funds for payment of required maintenance expenses. Once funds are deposited into a maintenance reserve, they may only be used for required maintenance expenses. Deposits to a maintenance reserve can be budgeted in the annual budget, or can be made by board resolution between June 1 and June 30 with unanticipated revenue or unexpended appropriations.
3. Emergency Reserve - The emergency reserve allows a district to accumulate funds for payment of expenses for emergency circumstances that were not budgeted for the year. The maximum balance permitted in an emergency reserve is the greater of $250,000 or 1% of the general fund budget not to exceed $1 million. Deposits to an emergency reserve can be budgeted in the annual budget, or can be made by board resolution between June 1 and June 30 with unanticipated revenue or unexpended appropriations. Withdrawals from the emergency reserve require approval from the Commissioner of Education, unless the withdrawal is necessary to meet an increase in total health care costs in excess of 4% over the prior year.
Note that if a district has applied and received Commissioner approval to exceed the annual 4% tax levy cap, then that district is not allowed to make deposits into the capital, maintenance or emergency reserves for the year in which the approval was granted. School districts are also allowed to keep an unreserved surplus of a maximum of 2% of their general fund budget for items that may arise during the year."
I don't see anything in there that says they must "budget and spend" on a yearly basis. I see that they can't use the Captial Projects money for anything other than Capital Projects and that each district may keep a maximum of 2% of their general budget in reserve for unexpected expenses. I also see that Districts who exceed the 4% tax levy cap can not make deposits into a Capital Projects reserve. It is my understanding that Ridgewood does not exceed the 4% tax levy cap.
248 As a grandchild of a sailor, I take offense that you defile drunken sailors by comparing them to this BOE.
btw - I'm voting no too.
STILL voting YES, and I'm going for a drink now.
Having been a drunken sailor for many years, I take offense being compared to the BOE.
And I intend to vote no as this drunken sailor knows when to say enough.
I think you are correct that Ridgewood has not exceeded the 4% cap on spending. I think the problem we've run into which is a bit of a Catch 22 is that in order to start building a Capital Reserve Fund we would have to exceed the 4% cap and then we can't allocate those funds. We would need to build the fund to a pretty good number pretty quickly in order to get some of the projects done and I don't think that would be possible without exceeding the 4% cap. That brings us back to a bond referendum. I think everyone is starting to understand that this whole thing was years and years in the making and we're going to pay (one way or another) for past Administrations lack of planning.
I have nothing to do w/ the BOE. I just know you can't get $36 Million dollars into a reserve fund when you already max the 4% increase allowed every year on your operating budget alone. The reserve fund may be legal but it isn't going to help us right now. Maybe it will in the future.
As a response to this post, if my lawn is brown, I don't charge artificial turf on my credit card if I'm out of savings & don't have a job.
This spend now because money is cheap is the stupidiest arguement I've ever heard.
People are unemployed, have some compassion & common sense.
as for those offended by the drunken sailor remark. I take it you were never serving on board a ship for 6 months before being given a weekend of liberty. get over it.
Drunken sailor is a put down. It is not an explanation for bad behavior.
glad you finally realized that 6;33. spending as they do deserves a put down.. but i respect the blog so I won't use the same kind of nasty verbage as the liberals promoting the spending
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