TOWN AND CLOWNS

Want to cut spending and lower taxes, hold
the line on tuition increases, while improving
education?

Start with administrations of universities
colleges, schools and the State Education
Department.

Read:
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/SUNY-pay-hikes-draw-hearing-663739.php


    Joe Sullivan                                      

RACE TO THE TOP-
GIVE THE MONEY
BACK TO PROPERTY
TAXPAYERS

Race to the top? Sounds racist?

New York will be recipient of $700 million
of federal grant money (our tax dollars).

The State Education  Department will skim
off $350 million. The rest will be divided
among certain school districts.

Give the money back to the property
taxpayers who are in desperate need of
property tax relief.

Here in the City of Albany  property owners
will soon receive their school tax bills with
another 4 per cent increase included.

The per pupil cost of "educating" students
in Albany is about $25,000 annually. The
drop out rate in Albany High is about 50%.

Not a good return.

Three seats on the city school board are
up for election, Nov 2.

Does anyone know who the candidates
are? What they stand for? What they will
do to provide homeowners and businesses
with property tax relief? What they will
do to improve educational standards and
performance in the city schools?

Higher taxes and more spending will not
cure the ills of the dysfunctional city schools.

Consolidation of the city schools with city
government, establishing one property tax
roll to fund both,  returning to K-8
neighborhood schools;  making the Mayor
and Common Council responsible and
accountable for the operation/ performance
of the city schools , would be a major step
toward providing property tax relief and
improving education in the city schools.

Candidates for the State Senate and
Assembly have the ability to sponsor the
required legislation to amend state law to
provide for these changes. Will they
promise to do so, if elected, or re-elected?

None of the incumbents have?  Will Andrew
Cuomo, the champion of consolidation of
local governmental units
(except for school districts)
now embrace this idea as candidate for
Governor?

How about those seeking State Senate and
Assembly seats this year?

Property tax cap proposals are not the way to
go, because caps guarantee annual property
tax increases, and remove the decisions on
school budgets and property tax increases
from  local control of resident voters.

Albany has a shrinking base of homeowner
property taxpayers, who face higher and
higher property taxes every year, to finance
city schools where 70 percent, or more, of
the school population, comes from households
that do not pay property taxes, to support
those schools,

Worse yet, the school population includes
far too many who do not value the education
offered to them, and paid for by property
taxpayers. The 50 percent drop out rate
and poor student performance /behavior
is clear evidence to support this conclusion.

This situation is not sustainable.
As, homeowners with children flee the city
Albany is becoming the home of the elderly
and poor. Who, then, will pay to support
city schools, city services and city
government?

The end is in sight. Will the candidates for
state offices, this November 2, present viable
legislative proposals to address this situation?
Will the voters demand that the candidates do?

                                                    Joe Sullivan

MAKE ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS
IN ALBANY CHARTER SCHOOLS?

The State Senate passed legislation raising
the cap on charter schools. The Assembly
appears likely to block this bill because
the powerful teachers unions give lots of
money to Assembly candidates.

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2010/05/04/2010-05-04_assembly_gets_bill_to_aid_charters.html

The Albany City School District/Board
has approved a budget larger than last
year and a 4 per cent property tax
increase.

Remember the Comptroller's December
2009 Audit which found significant waste
in the Albany City Schools?

What about the 50 percent, dropout rate?

Students, their parents and city homeowners
and businesses , who pay ever increasing property
tax increases ,are not getting a sound return on
their investment.

Perhaps, time has come to make all city schools
charter schools? Offer all high paid senior
teachers and administrators an early retirement
deal. Enact a residency requirement that all
new teacher hires live in the City of Albany.
Return to K-8 neighborhood schools. Eliminate
wasteful busing expenses. Merge city schools
with city government. Create one property tax
roll to finance both. Make the Mayor and Common
Council accountable/responsible for operation
and performance of city schools.

Making all city schools charter schools will
permit curriculum changes to tailor urban
education to turnout responsible, productive
citizens who contribute to society and improve
their station in life.

Put these questions on the May 18 school
budget ballot. Let's see how the property
taxpayers, parents and students respond.

Are any Assembly incumbents or challengers
bold enough to embrace the above changes
and push for the necessary amendments to
state law?

Joe Sullivan

SHOW DOWN IN ALBANY.
INTOLERANT ACTS AND
INTOLERABLE ACTORS


The Albany City School Board unamiously
approved a proposed school budget that
contains a nearly 4 percent property tax
increase for 2010-2011.

Intolerant Act! Intolerable Actors!

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/storyprint.asp?StoryID=921374

Senior Citizens are getting no COLA'S for
2 years. The Governor wants to deny
state workers a 4 percent pay raised
which he agreed to in a contract. Many
people are out of work.

Nothing less than a zero school property tax
increase is acceptable in these difficult
economic times.

Especially when the school district has
a 50 percent graduation rate and a track
record of waste:

Have voters forgotten this report?

http://blog.timesunion.com/schools/comptroller-albany-schools-wasted-money/499/


The Common Council and State Legislators
who purport to represent Albany residents
are avoiding what must be done to square
away city schools:

Consolidate the city schools with city government
establish one property tax role, return to a
K-8 neighborhood school system, and make
the mayor and common council responsible
and accountable for the performance of city
schools.

The Common Council is all Democrat. No
Home Rule request to the state legislature
to make the above changes to state law
are forthcoming. Yet the Council passes
resolutions to make Albany a sanctuary city
for terrorists and resolutions calling for
legal rights for radicals who want to kill us.

Intolerant Acts! Intolerable Actors!


The state legislators, purporting to represent
us are all incumbent Democrats. There is
not a real leader, looking out for us, among
the whole lot. They have done zero to make
property tax relief for Albany homeowners
and small businesses a reality.

Intolerable Actors!

Any Albany residents, who pay property taxes
in this city, are fools if they vote for the
proposed 2010-2011 city school budget in May.
They are fools if they sign petitions, in June, to
designate any of the incumbent state legislators
as candidates for re-election. They are fools if
they vote for those incumbents in the September
party primaries and November 2 General Election.

Intolerable Fools?

How many Albany property taxpayers will
show up at the Tea Party Rally, Saturday, April
17, Noon -2 pm , Corning Preserve, with their
zero school property tax signs in hand?

http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/24312/tea-party-plans-april-17-gathering-at-corning-preserve/

http://albanyteaparty2010.com/AmericaRising/


Joe Sullivan

2010 NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND
REAUTHORIZATION BLUEPRINT

Read:
http://www2.ed.gov/print/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/publication.html

Read an opposing view:

http://www.nolanchart.com/article7517.html


Joe Sullivan

NEW YORK SINKING TO BOTTOM

NYS Legislature fails to provide real
property tax relief to homeowners
and small businesses.

School budget votes will be held in
May.

Read: http://blog.timesunion.com/schools/new-york-not-racing-to-top/698/

Joe Sullivan

EDUCATION, LEARNING
AND CITIZENSHIP

Read: http://bpcnanews.blogspot.com/

Joe Sullivan

Albany City Schools
Should be Run by
City Government

The Albany City School Board has wisely
submitted a proposed school budget with
a 2.2 percent increase, rather than the 15
percent increase first proposed.

The Board is to be commended.

Perhaps, their action was motivated to
defuse the city schools as a central
campaign issue. For after all, the Board
and District are run by allies of Leftist
Mayoral candidate Shawn Morris, and
that faction of the Albany Common
Council, leaving them off the hook?

Given the dysfunction of the city
schools, and massive amounts of state
aid and federal stimulus money, zero
increase, and perhaps, even a decrease
in the proposed school budget is in order.

The good news on the school budget
is great for this year...election year when
the Leftists are trying to gain control
of city government.

But, what about next year? The stimulus
money, and even state aid may be gone
and Albany property taxpayers will be
facing a HUGE school property tax
increase.

The solution?

Fix the problem this year, while the
state legislature is in session.

Merge the city schools with the city
government making the Mayor and
Common Council resposible and
accountable for the operation and
performance of the city schools.

Create one property tax base to
finance both city schools and city
government .

Return to a K-8 neighborhood school
system which is best for kids, parents
and revitalizing neighborhoods.

A Home Rule Request from the Common
Council is required , as well as sponsorship
of appreopriate state legislation, to make
the necessary amendments to State Law.
The Council is Democratically controlled.


Will the Common Council sponsor and
approve a timely Home Rule request so
it can be acted upon this session?

Will Assemblymen McEneny and
Cannestrai, and Senator Breslin sponsor
the necessary legislation? All are Democrats
and the Democratically controlled state
legislature should pass the reforms with
ease. Governor Paterson could quickly
sign the merger into law.

The State Legislators and Governor Paterson
are up for election next year.

State AG Cuomo, and State Comptroller
Di Napoli both advocate local government
consolidation. It follows that both should
enthusiastically support merging the city
school district with city government.

Both of these are up for election in 2010
as well.

Freshman Congressman Paul Tonko is
up for re-election in 2010 also. He is
a great advocate for the middle class
taxpayers, as should readily support
the merger of city schools and city
government as a prudent fiscal move.

Senators Chuckie and Gillibrand are
both up for election in 2010, too. Do
you suposse they would champion this
action? Both claim to be champions of
the downtrodden middle class taxpayer.

The School Board has craftily defused
the issue by lowering this year's
school budget increase, so turnout at
the May school budget vote can be
expected to be the usual 10 percent
of eligible school voters.

No use putting the ballot questions
I proposed in my earlier post (this blog)
on the school budget vote ballot
because, with 90 percent of the eligible
voters staying home, an accurate guage
of public support for the merger would
not be possible.

So, the ball is in the court of the city
candidates for election this year, and
the federal and state candidates for
election next year.

Who, among the candidates this
year will promote the consolidation
of the city schools with city government.

Who, among, next year's candidates
will get on board this year?

If nothing happens, this year expect
the mother of all school property tax
increases next year, whe the federal
stimulus, and state aid money is not
there.

Consolidation of the Albany City
schools with city government remains
a key election year issue, in 2009 and
in 2010.

Joe Sullivan

ALBANY CITY SCHOOLS- TIME FOR CHANGE.
A MAJOR ISSUE IN THE 2009 ALBANY CITY
ELECTIONS FOR MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL.

Listening to the callers on Mayor Jenning's Radio
Show (WDGJ-1300 9 -10 AM) this past Friday
underscored the idea that the time is right
for change in the Albany City Schools.

Callers from the lower 8th ward, who live in the
shadow of the Meyers Middle School, complained
that the City School District was preventing
their children from attending that school, and
forcing them to go to Hackett Middle School.
One caller also complained that parents in Arbor
Hill were upset that Livingston Middle School
students were being forced to go either to Meyers
or Hackett because Livingston was being closed.

Why?

The Albany City Schools and School Board are
clearly dysfunctional.
Children and their parents, as well as all city
property taxpayers, who are being forced to fund
this dysfunction, are all being short changed.


Hard Economic times are here.
Time for change in the Albany City Schools!

1. Disband the Albany City School District and
School Board. Place the responsibility and
accountability for the city public
schools with the Office of the Mayor.


2. Return to a K-8 neighborhood school system
which is best for kids
parents and neighborhood stability.

This will end the discriminatory attendance
lottery system and
eliminate the need for bussing which will
save fuel, fuel costs and associated air pollution.
Students will be able to walk to school.
They will be less obese and not waste hours
of their young lives as forced commuters.
Parents will be able to play a more active role
in the education of all their children, because all
will attend the same school.
Teachers will be better able to track
the progress of the students from K - 8
because students will attend the same
school for those years.

3. End the the dual system of property taxation
which is placing a terrible burden on the 1/3
of residential dwellings, that are owner-
occupied in the city- most of these by senior
citizens on fixed incomes.
Also, negatively impacted by this dual taxation
system are businesses.

Establish ONE property tax to fund both
city government, services and city public schools.

4. Trim the fat from the bloated school
administration which is too
large and too costly.

5. Place more responsibility for learning
and behavior,on students,
parents and teachers.

6. Academically challenged students shall be
diverted to trade/ occupational training which
provides them with skills
attitudes and behaviors necessary to become
functioning, productive, contributors to society.
This curriciculum shall include
public service restoring blighted neighborhoods
working in hospitals, etc.

7. Recalitrant, malcontents shall undergo
attitude and behavioral adjustment early on.
This can occur at the neighborhood schools.
If these problems persist, offenders shall be
schools and shipped to a boot camp academy
at Camp McGregor were they undergo vigorous
attitude/behavioral adjustment by
a staff of military veterans.

8. All schools shall provide safe learning
environments, conducive to learning by
those who want to learn. School uniforms shall
replace gang colors/insignia.
A strict conduct code in school and in the
neighborhoods going to and from school
shall apply.

9. Governor Paterson and our elected
State Senate/Assembly representatives must
make the necessary legislative amendments
providing for the City of Albany
and the voters of this city, to
act on these proposals this year.

10. Time has come to change the way
city schools are funded. Most of the
student body comes from households
that do not pay property taxes.

The costs of education must be fairly
borne by all...not just property tax
paying homeowners and businesses.



11. The above questions should be put to
the voters when the May School Budget vote
occurs. All city polling places shall be open!

12. City voters/taxpayers should have the
final say on approval or
disapproval of school budgets.
One vote binding. No reruns.
If a budget is voted down, the prior years
next school year. No phoney 4 percent
property cap legislation!

13. Once the city schools and school board
are disbanded, one property tax created to
fund city government and schools,
and the Mayor responsible/accountable
for city public schools
there will be no need for school budget
votes and school board elections.

If city property taxpayers and voters
are not happy with
the functioning and cost
of city schools, the buck will stop at
the desk of one person-
the Mayor.

Joe Sullivan