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Good faith collaberation and real long-term concessions from all areas will be necessary towards passing the levy. Administration perks and staffing must be scaled back immediately and these changes must be permanent. The teachers'/admin contracts must also include more health care co-pay, accrued time payouts must be scaled down, and retirement provisions must be brought in line with the private sector. All municipal workers must be brought into the Social Security system under the same conditions of the private sector work force and businesses that are currently paying for the bureaocratic terms. The private sector has shrunken locally and cannot sustain the current municipal employee benefit/retirement situation. Plus this could be a nice boost to the Social Security system.
The concessions from the voting public will include continuing to fund the school system with a renewal and small additional millage. Citizens(mostly parents) must volunteer to support our schools from academics to athletics to citizenship. Parents must preparte their children for school from the time of birth. When a child walks in to pre-school and early grades, he must be properly dressed, nutritioned, educated in 3r fundamentals and well-taught regarding student interaction and humn courtesy. Basic positive moral values.
This is hardly asking too much from anyone, and bringing our educational system back to acceptable levels is the duty of everyone.
If the school admin is not willing to sacrifice at this time, then the citizen has little alternative than to continue to exercise the "no" vote. It is their only option to force change to an out-of-control un-affordable situation. If parents/guardians cannot accept their responsibility to motivate their children to strive towards their best, then they only have themselves to blame, and the other necessary steps are diluted.
Hopefully the state will eventually deal with school funding to somewhat relieve property owners, though we obviously can't depend on them. Their failure to address this issue should be brought to the front, and forcibly resolved. How?
"Pay for Play" is hardly the answer, and is counter-productive to levy passage and the over-all health of the school system. "Pay to Play" must be stopped immediately, all monies refunded, and those volunteers must immediately begin working on changing "no" votes. Mr.Venturella,Mr.McClure and Mrs.McNeil are quality citizens probably finishing their runs on the school board. Instead of going out quietly, they should be out front leading the charge to spread positive information and answer ?s. Those board members remaining must join them, and be prepared for the consequences. They CAN make a difference with a good-faith effort.
School admin must quit the bunker mentality, and quickly arrange meetings with "no" voters to better understand their thinking,share info, correct misconceptions, and realize what steps must be taken to bring the community together on this issue. No presentations to citizens. Just straight talk.
City Council members should take note of the above thoughts.
Too many names on the City Manager selection committee, and a few names of people that don't live in Middletown. Too many same old names that put us in this mess also.
End of rant.
Is anyone alive here? |