"Total tax collections in the U.S. are expected to be $2,667,000,000,000 in 1998. This represents 35.4% of the country's total income. In comparison, medieval serfs paid an effective tax rate of 33.3 percent." (Source: Just Facts)
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"Total tax collections in the U.S. are expected to be $2,667,000,000,000 in 1998. This represents 35.4% of the country's total income. In comparison, medieval serfs paid an effective tax rate of 33.3 percent." (Source: Just Facts) |
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Index, Newsletter, Newsmedia, Press Releases, Letters To The Editor, Myths About Us, Myths About The Budget, Highlights Of The Current Budget, Contact Us
Journal Inquirer, April 13, 1999, Jennifer Thompson
WINDSOR - The number of authorized positions in the Police Department would drop under the [new] budget... but the new figure would be closer to the department's actual staffing [56 authorized, 50 employed, 51 in new budget; shortfall between authorized and employed due to] difficult[y in] attract[ing] enough applicants... [and] the length of time it takes to train a new officer... [Chief] Searles... said that funding for police needs to be gradually beefed up, and that efforts to do so this year were thwarted when more money than expected was needed [to pay high salaries on the Board Of Education side? ed]... Since there isn't much hope for funding all of the officers authorized, the budget is more accurate for removing the positions.
Journal Inquirer, April 8, 1999, Jennifer Thompson
... "We spend a lot less than other communities [Like Hartford? ed.] and it shows," said Louanne McDonald [one of the small pack who always show up to agitate for more spending without reason, purpose, or accountability, ed.] "Windsor is capable of better supporting the schools." [at $36 million, and about 7,000 households, that is $5,142 per household per year, more than three months of a typical mortgage, almost twice the payments for a full year on a typical car - and still it's not enough! - thank goodness for the businesses which pick up a piece of this tab (about 30%), ed.]
Hartford Courant, April 8, 1999, Marie Shanahan
WINDSOR - The $36.9. million school budget proposal for 1999-2000 was picked apart Wednesday by town council members, especially Republican L James Ristas, who demanded to know why students coninue to perform at barely average levels despite four years of increases in school funding. The public schools appear to do well in class sizes and per-pupil spending when compared with other Connecticut towns of Windsor's size and wealth, Ristas said. But [in] scores, he said, Windsor lags behind. [emphasis ours, ed.]
"Townspeople are becoming very impatient. We need results for our dollars," he said. "I understand that no one measure is the 100 percent indicator of school success or effectiveness, but certainly the [Connecticut] Mastery Tests and the CAPT [Connecticut Academic Performance Test] are some indication. Board member Laraine Jones, a Republican, defended the school system. She said money in the current budget funds more practice testing designed to improve standardized test scores [Teaching to the test is a dubious practice that will not really help students, ed.]. "We should see results next year, at least that is the intent," [lots of intent, no results - who cares what they "intend"? ed.] she said. "It is going to be an incremental change." [They've been promising improvement for four years - how much more incremental can you get before you go backward?, ed.] School board President Elizabeth Kenneson said the town must invest in the schools now if it is to build on the vision of making Windsor a "community of choice," a [meaningless and saccharine, ed.] phrase coined by new Town Manager R Leon Churchill. "This budget represents reform and change," she said [But in any useful direction? ed.]. Board member Violet Nahabedian said that contrary to some parent's belief, class sizes have been reduced or maintained every year at the elementary schools to meet board guidelines [i.e. the featherbedding preferred by the unions doesn't help the students on any reasonable time scale, ed.].
Hartford Courant, May 9, 1999, Lizabeth Hall
WINDSOR - The board of education unanimously adopted a $36.9 million budget plan Monday, directing much of the proposed $2 million spending increase toward new teachers, computers and school maintenance and repair... The budget proposal includes 9.8 new [teaching] positions [note - elementary enrollment is decreasing, (see below) ed.]. It also relies upon the reassignment of seven elementary school teachers and retirement savings to add more middle, high school and special education teachers and another vice principal at Sage Park Middle School [is the school too large? ed.]. The board had placed reducing class sizes in the sixth through 12th grades as a top priority for its 1999-2000 budget plan [despite lack of credible research that class size reductions improve student performance, ed.]... Superintendent of Schools Richard H Silverman has said that the reassignments would not affect class sizes in the elementary schools because enrollment for those grades is projected to be somewhat lower. he board's total proposed increase for the 1999-2000 fiscal year is 5.78 percent [inflation is 2-2.5% according to Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan, ed.]. Silverman had requested a nearly 8 percent spending increase... Besides teachers and tutors, the new staff positions include an elementary schools custodian and a technology specialist. One of the specialist's duties will be shepherding a new management informations system that will enable the administration to store a computerized database of students. The budget plan also includes the expansion of a summer reading program for young students who need extra help.
Hartford Courant, May 2 1999, Marie Shanahan
WINDSOR - Now that taxpayers have endorsed the town's plan to spend as much as $35 million on the Windsor High School renovation project town council members have begun to weigh three other projects. The projects now on tap include a $1.05 million roof replacement at sage Park Middle School; a $175,000 plan to install backflow prevention valves to the sprinkler systems at seven school buildings and the L.P. Wilson Community Center, and a $600,000 two-bay firehouse on Rainbow Road. The roof on the original Sage Park building was last repaired in 1985... Parts of the school's kitchen and cafeteria roof were replaced in 1995... but the remaining roof has blistered in several places and now leaks... The $1.05 million total cost may need to be bonded by the town, [Cunningham] said. If the project is approved, the bonding would occur in the coming fiscal year... In accordance with State Public health laws, the town must install sprinkler system backflow prevention valves in eight public buildings by July 1. As for the Rainbow Road firehouse, town officials are concerned about reining in costs. In August 1997, Griffin Land and Nurseries Inc. gave the town 7 acres on Rainbow Road and committed $600,000 toward the construction of a firehouse. The public building commission has said the firehouse can be built for that sum, but as council member Randall Graff pointed out Monday during the town council meeting, the town has a history of cost overruns for new firehouses [emphasis ours, ed.].
Journal Inquirer, March 23, 1999, Jennifer Thompson
WINDSOR - By creating a section in the town budget for capital improvements, Town Manager R. Leon Churchill and town staff hope to redesign the way big-ticket items are approved.... "It's sort of forcing us to get more serious about what our priorities are, rather than listing projects that may never get done," said Councilman John Haverstock. The plan so far does not include projects stemming from a pending recreation master plan, the fire department's top-priority items, or the Board of Education's capital requests. It outlines priorities in town improvements for fiscal years 2000 through 2005 and the sources of funds for the projects. The priciest proposed improvements for the town include
$1.13 million to redesign Mack Street in fiscal 2000...
$1.79 million to redesign Prospect Hill Road... [how about just fixing these streets, rather than "redesigning" them - wouldn't it be cheaper?, ed.]
$1.44 million to enhance the Route 159 corridor in fiscal year 2002... [what is "enhancing"? ed.]
$3.7 million public safety radio system [2003]... [are they sending radio messages to Mars? At this price they should be able to. Let's see, 50 police, say 20 other public safety vehicles, equals roughly $52,000 each, ed.]
$2.74 million River Street reconstruction are slated for fiscal year 2003...
$5.68 million addition to the main library in fiscal year 2004 [we could "redesign" three streets for this price - how about using bookstores to get books instead?, ed.]...
$4.5 million for construction of central athletic fields... [why do we need these? Don't people get enough exercise at the gym and the extensive school athletic fields?, ed.]
$1.15 million installing underground utilities in center of town in fiscal year 2005... [and the benefit is? ed.]
[total - $22.13 million over the next 6 years, or $3.6 million in spending each year, ed.]
The town's landfill enterprise fund is expected to cover the estimated $9.02 million to design and construct leachate and methane gas collection systems, close two full cells, and excavate a bulky waste cell at the Windsor-Bloomfield field landfill. The state and federal government are expected to pick up most of $12.5 million tab for a proposed ramp modification in fiscal year 2005 [of course, you pay those taxes, and Connecticut sends more to Washington than it ever gets back, so this can't even be justified as other states paying for our highway, ed.]. The town is proposing constructing a crossover bridge for the Poquonock Avenue entrance to Interstate 91 north Currently, traffic coming from Day Hill Road corporate area must left to get on the ramp, which congests traffic on Poquonock Avenue, according to town engineer Al Neumann. The proposed ramp would allow traffic to turn right, he said. Corporate donations of $500,000 are expected.
Journal Inquirer, March 9, 1999, Jennifer Thompson
WINDSOR - ..."I can't do your job; frankly, I don't want to do your job, but I'm depending on you," said Sandra Bostic, president of the Clover Street School Parent-Teacher Association. "I need to know that you're going to be there for me because I have been there for you. ... We are the concerned taxpayers of Windsor this year, and we're willing to put our money where our mouth is.' [And our money too, of course, ed.], Parent Susan Kirschner Robinson said she felt manipulated by the board, charging members have tuned out parents and taken money away from teachers. "I am more than willing to be the liberal and tell you to spend money, but I want there to be accountability," she said. "You need to be truthful. You need to put money in the classroom and you need to stop compromising," Kirschner Robinson said. "I want leadership. That's what I elected you for." [Where else has it been put when the majority of every spending increase is for salaries or additional staff? Do they ever stop demanding? ed.] The budget includes 10.8 more staff positions, down from Silverman's proposed 20.2. Seven teachers were cut from the elementary schools [not really, they were moved to Sage Park, ed.], ... Board finance committee chairman William Herzfeld said the budget shows a gradual improvement, citing the 1994-95 education budget of only $27 million [ONLY! ed.]... "As your typical Republican, you always believe the staff and superintendent are in collusion and are trying to spend too much money," said Republican Minority Leader Stephen Ellingwood. "Guess what: They're not." [hmm, another official coopted by the system, ed.] Panos also suggested that class size should-not be the sole focus when improving education. "Data from other towns suggests that simply reducing class size isn't the fix, it's what you do with them," he said. "In the future, I think we should address other issues." [for the unions and simplistic parents, there are no other issues. ed.]... "The council of course will be considering needs that none of us have heard about yet, needs of what they perceive to be the rest of the town," Kenneson said [Of course, their perception is wrong, according to Kinneson's implication - the BOE IS the town, ed.].
Journal Inquirer, March 1, 1999, Jennifer Thompson
WINDSOR - Architects designing the renovated Windsor High School have asked preliminarily to be paid more than $2.1 million for their work... An additional $215,000 would pay for programming, measured drawings, an inventory of existing furniture, selection of new furniture, and a communications consultant. A second fee summary submitted by the architects comes in at $1.8 million, and is based on a previously agreed upon 7.5 percent of the once-estimated $24 million cost. A Sept. 11 additions and renovations cost analysis compiled by construction manager O&G Industries Inc., with which the Public Building Commission has worked, budgeted $25.3 million in construction costs, and set the architects' and engineers' fee at $1.5 million. Public Building Commission chairman Joseph Novak said the commission is only at the beginning stages of negotiating tracts for both the architects and the construction manager, who will submit an estimate at the commission's meeting Thursday. Novak said he wasn't worried about the higher costs, adding that some of the "soft costs," such as furniture selection and new equipment, can be eliminated if there is no other way to lower costs. "I think there's enough soft costs that we can move stuff around and come in within the budget," Novak said. "We have no other choice." [emphasis ours, ed.] Citizens in a referendum Feb. 9 approved the $35 million renovation by a nearly 4-to-1 margin. A new 12-classroom addition, and the complete overhaul of the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, and plumbing system and replacement of worn finishings and single-paned windows are included in "renovate as new" plan. The building will be brought up to code, and a more welcoming entryway [clearly a necessity for good education, ed. with sarcasm] would be created. The plan, which will also shuffle classrooms and improve equipment and furniture, is reimbursable to a maximum 46 percent from the state. The final cost to town is expected to be about $19 million [ignoring that town taxpayers also pay a significant portion of the reimbursement in state taxes, ed.] Construction is to start by next fall Public Building Commission hopes. project schedule time line sets a tentative completion date by December 2002 [but they've been wrong before - remember Sage Park, ed.].
Content and Layout Copyright 1999 by Concerned Taxpayers of Windsor