Get involved: Moultonborough town meeting Saturday March 13th, 209

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by State

Well, it's been told to me that in Moultonborough 42 percent of the teachers at the Central School--where I have an inside source--are maxing out on the pay scale.

I mean one position some advisory board keeps wanting to cut, which frustrates my source since it's a needed position, stands out to me. The person in it makes a lot of money. That may be why it's always on the chopping block only to be snatched back. Teachers should not make more than $55-60k, period--regardless of the years accrued or number of sheets of diploma paper. Apparently, according to my inside source, this person makes a significant amount more than this. Like above $80+k.

I mean if that's the case we have teachers earning close to _double_ the median household income for the town. The school board has been too compliant with the demands of the NEA.

That's why in Moultonborough salaries should again be made publicly available in the back of the town report. It's called transparency. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant," wrote Justice Louis Brandeis.

Not bad for summers off and additional vacation weeks in January, February, and April. Boo-yah! And being done by approx. 4. Anyone who stays till 5 has no life or is in administration.

That's why I will be encouraging my children to work for the gubmit. Much better stability, better retirement, and less hardship.

And it is a fact, like Samiam says, that public sector people have much better non-salary compensation. Like a pension. Who gets those anymore?

Teachers in NH have to be re-certified every three years, have a BA or better in education or the field they are teaching in (i.e. mathematics, biology, etc.). Recently, the State of NH raised the rates for certifying teachers as a way to raise revenue. Teachers in NH are required to be Highly Qualified Teachers (HQT's) per No Child Left Behind (NCLB).

Teachers are paid, in most districts, by a pay scale based on the number of years they have been teaching and their level of degree. A teacher with a BA in science teaching AP Biology might be making less than the health teacher with a Master's degree in Ed and who has been with a district for twenty years. It's the only field I can think of where you aren't necessarily paid by merit but by degree x longevity in the field.

If teachers are at the top of a pay scale in a district, that says some good things about your district. Your district is retaining veteran teachers who are experts in their field. That's exactly what you want to have happen. A good school district has a nice mix of veteran and new teachers.

Remember: those teacher at the top of the pay scale are making money because they have put a lot of time into their profession - both in the classroom (as students themselves) and on the job.

By the way - all salaries in the public sector are available to the public to view. If you call M'boro's SAU office, I'm sure you can get a breakdown of salaries. Chances are the information won't include names but you will get an idea of what's what...

And finally, a Google search led me to this: http://fc.sau45.org/Financial%20Info...hersalaryA.pdf

... it might be of interest to you....

[WINNOCTURN]

If teachers are at the top of a pay scale in a district, that says some good things about your district. Your district is retaining veteran teachers who are experts in their field. That's exactly what you want to have happen. A good school district has a nice mix of veteran and new teachers.

Remember: those teacher at the top of the pay scale are making money because they have put a lot of time into their profession - both in the classroom (as students themselves) and on the job.



And finally, a Google search led me to this: http://fc.sau45.org/Financial%20Info...hersalaryA.pdf

... it might be of interest to you....[/QUOTE]

Argie,

All this is meaningful information. But may be there is another reason that the Moultonboro Teachers top out over the rest of the State? How about guarantied yearly salary increases at levels way above what the Private sector can offer in todays economy. I can not see "negotiating" a 3.5% and higher contracts year after year, especially with a declining enrollment.

My company as lost 40% of its' core Business over the last 15 months. We have had to make drastic cuts in personnel, forgo raises and eliminate cost of living increases to hopefully ride out this recession. By doing this and other things we did show a very small profit for 2009.

We need to curb the out of control spending in Moultonboro!

[Argie's Wife]

I mean this sincerely (not being a joker or smartypants here...) but did you read the link I gave you? It does a good job of explaining why M'boro's teachers seem to get paid more. The same website where I got that link from also has the recommendations of the budget committee and the teachers' association. It explains things much better than I can...

Here in Alton we have two school districts, as our elementary school (grades pre-K through 8) and high school are considered different SAU's. The teachers' contracts in both districts came up to vote yesterday and failed. There was a 0% increase for the first year of the elementary school contract, a 1% increase for the second year, and a 2% increase for the third year. There were some changes to benefits and insurance but I felt that the contracts were very conservative considering the times we're living in. I think some folks felt that a three year contract was expansive, as we don't know what's to come in three years...

However, if a teachers' contract fails there's an 'evergreen clause' law now in NH which means that the contracts stay status quo from the previous year. Not sure if you were aware of that or not...

If there's anything I like seeing from this economy is that people are paying attention to what's going on in their towns and they're getting involved. We had a good turn out at the polls yesterday with just over 25% of the registered voters coming to the polls. I'd like to see this level of interest in the local economy when we're back to being 'fat and happy' again...

[Heaven]

State said:
And it is a fact, like Samiam says, that public sector people have much better non-salary compensation. Like a pension. Who gets those anymore?


Everyone that works until retirement gets a pension of a sort, it is called Social Security.

Many municipal workers who get that State pension do not receive a social security payment upon retirement although we pay into the social security system just like everyone else.

[wifi]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

.....However, if a teachers' contract fails there's an 'evergreen clause' law now in NH which means that the contracts stay status quo from the previous year. Not sure if you were aware of that or not....

In other words, contracts and salaries can only go up, what union will agree to their salaries going down.

A little research shows who signed this bill, and who backed it

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Be sure and read Citizen article, www.citizen.com, about the Meredith Town Meeting last night. Seems the Meredith citizens are so mad at the Sandwich people adding $800,000 to the school that Meredith people want the select board to study pulling out of the Inter-Lakes School District !! People felt that they had been hijacked by Sandwich.

It will be interesting to see if Moultonborough taxpayers will allow a similar situation. I have checked out the Budget Committee report and it makes a very strong case for turning down the teachers contract and the budget. Looks as though the teachers, the administration and the school board have no idea of economic conditions and simply think they can stick it to the taxpayers.

[Lakegeezer]

The Bizer lake level chart shows the level today is second highest it has been this time year since 1996. It is already at a level that is common for July and August. We normally get a few big rains in the Spring, so worry is not warranted by the lack of snow. It appears the low snow runoff has already been taken into account. The dam operators are pretty good - although mother nature has tricked them in the past.

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

Be sure and read Citizen article, www.citizen.com, about the Meredith Town Meeting last night. Seems the Meredith citizens are so mad at the Sandwich people adding $800,000 to the school that Meredith people want the select board to study pulling out of the Inter-Lakes School District !! People felt that they had been hijacked by Sandwich.

It will be interesting to see if Moultonborough taxpayers will allow a similar situation. I have checked out the Budget Committee report and it makes a very strong case for turning down the teachers contract and the budget. Looks as though the teachers, the administration and the school board have no idea of economic conditions and simply think they can stick it to the taxpayers.

Just wondering how a school district's final budget is decided?

Do the voters in Sandwich have the last say?

Can the voters in M'boro* amend the motions made by Sandwich?

*This should read "Meredith" - sorry!!!!

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

Just wondering how a school district's final budget is decided?

Do the voters in Sandwich have the last say?

Can the voters in M'boro amend the motions made by Sandwich?

Yes, the voters in Sandwich did have the last say and apparently hijacked the meeting according to many Meredith residents. The Sandwich people were mad at the Inter-Lakes board for planning to move the 6 students remaining in the 6th grade in Sandwich to Meredith and eliminating a teacher. The large contingent of Sandwich voters proceeded to add hundres of thousands of dollars back into the budget plus the teacher. In yesterdays Meredith News there is a fascinating letter to the editor submitted by a Mark Billings who makes some very interesting points. What really annoys the Meredith folks is that Meredith pays, according to Mr. Billings, 72.57% of the Inter-Lakes school budget, whereas Sandwich pays 13.56% and Center Harbor 13.87%.

The heading for Mr. Billings letter reads "Voter Apathy Will Bankrupt Us". It is this attitude that Moultonborough voters must avoid. As mentioned before, the Moultonborough budget committee has voted 4-1 AGAINST the new union agreement AND the proposed budget. The one dissenting vote was from the member of the budget committee who is also a school board member.

[wifi]

Originally Posted by Argie's Wife

Can the voters in M'boro amend the motions made by Sandwich?

As you might know, M'boro is it own school district, distinct from InterLakes.

[breathe easy]

The Moultonborough School district annual meeting precedes town meeting tomorrow ( Saturday) and will start at 9am. The only way to avoid the meeting being hijacked by special interests is to attend and vote. As observed during the school budget hearing last month, there are parents that will try to amend the school budget and put the sensible budget cuts back, and who knows what else?
What many in town don't seem to understand is that M'boro has many seniors and people on fixed incomes and literally, every dollar counts.
With student population declining in just 3 years from 674 to 604 how can anyone justify not reducing spending?

[twoplustwo]

Yes, the voters in Sandwich did have the last say and apparently hijacked the meeting according to many Meredith residents.


If the population of Sandwich can 'hijack' a meeting versus the population of the Town of Meredith, then a whole lot of the Town of Meredith sat on their collective rear ends and didn't bother to attend. According to the 2008 census, Sandwich has 1,316 residents to Meredith's 6,623. That's not hijacking, it's voting, which is their right. Any voter in Meredith who didn't show up to vote is getting what they deserve.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Originally Posted by twoplustwo

Yes, the voters in Sandwich did have the last say and apparently hijacked the meeting according to many Meredith residents.


If the population of Sandwich can 'hijack' a meeting versus the population of the Town of Meredith, then a whole lot of the Town of Meredith sat on their collective rear ends and didn't bother to attend. According to the 2008 census, Sandwich has 1,316 residents to Meredith's 6,623. That's not hijacking, it's voting, which is their right. Any voter in Meredith who didn't show up to vote is getting what they deserve.

That's exactly the point, "voter apqthy" as described in the Billings letter to the editor. Too many Moultonborough voters might not come to the annual meetings and end up with larger budgets than are recommended.

[tis]

Voter apathy is a big problem. So is voter "ignorance". We all know it is very hard to understand what we are voting for sometimes, unless you have researched it before hand. For instance if it says to change (x) to 500 feet and you didn't go back to see what the old (x) was, how in the world can you know what you are voting for? The answer is you can't. In Wolfeboro, around 500-+ people out of 1500+- that voted, voted for a blank amendment. Did they think they were being funny or did they just quickly run through all the amendments?

[breathe easy]

Here is the blow by blow for the School and Town Meetings in Moultonborough earlier today.

http://moultonborospeaks.blogspot.co...esults_13.html

http://moultonborospeaks.blogspot.co...g-results.html

[phoenix]

thank you for posting this

[Pineedles]

I wonder what the outcome will be after the vote on stopping mosquito control will be? More Mosquitos this spring? More Equine encephalitus? More lyme disease? We'll see.

[fatlazyless]

According to the above link, about 7.5% of the Moultonborough electorate was present at the town meeting, and that number got reduced down to 5% after lunch was served and presumably 1/3 of the voters in attendance did not return.

This 7.5% Moultonborough attendance is higher than the 3% number for Meredith most likely because Moultonborough town meeting is held on a Saturday morning, while the Meredith town meeting is held on a Wednesday night from 7-pm to midnight.

For many New Hampshire town meetings, getting to control the vote is all about getting the voters to show up to have a vote. The only voters who show up to the 7-pm to midnight town meeting are those who have a strong interest in the vote. In Meredith, a number of expensive projects including the police station, fire station, community center, & million dollar football field were all passed with only a very small (5% or less) of the electorate present. For those who voted yes, getting their project built was a victory in small town politics.

Conversely, the same voting game played out against the Meredith core of voters who show up, when Sandwich rallied their voter-troops, filling the gym to capacity, and out-voting Meredith voters.

Meredith pays for 72% of Inter-Lakes SAU-3 schools. Center Harbor pays 14%. Sandwich pays 14%.

Probably, some of those who voted against Meredith SB-2 school or Meredith SB-2 town in March 2008, or March 2009, are now rethinking the SB-2 style of voting and would maybe vote for it in the future.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

Originally Posted by Pineedles

I wonder what the outcome will be after the vote on stopping mosquito control will be? More Mosquitos this spring? More Equine encephalitus? More lyme disease? We'll see.

It was only a monitoring program, never any actual spraying. Many people thought as you did that it actually involved control. Using the word control rather than monitor was a bad choice of words.

[Pineedles]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

It was only a monitoring program, never any actual spraying. Many people thought as you did that it actually involved control. Using the word control rather than monitor was a bad choice of words.

Thanks Sue Doe-Nym. BTW I love your name.

"$200,000 over the past four years to address a problem that does not exist in our part of the state."

$50K per year to count and test Mosquito's over the past 4 years? I certainly agree that they should cut that. Ya think they would have figured out they didn't have a problem the 2nd or even the 3rd year? Oh well, at least they stopped it before it became a 1/4 million dollars.

[breathe easy]

The Moultonborough Citizens Alliance posted the School District video on it's website:

http://moultonboroughcitizensallianc...er-2010-s.html

[Argie's Wife]

Originally Posted by wifi

As you might know, M'boro is it own school district, distinct from InterLakes.

Forgive me - I meant Meredith... (don't swat me... I admit I get the two names mixed up all the time for some silly reason...)