Leonard Lockhart May 22, 2013 at 11:05 pm
I truly appreciate all the opinions stated. I truly wish that the Patch would have highlighted the…Read More the positive acknowledgments of the STUDENTS during the meeting. In fact, I thank all the voters that took the time to voice their opinions at the polls. I speak to any and everyone whatever they revere or revile me. I would like to respond to "Concerned Mothers and Fathers" but contact information was not provided (please feel free to forward it to me and I will contact you). I'm expected to provide prompt feedback all the time and I humbly accept that. Too often I ask citizens for feedback only to wait for extended amounts of time and be told that's not important. I don't have that luxury. I understand the raw passion and emotion of the topics and that the BOE is the only entity required to reduce. Many will say that we still gained $900K and we are grateful for it. This budget was derived from a historical snapshot of the past several years to truly reflect the spending required. We are requested to make tough decisions and people will be impacted; my goal that its not the children. Any reductions to Talented and Gifted and FLES will garner a no vote from me. Any tinkering with an award awarding leadership team at Sage Park Middle School will garner a no vote from me. I want all children challenged and have equal opportunity to learn. I strongly believe Dr. Villar is an outstanding Superintendent with the best interest of educating our children. I believe in EVERY employee in the district. I look forward to seeing more public input at the next meeting and thank you to those that spoke with me yesterday and many of them have opposing philosophies than I but we learned that we have the same goal in mind. I'm willing to arrive early to absorb the good, bad and ugly from the public I serve. It's not about us but the children we serve. I humbly submit that notion to you; grace and peace to you and yours.
CatherineDennis May 22, 2013 at 08:17 pm
I agree 100% with Michelle. I would also like answers to all questions exposed by the blog by…Read More concerned mothers and fathers etc etc...is this contract even legal? This is an honest question based on info found in the contract. I don't believe we can be told that we must go through with it if it is indeed not a legal contract. If it is found to be an illegal contract so much more comes into question. It also begs another question-if there is nothing wrong with the contract, why then would you not want to explain it in plain terms for all to understand? These are real issues that should be answered so that all can clearly understand the answer. Wouldn't that solve a major issue here? Also, there should be time for the public to think about the BoE budget and get to the bottom of the Dr James contract before any vote is scheduled. It would seem that June 4th is too soon for that to happen. Julian, the title of the article for anyone watching last night...is right on and without question accurate. Ms. Richardson owes Mrs Ingram a public apology as well as an apology to the public whose time she wasted with her inappropriate comments and tone.
Michele Vannelli May 22, 2013 at 07:25 pm
I spoke last night and made the very unpopular suggestion that we return the grant money for the…Read More Equity Study. That grant was to pay for only part of the study, was my understanding. The other part was to be paid for with $408,000 of our taxpayer dollars. Later, when this topic came up for discussion, Dr. Villar stated he felt there was confusion by many taxpayers over this grant and that the taxpayer dollar figure cited, was only particially right. How particially right? I'd like to know. He never provided a dollar amount. Furthermore, Dr. Villar stated taxpayer confusion over this grant was leading to mistrust. On that, we agree. After more lengthy descriptions of this grant, the state initiatives, money in, money out, and so-forth and so-on, as a taxpayer, I walked away feeling totally befudlled and wondering, more than once, if that was the ultimate goal. For purposes of clarification, Ms Ingram posed several questions to Dr. Villar. He grew testy and impatient, claiming he's explained this grant 15 times. While that may be true, Ms Ingram is an accountant, has sharp analytical skills, is a BoE member, as well as a taxpayer therefore she is entitiled to respectful answers to her queries. I imagine her hope was to sled further light on this complex issue. The fact remains, as an educator, if after 15 explanations, student's still aren't getting it, than just maybe, it has more to do with the presenter than the audience's ability to comprehend.
Willa Nemetz May 22, 2013 at 08:35 pm
I moved to Windsor in 1989. My only regret is that I wasn't born here. It's a wonderful place to…Read More live, with so much to offer - the Historical Society, the Art Center, great restaurants, celebrations on the Town Green, improvements to Broad Street....and most of all, wonderful people. I don't have children, so I really can't comment on the schools, except to say that I have been impressed with the students I've encountered, especially the High School students who have volunteered their services for various functions and the teachers, who are doing an outstanding job.
Bill Generous May 22, 2013 at 04:09 pm
Albert, I thought it appropriate to compare towns given the title of the blog. Schools in West…Read More Hartford have an excellent reputation and that may be one reason it is so expensive to live there. I cringe when I hear the Superintendent say Windsor schools are the 26th worst in the state. One can cut up the data differently to see otherwise. Had one son graduate from WHS last year and another will graduate this June. Both had many offers from good schools with scholarships. I am not convinced that if all Windsor's students attended West Hartford schools they would as a group get a better education. I do believe that the people that care about Windsor the most tend to vote, regardless of how they vote.
Al Simon May 22, 2013 at 03:16 pm
I do wonder though, for the people who seem to hate it here, how do they process GOOD NEWS? Like…Read More Sage Park as Middle School of the year, based, in part, on rising test scores? Do they put their fingers in their ears and say nah, nah, nah, and refuse to hear it? Or deny it despite the facts? I guess we'll see.
Albert Williams May 22, 2013 at 12:59 pm
Oh can we just get to the Nov elections already!! So many eyes have been opened, i just can't…Read More wait!!
CatherineDennis May 21, 2013 at 10:49 pm
To clarify -"won at our expense" I mean the expense of all tax payers. Dollar Tree wanted…Read More the property due to location -they would have and could have easily bought it. They had big guns Ernst & Young negotiating with wannabes and made fools of them
CatherineDennis May 21, 2013 at 10:38 pm
@Michelle, whether we talk blight or taxes Al Simon and crew will try to twist our words and votes…Read More to suit their own agenda. The fact is people are fed up with tax and spend and frivolous use of tax dollars. No comment from any of them you will note with respect to all of the questions brought up regarding Dr James. If they have no problem with kids teaching them how to fix the problem at WHS I would recommend the ones doing so well at Sage Park vs paying to fly them in from Chicago. Al thinks to pontificate and put people down that do not agree with him is going to work for him. The only thing Dollar Tree has to do with anything is the loss of revenue we COULD have been receiving now if they didn't give it all away to a fortune 500 company, grant them 1/2 price fees at the cost of thousands and thousands, while at the same time raising the cost of the fees on residents. Dollar Tree wanted the location and they negotiated with fools and won at our expense. Al even went so far as to call some Tea Partiers. He is desperate.
Boards
All Boards » George Slate May 22, 2013 at 06:45 pm
Yes, success has many parents. I truly do not want to taint your story, but my question is: Does…Read More WEF have enough money to fund an EER by a legitimate researcher (or are you willing to start up a collection?)? If you do, maybe in five years you can do a similar story about our High School.
CatherineDennis May 21, 2013 at 08:45 pm
Congrats to all students, parents, teachers and administrators at Sage Park. It would seem that…Read More mission statements, transparency, parent involvement all equal excellence. How much would you charge to teach these basics to those that feel the need to hire college students from Chicago to review WHS-those very same people that congratulated you tonight?
The students achievements that were honored tonight were very impressive and you make us all proud. Keep up the great work at Sage Park.
George Slate May 21, 2013 at 05:07 pm
Thank you Al and Bill for the follow up comments. For both, as I understand it, the fancy words are,…Read More longitudinal studies. Take the same students, or group of students if the individual data is not available, and see how the test results go from third grade to high school. I've only done a quick scan of the test results for Windsor that R. Eleveld gave us a link to earlier. Along with understanding the Town's audited financial statements (which Bill might help me with), this longitudinal information is something that I hope to work through as time permits. As I write this, I should consider a FOI to see if it already exists. If it already exists, I'm surprised that all of us do not already have easy access to it. When I have the information gathered, I will share summaries here. And for the two of you, I will share the detailed spreadsheets. As I recall, even last night the conversation centered on the High School for turn around, and regardless of what we think of the person currently engaged for the EER, the EER is for the High School only.
Bill Generous May 21, 2013 at 04:46 pm
George, keep in mind that after middle school at Sage Park, some students go to other public or…Read More private high schools. Studies comparing the middle and high school should concentrate on students that have attended both.
Albert Williams May 20, 2013 at 03:40 pm
Just curious...any relation to Griffin Land, Imperial Nursuries, River Bend Associates?
R Eleveld May 21, 2013 at 03:44 pm
@Slate The BoE originally said they did not believe the Town Ethics Commission had purview over the…Read More BoE. Yes in November the voters can choose to continue the behavior with the current party in the majority. See the comment of WR who says a Councilor accepted responsibility here: http://windsor.patch.com/groups/schools/p/council-approves-reduction-in-education-funding
George Slate May 20, 2013 at 02:27 pm
R Eleveld - Just to clarify, The Town Ethics Committee ruled (1) that the BOE is subject to the Town…Read More Ethics Code, but (2) they do not have jurisdiction over violations of BOE by laws violations. When someone is brought in front of an Ethics Committee, and comes out vindicated, one of two things happen. They are humbled, or emboldened. The BOE President, and the Superintendent of Schools are emboldened because virtually nothing stands in their way of two person absolute rule, until November 2013. The only obstacle is for one of the Democrat BOE members joining the other four BOE members to reign (the pun works all too well here) them in (this appears unlikely). What is the old saying, Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely? So we have to wait until November to try and fix this situation. In the meantime the voters in Windsor can keep voting NO on the referenda to send the message that we do not want dysfunctional BOE oversight. Or we could get back a functional BOE. Since September 12, 2012, this possibility grow less likely each day.
R Eleveld May 20, 2013 at 10:18 am
@Michele, you are correct. The TC can only provide the BoE an amount of money, it can not in anyway…Read More tell the BoE what to do with that money. It could make suggestions, however they carry the same weight as any citizen making any suggestion to the BoE. State law has created the BoE as an island unto itself. They do not even think they are subject to the Town Ethics Code. The voters do have the power to change what they do not like in November. The question is will they again repeat the prior behavior and vote in those that will not make change. Remember Einstein's definition of insanity. It applies here.
R Eleveld May 20, 2013 at 10:22 am
They did a good job of investigation along with Ms. Fissel. in the article: Some investigation…Read More yields more questions.
I ask some questions about the timing of this whole situation. It is now become an embarrassment to Windsor, Loyola, and Dr. James. The idea of this research/study is important, however this execution is fraught with problems and serious concerns.
http://windsor.patch.com/groups/r-elevelds-blog/p/some-investigation-yields-more-questions
AnneB May 15, 2013 at 09:19 am
What they don't get is that the Dollar Tree and Poquonock development are not isolated issues.…Read More They directly relate to the overall frustration of voters. Residents have repeatedly been told that development will produce "benefits" for them and the town and help keep taxes low. Meanwhile, those "benefits" always seem to go to an ever hungry, yet still failing, education beaurocracy while the center of town and other neighborhoods languish with no improvements and taxes still go up.
Malvi Lennon May 15, 2013 at 09:10 am
What Mayor Trinks and Minority Leader Jepson refuse to acknowledge is that people (ALL people) are…Read More tired. Most Windsor residents whether they are on the right or the left want cost effective responsible government. We want our elected officials to remember that they ARE accountable to the people. It is OUR money hence OUR priorities should set the agenda. No more horse trails or sidewalks to nowhere. This November let’s send a clear message to the Town Council – step aside boys a new team is taking over.
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