By Henry Twombly, Sedona Resident
(October 11, 2013)
I write because I oppose the Budget Override. As a former teacher, I support education, especially when the monies go towards teachers’ salaries and academic supplies. I support it now with 27% of my taxes going to the School District. I don’t support the apparent mismanagement of funds, when none of the $73-million bond was designed and allocated for operating expenses as well. The bond turned out to be a boondoggle for taxpayers and a windfall for the construction industry; it did nothing for the quality of education.
The mill rate for the School District went up to a $3.58 total from a $2.83 total last year. ($1.30 of this rate is to pay off the bond.) So in effect SOCSD wants to double-tax us. First with the increase in the mill rate; and then again with the 15% increase over the District’s revenue control limit.
Supporters couch the debate in terms of dire consequences that would adversely affect class size, AP courses, etc. The reduced funds don’t have to impact the fundamentals, if the cuts were applied to administrative salaries and ancillary programs like sports, band, etc. No dire consequences happened when the Budget Override was voted down last year.
The Information Pamphlet about the Override can be seen as media hype, if not downright propaganda. Some people in favor were asked to write letters of support, fear-mongering about dire consequences, guilt-tripping with platitudes about the importance of education. No arguments against the Override were included. Why weren’t such letters requested? Surely there’s opposition to the Override since it was defeated last year. If it’s defeated again, SOCSD will probably try again next year, since they want to make this a permanent tax. Don’t let them.
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10 Comments
The District taxes us and builds a performing arts center, footballf field and unsustainable solar project for tens of millions of dollars. Nothing for salaries, operation or maintenance. They want even more? For Sports and extra curricular?
Here is an idea. You are a school. Teach academics correctly before you fund football and other unnecessary programs. Focus on your mission.
Lets see. The Superintendant Dr. Lykins needs a legal protection order which should deeply concern parents particularly since he has not disclosed the reason for such a drastic legal measure. The last 3 years of AIMS test scores at RRHS show below average and failing grades for science and math.
What world do they live in? What are they teaching our children? Money grows on trees and we don”t need a plan. Just build it! Virtually all RRHS grads will leave Sedona unless they want to wait tables because there are no professional jobs here. Education only builds communities if the graduatess stay in their community. Professionals will not stay in Sedona as there are no jobs. We pay for their education and they leave for other cities.
This year my honors student left RRHS after 3 weeks because the standards were so low that he was completely unchallenged. The school district and its principals sweep bullying under the rug. This District needs a shock to its system, clean house at the highest levels and fix their academic problems before they get another nickel for football. Promise to spend it on teachers and academics then we can talk.
VOTE NO.
DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
I’ve had two students graduate SRRHS who have had good experiences. Both have gone on to College. One in State, and the other to a well known East Coast Ivy League. Both have graduated with their Bachelors, and have gotten jobs. The oldest is also working toward his MBA.
I have one student at the school now.
The school is virtually violence free, well maintained and has a core of young motivated teachers. As a parent you have to involve yourself, and take action.
What the school lacks is funding. What the teachers lack is decent pay.
What a portion of the community fails to provide is SUPPORT.
Academics is fundamental. The other elements of High School such as sports and the arts are what help to make our kids well rounded and prepared for the world.
Community Fails To Provide Support. Have You Looked At Your Property Tax Bill For 2013? If Not, We Can Help. http://Www.Usaladyliberty.org
Henry;
the voter information pamphlet that was sent to all Sedona residents includes only the statements that are received as of the publication date. If someone had written in a statement opposing the override, it would have been published. The fact there are no “no” statements in the pamphlet simply reflects no one was sufficiently motivated at the time to write such a statement. No conspiracy on this, just no opposition at the time.
Or The Path To Provide No Comments Was Successfully Suppressed.
Mike, unless you can prove that statement, you need to retract it. I don’t have a problem with you expressing your opinions, even if I don’t agree with them. I do have a problem with you seeing dark intent in what often happens on ballot initiatives; one side is much more motivated than the other to provide input at the time the comments were open. You clearly have comments now, and you are getting them out there, but stop with the unfounded conspiracy theories. They make you a less credible voice on this topic.
Mike is right. There is a well oiled machine in Sedona which suppresses counterpoints and will attack you and your way of life if you cross them. Everyone who has lived here for any length of time knows it and knows who they are. It is no secret. Look at the Mayor. He is the poster child. The Self proclaimed elite Sedona 30 leads the pack. It rolls $$$$$ out every election cycle. Hopefully citizens will see through the b.s. and the incompetent administration and School Board who want to suck every nickel out of the community that the Chamber of Commerce doesn’t get. Corruption under the guise of “support our children.” The oldest marketing ploy in the book to get sympathy. Sedona always settles for the lowest common denominator when it comes to real leadership. I guess when you pay your Mayor $600 per month you get what you pay for. Without the red rocks Sedona would be a laughing stock to everyone with a minimal level of intelligence.
Can someone from the school please explain what will be done about failing AIMS test scores or should we just ignore the problem and write a blank check and not care.
Vote NO.
DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!
For those who have two overrides on the ballot, let’s also not forget to vote “NO” on the Coconino Community College District’s measure concerning an additional property tax of $4,500,000 per year for seven years. Although this college district has three campuses and several instructional sites, none are in Sedona.
I am very hard nosed about tax money and how it is spent. I think a good deal of our tax dollars are wasted, and oppose most tax increase measures with good reason.
However, I support the Budget Override because this is money well spent. The education budget does not include money to support AP classes, band, sports, art and other “enhancement” classes. These are all classes you took in school but some people petulantly want to deny them to the current Red Rock students. You should be ashamed of yourselves.
Please explain how reducing the number and quality of classes in science and math is going to improve the Sedona student’s test scores. That’s not even common sense.
Those of you who are upset with the solar panels or sports field, take it out on the right people. Hint – it’s not the students.
Those of you who are upset with the Mayor, take it out on the Mayor. I know Rob Adams and he can certainly stand up for himself. And if you don’t like the job he is doing, run for Mayor next time and show us how capable you are.
Finally there is no “well oiled machine” suppressing dissent and personally attacking you or your way of life. If there were, they would have found me long before now. Stop with the paranoia already.
Vote YES
IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN SEDONA
Burt Ensley
Yes, let’s spend more money on a public education system which has accomplished all this (and please, submit your rebuttals):
Two out of three eighth-graders can’t read proficiently and most will never catch up. (NAEP, 2011) (NAEP, 2011)
Nearly two-thirds of eighth-graders scored below proficient in math. (NAEP, 2011)
Seventy-five percent of students are not proficient in civics. (NAEP, 2011)
Nearly three out of four eighth-and 12th-grade students cannot write proficiently. (NAEP, 2012)
Some 1.1 million American students drop out of school every year. (EPE, 2012)
For African-American and Hispanic students across the country, dropout rates are close to 40 percent, compared to the national average of 27 percent. (EPE, 2012)
Our public school students trail their peers in most other industrialized nations.
After World War II, the United States had the #1 high school graduation rate in the world. Today, we have dropped to # 22 among 27 industrialized nations. (OECD, 2012)
American students rank 25th in math, 17th in science and 14th in reading compared to students in 27 industrialized countries.(OECD, 2012)
By the end of the eighth-grade, U.S. students are two years behind in math compared to their peers in other countries. (OECD, 2009)
The U.S. ranks behind 13 other countries in terms of the percentage of 25-34 year-olds who have completed some college coursework. (OECD, 2012)
American students tend to perform worse in math and science as they age, according to recent studies measuring fourth- and eighth-graders’ academic achievement against other industrialized nations. Gaps with high performing countries like South Korea and Singapore are widening. (TIMSS, 2012)
Not enough students reach college, and many who do are not prepared.
Less than half of American students – 46 percent – finish college. The U.S. ranks last among 18 countries measured on this indicator. (OECD, 2010)
Only one in four high school students graduate ready for college in all four core subjects (English, reading, math and science), which is why a third of students entering college have to take remedial courses. (ACT, 2011)
Only 4 percent of African American students and 11 percent of Hispanic students finish high school ready for college in their core subjects. (ACT, 2011)
Two-thirds of college professors report that what is taught in high school does not prepare students for college. (Alliance for Excellent Education)
Many American children are not prepared to compete for careers or jobs in a 21st century knowledge-based economy.
In order to earn a decent wage in today’s economy, most students will need at least some postsecondary education. (U.S. Department of Labor)
Nearly 44 percent of dropouts under age 24 are jobless, and the unemployment rate of high school dropouts older than 25 is more than three times that of college graduates. (United States Department of Labor, 2012)
Despite sustained unemployment, employers are finding it difficult to hire Americans with the skills their jobs require, and many expect this problem to intensify. (”Getting Ahead…” Business Roundtable, 2009, and “An Economy that Works,” McKinsey & Company, 2011)
More than 75 percent of employers report that new employees with four-year college degrees lacked “excellent” basic knowledge and applied skills. (“Are They Really Ready to Work?” sponsored by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management. Accessed January 15, 2008)
Nearly half of those who employ recent high school graduates said overall preparation was “deficient.” (“Are They Really Ready to Work?” sponsored by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management. Accessed January 15, 2008)
The share of jobs in the U.S. economy needing a college degree will increase to 63 percent in the next decade. This will require 22 million new employees with college degrees. At the current pace, the nation will fall at least 3 million college degrees short. (A. Carnevale, N. Smith, and J. Strohl, Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Economic Requirements Through 2018 (Washington, DC: Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, 2010)
Over the course of his working life, an American male with a college degree can expect to earn nearly $675,000 more; an American female $340,000 more -– far more than in any other country. (OECD, 2012)
Americans who earn a college degree make a 40 percent higher salary than those with just a high school diploma. (“Are They Really Ready to Work?” sponsored by The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management. Accessed January 15, 2008)
High school dropouts can expect to earn just 5 percent of what a typical graduate will make over the course of his lifetime. (College Board Advocacy & Policy Center, 2010)
And finally, consider this: Of the 1.66 million high school students in the class of 2013 who took the SAT, only 43 percent were academically prepared for college-level work, according to this year’s SAT Report on College & Career Readiness. For the fifth year in a row, fewer than half of SAT-participants received scores that qualified them as “college-ready.”