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2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Middletown schools a model for battling education gap

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Middletown schools a model for battling education gap

Technology, data spark improvement

By Meghan E. Murphy

Times Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 08/21/11Last updated: 11:43 AM - 08/22/11

Lindsay Hammer's long, straight hair brushes across the shoulder of her faded jeans jacket as shepaces in front of a white board. “Waiting on two ... waiting on one ...”The students hover over TI Navigator calculators linked to a computer at the front of the ninth-gradeclassroom at Middletown High School.The board shows when all the results are in. With a click, Hammer brings students' names and answersup on a big screen for all to see. Seven out of eight are correct.“All right. Next one,” Hammer prompts the students. “Give an example of a whole number.”A student in a Middies football jersey clicks on his calculator and instantly raises both fists.“Are you pretty pumped about your answer?” Hammer says.The math lesson is masquerading as a game and the special education students are enraptured.Hammer, too, is as psyched as a coach on the sideline of a close football game.After class, Hammer talks about technology and data, two centerpieces of Middletown SchoolDistrict's approach to educating struggling students.“This is such a great tool. This is my first year using it and it's been phenomenal. Every day I seeresults,” Hammer said. So do other teachers up and down and across the Middletown School District.More importantly, so do the students – all of them.When the bell rings, Hammer will run an instant replay. The calculator quizzes give Hammer data: a

report on each student so she can target which concepts they're getting and which ones they don'tunderstand.

Making gains in achievement

Middletown schools have made gains in a decades-old struggle that has confounded schools across thecountry – closing the achievement gap.Nationwide the 21-point scoring gap between Hispanic and white students hasn't changed significantly

in 20 years, though scores for both groups on the national assessment rose, according to the 2011National Assessment of Educational Progress report. There has been moderate progress in closinggaps between white and black students, though white students on average did 26 points better on a500-point test in 2007 compared with black students. There has also been slight progress on closinggaps between schools with a high percentage of low-income students and those without poverty.Nationally, there is also debate about why gaps exist. The gaps between racial groups are correlatedwith higher chances of a Hispanic or black student living in poverty. Students from impoverishedfamilies start kindergarten with fewer skills and have higher incidences of learning disabilities,





education researcher Janie Pollack said.Pollack, who has been reviewing Middletown's data as a consultant, said the district has maximizedtechnology and data to surgically attack the achievement gap.“(Superintendent) Ken Eastwood is pretty well known in the New England area for his work onstudent gains and his technology capacity,” she said.Now this district is recruiting Pollack to help them overcome more hurdles as the state raises standardsfor success on tests and graduation.

Getting to graduation

By 2010, Middletown's graduation rate was almost equal for every student group. Just four years ago,that was not the case.From the Class of 2006 to the Class of 2010, the overall August graduation rate rose almost 12 points,from 71 percent to 83 percent. The improvement occurred while school demographics shifted,bringing an influx of students who live in poverty.

In the 2006 graduating class, there were more white students than any other group, and they graduatedat a 4 percent higher rate than blacks and 9 percent higher than Hispanics.By 2010, whites were the smallest racial group, and in the middle of the pack as far as graduationrates.Though the district's economically disadvantaged population grew 150 percent between the 2006 and2010 graduating classes, the graduation rate for that group increased 16 percent and was the same asthat of non-economically disadvantaged students.“Ethnicity has never been a problem for us. Our big problem and our statistical problem is poverty,”Superintendent Ken Eastwood said.In 2006-07, the district was also failing almost every No Child Left Behind accountability standard forelementary, middle and high school. By 2009-10, the district was in good standing overall, with justtwo subgroups – English learners and students with disabilities – not making adequate progress onEnglish tests.A small group of critics, including two school board members, questions Eastwood's methods. Butstories from teachers and administrators also provide evidence that the district can serve as a model forothers battling achievement gaps.As administrators and teachers describe it, there has been a districtwide drive to adopt research-provenprograms that are working. The reform formula includes adopting high expectations for students, acommon vision, training and support for teachers, and resources for students.When Eastwood talks about his vision, he says there's no “silver bullet” to improving education.In the past five years, the district has brought in a new literacy program and individualized instruction.

Middletown has created an elementary school orchestra, implemented after-school tutoring, and evenconstructed impressive athletic facilities. All of those steps have their role in creating a healthylearning environment, Eastwood said.

A foundation in data





Mildred Martinez clutches her student data report in her hand as Maple Hill Elementary Hill PrincipalDominic Radogna standing beside her.She's done some extra homework by assessing all of her students in two languages twice this year.Behind her is some more extra credit, her classroom “data wall,” a display of magnetic numbers thatrepresent reading levels for each student. For Martinez's bilingual second-graders, there's a magnet forboth English and Spanish achievement levels.The data wall mimics a schoolwide version in a conference room, where Maple Hill administrators

and teachers track every student's literacy level. The method is so progressive that the National MathCouncil hadn't heard of it when Radogna called them for advice earlier this year.Middletown's focus on data has reignited Martinez's passion for teaching.“We're data crazy here and we're data crazy because it holds the answers,” Eastwood said. “We knowin September which students are going to be at risk of not graduating in June and for what reasons.”Martinez said she used to be an “old school” lecture-style teacher. But now she heads home each nightand peppers her husband with figures and stories about her kids.“I get to watch this child really, really grow and give him the tools and skills he needs to give himownership of his learning,” Martinez said.Martinez uses her classroom data wall to inform parents and students, too. While the students areassigned numbers for anonymity, during conferences Martinez shows parents which magnet represents

their kid, providing a visual cue to compare with expected levels and other students.Results have convinced many of the district's teachers that once-daunting changes are worth adopting,said teachers union President Sheila Esposito. Open communication about problems and theincorporation of teacher's input also brought some reluctant teachers on board with the technology,literacy and data push.“The bottom line is to work together to figure out what the kids need and how to get it to them,”Radogna said.

After school is key

Teacher Megan Gugliotta is putting the elementary school orchestra through its paces as studentsprepare for a holiday concert. They come during lunch periods or recess or miss class time for theopportunity to bow a violin.There were doubters when Eastwood proposed a classical music program for Middletown. But in the2010-11 school year, about 230 students are enrolled in the program. Each has the opportunity to use afree instrument because of grants obtained by the district.“Dr. Eastwood wanted opportunities to get students involved and get them engaged. Good schoolsTeacher Megan Gugliotta is putting the elementary school orchestra through its paces as students

prepare for a holiday concert. They come during lunch periods or recess or miss class time for theopportunity to bow a violin.There were doubters when Eastwood proposed a classical music program for Middletown. But in the2010-11 school year, about 230 students are enrolled in the program. Each has the opportunity to use afree instrument because of grants obtained by the district.“Dr. Eastwood wanted opportunities to get students involved and get them engaged. Good schoolshave these programs,” Gugliotta said.Once engaged, whether in orchestra or sports or other activities, students are held accountable for their





class work as well. Strings students miss class to practice, but Gugliotta keeps in touch with teachersto assure they're earning the privilege.From 2004-05 to 2009-10, the district saw a 67 percent increase in after-school participation and a 76percent increase in sports participation, according to Janet Ferreira, the district accountability analyst.Eastwood said the strongest direct correlation in data he's found for success among student is betweeninvolvement and academics.“We saw more kids involved after school and academics went up as kids participated more,” he said.

Gugliotta has a list of all her students who made honor roll, and says proudly that eight of the 13 of theschool's National Elementary Honors Society students were in strings.“We believe the engagement of kids in these activities improves their academic performance,” saidMonhagen Middle School Principal Tracey Sorrentino. “You can have expectations, but it's not goingto be realized without opportunities for kids.”

What's next?

With achievements under their belt, Middletown faces two big hurdles as administrators, teachers andstudents embark on the new school year.The district has a much leaner staff, having cut 98 positions in the recent budget. Like every otherschool district statewide, Middletown also faces a higher bar for student achievement on state testssince the Board of Regents raised the cut-off scores for proficiency last June.“People felt successful because they had this huge turnaround,” Eastwood said. “Now, I'm saying don'tget comfortable because look at what's in front of us.”The road to get the district to its current level wasn't without struggle, especially because of tightbudgets. Esposito, of the teachers union, recalls fielding teacher calls about the changes.“We are making do with an awful lot less,” Esposito said. “Yet when I talk to my colleagues, they stillwant to know: What can we do? How can we pull ourselves together with reduced budgets andsupplies, and increased demands?”Eastwood said the road ahead may involved setbacks, including schools identified again as failingbecause of a higher bar for test scores, but he's determined to prove that public education can succeedfor every kid.“We have the staff here who can do it. We also have the parents who believe they can do it. We alsohave the students who believe in themselves,” Eastwood said.“We have all the components to prove everybody wrong and we will.”[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Newburgh class looks beyond city's ills to see its future


Newburgh class looks beyond city's ills to see its future

By Meghan E. MurphyTimes Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 04/19/09

In the hallway of his apartment building, Solomon Davis is trying on postures like new clothes. Hestares into the mirror. He squints through black-framed glasses. First, he holds out his hands foremphasis. Then he brings his fingertips to his chin.

Davis has put away his street stance. He's no longer slouched under a hooded sweatshirt. He isrehearsing for his future as a mentor to Newburgh's struggling teens, an ambassador to its adults whodon't understand.

"Coming up, you know, you got to be so defensive," he says.

At 18, he's feeling out who he can be and how to get there from these streets.

His little sister runs in and out the front door of the four-unit brownstone, interrupting his thoughts.Just around the corner, the buildings on Liberty Street aren't just abandoned — they are ruins behindfacades. The nooks of convenience-store doorways host drug dealers. Tags are spray-painted on brickand siding: codes for violent arguments decipherable only by gangbangers and cops.

Davis throws out big words and bigger ideas as he broadens his skinny, muscular frame to a firmstance. "When you feel like all the people around you are just as weak as the next " ¦there's an ongoingcircle of stress."

He's seen how leaders carry themselves differently. Now he has to figure out how to become one.

"I was in my house a month ago, and I felt like I had the key to life," he says, still staring in the mirror."Aggression is fuel, but it doesn't have to turn into hostility " ¦That class will open up your mind."

"That class" — Council For Unity — started in January 2008 at Newburgh Free Academy, whereSolomon is a senior. The curriculum is loose in the eighth period. Sometimes talk wanders into blackhistory, other times it's a pseudo-therapy session on murder, drugs, prison sentences: the things thatsurround teenagers growing up on city streets.

Within a mile of the brownstone building where Davis lives with his mother and four siblings, seven

people were murdered last year. Within blocks of this porch, he was stabbed when he was 14 yearsold.

Outside of class, he can stare in the mirror and see the possibilities. Still, when he heads outside hemust face the streets.





Churches abound, despair too

Whether 20 or five students show up, the council class always sits in a circle, squealing metal desks onlinoleum floors, turned so students face each other.

The rules are simple: any topic is open for discussion, and everyone — including the teachers —

shares openly.

On April 15, the topic was Newburgh's third murder victim in 2008. Every student in the room hadsome connection to 15-year-old Jeff Zachary. Sophomore LaQuasia Smith saw him only hours beforehis death. He was one of her best friends.

Teacher Mark Wallace passes a pile of funeral programs around the classroom.

He towers over the students as he speaks about the Mass where Zachary was memorialized. He speaksabout the unity that comes after death but always seems to dissipate in this community. Leaning onVice Principal Melissa Siegel, student Asia Woody begins to cry.

"I've never seen a place like Newburgh — churches every two to three blocks and despaireverywhere," Wallace says. "There ain't nobody coming together for one goal."

Wallace saw hardship growing up in Harlem. He knows that it takes just one mistake for teens to getcaught up in crime. He was in line for a military scholarship to college when he was arrested for armedrobbery.

That was then. Now, he has a master's degree from New York College, where he graduated summacum laude. He helped found an at-risk youth program and a theater group that serves as rehabilitationart therapy. He earned all of this while serving time at Sing Sing Correctional Facility.

What he tells students is that if he can achieve these goals from a prison cell, they can certainly riseabove in Newburgh.

"You have to start thinking higher of yourself," he tells the class. "It's not about leaving the ghetto " ¦

it's about leaving our state of mind."

Homework vs. going hungry

Davis slouches his skinny shoulders as he talks. He's a fifth-year senior who's behind in his classes butcan quote Malcolm X. He writes poetry and knows how many Crips there are in his neighborhood. Hesays adults don't understand his predicament, so he's practicing how to explain it to them.

"You tell me I have ADD? I gotta worry about eating, rent, dying in the 'hood. How can I worry abouthomework? I got to worry about being hungry," he says.





History teacher Torrance Harvey listens and nods. He knows what these kids are going through. Afterall, the 37-year-old grew up in these neighborhoods, too. Back in the 1980s, good-looking girls werecalled "ladies" instead of "biddies" but crack cocaine was just turning the always-poor neighborhoodsa bit meaner.

Harvey lived on peanut-butter sandwiches and chugged water to keep full while earning a collegedegree.

"I remember where the turning point was for me when I really hung with myself and said, 'What do Iwant out of life?' I started doing what I despised the most. I hated to read," Harvey says.

Speaking out against violence

There's a disconnect between what people think about kids like Davis and his reality. Before comingto Council For Unity, senior Toni Ann Stewart was struggling to understand the world her friends

traveled home to after school.

Stewart, a teen who grew up in Ossining, remembers her first view of Newburgh's ghetto. There wastrash blowing through the street, ramshackle buildings with dark, open doorways. Empty plots of landlike graveyards smattered between buildings.

She bubbled out questions.

"You live here? What is this place?"

The friend she was riding with simply told her to shut up.

Four years later on an icy day in December, Stewart walks in her friends' shoes. With about 60students, she marches through Newburgh's neighborhoods. The class decided to stop talking andinstead to take to the streets and speak out against violence.

Over three miles, their chants echo off brownstones and warehouses. On one street corner, Stewartsees a friend who had dropped out of school. The girl scampers inside, embarrassed.

On another block a man tells them to hurry off, "You're never going to stop the violence," he says.

A week later, Stewart sits on a plush couch in her Town of Newburgh living room, complete with

valance curtains and a life-sized glazed leopard sculpture lurking against the wall.

"You hear stuff, but until you go see it "¦ I never knew what Solomon's life was like," she says.

Although he's the Council president, Davis isn't at the march. Two weeks later, he missed class, too.Instead of slouching at his desk, Davis was in a hospital bed. On the same street where he'd beenstabbed at 14, he was jumped unexpectedly by two teenagers he knew while walking the half-blockfrom the corner store to his apartment with a friend.





His attackers were brandishing guns. They demanded the little money he had in his pockets. Then theybeat him over the head.

Setting goals, preparing for future

There's only a half-day left before winter break. The class is rowdy, disorganized, buzzing withenergy. Wallace asks if anyone has anything to address. He gets a moment of silence and a half dozenblank stares, so he launches into a soliloquy about the year's end.

"Look inside yourself and see your strength," he said. "And what you've come through to get here."

He talks about setting goals and preparing for the future. He talks about how life's difficulties alwaysget in the way.

"All of us can fall," Wallace said. "And all of us have a long way to go."

The bell rings. Some students scamper out the door. Davis weaves around the room, grasping hands,bumping chests.

"See you in a few weeks," he says.

Empathy instead of angerIn January, a small bruise over his left eyebrow is the only visible scar weeks after Davis was jumped.

He says he's just fine. He doesn't really want to talk about it anymore.

Still, he does.

He knows the teens who held guns to his head. They are exactly the kind of kids Davis wants to reachout to. He thinks he wants to be a counselor or social worker some day, but the path there is filled withobstacles.

"For all I try to stand for, something opposite comes my way," he says.

The first time he was jumped, Davis' glasses fell off. Everything was dark. All he could think to dowas fight, and then run.

This time, Davis feels empathy instead of anger. He thinks instead of reacts. He knows the violencewon't disappear, that he must simply struggle through it.





"There's no way around it," Davis says.

The bell rings, Davis walks tall down the hallway amidst a swarm of students. He's got to catch a bushome.

[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Developer targeted as unpaid bills, taxes mount

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Developer targeted as unpaid bills, taxes mount

Kingston company owes $400K on housing projects

By Meghan E. Murphy

Times Herald RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 01/03/12

An Ulster County developer owes more than $400,000 in property taxes on affordable-housingprojects and has been accused by contractors of failing to pay his bills.

Kingston-based Birchez Associates and its president, Steven Aaron, owe taxes on three of four UlsterCounty senior and work force housing developments. Aaron is in court with three municipalities overunpaid taxes, and recently the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency voted to strip his taxbreak in four months unless he pays Kingston some $330,000.

Over the last five years, Aaron or his companies have been named in dozens of lawsuits, judgments orliens after contractors said they weren't paid, according to Ulster County court records. Yet last month,he won a state economic development grant for a new project in Fishkill.

"Those grants are made to boost the economy," said Herman Wagschal, vice president of New YorkPro Drywall Company in Monroe, who has a lawsuit against Aaron for $110,000 worth of work hesaid he did on a project in Esopus. "But everybody has to sue him," Wagschal said. "Otherwise, they'renot getting paid."

Aaron disputed claims against him point by point in an interview just before Christmas. Hespecifically criticized Wagschal's work but also said that he is a simply a demanding businessmanwhen it comes to quality, timeliness and coming in on budget. "We've had our share of disputes, butwe're responsible in the way we're dealing with them," Aaron said, adding that none of the liens or

judgments are outstanding.

Overall, Aaron said, his "eccentric way of dealing with things" is for the greater good of seniorcitizens. He also said his arguments for lower taxes and all that surrounds his unpaid bills are in theinterest of keeping apartment rents down.

A tour of the Birches at Chambers last week showed seniors enjoying an exercise room, a craft roomfull of ribbons and ornaments for the holidays, and a generally clean, well-appointed building.

"If we're going to be able to have affordable housing in our communities, the community leaders needto step up and recognize that there are certain key ingredients not only to getting it built but in order tomaintain it and maintain it affordably," Aaron said.

A dozen judgments in five years





Many contractors have gone to the courts to get paid by Aaron. In the last five years, Aaron or hiscompanies were subject to at least a dozen judgments ordering him to pay engineers, attorneys, asoftware company and more. He's also the subject of numerous mechanics' liens, a first step for acontractor who has not received payment.

In that time, three employees also went to the state commissioner of labor to be awarded $22,000 afterthe office found Aaron had violated state labor laws.

Aaron also almost left some senior citizens in the dark this fall by failing to pay bills to CentralHudson Gas & Electric. Three notices sent to residents of the Birches at Chambers during Septemberand acquired by the Times Herald-Record said service was slated to be shut off because the landlordowed $3,060.

Aaron has also been subject to two federal tax liens totaling more than $90,000.

The liens and many of his other judgments were all eventually paid.

Aaron provided half a dozen recommendation letters from contractors with whom he has worked. He

also said his companies are financially in good standing, and noted that he cannot close a mortgagewith liens or judgments on the books.

Aaron is working on two new projects. One, The Birches at Fishkill, was awarded a $1.8 million grantlast month from the state Region Economic Development awards process.

Some have alleged that Aaron's success is, in part, due to his political connections, an assertion he alsodisputed.

Austin Shafran, spokesman for Empire State Development, said funding awards were based on theendorsement of the local regional council and the technical scoring of various state funding agencies.Before a grant contract is executed, state agencies do a legal review, he said.

Aaron's companies donated almost $116,000 to elected officials in 2010 and 2011. The biggestrecipient was Gov. Andrew Cuomo, at $87,800, followed by the chairmen of legislative housingcommittees. Assemblyman Vito Lopez, D-Brooklyn, received $9,000 and Sen. John Bonacic, R-C-Mount Hope, got $5,000.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, has appeared at ribbon- cuttings for Aaron's projects. Hisspokesman said Hinchey supports affordable-housing projects but has secured no direct funding for

Aaron.

"It's not uncommon for people in our business to support people who have the same interests that wedo," Aaron said of his donations to politicians who work on affordable-housing issues.

Discord amid tries to cut taxes





Town of Ulster Supervisor James Quigley III describes his relationship with Aaron as adversarial.Before taking public office, Quigley sued the town and Aaron over a renegotiated tax deal that meansAaron pays only $100 a month per unit on Chambers. Quigley believes that amount should be three tofour times higher. His assertions were never heard by a judge, because the case was dismissed on thebasis that Quigley didn't have standing to sue.

Ulster is the only town in which an Aaron project is current on taxes, but Quigley says that's because

he sends bills directly to the mortgage escrow.

Aaron successfully renegotiated larger tax breaks than the initial payment in lieu of taxes agreementson the projects in Ulster and Esopus after they opened. "He's paying very little taxes on a very bigproject," said Esopus Assessor Dan Terpening.

Aaron now wants a lower assessment on vacant parcels in Esopus and has a tax action against thetown. Terpening said the town has made settlement offers but hasn't received a response.

In Kingston and Saugerties, where Aaron has not paid his current bills, he says he needs lower taxes aswell. His disputes revolve around how the property is assessed.

After Aaron made PILOT tax-break agreements with the municipalities, the state passed the 581-alaw, which allows affordable-housing projects to have their assessments calculated according to netoperating income.

Aaron wants to combine the two tax breaks, but the City of Kingston said no. He's suing in Kingstonover that issue, asserting that instead of some $250,000 billed under the PILOT, he should pay justunder $66,000 under the new state law.

Aaron also tried unsuccessfully to renegotiate about $57,000 in taxes he owes to Saugerties.

"We were running into an issue where unless we substantially raised the tenants' rent, we would havenot had sufficient resource to continue to pay the PILOT," Aaron said.

But the town supervisor said that negotiations fell through. "We were willing to work something outwith him, but his requests become preposterous," Saugerties Supervisor Greg Helsmoortel said. "Wefeel that he should pay a fair share."

Agency says no new tax breaks

Aaron said he was surprised by Helsmoortel's comments, stating he is close to an agreement with boththe town and the city. In Saugerties, he said, withholding the taxes was a legal tactic that his attorneyadvised. "The lawyer said "» there's language in here that says if you don't get paid, then the PILOTgets revoked. So, maybe we'll just not pay you, and it was a litigation strategy," Aaron said. He said inabsence of the PILOT, the project would be eligible for the 581-a tax break.





David O'Halloran, chairman of the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency, said Aaron wasnotified in June that the body would review his agreement, but never came before the board.

When the IDA took action toward revoking Aaron's PILOT agreement, he told a Kingston DailyFreeman reporter that the actions were rooted in racial or religious prejudice. He apologized in awritten statement days later and said that he regretted the comment, which, he said, was not meantliterally.

O'Halloran said the IDA's job is to balance the success of businesses with the taxpayers. Without themoney Aaron owes, the school district and city will have large holes in their 2012 budgets, he said."The tax incentives we give come on the backs of each and every taxpayer in tough economic times,"O'Halloran said.

Aaron already sued the city once over the assessment and lost. He launched a new claim in 2011, onthe same basis but with an attorney who he believes has more expertise.

Aaron is also planning a new project in the City of Kingston, the Cooperage at Kingston.

The IDA won't consider a tax break this time until the developer is current on his taxes, O'Halloransaid. "If you can't meet your old obligations, what makes you think you're going to meet new ones?"

[email protected]

Birchez Associates properties

Project/ Taxes Owed/ Current Lawsuits

Birchwood Village, Kingston/ $331,000/ Developer suing over property assessment

The Birches at Saugerties/ $57,000/ Saugerties suing developer over payment of taxes

Birches at Esopus/ $25,600, payment plan in place/ Developer suing over property assessment

Birches at Chambers, Ulster/ None/ None



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Teachers, kids share lessons of storm on first day of school

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Teachers, kids share lessons of storm on first day of school

By Meghan E. MurphyTimes Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 09/07/11

WASHINGTONVILLE — Eighth-grader Jonathan Eckman chose the word "strength" to describeHurricane Irene.

"This shows the strength of Mother Nature," he wrote in his English class Tuesday on the first day atWashingtonville Middle School.

"This shows that we have to stay strong in times of need. And we have to know that with strength wecan overcome anything."

Just nine days after a powerful storm displaced hundreds in Washingtonville, the first day of schoolwasn't business-as-usual.

The community was one of the hardest hit in the region, when waters from the Moodna Creek leftparts of the village under almost 8 feet of water.

Many families are still rummaging through soggy belongings.

Teachers at the middle school, where clean-up was ongoing Tuesday, entered their classrooms for thefirst time only hours before the children arrived.

Superintendent Roberta Greene encouraged teachers to let the students find a comfort zone andconnect, instead of rushing into class work.

English teacher Lucille Strommer asked students to choose one word to express how the stormimpacted them.

Instantly, the room bubbled with stories of tree limbs crashing down just outside the living room orcreeks rushing through yards.

Many students, their own houses flooded, ultimately wrote on yellow index cards words such as"devastated" "trapped" or "horrified."

More than a handful, whose own lives were unaffected, picked feelings such as "sad" "worried" and"sympathetic."

Timothy Rybacki wrote that he felt bad for families in his community.

"All those people lost a lot of their belongings and memories. You could replace a television but youcan't replace pictures with good memories."

Strommer reminded students, some of whom said the storm left them feeling isolated, that they weren't



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Teachers, kids share lessons of storm on first day of school

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alone. Teachers lost homes, too, and many lost belongings that were flooded in the school itself.

On Tuesday, one wing of the school was still off-limits. In an art room down that hall, a mural of Peanuts cartoon characters was lopped off at the waist, where water had ruined the sheetrock.

"When you have natural disasters, we all have different experiences," Strommer said.

"But when you look around, we're very happy to have you here and to have you safe. As long as you'reback in school, there's a bit of normalcy in life."

[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Entire Newburgh school district closing Friday to ease tensions

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Entire Newburgh school district closing Friday to ease tensions

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ShareThisBy Meghan E. MurphyTimes Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 01/15/10Last updated: 3:48 AM - 01/15/10

CITY OF NEWBURGH — A disagreement from city streets spilled over into school hallwaysThursday, resulting in lockdowns, arrests and ultimately, a decision to close the entire district Friday.

"School wasn't school today," a Newburgh Free Academy sophomore said as she walked home.

Sadness and anger pervaded the high school a day after one of its students was stabbed and killed.Levy King Flores, 17, was in 11th grade at NFA. Students described him as a nice guy who alwaysstood by his friends.

Police and a district official said there were also disturbances at North Junior High School.

"The friends are taking sides, so we've had a number of fights," Deputy Superintendent Ralph Pizzosaid at a news conference.

Principal Peter Copeletti said that the high school was on heightened alert and counselors were briefedThursday morning about the homicide.

"Some students are grieving, others are angered," Copeletti said. "We have to be prepared to deal withthe spectrum of student emotions."

During the day, the high school had to be locked down, and a cadre of police came to help maintainorder.

A few fights broke out, and three students were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

After hearing rumors about fights, parents came to the high school to pick up students early.

One dad stood outside NFA around dismissal time, worried and waiting to walk his daughter home.

As a result of the violence, all after-school activities were cancelled, including NFA Orientation Nightat South Junior High.

All district schools are closed Friday "to keep the unrest within the City of Newburgh from filteringinto the schools," according to a district statement.

Things were relatively calm at South Junior High School, although a few parents picked up students



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Entire Newburgh school district closing Friday to ease tensions


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2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - School district residents organize to beat the cap

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School district residents organize to beat the cap

In Highland, group seeks to keep programs

By Meghan E. Murphy

Times Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 02/10/12

Benjamin Bragg tapped his finger emphatically on the table in the elementary school library, speakingto about two dozen parents, teachers and community members.

"We will knock on every door in our town; we will get fliers out," Bragg said. "We need your support,and we're going to get it."

Bragg, a former Highland school board member, is in the group "I am part of the 60 Percent and Ichoose Highland."

The members want a sound budget from the school board that preserves programs and they are willingto drum up support in the community to pass it.

School districts drafting next year's budgets are struggling with a cap that limits increases in the taxlevy to 2 percent. The cap can only be exceeded if a budget passes with more than 60 percent supportfrom voters in May.

For Highland, staying under the cap would mean cutting 12 percent of staff, including 25 percent of teaching positions, according to budget documents. While on average, schools statewide received a 2.9percent increase in direct school aid under the governor's budget proposal, Highland saw a 0.94

percent decrease, including building aid.

The 60 Percenters rallied over concern about steep cuts to programs and teachers. Several in themeeting expressed opposition to a district draft budget that raises the levy 6.5 percent and cuts 17positions.

The group wants to be involved with the school board as it struggles with preserving programs andcontrolling spending, said Michael Bakatsias, a Highland parent who is the group's spokesman. Theyplan to survey residents and pass out fliers to prove that the community will support a budgetoverriding the tax levy cap. Members will also lobby state Sen. Bill Larkin to take their message toAlbany.

"When you're hearing a common conversation across the public schools, across the valley andprobably across the state, you have to question the policy," Bakatsias said.

The 60 Percenters are also seeking to connect with other Ulster County school communities.

"We're not stopping here; we're going all the way to Albany," Cyndi Klein, Highland PTA president,said. "We will not stop until the way education is funded in New York state is changed."



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - School district residents organize to beat the cap


[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - National union chief highlights local collaboration


National union chief highlights local collaboration

Marlboro pioneers new teacher evaluations

By Meghan E. Murphy

Times Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 03/05/11Last updated: 8:12 AM - 05/09/11

MARLBORO — On Thursday, Randi Weingarten stood with embattled teachers in Indianapolis. OnSaturday, she'll rally against attacks on unions in Madison, Wis.

But on Friday, the American Federation of Teachers president took a break from protests and politicsto visit a school district where educators are working together.

"We really want to be able to focus on good things, even in what is a pretty toxic national

environment," Weingarten said at Marlboro Intermediate School.

Marlboro is among five pioneer districts in the state developing a new way to rate teacherperformance, with the union and administrators working as partners. The district is participating in anAFT grant, which made it a petri dish to test new ways to reform education in the U.S.

Weingarten asked weighty questions of the Marlboro team and furiously scribbled notes as teachers,school board members and administrators answered: How did you go down this road? How do wemake collaboration the norm in America?

Along with facing budget cuts and union challenges, educators nationwide are hearing calls to reform

old systems. President Barack Obama wants to see performance-based raises for teachers. In NewYork, Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week introduced a bill to move toward eliminating the "last in, firstout" teacher-layoff system.

But before the traditional ways go out the window, schools need methods to fairly rate teacher quality,Marlboro Faculty Association President Joe Pesavento said.

The work in Marlboro has required teachers and school leaders to step outside of their comfort zone,teacher Marion Lyons said. The rewards, however, are worth the risks: The new evaluations also focuson mentoring teachers, especially those who are struggling.

"Where you have high levels of collaboration, you have a better chance of making a difference in thelives of kids," Pesavento said.

The Marlboro district has seen battles over contracts and salaries, some of which threatened to tear thecommunity apart, Superintendent Ray Castellani said.

"It's easy to throw up barriers in times of economic turmoil," Marlboro Assistant SuperintendentMichael Bakatsias said. "But even if you disagree, you keep the conversation going."



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - National union chief highlights local collaboration


Mary Neira, vice president of New York State United Teachers, praised Marlboro's singular focus onstudents.

"They go into a room, they roll up their sleeves and it's about professionalism. It's not about thepolitics or the money — it's about how do we get better at what we do?" Neira said.

That's a lesson Weingarten will take with her as she travels the country. As Weingarten told Mary

Guerriero's fourth-graders:

"Your school district does such an amazing job that the entire nation wants to bottle it and see if wecan make it like this everywhere."

[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - What's up with your school tax bill?


What's up with your school tax bill?

Levy slams some taxpayers

By Meghan E. Murphy

Times Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 09/26/11Last updated: 1:28 PM - 09/26/11

With a little yellow notebook in hand, Phil Adamson journeyed around the Town of Wallkill to figureout why his school tax bill went up 19.8 percent this year.Adamson talked with the Minisink Valley district school tax collector, who pointed him to the townassessor. He left the town more informed, but still a bit perplexed. So Adamson called the businessoffice at Pine Bush schools, where he taught for many years.All he wanted to know was: What happened to the 9.4 percent levy increase he voted on at theMinisink school budget election?“I'm an educated person, but I don't know who to go to,” Adamson said. “I spent four or five hoursrunning from here to there.”Adamson's question was one many New York taxpayers will ask. When the tax pendulum swings toyour community, you, too, will want to figure out why the levy you voted on in May has nocorrelation to your actual tax bill in September.Ultimately, Adamson learned a hard reality: He's been hit by a tax double whammy. Adamson's billhiked because of the way tax burdens shift among communities. In addition, there was a new state lawin 2011 that limited the state's contribution to many tax bills.

Equalization: A swinging burden

School business administrators and local assessors tell the cold-comfort tale of equalization rates to anew community every year.Kevin Castle, a Wallkill School District assistant superintendent, educated Gardiner residents twoyears ago about why their bills rose more than the levy increase. This year, it's residents in the Townof Newburgh's turn to lament the district's tax bill hike.“When we got our bills, we got socked. We got hammered,” said attorney Michael Mazzariello, wholives in the Wallkill School District in the Town of Newburgh.

Because school districts include several different towns, the state must come up with a way to divvyup the levy passed in the school budget vote. Using town property values, the state calculates a sharefor each town, ending up with equalization rates to apply to the levy.If your town's property values rise while the other towns fall, your share of the levy goes up, even if your individual home's assessment doesn't change.In an erratic housing market – and in towns where revaluations haven't been done in decades – therecan be significant and unpredictable shifts in tax bills.“Look at my own personal tax bill: Two years in a row mine went down by $1,000. This year it went





up $2,000,” said Rick Linden, a business administrator for New Paltz schools. “The whole tax bill getsshifted from this town to that town. Over the next several years, it will correct itself, but the spike willgo the other way.”

Seeking state solutionsThe news that the burden evens out over time offers little solace to homeowners hit with anunexpected hike in any given year.“Something's got to give here,” Phil Adamson's wife, Lois, said. “I don't know what it is, but I'm sofrustrated.”The Adamsons plan to write to state leaders, calling for a solution.There are a number of proposed solutions to the equalization rate problem, but none has gainedtraction in Albany.The New York State Assessors' Association has long recommended a state law that would requirerevaluation of towns every three years. Keeping housing assessments up-to-date would minimize shifts

between towns, association President Randall Holcomb said.Passing such a law is challenging, because it would place a heavy financial burden on towns thathaven't revalued properties recently, Holcomb said. According to the state tax services website, thereare towns in New York that haven't done revaluations since the Civil War.

STAR tax cap means you pay more

Legislators did change one tax policy in the 2011 budget: They created a tax rebate cap that kept anestimated $125 million in state coffers this year.Through the STAR tax exemption program, the state pays taxes on a portion of your home assessmentto provide you with tax relief. In years past, that exemption rose along with the rate of your taxincrease.But this year, the state capped its share at a 2 percent increase above last year's contribution.So if your tax rate rose more than 2 percent, you're paying the additional taxes on that exempt portion.That shift ranged from about $20 to $190 for those with basic exemptions, depending on where youlive, according to school officials. Low-income senior citizens who receive enhanced exemptions sawa larger shift.“Some people are staying in their house because of the STAR exemption,” said Lorrie Case, business

administrator for Port Jervis schools. “(The cap) is going to hurt the poorest of our people who arestruggling to keep up with taxes.”

Tax exemption growth capped at 2 percent

Homeowners eligible for STAR exemptions will also see their bill rise this year because of a new state





law. As part of the 2011 state budget, the legislator and governor capped the growth of the STAR taxexemption at 2 percent. The move was estimated to save the state $125 million this year.

However, the law increases the individual bill in places where taxes increased more than 2 percent.The amount added to your bill differs from town to town – and is based on whether you receive a basicor enhanced STAR exemption. The cost is between $60 and $90 per home.

In the Town of Newburgh, where taxes rose dramatically because of a shift in tax burden, the capshifted $188 to the homeowner. If the law had not passed, the state would have kicked in $1,144toward the tax bill; instead, the state gave $956.



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Upstate schools in ‘deeper hole'


Upstate schools in ‘deeper hole'

Compared with downstate, taxes rise more than budgets

By Meghan E. Murphy

Times Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 05/11/11

Residents of upstate school districts will pay more in taxes for leaner budgets compared to downstateresidents in the next school year, according to a Times Herald-Record analysis.

The state property tax report card, which includes school budget proposals up for a vote May 17,shows that state aid cuts hit hardest upstate.

“Upstate is being forced to dig faster from a deeper hole and they still can't get out,” said Bruce Baker,a school fiscal policy expert and associate professor at Rutgers University.

Compared to metro-area counties, the Hudson Valley and upstate school districts proposed minimalbudget increases for next year, according to the analysis. But the lower spending was coupled withhigher tax levy hikes per student than in Westchester or Long Island.

Orange, Ulster and Sullivan counties had one of the widest disparities in the state, increasing spending just 1.6 percent per student while tax levies rose 5.69 percent per student on average.

Meanwhile, school districts in Suffolk County on Long Island proposed spending increases of 2.39percent per student coupled with 4.97 percent tax levy hikes, on average.

NY says aid adjusted for wealth

Education advocates blame the disparity on state school aid cuts and the formula used to make thecuts. But Morris Peters, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget office, said that budgets werethe work of individual school districts and that the aid cut was adjusted for wealth.

In another analysis of the property tax report card, the New York State School Boards Associationfound that poorer school districts proposed the most severe budgets for next year. That result was nosurprise to Executive Director Bob Lowry, who said a previous analysis showed Cuomo's school aidcuts would hit poor and average-need districts the hardest.

Poor and average-need districts lost more dollars per pupil because they received more of the very aidbeing cut. The aid cuts are why school districts like Middletown are proposing budgets with almost100 layoffs and a tax levy increase of 8 percent.

“The local taxpayer is going to pay off the state debt,” Middletown Superintendent Ken Eastwood



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Upstate schools in ‘deeper hole'


said.

Wealthier districts downstate

The wealth disparity also plays out as an upstate vs. downstate issue, because districts in the mid-Hudson and upstate are generally of average or low-wealth.

“There are poor districts that are really suffering on Long Island and Westchester, but proportionatelythere are a lot less of them. And there's a lot less wealthy districts upstate,” said Billy Easton,executive director of the Alliance for Quality

Education. “Get a layer deeper, you see in many cases, it's the wealthier downstate, suburban districtsthat are hurt the least.”

[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Discipline process for teachers doesn't always make the grade


Discipline process for teachers doesn't always make the grade

Officials call state procedure slow, costly

By Meghan E. Murphy

Times Herald-RecordPublished: 2:00 AM - 11/21/11Last updated: 5:36 PM - 11/21/11

ALiberty school librarian didn't show up for work for more than two years because of her health. Shefought for her job, but through the state's teacher tenure

disciplinary hearing process, an arbitrator ordered her termination.

The librarian is the only mid-Hudson school employee fired through the state process since 2006,according to a state database. In all, it took 14 months before a hearing officer agreed with the school

district's charges.

Mid-Hudson district officials have initiated just 56 disciplinary hearings since 2006. More than 60percent of the 2,087 cases filed in that period came from New York City, which has an administrativestructure to handle the process. Sullivan, Ulster and Orange counties had about 6,500 teachers total in2009-2010.

Few doubt New York's tenure teacher disciplinary system is facing a crisis. It boils down to time andmoney.

The state Education Department projects the state budget line will be $9.5 million over budget by the

end of the fiscal year. Hearing officers are refusing cases because the state is between 18 to 20 monthslate on cutting checks.

Even the state education officials who run the so-called 3020a disciplinary program say it is too longand too expensive.

Average hearing takes 500 days

The Florida School District initiated a hearing against a teacher in 2006 for inappropriately claimingabout $45,000 worth of health insurance benefits for a man who was not her husband, according tostate records.

The case took 25 months before an officer found her guilty and fined her.

The New York State School Boards Association estimates from district surveys that a disciplinaryhearing takes about 500 days to complete and costs a school district $216,588.





A Times Herald-Record analysis of five years of state data found that all cases resolved during thatperiod took about a year to complete. Settled and not-guilty cases were resolved more quickly, whileguilty decisions took almost a year and a half. About 40 percent of cases initiated are still pending andhave been for more than two years, according to the database.

The longer it takes to resolve a case, the more it costs everyone involved. School districts hiresubstitute teachers to replace accused teachers who are often put on paid leave.

Carl Korn, spokesman for New York State United Teachers, the state's biggest teachers union, calledthe database flawed. The state database shows just one piece of the story of ways to fire or reprimandteachers in New York.

Korn said the data does not account for cases settled before formal charges are filed or for non-tenuredteachers, who can be disciplined or fired without a hearing process.

The union is working on its own statistics regarding the hearings, which it believes are generallyeffective. Korn said the primary issue is that the state doesn't enforce the hearing timelines in the law.

Yet, upstate school district administrators are reluctant to use the state system except in cases wherethere is no other recourse. Why? Because of time and expense.

"It ends up being a process that districts don't feel is even available, if you feel like $380,000 is toomuch to pay to put a letter of reprimand in this person's file," said Jay Worona, general counsel for theschool boards association.

In 2008, it took a year for a ruling to put a letter of reprimand in the file of a Kingston art teacher. Shewas found guilty of a misconduct charge for using a skull-and-crossbones mask in a lesson for astudent, who reportedly felt threatened by the message.

Money-saving plan proposed

In the last legislative session, Sen. John Flanagan, R-Smithtown, dedicated a day to testimony on astate Education Department bill to solve the problems.

The bill requests two appropriations during a fiscal-crunch. First, the Legislature would need to payoff millions in already incurred expenses. Then, the bill requests future funding for what thedepartment says will be a more cost-effective process.

The bill would make the process cheaper in several ways, Valerie Grey, state Education Departmentchief operating officer, said.

The bill allows the state to set hourly rates for hearing officers, who currently set their own rates basedon the market. The bill would also give the state a stick to enforce the abused timelines.

Finally, the bill divides the cost of the hearings among the union, school district and state.





The bill has never left the education committees of the state Assembly and Senate.

Worona opposes shifting costs to the schools. "We don't think the solution is to solve the state ed fiscalwoes on the backs of school districts, who also have unbelievable economic woes," Worona said.

But Grey said an analysis shows that districts will save money on substitute teachers in a speediersystem, balancing out the additional cost.

Grey also said that sharing the hearing costs will motivate everyone to move hearings along quickly.

More need with new evaluations

Aside from the budget deficit, there's another reason the Education Department is calling for changesto the hearing system now: New cases are knocking at its door.

The state is gearing up a new teacher evaluation system, based on legislation passed by all branches of state government.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for swifter implementation of the new evaluations. But bad performancereviews for tenure teachers under the new law will spark an "expedited hearing" in the very hearingprocess that is already underfunded and slow.

"As New York's evaluation plan is implemented, we will use the expedited hearing process," Greysaid. "Making improvements in the system is more important than ever."

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said the Senate will continue considering the

legislation in the new session. Assembly and governor's office representatives did not return requestsfor comment.

[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: State's criteria for school grants flawed


Meghan E. Murphy: State's criteria for school grants flawed

By Meghan E. Murphy:Published: 2:00 AM - 11/09/11Last updated: 12:42 PM - 11/09/11

Middletown art teacher Mary Kelly took her own picture with an iPad on Tuesday. She used it on theSmart board to show 17 district art teachers how to create a lesson for students using the technology.

Middletown students soon will have iPads in every art classroom, linked together by the district'swireless network. But the district, which also increased its graduation rate by 12 points over fouryears, apparently isn't innovative, or successful, enough to qualify for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's newperformance grant.

That's partly because the governor's grant criteria is — and I'm quoting an expert here — completelyarbitrary.

The governor has long talked about having two $250 million competitive grant programs that aregoing to reward success and efficiency in schools. That, of course, sounds like a great idea.

Cuomo announced the details for $75 million of that money last week. But, when you scratch into thegrant program and hold it up for a sniff, quite frankly, it stinks.

This program is supposed to inspire innovation and ideas. But administrators I heard from soundedunsure about how they stack up or discouraged enough that they wouldn't apply.

To get points on the grant, districts have to show progress on graduation rates and performance

indexes, a measure based on test scores. But the way the grant uses growth in the performance index isa "terrible measure of progress," according to Matthew DiCarlo, a senior fellow at the Albert ShankerInstitute.

The indexes are snapshots of how many students score above thresholds such as proficient oradvanced, DiCarlo explained. An increase or decrease over one year is just as likely to be due to otherfactors — such as a better or worse group of fourth-graders or simply random fluctuation — than aresult of any true improvement.

The grant only considers "progress" on these factors over just one year. Change over such a shortperiod is especially subject to randomness. Perhaps you had a particularly amazing group of high

school seniors in 2009, but the following year's kids were just average? Well, there goes 15 pointstoward a three-year grant.

"Seeing your performance index jump from only one year to the next really isn't much of a measure of anything," agreed education researcher Bruce Baker.

Middletown, for example, hit a plateau that year, despite previous years of success.

"What they're saying is they only want to work with districts that have shown progress, but I think



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: State's criteria for school grants flawed


what they've done is they've created a faulty analysis of who is successful," Superintendent KenEastwood said.

I like the philosophy behind these programs: Using money as a carrot to incentivize districts to dobetter and using data to determine success. But the details in this grant just don't add up.

Before the governor again takes millions of dollars out of the state aid pool — at a time when schools

are desperate for money — I hope he takes a math class.

[email protected]

Note: The headline for this column was corrected from the original print version.



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: If state has money, then why did tests need donations?


Meghan E. Murphy: If state has money, then why did tests need

donations?

By Meghan E. MurphyPublished: 2:00 AM - 08/10/11

I'm going to make you an offer: Would you like $10,000?

Yes, you say, who wouldn't like $10,000?

Well, there are some strings attached. The $10,000 only can be used for new kitchen appliances. Theymust inspire you to cook more often and use fewer fossil fuels.

But, you say, we had a leak in the roof this spring and we need to do some mold remediation. Oh, andthere's a crack in the foundation that we really should tackle before buying a new oven. Times aretough and we haven't had the money to fix it. That $10,000 would be perfect ...

Sorry, nope, the rules are the rules. Do you still want the $10,000?

New York said yes to this very scenario when accepting $700 million in Race to the Top money.

We're going to build snazzy new data systems, train teachers and administrators statewide in a newevaluation system — reform everything!

Yet, last week, six millionaires had to get together to donate a measly $1.5 million to restore someJanuary Regents exams. Those exams, which were canceled because of a lack of state money, areneeded most by students at risk of dropping out or not graduating.

Don't even get me started on the idea there are even a handful of people who, at the behest of MayorMichael Bloomberg, can just toss in $250,000 like change in a wishing well. That story is ripe fodderfor proponents of a progressive income tax that would have millionaires annually pitch in more to helpcover education costs.

What frustrates me most is New York's leaders clearly abandoned a basic responsibility to students.No one listened to the calls from parents and educators, which were particularly loud in New YorkCity, that these tests are imperative for the neediest students.

Is our state really so broke we can't find $1.5 million to pay for administration of a required test? If so,

then how can Gov. Andrew Cuomo propose two $250 million competitive grant pools for schooldistricts that improve performance and efficiency?

The answer is our leaders would rather tout the latest, newfangled "reform" than shore up thefoundation that has supported us well for decades. They want to put in marble countertops and stand infront of them for a photo-op, even though the framing might collapse when the cameramen scatter.

I'm no enemy of improvement. We need reasoned, strategic change to our education house.



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: If state has money, then why did tests need donations?


But a wise man needs to build his house on a solid foundation, not on shifting sands.

[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: School-tax pain: Blame the system, not districts

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Meghan E. Murphy: School-tax pain: Blame the system, not

districts


Lois Adamson is frustrated. Her husband, Phil, is frustrated.

They asked me last week during our interview: What can we do make our school tax bill morepredictable?

Some who read Monday's article on swings in the tax burden called on voters to come out and sinkschool budgets.

That response makes me frustrated, too.

Why? Because school spending was absolutely not what drove up property taxes this year in most of our districts.

This year, many taxpayers got hikes because the state passed its burden on to you. Some towns alsogot a sock in the belly from the systemic problem of how property taxes are divvied up. Let's go overthese numbers again. From Monday's example, the Wallkill School District:

- School spending went up 0.56 percent. (Yes, you got it — less than two-thirds of 1 percent)- The school tax levy, though, went up 5.18 percent. (That's because the state cut its school aid and leftyou holding the bill.)- Further, consider the main gist of Monday's article: Even if the levy increase was zero, Town of

Newburgh 2011 taxes for the Wallkill School District would have gone up 4.57 percent. (Aha! In thiscase, the culprit is shifting property values.)

There are two morals to this column:

1) Even if your school district doesn't spend another dime on classrooms, state school aid cuts cancause your local tax bill to go up.

2) Even if the state caps the levy at 2 percent, the erratic and irrational taxing system can cause yourtaxes to go up.

Believe you, me: Next year, this will be no less frustrating when the 2 percent tax levy cap rolls out.This new policy is absolutely 100 percent NOT a cap on your tax rate. It will not cap your school taxbill. Under a 2 percent district tax levy cap, the Town of Newburgh 2011 tax levy for Wallkill schoolsstill would have gone up 8.05 percent. Shifts in property value still would have forced that town'sresidents to pay more than a 2 percent increase.

Totally frustrating, right?



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: School-tax pain: Blame the system, not districts

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So what can you actually do?

Marlborough Councilman Anthony Pascale has one answer: Call your state assemblyman, write toyour state senator and pester Gov. Andrew Cuomo for real solutions. Heck, you could go so far as toline up on lobbying day in Albany. Or testify before the state Property Tax Board.

What you shouldn't do is keep harping on the entirely different issue of spending. Cutting sports

programs, modifying teacher health-care plans or throwing unions out altogether: None of these willmake your tax bill predictable.

What you should say is that our unregulated tax system allows towns to forgo revaluing properties fordecades. Our overly complex tax system clouds our ability to participate as informed individuals in theschool budget vote. The unpredictable tax shifts prevent us from properly planning our family budgets.And until we roar, in voices loud and numerous enough for Albany to hear, your taxes will go up.

[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: Voters have say in what happens to our teachers


Meghan E. Murphy: Voters have say in what happens to our

teachers


"Kelly, change your major."

That's what one Wisconsin teacher of 27 years told her daughter, who is studying to follow in herfootsteps.

The Sauk Prairie Eagle and newspapers nationwide are reporting such stories on the beleagueredteachers in a state where the governor wants to strip them of collective bargaining powers. This fight isnot about money — the teachers already have agreed to pay significant increases in health-care andpension contributions. This is about worker rights.

Teachers are under attack in more than just this one state and for more than just union issues. Forexample, Los Angeles teachers saw the public airing of performance rankings last spring, using aflawed analytical model that crunched their students' test scores.

In New Jersey and four other states, there are calls to completely wipe out tenure protection. In the lastdecade, federal, state and local officials nationwide have micromanaged away a teacher's right toeducate in their own classroom.

Even before this climate, teaching wasn't an easy path. A 2006 study found 50 percent of teachers leftthe job within the first five years, according to the National Education Association. The fallen citeburnout, long hours and little freedom in their classroom as reasons from throwing down the chalk.

Now, throughout the nation, young teachers face layoffs, pay freezes, diminishing benefits andheightening public criticism that they're failing our kids.

Teaching was once a stable, practical choice for those with a love of art, history or music. Theprofession drew Kristinna Crowe, who is passionate about math, and thought she could earn areasonable salary and have summers off with her kids. She was laid off last year by Valley Centralschools.

In New York, rising costs and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed aid cuts will result in the loss of thousands more education jobs next school year. Only seven of our local districts have thus far offered

staff cut estimates for next year, and already there are between 230 to 400 job cuts.

The New York State United Teachers is running ad campaigns saying Cuomo is picking the wealthyover kids. Cuomo's proposal allows the expiration of a temporary income tax increase on those makingmore than $200,000.

President Barack Obama wants to attract the best and brightest in our country to jobs as science,technology, engineering and math teachers in the next decade. Yet, recent developments beg the



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: Voters have say in what happens to our teachers


questions: For what job openings, for what salary, and for what social status?

Our leaders' policies and our own attitudes toward teachers and unions are what drive good people outof education.

As taxpayers and voters, we hold the purse strings; we pull the lever. The results show how much wevalue education.

If we call for education aid and protections to be recklessly slashed, we, too, are saying,

"Kelly, change your major."

Become a stockbroker.

[email protected]



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: We can't show world how schools shine when light is hidden


Meghan E. Murphy: We can't show world how schools shine

when light is hidden


Hey, did you hear?

Horizons-on-the-Hudson Magnet School in Newburgh is now an International Baccalaureate WorldSchool. That means, all students learn a second language and get focused lessons on internationalissues.

Oh, wait. Maybe you didn't hear, because the district said "no, thank you," when I asked to go into theclassrooms, interview educators and write a story for the Times Herald-Record.

To be honest, I feel a little bit bad about picking on Newburgh. The district isn't the first — and

certainly won't be the last — to bar a reporter in a classroom.

And, to give credit where it's due: Former Newburgh district Principals Barbara Weiss and PeterCopeletti helped me do some great coverage in their schools.

Still, I feel compelled to point out the impact of saying no, especially to a story on what appears to bea good program about which the district sent us a news release.

I've been silent about administrative handcuffs before. It's time that parents and teachers know.

The reality is that the people at the top hold the keys. If they don't want me in the classroom, they can

cite interruption or media bias or simply say, "no, thank you." As I've written in the past,administrators can also set the tone for who speaks to reporters, about what and when.

Understandably, no one likes criticism. But does that mean leaders should rob students and staff of achance at accolades? In this political and budget climate, shouldn't these leaders be showing strappedtaxpayers the achievements that public money is paying for?

When an administrator says no, the very act skews our coverage. If a crowd explodes in anger at aboard meeting — we'll be there. If a former employee sues, well, we're going to get the lawsuitdocuments.

But how about when a teacher gets innovative with technology? Or when Newburgh schools are aheadof the rest in collaborating with their union on a new teacher evaluation system?

Sigh. I really wanted to cover that one, too.

As you may have learned from reading this column: I study the issues, I listen to everyone.

I think Newburgh has some really good things to show us ... if we could only get inside.



2/14/12 10:ecordonline.com - Meghan E. Murphy: We can't show world how schools shine when light is hidden

So here's my challenge to the parents of Newburgh: Call on your leaders to let your kids shine in ourpaper. What's more, tell them you want critical coverage of programs, too — stories that look atwhether programs work or if money is well spent.

And to all the teachers and leaders in our region, invite me into your classroom to see public educationin action. Show me its flaws and its beauty. I challenge you.

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Writing Samples- Meghan E. Murphy

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