Letter To The Editor – A Vote Of No Confidence

To the Editor:
On December 8 the community members of the Berlin Central School District voted against funding the building plan put forth by the District administration and the Board of Education. The overwhelming NO vote was not due solely to the difficult economic times we are all experiencing, as our interim Superintendent has suggested.
I’m suggesting that it has more to do with the lack of confidence that many community members have in our District administration and the majority on the Board of Education. To invest millions in a plan that will not address all the health and safety issues in a building that is 80+ years old does not make sense. We have two buildings that need less than a million dollars to bring them up to code and could accommodate the majority of our elementary students. Currently, one of those buildings is sitting empty while we continue to heat and maintain it. All the staff, minus one, are still employed by the District, so where is the money that was supposed to be saved when that school was closed?
This plan to consolidate has divided our communities, created hardship for our children and their families, has and will continue to have a significant impact on real estate sales and values. When this plan was presented 5 years ago next month all the gloom and doom that we were told would happen has yet to happen. We have continued to fund our schools without the outrageously high tax increases that were suggested. Yes, as Mr. Noeding suggested at the last Board meeting the District’s financial situation is a mess! We are not paying $20,000 a year to educate our children. We are paying to support a Superintendent salary of over $140,000, a BOCES budget that is approaching 4 million a year, an administration that’s salary and benefits take up almost 20% of the yearly budget! Not to mention the amount of money necessary to maintain and heat BES.
There is a better plan! Multiple options have been suggested by community members, as well as, certain Board Members. Unfortunately, the majority of Board Members and our past and current Superintendents have not considered any option that did not involve consolidation. Decentralization would be a better option! It is time to consider other options and truly start listening to the people in ALL the communities that make up our school district!
John Nash
Grafton