Ode to Teachers

After the public hearing on the Hamden town budget on March 24, I kept thinking about a conversation Melissa Stasiak and I had with a gentleman about the "return on investment" for the BOE.

Our discussion centered around teachers' salaries. He thought that they were overpaid and not doing enough considering that Hamden's CMT scores, that is, the average for the district, were not very good.

BTW - there is no way to make a correlation between test scores and money spent because you're comparing last year's fourth grade to this year's fourth grade (apples to oranges), rather than last year's third grade to this year's fourth grade (a.k.a. a growth model).

He tried to convince me that teachers had a cushy job, that they only worked 180 days a year and that we should just say, "Enough is enough, here's what we're paying you; get the job done or else." (That's what prompted me to ask if he had kids. What a way to inspire people to do better. Not. BTW - the primary failing of NCLB.)

You know this already, but it bears repeating: teachers teach because they want and need to teach. They don't get rich and often have to supplement their incomes during the summer months. A teacher's day doesn't start with the first bell or end with the last. Days off for kids are most likely professional development days for teachers and staff. And at the end of 35 years of giving nearly 1000 kids the best of themselves, teaching each one how to read, write, add, subtract, think, debate, create, sing, share, dream and innovate, teachers deserve to be rewarded for their service with a pension and benefits.

As for the actual wage and benefits...if you want to see test scores go down, freeze the wages and benefits. Just like any other business, HPS needs to keep its compensation competitive in order to get the best skilled and most effective team members.

Many folks at the hearing were so myopic in their comments, picking on the Board of Education's budget request. Yes, we need accountability and more money doesn't solve the problem (of lower than desired test scores – see above). However, the BOE is not asking for more money, just enough to cover the increased fixed expenses. In doing so, we maintain our excellent teaching team and acknowledge the value they bring to our school system and therefore our town.

If you're reading this, you obviously care, at least a little, how this all comes out. So why not make sure it's a happy ending?


Join me on Wednesday, April 9, 7PM at Memorial Town Hall.


Kids are more than welcome to state their own case for their current education and their future Hamden. The town coucil has an open ear for ways to save money and energy, so bring your ideas. It's not enough that we say "more, more, more" we have to be part of the solution as well.

And don't forget to put in a good word for your teachers.

Raising our Voices

What are you doing on Monday, March 24 or Wednesday, April 9 at 7 PM? I'm hoping that you're planning to tell the Town Council to fully support the Board of Education's budget.

Fortunately our arguments have already been put forth by Superintendent Rabinowitz and her staff. They have done an amazing job of reaching out to the local legislators, educating them about what's in her budget. She's made a very strong case for why the Council needs to trust her and give the Board of Ed what they're asking for.

So let's give her some back up, shall we?!

The Hamden PTA Council has been working hard to make our collective voice heard all through the year, not just at budget time. However, if there is one time when we need to get up and speak truth to power, this is the time.

Not only does the Town Council need to hear from us, they EXPECT to hear from us, and have added an additional hearing date (Monday, March 24th, 7 PM).

We have many issues that we'd like dealt with, most of which have to do with laws and funding from the state (as talked about in previous posts and more to come). Here's what we need to focus on at these hearings (that is also being distributed via backpacks):

• The health and reputation of a school system is important to all Hamden residents. Preserving the quality of our schools is imperative to our local economy.


• If the Board of Education is underfunded and the school system falls into disrepair, property values go down.


• Small class size is a key factor in keeping students engaged and productive. This is a priority in the current budget and needs to remain a priority.


• Wintergreen Inter-District Magnet School is an asset that we should protect.

The proposed Board of Education budget needs to be fully funded in order to:

• improve student to teacher ratios.


• improve state testing scores (which qualifies Hamden to KEEP Federal funding).


• attract and keep quality teachers and staff.


• maintain enrollment of Hamden students at Wintergreen.


• invest in the future by teaching students the skills they need for the 21st century.

I predict that the Town Council is likely to hear and struggle with this mantra: "I want the best education for my kids but I don't want my taxes to go up."

Nobody, including the Council members, want their taxes to go up. However, that's totally unrealistic. Your utility bills go up, your grocery bills go up, the price of a movie goes up, and so does the cost of giving children a quality education in a safe and beautiful town.

The Superintendent and the Hamden state delegation are doing all they can to bring more education dollars, as well as property tax reform/relief, to Hamden.

In the meantime, we may have to pay a little more, but it's still a bargain. Currently, our household pays around $7000/year in taxes. Compared to private school, for two kids ($30,000 would be cheap), receiving public education and all the services the town provides for $7000 is an amazing deal.

When our kids are gone it will still be a bargain because investing our tax dollars in other families' kids will keep our town competitive with area towns, thereby making our economy thrive. We'll still need garbage pickup, snowplowing, a great library and town parks, as well as first responders.

The Town Council has a really hard job ahead, and those members I've spoken to say they "don't want to cut the education budget, but..."

Your job is to show up, with your 2nd, 4th, and/or 11th grader, and have them tell the Town Council what they love about their school and what would be missing if the Council asked the BOE to get by with less.

Fran has said that staff is the first thing to look at for cuts. We fought hard for media center specialists, art teachers, IT personnel and lunch aides. We need to keep our excellent staff intact, as well as add a few new crucial members in reading and math. We need to keep our class sizes reasonable.

You know the drill - unfortunately it is a drill. I look forward to the day when we don't have to push so hard for something that makes so much sense: fund the BOE, invest in the future.

Hamden 2008 BOE Budget - The Next Step

Susan Murphy, WIMS (Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School) PTA President, put together an amazing presentation on letter writing for our March 6th meeting. She covered why letter writing is important and the best ways to make it effective.

I recently sat next to former Hamden Councilwoman Ann Altman at Rosa DeLauro's fundraiser (with Speaker Pelosi!!! My 4th grader said it was better than the Hannah Montana concert!!!). Ann's opinion of printed letter campaigns was that she preferred email and that individual comments were better than form letters.

It's a delicate line to tread: using email to save paper is a good idea, but email has become so prolific, even bothersome, that it is often ignored.

In light of all that, perhaps the best way to influence your elected officials is to pick up the phone!

• http://www.hamden.com/


• http://www.ct.gov/

Regardless of your mode of communication, the important thing is that you act. Our Mayor, town council and state representatives work for us. The only way they will truly know that they are "doing the people's bidding" is if we tell them how we feel about issues.

I've had a lot of help from Hamden Public Schools' finance "go to guy," Jason Lathrop, in coming to understand the intracies and inequities of Hamden's education funding situation. Yes, it's complicated, but don't let that keep you from letting your voice be heard. Speak to the folks who control the purse strings, from the heart, parent to parent.

I’ve spoken to Mayor Henrici, who will be recommending that the Town Council fully fund the BOE budget. Thanks, Craig, for understanding that the future of our town lies with our schools. His request goes to the Town Council on March 12. The BOE makes their case to the Town Council on April 2.

Parents and students, please join me on April 9, at the public hearing for the BOE section of the Mayor’s budget before the Town Council.

In the meantime, please contact any and all town council representatives, and encourage them to support the Mayor’s recommendation to fully fund the BOE's request.