Why The Milford Public Schools Are Giving Your Children Such a Poor Education

By: Richard Sieron – Milford Independent Party Candidate for School Board for the 5th District

A recent Connecticut Post article headline asked: “Who’s to blame for Milford’s low test scores?” That article quoted former Alderman Jack Fowler: “The poor results on the CAP tests are truly shocking. After 11 years in our system, our students are dead last in math and writing and next to last in science and reading among comparable school systems.” The Milford PTA Council passed out brochures at its recent Board of Education Candidates Forum. In those brochures was found a statement by each of the 10 Republican and 10 Democrat candidates, answering the question: “Why do you want to be on the Board of Education?” Not ONE of them had ONE word to say about the dumbing down of our students, never mind offering a solution to that very serious problem. 

Typical bland answers to the question included sentences like: “To contribute toward continued improvement of Milford’s school system.” At that Forum, the procedure for picking which candidate to answer each question was to provide equal time between the Republicans and Democrats, ( I did get a fair shake there) but the petty politics is outrageous. George Washington, in his farewell speech, warned us to beware of political parties. You can see how it is destroying our public school systems and can also see how it has (past tense) destroyed our federal government.

The tenth amendment to the Constitution specifically reserves powers to the states that are not delegated to the federal government. The Constitution does not delegate any powers whatsoever to the federal government relating to education; therefore the federal government must keep its sticky fingers out of education in Connecticut. We have people right here in Milford that are just as smart as any Washington bureaucrat, if not smarter. Alabama may need “No Child Left Behind, “ but we do not.

While campaigning for election to the school board, I happened to knock on the door of two homes where teachers reside. In both cases they eagerly invited me into their living room and each of them informed me of the same two things. First, they said they spent a huge amount of time teaching to the federally mandated tests, taking much valuable time away from traditional academic subjects. Second, they told me they are not allowed to formally teach the students how to think.

In talking to some school board members, I accidently made an astonishing discovery. There are two layers of administration between the teachers and the school board, namely the school Principals and the Superintendent. As a result, the school board has no way of knowing what problems the teachers have identified in terms of curriculum and teaching methods unless, of course, the Superintendent somehow obtains that information and passes it on, but that does not appear to be happening. However, it is the Board of Education’s responsibility and not the Superintendent’s to be concerned with those issues. See my proposed solution for this problem at the end.

Another matter of importance concerns the use of computers in our Milford schools. The New York Times recently reported that employees of Silicon Valley giants like Apple, Hewlett Packard, Yahoo and Google send their students to schools where no computers are provided for the students. They believe that computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans and I strongly subscribe to that premise and I am an IT professional. I also believe that students should not be allowed to use calculators in the

classroom. They must be taught how to make simple calculations using pen and pencil. It’s rather strange that the bright students who opt for advanced math classes have never been taught how to make simple calculations without using a calculator.

U.S. public education was far better a hundred years ago. One major contributing factor to the decline is the ever growing intrusion of non-academic courses and programs. Educators have pressed for more and more non-academic curriculum materials while laymen have pressed for more “back to basics.” The 3 R's have almost disappeared from the curriculum. A large percentage of our Milford High School seniors do not know that Abraham Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation;. do not know who Josef Stalin was and cannot locate Great Britain on a world map. I recently gave a cashier at the mall theater a $20 bill and a $1 bill to pay for two $8 tickets. Without any prompting on my part, he informed me that he had never found any student who could make that simple change calculation. I am ashamed when people like that tell me they don’t understand why our students are so ignorant.

Today, there is virtually no chance that any bright student might ask why our Constitution is being violated daily and why so many citizens believe the Congress is so corrupt. Notice the issue is not politics – Republicans vs Democrats, the right vs the left or liberal vs conservative. Our students should be encouraged to ask questions about what has happened to our government, such as: “Why have we heard it said that we have the most corrupt government the world has ever seen?” Do you believe that and similar questions are proper topics for 17 year old high school seniors? Many responsible citizens have told me “Yes, “ The Founding Fathers, headed by Thomas Jefferson, would emphatically have said “Yes.”

Today, there is virtually no chance that any bright student might ask why our Constitution is being violated daily and why so many citizens believe the Congress is so corrupt. Notice the issue is not politics – Republicans vs Democrats, the right vs the left or liberal vs conservative. Our students should be encouraged to ask questions about what has happened to our government, such as: “Why have we heard it said that we have the most corrupt government the world has ever seen?” Do you believe that and similar questions are proper topics for 17 year old high school seniors? Many responsible citizens have told me “Yes, “ The Founding Fathers, headed by Thomas Jefferson, would emphatically have said “Yes.”

It has been proven that the correlation between financial inputs and education outputs is very weak and shaky Milford is one of the more affluent Connecticut cities and yet, as the Connecticut Post pointed out, the quality of education in our schools is at the bottom of the heap.

If elected, here are some specific goals I would urge upon the board of education:

(1) Totally eliminate Federal mandated exams. Obama has promised not to withhold federal funds to those so doing and we could accept those funds on an interim basis

(2) Make major revisions to the curriculum. Purchase text books from vendors that do not craft them based on the specs of the biggest buyers, which practice results in the same text books supplied to `most every public school in the country. I highly recommend a web site named: “What do textbooks teach?” - Velocity Press (enter those exact words into Google, including the quotation marks)

(3) Completely remove computers from student access. Do not allow them to bring calculators to class.

(4) Introduce course material that teaches the students how to think and how to ask probing questions. Challenge the teachers to challenge the students .

(5) Appoint an ombudsman to interface directly between the teachers and the school board, providing safeguards to protect the teachers from recrimination.


Cast your vote on Tuesday, November 8 at Harborside Middle School.


Unaffiliated voters are strongly encouraged to get out and vote. Don’t leave the administration of our city government and particularly our schools strictly to party loyals.


Vote for the Milford Independent Party

Our candidates, include myself, John Grant (Planning and Zoning) and Rocco Frank, running for Mayor.


Sincerely,

Richard Sieron

Tel 203-878-2396

School Closings And Student Declines May Fail To Abate Tax Increases

Last night I attended the the Board of Alderman Meeting to hear the prevailing arguments over the school budget. In attendance were all the top leaders of education including our new Superintendent Ms. Feser.

The topic was what to do about the 2010-11 education increases. The main concerns for the school board was the erosion of funding due to factors beyond their control. These included the rising cost of health care, the normal course of inflation, increases required to educate children with multiple disabilities, and spending cuts in education at the state and federal level.

Each year, when all the costs are added up Milford spends about $86M on education. This figure does not include grants, gate receipts, sports related fund raising, federal funds, and other money issued outside of Milford. When this is added into the equation the figure marches to over a 100M.

Greg Smith the Alderman Chair asked some very pointed questions, he demanded accountability and sound accounting practices. Smith referenced a declining student population, the closing of Simon lake, last years layoff of several school employees and the granting of year over year multimillion dollar increases to the BOE. Smith expressed concern over the BOE proposed budged arguing in defence of seniors and veterans who have not had any benefit increases in two years. Smith also alluded to the fact that there are about 120 foreclosures in Milford and a projected layoff of 25 city employees.

BOE Chair Mark Stapleton called Milford's educational increases sub-par when compared to Fairfield. Stapleton said Fairfield spends 75% of the city budget on education vs. 60% in Milford. Smith rebutted Stapleton by saying "Milford's Taxpayers do a good job of funding education."

The Milford Independent Party on a fact-check of this issue verified per-pupil spending in these two towns via the CERC data sheet. Fairfield spent a total of $151,011,000 vs. $106,963,000. Milford had 7,304 students enrolled and Fairfield had 9,957 students enrolled. The per capita student expenditure is $15,166.31 Per Fairfield pupil vs. $14,644.44 in Milford. Milford spends about $521.88 less per pupil than Fairfield.

Despite these expenditures, concern was then directed at the results of the taxpayers investment in education. Michael Cummings, last years acting Superintendent stated that Milford is part of a school block constructed by the CT Department of Education. That block comprised of scores of schools that rated each town in thirds. Cummings said that Milford's elementary students ranked in the bottom 1/3 when it came to performance and the Middle schools ranked in the Second third.

When the meeting concluded, it ended at "Recess." Smith said that this is because the process of debating the school budget is ongoing and will continue at the next meeting. There was no public comment allowed last night but at least one member of the public brought a sign perched on a chair expressing concern for the integrity of education in Milford. Overall public turnout was about 30 people.

After a careful review of the powers vested in the Board of Alderman, it became clear to me that their ability to affect or alter the school budget is limited. The budget will be either approved or denied depending on the actions of the Board of Education, the continued concessions of the teachers union and possibly the binding arbitration process in Hartford. Until there is a firm decision, the final numbers on the budget will remain uncertain.

Milford's new Superintendent Ms. Feser was quoted this morning by the New Haven Register as stating she is concerned that additional cuts to the BOE budget will compromise the "integrity of the classroom." Some members of the Board of Alderman, after the meeting, corrected their constituents views on similar remarks by reminding them that these "cuts" are not actually "cuts" but rather reductions in the "increase" over last years budget.

Milfords Budget Showdown Looms

Greg Smith the current Republican board of Alderman Chair has placed the below quote on his Facebook page this week and anyone in Milford who is concerned about taxes going up and up along with everything else is encouraged to attend. Smith said:

"The Board of Aldermen will hold a Public Hearing regarding the 2011-2010 Budget on Thursday, April 7, 2011 at 7pm in the City Hall Auditorium. This is your chance to be heard and hear what others have to say. I hope to see you there."

The Milford Democrats have posted the following graph (below) on their Democrat Blog. The graph clearly states that the only tax decrease ever realized in Milford was under the leadership of past BOA Chairman Ben Blake. The chart, according to its author states "The Mayor's speechifying aside; the numbers are speaking for themselves. Mayor Richetelli has proposed an average 4.6% annual increase in spending during his tenure."

This years budget, like last years budget marks additional increases that the mayor indicates are required to maintain educational and essential services. The Board of Education last year, closed Simon Lake school and this year taxes are expected to go up again another few hundred dollars per home owner. The bigger problem is the loss of education funds, an estimated 1.5 Million or $7.00 in additional taxes per taxable property.

The Showdown now is on between taxpayers, teachers, and parents. Taxpayers are upset with high tax increases every year, the teachers and city unions are upset with constant requests for concessions and layoff threats, and parents are upset their kids education, along with city services, are in constant decline.

There is not much clarity on where all the money is going and why taxpayers have to pay more every year just so every area of government can be scaled back. This in my opinion is distressing, especially after you look at the above chart and realize that its true we are paying more for less.

Some feel that these problems are symptomatic of a leadership crisis in Milford, that there are abuses of the fiduciary responsibility between taxpayers and their elected leaders. Others blame the unions for being excessive in their demands and off paycheck benefits such as excessive pension contributions, first class health care benefits and office perks negotiated through collective bargaining. 

Some city leaders are squarely placing blame on our elected leaders at the state and federal level. Its their opinion, that they are to blame for not restoring funds to local cities and municipalities. Last month our Mayor Jim Richetelly was up in Hartford protesting the proposed changes to the (MME's) The Chair of Commerce Rep. Jeff Berger spoke about these proposed changes to the Manufacturing Machinery & Equipment reimbursement to municipalities (MME's) in the governor's budget and the potential to affect his and other cities whose budgets rely on these state funds. Rep. Berger has been meeting with colleagues to find alternatives to reduce the impact on local budgets if the proposed cuts are approved.

Milford, like Waterbury, has a very heavy manufacturing base and will be impacted negatively if these funds are lost. Moving forward, if our Democratic Representatives and Senators fail to confront our new governor  the city may have to rely on creative accounting and new ways of procuring tax revenue. This task will be especially difficult in the current down economy where inflation is high, the dollar weak, and public sentiment toward government is at an all time low.

People are fed up with the enigmatic implementation of multiple layers of taxes. The frustration only worsens when people realize those taxes levied upon them are in tandem with a continuing loss of city services. Some have even decried that every year we move a little closer to a community based on "taxation without representation."

While no real significant protests have emerged as of yet in Milford, the Independent party does urge every able citizen to attend the upcoming budget meeting and let them know that this is your town. The budged is not "the budget" the budget is what it needs to be to preserve the integrity of our schools and keep our homes affordable during a period of contraction something the city of Milford continues to struggle with.

Dumb Kids Wistleblower Unwinds The Enigma Of Education

The Below Radio Interview is with Charlotte Iserbyt who reveals how the Federal Government is using an Un-American Globalist Ideology to teach our kids in school. Charlotte, can be revered as the Julius Asange of Education during the Reagan Era. Her leaking of highly classified documents from the Federal Department of Education got her Fired.

Charlotte wrote a book exposing the creation of the elitist agenda to create the "Globalist Child of the Future" obedient to the leaders of the New World Order. Charlotte's website is located at http://deliberatedumbingdown.com/and list every government document she has supporting her positions. Every parent, teacher, and educator with or without a child should visit this website to learn the appalling truth about the unwelcome Federal Intrusion into our local schools and the induced hardships of The No Child Left Behind Act.

Enjoy the Radio Interview.

About Charlotte:

Charlotte Iserbyt is the consummate whistleblower! Iserbyt served as Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), U.S. Department of Education, during the first Reagan Administration, where she first blew the whistle on a major technology initiative which would control curriculum in America's classrooms. Iserbyt is a former school board director in Camden, Maine and was co-founder and research analyst of Guardians of Education for Maine (GEM) from 1978 to 2000. She has also served in the American Red Cross on Guam and Japan during the Korean War, and in the United States Foreign Service in Belgium and in the Republic of South Africa. Iserbyt is a speaker and writer, best known for her 1985 booklet Back to Basics Reform or OBE: Skinnerian International Curriculum and her 1989 pamphlet Soviets in the Classroom: America's Latest Education Fad which covered the details of the U.S.-Soviet and Carnegie-Soviet Education Agreements which remain in effect to this day. She is a freelance writer and has had articles published in Human Events, The Washington Times, The Bangor Daily News, and included in the record of Congressional hearings.


Part 1



Part 2



Part3

A Outlook of The Weekly News And Milford's Road Ahead

Over the last few days I have been mourning the loss of my family dog. Our beloved Bella passed away last Saturday when she was struck by a hit and run driver. To all my loyal fans and avid readers out there just know I am still with you and my thoughts will continue as they always do moving forward.

Thus far I am back at my desk this morning and have been looking at and analyzing the latest local and state news and the biggest challenges on the table are those that have become emblematic of all communities in Connecticut. Education, education spending, property taxes, and the fragility of survival of our towns citizens who live pay check to pay check.

An eerie reminder of this fragility happened to me just over the weekend. While I was out with my wife and step daughter Lea. We were mourning the loss of our dog together when Terri looked out the window of our booth at the Kimberly Diner and and cried out "Oh my God a woman just fell and is lying motionless on the ground! Somebody call 911!"

Soon several people rushed to her aid, fortunately the woman was alright, but we were told by our waitress who had gone outside to assist that this woman was likely to need several stitches on her forehead. She argued with those aiding her that she had "no health insurance and did not want to go to the hospital" fearing that her inability to pay would result in some punitive financial measure against the little she had left.

The woman did go to the hospital, and thankfully the Kimberly Diner was well equipped with all the necessary first aid equipment to respond to such emergencies. However, there was some frustration expressed when the 911 operator needed the address to the Diner just across the street from the Milford P.D. who immediately responded when they were called directly.

While this is just a random experience of the many tribulations we are now coming to endure, civility in the coming years is going to be more important than ever. As the Federal Government continues to deny our city, and state federal student money and grants as part of these newly emerging global austerity measures the people of Milford will be struggling to find a life balance.

This balance, however is going to be threatened once again by the very pillars that carry the entire town budget. Our mill rate is expected to change dramatically after the new 2011 assessments are complete. Record spikes in foreclosures in Milford and New Haven County have driven down the cost of real estate and stagnated home sales and the entire housing market.

While city officials have all but thrown up their hands and said "regardless of what the Grand List out come is, the budget is the budget!" This is a truly disparaging approach to our looming financial problems. In the past years, Milford has been undergoing a mini-austerity style debacle of its own. The city has made deep cuts in education, closing a school, cuts to the bulk pick ups, and several consolidations and cost cutting restructuring schemes of the police and Fire Departments. Milford may one day be faced with selling off its real estate and assets just to keep up.

Moving forward those schemes may be insufficient and not able to satisfy the current problems of the broader state and Federal economy still stuck at over 9.6% unemployment. While the worst unemployment picture we have since today's numbers date back to 1983 (when we had 13.5% unemployment,) those numbers were figured with a different formula. If we use the same formula from 1983 the true unemployment picture could be estimated at 18.9% making this recession the worst since 1929.

What remains as a state of severe uncertainty is the nature of the "Double dip." Experts tend to agree that our jobs and debt are unlikely to be abated soon making the "Double Dip" more likely rather than less likely. The nature of this "Double Dip" is an enigmatic one, but none-the-less of serious concern for a small city like ours. Should this dip become "Deflationary" like some fear than that would present a very different set of challenges than if the "Double Dip" goes "Inflationary" as several critics of the Fed's money printing program have been upset by.

There is going to be a strong need for some "math-magicians" at city hall to make it all work in 2011 and if we escape through the next budget without any dramatic tax increases or significant losses in services we should be proud of those who were able to negotiate and usher in those achievements. It is times like this that challenge, and threaten the very survival of our communities and only with lots of concessions, co-operation and civility can  Milford succeed in the road ahead. Our leaders must look to the future in a way way that prepares us for anything, because at this point anything is possible.

Pumpkin Delight Elevator Project Goes Up..Up...and Up!

The elevator at Pumpkin Delight Middle School is finally being installed after several years of complaints. Parents of disabled students thought it unfair that their kids could not reach the classrooms on the second floor.

The Americans with Disabilities Act also requires that all public buildings and places be equipped and built to accommodate disabled people. This includes properly sized bathrooms to fit wheel chairs, mirrors and sinks to be at a handicapped friendly height. Braille signs are also required for the visually impaired and of course an elevator and ramps where there are stairs.

The current problem is, that Pumpkin Delight School does not have an elevator, and the Board of education priced out the elevator and got an estimate requiring a $350,000.00 appropriation from Milford's Taxpayers CLICK HERE for original estimate.

Earlier this year the elevator issue became a point of contention, because parents and teachers who wanted to keep their neighborhood school open cited the cost of this elevator as a reason to choose Pumpkin Delight for closing instead of Simon Lake which is 100% ADA compliant. However, the Board of Education disagreed citing more land for expansion at Pumpkin Delight Click HERE.

The decision was made based on budgetary cutbacks to education that required revamping the school system to save money. Money that the Board of Alderman and the Board of Finance would not restore to the Board of Education. The board of Education was forced to redesign the school district at the behest of its interim Superintendent Michael Cummings Click HERE.

Thus far, and finally, the appropriation to make Pumpkin Delight ADA compliant has been made only it appears that the Republicans in charge have made an error of gross proportions. They were not properly quoted the cost of the elevator and are now nonchalantly asking the cash strapped taxpayers of Milford and Board of Education for another $70,000.00 for the "uplifting" elevator project CLICK HERE for new cost.

This additional funding over the original estimate is an outrage and deserves explanation. None has been given and the taxpayers were basically ignored by the media who said nothing about why the price "shot up" another 20 percent. This Elevator was quoted about a year ago, and why the cost is being allowed to be "jacked up" by the contractor is a mystery.

We need to demand answers from our Mayor on why this "Wonkavator" is so out of range from its original estimate. We need to investigate and ask why nothing has been said to the press or the people of Milford. "Forking over" another $70,000.00 of our children's education money to a contractor who can't stick to his original estimate is reprehensible and a disgrace. This is truly frivolous leadership and this article should be forwarded to decision makers in town while demanding answers.

Milfords Educational Crisis Can Be Solved

The city of Milford has an ugly little secret when it comes to education, or in other words the iconic "third rail" that few dare to address. That rail is what I aptly call the 100 Million Dollar Dilemma or the the cost of repairing the failing energy wasting infrastructure of our educational system.

For the last twenty years the city of Milford and the Milford Board of Education have adopted a triage policy where-by only catastrophic mechanical failures are addressed, but the issues with our crumbling schools go beyond just those simple repairs. Milford has not had a new school built in many decades, and the thought of education improvements is always a bitter battle against those who do not want taxes, and those with kids who just want their kids educated.

For a very long time there has been no way of breaking this taxpayer, parent stalemate until recently. The answer came to my desk at the Milford Independent Party after consulting with numerous experts and municipalities across Connecticut and the United States for a solution to this very problem. Finally a real solution to the Milford Education crisis was presented to me by Balfour Betty Construction. This company is a world class company and is rated one of the top companies to work for in America.

Balfour Betty delivers billions of dollars in sales annually. The project in question that has now become the national model for Leeds Certified education was delivered to the Irving Texas School District this year. Click HERE for a tour of Lady Bird Johnson Middle School the nations first "Net Zero" Middle School. According to Balfour Betty's spokesperson "Charter Builders was awarded the $29 million contract to manage construction of the new school, located in Irving, Texas.

The 150,000-square-foot facility will produce its own energy via solar panels, geothermal energy harvesting, and wind turbines. If the school produces excess energy, the district could sell energy to a local electric provider, creating a potential revenue source for the district." Should our local leaders dare embrace the vision of the future, a project like this can easily be initiated in Milford and Connecticut. Most of the delivery cost can easily be absorbed without incident or consequence to the local taxpayers.

This is because 60% of the cost of the school would be paid for by Hartford, another 10% could be covered by Federal Clean Energy grants and the rest %30 covered by bonds. The payments on those bonds would be at record low interest rates and paid for with the monthly savings from repairs, Gas, Electric, and energy. For example at current rates of 4% a loan for the difference or an est. $20,000.00 per month in un-needed electric and gas bills could be easily converted to the loan payment. This will cover the unfunded and bonded portion of the construction.

If Milford also decides to sell off and combine some failing Schools, it is even possible that a new school could be built for FREE. There may even be additional money in the bank to use for our kids currently unfunded programs. This is a project that is a "big win" for the people and city and should be seriously pursued to fix our towns 100 Million Dollar Dilemma.

We now just need to get the word out, because the lack of vision and inaction on behalf of the cities taxpayers and children is UNACCEPTABLE. We all need to put pressure on the present administration to take meaningful action to solve our educational crisis. Milford students should not be learning in hallways on carts and certainly they do not deserve to have their schools shut down. Demand Action, direct decision makers to this post and ask them to do the right thing for the sake our children.

Jobless Teachers, Political Recalls, and Frustrated Students and Parents

The times are upon us again, only this year many assumed that the layoff threat would be as it was last year just a threat. Over the last few weeks that proved to be a dangerous assumption and an abject failure of a miscalculation on the part of Milford's teachers union.

This year one school Simon Lake is officially closed and 25 Milford teachers are looking for jobs while seeking unemployment compensation. The city did promise "recall" rights to these teachers, but only if a vacancy occurs whereby a tenured teacher retires. This was already seen when Ms. Elmo retired, because in her words "she wanted to save the job of a younger teacher who needed it more."

For several weeks and months following the educational debates that filled the Jonathan Law auditorium not once but twice supporters of the Simon Lake school pleaded to keep it open just one more year, and the Milford Board of Education was unable to convince the the Board of Finance and the Board of Alderman to restore the funding to the school.

The Libertarian leaning Chairman of the board of Alderman Greg Smith, supported the schools closing citing that the "city could no longer afford it." However some parents disagreed and started a recall process this week against Republican school board member Robert White R3, who said he was unconcerned and a "recall effort is their right" but few are convinced the recall will resolve anything since Milford has never had a successful recall of a board member.

Several parents are out collecting signatures from voters and people who agree with their view that Mr. White did not listen to his constituents and callously disregarded them when they asked for a remedy to the injury of closing a school in his district. The parents of those kids are now trying to collect 675 signatures that Republican Town Clerk Linda Stock will have to verify as legitimate. Once the signature threshold is reached a recall procedure can be initiated and early reports indicate the parents are 3/4 of the way there.

Acting Superintendent of schools, Cummings gave several elaborate presentations to the public defending his plan to reorganize Milford's schools. He promised all the affected parents of the closed school that despite a commuter inconvenience and having their kids go to multiple schools that "their kids education would not suffer."

Several Republican board members in town were satisfied that the closing of Simon Lake School is a "win win" situation whereby kids still get a "Good education" and taxpayers get a "minor" tax increase.

As a former candidate for the school board myself, it is my opinion that the very notion of change during hard economic times, is unpalatable to some parents who will be forced to redo and rethink how they get their kids off to school in the morning. Some are concerned about commuting, class sizes and of course are upset with their child's teacher being let go.

As the tumultuous nature of the Education Outrage Machine goes into full swing in the coming months and years none are less prepared for the nasty changes that will arrive in 2011 than the city government. In 2011 the Milford Board of Education is expected to lose 1.5 Million in Federal funding plus take on an additional routine increase of 3.5 Million in Cost of Living adjustments, health care costs, and contractual raises.

The 2011 Educational budget spells "DISASTER" in 2011 for all parties involved. The alternatives may require additional school closings or large increases in property taxes that may be as high as 5%. Some argued that the solution to this problem will be the construction of a new Green High School that merges Jonathan Law and Foran into a single "Green" energy efficient modern facility.

The construction of a new High School has not been pursued in many decades and most of this work will be funded by the state of Connecticut and the sale of Milford's most energy inefficient crumbling schools. As it stands Mark Stapleton the current Chairman of the Milford Board of Education said "Milford's Schools need $100,000,000.00 in repairs at the moment the current method of implementing this has been a triage system."

Educations Future In Milford And Connecticut

We have all heard of the bailout for the auto industry, $4,500 credits, government stock buyouts and sweetheart loans that the average Joe could only dream to get. The big banks then labeled themselves as "too big to fail" and AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and all its crones were bailed out. Today the taxpayers own 80% of AIG alone and another massive amount of GM stock who could have ever imagined thing would get so out of hand.

The bailouts in the last few years were numerous, $8,500.00 first time home buyer credits, extended unemployment benefits for months beyond what is normally allowed, 40 Million Americans on food stamps and stimulus package after stimulus package packed with shovel ready pork.

Sadly, when we think of "No child left behind" and local education we are continually reminded of unfunded mandates and what a burden to the taxpayers those mandates have become. Instead of the Federal Government valuing our children we are told yet again this year that the city of Milford will be denied 1.5M of Federal funds to our schools placing an operational deficit in 2011 that could be as high as 5 Million.

Every effort is being made to streamline and contain education costs, teachers are retiring early, raises skipped, schools are being closed and local Milford residents are living more conservatively than ever. After attending several Board of education meetings it became clear that all our energy at city hall is being focused on our little patch of land we call Milford, and few remember that our patch of land is contained within the boundaries of the worst economic global downturn since the Great Depression.

My high school New York Military Academy in Cornwall NY was established in 1882 and it survived the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, Korea and the energy crisis of the 1970's but this year its operational budget losses are so high, and its Alumni so impoverished that the school is expected to fail within the next year or so.

And these problems are symptomatic across the entire state of Connecticut where teachers from all communities are living with no job security, and are afraid of what they will do next if they join the growing ranks of the unemployed.

The reason we are in the situation that we are in is because of years of the Federal Reserve's "ponzi" style monetary policy whereby money can be printed at the whims of congress and the banks to fund the next popular war/invasion against an invisible tactic fear mongered as "TERRORISM."

While we all surrender our rights for our security and sit an awe over some person who lit his underwear on fire with a failed bomb, or the times Square Frizzler, our President, Obama makes jokes about the terror on the U.S. Arizona/Mexico border that has landed 17,000 people dead and murdered. Americans get kidnapped by Mexican drug dealers, they threaten and kill our nations police officers, and poison our people with the very drugs the U.S. troops protect for Karzai in Afghanistan and no one in the BS media covers it as terrorism.

The sooner we realize that Washington D.C. is no longer America's friend but rather it's enemy our mission will become clear. Our mission is to establish state sovereignty under the 9, 10Th Amendment dissolve all illegal treaties, break ties with all World Governments and start indicting U.S. Senators and Congressmen who willfully violated the Logan act and defied the U.S. Constitution. In other words Connecticut needs to start doing the Job the Federal Government is ignoring.

For those of you who still do not get it, you should be aware by now that Washington D.C. has been waging a war on the Middle Class while making the rich richer and you poorer. As we rebel against the Tyranny of Washington D.C. they have launched a police state against us whereby "lists" are being used to circumvent the Constitution and punish anyone who dare preach their inaliable rights in America.

All these problems are rapidly coming home to roost, right here in our state and our town. The message from Washington DC is clear we have trillions for war, now billions to bail out Greece but little to nothing to help educate America's kids. This message, by virtue of its priorities should beckon you to rise up and join Tea Parties everywhere.

Moving forward the structural deficits now being exaggerated by the federal government and the inevitable climbs in interest rates due to inflation in the next 24 months is expected to destabilize every grand list in America let alone Milford. Hartford is going to have a challenging time managing the take over of cities like Bridgeport, Hartford and Waterbury who have had structural deficits that bankrupted them long ago. Those problems are going to spread beyond the normal areas that they normally occupy.

Taxes alone will not solve our problems in education because equilibrium will be reached relative to tax collection and the maximum attainable mill rate. There comes a point under the immutable laws of the Bell shaped Laffer curve that dictate a collection threshold. Once equilibrium is reached less taxes are collected, and sadly that threshold is also under assault as the Federal and state government also add to the tax burden of ordinary CT citizens.

The best course of action we can take to alleviate the pressure of these problems is to rebuild our school district under the principles of the New Urbanization Initiative, and Smart Growth while interest rates are low. Once those rates rise our window of opportunity will be closed and Hartford will have to beg the Federal Government to fund our schools. The alternative is over taxation and the fostering of one of the largest underground economies America has ever seen.

Big Crowd Expected Monday Night At Jonathan Law

Monday night’s regular Board of Education meeting will be filled with education discussions, including talk about a budget transfer of $80,000, use of Jonathan Law High School for a local church’s religious services and reports by student representatives from the two public high schools.

But the meeting agenda item expected to garner the most attention will be one of the final items on the schedule: Public comment.

CONTINUE READING JILL DION STORY BY CLICKING HERE

James Tranquilli Jr. Wants Your Vote On Schools

MILFORD — A website was launched Thursday as a sounding board for residents concerned about the plan to close Simon Lake School, reconfigure the elementary grades and eliminate more than 45 positions next year.

Board of Education member James Tranquilli Jr., R-1, designed www.milfordspeaksout.com. The 10-member school board will vote in late May on the school administration’s proposal.

Acting Superintendent of Schools R. Michael Cummings is proposing the changes as a way of addressing a $2.2 million budget reduction next year. The Board of Finance reduced the school board’s budget request by $2.2 million, though overall it approved a 2.25 percent increase in spending for next year.

CONTINUE READING BRIAN MCREADY STORY CLICK HERE

Milford's Budget Deliberations Draw Crowd

This years budget deliberations will begin in earnest and with the voice of the people of Milford who will own up to it and fund the city. City hall was attended by a great deal of city employees last Thursday night. Teachers who are in fear of losing their jobs were all dressed in pink as a show of solidarity and in unison voiced their plea to keep their jobs this year.

Some members of the community, myself included attended the gathering and voiced our opinions at the podium. There was much criticism of the wasteful spending by the Republican administration that has contributed to the job insecurity that our teachers are experiencing.

Aggregate to this years budget woes many people in government and education have automatic raises built in to their contracts. Each year they have the option to forgo those minimal raises to save the jobs of their newer co-workers who have not yet been afforded the protection that tenured teachers enjoy. In essence the raises of the senior teachers and city employees are what dictates the increase in the cost of education. Additionally Health insurance and benefits have also increased contributing to local economic instability.

During these "Great Recessionary times" most newer city employees are fearful of losing their jobs, and many in Milford living on the edge are afraid they will not be able to afford their property taxes in the years to come. The stage is being set for tax increases that will further strain the limited disposable income that is available to Milford's homeowners.

Senator Gayle Slossberg, in a telephone interview made it clear that the state of Connecticut is in "Dire Straits" and that "little to no help" can be expected from Hartford. She said "Milford will have to make do like the rest of the towns in CT who are in the same position... Hartford is looking to get its budget balanced to avoid its own consequences." Gayle did not know how long this recession was going to last, but was optimistic in Milford's ability in being able to solve its own interim problems until she is able to procure more funding from the state.

The event was well attended by the local press, the chairman of all three local political parties were represented and now the time begins to start the difficult process of saving jobs, and keeping property taxes from getting out of control.

The ultimate solution to this ongoing budget saga, according to acting School Superintendent Michael Cummings may be to "revive the idea originally initiated by former Superintendent Firn to merge the two high schools in Milford."

Currently the Milford School system needs $100,000,000.00 in repairs and upgrades, compared to the city abandoning its costliest middle schools in favor of the larger High Schools. Many feel that building a new unified "Green" High School is the answer. The cost of merging the two schools is apx. $60,000,000.00 to the city of Milford. This cost will also accompany an estimated $40,000,000.00 from the state of Connecticut when those funds become available.

The new High School is being looked at with the Burnt Plains lot in mind as the city recently purchased that land. The site is in the vicinity of the YMCA and Platt Tech in Milford.

While this years budget battle is void of any meaningful solutions or good outcomes, the loss of money due to the cruelty of inflation a bad economy and a stagnant grand list is taking its toll on the city.

The emerging consensus is that wisest move is to take a "Long Term" view and begin the difficult process of streamlining education costs on the infrastructure side. The savings potential from a well designed school system will eventually result in higher property values, hence faster growth in the "Grand List", reduced maintenance and energy costs, and a consolidation of redundant services and staff positions.

Mark Stapleton the Chairman of the Board of Education agrees that the idea of "merging the two High Schools is a wise one" and looks forward to beginning the difficult process of studying the reorganizational benefits of the Milford school system.

Video of myself speaking at the podium during the public budget hearing

Milford CT High School Merger Followup.

A proposal to replace the city's two public high schools with one large, new one drew mixed reactions Tuesday.

Timothy Chaucer, who co-founded Milford Citizens Against Mega-Schools to defeat a similar plan five years ago, said Tuesday that large high schools don't work and that cities that have tried this experiment have gone back to two facilities.

"Fairfield tried this, and it was an absolute failure," said Chaucer, a retired Hamden High School teacher. "Meriden merged Maloney and Platt into one huge school and they regret it. Joe Foran (a former Milford superintendent), said the ideal size of a high school is 900 to 1,000 students." Rocco Frank, chairman of the local Independent Party, wrote on his blog that building one new high school makes more sense than spending the same amount of money to repair two older buildings that waste a lot of energy

Continue Reading Frank Juliano Story by Clicking HERE

Milford Embraces The Idea Of One High School.. Chaucer Miffed.

Nothing less than the complete reorganization of the city's public school system, including the possibility of one high school, will be needed to resolve long-term budget issues, school officials said Monday night.

Under one plan being considered, the three middle schools would be closed and the two high school buildings, Joseph A. Foran and Jonathan Law, would be converted to middle schools, school board chairman Mark Stapleton said. "That's the current thinking, but we have a lot of ideas to explore," he said. "Part of that would be a new high school to serve the city; that isn't a conversation I am looking forward to having."

TO CONTINUE READING FRANK JULIANO STORY CLICK HERE

MY Previous post on this JonathanForan High idea:

"Perhaps the High School name is a bit odd but it is the only play on words I can think of when it comes to the very idea of merging the two schools into one.

Milford's budget continues to be hampered by the economy, its associated deflation in tandem with long term unemployment, and of course taxes, taxes and ever increasing property taxes.

Well last week after looking at the city's proposed budget and reading the repair and improvement costs on Milford's schools I had to pinch myself. The nightmare of $100,000,000.00 in repairs just seemed like I was trapped in a taxpayer nightmare, a nightmare where everyone gets 3%-5% raises while massive teacher layoffs loom on the horizon yet again. Only problem was... well I am not dreaming and yes I was very awake and if you are not, then you need to wake up for this one.

Today I made several hasty phone calls, sent lots of e-mails, spoke to countless experts and concluded that our two High Schools will have to eventually merge into one. The benefits of doing so are immense. The risk of not doing so and applying expensive "band aids" certainly not a smart option.

The green movement in town has been pushing for more ecofriendly projects, and with the "skyrocketing" cost of school repairs a "green Leeds" certified "world class" high school is starting to make sense. A Leeds certified High School would be the first of its kind in CT and would save the city a great deal of energy costs.

The best way not to throw away good tax dollars on crumbling buildings, is to challenge the logic of spending the equivalent of a new school, on two old energy inefficient buildings that need endless and costly repairs.

The epiphany is coming, and when it does our leaders will hopefully realize it is more cost effective to build a brand new H.S.from scratch. Milford's schools I believe have entered into this reality, but has yet to embrace enough conservative proponents.

The main challenge (at the moment) is to locate a suitable building site. Thankfully I did some research and found a good candidate. The building site that I propose involves the recently purchased 7.6 acres on Burnt Plains Road. The property abuts other sizable lots, also owned by the city and is right near the Milford YMCA of which offers a great Indoor swimming pool, and a soccer field. It would also be in the company of Platt Tech and far away from the fast food chains that tempt our kids into poor nutrition.

This would certainly be the best answer for a new school that would house apx 3,000 kids in a centrally located part of our city. Since Milford already owns the lots land costs would be minimal to none. Some costs to the taxpayers, could be recouped by leasing out the old High Schools, relocating crowded middle schools, or converting them into senior living centers.

The, consolidation would be costly at first but over time would save Milford's taxpayers millions of dollars, while in tandem increasing our local property values. Fewer resources and personnel will be dedicated to the maintenance, and daily management of a well designed facility.

With strong momentum, favorable support, and a serious effort Jonathan Foran High School could be a reality within four or Five years if we start taking education costs seriously now."

Lawsuits Against City Mount

Many years ago when I used to meet with my life insurance broker, he and I discussed retirement options. During that time I was young and naive and I dared to ask the question "how does the average person find the millions required to retire?" Well ask a silly question and get a silly answer, he replied "Northwest Mutual did a survey on this very issue and one prominent and alarming response by many people was they expect to win a lawsuit."

As of today, the city of Milford certainly has its litigants lined up to collect from the "city till." This week the Board of Education reported they are "almost out of legal funds" having spent almost all their money combating Harvey Polanski, and other Special Education Lawsuits.

The Milford Police Department is expected to get hit with a "whopper" as a result of two wrongful death lawsuits on the part of fired officer Anderson. These suits are expected from the victims families whose children were killed. The city could expect to pay out Seven figures each to these litigants.

In the Milford law Department today, Cynthia Anger who was fired decided to sue the town in Federal Court over her alleged wrongful termination. She states that because she wanted to form a union the Mayor wrongfully fired her. Her former boss Winn Smith was also named in the lawsuit.

These are just some of the most mentionable lawsuits, but none-the-less they are aggregate to the several other legal nuances that normally occur as a result of the heavy hand of government taxes, home valuations, and environmental disasters.

The level of litigious discord in Milford is reaching a budget breaking climax. Sadly most of these cases are the result poor judgement on the part of someone with power who thought better.

Many are asking who is paying for all this? And this certainly remains a valid question. I believe the city has some insurance to cover losses but in the end taxpayers are picking up the tab for most of it.

The Lawyers who are currently "stirring the pot" could care less about you or I. They are self serving "spin doctors" who make money by perverting logic, and inflating the rewards and expectations of their clients. They love it when people cannot agree it means they get more fees and work. A rational individual could easily conclude that the longer a legal conflict goes on the more a law firm stands to benefit.

Personally, and having been a former Deputy Sheriff myself, I can honestly tell you from my countless hours working with lawyers that they have kids to put through college, mortgage payments, and bills to pay just like the rest of us. They are motivated to make money for themselves and their bosses.

While I agree attorneys have their place in city issues, I fear that this new and excessive use of them is a false sense of security. The end result is going to be higher taxes on the citizens of Milford, and endless ongoing and protracted litigation that every attorney is "salivating to get a piece of."

The surest way to guarantee that a simple problem is complicated beyond reason, is to combine the "pompous delusions of grandeur" of legal clients with as many "liberal self serving lawyers as possible." Only then can the town-wide legal "feeding frenzy" and taxpayer extortion begin.

The time is now for all Milford Bureaucrats to start obeying the law, or change it to avoid the egregious and continual waste of taxpayer dollars to a predatory group of Vulchers..

Board Of Education Moves To Fire Polanski

The Board of Education is moving on.

The board is expected Monday night to retain a Bridgeport law firm to represent it in potential termination hearings for suspended Superintendent Harvey Polansky. At the same time the board is expected to name itself as the search committee to find a new superintendent.

The 7 p.m. meeting in the Board of Education conference room in the Parsons Government Center will also include a report on the district's Breathalyzer and alcohol testing policy, and will involve setting the date and time for high school graduations in June.


CONTINUE READING JULIANO STORY CLICK HERE

Polanski Extorts City And Refuses To Resign

After having agreed to a resignation agreement with the Board of Education two months ago, Polanski is now holding his departure for ransom. He is demanding another $30,000.00 from the Milford Board of Education in addition to the $110,000.00.

Mark Stapleton, who has represented the constituents of this city with an incredible level of commitment and resolve, has rightfully called his latest act of defiance "regrettable." Polanski, has chosen to go "all in" betting that the city will not try to "fire him out right."

However, he is mistaken because there is good grounds to "fire" Polanski and give him the only benefits afforded under the law for a terminated employee. Assuredly those benefits are substantially less. While Polanski has not had his day in court, his actions continue to declare a level of hubris only expected from a person who just received an innocent verdict by a jury of his peers.

The lewd and lascivious actions that led to his subsequent accusations, and his eventual arrest were borne after the Milford Police Department conducted an investigation and found there was enough evidence, or "probable cause," to have him arrested.

His actions, as were highlighted by his accusers (two principals) included "intimidation," "flashing his genitals," "open mouth kissing" and " placing his hands on their "rears." While Mr. Polanski is scheduled to appear in court to face these charges, his latest misconduct involving this new found extortion plot against the city are only going to further harm his reputation within the community. When he succeeds in achieving this, finding a local and impartial jury to preside over his trial may become more challenging for his attorney Fred Dorsey.

Mr. Polanski has pleaded ignorance to the charges alleged against him. He is citing that "he did not know that his cultural habits would offend others." This is what has laughingly become the "Borat" defence, in honor of the film by Sacha Baron Cohen where the character Borat engages in outrageous cultural behavior that dupes his unwilling suspects in a manner that leads to chaos and confusion.

While only he knows for sure what happened, the preliminary evidence against him is strong. He has created a track record of controversial behavior from the onset of his employment. We have learned that while he was at Southington murmurs about a investigation there were kept to a low tone. Polanski was given the benefit of the doubt, and after attending a party with known sexual offenders and underage drinking that also was a "close call" he managed to escape from.

Personally I believe that, this time, Polanski will most likely end up fired. I do not believe that any sensible person on a city board should allow him to recoup anything more than what is allowed by The Department of Labor. This battle he is waging on the Board of Education will most likely be a second civil case in addition to his criminal case that his testing the limits of the people of Milford.

While this great city has endured all kinds of hardships and legal challenges the time has come to stand up and not create a policy that rewards the malintent of an accused criminal. Perhaps an "agreement in principle" should in fact contain a clarification of what it means to have "principles."

Polanski Saga Finally Ends

The heavily criticized Milford Board of Education ended the Harvey Polanski Saga last night by agreement. The closed door agreement entailed a payment of $110,000.00 an extension of his health benefits and an immediate suspension of his other benefits.

Milford's Board of education has taken the job of our schools as a top priority, and has now established a record of intolerance toward Superintendents that act in a manner that creates animosity toward co-workers and an illusion of perverse impropriety.

Firn, the Superintendent prior to Polanski was also paid off for similar controversial behavior. The parents of our children in Milford take their kids education seriously, as they should, they also want our school Superintendents to act in a professional manner and refrain from behavior that could be construed as lewd or lascivious.

Supporters of Polanski, alleged the now former Superintendent, was never permitted to tell his side of the story. This may or may not be true, but those investigating this case have had correspondence with his attorney Mr. Dorsey who on numerous occasions had numerous opportunities to set the record straight.

Polanski's court date is set for February 2, 2010 at the Milford court house. This day will most likely be his arraignment on the allegations made against him. While anyone who knows the legal system will tell you that an arrest is not any proof of wrong doing but rather a method of due process, we could expect his case to be placed before the court for a resolution.

Harvey Polanski, will have his opportunity to tell his side of the story should he so chose and those who accused him will have to take the stand and prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there is a basis in fact in the allegations they made against him.

While it is real easy to blame the the Milford Board of Education for the way this issue was handled, we must not forget that it has never been the role of a board to decide guilt or innocence. The job of the board, has and will remain political, as they are the public liaison who represents the wishes of their constituents who elected them. The people of Milford spoke "loud and clear" in Firn's case some three years ago. This should have been a warning to Polanski, that our community demands high moral standards and is intolerant of anything less than that.

This lesson was missed because the newspapers and Mr. Polanski mired themselves in controversy. Controversy that went back to the Rhorigs, also in court for criminal sexual misconduct. The public also had a suspicion over the investigation at his last place of employment. It could be fair to assume that mistakes were made during his hiring process, that the original decision was marred by the fact a thorough enough back ground check was not completed.

However, in defence of that decision, his stellar record and awards, mesmerized and wooed many people at the time. From the onset, and even amid failing CAPT test scores the Board of Education members gave him high praises. Our boards have an uncanny way of keeping their "blinders on" and ignoring the ugly truth until the apex of controversy no longer can be ignored. If anything his critics should be accusing the MBOE of being overly complacent, not "harsh, unfair or extreme."

The decision to rid our schools of this unfortunate situation was, in my view, a good one, and the Milford Board of Education Chairman Mark Stapleton should be commended for signaling yet again that our town will not tolerate, ignore or protect any conduct that is damaging to the image of our school system.

Sincerely, I hope that all Mr. Polanski said on record is in fact true. The people of Milford will be watching as his day in court approaches. Should he be vindicated, I am certain his reputation will be restored and action will be taken against those Principals who bared false witness against him.

Greta Stanford Criticizes Milford Board Of Education

The seats of the Milford Board of Education had barely warmed when discussion turned political. Newly elected Republicans want to change the terms of office to four years, open the charter and possibly make the mayor, of all people, the board chairman. Reason? Shortly after the election, new board members must work on the next year’s budget.

One would think that when individuals were running for an office, at the very least, he/she would become acquainted with the responsibilities of that office, including the makeup of the current budget. Instead of complaining about “coming out on a cold night,” it might make better sense to get down to the business at hand.

In addition, one interesting comment that was made was that “our class sizes are luxurious.” Board members ought to visit classrooms, when school is in session, to check on this. Barring that, due to work or other commitments, a look at the extensive research done over decades would demonstrate that, second only to the classroom teacher, class size is the most important ingredient to a child’s achievement. Finally, here’s some simple advice from an “old” teacher (and I mean that literally). “Do the work you were elected to do, and remember, it’s not about you. It’s about the kids. They deserve better.”

Greta Stanford
(Originally submitted to the CT Post)

Teacher Layoffs Loom Again

Every year, the school budget is put under review, this year is no different than any other year. The Milford Board of education, already mired in difficulty is awaiting a resolution on this years budgetary issues.

The issues regarding education have often been blamed on the city charter, and union protagonists in the School system. Talk by some Board of Ed members has already taken place to re-open the city charter to address these problems.

However, critics of this action warn that re-opening the Charter will result in more changes than just those intended to be specifically addressed.

The issue this year has to do with teacher layoffs, due to the cities inability to close a growing multimillion dollar gap. This issue over educational funding has happened before, and last round of negotiations resulted in alarm that 180 teachers would be fired.

The result was a happy one last year, no teachers were let go, especially after the "Education Outrage Machine" went into full spin. For those who do not remember, kids were circulating petitions with thousands of signatures on them, and the Board of Ed meetings were packed with standing room only protesters.

The final result was a mild culling of the school system, marking the loss of several Administrative positions, and cutbacks to school services including landscaping and energy efficiency savings.

This year the picture is more daunting, because aside from the multi-million dollar shortfall, our schools are in disrepair and need costly improvements that are approaching almost the entire annual school budget of 80 plus million.

These issues are being addressed as part of a triage system at the moment, a system determined by the school engineers who have been making emergency repair requests. However not all are happy with this approach especially after the Milford PTA got fed up with our kids learning in janitors closets, and doing their science work on carts instead of labs.

The problem was partially fixed last fall when the Democratically controlled Board of Alderman defied the Wishes of Mayor Richetelli (including the defection of Republican Alderman Ray Vitale) and succeeded in defeating the Mayors agenda.

The problems this year are the same, Special Education funding is still of grave concern, and a steady stream of complaints and lawsuits regarding Special Ed. are plaguing our school system. The Bureaucracy, and state legislature still have no idea on how to best address these concerns and continue to impose ineffective unfunded mandates that the city must pay each year.

The state Constitution requires that all children from Kindergarten to Grade 12 be educated FOR FREE, and if cities cannot meet that obligation due to the physical or psychological condition of a child, parents have a legal right to sue the city. These lawsuits force Milford's taxpayers (in many cases) to pay $50,000.00 to $150,000.00 a year to a parent whose child had to be educated in a private school.

Part of the issue with Special Education also appears to be the towns open door policy. The law also prohibits the School district from refusing children, like those at The Boys and Girls Club on Wheelers farm Road the services they need including custom transportation.

When the city of Milford addresses these issues too well, we risk becoming a Magnet city. Parents of special needs children will often relocate to towns, with the best services to educate their kids. The result of doing a good job can inadvertently become a moral hazard.

This hazard is often on the backs of lower income people who already lose their homes in town at a rate of two to three a week. The loss is often due to foreclosure, these happen when property taxes are too high, the economy is weak, and our local elected leaders fail to find solutions that satisfy the issues of property owners.

Some cities like Westport allow for people over 70 to stop paying their property tax all together. But the catch is to collect it from the estate of which the city is the First Lien Holder. Most cities including ours already have a program in place to grant tax relief to Veterans and the Elderly, but the cost of education and the dwindling state and Federal Resources are forcing towns into a process called Binding Arbitration.

This Arbitration is often a last ditch attempt, whereby arbitrators in Hartford settle monetary disputes between city unions, taxpayers, and school boards. Since most people do not understand that Arbitrators have the right to override decisions by school boards, a frustrated public retaliates with their votes in municipal elections.

The people who are voted out of office are usually completely powerless and never had any meaningful authority over a contractual monetary dispute in the first place. Regardless, this has somewhat managed to trivialize the ability of the Milford School board to respond to any financial settlement outside a drastic, or perhaps worse catastrophic financial event.

In order for there to ever be any resolution on education, budgets or negotiations, all parties must agree to accept the money that reasonably could be paid and derived from taxes and grants. The most irresponsible actions any union or board could ever take, is to litigate a situation to the point where it forces our city to continue toward a path of financial indebtedness, or worse, default on its current obligations.

The solutions to these problems rests soley in the hands of those people who created them. The caveat (to quote Einstein), however, "is that the same level of thinking that got us into this crisis cannot be used to resolve it."