Letters to our State Officials

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  Mike Balboni

  7th Senate District

  Thomas DiNapoli
16th Assembly District

   November 5, 2005

    Honorable Sir:

    The major problem with public education in New York State stems not from inadequate funding but from the

     various measures the State Legislature has enacted over the years at the behest of educators and teachers' unions to

   enshrine the status quo. Nothing has been done to enable improvements in the educational system that will actually

    result in better student performance as measured by the statewide standardized testing. Because many children are not

   taught well in grade and high school levels, colleges must teach remedial courses and businesses find high school

   graduate applicants unprepared for the workplace. In spite of massive increases in spending, student achievement has

   not increased in the past 30 years.

   “Myths dominate education policy….. These myths have distorted virtually every area of education policy.

   Disentangling them from the education system and establishing policy based on facts supported by systematic

   evidence will be the work of at least a generation.  “These myths fall into four major clusters. The first and

   most prominent cluster of myths claim that the performance of the education system is hindered by a lack of

   resources, and that the policies seeking to improve education by redirecting more resources to the classroom

   (through class size reduction and personnel policies) are effective.”

      ---- Education Myths by Jay P. Greene, p 217.

        Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005

        IBSN 0-7425-4977-1

    We need your help in Albany to make our school systems more productive and teach children better. The first thing

   you can do is read Mr. Greene's book, or at least the conclusions starting on page 217. It is a thoroughly and

   objectively researched book based on myriads of studies that have been performed by many. The sources of his

   information are clearly set forth: 28 for Chapter 1 alone. Unlike most research documents, this book is quite readable.

   I commend it to your attention.

    This book will help you and your staff understand the continual blandishments of the National Education Association

    and its subsidiary unions. You may then withstand them and show your voters that you care about improving

    education performance and productivity.

    Thank you for working with us to improve our schools --- in spite of those who wish only to continue the myths.

    I would appreciate learning of your comments about these matters.

    Very truly yours,

     June 11, 2005

     Honorable Sir:

     For over two years now, I have been strenuously working to reduce school expenditures. As you

     know property taxes in Nassau County are very high. They are driven principally by school costs.

    Reducing property taxes by shifting school support to the State and then using income taxes,

    sales taxes, or value-added taxes is a non-answer to the problem. The issue remains school

    costs.

    75 to 80% of the school budget is compensation in the form of wages, benefits, perks, overtime,

    and so-called “extra work.”

     You can help reduce the tax burden in this district because the rules and laws established in

    Albany, mainly at the behest of the teacher's union, significantly restrict the flexibility of the school

    boards to benefit from the market place while at the same time do nothing for the improvement of

    education at the Kindergarten through Grade 12 level.

     The teacher's union spends hundreds of thousands of dollars each year lobbying in Albany on

     behalf of teachers – not children's education. They are very successful. You have, I am sure,

     unwittingly perhaps, benefited from some of that money. The Department of Education is firmly in

     the hands of the teacher's unions.

    There are many examples of restrictions that aid only teachers welfare, not children's education.

    For examples:

     Tenure. After three to five years, teachers and other staff members are guaranteed employment

     regardless of continued meritorious service. This is not an issue of freedom of expression as it

     may be at the college level. There are many teachers either not teaching or performing poorly

     who cannot be replaced owing to their tenure. You do not have tenure. All professionals and

    non-union labor hold their jobs only as long as they perform well. I served 33 in the Navy without

    a contract and only “at the pleasure of the President”. That meant, and I knew it, that performance

    counted every day, not just the first few years. Tenure should be abolished in public schools.

    Grievance processes, well known in both civil service and union circles, protect employees from

    arbitrary and capricious actions.

    Certification by the Department of Education for certain positions. While qualifications for

    Teaching  positions and supervisory educational positions, such as principals, may be

    appropriate, requirements to have certifications by the Department of Education in certain other

    positions actually are detrimental. In our case, the position of Business Manager, or Assistant

   Superintendent for Business is not being filled permanently because the requirement for a

   certification prevents hiring an individual with adequate business experience obtained in the

   business community. We have had over a handful of incumbents in as many years. None were

   able to control the budget. Schools are big businesses. Ours has an annual budget approaching

   $70 million. It should be managed like a business to turn out a superior product – well-educated

   children of all social levels. The position of Superintendent of Schools may also be one

   appropriately non-certificated. The training and experience needed to obtain a certificate does not

   apparently ready an individual to run an organization of some 500 persons with a $70 budget. New

   York City is doing well with an individual from the business world.

    Advanced education. Many of the requirements for teachers to obtain advanced education do not

   address their improving their knowledge of the subject matter they are teaching, but merely

   require them to obtain some many credits in teaching methodology or other soft subjects. We

   sorely lack teachers who can teach math and science rigorously. We have a great many who will

   show you how to raise earthworms and call it science. The requirements for advancing one's

   education should focus on improving one's understanding of the subjects they are required to

   teach, as well as the tools they have to teach it.

   Eliminating laws and rules such as these would permit school districts to channel more of their tax

   revenues into programs directly improving education. We need you to help by withstanding the

   pressures of the teacher's lobbyists and unions and by causing the Department of Education to

   focus on improving education, not teacher's comforts.

  We are sorely in need of change in Albany. Thank you for your consideration of these ideas. I look

   forward to learning of your positions on these matters.

    Very truly yours,

    March 19, 2005

    Honorable Sir,

    As you know, we are all having great difficulty with the very heavy taxation caused by run-away

   school district expenditures throughout Long Island. Here in Manhasset, efforts are underway to

   establish more appropriate fiscal controls and attitudes of fiscal responsibility among the District

   staff and supervisors. Some successes are occurring. All involved agree that an excellent and

   broad education must be provided to all the school children, so services and staff are being

   examined for economies before any educational programs are being affected.

    We need your help by your withstanding union lobbying on many issues designed only to

   increase teacher welfare and costs at the expense of performance and productivity. There are

   many issues such as tenure and continuing education in “education delivery” rather than subject

   matter expertise.

     We need your help because many of the obstructions to our progress stem from stringent rules

     established by the Legislature and the Department of Education that do not enhance the quality

     of education but establish costly workplace rules detrimental to productivity. These rules have

     been established through the successful efforts of union lobbying. For example the right to

     teacher job tenure after three years is a state law. Tenure is a valid matter at the college and

     university level where political activism and freedom of speech are involved. There is no such

     issue at the elementary and high school educational levels. Tenure prevents school boards from

     removing teachers who may be inadequate. Civil Service laws prevent school boards from

     removing teachers without inappropriately lengthy process. People should hold jobs based on

     their actual and present performance. You do not have tenure. I served in both Federal and State

    government positions for over 45 years without a day under contract or job security. Tenure for

    K-12 teachers is a crutch that stultifies the children's education.

     A Bill, A 4047 , has been introduced this year that makes it mandatory that school boards provide

     the taxpayers with the tentative tax rates when disclosing their budget plans. Taxpayers are

     finding that when they pass a budget offering a small percentage increase, they are then hit with

     unexpectedly large tax increases to pay for it. They should have this information before them

     when they vote on the school budget. Please support this bill. It should be passed.