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Westchester County, NY | May 18, 2010 Election |
We Need More Financial Expertise on the BoardBy Nicole ChanningCandidate for Member, Board of Education; Croton-Harmon Union Free School District | |
This information is provided by the candidate |
Our district, like many others in the state and around the country, is navigating treacherous financial waters. We need financial expertise on the board to help address these issues. A strong financial foundation is what supports all of our programs. So regardless of which programs you care most about, you should be sure the board has sufficient financial expertise.I believe that the biggest challenge the district faces over the next several years is financial. A strong financial foundation is what makes all of our programs possible--and that is why, even if your primary concern is class size, the arts, athletics, student support, whatever, you should be concerned about our district's finances and should ensure that the board has sufficient financial expertise. WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES WE FACE? Let me explain the financial situation our district faces:
To face these issues, we will have to be increasingly creative in delivering services, increasingly vigilant when signing multi-year, multi-million dollar contracts, and increasingly aggressive in our advocacy efforts in Albany. To analyze what we can do and to advocate effectively for our positions, the board would benefit from more financial expertise. HOW WE CAN ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES Among the initiatives that I would pursue are: 1. A thorough analysis of the entire budget in terms of standard units of cost--for example, the cost of each program per student served, the cost per teaching hour, cost per square foot maintained, and the like. We also might benefit from a thorough analysis of all overtime costs, if that has not yet been done. We also need a better understanding of the actuarial cost of the pension benefits we are responsible for funding, so that we can take those into account in contract negotiations, as well as the drivers of long-term inflation in our healthcare costs. 2. We need more information about and metrics to measure the benefits of our expenditures. How effective is our teaching? How effective are our programs? If we do not measure outcomes in any way, we cannot improve. To the degree that prior practice or state law represent barriers to assessment, we need to communicate that to parents and other residents of the district and to advocate for change. I would be interested in considering the merits of measuring the performance of our students against international standards. 3. We need to engage in a thorough analysis of state laws that restrict our district's flexibility and creativity and create inefficiencies. We need to work with nonprofits and other school districts to draft and propose legislative changes that would give control back to the districts. Among the problems created by state law are excess paperwork, unhelpful tests, inefficiently structured unfunded mandates, and the perpetuation of outdated and inefficient employment practices through what are effectively perpetual employment contracts. 4. And finally, and very importantly, we need to explain clearly to the citizens of our district how state laws reduce our effectiveness and how crucial the proposed changes are--and to ask parents and other community members, who ultimately are the people who vote, for their help in advocating aggressively in Albany. Our district can do these things more effectively with greater financial expertise on the School Board. With years of experience analyzing financial statements and complex legal documents, I can help. |
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Created from information supplied by the candidate: May 10, 2010 11:59
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