Thursday, December 18, 2008

NY Budget Hits Saranac Lake School District

Governor Patterson's proposed NY state budget appears to be hitting the Saranac Lake school district very hard. The governor's proposal would result in a decrease in State aid of almost one million dollars to the Saranac Lake school district.
"Like our Superintendent Gerry Goldman said, this amount of money is not going to be made up by curtailing field trips and turning off the lights," Kilroy said.
This is exactly right. Unfortunately, the hit could have been lessened if the school board had insisted on a higher health insurance contribution in the recently approved teachers contract.
In a concession to the district, employees' contributions toward their health plans have increased. A single plan will rise from $150 a year to $375. A family plan will increase from $250 to $750.
There is a concession for you....contributing 35-42 dollars a month for health insurance. That's a contribution of about 6-8% tops. Most employees I'm aware of are contributing far more than 15-20% for their healthcare. What if the employees has been asked to contribute 15-20%? How much savings would the District and taxpayers have seen then?

Yes, the hit from the State is a big one. Maybe even an unfair one. But demanding a larger contribution from district employees for their healthcare would lessened the hit dramatically.

Merry Christmas, Baby

Rove Advice to Obama

Advice to President-elect Obama from the turd blossom:
Less obvious is how to create a White House where forceful debate can take place. Plain speaking, straight talk, and dissent must be encouraged, with participants thoroughly prepared, ideas offered with deference for opposing views, and colleagues not subjected to self-serving leaks.
Too bad he didn't give the same advice to the current President.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Something GW Bush is Good At?



Dodging shoes! That was an excellent dodge - both times. I'm a bit surprised how long it took the secret service to react.