against school merger

[superman]

oldtimer thinks we live in Manhattan where you need $100K a year just to survive. I agree that teachers deserve a good pay, but they also get paid for 9 months of work. I am not saying they all have to volunteer their time, but for example, a 7th grade advisor needing extra pay for that? I'm sure somebody would volunteer a couple of hours a month for their time. Do girlscout helpers get paid? They do it because they want to. Let someone that wants to be an advisor do it, and not have the people who do it for the money hog the position from the person who actually wants to do it. For the name oldtimer you sure are missing some old time values. I too am voting NO on the merger.

[Herkie]

The salaries and benefits of public employees are no longer sustainable at these levels. There is not a strong private sector to support it. There need to be salary caps for these positions. A teacher with 20 years is no better than a teacher with 10, but you can find a 20 year making a hell of a lot more. Can't have that. Sure, there should be some reward for longevity, but there needs to be some pay scale. Can't have sky's the limit anymore

[the best]

Really Think wrote:

This is an excellent article to get people thinking about the detrement the school merger may have on the Village of Herkimer.
www.herkimermerger.com
Read it and think for yourself. People will only tell you what they want you to hear so that you will vote for what they want.

Really Think, I believe you are wrong when it comes to what the students and teachers want. I am not sure what teachers you have talked to but the teachers will be asking for the merger. If it does not happen many more teachers will lose there jobs, like last year. The students also will lose more programs and sports as well.I am not sure who your talking to.

[the best]

Herkimer wrote:

Herkie: Even though it's all about opinions, every parent I know is against the merger. I think that article is just an opinion. Just as your post and mohawk valley central's post are opinions. In fact, I personally WILL put my house for sale because it is true. If I have to have my children go to Ilion, Frankfort and Herkimer, why am I living here. Mohawk and Frankfort have much quieter communities and electic bills there are 80% cheaper than they are in Herkimer. I still have to drive to Hannaford now, so what's another 4 minutes. We really do live here just because of the school. I am voting no too.

You may change your mind if more programs in the school are lost like last year. You may change your mind if extra programs like sports are cut. You may change your mind if your taxes go up another 10%.

[Herkie]

The individual school districts cannot afford what they are providing now. That is why they heavily rely on state funding. BOCES is a prime example how curriculm can be offered to a broader range of students within an area. A regional consolidation like they are considering can be viewed similar.

[first amendment]

boring,get a job troll

[Herkie]

first amendment wrote:

boring,get a job troll

Yet with every post you make, you more and more epitomize the definition of a troll. Boorish to say the least.

[clb]

A few people lost their jobs last year. A hell of a lot more are going to lose their jobs if the merger goes through. If you are worried about saving jobs you are looking at it totally wrong. Jobs will not be saved no matter what happens. If you want a merger to save your family member's job you are dead wrong. Herkie has it right. If you look at some of these salaries, benefits, expenses, purchases, etc. you can see why the schools have no more money. A merger would only make it worse over time because the extra state aid will dry out within 10 years and then what! Oh you won't have kids in there in 10 years so you don't care what happens then. They are already planning so many new programs to try to bribe the kids and parents into voting for the merger. A bigger school system means bigger expenses whether you want to face the truth or not. The merger is like getting more credit cards with larger credit limits in order to continue your current lifestyle. Someday it will all catch up. What will solve the problem is a good housecleaning. Vote no for the merger and force the Herkimer school district to watch expenses and not overpay for work that should cost 1/3 of what they are being charged.

[old timer]

the best- What makes Herkimer the "best"? I check-ed Herkimer's math scores on the state test for
grades 3-8 and compared them to Frankfort's
scores. Guess what? Frankfort's scores were higher
at almost every grade level. What makes Herkimer
the "best"? P.S. Superman, I may be an "old timer"
but $60,000 a year is not a lot even in the Mohawk
Valley. Hopefully you're making a lot more than
that because I'm an old retiree and I even make
more than that.

[what i say]

clb would be mistaken a hell of a lot of people will not lose their jobs if a merger goes through and it is probable there will be more created. If nothing happens and all remains as it is, more people are likely to lose their jobs than if a merger occurs. Lots of people are saying we don't need more, we don't need more clubs sports etc, yet the same people are saying, oh no if we merge more kids will be hanging in the streets becasue they won't play sports, which is it? there is never "too much" to offer our kids. Every sport, club, extracurriclur activity, elective class ets gets them that much more prepared for college, which is why i will vote YES

[Lookitup]

seethroughny.net will give you all the teacher salaries. I only counted 12 teachers (minus a few special ed because it is arguably more training and merits higher pay) make above 58k a year. The majority of these teachers have been with the district for a very long time, with a few of them nearing retirement.
You need a better argument than "they pay teacher too much" when most of their salaries are in the $40k-$55k range, which is not spectacular for a master's degree.
The merger could go either way, but residents really need to educate themselves on the reality of their spending.

[smile]

Whoever wrote:

<quoted text>
Totally agree..suddenly your kids are wanting to go to friends houses in Ilion and Frankfort and you have no idea where they are going and who these kids are. You can't say you know the families anymore or the parents. It is a scary situation when you are from these small towns. We all know there are drugs all over the towns but it is nice to know the families the kids are hanging out with when they are in Herkimer. Just turns my stomach to think about going into other villages hanging out. If the merger goes through,
that will be interesting from a parenting aspect.

Yeah when the merger happens we'll all be on the same team. Wow no more fights at McDonalds or Walmart, that sucks.

[vote]

Mike L wrote:

I will vote no. I have thought about the same thing for a few weeks now and have talked to my friends and neighbors who all feel the same way. At least someone has the guts to say something in a public way to get the point across. Definitely vote NO!

Your vote won't matter down road, change will occur regardless.

[reality check]

Not one valley school knows what the heck it is doing within its' own district. So, sure, let all the scew ups merge and see what will happen...CHAOS,a zillion more busses, more lay-offs, and eventually, skyrocketing taxes.

[Yeah]

reality check wrote:

Not one valley school knows what the heck it is doing within its' own district. So, sure, let all the scew ups merge and see what will happen...CHAOS,a zillion more busses, more lay-offs, and eventually, skyrocketing taxes.

Yeah, Ilion is so dumb they had 2mill for back-up cash when the state reneged.

[HerkimerResident]

That's right, vote NO. In the long run the merger will only make things worse than if Herkimer stays independent. I am voting NO as well.

[the best]

old timer wrote:

the best- What makes Herkimer the "best"? I check-ed Herkimer's math scores on the state test for
grades 3-8 and compared them to Frankfort's
scores. Guess what? Frankfort's scores were higher
at almost every grade level. What makes Herkimer
the "best"? P.S. Superman, I may be an "old timer"
but $60,000 a year is not a lot even in the Mohawk
Valley. Hopefully you're making a lot more than
that because I'm an old retiree and I even make
more than that.

I never said herkimer was the best. You just came up with that one. I live in Mohawk.

[old timer]

the best- I will correct myself. "Herkimer" said
that he lived in Herkimer because of the school.
My mistake.

[taxpayer]

I vote NO!! The schools will make it look like it is a great choice. But kids will be bussed for longer periods of time, longer distances to travel, sporting events will be played hours away instead of local village schools, ppl will get laid off, bigger classes, less one on one, more fighting amoungst the kids !!Superintendants will probably get an increase in pay as it will be a bigger school. Wear and tear on the busses. I'm sure my taxes will increase. If the schools are so broke now, then I say it's mismanagement of funds and someone should be budgeting better. We have been functioning for years without a merge. The kids will lose thier identity. What about the multi million dollar field Mohawk just put in. If you can't afford something you don't buy it!! I still say NO! My kid would be a Senior when this takes place, if it passes. Hell of a Senior year!

[first amendment]

fu people i send my son to notre damn lol