Bus proposal fails in Gloversville
District officials say result will cost votersBy RODNEY MINOR, The Leader-Herald
Article Photos
Fact Box
How they voted
Here is the unofficial tally of votes from the Gloversville Enlarged School District's bus referendum Monday, broken down by designated polling stations:
Polling station
Park Terrace: 58 (yes), 59 (no)
Bleecker Town Hall: 12, 26
Kingsborough: 153, 108
Boulevard: 108, 41
Meco: 38, 57
McNab: 36, 29
GLOVERSVILLE - The Gloversville Enlarged School District has decided to lease four buses it needs this year after district voters rejected a proposal to purchase four new school buses for a second time Tuesday night.
Members of the Board of Education said the school will consolidate its bus runs and stop doing door-to-door pickups in some of the outlying areas of the school district in an effort to save money following Tuesday's vote.
While the vote went 405-320 in favor of the proposition to purchase one 65-passenger bus and three 20-passenger buses, it did not reach the 60 percent supermajority required by law, Business Manager Steve Schloicka said.
The majority of the $190,000 bond used to make the purchases would have been reimbursed to the school district by the state, leaving Gloversville with a total payment of $19,000.
Board President Perry Paul said the cost to lease the buses for the 2008-09 school year probably will be about $60,000.
The school board voted 5-2 to start the process of leasing the buses.
Board of Education Vice President Pete Semione said the lease of the buses was necessary in order for the school district to realize the full savings it had planned from making the elementary schools start later in the day.
Earlier this month, it was announced the district's elementary schools would move their start time from 8:30 to 8:55 a.m. The end of the school day will move from 2:35 to 2:55 p.m.
While students will lose five minutes of time in school, board members said the school district could save hundreds of thousands of dollars because of the change. The new start time will allow school district bus drivers to take special education students to Albany, a significant savings compared to its current arrangement of contracting out the service.
Bill Ferguson, the school district's director of operations, said the school district could save about $147,000 by having its drivers make the runs.
Semione said in order to realize the savings from the plan, the school district needed the four buses that were voted down. With voters rejecting the proposition, he said the board was left with little choice but to lease the buses.
Ferguson said switching from door-to-door service in outlying areas to a system of school bus pickup spots, effectively consolidating the bus routes, could also offer the school district some savings.
About $53,000 will be saved by consolidating the stops, which basically would eliminate trips down side roads in certain areas, Ferguson said.
The consolidation could be in place by the start of the school year, he said, but the biggest problems will be notifying parents in time and dealing with people who are upset about the change.
"We have had door-to-door service for eons," Ferguson said.
Board members agreed while they wanted the consolidation to happen as early as possible, the beginning of the school year would be too soon. Members said it will be discussed at their next meeting in September.
Superintendent Robert DeLilli said by the voters rejecting the proposition, they turned down the most efficient means of replacing the buses.
"Eventually, you will have to purchase the buses," he said. "The loss of money will show up next year."
Board members Betsy Simek and Harry Wiggins voted against the lease option.
Simek said this morning her feeling was that voters sent a message they want the school district to make do with what it has. Many people have had to cut back on the gas they use because of high energy prices, she said, and the school district needs to continue to investigate doing the same thing.
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driver89
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08-25-08 2:13 PM
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crazyhorse first time on site sorry if I used someone elses codename ALSO I'm not hiding I stated true facts,and it is hard enough for school dists to get the funding they need without people like sbdknitter posting false information and not having the correct information also I don't know who this person is but like I stated if you are going to post comments you NEED to know what you are talking about which he/she dosen't or didn't And furthermore I don't have anything aginst anyone but whoever wants to put information into print for other people to read about and such important issues as this needs to know the facts!!!!
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crazyhorse3
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08-24-08 6:40 AM
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driver89: why not use your OWN "code name" instead of hiding behind someone else to voice your opinion to sbdknitter. whom you seem to have a bad taste in your mouth for....MUST BE A PAST BETWEEN YOU!!!
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morningstar
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08-22-08 7:47 PM
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Buckeye, fine. You wore me down. I will no longer defend my self, my hard-working, caring and intelligent friends or any other teachers in the universe because certainly you "should have expected you to think that" and therefore you must be right and all-knowing. MountainMan I agree with you, it all comes out and that truly IS the major problem. That and the seething negativity that spits and spatters relentlessly, forever poisoning our once lovely lives. I am done with this. Morningstar.
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buckeye
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08-22-08 2:26 PM
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Morningstar....I should have expected you to think that. You're missing the whole point.
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MountainMan
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08-21-08 10:07 PM
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A good read about hidden taxes is found in a letter to the editor from the Gazette by Jeff Leland, entitled "Don't hike businesses' health insurance tab." For those of you who actually have a mental capacity.
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MountainMan
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08-21-08 10:04 PM
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Wha, no who responded to my recent comments? I guess it is easier to make up your own arguments to complain about. Gloversville is full of dummies.
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morningstar
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08-21-08 3:00 PM
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Buckeye, if you're out there, the only thing I've found about barely seems like a major gift in the face of paying 4% more per paycheck, especially since Gloversville attends more days than any of the other schools in the area. If you somehow know more, then the communication issue there is worse than we all thought because my friend knows nothing about a great deal. It was pay more and we only cut three jobs or else we cut over 10. Still a grand gesture from the teacher's union if you ask me.
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TiredOfTax
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08-21-08 2:01 PM
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At this time it does not matter if the asked for budget or expenses are fair, it only matters that people see it as the only way to tell the board that enough is enough. When after a defeat like this someone says well we will get what we have to (rent buses) and you are going to pay more now is not going to make the people any happier. I suggest you start to talk like you want to help out the taxpayers. If they ever start to believe you may get a favorable vote. Inflammatory comments will not make it any easier and it will be cause for much more interest from the sleeping taxpayers for future votes. How many more vote-downs is it going to take to get YOUR attention?
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TiredOfTax
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08-21-08 7:36 AM
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I think that the school board may be missing the point here. The people of the city have had it with the wasteful spending in the past. As well as the sneak it in quick vote to pass budgets with "stuff" attached. It is going to be a long long time before the people of this city trusts the school board to be on the TAXPAYERS side. The old adage that "it is for the children" isn't going to cut it anymore. Try this in the future: spend like there is no more money, shop for services and products. Remember just because you can legally spend this amount of money YOU DO NOT HAVE to spend it all!
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driver89
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08-21-08 6:53 AM
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sbdknitter please name your school board member I was at the meeting held at the transportation building and it was said at that meeting that two buses two drivers and two aides so they must not have been paying attention it was also in the packetS that were there for public viewing so like I stated before you post a comment PLEASE GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT
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sbdknitter
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08-20-08 11:08 PM
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driver89, Obviously lack of information is what has been the problem all along. The school district and board are trying to make decisions that will best use the resources of the tax payers but the facts that people need in order to make informed decisions in order to vote are not complete. A school board member was misinformed about the number of buses going to Albany. So sorry.
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morningstar
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08-20-08 10:11 PM
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What do you mean?
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buckeye
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08-20-08 9:15 PM
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Must be not. Bottom line is they didn't give back without getting something in return. My complaint isn't with the teachers who for the most part do a great job.I'm sure most of them would have given something up without getting something. The union is another story. Too much to get into tonight. They are out of touch with reality and in for a rude awakening. BTW...your taxpayer comment made the Gloversville chat line today. They were all over you.
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morningstar
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08-20-08 8:26 PM
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Be patient, Buckeye. When I can find out what you're asking I will be honest and tell you. Last night, I emailed one of my friends and I didn't get an answer til today and I was busy. She had no idea what I was talking about and she's close enough not to fake it, so perhaps everyone isn't as enlightened as you are.
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driver89
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08-20-08 5:10 PM
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This is just a little note to tell you all the truth about the comment that sbdknitter made in her comment about the buses in Gloversville The Albany runs the truth is that there were and are only going to be TWO buses TWO drivers and Two aides and they DO NOT go back and forth they stay in Albany until it is time for the students to be dismissed then they return home saving fuel wear and tear on the buses and money for saleries and getting the education that the students are entitled too. So before any of you including sbdknitter posts an opinion perhaps they should get ALL THE FACTS AND GET THEM STRAIGHT before they tell people misinformation and untruths.
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MountainMan
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08-20-08 2:10 PM
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To answer whilwind: I can compare the two tax systems because its ALL money out of my pocket, regardless of where I live. You, and others, choose to use a contorted viewpoint to force an unrealistic conclusion. I know how much you like to bash the area, and if you hate it so much, MOVE!!! We need better people living here than you.
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MountainMan
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08-20-08 2:05 PM
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Uh, its all cost of living. It doesn't matter how they take it out of my paycheck, but rather how much ends up at the end of the week. Sales tax, property tax, user fees, they are all the same. In the case of California, a big chunk of funding comes from the State. Anyone have any idea where that money comes from? I think whilwind said "the sky." The actual answer: "The largest proportion of school funding comes from California sales and income taxes."
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buckeye
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08-20-08 11:50 AM
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As I expected.
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Hairston
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08-20-08 9:36 AM
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I read through most of these posts from yesterday, and Floridian...what is your deal? What does serving in the military have to do with a bus proposal vote? Thanks for serving, but do you really need to announce what you've done every chance you get?? No one likes to see people tooting their own horns
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Aggiecoo
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08-20-08 8:06 AM
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MountainMan, NYC and California? You are comparing Gloversville to NYC and California? And you call the voters morons?
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wirlwind
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08-20-08 7:49 AM
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MTman you are wrong about California. The tax system is completely different, since Proposition 13, which took property owners OUT of the responsibility of paying for education. You cannot compare the two tax systems. People are moving from NYS because of the property tax rate, yet in California, businesses are moving away from the state because of the high taxes.
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Hilltopper
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08-20-08 7:16 AM
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Do they also abstain from the negotiation process or from providing any input ? The answer is no. Has one ever abstained from voting when their vote will be the deciding one ? The answer to my knowledge is no, and if you dispute it give a specific instance with verifiable data. Bottom line is that it is considered a conflict of interest to vote on a spouses contract anywhere else except in NYS school districts. They have that right by law. As far as attending BOE meetings, been there, done that, many times throughout the years. All I saw was rubberstamping and no debate. I would , however, like to see the contract negotiations be made public. That is were the " contractual obligations" are decided, and that is what sinks the budget,75% going to salaries.
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jpetty
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08-20-08 6:34 AM
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Hilltopper, if you took the time to attend a BOE meeting I'm sure you'll find that while NYS allows a BOE member to vote on a spouse's contract, most BOE members will abstain or recuse themselves. to avoid a conflict of interest. As for the bus leasing, I'm sure Girvin & Ferlazzo has advised Gloversville the lease can only be for one year term unless approved by taxpayers for a longer term.
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MountainMan
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08-20-08 1:25 AM
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To all the people who voted NO: You are a bunch of morons. Trying to make our schools and quality of life worse will not improve our local area. It will only drive the true hard-working people (none of you) away to other communities where individuals actively contribute and volunteer. Places in New York City and California have some of the highest inclusive taxes in the nation, and they not only prosper, but thrive with all kinds of economic development. If we could replace all of the naysayers (all those who voted NO) with smart, intelligent, and active individuals, you'll see this area turn around. Moral of the Story: It is not the State, Feds, or even the local school district that is stopping prosperity. It is you. All of you.
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morningstar
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08-19-08 10:54 PM
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I will try. I'm off to bed now. Have to rest up for work tomorrow.
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