Toast of the Town. Letters to the Editor.  August 23, 2008:

Why couldn't School District Have Outsourced Student  Achievement Data Analysis Years Ago? Why Continue to do In-House -- Waiting another 3 Years for results?

August 23, 2008

Setting aside the screw-up regarding protecting files, (reported in a recent New York Times article on Princeton Review)  what's interesting about this story (NYTimes) is that White Plains Schools could have hired PRINCETON REVIEW  (or similar firm) to do its data tracking of student progress the last decade-- just as other school systems are doing -- and gotten answers already at probably a lot less than the $300,000 for software and $250,000 (estimated) per year for non-productive personnel plus $150,000 (estimated final cost) per year for the new guy they're hiring -- plus whatever they wouldn't have had to waste on BOCES.

I would hazard a guess that the PRINCETON REVIEW cost would have been (and would continue to be) a whole lot less.

Of course, I'd never suggest that you call PRINCETON REVIEW to get a ballpark figure on what they'd charge to do the data tracking for a school system with a population of 7,100 students....because it might show waste on the part of WP Schools.

A. Nonymous.

The 2008 STAR Exemption Cut Raised Taxes on the lowered valued Home...

August 23, 2008

There are numerous bills floating out there and the senate approved their own. Greg Ball told me he is proposing a bill or add on that would actually expand the current STAR program not eliminate it. There are multiple camps on this issue and I have been attempting to get the issue up in front of the public because people don’t have any clue about how these things work.

If they did all the owners of homes valued at less than 700,000.00 would be screaming foul over this year’s school tax increase and the STAR Exemption Fuzzy math used by all the Assessors and the Office of Real Property Tax Services this year.

The average low income home owner in White Plains does not even realize they had a 12-15 % school tax increase and the owners of the higher value homes only paid 5-8% on that tax line.  I know you put the info. out there about this but when I attempt to show average people or neighbors the math most get a terrified look on their faces and start talking about the Yankees or Mets!

I have had the same problem when talking to average seniors and asking them to vote no on the school tax budgets. They look at me and say that doesn’t affect me, I have the Senior STAR. I guess the attitude is so what, screw every homeowner with school taxes under the age of 65!!

John, you put your own tax bill up on the site. You paid about 6% increase  and I paid 12%+ because of these sneaks that are working for the more affluent citizens of this City, County and State. You and I see it, how is it know one else sees the math used and the net effect on the actual tax calculation as an annual percent increase.

In most cases, the seniors don’t care because right now they are tax exempt through the Enhanced Star program (not completely tax-exempt, editor's note). The average young homeowner is happy because they feel good that their kids' art brushes won’t be taken away and in the mean time neither they or their children do enough math to figure out that they are being screwed.

Better take the art brushes away and give them calculators because this is an epidemic and the beginning of the end of this country. A nation of Sheep!!

 Have you showed the tax calculation to Anthony Pila he ia a realtor he supposed to understand a tax bill. He lives in my neighborhood.

  I sent it up to Greg Ball and he is definitely working to preserve STAR.

Mike McConnell