Your Hub Article Response 2

This is the follow up to last weeks Your Hub article by Dave Schallert.

His response is first and mine follows it on the same post.

Mr. DiCarlo...so much to address. 1. Don't talk to me about "leaving the safety" of the desktop. Writing this piece exposes me to multiple harms by over-aroused DCSD hacks and others (including union thugs) who believe it is their right to prosper while the folks who fund their paychecks struggle.

2. DCSD is funded w/ MY MONEY! I earned it. Your comparison of for-profit businesses vs. the schools is lame to say the least. Just because DCSD has a guaranteed income stream from a captive Douglas County taxpayers does NOT exempt them from good financial and business practices. Does DCSD actually ask themselves "Gee...if this were MY money, would I spend it this way?" I pay approx. $300 a month in taxes to DCSD..and what do I get? $223 for scented pencils! Don't you think I could have USED the $300 myself? Instead it goes to these morons in DCSD. It isn't DCSD's money it's THE TAXPAYER'S MONEY...and they should treat it as such. Don't you think I'd rather do something else with my $$$ than send it the DCSD Black Hole? Again...it's NOT DCSD'S MONEY...it's OUR money.

3. DCSD proposes furloughs and pay "freezes". What a cop out. These folks work FOR US! We don't work for them. They can always rehire staff later when/if times improve. I have no sympathy for DCSD...as I said, let them feel what we've been feeling for the last 2 years. Get rid of them permanently...there is no such thing as "furloughs" in the private sector. If your job is so unimportant where I work that you can be sent home for a few days a year w/ no pay to save money, then you are let go COMPLETELY. DCSD doesn't begin to know the meaning of "hard choices."

4. DCSD pay "freezes?" What a joke! We'll freeze your inflated salary instead of giving you a raise. OOOhhhh...that's SO bold! How about an across the board 10% salary REDUCTION at DCSD. That covers the entire deficit. Schools aren't a sacred cow. They don't wag the county and they aren't immune from reality. Finally David...what are they going to do when the reduced property assessments hit this year w/ a lookback period of June 2008 to June 2010? I expect they'll see about a 20% reduction in their "revenue" from the unfortunate homeowners in Douglas County. DCSD doesn't get it...and I'm going to be on them until they do.

Dave...in all I said/replied below, I want to make clear one thing: I think what you and your group are doing/trying to do is very positive w/ regards to the DCSD. We just come at it from different perspectives and backgrounds. Layoffs, people losing their jobs, the uncertainty it brings to a family/household are terrible things. I've been through it. That said, I believe DCSD comes up w/ all kinds of ideas to meet a budget shortfall except the obvious...they have too many people working for them and need to cull personnel, no matter how painful for all involved. Period



David DiCarlo's Response 2/7/2010

Hey Dave,

1. This hub character limit makes responses hard. First of all I appreciate your input regardless of perspective differences. As for exposure I can tell you that anyone who would (or could) fall into that category has yet to surface in the circle I have seen and believe me I am on record with some pretty inflammatory thing to both left and right. I agree with the comment on folks struggling and layoffs, my home has recently gone through this and I can attest to the fear and stress this can cause. But keeping the $300 is pennies in a fountain. We all spend far more on taxes we never see at all. I would rather spend on schools and cut the amount I am sending to the poor stewards in D.C.

2. I agree that it is our money, but I stand by my non-profit assessment. I will tell you that the transparency is not a transparent as you may think. Many of the superfluous items such as the pencils have an actual use for educating students with disabilities; I found this out after losing my mind over the same information. The other missing part is that many of these items are in fact reimbursed to the school by either the PTO or parents but unfortunately that part of the math is not yet in the so called “transparency”. Bottom line is it is our money and we do need to be sure that the school is being good stewards of that money. I advocate increase accountability but not more cuts. Civil services that are poorly run are going to kill more of my property value. As with most working people my retirement fund is my home, I need it to be worth every penny. If the DCSD is a black hole it is our duty as the tax payers to fix it. I believe we are all responsible because we only look at things after the crash. No one was interested when things were good.

3. This is again a comparison that cannot evenly be made. We must by law educate children. There is no law guaranteeing employment or quality thereof for you or I. A teacher is a non-negotiable part of the education equation, how do you propose we provide quality education without quality teachers? We have only 1 chance to educate a child and the next generation cannot afford to be as stupid as mine. Generation X has made a career out of bad choices and putting wants before needs. We need to end that culture and build in its stead a culture of responsibility. Responsibility goes hand in hand with education.

4. While I do not agree with the inflated salary scenario, I do agree that pay freezes are over played. I am in that boat myself and raises cannot be guaranteed to anyone, neither can affordable health benefits, mine go up every year. The health of the economy dictates the ability to give a raise. In a recession raises are not going to be possible, however, a pay cut will KILL moral. I have worked in companies where pay was cut and the only thing that is worse than losing a job is to have that employer decide you are worth less today than you were yesterday. The new property evaluations are indeed going to kill the schools budget, yet again. But let’s be honest, we are no talking about an amount that will make my life better or worse. The figures I have seen means about a $15 monthly savings. This amount is not going to get me retired to a beach anytime soon. But when combined with community it will make a difference in the education of our children.

I have spoke to many people who feel they have no stake and in fact that since their children are grown or they have none that they should not have to pay at all. In both scenarios I support their position; however, they do not support my solution for the dilemma. For the retiree who has educated their children and claims to get no benefit from the school system I say keep your property tax, but I get no benefit from Social Security so I will keep that money and send it the police, fire and school systems. They can live off their property tax and all would be great.
For the folks that do not have children, I would issue them an exemption from paying property tax, as soon as they present a certified check for all the funds (adjusted for inflation) that were ever spent publically educating them K-12. In both cases the folks on the other side of the issue believe my position to be unreasonable. Which is how I feel about theirs, although I will tell you after I lay out my solutions, we seem to have a better understand of one another.
Dave, I want to invite you to post on our blog as a counter point. I respect the opinions you have put out and after reading your recent post I realize that it does take courage to share your point of view. Doing what is right is not always doing what is popular. Believe me the land management people think we are trying to lead the Frankenstein villagers into their parks to burn them down for the children. These are not easy time for anyone and we will all get further if we talk about the issues and learn together. In the end this is not a problem that can or will go away any time soon. We have many ideas that we are launching which are outside of the Mill Levy arena. The Mill is a poor band-aid for a deep sickness and we will be working to address the disease not just the symptoms. I again extend a personal invitation to our facebook and blog and welcome your opinions and verbal / written sparring. I will leave you with this thought, education today or welfare tomorrow, rhetoric aside look to your big American cities as this was their choice 20 – 30 years ago.