By

Ray Pinney

I own a house without city water and the water in the house comes from a well.  For those who are unfamiliar with this system, there really is no major difference except when I lose my electrical service. Then I have no water, because my water pump needs electricity to work. Since I rarely lose power for any great length of time, this is a minor inconvenience though even for a short time you are conscious of how often you use water without thinking about it.  Once my well pump went and we didn’t have water for 24 hours, which really brought this point home. Going to the sink to use running water is almost an unconscious act. In any case, it is something you take for granted until you don’t have it anymore.

New Jersey’s fiscal crisis has brought home to me how we take certain things for granted and one of them is the tax revenues that operate our state government.  Every year it seems that there is a budget crisis and a debate over our tax burden and where we should spend the money, but this year the debate is much different.  (more…)

 By

Ray Pinney 

Observing the Senate Budget Committee a couple of weeks ago, I thought of a know-it-all thirteen year old boy I once knew, who thought he was very intelligent and did not like to take advice from those who he felt were out of touch and dumb, like his parents.  Once his father told him (this household was not a democracy) to help with some yard work. The work entailed moving some heavy rocks in a wheelbarrow. This was the teenager’s opportunity to show his dad how tough and strong he was. That kid was me.  

My father took one look at how I had loaded the wheel barrow and said “Ray. that may be a heavy lift for you.” Not only did I think I was smarter than my parents, but I also felt I was no longer a boy, but a man. Predictably, I said “I can handle it!”  My father then added that I should be careful because the weight might not be distributed evenly.  I brushed off his suggestions because this lift was going to be “easy”.  So I proceeded to load the wheel barrow and went to lift it.  It was much heavier than I had anticipated and – you guessed it-one side was a bit heavier then the other.  I tried to act like it was full of leaves and not rocks, so as to not to give my father any satisfaction.  I pulled it off for about two steps before the wheel barrow tipped over and the rocks dropped to the ground along with my status as an adult!

I was reminded of this incident when I heard Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy testify before the Senate Budget Committee (more…)

By

Ray Pinney 

In a conference call to the leadership of the states education groups Commissioner Lucille Davy and Assistant Commissioner, Katie Attwood, discussed the latest move by the governor to fill a budget gap created by continuing loss of tax revenues for the state.  The move which was not a complete surprise was to defer, the next-to-last state aid payment until July.  This is a move that will affect a great many districts, and I will discuss later what districts should do to make sure they weather any affects of this decision.

First of all, during the at this conference call I couldn’t get over the feeling that I had been in this situation before.  It was a somber and serious discussion led by the commissioner, and there was no finger pointing or blaming — just a discussion as to what needs to be done and who will do what.  It then hit me as to what the mood and environment felt like.  When I served on my town council, we had an emergency management meeting 24 hours before a hurricane was to hit the community.  Our big concern was flooding which was a perennial problem in this community.  At this meeting we reviewed what the police would do, where the shelters set up and other disaster plans.  While we could not control the storm we could prepare for it.  (more…)

 By

Ray Pinney 

As I looked into her eyes, it was clear she was fighting tears. I also saw a puzzled look in her eyes. No matter how calmly and rationally I tried to explain the many shades of gray that go into a defeated budget, she only sees things in black and white.  And why shouldn’t she see the world in black and white?  She is only 14 years old and in 8^th grade. At that age, that’s the way the world is. It is hard for someone like me who studies legislation and has worked with school board members and administrators in worlds that have many, many shades of gray to explain to her the nuances of politics and school governance. Perhaps this is just another way of describing the generation gap.  As an adult, I often find myself explaining to my kids that “it isn’t that simple” or “well it’s a bit complicated,” but in their world for the most part those phrases just sound like an adult’s excuse.  She was really trying to understand but we came from conflicting worlds.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about how well the school budget vote went in the state (with over 73% of the budgets being approved) in the blog entry A Vocal Minority is Still a Minority. But I neglected to mention that the districts that saw budgets defeated still feel pain. I live in one of those communities.  My school budget did not pass and one of the cuts now being proposed eliminates the instrumental band program. If you are a frequent reader, you may recall I touched on the importance of music and extra-curricular in a blog way back in February: What are the “non-essential” items in education?  Little did I know that this issue would hit so close to home. (more…)

By

Ray Pinney

For those school administrators or board members who thought that the travel regulations might be relaxed a bit, I would say “don’t bet on it!”  Once again, local school districts were caught in the partisan crossfire at a committee meeting in the state Legislature.  This time, it was the Assembly Budget Committee, the meetings of which tend to be far more partisan than those of other committee meetings, especially in an election year.

At Thursday’s meeting, Commissioner of Education Lucille Davy not only presented her department’s budget for the upcoming year, but also addressed the general state of public education in New Jersey.  Now, similar meetings of the Senate Budget and Appropriations committee can turn into rather boring affairs.  The commissioner will read a speech and will answer general questions from legislators.  However, when the Assembly Budget Committee met on Thursday, the Republicans were prepared to attack the Corzine administration.  And the Democrats had no intention of sitting back quietly and taking the criticism.  Partisan?  Unproductive?  Absolutely!  But it was also entertaining, bringing some drama to the proceedings.

Unfortunately, the discourse might have undermined constructive changes to the Accountability Regulation’s travel restrictions. (more…)