Social workers

Question: I was told there is a chance that Mr. Gottung may not be with us next year. Is this true? Mr. Gottung and Mrs. DuFresne are a necessary part of the school staff. Many students benefit greatly from the services they offer. They are always very busy and stretched thin, but they still do an awesome job. I fear what would happen if only one of them were available next year. Please consider keeping Mr. Gottung AND Mrs. DuFresne if at all possible. Please consider the great things these two people do for our students and the great stress it would put on the students if one of them was not here next year.

Answer: First, thank you for all the kind words you wrote about Mr. Gottung and Mrs. DuFresne. I agree -- the services our social workers provide to our students are extremely valuable. So I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that not only are Mr. Gottung and Mrs. DuFresne staying for the 2012-13 school year, but we're also increasing our social worker staff to four full-time people (up from 3.5 FTE, or full-time equivalent). Each school building will have a dedicated social worker. We were able to make this happen as a direct result of the savings the district will realize from the new Broadalbin-Perth Teachers' Association (BPTA) contract.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, Superintendent of Schools

Director of Facilities & Operations

Question: Could you please tell me what the Director of Operations and Safety will be doing for the district?  Is this newly created? State mandated? Shouldn't or couldn't this be covered under Mr. Tomlinson's position in these tough economic times? I am wondering where the $72,000 is coming from as we were on the verge of laying off teachers again this year and the budget failed. Seems to me you could hire two teachers for this money and relieve some of the class sizes we currently have. I'm hoping this is a grant or something where the district isn't footing the entire salary, similiar to the communications position (even with half recovered from the state for this position, the pay is too high; I know private sector communications people who don't make what this district's specialist does). Please explain our new director's position. Thank you.

Answer: Over the next five years, the position of district director of facilities and operations is expected to save Broadalbin-Perth more than $200,000 by consolidating two management positions and eliminating B-P’s subscription to the BOCES Health-Safety-Risk Management service.

Possibility of post-budget layoffs?

Question: Is it really true as it says in the Patriot Press that if the budget passes there will be no layoffs? For example, the foreign language department will keep all its present teachers?

Answer: The decision to lay off any staff member is generally motivated by one of two factors: Finances or enrollment. If any layoffs had been announced when the budget proposal was adopted by the Board of Education, those layoffs would have been driven by finances. If any layoffs are announced after the budget vote, those layoffs will be driven by enrollment figures.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

Questions about staffing

Question: I have a few questions and thoughts.
(1) I would like to see the teachers contribute more to their health benefits. They have very good insurance.
(2) Could the district treasurer take on the duties of the tax collector? What are their salaries? Is the tax collector a part-time position?
(3) What is the state mandate regarding the number of psychologists per student and social workers per student?
(4) The budget for the media center staff seems very high. How many teachers and TAs are there?
There is no question in my mind that reductions must be made and I understand, at least to a degree, how difficult these decisions are.

Answer: I'll take your questions one at a time:
(1) The teachers made concessions on health insurance last year. It's a negotiable item that will be considered when their contract expires in 2012.
(2) Our understanding is that general municipality laws require a separation of those duties. The tax collector is a part-time position, and that person makes just over $3,000 a year.

Considering the assistant superintendent's position

Comment: I agree with the posting regarding the Assistant Superintendent. (Click here to read the earlier post.) It is my understanding the district has a Supervisor for Transportation, a Supervisor for Food Service and a Supervisor for Building and Grounds. Why can't THOSE supervisors report directly to Mr. Tomlinson? I believe then we could eliminate the position of Assistant Superintendent.

Employee Compensation Roundtable: Staff Cuts & School Taxes

The Community Roundtable on employee compensation that was held on Monday, Jan. 11, included lively discussion on a variety of topics. In order to keep the conversation going, we invite readers to post their thoughts on the following question that was presented to participants at the Community Roundtable. Click here to read notes on what was discussed at the Community Roundtable.

Broadalbin-Perth is in the middle of another difficult budget year in which tough decisions must be made. At this time last year, district administrators and the Board of Education informed the public that staff cuts would be likely in order to offset rising costs of operations and reduce the local tax levy. One full-time administrator position and four full-time teaching positions were eliminated at the end of the 2008-09 school year.