Shawn Letwin will bring fiscal responsibility to the Dexter school board
Dexter has two seats on the school board coming up for re-election. Our current school board has negotiated contracts that puts Dexter near the top for having the highest paid teachers in the state (average pay in Dexter is around $70,000) and gives the teachers monies left over from our budget (in a one-time payment, with the amount to be mutually agreeable between the board and the union) this year!
Michigan's teachers are the nation's highest-paid when compared to state wealth, but this means that most of our taxes pay for salaries, and extras for our students continue to get cut, with any “saved” monies now being shared with the teachers.
They have also agreed to spend about $500,000 to investigate an IB (international baccalaureate) program, that only 32 students have an interest in, without doing a feasibility study first (and WISD will have a program available)! Why are the Dexter schools spending monies like this while complaining about state monies at the same time? It is time for some changes in Dexter, starting with who represents the taxpayers on our school board!
Shawn Letwin has attended school board meetings for 10 years, has researched the finances extensively, and was hugely responsible for raising over $60,000 last year for ABDC and our students to support athletic activities. He is clearly committed to helping our students. Dexter has refused to change the date of our elections to the fall, which would save $15,000 -- so make the money spent mean something -- vote to change the faces on our school board!
Vote for Shawn Letwin for Dexter school board.
Alison Paine Dexter
Comments
Shawn Letwin
Wed, Apr 20, 2011 : 12:45 p.m.
@teepartidude-Here are the minutes for the budget approvals that had lots of discussion about lots of number and you will not the complete lack of detailed information. I stand by my comments under my real name. Meeting minutes verbatim June of 2011= 5. 2010-11 Budget Adoption. The Board of Education reviewed the final 2010-11 budget recommendations from Superintendent Rob Glass and Executive Director of Finance & Business Sharon Raschke. A motion was made by Dick Lundy and seconded by Kim Covert that the 2010-11 proposed budget be adopted. Motion Carried (unanimous). Meeting minutes verbatim November of 2011 I. ACTION ITEMS: 2. 2010-11 Budget Revision. The Board of Education reviewed a memorandum and information from Mary Marshall and Sharon Raschke regarding the 2010-11 Budget Revisions. The finance committee supported the budget revisions that were presented to the committee on Monday, November 22, 2010. A motion was made by Dick Lundy and seconded by Ron Darr that the 2010- 11 Budget Amendment Resolutions for the General Fund, Athletic Fund, Community Service Fund and the Food Services Fund be adopted. Motion Carried (unanimous). Go check out the finance committee meeting minutes prior to the June meeting & afterward...and report back on all of the detail at one of my open houses. But then you couldn't hide between a screen name could you? Number of applicants for the IB program-Dexter Leader on November 17, 2010..."DEXTER: Deadline for International Baccalaureate program nears. With a Dec. 15 deadline looming, school officials announced Monday at the Dexter Board of Education meeting that there are currently 38 students at Dexter High School signed up for the International Baccalaureate program. And for you to find it reasonable that a high school only six years old can reasonably expect 1 million in repairs and replacement costs (separate from daily cleaning, on-going maintenance and other regularly scheduled tasks) is astounding!
Shawn Letwin
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 11:42 p.m.
@teapartidude-Excellent questions and worthy of a response backed up with data. The $500,000 makes up around 1% of the budget. Sizable? Next, in the board packet for June 21, 2011, you will see that the memo from the Executive Financial Director states that there is $241,000 of new expenses for the IB program. The overall $500,000 figure was stated at a board meeting by district officials. Many teachers are taking days of to get training at all buildings, registration fees, etc. that are mixed into the overall budget and cannot be found in a single line item. If you choose to look further at the data on the website, you will note that the district has a final budget with $700,000 more in funding than the year before (districts getting less from the state-hardly)! Keeping in mind that there were also 3 months of public meetings last spring to achieve 3.2 million dollars from the reduction/elimination of expenses and that the board then approved a budget of only $700,000 less than the year before. If you get $700,000 more than you got last year, reduced your expenses by 3.2 million dollars, why are their expenses only $700,000 less? Maybe they are using the same accounting principals that they used in 04 when a major budget shortfall/deficit was expected that year and the district solicit donations from families for $84 and ended up having a surplus of 1.4 million dollars. And yes, they gave the donations back to those that asked for them. Or how about how the single tier busing would save over $400,000 and by November, the district had almost $230,000 of un-budgeted expenses (34,300 start-up (new drivers), $100,000 in-town routes, $82,500 for 3 new routes and $12,500 for operations secretary (their shared costs out of $50,000). And then we have a 6 year old high school that need over $1 million in repairs and replacements.
teepartidude
Tue, Apr 19, 2011 : 1:01 a.m.
So...no, you cannot verify Ms. Paine's $500,000 assertion. If something was stated by "district officials" at a board meeting, it follows that it should appear in the board minutes. What was the date of this meeting? Who were the district officials? Were you or Ms. Paine present at this meeting? $241,000 is not $500,000, and, assuming that is a real figure, it sounds quite reasonable for a world class curriculum that could elevate Dexter's standing and bring it more in line with its peers, Saline, Huron, and Pioneer. To suggest that "days of [sic] to get training at all buildings, registration fees, etc." could account for the $259,000 discrepancy from Ms. Paine's prior claim is absurd. As for $1 million in repairs and replacements (assuming, again that this is a correct number) again sounds quite reasonable for a 6 year-old building with almost 1,200 teenagers inhabiting it for 8+ hours a day, 180 days of the year. These kids are tough on things!
teepartidude
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 4:52 p.m.
Ms. Paine, "average pay in Dexter is around $70,000"? You get what you pay for (assuming the above figure is correct): Dexter High School ranks 40th among 818 high schools in the state of Michigan (see source below)--that would place it in the top 4% of the state. Not too shabby! Perhaps we can credit Dexter's well-trained, experienced teachers for a good part of that success? If competitive salaries continue to attract talented, well-educated (master's degree and above) to Dexter, then what's the problem with that? <a href="http://www.schooldigger.com/go/MI/schoolrank.aspx?level=3" rel='nofollow'>http://www.schooldigger.com/go/MI/schoolrank.aspx?level=3</a>
teepartidude
Mon, Apr 18, 2011 : 1:54 p.m.
Ms. Paine, Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence. "about $500,000" would be a sizable chunk of the district's annual budget--are you able to substantiate this claim with documentation? A link to board minutes or published public records on Dexter school finances should suffice. How about the "32 students" claim? Are you privy to a district roster of such students? Perhaps you conducted a district-wide poll of your own?
Shawn Letwin
Sun, Apr 17, 2011 : 11:07 p.m.
Everyone is invited to any or all of the 5 open house meetings that I have scheduled over the next two weeks at the Dexter Library. Tuesday, April 19th at 1:30-2:30 Thursday, April 21st at 9:15-10:15 Wednesday, April 27th at 10:00-11:00 Friday, April 29th at 1:30-2:30 Sunday, May 1st at 3:30-4:30 And remember Election Day is May 3rd and vote yes on renewing the WISD millage!