Our Kids Are Next

The left is seeking to transform education. Our children will be targeted. Textbooks will be rewritten. State guidelines will be revised. The Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District will be expected to pay teachers to write new lesson plans that indoctrinate students in socialism and other leftist ideals. Grades will be inflated to offset the systemic racism within the district.

White kids will be taught racism is in their DNA. Minorities will be taught they’ve been victimized by their white neighbors. Our founding fathers will mutate from imperfect heroes to despicable bigots. Rather than celebrate our nation’s achievements and recognize that we are dwarves on the shoulders of giants, the schools will teach our children to reject our history for we are the lowly descendants of monkeys.

Opposing viewpoints will be characterized as violence and hate speech. Safe spaces will be weaponized. Vandalism and destruction of property will be excused as social justice. Discipline and law enforcement will be shackled as thugs are permitted to roam freely.

Parents will not be spared. Matawan Township was renamed Aberdeen after Aberdeen, Scotland, an area infamous for witch burning and children trafficking. The word “kidnapped” comes from “kidnabbed”, for which Aberdeen was particularly notorious, selling hundreds of local children to slavers in the 1740s.

Aberdeen was originally inhabited by the Lenape Indians. After getting pushed out of Aberdeen, they ended up in Oklahoma where the Supreme Court recently awarded half the state to Native Americans.

Mayor Tagliarini is a closet republican who bends over backwards to accommodate local corruption. Will he use the bully pulpit and power over the school budget to protect our children? Has he ever?

>>> Read more!

Why Does the Left Hate Blacks?

Republican Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election after the democrats split their votes between two pro-slavery candidates.

The democrat-led states then seceded to preserve slavery. After the Civil War, southern democrats continued to persecute black Americans through the Ku Klux Klan, Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, and literacy tests.

In 1912, democrats elected Klansman and notorious segregationist Woodrow Wilson to the presidency. As president, Wilson segregated the federal government (even requiring applicants to include photos with their civil service applications) and appointed fellow Klansmen to high positions, including Justice Hugo Black, author of the notorious Korematsu decision which approved FDR’s internment of American citizens of Japanese descent during World War II.

When President Johnson passed civil rights legislation in the 1960s, he drew more support from the opposition Republicans than from his own democratic party.

This is not ancient history. Joe Biden has referred to school busing as “an asinine policy” and a “bankrupt concept.” He has praised fellow democratic senators, Eastland and Byrd. Senator Eastland was known as the “Voice of the White South.” Senator Byrd was both the longest serving U.S. senator in history and founder of the Sophia, West Virginia, branch of the Ku Klux Klan. Byrd claimed “The Klan is needed today as never before, and I am anxious to see its rebirth here in West Virginia and in every state in the nation." Joe Biden voted for Byrd to be the senate majority leader. 

Forty percent of abortions in American are performed on Blacks. The nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, was founded by Margaret Sanger, a proponent of eugenics and welcomed speaker at a Klu Klux Klan rally. She famously declared, "We don’t want the word to get out that we want to exterminate the Negro population.”

Joe Biden supports Ralph Northam, governor of Virginia who sported blackface and klan garb in his med school yearbook.

Blacks are disproportionately poor. The left supports poverty traps in the tax code. When the marginal tax rate is measured as both the increase in taxes and loss of benefits on the next dollar earned, the people with the highest marginal tax rates are the working poor, sometimes losing as much as 70% on the next dollar earned.

The left supports regressive taxes and regulations that increase the cost of food and energy, which disproportionately impact the poor. The left blocks companies like Walmart from servicing needy communities.

Blacks are disproportionately the victims of violence. The left supports defunding the police, withdrawing security from minority neighborhoods, and releasing violent criminals.

Black children are disproportionately trapped in failing schools. The left supports blocking school choice, blocking charter schools, blocking school vouchers, and blocking school reforms.

Blacks are disproportionately unemployed and underemployed. The left supports the Davis Bacon Act, legislation requiring government contractors to pay “prevailing wages”. The legislation was specifically created to prevent blacks from competing with whites for jobs. The left also supports raising the minimum wage, which depresses youth employment.

Blacks are disproportionately in jobs that cannot telecommute. The left supports keeping segments of the economy shut down, even as the pandemic’s fatality rate continues to fall.

Mayor Tagliarini was a lifelong Republican until he joined the democrats to run for mayor. At the time, he told me party affiliation didn’t matter at the local level. If that was ever true, it certainly isn’t now. Time to ask the mayor, why are you still a democrat?

>>> Read more!

Same Old Aberdeen

It’s been 10 years since I’ve lived in Aberdeen. Not much has changed. Mayor Tagliarini is still wondering how I discovered before he did that he’d be the democratic nominee for Mayor. Municipal budget is up 50% and Aberdeen has the highest property tax rate in Monmouth County for towns with an aggregate property value over $200 million. CME continues to fund the democratic campaigns for a license to pillage.

Still the same cast of characters on the town council except for relative newcomer, Abie Hirsch. 

Vincent Vinci is still lining his pockets at the firehouse after being pushed off the town council. Then again, he needs the money after getting scorched in property taxes on the land gifted to him by the township and county.

Greg Cannon is still plotting to become a power broker.

Still using Norman Kauff’s old law firm to represent the township.

Cambridge Club is finally open. (Yay!)

Affordable housing has arrived.

Crime is down.

Ten whole years. Feels like yesterday.

>>> Read more!

A Series of Why

I am proud to be American.

I love America. I love my fellow Americans. I cherish American ideals. I thank G-d every day that I live in a country that is free, generous, and compassionate.

We are the nation that promotes and protects freedom, democracy, and prosperity around the world to billions of people.

We are the nation that feeds the world through our food and science.

We are the nation that powers science, healthcare, finance, and industry.

We are the nation of higher education, arts, culture, and entertainment.

We are the land of opportunity and home of the brave.

I am so very proud of our founding fathers and national leaders who risked all and achieved much. They did it for us so that we and our children could enjoy freedom and prosperity as no other people throughout history.

Today, there’s a movement afoot to tear it all down. Tear down our heroes, our monuments, our history, and our beliefs. These demagogues have no plans to build a better future. They simply desire to destroy our present and past.

They rewrite history, corrupt scientific study, and poison our educational system. They seek to divide us by race, wealth, religion, and beliefs, rather than unite us as Americans of a shared and glorious future.

They persuade through propaganda and false promises. Their solutions always lie in granting themselves more power over our lives.

They foment hate and rage.

They shall not triumph.

As President Reagan advised Americans of all generations, “When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.”

I will be publishing a series of articles to expose the party of hate and asking, “Why?” Our freedoms are not the norm in human history. Our freedoms are not guaranteed. We must remain ever vigilant.

Aberdeener is back. >>> Read more!

Aberdeen’s Hapless Republicans

The Aberdeen Republican Party has a long history of fielding weak candidates without a winning campaign strategy. Continuing the trend, this year’s flag bearer is Michael Canberg, a new resident and community organizer with a troubled financial history.

Canberg rose to local fame after triumphantly blocking the expansion of a Jewish school in Cliffwood. He successfully cobbled together a coalition of those opposed to development, opposed to burdening the public school district, and opposed to Jews from Lakewood "ruining the neighborhood".

Having acquired a name for himself, Canberg’s fellow republicans nominated him for mayor without regard for his personal history.

In May, 2017, a sheriff seized Canberg’s house in Manalapan. According to the Deed of Foreclosure, Tropicana Casino and Resort is listed among those parties with a prior interest in the house, which might explain Canberg’s history of personal bankruptcies.

The county lists either a tax sale or foreclosure lispendens (notice of foreclosure) against Canberg in 1997, 1999, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2014, and 2015. In other words, from the year Canberg became an adult (1997) to the present.

Yet, the Republican Party doesn’t realize the irony of making Aberdeen’s debt (which is enormous) the centerpiece of its campaign.

At this point, I’d recommend the Aberdeen Republican Party reorganize as a church since it’s obviously a faith-based organization.

>>> Read more!

Mostly True

It’s election season in Aberdeen and the Democrats are wagering they can extend their two-decade monopoly on the town council.

Statements on Facebook purporting to be from the candidates warrant a response.

“In the case of the Glassworks, 85% of the property is not part of a PILOT and will just pay ordinary taxes from day one.”

Glassworks is being built in stages. The 85% refers to the entire development but the PILOT only refers to the first stage. Nothing precludes the township from offering additional PILOTs for the later stage developments.

Furthermore, PILOT is only one of many ways to reduce a developer's cost. For example, the township had a practice of not assessing a property until a certificate of occupancy was issued. Since the developer didn’t request a C of O until the property was under contract, properties were nearly tax free until they were sold. Other likely benefits include scale of development, variances, infrastructure support, and ignoring violations.

In short, we don’t know what concessions the township is providing to the developer or whether they are appropriate.

“[P]eople confuse the fact that the the PILOT Payment on the 15% does not get shared with the school district with the notion that they're paying no taxes. And there's nothing that we can do on the local level to change that. The State Redevelopment Law says that it doesn't go to the schools.”

This is only half true. When the Jefferson (Avalon at Aberdeen Station) units were built, the township granted the school district $200,000 annually to cover the expenses from the handful of students residing in the new development. At the time, arguments were made the school district was entitled to its fair share of revenue but at least the township didn’t create a hardship for the schools. The new developments specifically call for family housing. The township did not fully weigh the financial burden or educational impact on the schools nor offer any grants from the PILOT money to offset the costs of the additional students.

“The town has only two imperfect tools to incentivize a developer to take down an abandoned factory or clean up an environmental mess: PILOTS and Abatements.”

Not true. How ironic to hear the Democratic leadership argue the only way to promote economic activity is through tax cuts to the wealthy.

As discussed above, there are numerous ways to entice development. Church St. development went from age-restricted housing to age-restricted and familly housing.

Manhattan has some of the highest taxes, restrictions, and burdens in the country yet there’s development throughout the city because the land is valuable. Aberdeen has a beautiful shoreline, parks, highway access, a train station, and boundless opportunity for improvement. Raise property values and developers will come begging.

To argue that taxes are the only way to entice development, suggesting it was the only thing negotiated between the developers and the township, says two things:
1) Cover up
2) The town council likes dropping their pants

“We made a deal with RPM Development whereby they would clean it up on their dime, help us clean up the adjacent lot, and in return, they got the property (which had negative value) for $1 and a PILOT agreement for the same term as the repayment of the money RPM borrowed to clean up the property.”

If true, that means RPM got the land for free plus a virtual tax credit equal to the cost of the cleanup. In other words, they got the land at no cost. Somebody made lots of money on that deal.

“[T]he PILOT payment goes directly into the municipal general budget and directly, dollar-for-dollar, lowers the residents' property tax levy - just like any other miscellaneous revenue. Now, you can say this is unfair to the schools, but it literally makes no monetary difference to a resident. Their four quarterly payments are going to be reduced by the PILOT revenue - the only difference is whether their municipal taxes are lower or their school taxes are lower. It's a zero-sum game regardless.”

Pure propaganda.

The notion that the township gets to pocket the revenue while the school district bears the cost “makes no difference” is shameful. It means the township does not recognize nor cares about the burden it places on the school district. And it assumes Aberdeen is a town of idiots.

Of course it matters whether money goes to the township or the school district. The township has far fewer restraints on increasing spending and far greater incentives to encourage development than the school district. This PILOT money will go towards municipal spending, not tax relief. The school district will get another influx of students without sufficient funding for them. The township will debate how to spend more money while parents and students fight over scarce resources.

And the school district is called Matawan-Aberdeen for a reason. A third of the school won’t be benefiting from the township’s munificence. Cardinal rule of getting along – Don’t piss upstream from your neighbors.

“Finally, people ask: why everything at the same time?”

Not exactly. People are asking why so much over development at the same time.

We know the answer to that question. With all due deference to Jessie J (Price Tag), it is all about the money, money, money. 

>>> Read more!

Borrow Now, Borrow Later

It's local election season again and time for another Republican drumming. Should the Republicans choose to win an election rather than just run for the heck of it, here's a place they might try looking.

Aberdeen's Financial Statement to refinance its debt obligations.

• From 2012 to 2016, the municipal tax rate increased 17% (Page A-6)
• From 2012 to 2016, municipal spending increased 20% (Page A-7)
• Municipal debt is $26.9 million, 144% of the annual budget (Page A-9)
• From 2012 to 2016, municipal debt service increased 63% to $2.175 million per year and now accounts for 11.6% of the total budget (Page A-7)

Those numbers will worsen as interest rates increase. Now, you know why the township is so gung-ho on development. The money is already spent. 

Below is a letter I received that I'm re-printing with the author's permission.

N.J. "Oath of Office" or is it the "Oath of Abuse of Office"?

I _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the State of New Jersey; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Governments established in the United States and in this State, under the Authority of the people; and that I will faithfully, impartially and justly perform al the duties of the office of ___ according to the best of my ability, and that I will not use my office to grant preferential treatment, nor to seek personal gain, favor, or advantage not available to the general public. (so help me God* opt).

Keywords: I swear, support, defend, Constitution of the United States, true faith, allegiance, faithfully, impartially, justly, best of my ability, not use my office to grant preferential treatment, not seek personal gain or advantage not available to the general public.

Are any of these "keywords" the truth of the decisions, votes, and spending of our taxpayer dollars to not have truly brought community wide beneficial actions by our elected Democrat only officials "Oath of Office" in Aberdeen? Many in Aberdeen say "absolutely not" from simply looking around our town you can see that the "Oath of Office" sworn to by our Democrat only leadership was more truthfully an "Oath of Abuse of Office" that betrayed the entire Aberdeen community.

Many stores in Aberdeen have been closing up operations (despite an Aberdeen Economic Business Council supposedly formed to help all of the towns businesses equally). Our neglected beach areas promised to be improved that campaigns labeled "The Jewel of Aberdeen". More truthfully our "Jewel" of a beachfront areas have been ignored (despite 2017 campaign year "promise of a new Water Park). Over 15 years of photo ops and failed political promises.

More proof of the past two decades of Democrat only “promises” to bring our town senior housing and "lower taxes through "smart development" with constant campaign promises that "this next building development will finally bring a Main Street to Aberdeen". That Main Street "promise'' of course never happened for decades. The current building surge no doubt will also be used in Democrat campaign 2017 literature as "progress" but it will be very costly "progress" under the equally questionable and manipulated PILOT Program that strips our Schools of much needed tax monies from such politically controlled and approved building projects.

In Aberdeen was the "Oath of Office" so often taken by our leaders been a citizen betraying "Oath of Abuse of Office? Was the "Oath just empty words for decades with politicized photo-ops and political lies and tricks to maintain corrupt political control? We in Aberdeen

>>> Read more!

Government For The People

"[T]hat we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." – Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

Are we still resolved to have a government of the people, by the people, for the people?

Are we resolved to have a government of the people or single issue interest groups who sell their votes and support to the highest bidder? 

Are we resolved to have a government by the people or professional politicians and lifelong bureaucrats who shield themselves from the consequences of their decisions?

Are we resolved to have a government for the people?

• Are rising taxes about investing in our future or bloat, incompetence, and greed?
• Are our schools’ priority education for our children or job security and benefits for the staff? 
• Are traffic and parking tickets primarily used for law enforcement and public safety or revenue?
• Is the Veterans Administration hospital system dedicated to providing the best care for our most deserving or a corrupt organization cooking the books?
• Are we a nation of laws or are some people more equal than others?
• Does our government promote hard work and savings or dependency?
• Do our public officials prefer the unpredictability of the free marketplace or the power to pick winners and losers?
• Do we have a government that has earned our trust?

This election will test our resolve. This election is not about our two imperfect candidates, it’s about us. What kind of nation do we want? What kind of government do we want? And who will get us there? 

Are we resolved to vote for freedom, safety, and prosperity? Are we resolved to vote for competence and dedication to the public good? Are we resolved to vote that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth?

>>> Read more!

Questions for Hillary

Election Day approaches and Hillary is the strong favorite in Aberdeen. She's been stumbling on the campaign trail so let's help her with some easy questions.

1. How would you protect female interns from Bill Clinton and Anthony Weiner?
2. How much would you charge for the Lincoln Bedroom and should checks be made to cash or the Clinton Foundation?
3. Which bathroom would you use to store your personal email server and will it be open to transgenders?
4. On radio, you bragged of using a technicality to get a child rapist a reduced sentence and you accused the 12-year old victim of being the aggressor. Why brag?
5. In Whitewater, you designed the sales agreements to strip the buyer of all home equity if he missed a single payment for any reason. The contract was legal in Arkansas but illegal in most other states. As president, would you seek to make it legal nationwide?
6. You wish to increase the number of Syrian refugees coming to our country by 500%. Do you believe that will make us safer?
7. Simon & Schuster paid you $14 million for a book that only sold 200,000 copies. Ebay paid you $315,000 for a 20-minute speech. Cisco paid you $325,000 just to sit on a stage with the CEO. Do you think these companies got their money’s worth?
8. Can you name a bill you sponsored as senator?
9. You have promised to create millions of jobs through infrastructure projects? In today’s age of technology, do you see road builder as a job of the future?
10. The last 8 years has seen the most anemic economic growth in American history. What would you have done differently?
11. What was your greatest accomplishment as Secretary of State?
12. How is your health?

>>> Read more!

Remembering Memorial Day

"Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have to die for us again. It's a day of thanks for the valor of others, a day to remember the splendor of America and those of her children who rest in this cemetery and others. It's a day to be with the family and remember . . .

And we owe them something, those boys. We owe them first a promise: That just as they did not forget their missing comrades, neither, ever, will we. And there are other promises. We must always remember that peace is a fragile thing that needs constant vigilance. We owe them a promise to look at the world with a steady gaze and, perhaps, a resigned toughness, knowing that we have adversaries in the world and challenges and the only way to meet them and maintain the peace is by staying strong."

Ronald Reagan, Memorial Day, 1986

>>> Read more!

More Say It Ain't So

As reported on NJ.com

Four New Jersey men were charged with possession of marijuana following a traffic stop on April 27, said a State Police spokesman.

At about 10:15 a.m., State Police stopped a BMW that was speeding on Route 78 in the area of milepost 6.6, said Sgt. Adam Grossman.

State Police approached the vehicle and could smell marijuana, Grossman said. Marijuana was found in the vehicle and the occupants were arrested and taken to the Perryville station, where they were charged with possession of marijuana.

James DeMatto, 30, of Freehold; William Mcguinn, 29, of Matawan; Gregory Cannon, 29, of Aberdeen; and Justin Deleo, 31, of Secaucus were all charged.

James DeMatteo
Aberdeen Planning Board Holds Reorganization Meeting
James DeMatteo and Vincent Vinci were named the first and second alternates

William Mcguinn
William McGuinn Appointed as the Municipal Court Prosecutor in Aberdeen Township
William McGuinn was sworn in as the Aberdeen Township Municipal Prosecutor on January 6, 2015

Gregory Cannon
Democrats sweep in Aberdeen
Gregory Cannon (1,313 votes), Arthur Hirsch (1,283), Robert Swindle (1,277) and Concetta Kelley (1,294) >>> Read more!

The Democratic Slate

Ah, it’s that time of year again when Aberdeen Township gets to renew its fealty to the democratic party.

Harvey Brenner – Nice guy who’s reputed to have already accepted a job offer in upstate New York and has no intention of serving on the town council.

Gregory Cannon – Remembered for brow-beating a constituent whose home was likely flooded by a township project but refused to accept the town’s meager settlement offer.

Concetta Kelly – She operates a state funded school charity and regularly pockets a quarter of the proceeds. To date, she’s paid herself over $300,000 for her charity work.

Robert Swindle – He’s the guy who sat quietly as his attorney threatened to imprison locals demanding the right to speak at a township meeting on COAH housing.

These are the people Aberdeen will elect tomorrow. How exciting!!!

>>> Read more!

Guilty by Association

“I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me.” – Ronald Reagan

I remember when Fred Tagliarini left the Republican Party to run for Mayor of Aberdeen. At the time, he explained party affiliation at the local level was irrelevant; I presume Mayor Tagliarini still tilts right at the state and national level.

If party affiliation was ever irrelevant at the local level, that is no longer true. The Democratic Party has become hell bent on transforming America at any cost. Any person running on the Democratic ticket is promoting a party that believes:

1)      A democratic Israel is more dangerous to world peace than a nuclear and terror-sponsoring Iran

2)      Illegal aliens are more law abiding than the average American AND are less likely to report crime

3)      Hillary Clinton did not violate any laws or policies when storing and then destroying confidential government email on a private server, did not user her office for personal gain, and does not user her “charity” as a tax-free slush fund

4)       “Progressive” policies trump religious liberty

5)       “Progressive” policies trump constitutional safeguards

6)      Al Sharpton is a statesman, having been invited to the White House dozens of times and given a talk show on MSNBC (whose parent company booted Donald Trump)

7)      Teacher union interests take precedence over children’s interests

8)      Checking criminal histories of job applicants is racist and illegal but Asian quotas at top universities are appropriate to promote diversity

9)      Man-made global warming is beyond scientific debate despite rampant manipulation of data and the failure of every climate model predicting future warming

10)   More government, more regulations, and more taxes are more often the answer than not

11)   The government will never go bankrupt because we can always print more money

I am confident Mayor Tagliarini does not believe in any of the above. Sadly, I can’t say the same of his colleagues running for town council. This is the political party they’ve chosen and support. Will Aberdeen do the same?

>>> Read more!

Bully Pulpit

At an open town meeting on December 16, 2014, the town council told Mr. Rizkalla

1. The township’s million dollar water project did not cause flooding in his house
2.  Had two experts visit his house who “cannot tell us anything the Township did is causing water in your basement”
3. Will not release the reports of those “two experts”
4. Offered Mr. Rizkalla $19,000 to go away
5. That he’s welcome to get a lawyer and sue

Does that sound like the town is being honest?

Here’s another piece to consider.

>>> Read more!

Aberdeen Payday

Perusing Aberdeen’s 2014 Municipal Budget, I noticed the following:
Sheet 12 –
Administrative Salaries increased 37% in one year to $168,979
Financial Salaries increased 6% this year and 56% since 2007 to $164,242

Sheet 13 –
Tax Collection Salaries increased 7% this year to $111,927
Tax Assessment Salaries increased 14% this year to $71,500

Sheet 14 –
Employee Group Health Insurance increased 113% since 2007 and is now $1.72 million

It’s wonderful to know that public service can be so rewarding.

>>> Read more!

Living in Neverland

On March 4th, the residents of Freneau submitted a petition to the Aberdeen Town Council requesting sewers. Both Deputy Mayor Montone and Councilman Cannon assured the residents the town was working “very hard”. Councilman Cannon added, “We realize it is not fair that you are paying taxes and everyone gets their streets and sidewalks done and you get nothing.”

Deputy Montone twice assured the residents the council was making “progress”. How did she define “progress”? The council has made lots of plans.

Welcome to Neverland where the future is always bright and there’s a plan to solve every problem. Taxes too high? There’s a plan for a transit village and another plan for the redevelopment of Anchor Glass. Cost of housing too high? There’s a plan for a senior residence and low-income housing. Concerned about pay-to-play? The town council has a plan for that as well. Whatever problem you may have, rest assured the town council has a plan. Lots of plans. Wonderful plans. And if those plans don’t work, the town council will make new plans. Better plans. Plans that will amaze and astound.

Such is the beauty of living in Neverland where a majority of voters never grows up. >>> Read more!

New Year’s Resolution

1. I will no longer believe politicians who promise me something for nothing
2. I will no longer trust politicians to fix all my problems
3. I will no longer trust politicians to care for me and my family
4. I will no longer believe politicians who promise to protect me by stripping me of my rights
5. I will no longer believe politicians can fix a problem by simply writing a law or taking a vote
6. I will no longer believe nice and caring implies effective and competent
7. I will no longer trust politicians who promise to fix problems after their terms of office
8. I will no longer trust politicians who promise to fix broken promises
9. I will no longer trust politicians who think I’m stupid for believing they mean what they say
10. I will no longer trust politicians who are more giving with other people’s monies than their own
11. I will no longer support politicians who think I work for them
12. I will no longer support politicians who take all the credit and none of the blame

May this be the year government works for us.

>>> Read more!

What’s the School Plan?

Why are teachers using online courses to attain higher degrees but the students are not? Rather than expand and experiment with new teaching technologies, the Information Technology budget has been slashed by over 30% in two years to $163,000. That’s roughly $4 per student. Add the total district library budget, and you’re just over $20 a kid.

Meanwhile, during that same period, per pupil expenditures (ignoring overhead) is up 13% to $13,430 per student.  $5,000,000 was added to capital expenditures. Teacher benefits are galloping along at annual increases of 10%.

The simple reality is that public school is too expensive and the education is woefully below student needs.

The school district should pursue a blended approach of technology, individualized instruction, and teacher/student interaction.

As a first step, the district must approach parents for permission to instruct their children in math and science via online courses. The students could work at their own pace in a supervised school environment. Those who need more time and help, will get it. Those who can fly will be allowed to do so. Parents can withdraw their children from the program at any time.

It’s either this, charter schools, or implosion. By staying the course, the district will have chosen implosion.

>>> Read more!

Aberdeen’s Death Spiral

If you’ve been living in Aberdeen a while, have you noticed a change?

Have you noticed that big projects never seem to get done anymore? Transit station, swim club, Glass Anchor, senior housing, everything seems to be in limbo.

Have you noticed the money problems getting worse? That Aberdeen no longer maintains a rainy day fund, that its credit rating has been cut, or that it might, on occasion, need to raid the public library’s coffers?

Have you noticed retirees increasingly leaving Aberdeen to escape the high property taxes?

Have you noticed more vacant properties in the area? (Ten more sheriff sales scheduled for September.)

Have you noticed certain programs getting cut and the money never seems to be restored?

Have you noticed few seem to care and nobody does anything about it?

This is what a death spiral looks like. It starts slow and nobody cares. It speeds up and everyone pretends someone else will fix the problem. And then . . . collapse.

Need more evidence?
2006 Pension Contributions:
Police and Firemen - $238,883
Public Employees - $51,558

2013 Pension Contributions:
Police and Firemen - $945,052
Public Employees - $248,170

Percent Increase over 7 Years:
Police and Firemen - 396%
Public Employees – 481%

2007 Employee Group Health - $810,000 (2006 numbers unavailable)
2013 Employee Group Health - $1,640,804
% Increase over 6 Years – 203%

>>> Read more!

Aberdeen's Budget Gnomes at Work

Budget is policy.

Budget is spin.

Budget is sleight of hand.

In Aberdeen, budget is all of the above.

Although the final budget was adopted a month ago, the final numbers have not been posted and we’re reduced to relying upon “press releases” from the town council. Still, we do have the initially proposed budget and the final numbers are likely similar. The initial budget also provides a great window into the township’s budget approach.

Sheet 3B of the initial budget states the following:
Maximum Allowable Amount to be Raised by Taxation 10,690,838
Amount to be Raised by Taxation for Municipal Purposes 10,690,314

The township started the budgeting process from the maximum amount it could tax residents and then worked backwards, looking to make small cuts here and there.
>>> Read more!