Friends of Donna C.

Friends of Donna C. Foundation
84 Idolstone Lane
Aberdeen, NJ 07747
EIN # 27-1047919

To whom it may concern:

I'm writing on behalf of the Friends of Donna C. Foundation. Our group is a non-profit organization raising funds for Donna Calicchio and her family. Donna is a long time resident of Aberdeen, NJ. She is a loving mother, devoted wife, and thoughtful friend. Three months ago, Donna suffered a brain aneurysm. She has been in the hospital since then and has had multiple brain surgeries. Although she has shown signs of recovery, she has also had major setbacks. As of late, her husband, Tony, has found out that their health insurance reached its maximum and will no longer cover the medical expenses. Since Donna's traumatic injury, Tony has not been able to return to work full-time. He has he been daily by Donna's side and is caring for their 10-year old daughter. We need to raise funds to help relieve some of the monetary burden that the Calicchio family will be encountering in the weeks, months, and years to come. We are working hard to raise these funds.

We need your help with our upcoming auction on December 6th, 2009, to benefit the Friends of Donna C. Foundation. We need items we can offer as prizes for our auction. We'd appreciate a donation of any value to help us achieve our goal for this fundraiser, which is $20,000.

Your generous donation will be publicly acknowledged at our event through promotional announcements, fliers and a prominent note in our program. We feel that your business will benefit from the community goodwill generated by your kind donation to our group.

To learn more about our group or our event, please contact Michael Donohue, Treasurer, at 732-547-3872 or 732-970-3066, or the contact information listed below.

Thank your for your consideration of our request, and we look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Sincerely,

Jenny Cox
Volunteer, Chairperson
27 Fierro Avenue
Matawan, NJ 07747
732-583-1722

PS - So that we may better plan our event, would you kindly let us how your decision by November 15,2009. Thank you. >>> Read more!

Clarification on the School District's Stimulus Funds

At last night’s meeting, Dr. O’Malley clarified the details swirling around the use of the stimulus funds for balancing the budget and funding the RTI program.

Last March, the state informed the Matawan-Aberdeen school district that funding would be flat. Dr. O’Malley then presented a zero tax-levy increase budget based upon the state’s assurance that state funding would remain at the prior year’s level.

In September, the state informed the school district that federal stimulus money had been used to fund the state’s obligations to the school district. The federal government was now requiring a report as to how many jobs were “created or saved” through the use of the federal stimulus funds.

Dr. O’Malley recommended we report to the state that the funds were used to “save” the RTI teaching positions.

Moving forward, however, Dr. O’Malley does not expect that funding will be available next year. That means we’re likely looking at a $1.7 million revenue shortfall for next year.

Next month, the district will provide a review of the RTI program. Undoubtedly, a $1.7 million revenue shortfall will entail program cuts somewhere or everywhere. >>> Read more!

What Would Joey Do

For the three or four people out there who are wondering what I would do if I were mayor of Aberdeen (not that I ever will be), these would be my plans:

Property Taxes – There are only two ways to cut property taxes – cut spending and increase revenue. For those property owners who have fallen behind in their payments, the tax collector should be authorized to contact and negotiate payment plans just like IRS agents before people get hit with huge interest charges. This year, 100 properties are likely going to tax sale, most for small amounts. (Hat tip to AberdeenNJlife)

Payroll Cuts – Offer every municipal employee the opportunity to purchase up to 2 weeks vacation time. In the private sector, this is considered a huge perk and it’s far more amenable than mandatory furloughs.

Professional Services – Establish a threshold above which the town is required to issue an RFQ – request for quote. The township is not required to accept the lowest bid but all bidders will feel pressured to offer competitive pricing.

Shared Services – Pursue shared services with neighboring municipalities, particularly in police services and sanitation. If Matawan isn’t interested, check with the other neighboring towns.

Township Engineer – It makes no sense that the person charged with ensuring all engineering projects are cost effective earns more as those projects become less cost effective. Bar the township engineer from directly participating in any engineering projects.

Better Financial Planning – We’ve been spending down our reserves by going over budget. Why are we going over budget? The township first discussed changing healthcare plans in 2008. Why the delay? We borrowed money to conduct the revaluations so far in advance that much of the loan was paid back before we ever paid for the revaluations. Why?

Legal Fees – The school board hosts a committee meeting about two weeks prior to the action meeting to give board members and the public the opportunity to review and comment upon action items. The school board has also ended the practice of having an attorney present when no action will be taken, meaning nearly all the committee meetings. The town council could adopt the same practice in place of the current schedule of workshop meetings preceding regular meetings that same night. Doing so would be better governance and cut several thousands of dollars of legal fees.

The town council should also avoid pursuing legal action when there’s little chance of success.

Land Development – I would aggressively pursue commercial development through massive tax giveaways that gradually disappear over a ten-year period using the PILOT program. Any tax revenue we’d generate in the meantime is more than we’re getting now and without the tax giveaways we’re unlikely to see any near-term commercial developments. As for residential development, I would not grant variances to any residential development that does not “pay down” our existing COAH obligations. The costs of COAH are too high to justify residential development.

COAH – Nobody wants “the projects” built in their neighborhoods. The argument that these homes will go to cops, teachers, and other public workers is nonsense. Most young couples have dual incomes. Plus, there’s a waiting list to get these homes and, by the time a name is called, cops and teachers would likely be earning above the income limits. I would not provide any variances to any development seeking to fulfill a “projected” COAH obligation. In the meantime, let’s see what the courts say about current lawsuits objecting to the new COAH regulations before approving any new COAH developments.

Assessments – This is one of my old ideas that may not be viable. The township has a lot of discretion when to reassess a property. I would allow property owners to schedule their properties assessments so long as they do so once every ten years and the classification of the property hasn’t changed. That way, we’d reduce the tax penalty for improving one’s property and provide a new revenue source by charging a fee for the reassessment. We could also use the service to provide property appraisals for homeowners seeking to re-finance their properties. Since we’d have continuous rolling assessments, we should be able to avoid the costs of town-wide property revaluations.

Merger – I still support merging Aberdeen and Matawan. The opportunities to cut costs, develop Main St. and the transit village, and petition Trenton for increased funding outweigh the risks.

Grants Writer – Share the expense of a full-time grants writer with Matawan and the school district to pursue public and private grants. A one-year trial period would be worthwhile. (This idea was originally proposed by Ken Aitken.)

Newsletter – Have the township newsletter published and promoted by an independent company that can attract paid advertising.

Naming Opportunities – Similar to the highway programs, allow companies and individuals to sponsor public areas and assume the maintenance expenses. We can also lease the naming rights to parks and fields.

Votes – As a school board member, I have abstained from voting on the addition of a friend to the district’s substitute list. Gambino and Delaney recused themselves from appointing someone who worked for the New Jersey Department of Education. Yet, our councilmen brazenly vote to give million dollar appointments to their biggest contributor. I would bar any councilman from participating in any way as regards a person or company with whom he as a strong relationship.

Appointments – All appointments should be made upon the recommendation of the town manager. The town manager should also be tasked with ensuring the township receives at least three qualified applications for each appointment.

Candidate Debates – The school district sponsors a televised debate among the candidates, moderated by the league of women voters. By contrast, immediately following the Republicans announcing a Meet the Candidates Night, the Democrats scheduled a last-minute H1N1 presentation to starve the Republicans of any news coverage. (Hat tip to AberdeenNJlife again) The town council should adopt the school district's policy of sponsoring a televised debate among candidates.

Public Meetings – Public meetings should be televised and their minutes posted in a timely manner. >>> Read more!

School Board Goals

Like a turtle in mad pursuit, the school board has finally settled upon its first three goals. Although the final language won’t be set until the minutes are approved, they go something like this –

• From 3rd grade through high school graduation, all students will be proficient in reading and writing
• Each class will have an increasing percentage of students who are proficient and advance proficient on the state exams to the point the graduating classes will be on par with the I-districts (communities with a higher socio-economic status)
• Future school budgets will not hike taxes beyond 2% a year

As is usually the case with setting goals, each one is better than nothing but not quite perfect.

The first goal was explained by school board member, Dr. Delaney. Prior to 3rd grade, students learn to read. After 3rd grade, students read to learn. Statistics show that students who don’t achieve reading proficiency by 3rd grade are at the highest risk of falling behind in later years. Therefore, we have an imperative to ensure that all kids are reading by the 3rd grade. Then, once they’re reading, we want to make sure they keep reading.

I requested, and the board agreed, that we include writing as well. Writing is one of the components of the state’s Language Arts Literacy exams and one of the most egregious weak points in our students’ educations. We’ve encouraged the administration to begin stressing writing skills across curriculums wherever appropriate but particularly in English, history, and the social sciences.

The problem with the goal is that we’re aligning our metrics with the state exams. I don’t think anybody considers the state exams as the ideal metric but it was one the board could readily agree upon without too much discussion.

Using state exams as a metric for the higher grades creates the additional problem that the exams only test for English, math, and science and the material they test doesn’t necessarily encompass the skills and knowledge we want our children to acquire. However, the state exams and the SATs are the only broad based means by which we can compare ourselves to other districts. Since the SATs are only for high school, the state exams became our only metric for cross-district comparisons.

The budget goal was purely the result of compromise. One view, espoused by board member Ruprecht, was the board should refrain from setting a cap lower than the 4% state mandated cap. He argued that setting a lower cap would distort the superintendent’s priorities, such as education and long-term facility planning.

I argued the board cannot impose a tax increase on the community during a recession. Whatever needs to be cut, however worthwhile it is, will have to be cut.

O’Connell believed a 0% percent tax increase would require draconian cuts to school programs and services. He suggested we take the middle road of 2%. For the purpose of reaching a consensus, the board adopted his suggestion.

At the upcoming meetings, the board will discuss additional goals though it’s expected to limit the number of total goals to a half-dozen or so.

On October 27th, the board’s Mission and Vision Committee (open to the public), chaired by Dr. Gambino, will be considering final revisions to its proposed mission and vision statements. The current proposals are –

Possible Mission Statement:

• The Matawan-Aberdeen School District’s mission is to equip (teach) our students with the knowledge and skills that will empower them to reach their potential and become engaged members of a global society
• The Matawan-Aberdeen School District’s mission is to equip (teach) students with the knowledge and skills that will empower them to reach their potential and become engaged members of a global society in a respectful manner
• The Matawan-Aberdeen School District’s mission is to equip (teach) students with the tools and skills to lead productive lives and become engaged members of a global society
• To empower, inspire and encourage all students to become active learners and reach their fullest potential

Possible Vision Statement:

• Every student of the Matawan-Aberdeen School District will be afforded the opportunity to become a compassionate, creative and knowledgeable problem solver through a comprehensive and effective education
• Upon graduating the Matawan-Aberdeen School District, every child will be a critical thinker, problem solver, explorer, creator and informed (knowledgeable) member of society
• Every graduate of the Matawan-Aberdeen School District will be a compassionate, creative and knowledgeable problem solver
• All students of the Matawan-Aberdeen School District will be compassionate, creative and knowledgeable problem solvers via a thorough and effective education

My personal preference remains –
Mission: To build scholars and leaders
Vision: Every graduate will make us proud

Perhaps there’s still time for my suggestions to reach the final cut.

(I have refrained from pursuing performance metrics for the superintendent until the board has finalized its goals. However, I have shared my plans with the superintendent and business administrator in private.)

Regarding the budget, there are two more programs that are facing heightened scrutiny. Last year, the state approved $2.6 million (40% share) for specific capital programs on the condition that we match the funding with $3.9 million (60% share). However, we only have $1.3 million in our capital reserve fund and would need to bond for the rest. The cost of putting a bonding referendum to the voters (legal fees and election costs) would be a little under $25,000. Passing a referendum requires 60% of the vote. If we don’t bond, we’ll be walking away from $1.7 million in state funding for capital projects that need to be done (though not right now) and at a time when interest rates are still at historical lows. Given the recession, the board will likely decline hosting a referendum absent a public show of support.

The other item is the district’s Response to Intervention program. For nearly two years, I’ve been asking to see the data justifying this program. Last year, I sharply criticized the board for sponsoring a program that lacked any goals, any objective criteria, and any data that children were being helped. Dr. O’Malley has agreed to present the data next month but this time there are two differences.

I and many board members were under the impression the district was spending $600,000 a year on the program. Actually, that number represented a state grant that only partially funded the program. The true cost is over $2 million including salaries, benefits, and indirect expenses. (Cutting the program would likely only save $1.5 million since senior teachers in the program would displace junior teachers in the regular programs.)

The other change is that the district’s state funding was cut $1.7 million. That money was supplanted by the federal stimulus program. If the money isn’t found next year, just maintaining the program, to the exclusion of all other cost increases, would require a 4% tax increase.

On a final note, the board discussed crafting new policies related to personnel and presenting controversial topics. However, I believe there is a growing consensus that 2,000 pages of policies and regulations is too much and that the board needs to begin reducing, not increasing, that number.

Like the turtle, consistently moving forward will ultimately win the day. Still, I’d rather go fast. Our students don’t have the luxury of time. >>> Read more!

Mark Coren, Say It Ain’t So (Again)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/sfl-neil-spector-reprimanded-bn101609,0,7734654.story
>>> Read more!