Cherry Hill Golf Course: Whistling in the rain
Last night after more than an hour of discussion Amherst Town Meeting turned down an amendment to add $67,000 to the "Human Services Budget" for non profit agencies performing vital safety net functions for those most in need. As the 111-67 tally vote was announced, a disgruntled supporter said--loud enough for the Moderator to hear--"Shame!"
Within minutes Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly to approve the municipal Cherry Hill Golf Course budget with almost no discussion. Last year Cherry Hill lost $40,000 and this year (which ends June 30) revenues thus far are down 17% so safe bet they will lose at least that much once again.
And in 2014 they have $135,000 in equipment replacement scheduled, meaning they go back to the good ol' days of annual six-digit losses. Meanwhile the hungry in Amherst, stay hungry. "Shame" indeed.
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Posted to the privately owned Town Meeting Listserve:
I feel I have to write this to my fellow Town Meeting Members. I was ashamed by
the way some of my fellow members acted the other night upon the defeat of
adding $66,000 to the budget. The boos and yells of shame is not why I joined
Town Meeting. I believe we need to respect one another opinions and respect
each others as adults. I felt those people yelling what they did was immature
and child-like because they did not get their way. (that is my interpretation) .
Respecting others views is what a democracy is about, by doing what you did is a
way of intimidation. I hope this does not ever happen again.
Thank you for reading and I hope respecting what I wrote
Barry Federman
Precinct 5
the way some of my fellow members acted the other night upon the defeat of
adding $66,000 to the budget. The boos and yells of shame is not why I joined
Town Meeting. I believe we need to respect one another opinions and respect
each others as adults. I felt those people yelling what they did was immature
and child-like because they did not get their way. (that is my interpretation) .
Respecting others views is what a democracy is about, by doing what you did is a
way of intimidation. I hope this does not ever happen again.
Thank you for reading and I hope respecting what I wrote
Barry Federman
Precinct 5
28 comments:
Didn't they up funds for the Survival Center?
Most of the "hungry" in the center of Town at lunch time are drunks and professional beggars. I was asked for money three times just going to Bueno.
The people going into the shelter in the winter sometimess refused supper because they were well fed.
So the golf course is only taking something from me (taxes), not from the hungry.
By the way he framed his question last night, I think Kevin Noonan, advocate for the poor, tired, yearning to be free, would disagree.
"So the golf course is only taking something from me (taxes), not from the hungry."
Yeah no one paying taxes in Amherst is having difficulty surviving.
Not a god damned one.
YOU are EXACTLY what's wrong with this ~vicious~ little town.
YOU!
I agree -- they are professional bums. If we went back to the concept of a "Poor Farm" (Amherst's "Poor Farm" is where the middle/high school complex now is) and where you had to work for a handout, we would have a lot fewer problems.
We also would have a lot fewer folk on disability because they would be using their trust funds to live on, not the taxpayers. There are some people with seven figure in the bank but who live on public assistance because of disability. That is wrong.
I consider the professional beggars to be no better than prostitutes. Seriously....
I have a different take on these votes. The question of profitability of the golf coure was asked and the Town Manager explicitly stated that the golf course was in the black in 2011 and although 2012 does not close until July, that given the early start this spring, they expected it also to be in the black for 2012. There might have been more discussion if the answer was a $40k loss.
In terms of the community services increase I am not supportive of appropriating a random amount of money for a small group to disperse as they see fit. Giving a few thousand dollars to a well-funded charity like Big Brothers Big Sisters is unlikely to have any impact for Amherst. Now if someone proposed additional funding for a specific need, for example money for a teen center to reduce the lurkers between Rao's and the Bangs, I might vote in support. In addition, the point was made that the town did add funding for a much needed homeless center this year - one of the few new programs added to the budget. Additional funding for community services could garner a lot of support if there is a clear indication that the money would be well used.
What should have been asked of the Town Manger is, "from a private sector perspective, including employee benefits, insurance and capital items ($40,000 total in FY11), is the Golf Course breaking even"?
Of course the Finance Committee should have volunteered that without any prodding. Makes you wonder what else they screw up.
Larry what was your voting record on the human services line items in the past.? Curious if you've always supported this line item, have recently "seen the light" as to its importance or are just using it as a convenient thing to hold up for comparison related to the town's golf course spending.
I always voted no because donating to charitable causes should be an individual decision.
But if you are bound and determined to spend money on something in the name of ALL taxpayer, I would prefer it go to something worthwhile rather than the game of golf.
Hey, 10:06 AM, your logic is -- nonexistent. Nobody said it was easy street because we pay taxes.
What do you do besides make snide remarks?
So Maria Geryk is asked from the floor of Town Meeting, "How many Amherst children are going to private schools?"
Her response: "Oops! I can't give you that number; I don't have it handy."
Her charmed life continues.
Her response: "Oops! I can't give you that number; I don't have it handy."
Someone should have some balls -- and some friends to support him/her/it, and move to adjurn Town Meeting until such time that she might have an answer to the question.
Even if you didn't win the vote, she would sweat.... Do this a few times and things might actually change...
She provided the information the following night. Does anyone know the effects of private school kids on the Amherst budget? Their tax dollars, unlike charter school tax dollars, stay in the school system, right? Where does the economic impact come in? Is there significant loss in State dollars?
For the current school yr, for the elem. schools there are 54 kids attending the PV Chinese charter school and 30 who choiced into other districts, about half of them to Pelham. The Amherst elementary enrollment school enrollment is about 1,200 -- so the 84 kids who go to charter schools/other public schools account for 6-7% of the total Amherst kids getting a public education.
Next school yr, the district is hoping to school choice in 40+ for elem. school and 40+ more for MS/HS bringing the total number of MS/HS choice students in Amherst to approx. 120. This school year, the MS/HS had 78 students choice in, and 21 choice out. Total current MS/HS enrollment is about 1,550.
Not sure about the private school numbers, though I think the district has published them before.
@Anon 7:21: so many Amherst kids are going to private schools? Inquiring minds want to know.
Someone should have some balls
Like you, Ed? There are multiple town meeting vacancies in your precinct, so all you have to do is pay a five-minute visit to the Town Clerk, and you'll be an official member of Town Meeting.
I guess that will happen right after you reject the doctorate from the university you hate so much -- and just before you move out of the town you hold in such contempt.
The school system published the private school numbers at town meeting last Wednesday. However, they seem to be complete fantasy. For example, the published numbers said no students at Deerfield for the last few years. I have had at least one there for the last 6 years. In that time there have probably been a dozen or so Amherst kids each year. That is only one school, but it casts doubt on all of the numbers reported.
No public moneys come out of the budget for private school kids. However, having real data on trends would help explain how much of the 25% enrollment reduction over the last 10 years is due to parents pulling kids for private options. This would help in projecting likely enrollment and demographics for the future, which you would think would impact the budget. Although to date we have certainly not seen a budget reduction that reflects the declining enrollment.
Exactly... it always seems like the people who want to watch the other people with difficult, demanding jobs "sweat" have no job at all, or one where no one can hold them "accountable", the word they love so much.
do SOMETHIONG to change things for the positive.
Does anyone have any numbers related to how many families choice out, or go to private school, in towns like Newton and Longmeadow? What about families in towns like Bondsville?
Inquiring minds want to know.
It's a huge conspiracy...
The Amherst schools suck, and the administrators know it, and they know they are incompetent and can't stop the great exodus, and they are determined to keep it a secret from us so they can protect each other's high paying jobs.
Have I got that right?
If we are lucky, school choice will certainly take care of the declining enrollment issue. They will be (are) lining up, it's an incredible opportunity for many.
Is the number of private schools that exist increasing? Not just here, but state-wide, nation-wide? Does anyone know? Private schools have been around for a long time. Have the reasons people choose private schools changed? Are less people choosing private school overall?
Unacceptable.
When a Town meeting member asks a question of the Superintendent, such as "How many children are going to private schools?", we should expect an IMMEDIATE answer, and not have to wait TWENTY FOUR HOURS for the data we require to run this town.
What do we pay her for if she is not able to give us the answers we require to make informed decisions?
I hope she is not only sweating, but losing sleep over these tough questions. Fortunately, somebody is asking them.
School choice figures for other districts statewide are published on the Mass Dept of Ed web site:
http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/schoice/
In terms of the idea that choicing students into Amherst will take care of declining enrollments, this could help fill classrooms, but I doubt it will help the district's bottom line. The district gets $5,000 per student choiced in, yet the per pupil cost in Amherst is $16,000+ for the elementary schools and more for the middle and high schools.
The idea that no Amherst kids attend Deerfield Acad. is absurd. I know one family with two kids there and no doubt there are others.
I wasn't at Town Meeting and would love to find out what other private school figures were shared by the Superintendent there or if they are actually published somewhere.
but it's not the bottom line people have been using as an issue to rail against the qulity of the schools in amherst... the issue of "declining enrollment" was used as a tool to demonstrate that the schools in amherst must suck because people are leaving. so, by that logic, if we can line 'em up, have an immense waiting list, then the schools must be stellar!
"the h.s. principal chose something else for his kid, therefore the schools must suck."
"many affluent people choose private school for their kids, (breaking news!) therefore the schools must suck."
that has been the message... now you'd like to change your argument?
If Michael Aronson wasn't placed last on the ballot, (even though he turned in his papers before another school committee member, he claims,) we would have someone asking tough questions of the administration everyday.
I can't believe someone expects the superintendent to have at her fingertips EVERY answer to EVERY possible question that might be asked at town meeting. C'mon man... Also, the "flocking" to private or charter schools that people are concerned about does not necessarily reflect on the quality of the school experience in Amherst. Both private schools (or independent schools, as they're known in the industry) and charter schools are organized around more particular missions than a public school is able to. Parents choose these schools because what's being offered is seen as a "good fit" with either what they or their child is looking for or needing educationally. People who choose to send their teen to Pioneer Valley Performing Arts are looking for something different than families choosing Deerfield Academy. The same can be said about motivating factors for sending a child to Hilltown Charter vs. the Chinese Immersion Charter, or Hartsbrook vs. Bement vs. Solomon Schecter, etc. Our public school can offer pieces of what each of these schools provide educationally, but they can't replicate the particular degree of emphasis on the things that make each of these institutions unique. The public school mission is simply much broader and more complex. I, personally, am more concerned about the opting out for other public schools. Pelham, in particular seems to attract a fair amount of Amherst families. This seems due to the attraction of the more intimate, community oriented feel of a small school. I also wonder what differences exist in class size between Amherst and Pelham.
With all that said, I too wish the numbers provided were more accurate and comprehensive. I don't even see Pioneer Valley Performing Arts numbers on the chart provided. Nor do I see mention of numbers of students opting out for Smith or Franklin County Vocational. Without complete data, it's hard to identify both the existence and nature of shifting trends.
Here's the link to the TM handout on the Amherst's choice, charter school, and private school student.
http://www.arps.org/files/TownMeetingInfoAmherst.pdf
For FY2012, the school administration reports that there are 30 students choicing out of Amherst, 54 charter school students, and 174 private school students.
Some of these numbers seem a bit incomplete. For example, I think the choice numbers are just K-6, with more students (21 for FY2012) choicing out at the middle and high schools. The charter school figures may also be just K-6, since no PV Performing Arts students are shown. Also, as noted above, the private school figures don't show any Deerfield Acad. students from Amherst (which is not correct..), and there could be other schools not listed, such as Academy Hill in Springfield (K-8), that are also attended by Amherst residents.
Who compiled the data related to the number of children attending private schools/each particular private school, within the town meeting handout? (The link in the previous comment.)
"Who compiled the data related to the number of children attending private schools/each particular private school, within the town meeting handout? (The link in the previous comment.)"
Kathryn Mazur.
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