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GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Greenburgh Central School District saved more than half a million dollars this year by hiring 10 new staff members, Superintendent Ronald Ross reported Tuesday.
At the 8 p.m. Board of Education meeting, the newly-appointed superintendent Ross said he is also looking to save costs by reducing BOCES resources.
Ross addressed parents' concerns that hiring the new teachers would increase the school budget and as a result, Greenburgh resident taxes. But instead, he said six staff members with salaries over $110,000 accepted retirement incentives and the board hired 10 new staff members at lower salary rates.
"I have two goals every day I'm here: One, what can I do for the students? And two, what can I do to save money for taxpayers? The two don't have to be exclusive from each other, Ross said.
The new hires were also necessary to keep up with Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) — state-mandated regulations that were implemented this year.
"We must give Greenburgh a fair chance at trying to pass," Ross said of the teacher evaluations. "Teachers are being asked to do things that they haven't done in the past. With the present staff, we don't believe we would have been able to effectively accomplish that."
Ross, who was appointed interim superintendent in January after Ronald Smalls retired as superintendent in April, said he also wants to look further into saving budget money by reducing outsourcing to BOCES.
There are a number of things the administration do themselves without having to use BOCES as a resource, Ross said. While the board is not looking to completely end the BOCES contract, there are enough developed staff members within the school that can manage the curriculum plans, he said.
Ross also announced at the meeting that Richard J. Bailey School has already been taken off the New York State Education Department's priority list of state schools that need improvement, which was issued in September.
This was achieved by following state recommendations for improvement and "not teaching to the test," Ross added.
"I don't want to get caught up in this teaching to the test," he said. "Life in America is about creative thinking. We did not get to be the No. 1 country in the world by test taking."
Comments (15)
So Mr. Ross saved money FORCING out those 6 teachers who were grateful to retire after his harassment reached dizzying heights. He even managed to get rid of Teachers' Union officers, weakening the union so he now controls it. He has his hand in the Administrators' union as well because of his chronies in Woodlands Middle/High Schools out number the elementary administrators. Just how far will this district allow him and his chronies go? Yes, 4GC7kids, et al, we now have 3 new inexperienced administrators whose claim to fame are fish and reptile tanks, beanbag chairs and of course, that much needed kayak. If he continues, we will make the news but it won't be for our test scores, it will be for our Supt and his chronies failing a third time. Can our kids afford this kind of BS?
As a retired educator, I'm always interested in the student newspaper. However, I must question the a baroque iLab with beanbags. Sounds like a hangout to me. I'm sure that's not what the new principal intended, but is this an example of his inexperience or is it incompetence? I wonder. Someone needs to explain to this taxpayer exactly why he needs 2 APs in a school of less than 500 kids. It would appear that at least one was put in place by the Supt to make up for the principal's inexperience. So we have 3 inexperienced administrators in Woodlands. Scary, very scary.
@4gc7kids: LOL..welcome to the land of smoke & mirrors and perplexed taxpayers!!! If you really need a laugh, go to the GC7 website and take a look at the Woodlands student newspaper and the USS Woodlands. So now they are kayaking on the Woodlands pond? No wonder they score so low on tests they're too busy playing. Interesting don't you think? While Edgemont kids study, our kids go row-row-row their boat! Perhaps Edgemont will boat around Crane Pond but OH, NO - they're studying & passing the SATs. Thank God my kids are in Ardsley and learning. It's worth the extra money I have to pay.
I've enjoyed this conversation & had to add my 2-cents after reading today's article about the SAT scores for Edgemont's Class of 2012 - averaging 1909 out of 2000. What exactly are GC7 students' scores? If Edgemont was #3 countywide last year and according to Supt Ross, Woodlands was #1 in the county since the sign outside said WHS was the best high school in the county. The new principal also claims that it is #1 in the county. HOW??? By what standards? Graduation - NO, SAT scores - NO. Then how? Just because these 2 say it is so? Maybe #1 in the cost per student - YES, #1 for the number of administrators - YES. #1 for the percentage of students going to school outside the district - YES. Is this what we want to be known for? Take a look at their website and the USS Woodlands launch...of course, this will raise the Regent's scores. Lord, give me strength. Is the Board crazy? Is this what is important in school?
@Fight4gc7kids - sad to think the GC7 Board doesn't have a plan. Afterall, they had a Board retreat over the summer; what else would you talk about & what is more important than a plan with goals. If they have no goals, then they have abdicated their role to the Supt. So, not only has the Board used our tax dollars for a 2-day "party" that accomplished nothing, but they have given power over to someone with a distinctively flawed work record, who is now hiring his old cronies from Mt. Vernon & unqualified, HS administrators at the HS who will be doing anything he wants. Spending our tax dollars on fish tanks and greenhouses and telescopes to take our attention off the Supt. who is planning on spending more of our money in building a new school to make use #1 in the world (quoted from his WHS FAlcon interview). He tried to get Woodlands to be #1 in the county and failed. He talked about being #1 in the state and failed. Likewise he failed at getting them to be #1 in the country . So now with the magic of smoke & mirrors, we will b e #1 in the World???? Be real. Show us the scores to compare us to other school districts first. He came out of retirement because he wasn't getting money from his time at Roosevelt & Mt. Vernon, got plenty of money from us and will retire on our dime. Shameful.
Having watched the live webcast, the author of this article failed to mention that Greenburgh Central 7 Board of Education has not set any goals for this year. According to Board of Ed president Lloyd Newland, last year's goal was to hire a new superintendent. Now that we have Mr. Ross in place, there has been firings (or in many cases pushing out!) and hiring of people he has worked with (many with history at Mt. Vernon and Roosevelt, both failed districts under Mr. Ross).
Frenchmarie, pennydrummcd and LetsbReal, you are correct that GC7 board of ed hired a captain but failed to tell the captain where to go!!!
The Superintendent in Elmsford has done the same thing. 2 new Assistant Superintendent positions and 2 new Assistant Principal positions within the last few years. That’s 4 new non-instructing administrators, that never existed before, added to a District of 960 students.
How does this happen? The school board insulates themselves around the Administration and they lose the ability to become impartial. Before you know any it any initiative proposed by the Administration can be justified and the problems snow ball.
that's why this school system, that barely functions, operates on a budget almost 10 times that of the national average
We need to keep this is mind because if you believe Mr. Ross' interview in The Falcon HS newspaper where he states we will be #1 in the world once we build a new school on the Woodlands campus. To do so will cost upwards of $50 million dollars (or more) and plunge the district into enormous debt. All this for 1780 kids in total who have low Regents scores & schools who consistently end up on the state's needs improvement list? RJ Bailey came off, but will be back on next year - guaranteed -- the middle school never seems to get off the list.However, we will be asked to approve a budget again.Just how much more can this district handle? Vote NO for the budget campaign starts now.
It's not the caliper of the students, or their test scores. It’s recognizing that a new building is not going to significantly change anything. A faulty education program is still going to be faulty, the community perception of the schools will still be bad and the cost of operating the school district is only going to increase to tax payers.
In Greenburgh school district, almost 40% of eligible school age children are sent to private schools, in Elmsford that number is almost 30%. Compare that to Ardsley at 2% or Dobbs Ferry which is under 5%.
Elmsford and Greenburgh residents are not demanding new buildings or new fields, they want their children to receive a high quality education and be competitive for college admissions and future careers. It’s funny that the Districts such as Greenburgh and Elmsford where the population are of modest means have the greatest burden with regard to the low value local education provides to their property and the high cost per pupil. On top of that 30% & 40% of these struggling families pay extra to educate their children in private schools.
They don’t have the time to complain or argue. Their case is made by their action, but do the schools boards recognize it?
Agree that it's not the caliber of the students that's in question. It's the caliber of their education & unfortunately this translates into lower than average Regents at WHS & lower state test scores on the elementary level. No new building or all the fish tanks in the world will help.
All of Supt Ross' smoke & mirrors can't change the fact that so many kids are sent to private schools. The School Board is listening to his act & can't see behind the screen of the Great Oz- but neither could Mt. Vernon or Roosevelt. However adding to the administrative ranks as he is doing certainly cannot be sustained - I mean 7 admins in WMS/WHS is outrageous.
So what are our choices? What action can we take? Move, pay for private school & thru the nose on school taxes or take some other action. Getting out on 1 night to vote NO is always an option- certainly a better option than sitting back while a new school building is erected.
Elmsford is in the same boat as Greenburgh, I stated in an earlier posting that Elmsford now has 1 Superintendent, 2 Assistants, 1 “Business Official” and 1 District Clerk. Then there are 2 Principals and 2 Assistant Principals. That well over $1million in annual payroll for administration, not including benefits. This behavior is un-sustainable and poor leadership in the era of the 2% property tax cap and reform in government.
Any action is good, talking to neighbors, attending meetings, asking hard questions, demanding accountability and justification for any expenditure. Accepting “it’s for the children” is not acceptable. More money does not equal better education and that is what these administrators either fail to recognize or don’t care enough to know. Good education starts at home and in the classroom involves dedication by the teachers and discipline. That’s how the private schools are so successful with much fewer resources (except your Hackley’s of the world but they are the exception in our area).
Voting “no” to a proposal that doesn’t make economic sense is important and necessary. A community can only afford so much and these administrators will sell you the Brooklyn Bridge if you let them. That’s the problem with the school board members. They inevitably become close with the Superintendents and administration. They no longer feel there is any reason to question the proposal of the administration and they begin to forget who they are working for (the taxpayers).
The Elmsford school district was never “great” by any means. But over the last decade there has been disturbing turnover in the Principal positions at both schools, a 100% increase in the number of administrators but no improvement in the finished product of the District, no relief in the property tax.
Well it's more than 60k more like 1/2 million and add 2% tax cap and expenses which will increase every year, this type of spending will not be sustainable!
I had hoped that the board president with his years of experience could see through the hype and help keep this district on a steady course of improvement it had been on. New people new programs without specific goals is equal to
sailing a ship without a captain.
I wonder how many will jump ship.
You're right -- I meant $60 million, not $60K. However, with the cost of building a new school as Supt Ross suggests, that number will grow exponentially. So do we jump the proverbial ship, or do we get rid of the captain?
He's like Ahab chasing Moby Disk - so we must consider whether we allow him to pursue his white whale all the way to damnation - to the detriment of our children & district....Vote NO for the budget - it's early,but we need to get the word out.
Supt Ross is using the same tactics that he used in Mt. Vernon & Roosevelt...smoke & mirrors. We haven't increased student population at Woodlands, yet we have increased the number of Assistant Principals. All because of state APPRs? Can our teachers, who have been trained, be that incompetent that they can't handle APPRs? Are all school districts in NY increasing their numbers as well? I don't think so. The increase in teachers & administrators at Woodlands is paired by an increase in spending - just read the Falcon and you will see where our tax dollars are going - huge number of fish tanks and a new salt water fish tank, a greenhouse & hydrophonics? Only in one teacher' s classroom, not shared with the other science teachers. All for classes where there are no Regents tests. Shouldn't we be working on improving our test scores - if we are to be #1 in the world as Mr. Ross says in his Falcon interview? If we allow them to spend our $$$ indiscriminately, increasing central administrators (Dr. Sciascia's job was split in 1/2) and our school admin (6 in as school with 700 kids at most) our budget will soon reach $60K.