Board of Education Priorities
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Simsbury Board of Education
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We the undersigned support Simsbury Public Schools.
Our support comes in the form of approval of annual operating budgets and involvement in our respective PTO organizations.
We, as parents, voters and taxpayers urge the Board of Education to realign its proposed spending for the 2008-2009 school year.
Under the assumption that the voters approve the 3.5\% budget increase ($2,032,8560), we understand that you are proposing:
Allocating $609,000 to classroom technology purchases.
39\% of the $609,000 is earmarked for K-6 technology:
o $74,000 for Smartboards (K-3)
o $165,000 for laptops and carts for K-6 ($1300/laptop)
Thus requiring:
CUTS in other area of the budget to keep the technology spending in tact.
o 14-20 Special Education elementary Paraprofessionals ($131,000)
o 2.0 FTE elementary teacher positions ($142,000)
Therefore resulting in:
INCREASED Class sizes at the K-3 level at each of our elementary schools,
with a projection by Dr. Ullman that 4 classes at Squadron Line will exceed the guideline. (2/26 BOE mtg.)
Teachers who have larger class sizes and fewer support staff from paraprofessionals, resulting in a negative impact to ALL students.
PLEASE continue to keep K-3 classroom size and paraprofessional support as your TOP priorities.
Teachers teach our children, computers do not!
Our support comes in the form of approval of annual operating budgets and involvement in our respective PTO organizations.
We, as parents, voters and taxpayers urge the Board of Education to realign its proposed spending for the 2008-2009 school year.
Under the assumption that the voters approve the 3.5\% budget increase ($2,032,8560), we understand that you are proposing:
Allocating $609,000 to classroom technology purchases.
39\% of the $609,000 is earmarked for K-6 technology:
o $74,000 for Smartboards (K-3)
o $165,000 for laptops and carts for K-6 ($1300/laptop)
Thus requiring:
CUTS in other area of the budget to keep the technology spending in tact.
o 14-20 Special Education elementary Paraprofessionals ($131,000)
o 2.0 FTE elementary teacher positions ($142,000)
Therefore resulting in:
INCREASED Class sizes at the K-3 level at each of our elementary schools,
with a projection by Dr. Ullman that 4 classes at Squadron Line will exceed the guideline. (2/26 BOE mtg.)
Teachers who have larger class sizes and fewer support staff from paraprofessionals, resulting in a negative impact to ALL students.
PLEASE continue to keep K-3 classroom size and paraprofessional support as your TOP priorities.
Teachers teach our children, computers do not!
364 Signatures
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Julie Meyer
- School
- Latimer, HJMS
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David Galt
- School
- Tootin Hills
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Susan Masino
- School
- Tootin' Hills
- Comments
- Intensive technology is unecessary in elementary school. Personal interactions and inspiration are priceless building blocks. Smart boards are superfluous for the vast majority of topics, and not the best investment..
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Steve Couchon
- School
- Latimer Lane
- Comments
- M y six year old gets enough exposure to computers at home. I'm not sending her to school to watch interactive TV but to learn the interpersonal skills she will need her whole life.
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Kristin Potter
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Laurence D. Pollack
- School
- Latimer
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Karyn Lancaster
- School
- latimer lane
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Randa Carr
- Comments
- I believe there are alternate sources to raise $ for technology such as the PTO & grants. These sources can't pay for teacher or paraproffessional salaries. The teacher : student ration will have a far larger impact on a child than the technology at this level. I would prefer to see the children spend their time with a professional on interactive reading, writing and math skills. I believe smart boards and lap tops are important, however, they can never take the place of a professional. Many children spend a lot of time at home in front of some form of technology such as computer, video games and TV. In many cases this is NOT a productive use of time.
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Kay Lammey
- School
- Squadron Line
- Comments
- I agree with everything Randa Carr said.
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Robin Gronbeck
- School
- All
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Lois Hines
- School
- Squadron Line
- Comments
- Having computers and other forms of technology in the elementary school classroom does not impress me. Having appropriate student-teacher ratios does. Developing the essential skills for building a solid foundation for learning has much more to do with appropriate and frequent student-teacher interaction and lots of challenging reading, writing, math, and stimulating conversations in the classroom. We have high expectations of our teachers; it's essential that we not make their jobs more demanding than they already are.
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erika oranges
- School
- latimer lane
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Noelle Alix
- School
- Latimer Lane
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Meri Nordstrom
- School
- Latimer
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Noubar Stone
- School
- Latimer
- Comments
- All data with regard to the use of lap tops and smart boards, indicates that a human being is the optimum "teacher" in the classroom.
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Jill Martin
- School
- squadron
- Comments
- We have added 6 kids to your elementary school this year, 3 with special needs- each of whom need special services and para support. We moved to simsbury in 8/07 because of the schools and the quality of education. Please do not lower your student standards or the quality of special services in the schools.
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Deborah Thibodeau
- School
- Latimer Lane
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Rev. Sean Martin
- School
- Squadron Elem/ Central Preschool
- Comments
- As a community leader and parent, I use my leadership position to support Simsbury Schools over private education. It is essencial that continue to offer smaller class sizes and excellent para professional support in our schools. This provides excellent educational and social opportunities for ALL children to become successful community citizens both now and in the years to come. Keeping our children a priority over technology is imperative to be on the "cutting edge" of schools nation wide.
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Jill Wine
- School
- Latimer Lane
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Kristin Moger
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Karen E. Bayne
- School
- Latimer Lane
- Comments
- Our children have plenty of access to computer screens at home and the library. Their classrooms must be adequately staffed so that their teachers can be excellent.
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Maria Preiser
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Frances Christensen
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Joan Flynn
- School
- Squadron Line
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Roberta Bitzer
- School
- Latimer
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Tamara Tousignant
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Stephanie Ziter
- School
- Squadron Line
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Jane Fox
- School
- Squadron Line
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Laura Bourque
- School
- Latimer Lane
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Laura Swenson
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Steve Swenson
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Kathleen Sullivan
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Christine Egan
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catherine sullivan
- School
- Squadron Line and Henry James
- Comments
- I am for technology, but not at the expense of increased class size
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Joanne C Perry
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Kenneth M Perry
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Danielle and Gavin Binzer
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Christina Wunderle
- School
- Central
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Eric Lichtenberger
- School
- Squadron Line
- Comments
- I've been an I/T Professional for 17 years, so I know the value of technology and how prevalent it is in today's workplaces and homes. However, there is no need or advantage to teaching kids anything about computers or learning anything via computers before junior high school. Trying to teach young children (K-6) anything via a computer is inefficient at best... especially at $1700 a pop! (And that doesn't include software or maintenance!) I favor teaching the tried-and-true method: with real teachers and low student to teacher ratios. Computers are not a good tool for teaching our children. Spend the money on good teachers; it is a MUCH better investment!
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Kathy Duford
- School
- Squadron Line
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Nancy Kirk
- School
- Latimer Lane
- Comments
- The NY Times said it best a few years ago: the single most important factor in student success is extraordinary teachers--smart, academic, and passionate. Teacher quality, not technology, or even teacher numbers, is the real issue. As teachers retire, hire the best teachers you can, not just the youngest and cheapest available. Look at Simsbury's hiring: how often are experienced teachers with proven records and success elsewhere hired, at mid- or late-scale salaries? And, at least in addition to technology, examine the library budget. Our book budgets for all school libraries in the district are abysmal. If choices are to be made in a difficult budget year, we should consider what helps our children learn most: great teachers and great libraries.
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Marie Matteo
- School
- Central School
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Jamie Sacala
- School
- squadron line school
- Comments
- It seems that the smart boards are rarely used and most students have access to computers at home. I belive the priority should be keeping class sizes to a minimum. The teacher is our most important resource after our parents. I've also been told (by children) that they are rarely using the SB and when used, it's really only being used as a high-end white board so why bother? Thank you for your time!
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Suzanne Croke
- School
- Central School
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Laurie Lungarini
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Elizabeth Scheffel
- School
- Latimer Lane
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Ann Caulfield
- School
- Latimer Lane Elementary School
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Heather Ryan
- School
- Squadron
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Tiffany Pohl
- School
- Latimer Lane
- Comments
- I have children at both ends of the spectrum. Clearly the children that are struggling need to continue to have ALL the help they can get.
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Susan Hoffman
- School
- Central
- Comments
- Class size is so important to the success of our kids and teachers. We must keep it at a reasonable size.
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364
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