From comments and remarks by Dean Markham to Board of Finance - March 30, 2015
We as a
Board of Finance have been evaluating over these past several weeks,
the thoughtful requests and needs by our Department Heads, Town
Manager, Board of Education and Superintendent. I believe all of us
are impressed by the professionalism and creativity of all who
testified before us and believe our Town is fortunate to have
serving, so many very capable, dedicated and quality personnel. This
is a major plus as we face enormous challenges on so many fronts.
Regardless of our personal views as elected officials on how best to
deliver, we do all agree that we want a better future for our
citizens and community.
As
we've listened to all these presentations, one overriding theme
permeates almost every message - building or improving our
infrastructure. That infrastructure takes on many forms - roads and
bridges, an environmentally sound lake, facilities such as police
station, town hall, schools, fire or public works equipment - much of
which we are providing some funding or which the Town Council has
begun addressing, and finally, an infrastructure of a different sort
- our students ability to excel.
It is
this last item - our children's ability to excel - that Mr. Turner,
Mr. Hurst and I have been pondering and asking what could we do to
provide a "game changer" in the equation and how do we
reasonably fund it. As we listened to various presentations, several
key elements to what we would like to propose emerged. Common Core
State Standards has changed the educational outlook and presented
more unfunded mandates. Technology is a key component and will be
ongoing in our schools, as it is and will be within business,
government and throughout our society. But we have constantly been
behind the eight-ball, in many cases a day late, a dollar short and
chasing the pack, rather than leading. We have so many talented
students, and with the right tools, could make the opportunity for
all.
It is
with this in mind that we propose a major Technology Infrastructure
Initiative for the Memorial and Middle Schools with an estimated cost
of $750,000 - a program on the scope of that included for the High
School technology component of the rebuilding program. Obviously the
High School will have the programs. We exclude Center School at this
time because of the RFP the Town Council voted on last week. A solid
direction must be established for that facility.
The
cost would entail a $750,000 addition to the Capital Program and
Budget to be financed with a capital lease. First year lease
payments are provided for the initial $250,00 of work under a 3 year
capital lease / purchase. Leasing or short term notes provides
rational funding during the life of much of the equipment. This
initiative is not just a "hand me the money!" It will take
a comprehensive plan that the three major Boards - Education, Finance
and Town Council must agree to. But as I said - this could be a
"game changer" for our community.
With
such an initiative comes challenges and a bite of reality. Studying
our Student Enrollment Projections, East Hampton has experienced a
13% reduction in student population over the past 10 years and NESDC
projects another 14% reduction in the next 10 years, even taking into
account several significant building projects such as Hampton Woods,
Edgewater Hills and Skyline Estates. The Board of Education must
face the reality that reductions of instructional staff must be
addressed. The immediate implementation of this Technology
Infrastructure Initiative will put East Hampton well ahead of our
pier communities - maybe into the elite school systems in our state.
And to our many parents who may have struggled with a decision to
send or not send their children out of district to a magnet school
for instance, we are proposing the changes for excellence.
In
closing, our citizens and taxpayers demand the best but at a
reasonable cost. The challenge to our Board of Education comes
quickly - redesigning and reducing the budget with the radical
changes implemented.
