The Ellsworth family
has paid school taxes
on the property at
105 Pioneer Street in Cooperstown
for just shy of one
hundred years. And while
we rather doubt that is a record
for the longest run by
a single family, we feel it is
not an insubstantial record.
Fortunately, we have only
been responsible, at this
point, for the school taxes
for twenty-eight of those
one hundred years. However,
those twenty-eight years
have been, unfortunately, at
the more expensive end of
the tax run.
It is no wonder then that
we have tended over the
years to try and pay attention,
as a member of the public, to
what transpires at the school.
Except for the occasional big
school issue which will bring
people out of the woodwork,
we feel we have been joined
in watching the school by
a mere handful of people.
Granted, the handful can
be a very vocal as anyone
who has attended a school
board meeting well knows.
But nonetheless it remains a
handful. We, of course, always
hope there will be others
who will see the need to pay
attention to what is happening
at the school and join us.
And this year we have felt
the need to pay attention is
greater than ever.
Thus we had been sorely
disappointed that we were
still joined by a mere handful
until we realized there is a
new player on the scene that
has the ability to watch the
school in a way that no one
else can. We of course refer
to this very newspaper which
seems to have taken on the
cause of keeping the public
informed on school issues.
In September, they covered
the decision to keep the
sixth grade at the middle/
high school as well as the
superintendent’s resignation.
This was followed in
the October 29 issue with an
article detailing the hiring
of a consultant to help with
the superintendent search as
well as a piece entitled ``CCS
enrollment is steadily declining.’’
In that it was reported
that the enrollment at CCS
has declined from a high of
1,350 in the mid 90s to 988
for the current year, a drop of
almost 27 percent. Yet in the
90s, there were just under 100
full time teachers. This year
there are 91.
In the Nov. 19 issue,
there was an article which
explained that community
members could participate
in a survey ``...to assist in developing
a profile of desirable
attributes and qualities of
the next superintendent...’’ In
that same issue there was an
editorial encouraging people
to not only participate in the
survey but to also attend the
Public Budget Forum to be
held on December 2.
This was followed by an
article on Nov. 25 on the
budget process in which
CCS Board of Education Vice
President Mary Leonard was
quoted as saying, ``Albany is
taking a very long time and
we have to be ready for some
very dramatic cuts.’’ It would
not exactly be what one
would want to hear about the
school budget.
On Dec. 10, the paper
published three articles about
the school. One explained the
plans for the superintendent
search, while the other two
dealt with budget issues. One
of these was a very detailed
report on the public budget
forum held on December 2
and the other was a most
ominous piece entitled
``Lawmakers caution schools’
funding will be less next year.’’
On Dec. 17, there were
two articles and an editorial
all relating to school issues.
One article, entitled ``MCS
uncertain about future as it
plans 2010-11,’’ talked about
the difficulties being faced in
preparing a school budget.
The discussion included a
quote from Tom Brennan,
Milford Central School BOE
President who said: ``The
state is suffering and districts
will share that pain.’’ The other
article addressed the issue of
rural school mergers which
had been discussed not only
at the Public Budget Forum
on December 2 but also at
a BOCES meeting held on
December 1 to discuss issues
facing the 19 school districts
in the BOCES.
However, we thought the
editorial, entitled ``CCS needs
to reduce spending’’ absolutely
hit the nail on the head.
It pointed out that the school
board has an opportunity in
the current contract negotiations
with both the Faculty
Association and the Service
Unit ``...to stem the tide
of escalating costs.’’ It also
pointed out that ``Those
contract negotiations offer
another opportunity to
reduce, or at the very least,
hold the line on salaries and
benefits. School employees
should not mistakenly believe
they are immune to the
economic impacts that have
hit many district residents. T
he board of education has to
make it clear that these contract
negotiations will not be
business as usual.’’
We could not agree more.
And we certainly hope that
both sides in the negotiations
understand the financial
problems facing many
residents of the district.
And the paper has continued
its coverage of school
issues into 2010. The Jan. 7
edition contains a must read
article entitled ``Schools face
gap when funds run out’’ as
well as an excellent editorial
entitled ``Merging might be
the answer.’’
We must admit that until
we sat down and compiled
all the articles and editorials
which have appeared in the
paper this school year, we
really did not realize how
much, and how well, information
has been presented.
We salute the paper for a
job well done and trust that
they will continue to keep
the public informed as the
school goes forward with the
superintendent search, the
contract negotiations and
the 2010-11 budget.
There is little doubt that
the decisions that the Board
of Education makes regarding
all of these issues will
have a profound impact
on all the residents of the
district.
In closing, as one of those
handful of people who have
watched the school for years,
we are reminded of a quote
by Dale Carnegie in which
he said:
``Most of the important
things in the world have
been accomplished by
people who have kept on
trying when there seemed to
be no hope at all.’’
It would seem that the
time has come when there
needs to be more than just a
handful of school watchers.
PLEASE NOTE: Comments
regarding this column may
be made by mail at 105
Pioneer Street, Cooperstown,
NY 13326, by telephone at
607-547-8124 or by e-mail at
cellsworth1@stny.rr.com.
