50°
NORWALK, Conn. – Mayor Richard Moccia addressed the Norwalk Board of Education on Tuesday night, regarding the need to make $10 million in cuts from the 2012-13 school budget. Here is what he said:
"I've seen some articles in the paper trying to compare what happened here to NEON. I mean, it's not just apples and oranges. First of all this was four finance directors over a period in time and a lot of transition, interim superintendents. Not excusing it, but it did happen. NEON's a little different, misappropriation of money, other things that have gone on there and I've seen, you know, that the superintendent should be removed and the chairman should resign, completely different. That is nonsensical. Everybody on this board is a volunteer. A mistake was made ... we're trying to correct this.
"I will say this tonight – because, you know, with the council meetings, my schedule sometimes, I can't make all of your meetings – that eventually you're going to have the public hearing where the cuts happen. They're going to come forth. This is unlike any other year. People are going to come forward and say, "You can't cut, you gotta cut somewhere else." Well, the city budget's been set. The mill rate's been set. In all deference to the people who argue for that, there is no place to cut in the city's side. There's no more.
I will tell you quite honestly I've read in the past publications from people that the taxpayers in this city are cheap because they won't support education, etc. Well, they have supported it quite well. It took me a little while to dig out the numbers, but I'm going to put out one of them tonight. I only have from 9/10 because the state hasn't completed all of the, for 11/12 yet or the 10/11. But in 9/10 the city of Norwalk spent $15,503 per student. If you want to add land, buildings and debt service in, it was another $1,621. Our total is $17,420.
"What I have heard in other meetings, when I hear that people don't want to come to Norwalk because we don't spend money on our kids, they're moving to suburban towns. The city of Wilton spent $15,918 and $1,215 for debt service and land. Their total cost per student was $17,133. We spent a whole $9 less per student in Norwalk.
"So we have supported education. Those are the numbers that are there.
"I will give you one other number to contemplate on as you move forward. According to the state, in 9/10, there were 1,615 employees in the Norwalk school system. This is information given from Norwalk to the state of Connecticut and published on the website. In 06-07, four years before, three or four years before, according to the same state, 1,215 employees. For the period between '06 and '10, '07 and '10, roughly 400 employees added. The number of students? About the same, roughly 11,000.
"So, we have added personnel. We have spent money in this city. But I am telling you as mayor of this city, that has to represent everybody, there is no alternative. But some sacrifices are going to have to be made by everybody in this room. And I mean everybody. It can't go on. We have 10,000 senior citizens in this city, and I was quoted on this before and I was pooh-poohed: 1,400 of them are on senior tax relief, making between $25,000 to $45,000 a year. You tell them they can afford another couple hundred dollars in taxes because somebody doesn't want to make sacrifices, sitting in this room. We've reached the termination point.
"I will not allow this city to be called, and this administration, and the people who work hard, to be called anti-education because they can't fund every dollar someone has decided they need. I supported the $4 million to go. I support all of you because I don't think you've done anything wrong. But on the same token I don't think the city or the taxpayers have done anything wrong over the last five years."
Comments (33)
Marks is to blame - not Moccia. SHE was hired to oversee these details - SHE failed.
Instead of just complaining that Moccia or Marks won't conduct a detailed (forensic) audit (because they won't) EVERYONE MUST CONSTANTLY EMAIL & CALL THE FOLLOWING OFFICES:
Email them all the articles from the Norwalk Daily and the Hour!!!
1) The Atty General
(860) 808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov
2) The Education Department of the Atty General
(860) 808-5210
3) The Connecticut State Department of Education, Office of Internal Audits
Telephone: (860) 713-6540
Richard.Lemay@ct.gov
4) The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education
P (860) 571–7446
President - Lydia Tedone
lydiatedone@aol.com
1) Connecticut Attorney General
(860) 808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov
Statutory Responsibility
The Attorney General is the chief civil legal officer of the State. The Connecticut Constitution and General Statutes authorize the Attorney General to represent the interests of the people of the State of Connecticut in all civil legal matters involving the state to protect the public interest, and to serve as legal counsel to all state agencies.
The Mission of the Attorney General's Office:
Among the critical missions of my office are to represent and advocate the interests of the state and its citizens as vigorously as possible, to ensure that state government acts within the letter and spirit of the law, that public resources are protected for present and future generations, that the quality of life of all our citizens is preserved and enhanced, and that the rights of our most vulnerable citizens are safeguarded.
The Office of the Attorney General is divided into 14 departments, each designated to represent agencies which provide particular categories of service to State residents.
2) Health and Education Department
(860) 808-5210
The Health and Education Department provides legal services and representation to a broad spectrum of state agencies, which include the State Department of Education and all other state agencies that have an educational function.
3) The Connecticut State Department of Education
This is the administrative arm of the Connecticut State Board of Education. Through leadership, curriculum, research, planning, evaluation, assessment, data analyses and other assistance, the Department helps to ensure equal opportunity and excellence in education for all Connecticut students.
Connecticut State Department of Education – Office of Internal Audit:
P.O. Box 2219
Richard.Lemay@ct.gov
Hartford, CT 06145
Telephone: (860) 713-6540
Fax: (860) 713-7003
4) Connecticut Association of Boards of Education
P (860) 571–7446
CABE's Mission: "To assist local and regional boards of education in providing high quality public education for all Connecticut children through effective leadership."
CABE's Board also appoints an auditor and causes an audit to be conducted annually. CABE's Board is the chief policy making body for the management of the Association and along with the CABE Delegate Assembly, provides leadership for all local and regional Connecticut School Boards, and shall encourage participation in CABE programs and the government relations process.
Individually and collectively, the Board shall serve as a public relations entity to the membership and to the public at large.
And just ONE of CABE's Services to BoE/Supers:
CABE created Consulting Solutions –
Helps your district improve its fiscal management, organizational effectiveness, action
planning and leadership transitions, and other services tailored to fit your district’s specific needs – and help to carefully position your district for the future.
Consulting Solutions
Connecticut Association of
Boards of Education
81 Wolcott Hill Road
Wethersfield CT 06109-1242
Moccia does not want a forensic audit? He should step down asap.
Moccia should do the right and honorable thing and step down along with the BOE and Marks
I agree with the old timer 100 percent.
Why do so many commenters focusing on Moccia as the scapegoat and fall guy for this mess? The BOE is responsible for a bloated bureaucracy whose primary goal seems to be self-preservation. They have proven to be absolutely inept at managing their budget and controlling their administrative overhead. They fight to preserve their independence instead of working with the city to eliminate duplicate functions. How is Moccia to blame for their greedy ineptitude?
Stop complaining and fix the problem, people. Turn over the general and administrative functions of the BOE to the city. Give Moccia and his staff the sole responsibility for finance, human resources, purchasing, administration and back office IT. Challenge the BOE to improve the EDUCATION of our children as its SOLE responsibility. The savings from eliminating duplicate administrative functions and overhead will pay for every penny of the budget shortfall AND provide additional funding to improve our childrens' education.
The Mayor should follow his own advice and step-down (NEON). The Mayor and his friends control the whole game.
1. The Mayor and his Republican party control the BOE-which made all the decisions for the past few years.
2. The Mayor is a ex-officio to the BOE- which means he can attend and speak out on issues
and under Robert Rules of Order- he is a full board member. Are the Mayor's supporters suggesting the Mayor was not paying attention?
3. The Mayor and his buddies have controlled the Common Council and the BET.
People need to wake up and see that the Mayor has failed this city and should resign from office.
What is 400,000 (NEON) x 10 = ?
Hawkeye
How exactly does the Mayor control the BOE? According to the city charter posted by Nancy, members of the Board of Ed are ELECTED.
Spoon
The Mayor controls the BOE, BET, and the Common Council. The Mayor should follow his own advice and step down. If all of this mismanagement happened under his watch and Moccia did not realize it? HMMM
Why would anybody vote to give him more control? The people should stand up and ask the Mayor to step down!
How do you make 10 millions in cuts?
Are you kidding me?
YOU ARE CORRECT
Hawkeye,
Does the Mayor appoint the BOE, or are they elected? If they are elected, how exactly does the Mayor control the BOE?
Does the Mayor appoint the Superintendent who is the executive in charge of everything related to schools?
If we all have to sacrifice, how big a cut in pay is he volunteering to take ? How many of the well paid department heads that live out of town are going to offer to pay, instead of local taxes, an amount close to local taxes ? If he, and some of the other so-called leaders, are going to lead by example, he might be surprised at how much money can be saved, if we "all" sacrifice the same percentage.
With his credibility, nobody would believe it if he volunteered to take a cut in pay. How deep is he going to look at the big increase in BOE employee numbers ? Who is he kidding, he hasn't noticed that 110ft party boat tied up at the city visitors docks and running a business out of the park, how is he ever going to find out why there are so many extra people hired at BOE ?
He needs to get a real independent audit of school system finances and lay off any non-essential employees. Trim enough fat there and next year's budget could end up with a surplus.
A month ago, he said the city will not pursue outsourcing because he doesn't see the votes to support it. Did he find the votes or was he not telling the truth ?
Old Timer,
I agree with you that the sacrifice should start at the top. If the Mayor puts it in writing that he will take a 10% cut in pay, will you work to convince all the City Unions to take a 5% across the board cut in pay?
Only if I believed him and that is not likely.
Thing to remember is our Mayor is not even close to the top earner in the city and his pay isnt the burden that many of the union protected jobs are. We could likely fund that 10 million just by getting rid of the unions without cutting anyones pay. Its easy to point fingers & rant, you see it every day here & anyplace these discussions take place. Not so easy to state what needs to be stated & thats that we take care of everyone on the city payroll before we think about our kids.
Of all the towns in our area, why would the Mayor use Wilton as an example when comparing to Norwalk? This is not a fair comparison, as the demographics of the two towns could not be more different. As reported in The Daily Norwalk on 1/14/2011, Stamford, which is the only other city in our area in the same District Ref Group, (which is the listing the State uses to group towns with similar demographics), spent $16,127 per student compared to Norwalk's $15,686 in 2009/10. Curious that the Mayor didn't use that town in his example. There is no way the BOE can possibly cut $10 million without totally devastating our schools. Sorry to say, but we all need to step up and not make our kids have to pay the price for adult irresponsibility. If that means we all have to pay a little more, so be it.
How much MORE did Stamford get from the state than Norwalk? The problem isnt we need, as tax payers, to pay more, the problem is big expensive govt & in some ways overpaid city employees. Many of our city employees make much more with much better benefits than private sector counterparts. There are many ways to create funding for education besides raising taxes on already overtaxed property owners. Part of the issue is a large chunk of our children are from homes who dont pay a dime towards that education, yet you want to penalize those of us working hard to pay outrageous taxes? Our kids shouldnt pay for this mess, but if they arent going to then we need to be realistic about the situation. Our city in general costs too much for what we get. Fixing that is, or should be, the focus if we really want to move forward.
The Mayor cannot divorce himself from this mess- his party controls the BET and the BOE. They have made cut so deep, they put the BOE in a big hole. You can not kick the can (4 million) dollars down the road.
How does the BOE make 10 million in cuts?
The Mayor should follow his own advice and resign from office.
According the Mayor, the CEO of NEON should step-down for 400,000.The Mayor sits on the Board of Education and allowed a 4 million dollar shortfall. Ok, Mayor follow your own advice and step down.
Maybe, leaders in the community will call a press conference and ask the Mayor to step down.
hawkeye
As far as lwitherspoon's reply to your post you can just ignore that as he thinks no matter what Moccia the Moron does its ok. We are starting to realize that he s being paid to make these posts. He will deny this but of course that goes hand and hand with being a paid stooge for the administration
Tim T,
Thanks for the thumbs up- regarding spoon. The Mayor should step down- this dude does not have a clue nor where to find the missing 4 million dollars. Remember a few weeks ago there was a noun, a verb and NEON.
Hey Mayor, can you do this math problem?
400,000 x 10 = ?
Hawkeye
The fact is that the mayor is only an ex-officio member of the school board. He can attend meetings and speak, but my understanding is that he does not have a vote. Also, once funds are provided by the City to the Board of Education, by law the City no longer has control over how they are administered. That's the responsibility of the elected school board and Superintendent.
In the case of NEON, a bipartisan group of community leaders called for Mann's resignation because there were irregularities that went well beyond sloppy accounting. You won't see that here because the situations are completely different.
You are correct about the BOE having total control of it's budget after the city has approved a total for the year. If you or I were mayor or members of the board of estimate and taxation we would insist on a detailed plan on how that money was going to be used before we voted to approve an amount. It seems that has not been done for years and now they have run out of slush fund money. There is no excuse for the mayor and a lot of others not knowing there was a slush fund. That alone is reason for heads to roll. Some us suspect a real forensic audit, covering several years, might even find criminal diversion of public funds, also known as larceny. If moccia has nothing to hide he should order a real forensic audit before any more money is poured into this bottomless pit. That is the only way to restore public confidence. For this large a shortfall to be suddenly discovered this late in the fiscal year, a lot us believe there must have been some deception in the proposed BOE budget each year for quite some time and now is the time to put a stop to it.
If he dosn't take action now, you know a lot of us will be convinced he was in on the deceptions and benefited from them.
lwitherspoon
The People should demand the Mayor resign because he controls the BET and the BOE. The Mayor, should follow his own advice and step down. The Mayor, put a full court press on NEON and now he has a 4 million dollar problem.
1. Does the Mayor/BET take the money from the rainy day fund and risk the AAA Bonding?
2. Does the Mayor/BET kick the can down the road and take 4 million from next years budget?
How can the BOE make 10 million in cuts?
Moccia should step down!
So right So right
An excerpt from the city charter:
1-516. Creation and composition of Board of Education.
There shall be in said city a Department of Education which shall be under the control of nine (9) members, who shall be electors of the City of Norwalk, and shall be known as the Board of Education. Its members shall be elected as hereinbefore provided. EN Said Board shall hold a regular meeting each month. The Mayor of said city shall be, ex officio, Chairman of said Board of Education and shall preside at all meetings of said Board. He shall have no vote in any meeting of said Board except in case of a tie vote among the regular members of said Board. Said Board shall, at its first meeting and annually thereafter, elect from its number a Chairman pro tempore, who shall preside at all meetings of said Board in the absence of the Mayor.
The link:
http://gcp.esub.net/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=465481&advquery=1-516%20&infobase=no0086.nfo&rank=&record={29A3}&softpage=Browse_Frame_Pg42&zz=
Thank you Nancy.
Like...
I'm sure this is either a typo or misquote but the mayor states "...in 9/10 the city of Norwalk spent $15,503 per student. If you want to add land, buildings and debt service in, it was another $1,621. Our total is $17,420." That total would actually be $17,124. He does go on to state we spent $9.00 per student less than Wilton in 9/10, which appears to be accurate. Not blaming the mayor or the Daily Norwalk, just find it somewhat comical that a math "error" occurs in a school related article.
It is a clear demonstration of the mayor's math skills, just in case the four million dollar hole in the BOE budget, presented under his leadership, doesn't convince. Either he can't count, or he assumes we can't, or maybe he has forgotten how to tell the truth.
I didn't do the math after I transcribed this last night. Just listened to the recording for the third time, and I stand by my quote.
Does anybody know the details regarding how the school system went from 1,215 employees in 2006-2007 to 1,615 employees in 2009-2010? How is a 33% increase even possible in just three school years? How is there even room for all those extra bodies?
Somebody knows, and that may be why there is no audit. The number of new employees over that period may be a real number, but, if it is, some who left were probably not properly removed from the payroll.
The people who should know and like to see their names and pictures in the media seem to be ignoring the question. That should convince us of the need for an independent forensic audit covering payrolls back to 06-07.
Anyone who pays attention knows the phrase "I will tell you quite honestly" usually means the speaker intends to lie. Don't ever buy a used car from a salesman who uses that phrase and goes on to tell you his version of the car's history.
Before the BOE gets another dime, somebody must answer that question about 400 new employees, who they are, and what they do, if, in fact, they do exist and really work for the school system. If not, we have a major corruption problem.