EAGLE
Star-Review, Jan. 26, 2011
EaglE
NEwspapErs
Opinion Editorial
Revise mandates, then impose cap
Like every other taxing entity in the state, school districts need to do more with less. Area school districts have struggled to hold the line on spending while offering the same or comparable services to students within their district. Last year, districts took a blow losing millions in state aid, as well as a decrease in sales tax revenue from Onondaga County. This year, administrators are facing a proposed tax cap from the governor, limiting any tax levy (amount raised in property taxes) increase to no more than 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. While this would be good news to property owners – we wouldn’t have to worry about being taxed out of our homes – it could mean trouble for programs our school districts offer to students. Rising pensions and health insurance costs coupled with unfunded and underfunded state mandates, none of which leave any wiggle room in expenditures, leave student programming on the chopping block. While school districts have and should continue to do more with less, as everyone else in the state has, it’s unfair to significantly limit options, specifically ones that do not enhance the education of our youngest residents. Before approving this drastic measure, lawmakers need to seriously consider revising and possibly eliminating some outdated mandates passed from the state to local school districts and municipalities. What do you think about the proposed tax cap? Send your letters to the editor to editor@eaglestarreview.com.
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Star-Review 2501 James St., Suite 100 Syracuse, New York 13206 USPS 316-060 Phone 315-434-8889 • Fax 315-434-8883 www.eaglestarreview.com Caitlin Donnelly, Editor, Ext. 310 Carol Eggert, Advertising Representative, Ext. 313 The Star-Review is a unit of Eagle Newspapers David B. Tyler Jr., Publisher, Ext. 302 Colleen Farley, Associate Publisher, Ext. 315 John McIntyre, Publisher, Spotlight Newspapers Gary Catt, Executive Editor, Ext. 330 Jennifer Wing, Managing Editor, Ext. 340 Lisa Congdon, Business Manager, Ext. 303 Office of Publication: 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, N.Y. 13206 Periodical Postage paid at Syracuse, N.Y. 13220 and additional mailing offices. The Review serves the residents of the villages of Liverpool and North Syracuse, towns of Clay, Salina and Cicero, and the North Syracuse and Liverpool Central School districts. The Star-Review is published weekly by Eagle Newspapers, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse N.Y. 13206. Mail subscription rates: $30/$44 per year to addresses in New York State; $48 per year to addresses outside New York State. Newsstand rate: 75 cents per copy. Senior rates available. Postmaster: send address changes to The Star-Review, 2501 James St., Suite 100, Syracuse, N.Y. 13206 Eagle Newspapers is owned by Community Media Group LLC, David B. Tyler, Jr., President; Daniel E. Alexander, Vice President; John A. McIntyre Jr., Secretary/Treasurer.
Sheriff confirms Clark case still being probed When Liverpool Police Chief Bill Becker called a Jan. 14 press conference at the Village Hall to discuss the case of the dead baby dumped in a Liverpool trash bin, he was joined at the podium by District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick and Sheriff Kevin Walsh. In an impromptu statement, the DA called the victim “Isabella,” the name given her by Becker’s staff. “The Liverpool Police Department certainly treated this little victim with tremendous dignity and respect,” Fitzpatrick noted. Shotgun slaying not forgotten After the question-andanswer session concluded, I chatted briefly with each of Onondaga County’s top law enforcement officials. Village residents will be happy to hear that the sheriff ’s office is continuing its investigation into the shotgun slaying of Liverpool native Mark Clark. The 39-year-old collectible
toy dealer was found the morning of Monday April 21, 2008, in his upstairs bedroom in a rental property at 109 Cleveland St., in the village. “That case is still being actively investigated,” Sheriff Walsh told me on Jan. 14. “In fact, just this morning I had a conversation with [Chief Police Deputy] Ted Botsford about it.” Walsh said his detectives and deputies continue to work with the LPD on the unsolved homicide. Three months from now we’ll mark the third anniversary of that rare village violence. Anticipating Pieper trial I spoke to DA Fitzpatrick as he exited the Village Hall Jan. 14, and he assured me that his investigators were looking into suspicious postings on a MySpace page created by Clay murder victim Jenni-Lyn Watson. Fitzpatrick plans to personally take suspect Steve Pieper
send you a copy…russtarby@netscape.net.
to trial for murdering the college co-ed last November. Those MySpace postings were initially reported in this column on Dec. 8. Joanie’s big joke A few of my most faithful readers recognized my free-wheeling writing style and correctly identified last week’s page 5 column “No one’s laughing at Joanie’s ‘big joke’” as my work, even though the “Livin’ in Liverpool” standing headline and my handsome headshot were missing. For those who mentioned it to me, thanks for noticing! For those who missed it, you might find it at eaglestarreview.com. Or drop me an e-mail and I’ll
Isreal Hagan solos here Feb. 3 Syracuse Area Music Hall of Famer Isreal Hagan will perform solo from 7:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3, at the Café at 407 at Ophelia’s Place, 407 Tulip St. Admission is free. For info visit ophelia’splace. org, or call 451-5544. An accomplished songwriter and singer, Hagan uses his voice and guitar to present a no-frills solo rhythm & blues experience like none other in CNY. For the past quarter-century, Hagan has fronted Syracuse’s premier R&B group, Stroke, and in recent years he has been vocalizing with the venerable Mario DeSantis Orchestra. In his solo act, the four-time Sammy Award-winning singer combines the excitement of a live R&B show with the intimacy of a coffeehouse setting.
The answers lay in Common Core State Standards It has always baffled me that the federal government forced the states and school districts to administer individual state tests and to punish schools and school districts if students failed to reach a certain score on state tests after the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2002. The strange part of all this was that individual states prepared and administered their own state tests. What assurance do we have that the tests taken by students in Nebraska are as demanding or less demanding as the tests given to New York students? And yet, the federal government required individual states to grade the schools despite the lack of consistency across the nation. As expected, during all
this period of increased accountability, some educators and too many politicians resented the movement to create common core state standards. Finally after years of discussion and debate, most of the states have bought into the Common Core State Standards Initiatives, “a state-led, highly collective, voluntary effort …”. To its credit, the New York State Board of Regents adopted the Common Core State Standards in English language arts and mathematics in January. The new state tests will be based on these standards, as well as new curriculum models in ELA and math. After too many years of indecision, we’re moving in the right direction—but not fast enough! As a recent article
in American Educator revealed, the countries that have moved forward and surpassed the U.S. in student achievement in recent years—Finland, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea—not only have common core standards, but also have a national common core curriculum, a key factor badly lacking in our country. What are some of the benefits of a common core curriculum as highlighted in American Educator? 3 Teachers need not guess what will be on assessments; if they teach the curriculum, their stu-
have two conclusions: Either Mrs. Taylor is wildly misinformed or outright lying. In the five years I served on the Town Board I can honestly state that never—not once—did we hold an illegal meeting. As a councilor and former Cicero police chief I would not have stood for it. Perhaps Mrs. Taylor is confused and is not as
familiar with the state’s Open Meetings Law as she claims. Occasionally, our Town Board held emergency meetings to deal with situations that could not wait for a regularly scheduled meeting. These sessions often dealt with urgent repairs, pressing legal matters and other crucial items that had to be addressed immediately to keep the
dents will be prepared. 3 Students who change schools are not lost, so time is not wasted in review and remediation; teachers may have different lesson plans and projects, but the core curriculum and skills to be mastered in each grade are the same. 3 Textbooks are slim, containing just the materials to be learned in a given year (not hundreds of incoherent pages trying to “align” to different states’ vague standards. 3 Teachers are able to collaborate on developing and defining lesson plans and other materials. Common core state standards are just a beginning—the next step will be for the states to adopt a common core curriculum.
From the mailbag Open Meetings Law remains true
To the editor: Sally Taylor’s football metaphor-filled letter to the editor in the Jan. 12 edition of the Star-Review and her assertion that the previous Cicero Town Board held regular illegal meetings left me astonished. As a former councilor who sat on that board I
town running. In every case, a notice was posted in the town hall and the local media was notified as required by the Open Meeting Law. We also painstakingly avoided even the appearance of illegal meetings. Although the Open Meetings Law allows for chance encounters, during Please see Letters, next page