" I think you have had good points about capital projects being too expensive. I think a lot a sports, band and student organizations should get funding from the users and booster fundraising. Improvements to non educational facilities should also come from private funding. Your being a watchdog for educational spending is a service to the taxpayer, but I think that you get so fanatical that people will listen to you like they do to the wind blowing. Pick your battles and don't be the boy who cried wolf too often. Death and taxes are 2 things you can't do too much about. I also haven't heard you advocating for a tax cap. The city, county and school taxes need a cap of 2.5% not 4%. "

" The superintendent has a higher rate of pay because the pool of candidates for the job is small and competition is high. Unless the district pays a competitive salary they will only get poor leaders. If you feel the man is not doing the job you need to find the right person not to gut the salary. The need for more administrators is because the state and federal government asks for more red tape for programs that they won't fund. If the schools have a performance problem then deal with that problem and quit squabbaling over budget line items. If you could cut the fat from the budget you would not save that much for all the fuss you make. "

" tlb4
If the district didn't hire all the new (additional administrators) this year, there would have been more than enough $$$$$$$ to run all the programs with no increase in taxes. So don"t give us the gas, utilities, paper, etc. balony.
Education is in business to take care of their own, students are secondary. "

" Enough already. The district's budget was voted down. This was a school budget with the second least tax levy in the county. Gas increased, Utilities increased,paper, supplies, books, etc. all increased. Mr.Morgan you are still complaining about the leadership, take a break.
You know the truth about students succeeding in school? Parental involvement. Parents need to take an active part in their kids education. Make sure their kids are in school, their homework is done, they are well rested.
The Auburn district has caring quality teachers and intelligent administrators. They alone cannot improve education.

Mr.Morgan you are the King of Gloom and complaining. "

" Higher standards mean higher educational taxes. Does anyone believe that the more you pay the better the results? If that's the case, find someone for $500k, and Auburn will have the smartest kids in the country. That is, if they don't drop out. "

" Well the Mr Brew, can you tell me which part of my comments were wrong? I think it is interesting that you would attack me, yet not address the crux of the subject matter. Why did the board hire a rookie superintendent at a rate higher than the more experienced superintendent?
If the standards of education has increased, when then are our schools on the states failure list, or the needs to be improved list?

Can you tell us why we have so many dropout? Can you also tell us why we have so many administrators?

Can you tell us if the drop out rate improved since the hiring of these administrators.

It's not an obession Mr Brew, its just a topic that gets under my skin, why should we have a 66 million dollar budget proposal when student enrollment gets smaller and smaller every year?

I'll tell you,,,, all the above,,, that's why "

" I'm sorry JM but you are obsessed with this subject and the schools are suffering your wrath for all your personal demons. Lighten up and get a perspective that the schools are trying to educate not pick your pockets. You can't solve the high cost of living but you feel you can control the school budget. Take a breath and relax, you will live longer. "

" I Think its a better idea to have 1 Superintendent for the whole county-depending on the size of the county.

My county has:
1 Superintendent
7 board members/1 per district
209 schools +60 additional centers
227 principals
393 Asst. principals
15,370 Teachers
25,473 Full-time staff
206,756 STUDENTS
2.2 Billion dollar Budget

The Superintendent base salary was $236,504 and a bonus was $48,240.

This persons contract also includes bonus pay based on 18 performance factors, most derived from student tests.
( I think this needs to go to teachers: strange, we pay the people who actually EDUCATE our kids about the same in one year as we give in bonuses to the person who SUPERVISES the people who teach our kids)

Besides pay, receives a $125 monthly car allowance, mileage, a $1 million life insurance policy and retirement plan equal to 15 percent of salary in addition to state retirement.

maybe when Pabis reads this he will want to apply here! "

" I am compelled to respond to your comments Mr Hodson, because I have never read anything so absurd, since the announcement of the districts decision to hire Mr Pabis and offer him a higher salary than his predecessor John Plume.
I want you to think about how it would feel to have to choose between food, medicine, and or paying your taxes. I want you to consider how it would feel to be forced to move to some little hick town out west simply because you were unable to stay in the home you raised your family in, the home you paid for, the home you built, or remodeled.
Your comments are uncalled for Mr Hodson, I pray as you get older and you are able to retire, you have the insurance to pay for any health issues that may arise with either you or your spouse. I pray you will have a retirement package that will leave you and your family comfortable for many years to come. Then I want you to consider those who may have retired with no pension plan, all they may have is social security, or those that may have lost their jobs because their employer found it cheaper to operate in that little hick town out west. That my friend is the reality many people are facing in NY. Every year, more and more people are leaving their homes because they can no longer afford to live here. Check the statistics. I have.
Then I want you to look deeper into Mr Pabis and his crew of administrators. I want you to compare what has been achieved by his administration, has the quality of education gone up? Has the drop out rate decreased? Has he improved the educational standards in our district? The answer is a resounding NO! Everything has either remained the same or has gotten worse. We still are on the states failing list, and our kids are still failing. All we have to show for it is a million dollar price tag associated with those administrators. They will retire with hefty pensions and we will be stuck holding the bag. I would also question why this board chose to pay a rookie superintendent more money than the out going superintendent. JD Pabis has not earned the confidence, nor the respect of the community or the teachers.
If you decide to run for a position on the Auburn School Board, I suggest you look at the issues, I suggest you look at the progress we have made and what it is costing this community. We don't need another bobble head Eric, JD Pabis has enough of them now. What Auburn needs is someone who will do something to insure our kids receive a quality education, yet, be considerate of the people who are paying the bills. No one can afford education at any cost, including you. "

" I'm sorry Eric, higher education standards does not mean higher taxes. This administration is bloated with highly paid administrators who have done nothing to improve the educational standards we all want and need for our children. I suggest you read the editorial authored by Mr Barker, his is a testimony of reality. People are having to choose between food, medicine, and or paying their taxes.
We need responsible leadership, we need people who understand what another tax hike will mean to the seniors, we need leadership who understands what it means having to choose between food or medicine, or the consequences of having to pay for a bloated administrators pay raise.

Reality is knowing that people all over America want the same for their children, I have found that the school districts here in Florida operate on such a system you labeled as crazy. There is one Superintendent for the entire county, they have managed to eliminate layer upon layer of government that has done nothing but duplicate itself and cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Their educational standards have not been compromised, instead it has flourished.
I suggest you take the rose colored glasses off and look at the world the way it truly is. "