Quality of Life is Kingston's secondary goal. Lower Taxes are primary.

Quality of Life is a secondary goal.  Kingston's and Shayne Gallo's primary goal is to negotiate very lean union contracts which will allow substantial property tax decreases over the next 3 years.  Without property tax decreases, the business and residential property tax rates will both continue to chase businesses and residents out of Kingston.  Since IBM left Kingston 16 years ago, nothing has been done to structurally fix the union contracts to match Kingston's 2012 population which is much less affluent.  We will reserve judgement on Shayne Gallo's progress when the first union contract terms are made public.  In many ways, Kingston's taxpayers should be clamoring for affordable union contracts and lower property taxes instead of being distracted by "quality of life".  The demographics of Kingston's population is eroding.  Time is running out for Kingston.

Open Post to Tony Adamis - Kingston Freeman Editor

Thanks for shining light on the facts about the unsustainable contracts and pensions that the local taxpayers are paying for. We the taxpayers would like more light shined on the secret talks between the unions and City of Kingston and with the Kingston School District. I know you have unsuccessfully tried to get into the negotiations so you can report back to we taxpayers what is being discussed about contracts with unaffordable giveaways before it is too late. It is too late after the first draft of the contract is agreed to and reported to the public. Let's be honest. This secret negotiation nonsense is just a ploy to promote politicians and union leaders at the expense of taxpayers. This is why NY State is last in growth and economic development. Can you suggest what we taxpayers can do to force the contract negotiation process to be opened up to newspaper reporters so you can tell us what is going on? "

Helpless in Kingston

Parents and taxpayers have the deck stacked heavily against them.  It is difficult to get just one conservative elected to the Kingston School Board, much less a majority of 5 needed to change anything.  Look how public opinion on reducing health benefits, eliminating step raises, and keeping Meagher School open, moving 9th Grade to the Middle Schools to allow neighborhood elementary schools to stay open, etc. are all IGNORED by the Kingston School Board and administration.  We parents and taxpayers feel HELPLESS IN KINGSTON AND IN NY.  Bottom-line, we need NY State legislature to promote school choice and competition by giving parents school vouchers to all parents to send their kids to any public, private, parochial school.  That is how you involve parents.  Give them a voucher and let them study and select a school for their children, just like parents and children select colleges.

Luxury Housing Poughkeepsie Waterfront versus Kingston Waterfront

Why is housing and building on the Poughkeepsie waterfront going "gangbusters", but the Thomas Perna Hudson Landing Riverfront project on the Hudson River in Kingston is delayed for at least a year!  Notice that the Poughkeepsie building projects rarely get bogged down with lengthy delays from Scenic Hudson types.  Remember the long debates and delays from Scenic Hudson and the complaints about possible "View" problems for the residents of the other side of the river.  Kingston and Ulster County taxpayers are losing out again in the housing and economic development wars.  Someone at Hudson Landing should explain why their project is delayed another year while Poughkeepsie continues to build and dominate the upscale housing market.

Kingston Schools are broke - Cancel $90 Million Building Program

The Kingston School District is broke.  It is closing schools and laying off teachers.  It is closing schools within the City of Kingston.  This is destroying city neighborhoods.  The district has no business pushing a building plan that spends close to $90 Million on the KHS complex, demolishing buildings and building new buildings.  Let's move the 9th Graders from KHS to Bailey and Miller Middle Schools and move the 6th grade from Bailey and Miller Middle Schools to the Elementary Schools.  This will use the unused space in the elementary schools and allow them to stay open, especially in the city. It will also allow us to use the KHS complex, as is, without spending money that we do not have on a major KHS building plan.  The Kingston School District is in survival mode.  It has no business starting a $90 Million building program.  NY State could be on the verge of taking over the operation of KHS due to the poor graduation rates and the poor progress in improving KHS.

What is missing from Cuomo's Education Budget

What is missing from Cuomo's Education Budget are simply the following 2 reforms.

1)  Repeal of the Triborough Amendment (which practically guarantees teacher's & other unions at least the same contract as the last one).

2)  School Voucher Grants to Parents which lower education costs via competition among public, private & parochial schools. (This grant system has created healthy competition & worked for years at the college level.)

School Consolidation is bad

School Consolidation is bad.  Think about it.  It is just "kicking the can down the road" for a future day of reckoning.  The sickness to be cured in the schools is the out of control, over-inflated teacher salaries with unreasonable longevity step and coursework step increases, increasing pensions and increasing health benefits.  Consolidating school districts will only buy you about 3 to 5 years.  After that, the savings from consolidation will have been lost due to skyrocketing teacher compensation.  SUGGESTION- Go in the opposite direction.  Open competition between public and private schools. This School Choice with vouchers and Pell grants allow parents to choose which public and private school their children should attend.  Competition breeds excellence in teaching.  Our present public school, union-controlled teaching system breeds failing schools, which is obvious to all of us by now.  Let us push School Choice with vouchers.  Don't support consolidation, since the school sickness will continue.