Quoted from 612

Benny--charter schools are tearing down public education.  Charter schools are not the answer to public education.  My school district was so poor, (IMO) that I sent all six of my children to private school in Albany.  It was amazingly expensive BUT as I see what comes out of the Mohonasen district, I would do it again.

Boomer...that's the whole idea...charter schools are not supposed to be the answer to the pathetic public school system...they are
the desperately needed antidote....just ask any parent on the long waiting lists to register their kids in these schools.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

My family
and I made the sacrifice to pay for that education WITHOUT taking a dime of taxpayer dollars.

Would you mind telling us what % of your parents total tax bill was school tax?  Not upwards of 50% like it is today.  So in those days you could pay your school taxes and still choose to send your kids to private school.  I think it's safe to say that maybe 10% of the parents that send their kids to Mohon could financially afford paying school tax and private school tuition.  And that may be a little high.  

The public school system is a modern day cast system.  

Great points. Also back in the day your parents did not have to pay over $8,000 in town/school tax. Yes, they made a sacrifices but it was doable for the middle class. It isn't now.

This is interesting ... the folks who oppose a PUBLIC REFERENDUM on a proposed 10 cents per $1,000
Ambulance District .. have NOT problem with a Charter School taking tax dollars from Schalmont and
Mohonasen taxpayers and not ONE voter in either of those school districts has the right to vote for the
Charter Schools board or the budget.

So the fact is that I am the one supporting democratic principles and the American value of "no taxation
without representation" .... and the so called  "Tea Party"/"Conservatives" are  in favor of BIG CORPORATIONS
running our schools and our ambulance service  --- and the voters having NO say in how much is being taken
out of their pockets.

A public referendum to create a taxing district for a service that a BIG CORPORATION will do at no cost to those that don't receive the service, and actually create revenue for the Town.  If private schools offered an alternative to public school that gave the consumer a choice, offered more skilled teachers(Like mohawks ALS), and actually created revenue for the Town I think it would be a no brainer.  The Teachers Union has laws on the books and politicians bought and paid for to make sure there is no free market for education.  

BTW, not taxation without representation is a representive republic concept.  With this REMS referendum, you are asking for tyranny through simple majority.  And a rigged one at that.

Sorry Cis--I have always paid the highest taxes on my street.  Mohon sucks on many levels.   We never went on vacation.  Only paid tuitions and we continue to pay them.  When my number 4 kid was a senior and her brother a soph and her youngest brother an 8th grader my tuition bill was nearly $60,000 and that was just to the high schools add several colleges to that.  I would have been thrilled to have sent my kid to a public school that had something to it.  Rotterdam schools need a lot of help.

Congrats Boomer--You are one of the 10% that has the means to pay your school taxes and $60K in tuition.  You have the means to actually choose a better education for your children.  Check Rotterdam's average household income and the property taxes paid on the average home price and you tell me who can pay for both.  You should be thrilled that you can afford to provide your children with an opportunity to get out of a failing school system.  

Quoted from 612

Sorry Cis--I have always paid the highest taxes on my street.

Was the school tax 50% of your total tax bill?  Ex: Town/County = $1000  School = $1000

Quoted from CICERO

A public referendum to create a taxing district for a service that a BIG CORPORATION will do at no cost to those that don't receive the service, and actually create revenue for the Town.  If private schools offered an alternative to public school that gave the consumer a choice, offered more skilled teachers(Like mohawks ALS), and actually created revenue for the Town I think it would be a no brainer.  The Teachers Union has laws on the books and politicians bought and paid for to make sure there is no free market for education.  

BTW, not taxation without representation is a representive republic concept.  With this REMS referendum, you are asking for tyranny through simple majority.  And a rigged one at that.

Taxation WITHOUT representation is NOT a representative republic concept .... in a representative
republic we ELECT persons to represent us in the decision making process ---- when it comes to Charter Schools the taxpayers do NOT directly vote on the Charter Schools budget NOR do the taxpayers get to
elect representatives to the Charter School's board.

The Ambulance District vote entitles each property to cast 1 vote -- that is more than one can say for a
Charter School which allows each property  0 votes.

The private sector DOES provide an alternative to public schools --- they are called PRIVATE SCHOOLS.

You have no proof that the Ambulance District vote is rigged  ... if you wish to make such accusations
be able to back it up with evidence ... just in case you should be sued for libel/slander.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The Ambulance District vote entitles each property to cast 1 vote -- that is more than one can say for a
Charter School which allows each property  0 votes.

Well, that's provided:

1. The person isn't disabled and can't get into the polling place
2. The person isn't homebound and is disenfranchised because they aren't afforded an absentee ballot
3. The person isn't serving in the military, and denied the option to vote by absentee ballot
4. There is more than one person on the tax rolls paying the taxes
5. The taxpayer isn't spending time with family, for Christmas, Hanukkah etc and is out of town (again, no absentee ballot)

Shall I go on?

Quoted from 147

Well, that's provided:

1. The person isn't disabled and can't get into the polling place
2. The person isn't homebound and is disenfranchised because they aren't afforded an absentee ballot
3. The person isn't serving in the military, and denied the option to vote by absentee ballot
4. There is more than one person on the tax rolls paying the taxes
5. The taxpayer isn't spending time with family, for Christmas, Hanukkah etc and is out of town (again, no absentee ballot)

Shall I go on?

You claim that the election is "fixed" ... which is a different thing from disagreeing with the refusal to
allow absentee ballots.   I still challenge you to prove how the referendum is "fixed"  ???

I suggest that you go back through the tapes of Town Board meetings last Spring and find the
occasions where I specifically spoke in favor of allowing for absentee ballots --- the Town Board can
allow them ... my understanding is that it would require "pre-registering" for the absentee ballot.
As for the 1 vote per property -- that is a provision in the state law .. similar to when they hold votes
for water and sewer districts.      Mr. Salamone raised the point that the referendum should be treated
like a public safety issue thus allowing a vote of all registered voters in the town --- and while I have not
personally read that portion of state law to which he is referring --- IF I were a member of the Town
Board  I would ABSOLUTELY support opening the referendum to all voters .... even if .. according to
another lawyer Mr. Salamone's position is wrong and could be challenged in court ... my contention is
I'd rather take the chance of opening the vote to ALL registered voters then to just limit it to 1 vote per
property.
Personally, I think opening it to ALL registered voters would actually improve the chances of the
referendum passing.  

Where did I ever use the word "fixed"?

Discriminatory, Underhanded, Devious, BackRoomDealish - yes. But I never said "fixed" (tho, if you think about it, it IS - when it's scheduled at a most inopportune time, with only one location, and no absentees allowed - it virtually guarantees an outcome that some, not all, would prefer by making it convenient for some while disenfranchising others).

Cicero used the term "rigged" .. which could be translated as "fixed".

For all the chatter amongst the posters on this website -- claiming that "so many" are opposed to the
new tax district .. and one would assume that a property owner might have more reason to vote no ...
than lets say a renter ---- one could say that allowing only 1 vote per property is swaying the outcome
more towards a negative result.

So -- since those who want a negative result are now worried that they will lose the referendum .. me thinks
that the Perpetual Negativity Choir knows that MOST property owners actually support REMS and are
willing to support an ambulance tax district.

You just don't get it, do you Ron.

People - property owners, renters, residents - are sick to death of all these taxes and fees.  We can't handle ANY MORE. Enough is enough.

Obama has decreed that more charter schools open up. That was part of the huge Federal grant that NYS won. All the DEMS including those educational frauds Tonko and Murphy were there. Why should there be a special election when charter schools save money? They educate a child for less than half of a public school-with better results. The key is that the public schools have to cut staff and underutilized facilities. This they refuse to do.

      A charter school is coming to Schenectady County no matter what Tonko and his running dogs say. Ditto Montgomery County. Yes Catholic schools are better but with the oppressive local taxes/curb fees few can afford them. There must be an option for the poor children trapped in poorly run dangerous schools. Throwing up your hands and spouting teachers union dogma is hardly an answer.