Guest Editorial by David Faletto

American Education: There Is No More Room for Grace

As a general rule, I, too, like to show grace as much as possible when sharing opinions about public education, but in the case of the schools in Otsego County, I must respectfully disagree with Mr. Murphy [“American Education: a 125-Year-Old Failure?”]. For our local region, it is imperative that parents and the local citizens demand better academics and better learning environments for our children. For far too long, the communities have been showing the schools grace, and look what it’s got us—a declining population, standardized test scores that are below the state average, school taxes that increase each year, above average school spending in more than half of the county school districts, rampant bullying, and schools that cannot meet the academic needs of children in the 21st century.
There are 12 school districts in Otsego County with a total of 6,066 students, 18 school buildings and combined budget spending of $224,364,253.

Based on the latest publicly available data, superintendent salaries top out at $1,843,170 for the 12 superintendents currently employed in Otsego County schools. This is salary only—not the total compensation package. The money spent on retirement, social security, health insurance and other employee benefits raises this figure much higher.

Compare this figure to the district in New York that is considered New York’s best—Syosset. The superintendent there serves 6,980 students in 10 buildings, slightly more students than all districts in Otsego combined and in fewer buildings. His salary is $305,000—a savings of $1,538,170 in salary alone, if Otsego schools would combine under one superintendent (which it most absolutely should do).

To add salt to Otsego’s wounds, Syosset Central School District also has a consistently high rate of proficiency for state standardized tests—80 percent for English Language Arts (ELA); 91 percent for math; 88 percent for science.

Compare these figures also to the school district of Brookline, Massachusetts. Brookline is considered one of the best districts in Massachusetts, and Massachusetts is considered the very best state in the nation for education. The Brookline superintendent serves slightly more than 7,000 students. Her salary is $217,500—$1,625,670 less than what is spent on superintendents in Otsego County.

Both of those superintendents are in charge of the education of more students and receive better academic results than what we find in any school in Otsego County, and yet it costs much less to employ them. These are just two examples. There are dozens of similar examples that can be found all across the country and in New York State.

Each district in Otsego also has its own school board and employs other district administrative positions, such as a dedicated administrative assistant to the superintendent, district level finance personnel, curriculum coordinators, and others—all positions that could be shared across all Otsego County districts.

Millions of dollars are misspent on administration alone. Each school spends a minimum of $1,500,000 on administration, with most spending more than $2 million per year. Oneonta City has a proposed administration budget of almost $4 million for the upcoming year. It’s a combined expense of almost $30 million dollars. None of this money goes toward teaching the children.

Combining all the school districts in the county into one district could result in a savings of more than 20 million dollars per year. The districts in Otsego also overspend on capital expenses. Oneonta City operates five schools but has only enough students for three. Cooperstown operates two school buildings but only has roughly 760 students. Unatego operates three schools at two addresses with fewer than 700 students. The other schools average 325 students per school building. Schenevus operates an entire school building with only 233 students. Laurens has only 275.

More than $30 million is spent each year in Otsego County on school capital expenses alone (in addition to the $30 million spent on administration). None of the school buildings in Otsego County is at capacity. They all have room to take on more students. Based on the low enrollment numbers in the local schools, I estimate at least six schools could close with an estimated savings in capital expenses of $15,000,000 a year.

That money could be used to improve the academic outcomes of Otsego County’s children.

Cost per student spending is another area that is out of control. Five Otsego districts spend more money per pupil than the state average of $31,791. Two others spend almost the average. All seven of those districts spend more than $30,000 per student each year, with one district spending $35,744 per student.

Even with all that spending, those schools do not get stellar academic results. Throwing money at the problem obviously does not solve the problem. The ONLY district in Otsego County that achieved proficiency on the New York State standardized test last year at every grade level was Cooperstown Central School District—77 percent for ELA; 67 percent for math; 71 percent for science.

Oneonta City schools didn’t have any grade level meet the state’s average scores. Cherry Valley-Springfield only met the level in sixth-grade math. Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton, Milford Central, and Morris Central only met the average in eighth-grade science.

Cherry Valley-Springfield had only 7 percent of their eighth-grade reach proficiency on the New York State standardized test for math. Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton had only 6 percent meet proficiency in seventh-grade ELA. Milford had only 5 percent meet proficiency for third-grade ELA. Morris had no grades meet the state average for proficiency in Math or ELA. Only their eighth-grade science scores were slightly higher than the state average. They have shown a steady decline in scores in each of the last four years.

A majority of the grade levels across the 12 districts fell below 50 percent proficiency. The tests were given to students in third through eighth grades (six grade levels x 12 districts = 72 scores).

There were nine scores between 12 percent and 15 percent proficiency for ELA across the 12 districts. There were nine scores between 23 percent and 28 percent, 13 scores between 30 percent and 39 percent, and 17 scores between 40 percent and 47 percent.

Of the 72 possible scores, 50 did not hit the 50 percent proficient mark for English Language Arts. The test measures reading comprehension. These scores show that most Otsego County children can’t pass a basic reading comprehension and grammar test for their grade level.

For math, six scores fell between 10 percent and 17 percent proficiency. Eight fell between 20 percent and 29 percent. Fourteen fell between 32 percent and 39 percent, and 14 fell between 40 percent and 48 percent. Forty-five of the 72 scores were below the 50 percent mark. Most Otsego County children can’t do math at their grade level.

It’s true that state standardized tests do not show a complete picture of the child, but the tests do show an adequate measure of the quality of teaching that goes on in the schools. The tests measure basic grade-level material—nothing advanced.

It’s also true that comparing students from affluent suburbs to students in rural areas is not exactly an apple-to-apple comparison, but every child has the ability to learn, regardless of circumstances, if taught well by teachers who know how to do it.

The administrators and teachers are quick to make excuses and put a spin on their failures, but the proof is in the academic pudding. When the smart students graduate, they move away and don’t come back. They realize right away that life is better elsewhere. They want a better education for their own children, so they stay away. The population in this region has been declining for decades, and it is expected to continue to decline. The schools are a huge reason for that. No well-educated, professional family wants their children to attend these schools. They don’t come here at all, or they get out as soon as they can.

The push for regionalization is about 40 years too late, and from what I’ve seen from those meetings, even the best ideas are a small fraction of what this area actually needs to do to improve education for the children. The place to start is not regionalization but a complete reorganization—a merger of the 12 districts in the county into one.

I realize that tradition means a lot to the residents of Otsego County. It’s a trait that should be admired, but the children really need better options than what they are currently receiving. I also realize 11 superintendents are not going to volunteer to give up their jobs and the compensation that goes with it to do what’s right for the children, but change must happen.

A merger would save the schools millions of dollars each year that could be spent on bringing educational offerings up-to-date and competitive with other schools in New York and the nation—cutting edge science labs at every school, competitive robotics teams for elementary, middle, and high-school students, fully developed STEAM programs at each school, medical careers magnet program, competitive marching bands and choirs, competitive team sports, fitness centers to promote overall health, law and criminal justice magnet program, and gifted programs to name just a few. A good start, however, would be to teach the children how to read and do math at grade level—something the schools here seem to be having a difficult time accomplishing.

There is often the stated belief in this region that economically disadvantaged children cannot be expected to learn. I say, “Bologna.” As I mentioned before, every child has the ability to learn, regardless of circumstances, if taught well by teachers who know how to do it.
An example of the possibility for success comes from Albany School of Humanities. Sixty-nine percent of their students are economically disadvantaged. Sixteen percent have disabilities. Twenty percent are English language learners, yet they scored 70 percent proficiency for the state standardized ELA test and 74 percent proficiency for math. It can be done.

So, no, there is no more room for grace. Parents and community members are right to question what is happening in schools. More people need to speak up. Major changes need to happen and happen fast. The children’s futures depend on it.

David Faletto is an IT professional with over 30 years of experience with Fortune 500 companies and the U.S. Department of Defense. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics and computer science from the University of Pittsburgh and an Executive MBA degree from Rollins College. He currently resides in the Town of Morris. Data included in this opinion piece is all public information and as of the publication of this guest editorial can be found at nysed.gov, opengovpay.com, and individual school websites.