Wednesday, September 29, 2021

COVID-19 and Our Schools

The Times Union reported this afternoon that the state COVID-19 Report Card is now live. It can be found by clicking here. 

Of course, I decided to check out the Hudson City School District. The numbers for HCSD are pretty encouraging. According to the information provided on the COVID-19 Report Card, since September 13, 4 students and 1 teacher have tested positive at Montgomery C. Smith Elementary School, 2 students and no teachers have tested positive at Hudson Junior High School, and 1 student and no teachers have tested positive at Hudson High School.




Also of interest in the data provided at COVID-19 Report Card, since this information is hard to find anywhere else, is the number of students enrolled in each of the three HCSD schools: 714 at Montgomery C. Smith; 381 at Hudson Junior High; 462 at Hudson High. That's a total of 1,557 students. The school budget for 2021-2022 is more than $52 million--$52,224,404 to be exact. You can do the math.  
COPYRIGHT 2021 CAROLE OSTERINK
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8 comments:

  1. M. MorrisSeptember 29, 2021 at 5:29 PM

    I did the math
    that is over $33k per student. This is on the very high end of expenditure per student in NYS and we are at the very bottom tier in terms of metrics that show quality of education.
    Before I moved to Hudson about 11 years ago, I lived in a rental apartment in Great Neck Long Island. The per student budget was high - about 25k. I am sure it is 30k now. The school district excelled on all metrics. There were abundant after school programs - music, (which included availability of any instrument a child might want to play, no need to be able to afford an instrument), theatre, debate, athletics, cultural clubs. The last school bus left at 6 pm. I never had to worry about after school programming for my child. He usually arrived home after me.

    So what exactly is our school district delivering?

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    1. unheimlichSeptember 29, 2021 at 5:42 PM

      Good comment, M. Morris, and a common refrain in these parts.

      It's a classic case of good money after bad.

      Delete
  2. P. WinslowSeptember 29, 2021 at 8:47 PM

    At that price, we might as well close the school and use the taxes to send all the kids to a private school.

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  3. PeteSeptember 30, 2021 at 6:08 PM

    Carole, though I would love to comment on this entry -- as I have been an education journalist for some 20 years, including spending 5+ years on the HCSD Board of Education, I'm not sure who "Peter M" is and ask that you try to sort this out so we're not using each other's names. I always sign my comments with a "Peter Meyer," so I'm not sure who "Peter M" is, but ask that you try to sort this out. Thanks. --peter meyer

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    Replies
    1. unheimlichOctober 1, 2021 at 8:12 AM

      I'd assumed that the "Peter M" in question was indeed Peter Meyer, who has both a professional interest in education (a nationwide publication focusing on education policy) and has for decades volunteered his time to local educational initiatives, including being a past member of the School Board.

      Mr. Meyer's indignation about this avoidable mix-up of identities is entirely understandable.

      Delete
  4. Signe AdamOctober 1, 2021 at 8:51 AM

    Wow that is some price tag. What a shame for our kids! Bard has provided excellent educational alternatives for underprivileged students elsewhere, if only public school here could tap into that resource..........

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    1. Carole OsterinkOctober 1, 2021 at 11:42 AM

      Bard has an early college program here in Hudson https://hudson.bard.edu/, and it was involved with Warren Street Academy https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2016/07/ribbon-cutting-on-warren-street.html until that experiment ended in 2020 https://gossipsofrivertown.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-end-of-experiment.html.

      Delete
  5. Ken ShefferOctober 3, 2021 at 12:33 PM

    Well, everyone the Hudson BOE is in the process of selecting a new Superintendent and I suggest you jump in. They'll have one picked pretty soon.....probably in 6 weeks or less. There was a public survey done and approx 175 people repsonded. Not enough. I asked the BOE to make the survey results public but the current Superintendent starting speaking an inter-planetary language to say it would not be public. She should not be involved in the process at all and the survey should be made public. I also asked the 3 member selection oversight committee of Segar, Carter and Parmentier to make their admin work public, which is required by policy and law. But meeting minutes is not the strength of this BOE. But those 3 members are good members. (Any of the 3 should be BOE president, NOW!) So we have hope. For all their educational missteps and mess this is a chance to start at the top in the hope that kids here are not just categorized as problems or difficult cases but instead as potential great thinkers and doers. It's hard in some districts but now it is Hudson's turn to get it right. And to spend our money wisely to make our kids wise too. Jump in. Pick a true leader. Transparency is the key. Community help is the other key. Ken Sheffer

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