Tomorrow, Tuesday, April 29, at 5:00 p.m., there will be a presentation of the proposed $8.35 capital project and an Energy Performance Contract that we haven't heard about yet. The presentation takes place in the cafeteria at Hudson High School.
Not sure about you guys but I am just really relieved that the school will have a new "emergency building (power) generator"...
I was losing sleep over this issue.
Because the City of Hudson averages 2-3 brief outages per decade (unlike more rural towns during ice storms), and a school is mostly used during the day... when the nuclear power reactor and light emitter in the sky gives us free light.
Definitely money well spent considering the school's student performance and outcomes... 😜
If the HCSD budget (approaching $60m) was right sized and some of that money went to the City of Hudson (approaching $20m budget), not saying this is a good idea... just a thought experiment... imagine all the sidewalks that can be repaired, all the public services... HPD won't have to rely on grants, we can pay the HFD, we can double the Youth Center and actually have a Senior Center... Craig can get some help at the Code Office... we can fund more parades... hell, we might have enough money to paint lines on the streets.
Or imagine if instead of a new generator, the school district funded an aggressive program to increase reading and math skills? Only about 25% of the kids in the district are at the levels they should be. If that doesn’t make you angry or scared, particularly in light of a rising budget with cuts to teaching staff, you clearly don’t care.
🙃 The real tragedy... and the fact that Kamal and Tom and other "real Hudsonians" who are "from here" do not care more about the following, shows that they don't really care about the residents and students, just dislike new successful residents.
Why are there more protesters at a "Rent Control" meeting at City Hall than at the meeting where this budget was approved. The former will have a negligible impact on residents and the latter will be the difference between incarceration and liberation.
🎓 -> 💰 High school performance is capital.
Students with top grades and test scores (Hudson grade inflation is legendary so let's just look at weighted national or state test scores) are over seven times more likely to win merit scholarships.
That aid cuts their future debt, while admission to selective colleges boosts lifetime earnings by $1m plus.
The result is a virtuous cycle: academic effort compounds into financial mobility.
The alternative—mediocre grades, weak aid, bad debt, and a low-return degree—locks in downward trajectory.
We all know HCSD grads who worked hard, went to good colleges, and thrived elsewhere or returned and are now great community and business leaders.
We also know the HCSD grads who did the opposite...
References: - U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Merit Aid for Undergraduates: Trends from 1999 to 2016, NCES 2018-432.
Not sure about you guys but I am just really relieved that the school will have a new "emergency building (power) generator"...
ReplyDeleteI was losing sleep over this issue.
Because the City of Hudson averages 2-3 brief outages per decade (unlike more rural towns during ice storms), and a school is mostly used during the day... when the nuclear power reactor and light emitter in the sky gives us free light.
Definitely money well spent considering the school's student performance and outcomes... 😜
If the HCSD budget (approaching $60m) was right sized and some of that money went to the City of Hudson (approaching $20m budget), not saying this is a good idea... just a thought experiment... imagine all the sidewalks that can be repaired, all the public services... HPD won't have to rely on grants, we can pay the HFD, we can double the Youth Center and actually have a Senior Center... Craig can get some help at the Code Office... we can fund more parades... hell, we might have enough money to paint lines on the streets.
Or imagine if instead of a new generator, the school district funded an aggressive program to increase reading and math skills? Only about 25% of the kids in the district are at the levels they should be. If that doesn’t make you angry or scared, particularly in light of a rising budget with cuts to teaching staff, you clearly don’t care.
DeleteExactly.
Delete🙃 The real tragedy... and the fact that Kamal and Tom and other "real Hudsonians" who are "from here" do not care more about the following, shows that they don't really care about the residents and students, just dislike new successful residents.
Why are there more protesters at a "Rent Control" meeting at City Hall than at the meeting where this budget was approved. The former will have a negligible impact on residents and the latter will be the difference between incarceration and liberation.
🎓 -> 💰 High school performance is capital.
Students with top grades and test scores (Hudson grade inflation is legendary so let's just look at weighted national or state test scores) are over seven times more likely to win merit scholarships.
That aid cuts their future debt, while admission to selective colleges boosts lifetime earnings by $1m plus.
The result is a virtuous cycle: academic effort compounds into financial mobility.
The alternative—mediocre grades, weak aid, bad debt, and a low-return degree—locks in downward trajectory.
We all know HCSD grads who worked hard, went to good colleges, and thrived elsewhere or returned and are now great community and business leaders.
We also know the HCSD grads who did the opposite...
References:
- U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Merit Aid for Undergraduates: Trends from 1999 to 2016, NCES 2018-432.