Dec. 6, 2012

New Canaan Rotary Club Bulletin                                       December 6, 2012

In the absence of our inspirational leader Marty, President-Elect Fred stepped up and did a creditable job of running the meeting efficiently and even showed a hint of the charisma we can expect next year.  He started on time and called on Eric, who is just rounding into full Christmas mode, who offered a blessing of gratitude and recognizing the approach of the holiday season.

 Paul Burnham was visiting today from the Wilton Club and Jack Horner once again sat in the corner awaiting his induction.

Fred demonstrated that he is indeed ready to don the mantle of Club leadership by wisely acquiescing to Santa’s demand to be heard.  The infamous Annual New Canaan Rotary Club Christmas Grab Bag Luncheon will be held in place of the regularly scheduled weekly meeting on December 20 at the festively decorated Roger Sherman.  Each member is expected to bring a wrapped gift which cost $25.00 or less.  Santa indicated that special rules regarding gifts of alcohol, perhaps some rules for the gift exchange portion of the event, and certainly some exciting new rules for the auction are being developed with an eye toward creating a swamp of opaque, redundant, paradoxical, incomplete and arbitrary process that will be managable only through non-appealable rule by fiat by jolly old Father Christmas himself.  No word yet on the possibility of an Elf appearance.  We can only hope.

Fred then reminded those with short attention spans that the Annual Christmas Party will be held at Waveny Castle on the evening of December 15 commencing at 6:30.  Members whose surnames start with the letters A through P inclusive are charged with bringing an appetizer or main course; those from R through Z with bringing a dessert. Heating appliances are available in the Castle kitchen.  In a gesture of extreme generosity the Walbert family will be supplying the adult beverages while, in a display of ecumenism, Gentle Ben and Rob Avery will each supply a ham.  Once again the fair Amy will quarterback logistics for the basics.  If you have a conflict in your social schedule at least plan on a drive-by or look-in to share a little of the communal holiday cheer with your brothers and sisters in Rotary.  In response to a question Fred assured all that the regularly scheduled meeting for next week on December 13 will take place.

Sergeant-At-Arms Bill then did a brief schtick consisting of jewels from last week’s late night television hosts before collecting a Happy $10 from Joe Rucci upon his safe return from London, Bill himself for having played a quick nine with wife and son yesterday instead of 18 at Pebble Beach today, Alice for having hung out with Sarah Ferguson last week and because NewsCorp CEO Chase Carey will be the presenter at this year’s Conversations With Business Leaders event, and, sadly, Ben for the loss of his much-loved mother-in-law.

Fred then called on Program Chair Jim Cole who recognized Ken Campbell who introduced Board of Education Chair Allison Bedula as today’s speaker.  Ken has worked in his Town Council role as a liaison with Allison and, recognizing that the BOE budget is a large percentage of the Town budget, asked her to walk us through the BOE budget process.  She explained that in the last decade the expectations people have for the capability and expertise of volunteers serving on Town boards and commissions has increased dramatically and that has led to a subcommittee system, allowing board members to become specialists in certain fields.  The Budget subcommittee of the BOE made up of Allison, Gene Goodman and Penny Rashin work year around with the Superintendent and her team to develop the budget, keep the BOE informed of their progress, and make sure the budget supports the District goals and objectives in accordance with Board priorities and assumptions before presenting the budget to the Board of Finance and the Town Council for approval.  Salaries and health benefits make up 82% of the budget and, in conformance with a recently approved three year contract with the teachers union, will increase by 2.3% in the coming year.  Allison had high praise for Superintendent Mary Kolek and her team of professionals as well as her colleagues on the Board.  She explained a few budget drivers that are challenging the Board’s desire for optimum educational outcomes with low annual budget increases.  In spite of demographers’ assurances to the contrary, enrollments are rising, putting a strain on existing facilities.  The use of technology continues to expand rapidly and requires hardware, software and teacher training to keep up.  Unfunded state mandates such as individual student success plans, a much more time consuming teacher evaluation system, and school climate [bullying] management programs are required by Hartford but come with no funding.  Our educational system continues to be an essential driver of our real estate values, the current outcomes are enviable, and the effort to maintain and improve this situation is daunting.  We are fortunate to have dedicated BOE members willing to accept the challenge.

Hud Stoddard