The Party’s Over For Rhau And Buono The people of Saugerties have spoken, and it was loud, clear, and with extremely impressive numbers. A mandate has been sent to the Board of Education demanding a change. I congratulate School Board members Donald Tucker, Richard Petramale and Sam Fisco for their triumphant win and thank the voters of Saugerties for putting them there. By voting, your voices have been heard! From what I hear, people feel good–and very energized–about such a successful victory. But it is now time for School Board President Vince Buono to get a grip on the out-of-control spending by the Administration that has so angered most of Saugerties and be more accountable to the taxpayers. The party is over, now it’s time for Buono and his cronies McCaig, Kovac and Parisian, who were so insistent about getting the budget passed, to roll up their collective sleeves and trim all the fat from the budget. With a fresh start and clean slate, they can now concentrate on the essentials: our children’s education, more text books, settling the teachers’ contract, and remedying the lavish, out-of-control spending on coast-to-coast conferences and private luncheons that has hit such a nerve with taxpayers. A check of records of former Superintendents Hong and Singleton did not reveal any misuse or outlandish spending by either of these individuals, so, you see, it is possible. In an attempt to keep the public informed of the outlandish and wasteful spending of our money that has occurred in the Administration recently, I’ve written ten articles over the past several weeks featuring titles such as: The Buono Central School District; Shame on Price and Rhau; Beer, Cashews and Rented Movies; Rhau Suggests Senior Mortgage Home; and Rhau’s Coast-to-Coast Trips Questionable, to name just a few.. For those who may have missed these or any of the articles, they can all be found on the new web-site www.saugertieswatchdog.com . All illustrations accompanying the articles were copies of actual documents obtained through the FOIL process. However, since the information obtained and illustrations gathered were so voluminous, it was decided that creating a web site to post all the details would be a great ancillary project that would allow for in-depth-examination and more thorough analysis. While I will continue writing the newspaper column, the columns may appear at less frequent intervals due to the time frame encountered in obtaining relevant information. Although I would be remiss in not mentioning the fact that during the past ten weeks of obtaining FOIL information, Linda Sindt, Records Access Officer, has treated me with the utmost respect and professionalism, there are times when particular information is requested through FOIL that I am given a review date for two or three weeks after the request is approved. You can be sure, however, as soon as the information becomes available to me, I will disclose it. I will post an advance notice on the web-site that a new article will be appearing in the newspaper–so, keep checking the web-site for a "watchdog" message. Speaking of the web site and the illustrations that accompany it, I had an e-mail from a woman regarding rooms at the Desmond (where Rhau stayed overnight for an Albany conference) . She indicated that very few actually look like the one depicted on the site. Since it is both physically and financially impossible to personally view each and every room where Rhau has stayed on his coast-to-coast adventures, it should be noted that I must rely upon brochures from the specific hotels (or their web sites) for illustrations. In this particular case (as a result of the e-mail), I contacted the Desmond regarding Rhau’s room and have been advised that his accommodations were indistinguishable from the one depicted, sans the canopy. My point is not only why such a lavish room which features a king-sized bed, but why such an extravagance at all? Why not just drive to Albany the way so many other local commuters do? It appears that one of the most important issues on people’s minds is the excessive cost of school administration. For example: The Superintendent receives $170,000 annually (taking benefits into account); his personal secretary/district clerk receives $45,240 annually, $6,032 (prorated) plus benefits; and a part-time clerk receives $6, 063 annually plus; The Assistant Superintendent (a non-resident) receives approximately $120,000 annually (including benefits); her personal secretary receives $36, 617 annually plus benefits; The Business Administrator (who does not own real property in Saugerties) receives more than $100,000 annually (plus benefits); his personal secretary receives $32, 018 annually plus benefits; The Payroll/Benefits Senior Accounting Clerk receives $36,907 annually (plus benefits); an account clerk receives $34,756 annually (plus benefits); The District Treasurer receives $41, 115 annually (plus benefits); The Superintendent of Grounds and Buildings receives approximately $55,000 annually (plus benefits) and a personal secretary receives $42, 443 annually (plus benefits). The total annual cost for health insurance alone for the above administration positions is approximately $100,590. Between the cost of health insurance and salaries for eleven individuals, the District is spending approximately $735,918 per year–and to that you can add Social Security and Medicare payments, Disability Insurance and on and on. It’s expensive....and extravagant expenditures by members of the administration on top of all that money is exasperating. The School Board will meet and. Hopefully, make prudent cuts to trim evey bit of excess from the proposed budget, on Wednesday, May 31, at 7:00 p.m. The results of this meeting will be available on the website. Please visit www.saugertieswatchdog.com —you will not be disappointed!   George D Heidcamp, Sr. May 25, 2006