This is the second of a series of candidate profiles that will appear on Massapequa Patch. Stay with us for more profiles leading up to Tuesday's election.
Joseph Marsh is a candidate in the May 15 Massapequa School Board election
He has been a resident of Massapequa for 12 years and has three children. Two of those children are currently in the school system, one is about to enter the system.
Marsh owns a technology and management consulting company and has been a member of the school district's budget and finance committee for six years.
We recently sat down with Marsh and heard some of his opinions on the issues facing voters.
On his mixed feelings about the tax cap:
"The administration is not doing its job. It's incapable of meeting its runaway budget. Apparently, it's not just our own district, It's school districts across the state. What the administration has gotten good at is getting their budgets passed, normally by holding arts, music and sports hostage. [The administration argues] 'If we don't get the whole budget, then you don't get your football team.' So I'm a fan of the tax cap, if only because it's finally starting to get people's attention. We shouldn't need it. But if the administration were doing its job, it wouldn't matter to us. So I hope in five years, when the tax cap expires, it goes away."
On financial issues facing the district:
"We spend $183 million and we've got 7,800 kids. The budget is going up. The student population is going down. Yet the student results aren't also going up. So I ask the question: How much is too much? How much money do we need? What is the cost of educating the student or 7,800 students? We don't know and the answer that the public is seeing is the budget growing by over $20 million over the last four years."
"The other part of this, is we spend so much time talking about money. At some point you want to say, 'We want to achieve educational excellence.' And the answer is not let's throw more money at it."
On transparency in the district:
"The culture in the district is is very insular. This is driven from the highest levels and we want to open that up...What we hear from the administration is, 'We know the answer. Thank you for your input, but we don't really need it.'"
On the elimination of positions:
"I thought it was a little backwards, the fact that 29 teachers got cut and only three administrative positions got cut."
Our Superintendent's compensation has increased by $37,184 or 12% in those 2 years. Asst Superintendent for Business - $25,110 or 10% and another Asst Superintendent $26,336 or 12%. Taxpayers, ask yourselves - have you and your families gotten these kinds of increases? I know I haven't and my neighbors haven't. Ask yourselves - can we afford more of these kinds of raises? I say NO! Look for yourselves. Go to Newsday and see the LONG list of administrators and how much they make. Compare that to other districts. You have a choice tomorrow. You can vote for more of the same and re-elect Mary Ann Fisher and Joe LaBella, both supported by the unions. You can vote for Rich Carozza who has NEVER attended a Board of Education meeting. Or....
Joseph and I will represent ALL taxpayers who want to have their voice heard. We do not believe that by asking questions and being critical of things we believe are wrong, we are dividing the community. We believe that a responsible board member does not approve what is put in front of them by the board, but asks questions to make sure they understand what they are voting for and believe it is in the best interest of the community. Joseph and I do not believe that is currently happening in Massapequa. We ask for your support so we can help change the tone of board meeting to be one where the community can get information about how their tax dollars are spent and their children educated. We want transparency and openness so that we as a community can come together and share our ideas. Together we are stronger than any individual. Please support Marsh and Sheffield tomorrow.
Massapequa Park INCOME OVERVIEW Income details Average Household Income 125,979 Average Household Size (people) 2.93 Average HH Net Worth 1,102,047 Per capita income 43,261 Median Disposable Income 80,983
1. How is the $183 million going to be spent? 2. How come they are laying off teachers when this town has consistently passed their budget and increased it year after year (you still believe it's the 2% tax cap)? 3. Why didn't the administration make any internal cuts (within the administration)? 4. What are Charles Sulc's credentials that qualify him for such a lucrative package? 5. While he's blaming the pensions...do YOU personally know they only actually account for a mere $11 million total? 6. Do YOU actually know how much the district spends on sports ($1.5 million)? 7. Do you even know how many total employees there are in the district? 8. Do you know how many administrators there are and what their combined total salaries amount to? 9. Do you have any clue where all this money is actually going? Start with that and maybe, just maybe you can effectively be part of a serious discussion around here!