The school district has little leeway when state mandates force the retirement of buses when they reach a certain age or accumulate a certain amount of miles. Buses simply must be systematically replaced each year. And to get $190,000 worth of buses for a net cost of $19,000 to the district is an awfully good bargain to turn down.
Taxpayers may be frustrated, but voting down budget items like buses as a knee-jerk reaction only backfires. And even with the general budgets, the vast majority of the budget, again because of state mandates and union contracts, will remain in place under an austerity budget. The voters are realistically only approving a small fraction of the budget.
Change must come in the state legislature for tax relief. School officials' hands are pretty much tied at budget time, and they do a considerable amount of work at paring those budgets the best they can before presenting them to the voters.
Roundabouts work, but only if they are wide enough. The ones on Route 67 by Northway exit 12, for example, have too narrow a circumferance, so trucks and buses have to straddle both lanes or run their rear duals up on the brick curbing. The old Latham Circle, too, is not wide enough, whereas the Carrier Circle in Syracuse and the one off the Truway exit in Kingston can easily be navigated.
The other problem is uneducated drivers, who are confused about when and where to yield. When I make that swing from 67 onto the Northway, I always hold my breath hoping to eastbound traffic yields. The general rule is, yield to any traffic already in the circle.
Wein-dog and Lando said you did a great job on the grill up at the palatial Patrick Estate. Sorry I missed it. I imagine the Commander is still feeling logey.
Keep shaving strokes like that and you'll get a part-time gig as a barber. But I know what you mean. I used to lose count around 9-10 on each hole, and actually, no one cared.
Posted on November 5 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
All the fun happens on my day off.....sigh
On Funny hat night in the newsroom