Milford School Committee: Casino bad for schools

[Let's not ignore that Atlantic City and Las Vegas have under-performing schools and high dropout rates, perhaps related to the low wage jobs offered.]

Milford School Committee: Casino bad for schools

By Lindsay Corcoran/Daily News staff

Milford Daily News

Posted Jun 07, 2013

MILFORD —

School Committee members raised concerns over the Milford casino proposal, specifically what it would do to enrollment in the at-capacity school buildings, at their meeting Thursday.

“I want a strong statement that this isn’t a positive impact on our schools, no matter what carrot they hang in front of us,” said School Committee member Christine Boyle.

Several School Committee members raised concerns after watching the Foxwoods presentation to Selectmen on Monday night that showed plans for a $1 billion, 660,000-square-foot resort-casino to be located at the intersection of Interstate 495 and Rte. 16.

At the meeting, Foxwoods officials presented schematics, results from their traffic, water and sewer impact studies and some mitigation options.

School Committee members said they were uncomfortable with the lack of discussion surrounding the potential impacts and mitigation efforts to the schools.

“They talked about computers, but they’re temporary, that’s not a carrot for the school system,” Boyle said.

Superintendent of Schools Robert Tremblay said he has been researching what the potential impact of a casino would be on the school system, specifically by contacting officials in about 10 school districts in the communities surrounding casinos in Connecticut.

“We don’t know what that drain will be,” Tremblay concluded. “It could certainly be a drain”
Tremblay said school enrollment has been relatively flat over the last 10 years and is projected to remain flat for the next 10 years. He said school buildings, including the new Woodland School, can only be built large enough to hold the projected number of students, according to the state building authority.

“Enrollment is the major concern, regardless of whether the students are English Language Learners or not,” Tremblay said. “We can’t fit more students.”

School Committee member Scott Harrison said the only proposed investment he saw for the school department during the lengthy presentation was in low-flow fixtures to control water usage to free up water for the casino.

Huh? In other words, the community lacks adequate water!

“At that point I looked over at (fellow school committee member) Joe (Morais) and said, ‘we’ve got some problems,’” Harrison said.

Tremblay said the only real mitigation effort to alleviate the enrollment concerns would be for Foxwoods to build the town a new school.

“I looked at the plan, it’s not in their plans right now,” Harrison said. “It’d be tens of millions of dollars to build a new school. The dollar amounts they’re talking about gifting the town still wouldn’t cover that.”

Tremblay said he’s drafted a memo, referencing various studies and his anecdotal findings, expressing the school department’s main concern of enrollment. He said he welcomed the School Committee members’ feedback before passing it along to town officials and the developers.

Read more: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x211326953/Milford-School-Committee-Casino-bad-for-schools#ixzz2VlLgmhM4
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Higher ed investment returns better than casinos

Study: Higher ed investment returns better than casinos, tax cuts

By Andy Metzger / State House News Service
Thursday, May 10, 2012

http://news.bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20120510study_higher_ed_investment_returns_better_than_casinos_tax_cuts/


A 40-page study discussed at the capitol Thursday concludes investments in public higher education diplomas and college certificates might provide the best chance at improving the Massachusetts economy, but state lawmakers have no plans yet to increase funding to levels recommended by the study’s authors.

“I think the challenge before us is how do we fund this,” said Joint Committee on Higher Education Co-Chairman Rep. Thomas Sannicandro, discussing a paper by two UMass academics that argues state funding of higher education should be nearly doubled.

The paper, “Economic Impact of Investment in Public Higher Education in Massachusetts: Short-Run Employment Stimulus, Long-Run Public Returns,” argues that an $800 million boost to higher education would produce an extra 11,200 graduates per year, lead to a roughly $740 million gain in income tax revenues, and generate a better payoff than that same investment in casinos, health care or a tax cut.

“In other words, a dramatic increase in the state’s investment in public higher education is an exceptionally good deal for the entire Commonwealth and should be vigorously pursued by policy makers,” the study concludes.

Speaking before lawmakers on Thursday morning, the paper’s authors Michael Ash, an economics and public policy professor, and Shantel Palacio, a public policy and administration graduate student, said public higher education is underfunded by $800 million. Their paper assumes an increase in higher education spending of that amount could be funded by a tax increase, an idea not currently on the table among Beacon Hill leaders, with resulting job increases outpacing those lost due to the tax hike.

According to Ash and Palacio, an $800 million spending boost to higher education would produce between 11,766 and 13,470 jobs – both directly, through the hiring of professors and construction workers to build new buildings, and indirectly by creating jobs for vendors and others, according to the study. After accounting for jobs lost due to the tax hike, the net new jobs from the investment would be 6,580 in the first two years, with a net increase of 8,284 in subsequent years. Casinos would produce about 1,200 or 1,300 fewer jobs, even accounting for the vendors and others who would benefit from the investment, the paper states. Another $800 million spent on health care would only do slightly better than casinos, and tax cuts – which would not create any jobs directly – wouldn’t even do half as well at job creation as the higher education spending, according to Ash and Palacio.

Palacio and Ash also argued that beyond the direct stimulus of $800 million, the new college graduates would cost less and pay more to the state.

“This graduate will pay more taxes, since his or her income will be higher, and will put less of a burden on public services,” the paper says. “No other use of a comparable outlay of public funds can match this one in terms of how it repays the investment.”

The House’s fiscal 2013 budget raises higher education funding to $988 million, up 6 percent from $929 million last year but less than the $1 billion budgeted before the 2008 market crash that led to the Great Recession.

In fiscal year 2009, Massachusetts per capita higher education funding of $196 per person was 33 percent below the national average, leaving the state ranking 45th among the 50 states, according to a December 2011 fact sheet produced by the Public Higher Education Network of Massachusetts.

“While we have much to be proud of in Massachusetts, there is still much more that we can do,” said Higher Education Co-Chairman Sen. Michael Moore.

It makes you wonder why the Senator voted to increase low wage jobs by supporting Predatory Gambling each time:
http://uss-mass.org/voting_record_senate.html

The question of what to do next is as much about higher education as it is about economics.

According to Sannicandro, after the G.I. bill funded veterans’ college educations, the percentage of Americans with college degrees jumped from 6 percent to 20 percent.

“That educated workforce is what made us a powerhouse in the world,” said Sannicandro.

The study concludes jobs in higher education, generally pay better than in casinos and construction and are roughly on par with the pay in hospitals – not including doctors. And those professors and teaching assistants produce more college graduates, who boost the economy by drawing on fewer social services, earning more income and staying out of jail more than the population as a whole, according to the paper.

Over a lifetime, the state spends about $100,000 on welfare, unemployment compensation and jail time for the average high school graduate, but only about $34,000 on someone who has received a bachelo’s degree and $54,000 for someone with an associate’s degree, according to the paper.

The paper claims that for the roughly $49,000 it costs for someone to attain a degree from a state school, the graduate adds double that back to state coffers. To the state, the difference between someone with a college degree and a high school diploma is $198,000 over that person’s lifetime – in tax bills for the graduate’s higher earnings as well as the reduced draw on public services such as welfare and Medicaid.

The list goes on for the benefit of a college education – less cigarette smoking, lower divorce rates, greater dependability.

The study was prepared with a grant from the Massachusetts Society of Professors.

Foxborough: When Ignorance Isn't Bliss

Foxborough School Committee:




More casino plan data is sought
Foxborough
By Michele Morgan Bolton

Much of the noise coming out of Foxborough lately suggests that the town is dead set against the $1 billion casino proposed by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and Las Vegas developer Steve Wynn.

But in some quarters, including on the School Committee, people still want a chance to learn more about the proposal and how it might affect the town and its 2,800-student school district. [Is it possible that the School Committee needs to do its homework? Nevada has among the nation's lowest college attainment and the highest school dropout rates. Connecticut's low wage 'casino' workers lack English language proficiency which not only impacts schools, but public safety as well. How do you communicate in an emergency without language translators?]

While Foxborough’s Advisory Committee, town manager, and a majority of selectmen have pledged opposition to a casino in the town, public safety officials say they will just do their jobs however things play out.

Meanwhile, four of the five members on the School Committee said publicly last week that they want more details aired about the Kraft-Wynn plan. The issue is not expected to make it onto a meeting agenda any time soon though, school officials said.

“I view this as a town issue,’’ Superintendent Debra Spinelli said in an interview, when asked about the committee members’ views. “It does not belong in the hands of the School Committee or the administration.’’

Everyone has the right to a personal opinion, added Town Manager Kevin Paicos, who has decried the casino idea he said has already hurt the town by dividing it.

Still, he said, “I would find it odd if the School Committee ever voted to oppose the selectmen.’’

At face value, the school panel members’ assertions are at odds with action taken by other town committees to reject the casino proposed for land Kraft owns across Route 1 from Gillette Stadium. The Planning Board has vetoed zoning changes offered by a Kraft Group attorney that could have paved the way for such a development.

But School Committee chairman Bruce Gardner said the members’ views are easily explained.

“Several of us feel as if we don’t have enough information to have an opinion, but it’s our responsibility to examine the facts,’’ Gardner said. “I wouldn’t be in favor of a casino myself, but it’s my duty to learn more about the positive and negative impacts to the school system.’’

Spinelli, Gardner, and committee member Martha Slattery were among a number of local leaders invited to join Kraft and Wynn on Dec. 4 for focus groups. The invitation did not hint at the subject matter, Spinelli and Gardner said. But when word leaked out a few days before the meetings, it was clear what was being proposed.

The meetings did not address specific impact to the schools, Spinelli said last week.

“We have not been made any promises, nor do we have any information,’’ she said. “My principal responsibility is the quality of education of children.’’

Over the years, Kraft has donated millions to local causes and offers the use of Gillette Stadium for the high school graduation ceremony if it rains. Spinelli said that generosity will have no bearing on any decision the committee makes.

“Not at all,’’ she said. “The Kraft Group has a strong record of public philanthropy, and shows its support of local school and community groups in a myriad of ways, but there has never been an expectation of school support or involvement of any kind in their business development decisions.’’

Among many concerns raised since the casino proposal surfaced is how an influx of children of resort workers might affect enrollment.

“We do have the capacity to take more students,’’ Spinelli said. “But what number are people talking about? We have no idea.’’

Current class sizes in Foxborough average 18 to 22 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, she said.

“We are obviously proud of that and want to preserve it,’’ Spinelli said.

Fire Chief Roger Hatfield and Police Chief Edward O’Leary, meanwhile, said they remain focused on current facts and will not fret over what may or may not happen.

“My responsibility is to provide fire protection and emergency medical services,’’ said Hatfield. “I try to keep my personal opinions out of it. The fact of the matter is we haven’t seen any real plans.’’

Gambling is coming to Massachusetts and there is a strong chance a casino or slots parlor will be located in Foxborough, Plainville, Raynham, or Bridgewater, he said. But without any details, “the cart is ahead of the horse,’’ Hatfield said. “We have rumor and fear come to life. We should stay calm and try to be as professional as we can.’’

O’Leary said he is researching the potential effect of a casino on crime, traffic, and call volume. But that’s playing second fiddle to the task of overseeing security coverage for Patriots playoff games and other town matters.

In the forefront is work to curb the binge drinking that has plagued game and event days at the stadium and elsewhere in town that results in more than 1,000 protective custodies for Foxborough police a year.

O’Leary, Selectwoman Lorraine Brue, and others on a study committee have spent the past year developing revisions for Foxborough’s liquor restrictions, which they will present at a Jan. 24 selectmen’s meeting. A wrench in the works now is new casino legislation that allows the state’s future gambling halls to not only offer free drinks to patrons, but also serve alcohol until 2 a.m. - an hour after Foxborough’s 1 a.m. cutoff, O’Leary said.

Liquor licenses for casinos will also be granted and policed by the state’s new Gaming Commission, he said, and not the town.

“It appears from my reading of the legislation that the town is going to have very little say in the operation of that liquor service,’’ nor would the stiffer regulations he and Brue are about to present have any effect, O’Leary said.

Paicos and O’Leary said the town will probably ask state lawmakers for local control of the liquor license if a casino materializes.

Hatfield, on the other hand, said that he can’t imagine any community would agree to hand over full control and that the state legislation may receive many “facelifts’’ between now and when a gambling operation is sited.

The Gambling Industry KNOWS where they're going before the ink dries!

Wasn't Twin River supposed to 'preserve' greyhound racing?

Guess what they got in bankruptcy court?

The host community overwhelmingly OPPOSED 24/7/365 Gambling and ALCOHOL.

Guess what the bankruptcy court gave them?

Casinos in Florida will create myriad problems

Casinos in Florida will create myriad problems

I’m a native Floridian, returning a year and a half ago after 15 years in Reno. While casino revenues do contribute to the tax base, the social problems that the gambling industry brings with it are hard to comprehend unless you’ve lived in that kind of community.

Casinos do create jobs --the question is, what kind of jobs? The 24/7 casino business requires large numbers of low-wage, uneducated workers.

Often they are immigrants who have tremendous social needs and have children who require enormous support in our schools, especially since they usually do not speak English.

Parents work odd hours, and due to low wages they often need to work more than one job just to make ends meet, leading to unsupervised kids and the related social problems that go with that.

These are just a few of the employee-related problems. I could go on and on and that is not even mentioning the problems with patrons in the casino itself, which requires large amounts of alcohol to fuel gambling activities. DUIs are only one of the problems associated with excessive alcohol consumption.

Resort business? In Reno and Las Vegas, there are very few hotels that are not attached to casinos. Why is this? Because they cannot compete with them!

I’d love to give the legislators a tour of Reno to see for themselves. If they like gambling, they should just take a vacation and enjoy it in Las Vegas or Reno -- not here!

Jody Baden
Anna Maria

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/01/20/3805590/casinos-in-florida-will-create.html#storylink=cpy

Atlantic City: Soaring Property Taxes, Poor School Performance

...For resident who hung on in Atlantic City despite the casinos' encroachment, property taxes increased 64 percent between 1989 and 1995.

Perhaps the most visible testimony to the limits of of what casinos can accomplish is Atlantic City High School. The building is am impressive, sprawling facility built for $80 million, most of which came from taxes levied on casinos. But in spite of all of the money poured into the high school, old problems persist. The high school's students are racially divided, dropout rates are high, and test scores have been so poor that the school is being specially monitored by the state.

Jobs in the new service industries require employees with particulate skills -- promptness, an ability to manage routines, and the courage and tenacity to subsist on low wages chief among them. For teenagers attending Atlantic City High School, any motivation to achieve may be stunted by their scanty job prospects. Although casinos employ 40,000 people in Atlantic City -- 2,000 more than the population of the town -- the town's unemployment rate is more than 15 percent, about two and a half times the average unemployment in the rest of New Jersey. The fact of the matter is that Atlantic City's residents have remained impoverished during the casinos' twenty-two-year trek through the town.

"Bad Bet, The Inside Story of the Glamour, Glitz and Danger of America's Gambling Industry," Timothy O'Brien, page 91