Tioga State Bank: 150 years of navigating a community bank

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How do you mark your 150th birthday? If you are Tioga State Bank (TSB), you celebrate for an entire year, starting with a ribbon-cutting, press conference, and gift of $20,000 to local food banks. The kick-off event took place Jan. 28 at the bank’s headquarters in Spencer. During 2014, TSB will promote a travelling display […]

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How do you mark your 150th birthday?

If you are Tioga State Bank (TSB), you celebrate for an entire year, starting with a ribbon-cutting, press conference, and gift of $20,000 to local food banks. The kick-off event took place Jan. 28 at the bank’s headquarters in Spencer.

During 2014, TSB will promote a travelling display about the bank, launch contests for adults and children, publish a cookbook with proceeds donated to the United Way, and participate in local parades.

Celebrating your sesquicentennial with five generations of the same family guiding a company is a rare event. “Tioga State Bank has survived The Civil War, two World Wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and numerous other events and milestones,” says TSB’s current president and CEO, Robert M. Fisher. “During these 150 years, there have been many changes in the social fabric of our communities … The one thing that hasn’t changed is our mission to provide community banking at its best.”

The headwinds facing TSB today may be different, but no less difficult than in the past. “There is increased competition from other banks. We all have money to lend, but not enough borrowers, resulting in more competitive deals … Interest rates continue at historically low numbers causing compression in our margin,” Fisher says. “These low rates have a negative impact not just on TSB but also on the entire community-banking industry, which relies heavily on net-interest income for the majority of its profits … Credit unions continue to pursue more authority for commercial lending, meaning that they compete for many of the same deals we are pursuing … Technology is changing rapidly, requiring a constant investment in hardware, software, and training … [And] the regulatory burden continues to grow at a rapid pace.”

“Onerous” regulations

Fisher’s comment about the regulatory burden is best described as understatement. In an interview with The Business Journal in December 2012, he expressed concern about the recently established Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), set up to protect the “little guy” from predatory financial firms.

Since then, the CFPB has moved quickly to open the floodgates of regulation. In January of this year, the regulators issued new rules clarifying when a borrower is considered able to repay a mortgage. The regulations run to hundreds of pages of opaque and complex rules, which leave lenders liable to repay all mortgage payments and precludes foreclosure on a property if regulators determine that the rules were not followed properly.

Two months ago, the CFPB reached a settlement with Ally Financial for $98 million, because the bank discriminated against minority customers. How did the regulators determine this since Ally collects no information on the race or ethnicity of its customers? The answer was to extract data published by the U.S. Census Bureau using surname “geocoding” to infer the race of Ally’s customers. Based on this, minorities paid interest rates 0.29 percentage points higher than those who were probably not minority customers.

Next on the drawing board are rules requiring financial firms to submit plans to the CFPB confirming that their staffs and suppliers are sufficiently diverse and new rules covering small businesses which, apparently, are now defined as “consumers.”

“Banking regs are onerous,” laments Fisher. “All banks are held to the same standard. I have two full-time employees who spend all their time complying with regulations and many other staff spending time on compliance. It’s very expensive.”

Despite these headwinds, TSB continues to be fiscally sound and profitable. “In its latest statement, TSB Services, Inc. [the holding company that owns the bank] posted assets of about $400 million and a net income of $4.4 million,” states Fisher. “We generated these numbers from 11 locations in Broome and Tioga Counties and 97 employees, who staff the bank and a subsidiary, Tioga State Investment Services (it offers a wide variety of financial planning options, life- disability- and long-term-care insurance plans, and brokerage services.) … We achieved these numbers even while mortgage refinancing revenue and transactions dropped significantly, only to be offset by increased commercial lending. Our revenues are now tilting toward the commercial side over the retail side, 55 to 45 percent.”

As for soundness, “Our tier-1 numbers have never been stronger,” asserts TSB’s president. “Historically, the bank has maintained an eight percent ratio; today, the number is 11 percent. (Tier-1 capital is the core yardstick of a bank’s financial strength as measured by its common stock, retained earnings, and some preferred stock.) On top of that, BauerFinancial has given us a 5-star rating for the past 22 consecutive years as recognition of our fiscally conservative policies.”

Fisher applauds his staff for the bank’s success, particularly the management team. In addition to Fisher as president, Anne E. McKenna is the CFO, George Bowen serves as chief lending officer, Lisa Welch is chief credit officer, Sharon Y. Yaple is a senior vice president responsible for retail banking and business development, and Christopher P. Powers is the senior vice president for human resources. Fisher also cites support from outside professional service providers: Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP for its legal work and the Syracuse office of The Bonadio Group for its accounting.

The future

TSB is well positioned for growth. “There is no plan to issue an IPO,” muses Fisher. “The bank has always had a long-term focus on our direction. We don’t want to be guided by quarterly results. [The holding company] … currently is closely held with the majority interest owned by the Fisher family. This allows us to control our destiny and be flexible in our decision-making. Historically, our growth has been organic, except for a merger in 1961 and the acquisition of a branch in Waverly in 1991 from Fleet/Norstar. Our branch expansion has been largely de novo, which runs contrary to the industry, but we think it’s a less expensive way to grow in the long-term.”

TSB’s strategy for growth is to constantly look for opportunities. “We made the move into Broome County 10 years ago. We studied the potential carefully and then committed the bank’s resources. If we grow geographically, I assume we are looking at contiguous areas, because we know the market best. Or we could buy a mortgage company if it were a good fit … Bottom line, however, is that we really understand banking best.”

Fisher says he runs a “boring” bank. A visit to any of the branches or TSB’s web site would suggest otherwise. Customers have access to all the technology and features of the “big banks” with online and mobile banking, online bill paying, ACH processing, telephone banking with 24-hour access, and talking ATMs. If you are looking for investments, life-, disability-, long-term-care or health-insurance, tax or estate planning, retirement planning, or business planning, Tioga State Investment Services offers a wide range of options. “In 2014, we’re adding ‘TSB Mobile Deposit Anywhere’ (e-mail checks for deposit), smart ATMs that handle both checks and cash, and ‘iChat,’ where you can talk to a real person in our service center when you are online with a problem,” adds Fisher.

Is there a sixth generation in the wings? Fisher’s son Josh is currently a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh. Daughter Kate is a freshman at Nazareth College. Both have already worked at the bank when not in school. Daughter Allison, who is 10, has yet to intern at TSB. Fisher says it’s too early to determine whether the family tradition will reach six generations.

The 46 year-old president of TSB resides with his wife, whom he met at the University of Notre Dame and married in 1991, in Owego.

Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com

Siena survey: real-estate market ‘positive’ but ‘pendulum is swinging’

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

New York state consumers’ view of the real-estate market remains “positive,” but the market itself may be changing somewhat. That’s according to Donald Levy, director of the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI), which released its latest survey report of consumer real-estate sentiment in the Empire State on Feb. 3. The New York real-estate market has

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New York state consumers’ view of the real-estate market remains “positive,” but the market itself may be changing somewhat.

That’s according to Donald Levy, director of the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI), which released its latest survey report of consumer real-estate sentiment in the Empire State on Feb. 3.

The New York real-estate market has moved more toward that zone that SRI has identified as “a thriving zone” where everybody wins and consumers feel as though values are increasing. That is where the state has been for the past four or five quarters, especially the last three.

“It’s interesting that perception of buying [in relation to] selling has changed as much as it has. It’s at the point now where across the entire state … they’re potentially perceived as equal..,” Levy says.

A deeper analysis, according to Levy, suggests that New York City is influencing those numbers.

The SRI data points to New York City having transitioned more towards a seller’s market already, compared to a buyers’ market, he says.

“I’m willing to conclude that the perception is we’re moving in that direction because the selling future numbers are so high across every region of the state, while the current and more so even the future prospects for buyers remain positive in both the suburbs and Upstate, they’re even tilting to the negative in New York City, hence the headline the pendulum is swinging,” Levy says.

Both housing inventory and interest rates will influence the market. Interest rates appear to remain low in the short term, he says.

Despite the data, it’s not yet a time to “worry,” Levy contends, noting the New York real-estate market remains on “very solid footing.”

The overall current real-estate sentiment score among New Yorkers in the fourth quarter of 2013 is 12.0, down 5.7 points from the third quarter, according to the SRI data.

The figure is also above the point where equal percentages of citizens feel optimistic and pessimistic about the housing market.

Looking forward, the overall future real-estate sentiment score is 19.2, down from 24.8 last quarter, SRI said.

The sentiment figure also indicates New Yorkers expect the overall real-estate market and the value of property to increase over the next year.

Consumers also see the present as an improved time to sell with a score above breakeven at 3.1, down 9.1 points from last quarter, according to SRI.

At the same time, they also see it as a good time to buy with a positive score of 6.8, which is down 5.7 points from the third quarter.

The overall current real-estate sentiment score among upstate New Yorkers in the third quarter is 15.3, down 4.1 points from last quarter. The overall future real-estate sentiment score is 14.1, down 2.8 points from the third quarter.

A sentiment score of zero (0) in any category reflects a breakeven point at which the survey measured equal levels of optimism and pessimism among the population relative to the overall market, or buying or selling real estate, according to SRI.

Scores can range from an absolute low of -100 to a high of 100, but scores below -50 or above +50 are both rare and extreme, SRI said.

SRI conducted the survey of consumer real-estate sentiment throughout October, November, and December by random telephone calls to 1,994 New York state residents age 18 or older. As the sentiment scores are developed through a series of calculations, “margin of error” does not apply, SRI says.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Renewal by Andersen expands Solvay Glass service territory to Southern Tier

Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Solvay Glass, LLC, which also serves as the local retailer for Renewal by Andersen, is now covering a larger area for those Andersen products in the southern part of New York. Solvay Glass, located at 735 Erie Blvd. West in Syracuse, sells and installs glass for windows and doors. Renewal by Andersen this

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SYRACUSE — Solvay Glass, LLC, which also serves as the local retailer for Renewal by Andersen, is now covering a larger area for those Andersen products in the southern part of New York.

Solvay Glass, located at 735 Erie Blvd. West in Syracuse, sells and installs glass for windows and doors. Renewal by Andersen this past summer informed the local company that it was expanding its service territory to include the Southern Tier all the way to the Pennsylvania border.

Renewal by Andersen is the custom, full service division of Andersen Windows, Inc., which is part of Bayport, Minn.–based Andersen Corp.

Solvay Glass got word at “the end of July of last year,” says Lisa Stratton, sales and marketing director. “We were elated. We celebrated,” she adds.

The firm’s coverage area now stretches to the Pennsylvania border and includes Binghamton, Endicott, Endwell, along with Tioga County, and Elmira.

For that same product line, the Solvay Glass territory extends north to Watertown, east to Utica–Rome, and west to Waterloo, according to Stratton.

Prior to last summer, the southern end of its service area for Renewal by Andersen only stretched as far as Cortland, Stratton says.

Renewal by Andersen based its decision to expand Solvay Glass’s coverage area on customer feedback, Stratton says.

Andersen forwards a survey to customers who purchase one of its products, a survey that Stratton describes as “everything.” The homeowners then complete the survey privately and send it back.

“We measured up in their eyes of what was important [which is, again,] protecting that brand promise,” Stratton says of Renewal by Andersen.

Solvay Glass has an overall customer satisfaction rating of 92 percent, “which is impressive in the remodeling/home improvement industry,” Stratton adds in an email.

Stratton describes Renewal by Andersen as the “custom, full service division of Andersen Window and Door,” meaning the product isn’t available a big-box store. A contractor cannot purchase the product at Solvay Glass, she says.

Renewal by Andersen partnered with Solvay Glass in May 2008 because it had a showroom for the product and had been in good standing with the Better Business Bureau for more than 25 years, Stratton says.

In addition, Renewal by Andersen requires a full-time service department and its certification of Solvay Glass’ installers and production manager, she adds.

“The reason for that is a faulty installation will void the warranty. Hence, the reason that Renewal by Andersen won’t let a contractor come in off the street and purchase the product,” Stratton says.

In its partnership with Renewal by Andersen, Solvay Glass is required to provide projections, including revenue, sometimes projected out as far as five years, Stratton says.

Solvay Glass also reports to Renewal on a “weekly basis,” including number of customers to whom the company has spoken, number of times it presented a price, and what the pricing structure looked like.

“So, they really do have a pulse on our company as far as how we’re pricing, what we’re pricing,” she says.

With the extended territory, Solvay Glass is considering possibly opening a location in the Southern Tier, but as of now, has “not pursued it,” says Stratton.

“That’s at least a year to a year-and-a-half down the road,” she says.

About the company

Founded in 1964, Solvay Glass operates in a 32,000-square-foot facility that includes 25,000 square feet of warehouse space and 7,000 square feet of showroom floor and office space, Stratton says.

The company owns its building on Erie Boulevard West, she adds.

Solvay Glass currently employs 35, which includes eight part-time employees, Stratton says. The figure also includes four new full-time employees who started with the firm this year to accommodate the expansion of its Renewal by Andersen territory.

Solvay Glass serves a customer base that is 95 percent residential and five percent commercial, Stratton says.

She describes Solvay Glass as a $5 million company and offered the same figure when asked about a revenue projection for 2014.

When asked if the expanded Renewal by Andersen territory might boost that annual-revenue figure, Stratton replied, “I would hope.”

Charles (Chuck) Cometti, son of company founder Henry (Hank) Cometti, is the sole owner of Solvay Glass.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Real-estate agency changes name, brings focus back to local business

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Regional News, Subscriber Only

NEW HARTFORD — After 25 years of affiliation with Prudential Real Estate, one local real-estate agency has dropped the affiliation and changed its name as it hones its focus on serving the local area. The former Prudential Joseph R. Carucci Real Estate agency is now known as Preferred Properties of the Mohawk Valley, Inc., says

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The former Prudential Joseph R. Carucci Real Estate agency is now known as Preferred Properties of the Mohawk Valley, Inc., says Edward Jekel, president and broker of record at the agency.

It made sense 25 years ago to affiliate with Prudential, he says, because it gave the agency additional resources such as the ability to market its listings nationally through Prudential. Recent changes, however, changed Jekel’s view of things.

First off, Prudential sold off its real-estate division about two-and-a-half years ago to a company called Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. Brookfield, in turn, was recently acquired by Berkshire Hathaway. The changes in ownership, Jekel says, made it a good time to review the franchise and see if it still made sense.

Factoring in other changes, such as how the Internet and technology have impacted the real estate industry, made Jekel wonder what a franchise with Berkshire Hathaway would do for his agency, his agents, and the area.

A few initial talks with Berkshire Hathaway about renewing the franchise ultimately cemented Jekel’s decision not to renew as the company urged him to consider consolidating with franchises in Syracuse, Albany or Buffalo to achieve some economies of scale.

“We’re a very small and unique area,” Jekel says of the Mohawk Valley. “Our market is different from Syracuse. Our market is different from Albany. Our market is different from Buffalo.”

Real estate is very local, he says, and he contended that the best way his agency could continue to serve the area was as a locally owned company without an outside franchise. Jekel opted not to renew his franchise, which ended on the last day of 2013.

On Jan. 1, Jekel debuted Preferred Properties of the Mohawk Valley and says he is already seeing benefits from being franchise free. “I have absolutely no regrets,” he says. “I think it’s the right way to go.”

Since the change, Jekel and his 14 agents have been working hard. “I think we changed 125 signs,” he says. They’ve also been working to change the website, banking information, letterhead, business cards, and more.

And through all that work, Jekel saw one of the first benefits of dropping the franchise. When the agency was affiliated with Prudential, all purchases went through Prudential-approved vendors. All of those vendors, Jekel notes, are located outside the region.

With his first purchases away from the franchise, Jekel opted to shop local for his new signs, business cards, and letterhead, spending more than $10,000 with Valley Signs in Clayville.

While the name has changed and the signs are new, one thing that remains the same is Jekel’s team of agents and all the experience and expertise they bring to the job. “We know the area,” Jekel says. That will be a benefit through an anticipated boom as development continues at the nanocenter at SUNY Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome. That development could bring as much as $17 billion and 10,000 new jobs to the area over the next decade, Jekel says, and that means lots of people new to the area and looking for a home.

And with a new business partnership with ListHub, a nationwide listing management platform, Preferred Properties of the Mohawk Valley can still have its listings showcased nationally.

“We’re going back to our roots,” Jekel says. “We want to be a driving force in the community.”

To help spread the word about the name change the agency mailed out letters to its clients and sent out postcards to residents in key areas. Jekel says the agency will host an open house sometime in the spring to coincide with the start of the busy season.

“We actually see a good year,” he predicts for 2014. “We see sales up.” While he doesn’t expect much commercial activity until later in the year, Jekel says he expects a “good and strong” residential market.

Headquartered at 600 French Rd., New Hartford, Preferred Properties of the Mohawk Valley (www.preferredpropertiesmv.com) was founded by Joseph R. Carucci, who passed away in 2010.

Contact The Business Journal at news@cnybj.com

How Are Businesses Treated in a Divorce

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

You may be considering getting married soon. You may be the owner of a family business that you want to keep in the family. You may be married but unhappy in your marriage and you may be wondering what might happen to your business if the marriage were to end in divorce. In today’s modern

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In today’s modern society where about half of all marriages end in divorce, these questions may be an important part of your business planning. You engage in tax planning, retirement planning, and succession planning, but divorce planning may also apply to your situation.

Thankfully, a divorce may not be a sure thing, and optimistically most marriages would last forever, but for better or for worse, some marriages do not. So what may become of the closely held or family business upon the end of a marriage?

In New York, the process of dividing assets and debts upon divorce is known as “equitable distribution.” The rules by which assets and debts are divided are provided through various state statutes and rules, as well as court precedent. The phrase “equitable distribution” is not particularly revealing as to what, in reality, may happen to a business upon divorce. The term “equitable” refers to New York’s approach of dividing up assets and debts according to what is fair rather than a mechanical approach, such as a pure 50/50 approach, which may be used in other states.

Very generally speaking, all assets and debts acquired during the marriage are considered “marital property” and are subject to being divided under New York’s “equitable distribution” laws. If a business was founded during a marriage using marital funds, it will likely be considered “marital property.” If the value of a business acquired before the marriage increases during the marriage, the increased value may be considered a marital asset.

For example, under New York’s equitable-distribution approach, in some circumstances it may be “fair” or “equitable” to equally divide various marital assets and debts. But in other situations “equity” or “fairness” may indicate that the business-owner spouse get more than half of the value of the business.

Ultimately, though, what you want to know is whether the business (or its value) will be divided, and how much money to which each spouse may be entitled. As you might expect, many cases settle without going to court. But ultimately, cases that do not settle go to before a New York State Supreme Court judge.

Whether a case is resolved through negotiations and settlement or through a trial before a judge, the outcome is typically based upon a variety of factors and on a step-by-step analysis.

Identify

Is there a business that is an asset? For example, where a spouse grows plants in a garden and sells them at a farmers’ market on a few weekends, there may not be a “business asset” that has value subject to being divided with the other spouse. In contrast, a farmer who grows and sells substantial amounts of produce to supermarkets clearly has a “business asset” that is subject to division. One way to look at this is whether the “business” could be sold to another as a going concern.

Classification

The next step is to classify whether the business is a marital asset subject to equitable distribution or whether the business is the “separate” property of the business-owner spouse.

For example, if a business was purchased during the marriage with funds the spouses earned during the marriage, then the business would be a “marital” asset subject to being divided. But what if the business was started and fully developed before the spouses were married? Then the value of the business that existed before the spouses were married would be considered “separate” property.

The process for differentiating between the pre-marital, “separate” portion and the marital portion may involve valuing the business as of the date the spouses got married, and on the date in which one of the spouses files for divorce. The difference between the two figures would be the “marital portion” of the business, whereas the value of the business as of the date the parties were married represents the pre-marital, “separate” portion. The pre-marital, “separate” portion of the asset would generally not be divided between the spouses, whereas the “marital” segment would likely be divided between the spouses.

Valuation

Equitable distribution requires that the value of the business be determined so that the spouses know what there actually is to be divided. In many ways, the process of valuing a business for a divorce is not much different than valuing the business for other purposes. The intention is to determine the fair market value of the marital portion of the business subject to equitable distribution. Often, this involves retaining an expert, an accountant with expertise in valuing businesses.

Sometimes, both parties agree on using one expert accountant, but both parties have the right to retain their own expert, which happens when the spouses cannot agree on one expert, or when one spouse disagrees with the valuation of one expert.

The expert, or experts, will use typical accounting methods to determine the value of a business, such as the “income approach,” the “market approach,” and/or the “asset approach.” Different methods may apply to different types of businesses. In valuing a business, the expert accountant might need other experts to value various components or business assets such as inventory, real estate, equipment, or machinery. At the very least, the valuation expert will need to review all of the business’s financial documentation to determine the value of the business.

Distribution

This term refers specifically to the process of determining what portion or percentage of the value of the business to which each spouse may be entitled. That explanation certainly oversimplifies how each spouse’s respective portions may be determined. New York’s equitable-distribution law sets forth about 14 specific factors for courts to consider in determining each spouse’s share upon divorce. Some of the factors include, for example:

§ How long the spouses were married, and their ages and health

§ The income, assets, and debts that each party had when they were first married

§ Whether a spouse may lose pension rights or inheritance rights from the other spouse

§ Whether one spouse may have to pay maintenance (“alimony”) to the other,

§ The direct or indirect contributions of the “non-business owner” spouse to the business and to the family

§ The probable future financial circumstances of each party

Substantial court precedent fleshes out how these and other factors are applied in various circumstances. These factors are then applied in guiding negotiations and may ultimately be applied by a judge if a case goes to trial.

We hope this article provides you with some information that you find helpful, but please understand that is only a cursory introduction to the complicated issue of dealing with a business in a divorce.

David Tamber and Richard Alderman are attorneys with Alderman and Alderman in Syracuse. Contact them at (315) 422-8131 or email: dtamber@aldermanandalderman.com

The Governor Stands up for Upstate in de Blasio skirmish

Opinion, Subscriber Only

The new mayor of the Big Apple, Bill de Blasio, and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo are duking it out. The mayor wants to slap his city’s millionaires with extra taxes — to fund the pre-K program the teachers’ unions want. (Note: pre-K is not for the kiddies. It is for more jobs for dues-paying

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The governor says no way. He is not so crazy about whacking NYC millionaires with even more taxes — because these ever-higher taxes drive the millionaires away. “Away” is a place from which this state collects zero taxes from them. The state has already lost millions per day in taxes the rich used to pay. Before they moved to “Away.”

Cuomo also says that when we do tax NYC millionaires more, we should spread the money around the state. He says it’s a bad idea for the Big Apple to keep the new revenue for itself. In this case, for its own teachers. (Yeah, yeah. It is all supposed to be about the kids.)

In the middle of these fisticuffs, the governor reminded the mayor that he, the gov., represents more than the kids in the Big Apple. He also represents kids in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, etc. Dear reader, if you don’t live in one of those cities, consider yourself part of the etceteras.

Bottom line is as follows. The teachers’ unions have bought the mayor’s support for pre-K. They have bought the governor’s support for pre-K. The mayor says let’s pay for these new union jobs by whacking the rich more. The gov. says let’s go slow on whacking the rich. Especially in this election year. Besides, if you loot the NYC rich, Upstaters deserve some of that loot.

This makes the governor look good to Upstaters. He is a modern-day Robbing Hood. After all, he is trying to spread loot among us.

He also makes us feel good. By showing us he even knows we exist. You need proof? He actually spoke the words “Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse.” Rumor is that he is in training to speak the words “Utica, Jamestown, and Geneva” later this year. Next year: Norwich, Watertown, and that really difficult one — Oswego.

This is a big deal. My guess is that if you asked the new mayor to name 10 upstate cities, he could not. Try asking NYC guys in the state Assembly to name them. They would begin with Passaic and Hoboken.

I give the governor full credit — for standing up for Upstaters in this skirmish. However, he would be the first to admit he can afford to do this. Just look at this through political lenses.

The governor could fill the streets of the Big Apple with cow manure and not lose a vote. The upper East Side has some Republicans, but it is like a gated community. The rest of the city will vote Democrat no matter what the governor says or does.

So what does he have to lose by standing up for Upstate? What does he have to lose by embarrassing the Big Apple’s new mayor? Absolutely nothing.’ That’s what he stands to lose.

So, Cuomo is in a sweet situation. He knows nobody will beat him in this year’s New York gubernatorial election. The Republicans might as well run my dog in the election. Meanwhile, by making nice to Upstaters, he can pick up extra votes. Unless my dog is more popular than I think, the gov. may win by a landslide. Which will give him more clout in the party.

Maybe the extra clout will help him win the Democratic Party’s nomination for the presidency. You never know. Hillary could have a heart attack en route to the coronation. You know, when she is shocked by totally unexpected bombshell news — such as Bill has stopped chasing skirts. That might do it. And that would leave an opening for our governor.

I can see it now. Cuomo addressing the Democratic National Convention. “And when the loot came in — in my beloved state — what did I do? Unlike some leaders, I spread that loot to the kids in Buffalo. And the kids in Syracuse. And the kids in … Os … Otswa … Ostral … to the kids in Etcetera!”

Here’s to you, governor. A toast from Etceteraville. With wine from the Finger Lakes.

From Tom…as in Morgan.

Tom Morgan writes about political, financial, and other subjects from his home near Oneonta, in addition to his radio shows and new TV show. For more information about him, visit his website at www.tomasinmorgan.com

Regents’ Decision to Modify Common Core Overdue But Not Enough

Opinion, Subscriber Only

The New York State Board of Regents approved changes to Common Core recently, including delaying full implementation of the graduation requirements by five years — from 2017 to 2022. This means that instead of ninth graders being the first class to graduate with a Regents degree aligned with Common Core standards, it will now be

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The Board of Regents’ decision to delay full implementation of the graduation requirements was welcome news, but still doesn’t go far enough. Few take issue with the idea that we should raise learning standards in our schools, and the idea of the Common Core is to do just that. Indeed, 46 states including New York, adopted these standards. The problem in New York and elsewhere has been with the implementation of this curriculum.

Last year, my colleagues and I held 11 statewide public forums on Common Core. At these hearings, parents, teachers, students, and administrators expressed their concerns with, among other things: (a) the “one size fits all” aspect of the common core; (b) the lack of resources to help implement these new standards; (c) faulty and incomplete teaching modules; (d) over-reliance on high-stakes testing; and (e) the general unfairness of evaluating teachers on students’ success with a curriculum that has been rolled out quickly and contains numerous flaws.

The Board of Regents stopped short of removing the evaluation’s close tie-in with student performance. It stated it wanted the public to have more input and will comment on this aspect in April. Governor Cuomo criticized the Board of Regents for altering the course of Common Core and its tie-in with teacher evaluations. He believes they should be directly related. More will be decided on this in April.

I believe that there are positives to the Common Core standards, including teaching our children to think critically. However, we need to delay, for a time, evaluating teachers and students on their performance under the Common Core. Along with a number of my colleagues in the Assembly, I am sponsoring legislation that would create an independent commission to thoroughly review Common Core. This commission will examine how the Common Core is operating, how it is being funded, and provide recommendations on how to improve Common Core. Once these improvements are made, we can then start evaluating students and teachers on their performances under Common Core.

In the meantime, here are other changes to our education system that I support:

§ Eliminate the gap-elimination adjustment. Districts are being handed a big mandate with Common Core, on top of countless others they already have. We should fully restore funding for education that was removed in 2010 and that disproportionately hurt low-wealth school districts.

§ Restrict use of student data. While I’m pleased the Board of Regents has put this on hold for a year, I question whether the extent of information being shared with third-party vendors like InBloom is necessary at all.

§ Reinstate the full value of individual educational plan (IEP) by allowing disabled students to be assessed based on their instructional level and not their age. In order to reinstate this policy, a waiver from the federal Department of Education is needed. I’m pleased that the Board of Regents requested this waiver recently.

§ Provide enough funding and time for professional development. Teachers are expected to know and teach all new material with Common Core and it should come with more training.

§ Create alternate pathways to a high-school diploma including a career and technical education pathway by increasing state funds for BOCES.

A full report was published following the public forums our conference held in the fall. You can see this report at http://www.scribd.com/doc/201479293/At-the-Educational-Crossroads.

William (Will) A. Barclay is the Republican representative of the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact him at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us, or (315) 598-5185.

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