Great news that’s being reported throughout the Rochester/Monroe County blogosphere: the F.A.I.R plan was rejected by the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court, and Maggie’s a-poutin’:

For more on the story, RochesterTurning picks it up, as does Monroe Rising.

After all the craziness happened yesterday afternoon, it seems like a good idea to pull the pieces of the Spitzer Strumpet Scandal and add my own thoughts. Things moved fast through the blog community and elsewhere, and there’s a lot of ground to cover. I’m sure I’ll miss some stuff, so don’t be afraid to hit me with corrections in the comments. But be warned: this is a very long roundup!

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As stlo7 at RochesterTurning reports, there are new hearings on the matter of Maggie Brooks’ F.A.I.R. plan and whether she and her County Legislature Republican cronies have violated a couple different laws in passing said piece of tripe.  You might remember that, in December, a Judge Ken Fisher ruled in favour of the County.  On the 28th of this month, the schools and NYSUT are beginning hearings in anticipation of appealing that ruling.

And there’s good news for those fighting the good fight for education funding: it seems that the Campaign for Fiscal Equity appears ready to put it’s weight behind efforts to shut down the F.A.I.R. plan.  This is the same organization that sued New York City and the state for proper funding of students in that city.  That agency is already testifying on behalf of Monroe County schools, as you can see in this document (PDF).

There is more to come, as I check out sources I’ve spoken to and get some confirmation of other developments.

Now that county tax payers are getting their statements and realizing that, in most cases, there was absolutely no benefit in county tax dollars for having had the F.A.I.R. plan forced on them, budget crunches at the schools affected are starting to hit home with an even worse new reality of budget cuts:

Tough Choices for School Districts - 13WHAM.com

Wendy Lane said, “You want to cut some of the special-ed services, and then you want to cut some of the higher-education services. Well, what are you saying? You want these students to just be middle-of-the-road type of students?”

And that’s the rub of school tax cuts: no matter what you cut, you are basically denying students a certain segment of their education. High-performers who would be better-educated in honors classes - and possibly fail out of boredom in general-ed classes - might have to face losing their honors classes. Kids who need a leg up just to pass might face losing out on their best teachers. And of course, the music programs always take a hit when budget cuts happen.

And remember: either tax increases or budget cuts are the only options, here. Unlike the Monroe County budget, school budgets are by law restricted from running deficits of any kind for any reason.  So not only do tax payers get no budget savings from the F.A.I.R. plan, but in fact they may be looking at significant tax increases in the near future.

It didn’t have to be like this. It could at least have had the support of the public. But no, that’s not how Maggie Millions rolls, baby. She’s the decider.

Oops. Remember all those savings that the F.A.I.R. plan was supposed to have made for county taxpayers? Well, maybe not so much:

How Much Savings with F.A.I.R. Plan? - 13WHAM.com

“The next line says last year I paid $530, this year I pay $626. Next line, I paid $432, that’s public safety; this year I pay $711. The bottom line, I paid a total of $1,943, this year I pay $1,920,” he said. That’s $23 in savings.

Now, keep in mind that the schools will be needing to recoup the loss of revenue from the F.A.I.R. plan. Folks take pride in their schools and expect them to perform well, so of course, they’ll pay the extra taxes to see that loss recovered. And of course, we’re still betting that sales taxes under perform state tax revenues in order for this to have been a good plan.

Bravo, Maggie. Bravo County Republicans.

Come ‘n get ‘em, folks! They’re almost gone! Everything must go at Crazy Maggie’s Once-A-Year Monroe County Fire Sale!! She’s INSANE!!!!

The Democrat and Chronicle’s editorial board has decided to take up the issue of the latest round of one-off sales that the County Republicans insist will balance the budget. They council caution when choosing prospective buyers, even as one bidder offers 23 million dollars to the County for the Mill Seat Landfill electricity production. At the risk of asking the impossible, I can’t help noticing the disparity here:

No more one-shots || Democrat & Chronicle: Editorials

In efforts to close out the year on a positive fiscal note, Monroe County is exploring one-time revenue options that demand careful examination. The last thing the county needs is to make a decision that it will regret later. After all, while the county could bridge its budget gap of more than $20 million by exercising the options it outlined more than a year ago, there looms the prospect of losing lucrative long-term financial benefits. . . . Here’s where the county must do due diligence. . .

No, no. Let me get this one! The reason they must do due dilligence is because they chose not to when they ganked your kid’s lunch money. I know I should expect no better, but let me ask anyway: why does the D&C insist on ignoring the fact that the F.A.I.R. plan promised to balance the budget, and now we still find ourselves in debt?  Can no one at the D&C do us at least the small favour of asking County Republican why there is this seeming contradiction?

I mean, you could at least ask a softball question and let them give a half-assed answer.  I’d personally appreciate at least the appearance of adequate reporting.

I’d thought that when Maggie Brooks told us the F.A.I.R. plan balanced the budget (you know, the “R” in FAIR) that meant that the budget was balanced?

Monroe County looking to short-term fix for $24 million budget gap || Democrat & Chronicle: Local News

Monroe County will likely give up future revenue to balance this year’s budget.County budget officials are looking to the one-time revenue to bridge a budget gap of more than $20 million.

All of that genius fiscal planning Saggy Maggie did was predicated on the notion that New York State was planning on increasing funding to schools. Well, now there’s rumblings in Washington that this may not happen at all:

State budget ills put planned school aid hike at risk || Democrat & Chronicle: Local News

Spitzer and the Legislature earlier this year agreed to raise aid to local school districts by $1.1 billion this year, and $7.6 billion between last year and 2010.The second installment is due in the new fiscal year that begins April 1. But at a budget conference Tuesday, Francis and budget experts from the Senate, Assembly and state comptroller’s office agreed that state finances in the immediate future are shaky because of the recent Wall Street nosedive, the mortgage-lending crisis and the skyrocketing price of oil.

“When Wall Street gets a cold, New York state gets pneumonia,” said Francis, who pointed out that the state depends on the financial-services industry for about 20 percent of its tax revenue.

Have you signed the petition to end this debacle, yet? Can your kids afford you not to?