Open Meeting Law --- Part III

Not to beat a dead horse but ...

The Sandwich Enterprise reported today that School Counsel claimed that the recent School Committee email incident was not an illegal deliberation because no other committee member is known to have responded to it.

However, according to the Attorney General's Guide to Open Meeting Law, (page 2)  "deliberation" is defined as:

 “an oral or written communication through any medium, including electronic mail, between or among a quorum of a public body on any public business within its jurisdiction.” Distributing a meeting agenda, scheduling or procedural information, or reports or documents that may be discussed at the meeting will not constitute deliberation, so long as the material does not express the opinion of a member of the public body. E-mail exchanges between or among a quorum of members of a public body discussing matters within the body’s jurisdiction may constitute deliberation, even where the sender of the email does not ask for a response from the recipients."

The fact that an opinion was expressed and circulated to a quorum of the membership outside of a public meeting is the issue -- not if another member responded to it.

Where's the Audit? (Community School Part II )

 

On January 6, the School Committee voted to hire an accounting firm to audit the books of the Sandwich Community School. On April 28, the auditor met with the Committee in public session for a very brief discussion of some of their findings and promised a draft report for the Committee's review "in a couple of weeks".


And then?   Nothing.

The report has not been completed, and there is no public indication that the Committee has even made an effort to pursue its completion.  Could that be because two members of the old Executive Counsel are now on the School Committee?

Just to recap, these were some of the issues being examined:

1)    The Executive Council had been submitting warrants for payment without School Committee approval (despite previous warnings from the Town's auditor that the practice was illegal).

2)    The Executive Council had been approving multi-year leases obligating the Town to future payments without the review or approval of the School Committee

The Community School -- Part III ( Now What ?)

I am certainly not questioning the value of the Community School. I would, however, like to see some assurances that program revenues are sufficient to cover the related costs. Given the serious budget issues the entire Town faces, it would be grossly unfair to expect dollars from the K-12 education budget be diverted to teach water aerobics, or Ukranian Clog Dancing.

Specific items:

1) Complete the 2009 Audit report ASAP and publicly discuss and implement management suggestions, as appropriate.

2) Implement a cost study to properly allocate costs between the School District & the Community School and then between the various programs offered by the CS (This could be done with internal staff). Again -- the objective is to match related income and expense items.

3) Begin following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to allow more accurate/relevant internal reporting.

4) Establish internal procedures that ensure no program will be offered UNLESS its projected revenue covers both the direct costs of providing the course and an appropriate share of the general overhead costs of operating the Community School.

5) Undertake a cost study of the existing Community School office with the intent of potentially reducing costs by increasing consolidation with the School District's Business Office.

Again ... I'm not suggesting that the Community School be closed. I am suggesting that it be carefully reviewed and that all involved reach an understanding that while the purpose of the Community School is to provide life long learning opportunities -- those opportunities must be paid for by those involved -- not the K-12 students and their parents.

This Shouldn't be News !!

I highlighted a few of the interesting phrases below. This isn't news to anyone who has ever actually READ the Open Meeting Law. It certainly shouldn't be news to members of the School Committee (or their counsel) who have been warned of this exact issue several times.

Basic facts: South Hadley School Committee may have committed a technical OML violation BUT Judge says its "doubtful" that it would effect the contract because the suit was not filed within the required 21 days.

No suit has EVER been filed in the Sandwich Superintendent's case to void the contract aproved by the prior School Committee.

Alert Town Counsel, bump up the litigation reserve -- I'm betting on another lawsuit!

From the Daily Hampshire Gazette:

South Hadley school panel action has day in court

By JAMES F. LOWE

Staff Writer

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

NORTHAMPTON - A judge said Tuesday the South Hadley School Committee may have committed a technical violation of the state's Open Meeting Law when it voted to extend Superintendent Gus Sayer's contract.

But Judge C. Brian McDonald said it was doubtful the possible violation would have any effect on the contract itself.

McDonald heard arguments in Hampshire Superior Court from Luke Gelinas, a South Hadley resident who sued the School Committee last month over the alleged Open Meeting Law violations, and town attorney Edward Ryan Jr.

The judge will make a final ruling at a later date.

Community School Q&A (Kissing The Third Rail - Pt I)

If discussing the Community Pool is similar to swimming with Alligators, dealing with the Community School itself is not unlike kissing the third rail. (for those NOT from Dorchester – google “MBTA and electrocution”)

I need to stress that the Community School is a great concept – it encourages full utilization of some of the Town’s biggest assets (its school buildings) which would otherwise sit empty after 4 PM most days. It also provides lifelong learning opportunities for residents of Sandwich and surrounding towns to take courses in whatever subject may interest them. It is a terrific program and I have yet to meet anybody who did not want to see it succeed and prosper well into the future.

NOBODY wants to shut down the Community School!

One More time -- NOBODY wants to shut down the Community School!

This program has the potential for being a very cost-effective method of providing the service – the facilities are already there – the only issue should be how much EXTRA does it cost the School District to allow the public to use the building for the additional time?

Specifically:

Open Meeting Law Information

New Open Meeting Law Information

Open Meeting Law Violation

I sent this email to the members of the School Committee tonight.

To the Sandwich School Committee:

I received a copy of the below email (which is clearly labelled as a Public Document - as is most School Committee correspondence) which appears to have been forwarded by Committee member Marie Kangas to all members of the School Committee.

This email would appear to be a deliberation which would be in clear violation of Massachusetts General Law Chapter 39: Section 23B regarding the open meetings of governmental bodies.

According to the Attorney General's Open Meeting Law Guide, a deliberation is defined "an oral or written communication through any medium, including electronic mail, between or among a quorum of a public body on any public business within its jurisdiction." Distributing a meeting agenda, scheduling or procedural information, or reports or documents that may be discussed at the meeting will not constitute deliberation, so long as the material does not express the opinion of a member of the public body. E-mail exchanges between or among a quorum of members of a public body discussing matters within the body’s jurisdiction may constitute deliberation, even where the sender of the email does not ask for a response from the recipients."

As this is a formal complaint, I would respectfully request that the Committee address this Open Meeting Law violation in Public Session , as now required by law.

You Don't Get Two Bites at a Non-Existent Apple

err

This week the Selectmen voted to put a debt exclusion over-ride on the Fall ballot in order to fund the repair of seriously deteriorated town buildings as suggested by the Capital Planning Improvement Committee (See the CPIC report .)

I'm not disputing the fact that the Town buildings are in miserable shape.  But, we need to be talking about improving efficiencies -- not shining up the same old sneaker.  We just spent $3 million renovating a town hall that will have less usable office space than the old one -- and a meeting room that we don't need (anybody notice the big school buildings which are already heated and lit with lots of parking and many toilets?).

I understand its a historical building, and it was funded with Community Preservation dollars -- but, all esoterica aside,  the reality is that we still spent 3 million tax dollars without improving the efficiency of anything.  The fire and police stations are still falling into the marsh.  People still have to visit at least three buildings to do business with various "town hall" offices. 

The other problem is a more pragmatic one.  We know that unless there is an operational override next Spring, there will be a drastic reduction in Town/School services.  Personnally, I believe the odds of an override passing are similar to the liklihood of me receiving flowers from the Mass Teachers Associaton.  The current economic conditions are certainly not conducive to asking anybody for more money for anything.(Simmons Kids -- are you listening?)

But, if the capital override should pass in the Fall, is there anybody who thinks there is any possibility of ANOTHER override passing in the Spring ?  (Especially if the override does not provide any new/improved services!)

I have no words of wisdom on his situation (at least not yet!).  But, I hope both the BOS and the SC start making a very concerted effort to outline EXACTLY what services will be lost if no override is approved.  The only way to get anyone's attention is to show EXACTLY how they will be affected by the service cuts.

It's going to get uglier.

Seen while trolling the web ...

The Barnstable Patriot is reporting that former Sandwich School Assistant Superintendent Maxine Minkoff recently sold her Yarmouth home for $1,082,000 (see here).  This was $500 less than she paid for it in September of 2009 (see here).  (Although I am sure there was at least a little something in the deal for some lucky realtor!)

State Aid Reductions

If you haven't already seen it, Randy Hunt provides a good explanation of what a decrease of "only 1.3%" in state aid means to Sandwich and our neighbors down here on the sandbar.  The reality is our aid will drop by approximately 5%  or $360,000 less than the prior year.

Click here for State's Cherry Sheets

Click here for Randy's blog

The Community Pool (aka My Swim with the Alligators)

I am not a big fan of crowds or chlorine, but I do enjoy water. I’ve been know to splash around in a pool – although never in any strenuous, or organized fashion. I would much prefer to hang on the side, sip an adult beverage and contemplate humanity as we know it – and, of course, soak up a few rays.

This laid back outlook is a far cry from the position exhibited by the very vocal supporters of the Sandwich Community School Pool.

This conflict raised its ugly head when a review of the Community School financial statements showed that several operating expenses of the pool were actually being paid by the high school or other Community School programs -- hardly the end of the Earth, but not great business either. The responses I received from most “Pool People” were either (a) No, they’re not or (b) So, what if they are?

The problem was that nobody seemed to know exactly WHAT it cost to operate the pool. This is an important distinction because the revenue generated by the pool needs to be matched against the cost of operating the pool. The simple concept that I tried to sell was: “If the pool costs more than it collects, it is losing money”.

If the pool is losing money, it means somebody else is paying the bills – either the patrons of other Community School programs or, the taxpayers who are paying to operate the high school building. While this idea didn’t bother the Pool People – it did bother many taxpayers and many other Community School customers who were already paying their own bills, and didn’t feel like chipping in to subsidize the cost of somebody else’s dip in the pool.

I have no problem with the idea of a municipal pool operated in the same way as any other municipal service and paid for with a combination of user fees and tax dollars. BUT, I do have a problem when scarce educational dollars from a shrinking education budget are being diverted to the operation of a public swimming pool. I also have a problem when other program costs are inflated in order to help cover the cost of operating a swimming pool. If Town meeting voters or pool users are able to fund the pool – terrific! Just don’t fire a teacher, or eliminate a school program in order to fund it.

The realities are that the utility costs of the pool are estimated at around $45,000 per year and are paid for by the high school (three studies were done – two pegged the cost at approx $45K, the third said $120k – I will assume the $45K is a good number). There are also some additional janitorial and maintenance costs.

There is also certainly a security cost. Under the current scenario, pool patrons who walk in off the street share locker rooms with high school students during the day. Does anybody else see the irony in doing CORI checks on parents chaperoning field trips but allowing unidentified strangers to wander naked with the high school kids?

Am I missing Something ?

For years, everyone has discussed the precarious position municipal finances are in across the State.  Almost 18 months ago, the School Committee discussed a five year projection showing the rapid approach of Financial Armageddon.

What has happened lately?

The Board of Selectmen have updated their long range plan into a more useful and realistic document and have scheduled a series of very public meetings to discuss Town Finances, capital expenditures, and potential override scenarios.

The municipal managers and unions took a 0% wage increase for two years in a row,

The Superintendent also took a wage freeze, as did her principals and several of the smaller school unions.  She also eliminated the Assistant Superintendent's position, made some strategic budget cuts, reduced some staff and balanced the budget for FY '11.  She managed to save most course offerings, and even increased the athletics budget by funding previously unfunded sports teams (wrestling, sailing, girl's hockey & cross country). Most importantly, she implemented several new programs designed to meet state standards and improve the quality of the education provided -- as well as reduce the long-term cost of Special Education services provided.  She also managed to increase revenue by implementing the School Choice program which allows the Town to generate revenue by allowing out of district students to sttend for a fee. 

The Teachers' Union complained about the Superintendent.

The School Committee decided not to renew the Superintendent's contract.  And then they took a month off.

When the SC's agenda for the July 21 meeting came out, I was expecting to see some sort of discussion of school financial projections, or some discussion of how they plan to replace the Superintendent.  But, what did I see?  In the now-famous words of one of the newest members of the SC (in response to the question "what experience do you have managing a $30 million budget?") ---   I gut nuthin!.

Except .... they will be taking another month off until their NEXT public meeting in late August.

The Train is leaving the tracks ...

It’s hard to sit quietly on a hillside, and watch a train go over the cliff at full speed.

That’s what it feels like lately.

I’m under no illusions that I can stop the train. I doubt I can even warn the folks on the train, but I would like to think I can warn the folks waiting for the next train — and maybe even encourage a new train crew to take over.

It has become painfully obvious that few people pay attention to local government until it is too late. It has become equally obvious that anyone who relies on the Cape Cod Times or the Sandwich Enterprise for “fair and balanced” coverage of the Town of Sandwich — particularly the School Department — will be receiving a healthy dose of distortion along with their “news”. But, even worse than relying on local media, far too many people rely on the rumor and hearsay they pick up at the local soccer fields, or in the school parking lot, or at the deli counter at Stop and Shop.

The purpose of this site will be to try to provide some accurate information and access to copies of original documents and reports that support the information — along with a healthy dose of satire and sarcasm (you just can’t take this stuff too seriously!)

This will not be another site for folks to anonymously post misinformation, rumors, and distortions.While the concept of posting anonymously is to allow people who may know facts to post without fear of retribution, the reality is that it encourages the spread of misinformation, rumor, and incorrect assumptions.

Although that can be entertaining -- it's not helpful.

Please address any questions or comments to: comments@NotThePTA.org.

Hang on, it's going to be a bumpy ride!

Once upon a Time .... (The unofficial history of Sandwich - Part I)

Once upon a time, there was a small seaside town with a reputation for very low property taxes because they were willing to host a Big Dirty Power Plant right in the middle of what could have been a lovely waterfront vista.  The residents were so happy with their low taxes that they were willing to avert their eyes away from the Big Dirty Power Plant and even  seemed to go out of their way to discourage any other businesses from coming into Town.

Then a Bad Thing happened.  New people discovered the beautiful town on the water with the low taxes and began to move in.

Then a Worse Thing happened -- they brought (shudder...) children.  And they continued to come and they continued to bring more children.  And then the Town just wasn't that small anymore. 

Then the town had to build a new High School, and then build two new elementary schools, and then add additions to the elementary schools, and then add an addition on the high school.  Then it added new policemen and firemen to protect the New People.  Then it bought more trucks to plow the new roads and a new dump to hold the new trash.

Then the taxes weren't so low anymore.

As the Big Dirty Power Plant got older, it began to pay less of the Town's taxes.   New Businesses were needed to help contribute to the costs of the New People -- but, it was too late.  The New Businesses had already been scared away.

But, the New People were still here demanding education for their kids, and police and fire protection, and someplace to dump their trash.  So the taxes started going up.  And the tension between the New People and the Old People began to grow.

The Town then began to buy land to prevent any more New People from moving into the Town with New Children.  But, then a funny thing happened.  People began moving to other towns with lower taxes where they didn't need to fight for funding for the schools, or for police and fire protection (and where their trash got picked up every week!).

There began to be room in the schools again.  But, now the Big Dirty Power Plant was in danger of closing and paying even less in taxes.  And, the land that had been purchased by the Town to prevent New People from bringing New Students into town was no longer paying taxes. 

And then a Worse Thing happened (again).  The economy began to unravel.  Many people began to lose their jobs and some were forced to give up their homes and move away.  Many people were unable to pay increasing taxes so services began to be eliminated.

At this point, it would be great to be able to say "and then a Good Thing happened." 

The reality is we are facing declining revenues and rising costs.  There can be no free rides.  The Community should, of course, continue to provide a quality education to its students -- "growing" the leaders of tomorrow is one of the most important things a Community does.  The Community will also continue to provide Police and Fire protection as needed.

But, people should not expect their entertainment to be funded by their neighbors.  If you want to swim in the school-funded pool, or  your organization wants to use a town-owned facility, or the dump, or the beach, somebody needs to pay for it.  If your kid wants to play soccer (or football, basketball, or hockey), somebody needs to pay for that too.

The cost of education and public safety are basic functions of government that are the responsibility of all citizens.  But, given the current state of the economy, can we say the same thing about swimming, soccer, hockey or football?

Unfortunately, there needs to be a lot of ugly discussions before this will get resolved.

"Citizen Journalists" or Pissed-off Readers?

Interesting column on "Citizen Journalists" in the Cape Cod Times last week by their ombudsman.  The  inference was that folks shouldn't rely on "non professional" journalists for their news (or at least take the info with a grain of salt!)

Maybe if the "professional" journalists did a better job of presenting a complete and unbiased story, fewer "amateurs" would feel the need to impinge on the news reporting racket.

Granted, a lot of the anonymous reader commentary showing up in blogs and reader forums could be considered vindictive garbage at best.  But, then again there's an awful lot of "professional" reporting going on in the local press that could be described in the same way.

Ironically, that column was published just after I again heard the story about a local union leader that has been bragging about planting a series of negative stories in the local press in order to generate support for her cause by destroying support for her employer.  Of course, the "professional" journalists swear that never happened.

Sure.

It's Not About Teachers .. It's About the Union ...

Sandwich Public Schools are lucky to have so many highly motivated, enthusiastic and well-educated teachers who work hard to make every lesson interesting and help students to learn in the most effective manner possible. My kids have had many of these great teachers.

But if anybody has a question about what is wrong with public education, they need to tune into a rerun of a recent school committee meeting.

The president of the local teachers union spoke at great length of her members being "stressed" by efforts to update curriculum and teaching methods. She said teachers couldn't possibly be expected to attend training after school because they were "exhausted" by 4 p.m.

She seemed unaware that the vast majority of taxpayers — including the parents of her students — work long after 4 p.m., for 12 months a year, without the benefit of daily "prep periods," in-service half-days or school vacations. These same people also probably lack the peace of mind associated with annual pay increases, tenure, pensions and, maybe, health insurance.

In addition to fighting against professional development, this same union official had previously fought vigorously against implementing standardized teacher evaluations — despite the fact that the state had criticized the district for inadequate curriculum guidelines and ineffective evaluation standards.

She had also previously fought to protect the employment of two members who were alleged to be under the influence of alcohol during the school day.

So much for "doing it for the children."