Did anybody count the number of times Linnehands said "pure" last night?
Ivory Soap's claim to fame was always that it was 99.44% pure. I think there a couple of School Committee members who could best be described as 100% clueless.
Last night's meeting was like a collection of ugly little train wrecks.
The meeting was probably best summed up by Steve "Drain The Dam" Susko at the second Public Forum when he quoted the Great Prophet Li'l Abner when he said, "There's a time for Thinkin' and a time for Doin'!"
Obviously last night wasn't one of those Thinkin' times!
Where to start?
1) The Pool -- We were treated to the usual seemingly endless line of seniors demanding their pool access be restored. As usual, many of them weren't even from Sandwich (ie. They didn't pay to build the Pool, and they don't pay to maintain it). I believe the point was made -- particularly since many of them had been up before and said the same damn thing. Can all sides stipulate that, yes, the seniors want/need to use the pool and yes, they are being inconvenienced. Can we also stipulate that the the School needs to control access to its facilities and that, with all due respect, there is an obligation to safeguard students from strangers -- no matter how old they are, how bad their knees hurt, or what was said in 1972.
The Gang of Four did what they do best, made noise, flapped their hands, and accomplished nothing. they did however give the appearance of making a compromise. I suspect that we won't hear about the Insurance Company, Health Department, or Building Department concerns until AFTER next week's election. That should preserve some reelection votes !
I would be surprised to see the Health Department signing off on 30 people sharing a toilet, or deadbolting doors -- but that's OK.. we can pretend until after the election.
There was talk of hiring monitors, but little mention of the fact that the Pool lost $130,000 in 2009 (2010's loss is unknown) -- even before the hours were cut. There was also little mention of the fact that the pool has NOT been paying its share of utilities again this year. If the pool can't pay its operating costs, how will it possibly pay for modifications to locker rooms or people to monitor access?
2) Electronic Devices -- This was humorous. Linnehands went on and on and on about the need to "keep the table pure" from "outside influences." Apparently it is OK for members to rely on anonymous communications to terminate the Superintendent, but not to receive messages from constituents during meetings. One member pointed out that she has a son in Afghanistan and a sick elderly relative and had no intention of giving up her phone -- others pointed out that they use their "electronic devices" as calendars,, calculators and notepads.
The bottom line is that committee members are unpaid volunteers who are responsible only to the electorate -- not the Committee. The Committee has no authority to limit the tools a member uses to represent their constituents -- particularly when it impacts their personal and professional lives. One member also pointed out how impressed she was that this issue went from being raised at Public Forum at one meeting to being proposed as a policy at the next meeting. Obviously it pays to have your wife on the Committee if you have an axe you want to grind.
Fortunately, this item was tabled -- hopefully assigned to the Committee on Really Stupid Ideas for indefinite review.
3. Community School Audit -- This issue is still being muddled -- although any real discussion of it has now been effectively deferred until after the Election. Last summer, the auditors released a draft Management Letter. The Committee has NEVER discussed the issues raised in the audit. These issues require a discussion of policy, as well as modifications to existing policy. They also require acknowledging that several things were done incorrectly in the past and will be (or have already been) corrected going forward. There was no discussion of securing an audit for 2010.
4. Wing School Rehab -- Doug Lapp smoothly bounced this into the School Committee's lap when he suggested they take the lead role because any change at Wing will have obvious policy impacts on all of the schools. there are obviously several truly Big Picture issues at stake during this discussion. Linnehands volunteered to join the Wing Task Force -- I am sure that was a great comfort to many! Doug also gets the award for the best line of the night -- when the Chair apologized for keeping him waiting during the weekly Pool Parade, Doug smoothly said, "No problem, I know where the votes are!". I would be tempted to propose naming the Wing School after him as a reward for honesty.
5. The End of an Era! -- The election is now less than a week away. It is crucial that anybody who is concerned about the quality of our kids education, the value of our properties, or the size of our tax bills, shows up next Thursday to vote for both Bob Catalini and Sue Sundermeyer for School Committee.
5. The End of an Era! -- The election is now less than a week away. It is crucial that anybody who is concerned about the quality of our kids education, the value of our properties, or the size of our tax bills, shows up next Thursday to vote for both Bob Catalini and Sue Sundermeyer for School Committee.
