Hello, Hypocrisy Hotline ?

Yup.  Nothing says "Celebrate Earth Day" more than
 littering  the town with plastic advertising signs 

Historical Tradition?

There are a few inviolate rules in life.

• Water will always follow the path of least resistance. 
• Machines will die the week AFTER the warranty expires.
• You can't spend what you don't have. 
• You can fool some of the people all of the time an all of the people some of the time.
• Covering your eyes will not make something go away -- nor will it make you invisible.

Unfortunately, almost all of them came into play in the demise of the Sandwich Community School.

The decision to suspend Community School operations - except for the self-supporting Early Childhood and Daycare programs -- is hardly a surprise.  It's unfortunate and could have been avoided if the situation had been realistically  dealt with when the issue arose several years ago.

This discussion has been going on since June of 2006.  I'm not going to re-hash the gory details -- this blog is loaded with them and many original source documents are available by clicking here,

The Community School had many excellent programs and was certainly an asset to Sandwich and the whole region.  But it was an asset that should have been funded by its users -- or by a separate Town Meeting Budget appropriation.  It should never have been subsidized with tax dollars siphoned out of the School Budget.  Those tax dollars were intended to fund the K-12 education costs of Sandwich students -- not subsidize the entertainment expenses of folks from across the region.

Even worse than the diversion of those funds was the absolute refusal to recognize that it was being done.

In follow-up to the discussion about the District "lending" money to the Community School to cover bills -- the School Committee has always been liable for all Community School bills.  All outstanding liabilities will get paid (apparently well in excess of $100,000 this year) --- and it will be coming out of the K-12 budget.

Do you think that's the historical tradition Kangas wants so badly to preserve?  

Cape Cod Times: Sandwich to Shut Community School

Broadsider: Sandwich Community School program comes to halt on May 1

The School Department announced this morning that their consultants
still have no idea where the water leaking from the Community Pool went.

In a related story...   a home on nearby Fieldstone Drive was swallowed
by a large sinkhole this afternoon.

Maybe .... (By Bob Guerin)

Well, here we are folks. Its budget time and per usual, the school board, selectmen and finance committee are meeting in panicked filled, last minute, special meetings as once again somehow, somebody has put us all smack dab in the middle of a financial pickle. Every town department needs money, buildings are literally falling down and there is very little dough left in the cookie jar. 

Maybe somebody should have not rushed and spent money on I-pads before responsible someone’s could have had an informed discussion of spending priorities? Maybe. 

Maybe somebody should have not rushed and spent money on Community School pool bills and maintenance before responsible someone’s could have had an informed discussion of spending priorities? Maybe. 

Maybe somebody should have not rushed and spent money on Community School health insurance payments before responsible someone’s could have had an informed discussion of spending priorities? Maybe. 

The three (3) spending decisions mentioned above represent about $500,000 of un-budgeted, un-planned for, non-prioritized spending. It’s likely that a lot more than that has been spent during the year that also was not budgeted and not prioritized against other competing needs. 

Our town’s financial troubles are the result of a lack of leadership, a lack of effective financial controls, poor day-to-day management and the total failure of our Boards and Committees to affect real, meaningful financial oversight and discipline. Some things never change. 

The tri-boards should have discussed how hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent on un-budgeted projects and needs without a thought to how other competing, and compelling, and prioritized projects would be paid for. But, they didn’t. 

Once again, nobody’s held responsible or accountable. Evidently, these things just happen; it’s nobody’s fault; just bad luck. 

What’s wrong with our Town’s finance and budget oversight and management system will never be fixed because no one is willing to suggest that something is actually broken; with the one exception being our Town and its taxpayers. For sure we’re broke! 

Who Needs a Degree in Hydrodynamics !!

The Broadsider had an interesting article on the latest Community Pool fiasco this week -- particularly when compared to the Emptyprize's puff piece on a Heritage Museum exhibit!

The story pointed out that the Superintendent thought the “stop of the leak is promising..." Later in the story, however, it was also mentioned that there was no longer any water in the shallow end of the pool. My degree isn't in Hydrodynamics, or even engineering,-- but I am pretty sure that once the water is gone, the leak will usually go away!

I didn't see the School Committee Meeting -- but I hope somebody else  had trouble keeping a straight face after being told the leak stopped --- as soon as the water was gone.

Expert What? (By Bob Guerin)

In the Broadsider this week Selectmen Frank Pannorfi is quoted as saying about the National Grid pipeline project: “There was agreement between our experts and National Grid’s experts. I’m not big on telling our experts, the people we pay big bucks to … we have these people, we trust these people [how] to do their jobs; we trust them for their knowledge and skills.”

Here’s the problem with Frank’s thinking: our experts aren't too expert. 

Whether we’re talking pipelines, school repairs, public safety building management, finance or hurricane disaster planning and preparedness, many taxpayers are of the opinion that our town’s day-to-day and long-term management and planning is pretty poor.

On this blog you can read a lot about what’s wrong with Sandwich government. Buried among all the horror stories and complaints (and exaggerations) is one undeniable truth: no one in our towns’ administration is ever held accountable and responsible for anything that goes wrong. 

I am not completely sure why this is so; but, I do believe that a very large part of the problem stems from folks like Frank placing far too much trust in our so-called local experts. 

Comment of the Week (From Anonymous)

This is one of those comments that definitely deserves its own post ---

"I love the logic here. The schools waste hundreds of thousands of dollars and nobody can be held accountable because our kids deserve better schools? 

Really? 

That’s it? 

And, while the schools’ enrollment decreases by 25% staff levels and costs increase. Fewer students, more staff, more costs. Why? We’re told: Because our kids deserve better schools. Really? 

So, just what exactly would inspire the school committee or administration to do better and manage budgets more responsibly if they’re never held financially accountable? 

Beats me. This is much like giving a drug addict a limitless debit card and then simply hoping he or she will turn their lives around. Nobody would suggest that this makes sense. 

Time for some tough love people. Turn off the money spigot and hold somebody accountable"

Where Have I Heard That Before?

Coming soon to Amazon:

 "The Emperor Has No Clothes - The Story of The Sandwich Community School"

Cape Cod Times had an interesting story this AM:  "Sandwich Community School draining district funds".

Most amusing part of the story:

"The money for the bailout is coming from the school district's school choice account, school board member Nancy Crossman said. Crossman had floated the idea of returning to an advisory board to keep a watchful eye on the budget, but said she received no support from the school committee."

I would humbly suggest that the Community School is in the shape it is currently in BECAUSE of the former "advisory board".  The School Committee should always have been intimately involved with this program -- and they damn sure need to be keeping "a watchful eye on the budget" now!

Running a program of this size with such serious financial issues is not a task that should be delegated to some well-meaning volunteers who like to swim and may have once run a bake sale.

It's also important to note that under Mass. Law, School Choice money for OUTGOING students is paid from the Town budget while School Choice money for INCOMING students goes directly to the School Department.  A case could certainly be made to offset the outgoing and incoming tuitions.  A case could also be made that the incoming tuition could be applied to the regular school budget.

I can not imagine a case being made that could justify diverting School Choice funds to prop up an adult (non K-12) education program.