Click Here to Order Now !!

Curious Thing #2 - The "Other" Superintendent

The local papers reported that the Superintendent filed suit against the School Committee at the beginning of November and that the School Committee was expected to file a response with the Court in 21 days.

Yet, here we are almost in the middle of December and what are we hearing?

Yup.   Just chirping crickets!

This case could obviously have huge budget impacts.  And, I don't think its going to go away ... no matter how hard school counsel wishes it would!

Litigation strategy is not public information, but I would suspect a court filing would be.  I would also suspect that the Committee would have to discuss and concur on whatever response is actually filed with the court.  Yet, some members I have talked to say they have no idea what the current case status is.

Did Counsel "forget" to file a response?  Did the Committee Chair or a "secret subcommittee" approve a response without discussing it with the entire Committee?  That doesn't sound very "transparent" or in the spirit of public disclosure that one dope babbled on about last year.

Curious Thing #1 - Superintendent Search (The Sequel)

Member of the Secret Search Committee

This week's School Committee Agenda shows another 6 PM meeting with the Consultants for the Superintendent Search.  This is at least the second off-camera meeting regarding the process the Committee intends to follow to replace the Superintendent they may have ousted last summer.

I assume it will be a public meeting -- there's nothing in OML that would exclude it from public view yet.  But, unless somebody just happens to be cruising the Town Clerk's bulletin board, or regularly checking school committee agendas -- you might miss the fact that the Committee will be gathering an hour before the cameras are scheduled to arrive to discuss the most important thing a School Committee does -- hire a new Superintendent.

While this may be a public meeting, for a group that screamed about "lack of transparency" and "back room deals" involving the last school committee it seems strange that they would go to such great lengths to keep the public from seeing what they are doing this time.

It is starting to smell just like the last Superintendent Search Committee.  Unfortunately, this time around it is unlikely that this school committee will recognize a Bag Job and throw out the "results".   (Although since the last search committee only managed to produce two out of state finalists who didn't bother to come back for a second interview, and one local candidate who had already been turned down by several other districts -- I would venture that they never actually produced ANY  results!)

Click Here to Order Now !!

Charter Reform --- Part I

The current Town charter was approved on October 2, 2009.  Section 9.2 of the charter requires that the Selectmen appoint a Charter Review Committee of seven (7) members at least every 5 years to review the current charter and propose any potential revisions to the Selectmen for discussion and submission to Town Meeting for local approval and then on to the State legislature for final approval.        

At the risk of introducing some facts to this discussion, here's some important background information on local government structures and local charter reform (click to open):

• Current Town Charter
• Forms of Local Government in Massachusetts
• MMA Study on Structural Changes in Local Government in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
• Other MMA information on Charter reform / Local Government structures

The biggest issue is the type of local government.  There's far more of a  "romantic history" associated with the current Open Town Meeting format of government than is perceived during discussions of colder, more professional, and potentially more efficient, formats -- such as Town Council/Town Manager or City Council/Mayor.

There aren't many people who think Open Town Meeting actually represents the "will of the people".  In reality, it only represents "the will of the people --- WHO SHOW UP" !  The easy response is that it is a citizens responsibility to show up -- and if you don't vote you can't complain (Where have I heard that before?) --- But, nonetheless, if less than 300 people show up out of 15,000 voters, it is easy to stack a Town Meeting with people for or against a specific item in their own self-interest.  

Summit Meeting

Dick can't make it .... but Hank may be available

The Board of Selectmen is meeting with the School Committee and FinCom on Thursday night to discuss the budget.  Given the BOS Chair's lack of enthusiasm for rambling rhetoric and meaningless phrases, he is probably the most capable person at the table to keep the proverbial discussion train on the track.  

Nonetheless, he may want to make inquiry down at SPD prior to the meeting to see if he could borrow some pepper spray and a taser.

Just to keep the meeting moving along (and so the meeting doesn't begin to resemble the infamously ineffective Tr-Board meetings of yore), I would propose some ground rules and stipulations: 

1)  Any use of the word "transparent" earns the speaker a jolt -- unless the speaker says specifically WHAT it is they are trying to understand -- 9 times out of 10, people say they want to see more "transparency" when what they really mean is that they have no Goddamn understanding of what they are looking at --- or what it was they wanted to see.  

Welcome to the Nut House



At least THIS Nut House has a functional
septic system and ample parking !!



I just want to be sure I have got this right.

The police and fire headquarters buildings are located in a flood plain and are slowly sinking into a marsh.  The firefighters who we depend on to save us from the most dire circumstances (including our own stupidity) are forced to sleep in a leaky, mouse-infested, building with serious ventilation issues.  The folks in East Sandwich have to wait an unimaginable amount of time for help because we have essentially created a Fire Department storage garage in their neighborhood -- shiny trucks ... but nobody to drive them or squirt the hose!

Nobody wanted to fix the leaky school roofs that drip water and mold on several hundred kids.

Nobody wanted to fix the code violations at the old bank branch which now serves as the Town Hall Annex.  Ironically -- if that building was a privately-owned commercial property (OR owned by the School Department!!) The Powers That Be probaby would have issued a citation and shut that building down by now.

But ... somebody thought it was a good idea to spend $3+ million renovating Town Hall.

Despite the fact that the renovated building has room for even fewer employees than the unrenovated building.

Despite the fact that building has no parking spaces and minimal septic system capacity.  A great place to meet -- unless you want to park your car or flush the toilet!

Despite the fact that the Town already owns 4 large schools with auditoriums, chairs, restrooms, parking, handicapped access, etc. all of which are generally available most evenings.

Despite the fact that the renovated building has far less storage than the original -- this now requires that the Town Office portfolio be expanded to include the Dewey Ave Building, part of the Wing School Basement, part of the Oakcrest Lodge, and a cabin in the woods at Oakcrest cove.  Not exactly the consolidation of space associated with cost savings efforts!!

Despite the fact that the renovated building no longer has a vault, which generally excludes a potential use by the Town Clerk's office.

If I got that right, who were the winners in this shell game?

Not the Town employees who need to wander from building to building to do their jobs.

Not the Board of Selectmen who should be embarrassed to hold their meetings in a $3 million auditorium with an audience of 5 people.

Certainly not the taxpayers.

Maybe the Recreation Department which managed to acquire at least some of the Oakcrest space for their own offices?  Yahoo!!,  more town office space!! 

Maybe the Council on Aging?  Did they acquire the old Rec Dept space?  (This may be the second expansion for the COA since the Sandwich Housing Authority donated their Community Room to the Meals on Wheels and Meal Site programs after those programs were evicted from the Human Services Building.)

Probably the only winner was the local Hysterical Preservation crowd.  They must assume they will get control of the Building once the economy begins to improve and taxpayers realize that it would be far more cost efficient to consolidate the multitude of scattered town office buildings into a single location, sell-off the excess properties, and build a real Police-Fire station -- rather than to continue (not) maintaining the current portfolio of inadequate rapidly decaying buildings.

Given our complete lack of a commercial taxbase, the fact that we will likely be losing a major taxpayer once the Power Plant goes dark, and given the fact that there is minimal liklihood of developing any sort of realistic commercial taxbase given what little suitable commercial land remains,  I find it hard to be that enthusiastic about the refinished floors and newly stenciled ceilings at Town Hall.

I can't help wondering if we'll look up at those beautiful ceilings, or down at that lovely floor, next year when we vote to eliminate the jobs of police officers, firefighters, or teachers.

Thank You!

Dear Chief Russell:

I have always been relieved to live within a stone's throw of the Forestdale Station.  Over the past decade, we have had to call for help several times and the firefighters have always showed up quickly -- usually with additional help from the Police Department and, on one very snowy night, -- with the assistance of a very fast moving DPW plow!

Last Friday was one of those days that causes every parents; heart to skip a beat -- one of the kids had a seizure, collapsed without warning, and began convulsing on the floor.  An immediate call to 911 connected us to a dispatcher, far calmer than either of us, who talked us through the situation until the police and paramedics arrived, stabilized our son (---- and his parents!), and began the long run to the hospital.

Thankfully, he's doing well now -- and enjoying a few more days home from school!

Chief, I'm embarrased I didn't get the names of the firefighters, dispatcher, or police officer that helped us last Friday morning.  But, I hope you will tell them how much we appreciate all their good work. 

Thank you again,

Bob & Wendy Simmons

Looking for a Few Good Men ... (and women!)

Dusting off the ol' crystal ball for Christmas caused a few random "What ifs" to start bouncing around in my head.  Keep in mind, I haven't talked to any of these folks and I'm just making wild ass assumptions and guesses which may be completely off-base (not unlike the crap that appears in the local papers!)

What if Kennan and Barrette get fed up and choose not to further contemplate shellfish regulations and "Pay as you Throw", or  listen to any more complaints about the School Committee?  What if they decide to just stay home on Thursdays and watch "Dog The Bounty Hunter" and "Law and Order" re-runs.

What if Grundman decides to make the not unanticipated switch from BOS to School Committee ?

That would leave a majority of the Board of Selectmen vacant and newbies Pierce & Vitacco as the Senior Members -- at the same time the Town would be facing a potentially major deficit, major lay-offs,  and a likely Overide campaign.

What if  Susko decides to find a more enjoyable activity --- like pounding her head against the wall -- and doesn't run for reelection?

What if Cahill gets fed up and throws in the towel early to allow him more time to sit in his backyard and talk to the squirrels (not unlike a school committee executive session!)?

What if Marshall finally has an opponent -- or, just calls it quits?

That could leave 2-3 open seats on the School Committee, with Linehan and Killion as the Senior members, at the same time we would be facing a major deficit, potential overide vote, an unsettled teachers contract, a possible new superintendent, two major lawsuits, and 2 principals' contracts up for renewal.

The bottom line is that the Town needs some experienced, professional people to start thinking about stepping up and taking a turn driving the bus -- before somebody else steps up and drives the bus over the cliff.  I am sure there is a large group of former elected officials who would be very willing to help bring potential candidates up to speed on some of the issues we are currently facing and warn them about potential pitfalls on the road to local political infamy!

Ponder that with your eggnog!!

Holiday Grab Bag !!

Last night's School Committee meeting was a veritable Holiday Grab Bag of "amusing" items.  (It would, however, be far more amusing if these folks weren't in charge of my kids' educations and $30 million in tax dollars!!)

1)  Susko will definitely not be getting a fruit basket from John Paradise at the Emptyprize,  She made it clear her subscription was cancelled and she encouraged others to do the same.  She also encouraged Businesses to pull advertising.  If Paradise wakes up with a horse's head in his bed next week -- somebody will be fingerprinting Susko!

2)  Linehan responded to Susko's outrage by saying "we all need to work together".  Which certainly seems appropriate since her and her union supporters appear to have been writing the Emptyprize's editorials this year!

3)  During the long-delayed discussion of the Community School Audit -- Crossman made an attempt to claim that the Community School paid for a janitor in exchange for pool utilities.  Nice Try!  Dr. J jumped on that one saying that the janitor was in exchange for allowing the Community School to keep all the revenue from renting out taxpayer-maintained school facilities to outside groups AND because the janitor was needed to clean up after Community School users.

4)  The Supt pointed out, again, that it was illegal for public tax dollars intended to maintain a K-12 school system to be used for the benefit of any other program.  If an outside program required additional K-12 resources (ie. utilities) it must pay for them from its program revenue.  (She also pointed out that the audit confirmed what a couple of "Arrogant Bastards" had been saying that for 3 years -- despite it being a very unpopular position!)

5)   Chairman Marshall wandered into the fray with a vague discussion about past "in kind" contributions intended to pay costs.  That argument has been waived around like a dirty diaper for years --- the reality is that the true value of the "in kind" donations was nowhere near equivalent to the value of the pool utilities and other Community School costs paid by the School Department.  

6)  There was a painful discussion about the audit comment that all programs should be self-sufficient.  I lost track of the reasoning -- but it's hard to believe that anybody could justify charging the parents who pay for pre-school or drivers ed MORE money so that we could charge the folks who swim in the pool LESS money.  (The fact that many of the swimmers don't even live or pay taxes in Sandwich wasn't brought up --- but I feel obligated to do so !)

7)  The Supt suggested that the Town assess all taxpayers a $5 charge to establish a pool fund.  Overlooking the fact that I can't imagine what legal mechanism the Town could use to charge that fee -- ain't no way I'm pitching in to reduce the cost that the nice folks from Mashpee/Falmouth/Bourne/Barnstable pay to swim in the stupid pool!

8)  During Budget discussions, it was brought up that the District may need to cut 15 more positions next year unless more revenue was found.  There was a discussion about some bus fees but nothing about athletic fees, or program cuts.  the Supt made it clear she needs some guidance on this issue.  How much heat is the Committee willing to take?  How high do they want to raise fees and how big are they willing to make classes -- that's their decision.  It was also brought up that the budget assumption included the Town increasing the local contribution by 3%.  Does anybody think THAT will happen with the Town facing a deficit?  Maybe a 3% CUT?

9)  There was no discussion about the potential cost of settling the two major outstanding lawsuits against the Committee will have on next year's budget.  Could be Big Bucks.

10)  As part of the discussion on Bus fees, Kangas asked her prepared, completely irrelevent, yet obligatory, once a meeting, Big Number question -- this time about bus expense.  She apparently hasn't learned while single digit precision to two decimal points is important whilst working at the Stop & Shop deli counter -- it is acceptable to use round numbers when having a grown-up budget discussion of million dollar budget lines.

11)  A taxpayer did get up at Public Forum to talk about the Community School.  It may have been my TV screen but he appeared to leave big wet footprints as he approached the microphone.  He read some 30 year old newspaper clippings (he didn't know where from) about the Community School and said he was concerned about certain actions being referred to as "illegal".  Whatever -- the simple fact is that actions taken by the Community School have violated state laws.  They did not follow procurement regulations, they did not  obtain school committee approval for bill payments, they did not get school committee approval for leases, they did not pay all operating costs for their programs from program revenue (leaving the K-12 School District with the bill).    Unfortunately, despite his lack of research on the issue, this person is on the new Community School Advisory Committee.  

It's time to move on, Gang.  The audit has confirmed the issues that nobody was willing to admit to previously.  Let's just FIX THE PROBLEMS and move on !!

12)  Finally, the CCT published a pretty decent account of last night's meeting this morning.  But, then again, even a broken clock is correct twice a day !!