Ding Dong ...

(Thanks for the calls and emails --  All is well here in the NPTA Bunker deep below Forestdale  Fuel Spill #12. I'd also like to thank my new friends at Ready-Rooter and their big silver pump truck  for preventing our latest potential Shit Storm!  I must say, however, that my front yard is not the only thing that stunk this week.)

"Ding Dong, the Witch is dead ..." You could practically hear the chanting in certain areas this week.  Yup, the person who insisted that teachers be properly licensed and evaluated, and that they deliver a modern curriculum which is consistent between schools, between grades, and  consistent with that taught in other towns, had been driven from the District! The person who had the audacity to support a prior school committee's efforts to make the Community School truly self-supporting would be no longer!  The person who reduced transportation and SPED costs by bringing the services in-house and eliminating sweetheart deals with outside vendors had been given her walking papers!

Yup, that was progress.  Yay, Sandwich, we done good!

I'm not going to re-argue the case (although I bristle that anybody could ever use the term "secret meeting"!  That meeting continuation was better publicized than any regular meeting in 4 years!  But, no, there was no notice on the clerk's bulletin board.)  I wanted a Judge, I got a judge.  The judge said an error was made and my team lost.  Maybe there will be an appeal, maybe there won't.  But, there will probably be a new Superintendent.  And, hopefully, in May there will also be a new School Committee.

Maybe the new majority will be more concerned about our kids' education than their own family incomes, their own pet projects, or covering up years of poor decision-making.  Maybe the new Committee will even be described as "hard working, experienced professionals" -- instead of "petty, vindictive amateurs".

Maybe the new Committee will hold the line with the SEA leadership and convince SEA members that they are far better than the leaders they may have elected.  And, that the time the union leadership wastes on foolish imaginary grievances would be far better spent on building public support for the teachers and the District, improving teaching techniques, and maybe even focusing on the needs of the student.  (Remember the students?).  Maybe they will even negotiate a realistic contract.  (A real contract --- not a fictional "handshake" agreement with a single member!)

Maybe, once those things happen, some of the Sandwich residents who chose this year to send their kids to Choice or Charter Schools (which we pay for), or to Private Schools, or even accept the challenges of Home Schooling, will begin to return to their own District.

Maybe the voters will show up on May 5 and make this happen.

A Sad, Ugly Chapter ... (By Bob Guerin)

This morning’s court house news officially closes a sad, ugly chapter in Sandwich school history. As time passes it will fall to future observers and pundits to judge the real results and impacts of what has transpired both in the courtroom and the school committee meeting room. Taxpayers, parents and students meanwhile are hoping for the best.

Today, school buildings are in disrepair. Students are fleeing the district in near record numbers and teacher moral is low. The entire Administration of the schools has been or will be replaced and new to our schools and community – there is no continuity. And, the overall school budget has been reduced year over year and its unlikely that any new investment in the schools will be forthcoming. To say things are bad is an understatement.

Our schools need and deserve an Administration and School Committee that brings vision, leadership, stability and competency to everything they do. This does not exist today – that’s an opinion most in town share.

Much like a home repair project undertaken is haste, the town now finds itself with a shell of a school system, its infrastructure has been gutted and its foundation weakened. The rebuilding should begin immediately. We all want to know: do we have the tools, skills, materials and know-how to rebuild and where’s the design plan we’re going to follow and who created it?

Here’s hoping that the next chapter in our school’s story is in every way better than the one we’ve just finished. Our children deserve nothing less.

Rumor Control -The Taj MaLibrary Boardwalk



Next Stop, Oakcrest Cove !



Shelving the plans for the proposed Taj MaLibrary in South Sandwich means that the plan to connect the new Library with the Oakcrest Town Offices, the Jan Sebastian Town Offices, The Dump,  Sandwich Village, The Old Library, the Town Hall, the Town Hall Annex, the Marsh, and the Marina via a series of Boardwalks (some of which would have utilized the NStar right-of-way)  will not be receiving further study. 

However, citizens interested in joining a newly-formed committee to explore the potential of constructing a high speed monorail line along this same route are encouraged to submit a letter of interest to Town Hall.

In related stories, The Emptyprize reported this week that the stairway access points to the Town's beaches remain condemned and that it would be "illegal and unsafe" to use them.  No word on the timing or cost of the neccesary repairs.  It was also reported that out of 15,000 registered voters in town, only 3 were willing to run for the 2 open seats on the School Committee, and 3 more for the two open seats on the Board of Selectmen.

Just say "No!" (By Bob Guerin)

Disclaimer:  While I am sure Nancy Reagan is a devoted
NotThePTA follower, she has not (yet) expressed an
opinion on either the Library or the Boardwalk.

It’s a Very Good Start

Congratulations to the Board of Selectmen for finally finding their voice and leading by saying:  "No!"

Last night’s decision to not press forward with plans for a new branch library, likely to cost taxpayers $8 million to build and hundreds of thousands to operate, was the right decision at the right time.This is exactly the behavior taxpayers expect and deserve from their elected representatives: mature, informed, responsible decisions that reflect our collective fiscal realities.

It’s too bad that the Selectmen waited and let real money and precious time and resources get spent furthering this pipe dream over the past months. In these times especially any waste is too much waste.

Next up? Selectmen must kill the Boardwalk project now before any more time, energy or money gets wasted.

If you see one of our Selectmen out and about please be sure to say: Congratulations and thank you!

With more than $100 million in proposed building and repair projects floating about town the Selectmen need to know that we all appreciate and expect them to: Just Say No.

 

To avoid any impression of exaggeration, the proposed
 Library branch did NOT have a reflecting pool.

Yeah, but that next step is a doozie!!

One small step for the Library,
 one giant leap for the Taxpayers?

The Emptyprize is reporting that the Library "is just a few steps away from realizing a long-held dream of building a library branch in ... South Sandwich."

Ok. But those are pretty big steps that still have to be taken!

(WARNING!   PLEASE READ THIS DISCLAIMER CAREFULLY!!  I am a fan of the Library.  I think the Library staff does a great job and they do an amazing job of managing the large number of programs and services they offer.  I think we should name a building after Stu Parsons -- preferably one that doesn't leak! I would love to see a Library on my side of Town with parking.  I just have no idea how we would pay for it.)

While the possibility of receiving $7.6 million from the state is lovely, the idea of wrestling the other $7.6 million from the taxpayers of Sandwich is daunting at best. (Maybe "ludicrous" is a better word?).

The Library Trustees will be requesting that the Selectmen put an article on the warrant giving voters the opportunity to show public support and accept the State grant money -- but without obligating the Town to provide funding.

Yet.

For the sake of efficiency, let's just skip over that "showing support" step.  Accepting State money is a fine idea.  Accepting State money with the expectation that taxpayers will contribute an equal amount just ain't gonna fly.

Let's just put this dog down and move on to facing real problems.  Why not move directly to proposing an article requesting public support for a $7.6 million debt exclusion to build a new library and be done with it?

Then, the Trustees could find a nice shelf in the old library to put the plans on until the economy starts to change.  Once houses begin to sell, once foreclosures begin to stop, and once we are sure that Police and Fire Headquarters aren't going to fall into the marsh -- we can dust the plans off (probably increase the cost) and THEN ask the voters to dig deeper.

One of the features of the proposed library would be more public meeting rooms.  I would propose that the existing school buildings probably have space that is already heated, lit and maintained that could be used for that purpose.  I would also point out that the Schools all have existing libraries.  Could the School libraries be incorporated into the Town library system?  (Back in the Dark Ages, my elementary school library was part of the Town Library system and was open at times when the school was not.)

Again, I'm not against the library.

I'm just looking at a rapidly growing municipal shopping list and I can not imagine how we can put a new library anywhere near the top of the list -- particularly since we have been unable to maintain the buildings we already have.

"Thank goodness for the students" (By Anonymous 1, 2 & 3)

I reconfigured this post to highlight three anonymous emails I received.  I have heard the same story from several people -- but nobody has expressed it in writing this clearly.  

Anonymous #1...

I wish I had the guts to go all out in my support for Dr. Johnson, but the fact is -- as a teacher with children in the district -- I cannot afford to tick off any union leadership --especially since my children are/will be at the high school where the majority of anti-Johnson teachers prowl the hallways (imagine if they ended up with Laura Carlisle-- yikes!).

Retaliation is a real concern for many teachers and the bullying union tactics scare the heck out of me -- it is too bad that Johnson's lawyer can't subpoena teachers to testify on Dr. Johnson's behalf as to what they experienced at union meetings where the leaders were blatantly threatening teachers to drink the kool aid or "get the hell out" (exception to that is Karen Stapleton who has always behaved professionaly and does not use the predatory union tactics).

Thank goodness for the students who come into my room everyday and give me every reason to stay at this job -- otherwise, I would jump ship immediately and leave the rats onboard to claw at each other while the ship goes down.

I hope what goes around comes right around to those who have behaved vidictively. Shame on them for holding parents, school staff (including the superintendent), tax-payers and most of all CHILDREN hostage.

Anonymous #2 ...

WOW, KUDOS TO THIS BRAVE HONEST TEACHER! Why didn't someone report the threats to the MTA so they could start an investigation into their renegade leaders? Teachers, it is not difficult to vote to change your leadership, call the MTA and tell them what's going on and the fear of retaliation against teachers that speak up. Document (names, dates times, threats) it all and get names from the higher ups at the MTA that puts the MTA on notice to do something about the threats.

Force them to conduct an election and teachers vote with secret ballots with an MTA official present. Why don't you nominate Karen Stapleton if she is willing to do the job. Laura Carlisle has blatantly lied to your membership many times over the years. Get her out. The great teachers (which is a majority)need to do something, otherwise you will continue to teach in this toxic environment and continue to have deadwood superintendants. Teachers have a choice, call MTA for an election immediately or learn to live in the toxic corrupt environment.

Dr. Johnson's been taking the heat for a long time now. We all have been waiting for all the awesome teachers to stand up and fight. Any Bullying or retaliation complaints can be reported to the authorities. Change your leadership! Ask the MTA for a monitor to run the election and monitor that no scare tactics, threats are not tolerated.

Anonymous #3...

In reading many posts on this thread and others, it is very frustrating when people say that the "good" teachers have to rise up and take over. It implies that teachers can be sorted into "good" and "bad" according to their involvement in the union, or their public support of Dr. Johnson. First of all, many of the teachers who are involved in the union leadership as building reps or officers are brilliant teachers who care very deeply about the students they teach and about developing as teachers. They appreciate what Dr. Johnson has brought to the district, and recognize that it was long overdue. In many ways her attitudes about professional expectations mirror the expectations these teachers have always had for themselves. They may or may not publicly support Dr. Johnson and have a variety of reasons for that.

Many teachers are unquestioning in their loyalty to the SEA because they have believed for decades that the SEA is protecting their interests. In their minds, the SEA is the organization that was led by Gil Newton and John Mulkeen. They look at Laura Carlyle and others as firebrands in the same vein as Harry Evans (retired) and feel that their extremism, while not their style, is necessary in these post-Cannone times. They do not necessarily know that Gil and John's philosphies and approaches have been thrown to the side, and that the membership was told in a meeting that they should no longer look to previous leaders for guidance.

Regarding the suggestions that teachers need to call the MTA - a number of teachers did call the MTA to get some guidance regarding improprieties with the SEA election in the spring of 2009. The MTA made it clear that they supported the leadership unquestionably and would not get involved. The MTA referred them to the SEA By-Laws for answers regarding elections, terms of office etc. Unfortunately, the by-laws are not available ...and there is no way to get a copy of the By-Laws without revealing yourself as a person with questions...which makes you a "traitor to the cause." What is the cause? It was stated at last spring's general meetings that the cause is to get rid of Dr. Johnson.

I am heartened by the teacher who has posted his/her intentions to follow through with the MTA and the Atty General's office after the end of this school year. I hope it really happens.

As the first teacher-poster who started this thread has stated so well - it's working with kids that drives most of us. The irony is that since we have made the various curriculum changes under the leadership of Dr. Johnson, the work we do with kids is more rewarding and exciting than ever. It is in teaching that we put our energy, not in fighting against the union leadership. We know that it would be a losing battle.

So, we look to the judge's ruling regarding Dr. Johnson's contract, we look to the May School Committee elections, we pray that Laura Carlyle's term will soon be up and we go to work each day and we enjoy our work within the walls of our classrooms. And we think: if it's tough for us, imagine how it is to be Dr. Johnson...

Telling it to the Judge ...



No, this isn't a picture of School Committee members and Union  Leaders  sitting together at
Barnstable Court today!   I just thought this page needed a picture of some buzzards.

There were some interesting reports coming out of Barnstable Court today.  The Judge listened to arguments from legal counsel representing the Superintendent as well as the attorney representing the Town's litigation insurance carrier and took the matter under advisement.  A ruling is expected in the near future.

It was interesting to note that the four Committee members who were being sued personally were sitting in the back of the courtroom with their supporters including the President of the Teachers Union and former members of the Community School Executive Council.  Maybe they were negotiating another one of those "handshake agreements"?

It was also interesting that the members of the Committee who were not being sued personally (and could not be in court because they work for a living) had yet to receive any news on the court hearing by 9:00 tonight.  I would think keeping your team informed of pending litigation status would be a good committee management practice -- but maybe that's just me.

Details to follow once the judge rules.

http://shops.cafepress.com/NotThePTAorg and  http://shops.cafepress.com/NotThePTA2

Serious Times Require Serious Leaders (By Bob Guerin)

The recent news that a Town Committee had submitted a written proposal detailing plans for a $5 - 10 million dollar board walk to the sea has me wondering how many Town Employees spent how many hours attending meetings and processing paperwork related to this effort? Our Town Manager spent time on this project for sure and he even wrote a letter of support on Town Stationary.

There is a real cost to those employees and those hours. And, employee time and energy spent there was not applied elsewhere. How did this board walk project become anyone’s priority?  

Likewise, I recently watched 3 full-time town employees (and their new, shiny, cherry picker truck) remove Christmas lights from a large pine tree outside Meeting House Pizza. The job probably took 3 hours to complete. That’s a little more than one days work for one full time employee. There were other light displays in town.

I’ll bet that we pay the equivalent of 2 weeks wages and benefits, plus gas and equipments costs, for one full time employee just to hang and remove lights. Its probably a low estimate. And, of course, the employee time and energy spent there was not applied elsewhere. So, how do holiday light projects become anyone’s priority?

Somebody also gets paid to hang flags on the 4th and remove them later. And, we pay somebody to hang and remove garland from street signs too. There is a real cost to all of these employees and these works hours.

If I told you I was going to hire one full-time employee with health and retirement benefits to hang lights, garland, flags and other holiday decor and do nothing else for 2 or 3 weeks a year would you say: great idea, good use of tax dollars? Would you say that’s clearly the optimal use of their time and talents?

Leadership and good management is about applying limited resources to work that’s most important and beneficial.

Is anyone actually leading in Sandwich? Is anyone actually managing? How did any of the above become a priority for full-time, health insured and retirement benefited Town employees?

Before anyone asks taxpayers to support an operational override somebody in charge at Town Hall needs to start to ask and answer some basic management 101 type questions. Serious times require serious leaders.

Ignore that Elephant in the Room!

Part of the fun of having a DVR is that nothing needs to be watched in order and everything benefits from a fast-forward (no more chanting "Get to the damn point" at the television !!!).  This morning I realized that I had missed the most entertaining part of this week's BOS meeting.

It was suggested by one member that the economy was improving and that we needed to "grow our budget" by proposing an override.

Hmmm.  My economy hasn't improved.  I don't have a government/union pension.  My income has been frozen for 3 years, which is better than some of my friends and colleagues who have had salary reductions or had positions eliminated entirely.  There have been multiple foreclosures in my neighborhood in the past two years. 

Last summer, I listed some of the things I wanted to see done BEFORE somebody asked me for an override.  In my humble opinion (and that of many others) here's a few more random thoughts:

Eliminate SOMETHING!

Anything -- I'm not seeing any loss of service. There is nothing that I WANT local government to do that it is not already doing. Just plow the roads, educate my kids and answer the phone when I call 911 (and then send somebody with a hose/gun/stretcher!). So far, the Town has consistently achieved those objectives. Town employees should receive a lot of credit for continually providing the good service they do on an ever-tightening budget.  I am not looking for more services!

Forget the second Library.  We, unfortunately, can barely afford the first one.

Work to reduce or eliminate the CPA tax -- I will readily admit that I worked hard to obtain CPA funds as a member of the Housing Authority.  I do believe in the importance of elderly and disabled housing.  I don't believe in the importance of Boardwalks to nowhere, fixing privately-owned buildings, or renovating obsolete buildings.  I also believe in funding public recreation areas -- but any group that can afford to pay their "volunteers" should be required to pay for the use of the public facilities.

Oakcrest may have seemed like a good idea once upon a time -- but it has become an albatross.  Rent out the four bedroom house for residential use and remarket the lodge as commercial office space.  We don't need town offices overlooking the beach.

Build a damn police/fire station -- there's been no doubt one has been needed for years.  The Town owns the land -- borrow the blueprints from some other Town that recently built such a structure (it's not an addition to the Louvre!) and get going!

And then there's the Wing School.  

The proposed Wing School renovation should be giving us 15-40 million reasons to find some qualified professionals to run for School Committee.  This is not a job for the folks who sold the most candy bars for Pop Warner, this is also not a position for folks who enjoy self-promotion.   Especially now, this Committee will need qualified, experienced, professional (legal, financial, managerial, engineering, etc.) people who are willing to do the RIGHT thing -- no matter who they piss off!  Somebody is going to have to propose unpopular, but neccesary,  ideas.  (Who wants to tell the Wing PTA they may be split betwen Oakridge and Forestdale?  Not me!!)

Real strategic study, discussion and action needs to take place -- not the pathetic, lightweight, catfighting viewers are currently treated to on Wednesday night.

The Wing decision will present a major financial challenge to the Town -- as will Police and Fire Headquarters, some sort of Town Hall consolidation, and even short-term repairs to the school roofs.

Don't talk to me about buying a new pool table and matching lamp  -- until after we have fixed the furnace!!

Or, in the infamous words of "Point of Order" Kelley, "You don't ask your in-laws for a loan until AFTER you have sold Grandma's piano!"