Conversation Starters ...

Part of the fun of being a "former" member of anything is that you only need to pay attention to issues that YOU want to follow -- you no longer represent anybody's interests except your own.  (I guess you could say the same thing about a few "current" members .... but I digress.)

So in the interests of  "been there, done that", I thought I would offer a few "conversation starters" in case any of our elected representatives, primarily on the School Committee, were feeling a little tongue-tied coming into the New Year.  In no particular order:

1.  This year the Superintendent decided to spend $500,000 in "extra" funds on iPads for all Freshmen & Sophomores without any School Committee discussion.  Is the District planning on purchasing iPads for next year's incoming freshmen?  What would be the funding source?

2.  How is this year's Budget holding out?  Is there a surplus projected for the last half of the year?  Are there any plans on how to allocate any "extra" budget dollars yet?

Ignore that Person Behind The Curtain !

This E-Mail was sent to all School Employees, Administrators & The School Committee by the District's Athletic Director:

From: martin cosgrove <cosgrovems@yahoo.com>

Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2012 17:46:02 -0800 (PST)

To: district@sandwich.k12.ma.us, schoolcommittee@sandwich.k12.ma.us, administration@sandwich.k12.ma.us\

Subject: chicken nuggets

When I stopped down to the cafeteria Monday morning for my morning coffee, there was a noticeable pall over what is usually a cheerful place. When I asked why, I was told a meeting took place the previous Friday, at which the ladies of the cafeteria were told of the district's plans to explore outsourcing the food service program.

Perfect timing for the holidays.

These workers' kids sit in front of us in our classrooms, play alongside our kids in Little League, sit next next to us in church. They are co-workers, neighbors and friends. They follow state and federal guidelines to ensure our students receive a well-balanced nutritious meal. They feed kids when they forget their money or when they say they forgot their money, when they can't afford to eat. They root for our kids on the athletic fields and make sure classroom food projects are perfect when served. Most are working to provide their families with health insurance. They don't earn much, but they work real hard. Most have to work a second job, but they are proud of the job they do for the Sandwich Public School System. They ask how we are feeling after being out. They ask how our children are doing when they graduate from our school system. 

LET MY PEOPLE GO .... so they can vote on the Damn PSC!

OK, I'm reaching here ...

There has been an unprecedented public outreach effort by the Town in support of a new $30 million Public Safety Complex. There have been tours, multiple presentations, public events, and a website (See www.SandwichPublicSafety.com ). There has even been people stationed at the soccer field to discuss & explain the issue with that most elusive voter -- the soccer parents!

There has been such a huge outreach effort that, if there was in fact an Override question pending, the information campaign probably would have crossed that fine line which prohibits the use of public resources to campaign for an Override. I'm not going to press the issue -- but can you imagine what would happen if the School Department used Town resources to advocate for an Override? (Actually, I remember what DID happen!)

Nobody can question if the public has had the opportunity to be informed on the issue.

I think we have now reached that equivalent point at Town Meeting where everything has been said multiple times and nothing new is being added to the conversation.

Let's Find our 20-20 Vision (By Jim Pierce)

The following opinion piece was written by Jim Pierce in February of 2011. A more recent Long Range Capital Plan incorporating many similar ideas, but improving on others, was presented to the Board of Selectmen on Nov. 29, 2012 (See Draft Copy here). Related background information is also available through Sandwich Community Television. 

The 2012 update to the Long Range Plan is available here.

During the week of February 14 (2011) the final piece in a giant puzzle was placed face up on the table for the selectmen and school committee. Now all those pieces have to be assembled into a Capital Asset Plan for Sandwich. 

Cost estimates were presented for making the Wing complex serviceable as a school long term. There are basically three alternatives. The complex can be renovated for $30 million. New construction coupled with renovation would cost $40 million. A whole new school can be built for $50 million. The consultant, who did an excellent job, also pointed out that the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) will reimburse about half the cost. The estimates were escalated because construction cannot begin until 2014.

If one of these paths is followed, the voters of Sandwich will be asked to borrow between $15-25 million to have a fourth school building in place in time for the 2015-2016 school year. The problem is, at least as I see it, Sandwich will not need four school buildings. The voters may have good reason to want a fourth school building. That is distinct from needing one.

The school enrollment as of October 1, 2010 was just over 3400. That is down 800 from the peak in 2002. The classes in the high school today average about 260. The entering kindergarten classes over the next four years, based on 2010 census data, will average about 210. Each of the next four years about 260 students will graduate while 210 are entering kindergarten. Consequently, enrollment goes down 50 students per year. 

A sign from God?

The local fishwrapper reported today that the new chain link fence surrounding Sandwich High School is to protect people entering or exiting the building from being killed by falling pieces of concrete. According to the wrapper, a piece of concrete "measuring five feet long and weighing several hundred pound, fell from a third-story window." shortly after the Special Town Meeting adjourned on October 22.

Does anybody see a warranty/liability issue when a "several hundred pound" piece of concrete falls off of a 13 year old building?

Maybe this was a Sign From God about the quality of the Town's dedication to deferred maintenance?  (Or at least the advisability of accepting the lowest bid for construction jobs!)

No word on repair costs, or on the extent of the problem.  An engineering firm has been hired to assess the problem and hire a construction firm to do the (as yet undermined) repairs.

Tweet

If it's good enough for The Pope ...

The Pope also got a Twitter account this week
(This is NOT Frank Pannorfi !)

Follow @notthepta 

This week we've also begun cross-posting articles on Twitter (see @NotThePTA on www.twitter.com )  -- If it's good enough for The Pope, it's good enough for me!

NotThePTA.org hit a milestone last month when the quarterly advertising revenue hit 5 digits.  OK, 2 of them were on the right side of the decimal point --- but why get technical!  Keep clicking those annoying damn ads!  (Please?)

IF he ever decides to include advertising, what do you suppose the Pope's revenue would look like ?

Follow @notthepta

The Tale of the Tape

Overlooking all the chest-thumping and finger pointing that will begin to ramp up with the coming Budget Season -- here's a relatively straight-forward look at a serious budgetary indicator -- the amount the Town is paying to send Sandwich students to other public schools.

According to the Cherry Sheets, over the past five years that net expense has increased from almost  $600,000 to almost $1,500,000 after State reimbursements.

You certainly can't fault the Charter Schools -- they are providing a product that people want.  And, they have the luxury of being able to do it without the constraints of dealing with union nonsense, or without the requirement of offering multiple academic programs.  If you want the curriculum they offer, feel free to apply -- otherwise, go elsewhere.  They also have the benefit of motivated students and parents.   It takes effort to apply to a Charter School and it takes motivation to travel long distances each day to a school building with limited facilities and limited extra-curricular options.  Charters aren't for everyone - but those that choose to attend generally do well academically.

The Big Picture

 Chairman,CAVE
 (Citizens Against Virtually Everything!)

I would hate to be branded a member of CAVE -- I have long supported a new public safety building to replace the undersized, decrepit facilities now in use.   But I can very easily see both sides on this one -- I can even argue this issue with myself:

Will the Building make us safer?  Well, it will probably decrease Fire/EMS response times to somebody's house -- but not mine..  

Is it necessary?   There seems to be a growing trend towards building huge municipal edifices over the past decade.  I know it has been said that the buildings are being built to some sort of new industry standard or accreditation yardstick.  I would think a more important yardstick would be the number of  "Boots on the Ground".  People put out fires, rescue people, and capture Bad Guys -- Buildings don't.  But, Buildings do provide healthy work environments that may allow people to do their jobs more efficiently as well as provide facilities for the continue training of people.  Buildings also make a good place to store equipment in a manner that will make it last longer and/or work better (and provide a secure place to store Bad Guys until they can be given to somebody else).

Is it the right time?  It's never the right time for anything   Our local infrastructure is falling apart because nobody has agreed to spend anything on Town Buildings for decades.  The Great Local Wizards of Yore saw Commercial Development as the Work of the Devil.  They went out of their way to block commercial development -- which shifted a huge portion of the tax burden onto homeowners.  And, then they started selling their land to new home owners who increasingly needed new expensive services -- like schools, police & fire protection.

A Municipal Translation Guide

I recently read an amusing article about meaningless words and phrases that should be removed from everyone's vocabulary.  It contained the usual suspects -- "like",  "literally", "changing paradigm", "outside the box", etc.

It made me think of a newer variation -- "Meaningless Words and Phrases That Could be Eliminated From Local Government Discussions."  But, knowing how unyielding the local vernacular is to modification of any sort, I , instead, offer the following translation/response guide.

1)  "Transparent" -- Buzzword #1 -- nothing could be bad if it is described as "transparent"!  Generally used to criticize somebody else's work -- even though the speaker would probably do nothing different if given the opportunity.

2)  "Seek Community Input"  -- The speaker is seeking to avoid making a decision for which they could be criticized.  This allows blame to be spread around based on the public opinion they will receive from the 7 people paying attention to that particular issue.

(First Rule of Thumb for Government Speaking -- When in doubt, repeat the phrases "Transparent" and "Community Input" as many times as possible!)

3)  "People have expressed concern" -- Very similar to #1, except the speaker is unwilling to say that it is either their own opinion because nobody else was paying attention to the issue, or nobody was willing to be publicly associated with their own opinion.

4A)  "It's a Process" -- A meaningless phrase used when the speaker doesn't have a constructive idea; or just wants more camera time.  We need to spend less time discussing process, and more time discussing progress.

4B)  "Evolve" -- Nothing has happened yet, we're not sure what will happen in the future either.

5) "Think outside the box" -- Speaker really has no idea what to say; but doesn't want to admit it.  (I would say that Speaker should be put inside a box -- except that somebody is liable to interpret that as a threat and pressure the local constabulary to investigate a potential domestic terrorism risk.)

6)  "Uncharted territory" --- I got no F'n idea what's going to happen!

7)  "Deferred maintenance"  -- Something we know we should have done previously -- but are now pretending to be surprised that we hadn't done previously (related to the Ben Franklin quote -- "a stitch in time saves nine")

Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot!

OK, The Accountant beat The Tree Warden for State Rep., that's a Good Thing.   And, on the State Senate side, as much as we all love to hate Beacon Hill and its inhabitants, who wants to wait the decade before somebody stops using "who is" in front of your State Senator's name?  If you need the State's attention, do you want to be represented by a freshmen Senator from the Minority Party, or The Boss -- Pragmatism wins!

But what happened to el Presidente ?  Is anybody better off than they were a few years ago?  My obvious bias would be to support a corporate restructuring guy over a "Community Activist" -- since (a) the Country obviously needs some restructuring and (b) who really likes "Community Activists"?.  I think its  time for the Grand Old Party to start reeling their right wing in a little ... lest it break off entirely!

And, does anybody feel they will be better represented by the left wing Professor from Oklahoma (even worse than a "wash ashore!") who scammed the system by lying about her heritage?    Didn't a couple of Boston Firemen try that a decade ago? Was anybody else amused by her rant about the Government needing to "do something"about the cost of higher education?  Perhaps they should crack-down on overpaid Professors !   Was it me, or did she seem incapable of answering any questions without repeating mouth loads of "sincere" rhetoric -- that had nothing to do with the question asked? 

Speaking as a guy who has taken several dogs, cats, rabbits, and  a guinea pig for their final car ride (and who watched both his parents die miserable deaths), I was surprised that voters weren't willing to allow terminally ill patients the same merciful treatment we allow our pets.  I would be willing to bet there were a lot of folks who were incapable of travelling to the polls yesterday who may have felt differently on the issue.  Well, I am sure somebody's guilt was eased by the fact that they were able to prolong an "existence" -- maybe they made themselves feel better?

But, then again, it looks like we'll have some medical marijuana to play with while we're all waiting to check out!

The voters have spoken.  And, as the old saying goes, "the only thing worse than Democracy, is Not Having Democracy!"