Things That Make You Go Hmmm...

And in related news ...
Sandwich School Committee approves proposed FY '14 Budget.

Targeted Marketing or Humorous Coincidence ?

Was it more than a coincidence that an ad for New England Burials at Sea appeared on the screen at Heritage Theater just before the start of the  movie Zero Dark Thirty, detailing the locating and disposal of Osama Bin Laden?   What's next, an ad for Weight Watchers before the next release of Willie Wonka?  How about a Bill Clinton campaign ad just before Wag The Dog ?

Speaking of Movie Theater Ads ... mixed in with the ads for local garages, restaurants,  real estate brokers and burial services, was a public service announcement for the proposed Sandwich Public Safety Building.

I have to assume the ad space was donated by the very community-spirited theater owner who has also been working hard to develop the area around the proposed Safety Complex -- but I am sure there will be some buzzing nonetheless!

Now Available on Twitter ...

If Twitter is good enough for The Pope (and Ted Nugent!), 

it's good enough for NotThePTA ! 

Follow @notthepta

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! NOT.

NOT.

Right on schedule.

The local "newspaper" (motto -- "Now available in two-ply rolls!") has run the inevitable  "Pool Broke, we can't fix it without District funding and we can't live with the proposed budget, and we can't build STEM unless we get more money" story.

It is certainly not a surprise that the aging pool is failing.  The complete lack of concern/funding for capital asset maintenance has been widespread across all town facilities.  (Although, It is ironic/amusing that the Athletic Director is now scrambling around re-scheduling school swim events because the District can't afford to repair the pool -- just a few weeks after he criticized the Administration for attempting to save money by reviewing the food service program.)

It is not a surprise that there are no reserve funds to pay for the repair.  If nobody can replace a $4500 valve, ain't no way they can handle a $30,000 re-grouting, or God-Knows-How-Much to replace the filter system!

It certainly not a surprise that Kangas is in favor of using District funds to repair the pool.  Her & Crossman have kids in pool programs. Crossman has also been (still is?) a paid pool employee.  The reality is that the vast majority of pool use has always been for non-school activities. At the risk of beating a dead horse, the School District ALREADY pays way more than its share of pool operating costs.

It's also no surprise that STEM funding is in jeopardy.  I think STEM is a great concept -- but there needs to be some compromise.  With all due respect, you can't have STEM and the Wing School.  As was pointed out previously, even if the every Wing student was re-assigned next week, the other schools would STILL be less crowded than they were a few years ago.  

The student population has dropped dramatically over the past several years and with the growth of local parochial schools, as well as an increase Choice & Charter School seats, it is just unnecessary to maintain the same number of classroom seats that were needed a decade ago.  Sorry, but it's time to shed a building AND some staff.

Mother Nature (and the Army Corps. of Engineers) left us with cold, rocky beaches.  Our Town Fathers of Yore virtually eliminated any hope of a real commercial tax base to take the stress off of residential taxpayers.  Barack and Deval want to get their hands deeper into our pockets.  Bud wants a new Public Safety Building.   The Library people want a new Biblio-Palace (I guess we could all plug our Kindles in there?).  The Teachers' Union leadership has pissed-off everybody in town.  And, the stupidity and vindictiveness of some prior School Committee members left the Town with a pending lawsuit which threatens to cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Does anybody really wonder WHY there is little support for any additional budget increases -- and why it is becoming increasingly difficult to stifle the yawns when discussing the annual school budget "crisis" ?

But, there was one bright spot in this week's coverage...

Travis Andrade questioned the wisdom of adding 6 school "security guards" while still charging parents for Full Day Kindergarten.   Finally, a question!!  I  think Full Day Kindergarten would be a great investment in early intervention and in reducing future special education costs.    Realistically, I would also see a half dozen, unarmed, poorly-trained Mall Cops, as a far greater risk to our kids than whatever else may be lurking out there.  Its not like you would be getting candidates for the FBI Hostage response team for $30,000 + benefits!   (Would this be a good time to bring up the public outrage when the prior administration moved to keep strangers from wandering in off the street and wandering naked with the kids in the pool locker area?)

COMING SOON:  Is there a iWorm in that Apple iPad ?

How much do you need?  OK, time to throw another Taxpayer on the Grill ....

Imagine A 6 Hour Colonoscopy ...

This Article as been pre-tagged
 to save time at my next deposition.

I was one of several people recently invited to "chat" with Legal Counsel for the town's liability insurance carrier to discuss the matter of Johnson vs. Town of Sandwich School Committee, Sherry Marshall, Nancy Crossman, Marie Kangas, and Jessica Linehan (aka C.A. No. BACV2010-00663).  Well, that's if a subpoena can be considered an invitation!

While all involved were very polite and professional, the adventure lasted for 6 hours nonetheless.  Our walk down Memory Lane covered a wide range of history including the contracts and evaluations of both Dr. Johnson, and her predecessor, Dr. Young.

And then the fun began.

"Who acts like an un-medicated third-grader?"  Who are the Four Witches of the Apocalypse? "  "Who are the Buffoons?"  What is the Coven you refer to?" (I think I saw the Court Reporter smile at that one!).

Yup, we got to talk about NotThePTA.  Apparently my post-school committee personal opinions as a mere mortal Taxpayer and Parent are somehow relevant to whether or not a contract was  properly extended or whether or not a subsequent School Committee took the proper steps to"unextend" it.

Who knew?

Rather than just repeat prior observations, I would point out the following links to previous comments are even more relevant now that the legal meters have been running at high speed for a few more months:

• Who's watching The Lawyers?
• Judgement Reversed
• OK, So Now What ?
• The longer the fiddling goes on, the bigger the fire is getting!
• One more Time ...  (Discussion of OML, 21 day rule and the South Hadley Case)

In my humble, non-lawyerly, opinion, the Johnson case seems to have gone way off the tracks with the legal expense meter spinning wildly out of control. The State Appeals Court has already made it clear the DA can not invalidate a contract and that the Committee did not file with the court to get a Judge's ruling -- as suggested by many. Insurance Counsel seems to be trying to claim there never was a contract -- but with signed documents and sworn testimony of the majority of the School Committee, its unlikely that will go anywhere -- except to further inflate legal bills.

Hopefully, those involved will step up, and appropriately resolve the situation so the local government can go back to spending time (and tax dollars!) building for the future -- instead of correcting the past.

Or ...

Everybody could avoid potential criticism and just kick the can a little further down the road again and do nothing except watch the legal fees grow and, of course, wait for a jury to fix the problem for them.  ("We didn't vote to pay a Gazillion Dollars -- the damn jury made us do it!")

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.