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!")