written (or copy and pasted) solely by Stanley H. Wotring, Jr. I am not a representative of the LSC (BUT I WANT TO BE!}
nor are they responsible for the content. My email address is ***Lynn.School.Watch@gmail.com***.
TIME TO GET SERIOUS!
Let's see do I vote for Ms. Carrasco. Let me think.
Huge disparities between resources and budgets at English and Classical. Makes me wonder how much effort she has actually put into these schools and how much she actually pays attention to the budget.
Excuse me - none of the School Committee members made the budget - talk to the Mayor. The Mayor is given no blame for short changing ALL the schools. Who do you think does the budgets? You need to be kidding if you are singling out one School Committee meeting to blame on a budget line.
None of the committee members pay attention to the budget like they should, but who can blame them? The school department budget has to be the most unclear, hard to follow budget ever created. I would challenge the school committee members to have a third party accounting professional to conduct an audit and thoroughly go through the school department's operating budgets for the past 5 years. Every school committee member should know precisely where every dollar comes from and when, as well as where every dollar is spent and when.
Not that I know what I am doing but I can tell you I have been going through the budget the past three years with my DOLLAR DAZE series and I will tell you it is convoluted and crazy. Money is moved around from line to line to keep you guessing.
Agreed, it is just like the principal salary issue from the other day. With Classical Principal not getting a raise in four years while other PrinciPALS of Latham have had raises in the past couple of years. Principal at LVTI has less than 5 years and makes the same as Principals at English and Classical. Makes me wonder if any of these "educational leaders" actually PAY attention or are just puppets of Latham. The scary part is that people like Ms. Carrasco and Ms. Coppola are known to not side with Latham and yet they have done NOTHING equalize resources and equity.
Interesting! My daughter is pretty active at Classical. They have a great communication system with Jupiter and works hard to get the word out. Classical has had open houses, They have Parent University, and a number of other activities. I have not seen one School Committee present at any of them. Particularly, not Ms,Carrasco or Ms. Coppola who lives around the corner. With the high hispanic numbers and Coppola living around the corner. You would think that these people would pay attention for this own benefit in addition to being on the school committee.
Funny you say HIGH hispanic numbers, I was at a SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT COUNCILmeeting at ENGLISH last year where the princiPAL there claimed that ENGLISH had a hard time making it out of LEVEL 3 because they didn't have the high ASIAN population that CLASSICAL had.
I can only speak to the high school level since most of my kids have been out of school for a while. I hate to say this but do you think that some of the board members are just not SMART ENOUGH to figure it out. Maybe they need to smarten up and start asking questions???
Why does English High School have a budget that is $100,000's of dollars higher then Classical for a similar population size?
Why is it that a well respected Principal like Constantino has not had a raise in four years and makes the same salary as a Principal that has been in the system 5 years with a school half the size?
What was going on at Classical that made them the first level 1 high school in the city and what is the system doing to learn from them.
What is going on at Classical that allows them to maintain a level 2 despite that lack of resources compared to the level 3 English high school?
Why was the English Principal allowed to take students to Italy and the drunk photos of students make to the web and no reprimand by anyone was issued?
Let's ask a school committee person the last time they visited any of the high schools and talked with teachers and administrators about their concerns in their building.
These are just a few questions that the school committee and other elected officials needs to start asking. ELECTIONS are around the corner. We can only hope that we get candidates who actually get involved in our schools and are SMART enough to ask the right questions.
Ford and Gallo are in Classical regularly. Not sure about the others but as a point of information Coppola has not lived near Classical for years, not that that should make a difference about her visiting the school.
As someone who really is in Classical regularly, I can assure you, Ford and Gallo are not. Although, Gallo does show his face during election time, so maybe next year we will see him.
If regularly means one or twice a year for special occasion for which they might have been invited I might agree. I would be shocked that any school committee person has shown up to Classical just to get feedback.
As mentioned prior, if any of those school committee people paid any attention to Classical, why would Classical be so shorted in budget and resources in comparison to English for the same population. How hard is it for any of the school committee members to ask the superintendent for equality if they cared enough to bother. Why would they allow a principal to be passed over for 4 years without a raise knowing full well that would cause anyone to want to leave the position. If they care, they do not appear to show it. Their lack of action speaks for how much they really care and want to make a difference.
Classical is a wonderful school, and it is always a pleasure to visit. In response to several posts, a quick search of my calendar shows that I visited Classical during the school day at least twice last academic year. I have visited Classical during the school day at least twice this academic year as well. I have gone to no less than six Classical functions on evenings or weekends during the same period, plus graduation. I also attended a Classical parent council meeting.
Previously, during my first year on the School Committee back in 2012, I even sat in on classes during the school day at Classical at the good suggestion of a student. As there are nearly 30 schools in Lynn, School Committee members can not be everywhere all the time. Additionally, most of us have day jobs. We do our best. In fact, I have been in each and every school in Lynn during the school day during my three years on the School Committee. Other School Committee members can likely say the same.
In terms of the Classical budget, please recall that John Ford and I advocated, successfully, for adding a third vice principal this year, as one example.
I will say CHARLIE does show up a lot of places a lot of times. One thing though, one can look through a window or look at a mirror, which one gives a better picture.
I am not sure however the addition of a third vp was due to his lobbying or if it was after the fact.
Gene Constantino has been requesting a third VP for quite some time, and it was finally approved by Dr. Latham this school year. Mr. Gallo and Mr. Ford had no part in the process. All they did was agree at the budget meeting that the position was a much needed one. Mr. Gallo, since you decided to jump in on this conversation, it would be nice if you did comment on and explain why there is such a disparity between the Classical and English budgets.
Not to go back and forth, but I am proud of the work that Mr. Ford and I did in advocating for the third VP. You should ask Mr. Constantino or Dr. Latham whether or not we were part of the process; We very much were, I assure you. Please email me at Charlie@CharlieGallo.com with your other specific budget concerns; I will do my best to address them. - Charlie Gallo
Mr. Gallo, I have seen how you treat those who contact you with concerns. Some of your emails that have been posted on this blog are quite shocking. Therefore, I think I will pass. I think the budget, which yoi approved, speaks for itself. As does the latest figures posted by the Dept of Education which show Lynn is expected to be short in their net school spending by $11 million for 2015. Perhaps you should focus your efforts on issues such as this rather than attempting to credit you are not due.
I did not approve the budget. I was one of two committee members who voted against it, Ms. Carrasco being the other. My main reason for voting no was the underfunding that you cite, which I spoke about at length during several meetings. With all due respect, whoever you are, you are totally misinformed, as evidenced by your posts. Above, you are criticizing me for approving a budget, when in fact I voted not to approve it. Unbelievably misinformed. - Charlie Gallo
What CHUCK says is true, he did not vote to approve the budget. The reason given was the removal of about 7 million from a budget DR. LATHAM made from a number she wasn'e supposed to have according to the MAYOR. Some might say it was a ceremonial vote since passage seemed clear. Still he did vote the right way. However Anon. 759 is also correct that CHUCK does seem short with constituents when confronted with a disagreement.
The schools in Lynn have been underfunded by millions every year you have been on the school committee and you have approved those budgets. Unless of course we are all misinformed about that as well.
Actually champ, you might want to do a little research before coming to Gallo's defense. He has approved more than one budget that stiffed the schools millions.
On the upside, let's give credit where credit is do. If Mr. Gallo openly states his participation at Classical. I am inclined to believe him. It seems to me that some of the other posters have been misinformed or are trying to trash him for no good reason. I am confident that anyone can call the school and verify his statements to be true. It is a common sense issue and I hope the readers realize that some people have their own agenda. Sense we have your attention Mr. Gallo, why is the English budget so much higher than Classical? Classical has the same population as English and Classical has fewer teachers. English has two school monitors budgeted and Classical has one. English has more building subs budgeted than Classical etc. Bottom line is that Classical is being run to the ground. With all these differences, I hope you work with the school committee to review them and do something to equalize resources. Even though you only approve the budget, you can ask for explanations. If the explanations are not good ones, you can hold Superintendent Latham accountable.
My child goes to Classical. Mr. Gallo has been in her actual classroom twice for Social Studies. I asked her what she thought. She was very touched by his caring and what the students thought. He listened to the student concerns and encouraged them to talk with him anytime. I do not know much about the budget issue but she seems pretty confident about his abilities and his support of Classical and improving our educational system in Lynn.
My child goes to Classical too. It is true Charlie Gallo has visited the school. However, as someone already mentioned, his visits were around election time. Even so, at least he took the time to visit the school (even if it was to further his political agenda). Most of the other school committee members don't even do that.
My son goes to Classical. I participate in many activities at Classical. Mr. Gallo has been at the school for non-political reasons on a number of occasions. In addition, some are short sited. Classical has a number of activities outside the school. Mr. Gallo has participated in a number of those activities as well. He is one man working to improve over 20 schools. I am not sure what people are expecting in terms of participation. But to be honest, I have seen him more than any other school committee person at Classical events and other school events in general. You can do a simple search on Lynn Item Live and he appears in more articles supporting others than any of the other school committee member. I think if you are going to be judgmental. You should start judging those that hardly ever show up at all.
Charlie Gallo has been a great advocate for many people on many different levels. In addition to supporting Classical for a third vice principal, he has been active in supporting the Lynn's Youth Council. He has fought to keep charters school from expanding in Lynn. He has supported the building of the much needed Marshall middle school. He is working to bring in more grants. He has been working hard to get a new Pickering Middle school built. All the while supporting and participating in activities at for an at Classical and a number of other schools. I have to agree with the previous post. If you are going to be judgmental, you should start judging those that hardly ever show up at all and do the least to advocate for others. .
I know I have given CHUCK a hard time at times but I am that way to a lot of people. Equal-opportunity offender, that's me. I have learned if all you do is point out the NEGATIVE then no one takes you seriously. So let's get started.
Some people think CHUCK is very OPPORTUNISTIC in the selection of his positions. A lot of times, a lot of times he seems to take credit for ideas he did not originate. Biggest example is the LYNN YOUTH COUNCIL. I do believe that was BRENDAN CRIGHTON'S baby originally and well CHARLIE COME LATELY kind of piled on. However to be fair, he did take a supportive position.
The GRANT issue one is a good one. Who isn't for getting FREE money? Probably the same people who like SLICED BREAD. What I have been asking is for a little PROOF that we are actually getting more money in than the salary for the 1 1/2 positions that were created because of CHUCK'S efforts.
Let's talk about the NEW MARSHALL and the PROPOSED PICKERING. There's that SLICED BREAD analogy again. Who's goning to PAY for all of this?
Don't forget that CHUCK took an ANTI-RAISE position while he was running his LOSING race for REPPRESENTATIVE IN THE 11TH district. Idon't know if he has made arrangements to return any monies or benefits to the city coffers yet.
Charlie Gallo was the only school committee member out front on the issue of the schools being shorted millions of dollars in the drunks - I mean the mayor's - budget. He may be the most competent person on the school committee. Donna works out of spite for her "enemies" (DELUSIONAL!). Charlie is one of the good ones and it looks like there are petty weirdos attacking him on this site for no good reason.
Let's see do I vote for Ms. Carrasco. Let me think.
ReplyDeleteHuge disparities between resources and budgets at English and Classical. Makes me wonder how much effort she has actually put into these schools and how much she actually pays attention to the budget.
Well I have always known MARIA to be pro-parent and I do like her BUT you do bring up a valid point.
DeleteExcuse me - none of the School Committee members made the budget - talk to the Mayor. The Mayor is given no blame for short changing ALL the schools. Who do you think does the budgets? You need to be kidding if you are singling out one School Committee meeting to blame on a budget line.
DeleteNone of the committee members pay attention to the budget like they should, but who can blame them? The school department budget has to be the most unclear, hard to follow budget ever created. I would challenge the school committee members to have a third party accounting professional to conduct an audit and thoroughly go through the school department's operating budgets for the past 5 years. Every school committee member should know precisely where every dollar comes from and when, as well as where every dollar is spent and when.
ReplyDeleteNot that I know what I am doing but I can tell you I have been going through the budget the past three years with my DOLLAR DAZE series and I will tell you it is convoluted and crazy. Money is moved around from line to line to keep you guessing.
DeleteAgreed, it is just like the principal salary issue from the other day. With Classical Principal not getting a raise in four years while other PrinciPALS of Latham have had raises in the past couple of years. Principal at LVTI has less than 5 years and makes the same as Principals at English and Classical. Makes me wonder if any of these "educational leaders" actually PAY attention or are just puppets of Latham. The scary part is that people like Ms. Carrasco and Ms. Coppola are known to not side with Latham and yet they have done NOTHING equalize resources and equity.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! My daughter is pretty active at Classical. They have a great communication system with Jupiter and works hard to get the word out. Classical has had open houses, They have Parent University, and a number of other activities. I have not seen one School Committee present at any of them. Particularly, not Ms,Carrasco or Ms. Coppola who lives around the corner. With the high hispanic numbers and Coppola living around the corner. You would think that these people would pay attention for this own benefit in addition to being on the school committee.
ReplyDeleteFunny you say HIGH hispanic numbers, I was at a SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT COUNCILmeeting at ENGLISH last year where the princiPAL there claimed that ENGLISH had a hard time making it out of LEVEL 3 because they didn't have the high ASIAN population that CLASSICAL had.
DeleteI can only speak to the high school level since most of my kids have been out of school for a while. I hate to say this but do you think that some of the board members are just not SMART ENOUGH to figure it out. Maybe they need to smarten up and start asking questions???
ReplyDeleteWhy does English High School have a budget that is $100,000's of dollars higher then Classical for a similar population size?
Why is it that a well respected Principal like Constantino has not had a raise in four years and makes the same salary as a Principal that has been in the system 5 years with a school half the size?
What was going on at Classical that made them the first level 1 high school in the city and what is the system doing to learn from them.
What is going on at Classical that allows them to maintain a level 2 despite that lack of resources compared to the level 3 English high school?
Why was the English Principal allowed to take students to Italy and the drunk photos of students make to the web and no reprimand by anyone was issued?
Let's ask a school committee person the last time they visited any of the high schools and talked with teachers and administrators about their concerns in their building.
These are just a few questions that the school committee and other elected officials needs to start asking. ELECTIONS are around the corner. We can only hope that we get candidates who actually get involved in our schools and are SMART enough to ask the right questions.
Ford and Gallo are in Classical regularly. Not sure about the others but as a point of information Coppola has not lived near Classical for years, not that that should make a difference about her visiting the school.
DeleteAs someone who really is in Classical regularly, I can assure you, Ford and Gallo are not. Although, Gallo does show his face during election time, so maybe next year we will see him.
DeleteYou bring up a very good point, one that I have raised several times about the need to LEARN from CLASSICAL'S success.
DeleteIf regularly means one or twice a year for special occasion for which they might have been invited I might agree. I would be shocked that any school committee person has shown up to Classical just to get feedback.
ReplyDeleteAs mentioned prior, if any of those school committee people paid any attention to Classical, why would Classical be so shorted in budget and resources in comparison to English for the same population. How hard is it for any of the school committee members to ask the superintendent for equality if they cared enough to bother. Why would they allow a principal to be passed over for 4 years without a raise knowing full well that would cause anyone to want to leave the position. If they care, they do not appear to show it. Their lack of action speaks for how much they really care and want to make a difference.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately in the four years I've been following the budget, the LSC just usually rubber stamps the budget the SUPERINTENDENT.
ReplyDeleteHi. Charlie Gallo here.
ReplyDeleteClassical is a wonderful school, and it is always a pleasure to visit. In response to several posts, a quick search of my calendar shows that I visited Classical during the school day at least twice last academic year. I have visited Classical during the school day at least twice this academic year as well. I have gone to no less than six Classical functions on evenings or weekends during the same period, plus graduation. I also attended a Classical parent council meeting.
Previously, during my first year on the School Committee back in 2012, I even sat in on classes during the school day at Classical at the good suggestion of a student.
As there are nearly 30 schools in Lynn, School Committee members can not be everywhere all the time. Additionally, most of us have day jobs. We do our best. In fact, I have been in each and every school in Lynn during the school day during my three years on the School Committee. Other School Committee members can likely say the same.
In terms of the Classical budget, please recall that John Ford and I advocated, successfully, for adding a third vice principal this year, as one example.
I will say CHARLIE does show up a lot of places a lot of times. One thing though, one can look through a window or look at a mirror, which one gives a better picture.
DeleteI am not sure however the addition of a third vp was due to his lobbying or if it was after the fact.
Gene Constantino has been requesting a third VP for quite some time, and it was finally approved by Dr. Latham this school year. Mr. Gallo and Mr. Ford had no part in the process. All they did was agree at the budget meeting that the position was a much needed one. Mr. Gallo, since you decided to jump in on this conversation, it would be nice if you did comment on and explain why there is such a disparity between the Classical and English budgets.
DeleteNot to go back and forth, but I am proud of the work that Mr. Ford and I did in advocating for the third VP. You should ask Mr. Constantino or Dr. Latham whether or not we were part of the process; We very much were, I assure you. Please email me at Charlie@CharlieGallo.com with your other specific budget concerns; I will do my best to address them. - Charlie Gallo
DeleteMr. Gallo, I have seen how you treat those who contact you with concerns. Some of your emails that have been posted on this blog are quite shocking. Therefore, I think I will pass. I think the budget, which yoi approved, speaks for itself. As does the latest figures posted by the Dept of Education which show Lynn is expected to be short in their net school spending by $11 million for 2015. Perhaps you should focus your efforts on issues such as this rather than attempting to credit you are not due.
DeleteI did not approve the budget. I was one of two committee members who voted against it, Ms. Carrasco being the other. My main reason for voting no was the underfunding that you cite, which I spoke about at length during several meetings. With all due respect, whoever you are, you are totally misinformed, as evidenced by your posts. Above, you are criticizing me for approving a budget, when in fact I voted not to approve it. Unbelievably misinformed. - Charlie Gallo
DeleteWhat CHUCK says is true, he did not vote to approve the budget. The reason given was the removal of about 7 million from a budget DR. LATHAM made from a number she wasn'e supposed to have according to the MAYOR. Some might say it was a ceremonial vote since passage seemed clear. Still he did vote the right way. However Anon. 759 is also correct that CHUCK does seem short with constituents when confronted with a disagreement.
DeleteThe schools in Lynn have been underfunded by millions every year you have been on the school committee and you have approved those budgets. Unless of course we are all misinformed about that as well.
DeleteYou probably are champ. Quit while you're behind.
DeleteActually champ, you might want to do a little research before coming to Gallo's defense. He has approved more than one budget that stiffed the schools millions.
DeleteOn the upside, let's give credit where credit is do. If Mr. Gallo openly states his participation at Classical. I am inclined to believe him. It seems to me that some of the other posters have been misinformed or are trying to trash him for no good reason. I am confident that anyone can call the school and verify his statements to be true. It is a common sense issue and I hope the readers realize that some people have their own agenda.
DeleteSense we have your attention Mr. Gallo, why is the English budget so much higher than Classical? Classical has the same population as English and Classical has fewer teachers. English has two school monitors budgeted and Classical has one. English has more building subs budgeted than Classical etc. Bottom line is that Classical is being run to the ground. With all these differences, I hope you work with the school committee to review them and do something to equalize resources. Even though you only approve the budget, you can ask for explanations. If the explanations are not good ones, you can hold Superintendent Latham accountable.
You are wise Mr. Tim!
DeleteMy child goes to Classical. Mr. Gallo has been in her actual classroom twice for Social Studies. I asked her what she thought. She was very touched by his caring and what the students thought. He listened to the student concerns and encouraged them to talk with him anytime. I do not know much about the budget issue but she seems pretty confident about his abilities and his support of Classical and improving our educational system in Lynn.
ReplyDeleteI am sure she was well schooled on political sincerity.
DeleteMy child goes to Classical too. It is true Charlie Gallo has visited the school. However, as someone already mentioned, his visits were around election time. Even so, at least he took the time to visit the school (even if it was to further his political agenda). Most of the other school committee members don't even do that.
DeleteMy son goes to Classical. I participate in many activities at Classical. Mr. Gallo has been at the school for non-political reasons on a number of occasions. In addition, some are short sited. Classical has a number of activities outside the school. Mr. Gallo has participated in a number of those activities as well. He is one man working to improve over 20 schools. I am not sure what people are expecting in terms of participation. But to be honest, I have seen him more than any other school committee person at Classical events and other school events in general. You can do a simple search on Lynn Item Live and he appears in more articles supporting others than any of the other school committee member. I think if you are going to be judgmental. You should start judging those that hardly ever show up at all.
ReplyDeleteNO QUESTION, CHUCK does visit a LOT of places. It is what he does that some issue with.
DeleteCharlie Gallo has been a great advocate for many people on many different levels. In addition to supporting Classical for a third vice principal, he has been active in supporting the Lynn's Youth Council. He has fought to keep charters school from expanding in Lynn. He has supported the building of the much needed Marshall middle school. He is working to bring in more grants. He has been working hard to get a new Pickering Middle school built. All the while supporting and participating in activities at for an at Classical and a number of other schools. I have to agree with the previous post. If you are going to be judgmental, you should start judging those that hardly ever show up at all and do the least to advocate for others. .
ReplyDeleteI know I have given CHUCK a hard time at times but I am that way to a lot of people. Equal-opportunity offender, that's me. I have learned if all you do is point out the NEGATIVE then no one takes you seriously. So let's get started.
DeleteSome people think CHUCK is very OPPORTUNISTIC in the selection of his positions. A lot of times, a lot of times he seems to take credit for ideas he did not originate. Biggest example is the LYNN YOUTH COUNCIL. I do believe that was BRENDAN CRIGHTON'S baby originally and well CHARLIE COME LATELY kind of piled on. However to be fair, he did take a supportive position.
The GRANT issue one is a good one. Who isn't for getting FREE money? Probably the same people who like SLICED BREAD. What I have been asking is for a little PROOF that we are actually getting more money in than the salary for the 1 1/2 positions that were created because of CHUCK'S efforts.
Let's talk about the NEW MARSHALL and the PROPOSED PICKERING. There's that SLICED BREAD analogy again. Who's goning to PAY for all of this?
Don't forget that CHUCK took an ANTI-RAISE position while he was running his LOSING race for REPPRESENTATIVE IN THE 11TH district. Idon't know if he has made arrangements to return any monies or benefits to the city coffers yet.
The School Committee members didn't take a raise so what money should he return?
DeleteWell what about being put on the City's dole for insurance? That could be a SIGNIFICANT amount of cash?
DeleteCharlie Gallo was the only school committee member out front on the issue of the schools being shorted millions of dollars in the drunks - I mean the mayor's - budget. He may be the most competent person on the school committee. Donna works out of spite for her "enemies" (DELUSIONAL!). Charlie is one of the good ones and it looks like there are petty weirdos attacking him on this site for no good reason.
ReplyDeleteI think Gallo is posting as anonymous.
ReplyDeleteYou may be right, maybe not. Anyway I want to play the SAME lottery number as you!
DeleteI don't think Richard T is that guys real name
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8h_v_our_Q
Well everybody KNOWS my name!
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KtAgAMzaeg
ReplyDelete