“We’re incredibly gratified that the state’s Supreme Court recognized that public dollars should stay in public schools,” said Kerrie Dallman, educator and president of the Colorado Education Association. (photo by Jeffrey Beall)
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
DOLLAR DAZE IV - THE MONEY MESS AT LPS
I almost feel like I am arguing against myself sometimes. You see the FINANCIAL FICKLE at LPSis two fold. First the city of LYNN is not providing a LARGE enough contribution as mandated by MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAW hence the NET SCHOOL SPENDING debacle. Here in some ways I agree with the MAYOR. The formula is too complicated and doesn't reflect the need for cities to build new schools. Believe me LYNN is not alone in this need. Sorry MAYOR, all of the other URBAN districts are meeting their obligations BROCKTON may or may not be suing but they're still paying while they are deciding what they are doing.You may be using one but your FISCAL CHICKEN is not finger-lickin' good!
Then there is the other problem. It's how they spend what they do get. Hard to generate much sympathy. "Please sir, give us more" when they mismanage what they got. Bad choices.
Then there is the other problem. It's how they spend what they do get. Hard to generate much sympathy. "Please sir, give us more" when they mismanage what they got. Bad choices.
DOLLAR DAZE IV - SPED SALARY SALARY SYMPTOMS OF A SHAKE-UP (OR MAYBE DOWN)
Combine the fact that according to item IX, A1 on the last LSC meeting Agenda the retiring DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL ED amended her retirement date by extending it two months, rumours I've been hearing, and there is no specific position on the SPED page for a leadership position, just $251,000 for two positions lumped under the vague label of ADMINISTRATION SALARY.
BY THE WAY, THAT'S A $14,000 INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR.
BY THE WAY, THAT'S A $14,000 INCREASE OVER LAST YEAR.
DO YOU SMELL THE MONKEY?
DOLLAR DAZE IV - REVERSE OF A RAISE
This seems ODD to me. The principals position at PICKERING is actually DECREASING from $116,500 to $112,900. WHAT'S UP WITH THAT? I never see wages go in that direction.
DOLLAR DAZE IV - POSITIONAL POLITICS
The cost for the PrinciPAL position at FORD SCHOOL seems curious to me for a couple of reason. One is $105, 000 was budgeted for the position last year but for half the year the position was temporarily filled by a PrinciPAL from another school who I imagined was being paid from another line already. So where did the money go? I am sure it was all legal like just a convenient little shell game that accountants do. It probably went to pay off that "TRANSITION TEAM".
This year the position cost $115,000 for the the new PrinciPAL for the whole year. I am sure she is worth it but it reflects an increase of almost 10% for the position. Do you know any TEACHING positions that got such a raise?
This year the position cost $115,000 for the the new PrinciPAL for the whole year. I am sure she is worth it but it reflects an increase of almost 10% for the position. Do you know any TEACHING positions that got such a raise?
Monday, June 29, 2015
I'M SO EXCITED!
I thought the the budget had to be approved to be posted. Am I wrong or did I miss a vote?No matter my work can begin sooner!
The newest edition of DOLLAR DAZE #4 will begin shortly!
The newest edition of DOLLAR DAZE #4 will begin shortly!
DROP ME A LETTER SOME TIME
NET SCHOOL SPENDING DEBT
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10:28 PM (9 hours ago)
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Dear Mayor Kennedy,
At last Thursday night's Lynn School Committee hearing you promised LSC
member Donna Coppola that CFO Caron would report on the current status of
Lynn's NSS situation to assure them that we are not in any impending danger
for not having worked out a repayment plan that the DESE can sign off on by
June 30th of this fiscal year. Since we will not be having any scheduled open
meetings until the July 16th Special Meeting of the Whole I am hereby requesting
that you or your designee contact me in writing regarding this matter.
Due to the millions of dollars involved, I am sure you can appreciate my concerns
for the fiscal well being of our city. I look forward to hearing from you for not only my
personal peace of mind but also to ease the concerns of my many readers. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Stan
A COMEDY OF CRISES
Mayor, council conduct civics lesson
Actually what they needed to conduct was an ECONOMICS lesson. MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE SAID WAS LEARN AN ECONOMICS LESSON.
Well class is about to begin. Why would the MSBA sign off on funding another school anytime soon at 80% when LYNN already owes about $16 MILLION DOLLARS? Don't forget that 80% for MARSHALL turned out to be closer to 50% after we started taking ALLOWABLE costs into consideration.
Then if by some miracle the MIRACLE the MSBA decided to overlook LYNN'S chronic underfunding of the schools any hopes of attaining the coveted 80% level may just be a PIPELINE dream. Remember the recalculation of need where LYNN looked a lot better?
How can the MAYOR say as she did in her STATE OF THE CITY address that things are looking up and we are having all these "positive" developments and at the same time go to the MSBA crying the poor Me's? SERIOUSLY?
And if the CITY fails to secure the funding (whatever amount it is) then all bets are off and you can KISS the $750,000 for the feasibility study good-bye. Heck, I'll tell you it's not feasible for FREE. No one disagrees that we have a problem and PICKERING'S problems have been well documented but are the TAXPAYERS of LYNN going to approve another $100 MILLION DOLLAR bond when the doors haven't opened yet for the last debt they signed on to?
REMEMBER THE HISTORY OF MYSTERY?
What I don't understand is why every school committee member has not contacted the school finance dept at the DESE to get all the information they need. The DESE posts all the compliance reports and other information, including the need for the mentioned schedule, on their website. This latest letter from the DESE should not have been a surprise to any of the members because they should have known months ago that the Mayor was required to submit it and whether she had done so. Why does the committee continue to rely on what the Mayor and Mr. Caron have to say when they both have been wrong in the past? The Mayor, who is an attorney, publicly stated Charlie Gallo was incorrect in believing the requirement she needed to meet according to the law was 100%, and that it was actually 95%. If she is unable to understand the law as it is written, or simply unwilling to follow it, what makes the committee members think she will provide them with updated or even accurate information and figures next month? They all need to go directly to the source for all the information and figures they need....the DESE. I am beginning to think the reason all of them don't is because they do not really want to know the facts, because then they will be forced to accept, face and deal with them. And the facts are very scary!
Sunday, June 28, 2015
AND YOU THOUGHT SCHOOL WAS OUT FOR THE SUMMER....
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GREAT EXPECTATIONS
On the sixteenth of July
A hard sell he will try
to do his best to explain why
On this, LPS will just have to get by.
Forget dreams of a hundred percent
You'll have to work with what is sent.
Doesn't matter in the law what is meant,
I'm here today to tell you to "GET BENDT!".
A hard sell he will try
to do his best to explain why
On this, LPS will just have to get by.
Forget dreams of a hundred percent
You'll have to work with what is sent.
Doesn't matter in the law what is meant,
I'm here today to tell you to "GET BENDT!".
MEETING MADNESS - JULY 16 AT 6:00PM
Can't wait hear CARON
Testify without swearin'
That it's the truth he does tell
Cause this budget's a hard sell.
He'll have to defend
Why so short the MAYOR does send.
Granted there's no money to be had
Because of past practices had.
Thanks for the good ole days
When money was found for your raise!
Testify without swearin'
That it's the truth he does tell
Cause this budget's a hard sell.
He'll have to defend
Why so short the MAYOR does send.
Granted there's no money to be had
Because of past practices had.
Thanks for the good ole days
When money was found for your raise!
Saturday, June 27, 2015
LAWYERS ALWAYS TELL THE TRUTH DON'T THEY?
That would be why a SPECIAL MEETING OF THE WHOLE will be held on JULY 16 at 6 pm at 100 Bennett Street for CFO Caron to give testimony before the the LYNN SCHOOL COMMITTEE in an OPEN meeting. It should be noted the LSC does not have SUPEONA power and cannot force, I believe, Mr. Caron's compliance. He does however work for the MAYOR who chairs the committee.
Because of the ending of the fiscal year and the timeliness of the necessary compliance, MAYOR Kennedy promised DONNA COPPOLA and other members of the committee some sort of written report by the 29th. I don't believe I will get a copy or I would share it with you. I think that's maybe why I won't.
NEW MARSHALL, NEW INTERIM VP
Congratulations go to JOHN PAVIA. He will be the new Interim Vice Principal at Marshal starting next week. Do they have to even interview for an interim vp?
SUMMER SCHOOL'S STILL ON
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WHO YOU GONNA CALL? MYTHBUSTERS
Mayor states her city’s case
After seeing me for two nights in a row, during a break between the PUBLIC HEARING and the LSC, JUDY asked me if I was coming down for this speech. It was nice of her to ask but really I'm not the type to pay to kick people in the teeth. Plus I would have had to get a ride.No I am sure, she breathed a little sigh of relief when she heard that. Now she knew things would be smooth and the ITEM would be handling the SPIN. Got to keep those advertisers and any potential PR clients happy. Well I can't help but comment on a few things like:
THE NEW MATH
Moving onto other issues, Kennedy told the chamber that she’s just submitted her fifth straightBALANCED
budget, and said the city is on solid financial ground.How can she say that with a straight face with the NSS crisis hanging over the city. We owe the state some $16 million dollars and she is playing financial chicken with the STATE. Betting on us being so bad the STATE won't come after us. She seems to be thumbing her nose at the DESE by ignoring their offers to help.
Instead making a meeting with the LT. GOV. to plead her case. She has to know the LT. GOV. can offer no real help. All this will do is to to try and make a stronger case for EDUCATION PRIVATIZATION. Let's let someone else pay he bill.
PIPELINE DREAMS
“After Marshall, we are slated to begin advocating for (a new) Pickering.”
Last Tuesday the CITY COUNCIL just approved spending $750,000 on a feasibility study. I know how this works. It is a necessary first step to go after MSBA money. The only thing is that like the MAYOR points out it doesn't count toward resolving the NSS problem. I agree it may be unfair but that's the world we live in and crying bout it doesn't change anything.
The saddest thing is it's good money after bad because you don't get it back if you can't come up with the funding. A vote from the citizens of LYNN would have to be taken for another $100 MILLION DOLLAR bond. Oh yeah, no increase in taxes.
All of this so we can get 80% reimbursement that is really probably closer to 50% thanks to the ALLOWABLE COSTS phrase. There are a couple of things that make matters worse though. How likely do you think the MSBA is going to give us more money when we have been so fiscally irresponsible with what we got? On top of that with the new formula for figuring up need, I wonder if we'll still qualify for the (NOT REALLY)80% level of reimbursement?
Friday, June 26, 2015
ALL YOU NEED IS A GOOD HOME RUN
After the GORDON COLLEGE petition struck out last night it was good to see RICK, who is both a current LSC member and COUNCILOR-AT-LARGE CANDIDATE, tonight at the NAVIGATORS game tonight. Being it was a FRIDAY HOME game, I got to see FIREWORKS FOR A SECOND NIGHT in a row. At least this time RICK bought me a HOT DOG.
More importantly, the NAVS won 9-1.
More importantly, the NAVS won 9-1.
FORD FALCON SOARS
Kristin Blowers Melendez added 5 new photos — 
feeling thankful.
feeling thankful.
2 hrs · East Lynn, MA ·
Last night at the Lynn School Committee meeting; Timothy's friend & classmate that saved Timothy from choking during lunchtime.
The school committee, Mayor Kennedy and superintendent Latham presented Endui with a certificate & congratulated him on his heroism. 😃
The school committee, Mayor Kennedy and superintendent Latham presented Endui with a certificate & congratulated him on his heroism. 😃
CHUCK TAKES TIME TO TAKE ME ON
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11:20 AM (18 minutes ago)
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Stan: The Nazi comparison by the woman who praised the Mayor and
advocated in favor of restoring ties with Gordon was am embarrassing
exception, I thought, so it was not "otherwise a civil discussion of
opposing views." Bringing up the Holocaust was uncalled for, and
totally disrespectful in light of the death of 6 million Jewish people
and millions of others, including gays. Shame on her for making that
comparison. And shame on you for not counting that as a second
"offensive and embarrassing exception." I was offended also by how the
woman sitting next to Mr. Lindsay was giving dirty looks to so many
speakers who opposed your petition, although unseen by most since she
was in the front row. She was beyond rude and disrespectful, and I
hope she never sets foot inside our city again. My thoughts... Best,
Charlie
advocated in favor of restoring ties with Gordon was am embarrassing
exception, I thought, so it was not "otherwise a civil discussion of
opposing views." Bringing up the Holocaust was uncalled for, and
totally disrespectful in light of the death of 6 million Jewish people
and millions of others, including gays. Shame on her for making that
comparison. And shame on you for not counting that as a second
"offensive and embarrassing exception." I was offended also by how the
woman sitting next to Mr. Lindsay was giving dirty looks to so many
speakers who opposed your petition, although unseen by most since she
was in the front row. She was beyond rude and disrespectful, and I
hope she never sets foot inside our city again. My thoughts... Best,
Charlie
Well CHUCK you are a little right about the NAZI comparison, it was a little disturbing but I would question whether it rises to the level of offensive. That's the funny thing about facts, you don't get to pick and choose which ones are true, they either are or they are not. Just because they are unpleasant doesn't make them false. It could well be argued she was referring to the propaganda techniques employed.
As for your second example, I have to admit I am lost there.
giving dirty looks to so many
speakers who opposed your petition,
Is that the same WOMAN you accused of being Lindsay's PR representative? Geez, I never realized she would be opposed to OUR petition. Are you sure you wrote that correctly. It was QUITE evident last night you falsely tossed out identifications or should I say misidentifications. Maybe she had a tic or some other physical handicap like me. Let's not be to quick to judge lest we be labeled intolerant or discriminatory.
Anyway CHUCK, I know you take yourr role as an elected official seriously and I want to remind you that you are held to a higher standard than your constituents, audience members, and thankfully me.
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