LORI IS OUT LOOKING IN

Lori D'Amico I am no longer a resident of Lynn, so I will not be impacted at all by the results of the school vote and I am not for or against the vote. That said, it is shocking how misinformed and uneducated so many Lynn voters are on the topic and the financial standing of the city in general. So many of the hundreds of posts and comments I have read are from people who believe building the two new schools will resolve and end overcrowding in LPS. This simply will not happen. So many voters are convinced redistricting will not occur and their children will not be bussed to any other school. They are completely unaware about the financial disaster the city is currently in and the fact that the Mayor has failed to meet the city's NSS obligation for years causing the state to step in and issue more than one warning that several millions of dollars of essential state educational aid would be withheld as a result. The latest warning stated $11 million would be withheld. The city is unable to currently meet all of its financial obligations, but expects voters to believe it will be able to catch up on those obligations and pay an additional $91 million. What shocks me is that so many voters do actually believe the city will. The city is claiming homeowners will only see a $200 increase in their tax bill for the next 25 years. Yet the Mayor just announced seniors will get a break from that, so who is paying their share? Remember the Mayor promised there would not be an increase in taxes when Marshall was built, but to my knowledge there was (not right away of course because that would look suspicious 😉). The increase above and beyond $200 will come and so many naive taxpayers will be in for a surprise and will be left with nothing to do but pay. Newly assessed values or some other excuse will be used of course, not the debt from building the new schools and past due debts. I hear and see so much outrage over the location of one of the schools. Taxpayers, the location and traffic jam that will inevitably occur will be the least of your problems, you wait and see.