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imbroglio
Member
47 Posts |
Posted - 10/22/2008 : 11:31:03 AM
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| The advertising also serves as a bribe in order to ensure FFF will not be receiving any negative(and true) coverage locally. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 7:55:40 PM
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Anyone watching the School Committee meeting? It's unbelievable.
They just adjourned the meeting right in the middle of Smith speaking. |
Edited by - massdee on 11/03/2008 8:13:47 PM |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2008 : 8:50:13 PM
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I don't know why the school committe couldn't treat the items that Smith put on the agenda "seriously". It seemed like there was an legimate attempt on the part of the school department to answer the questions and I don't expect the school department to just take all of Stat's accusations without responding to them. But to blow thru the items so quickly that it was hard to tell if all twenty questions were addressed and to constantly complain about the questions being asked just makes it seem if they have something to hide.
Yes, some of Smith questions were things that the public may not be necessarily interested in i.e., which line item do advertising expenses come out of. Also, the discussion of the Boston Magazine article was probably out of place. Anyone who picks up that article will be scratching their heads over how the article claims the numbers were derived and the actual results; they just don't make sense. Just take care of the valid items in a respectful manner and defend yourself when necessary.
What happened made for good television though. Can't wait to see this week's Advocate. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 08:37:26 AM
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If you get a chance, check out a replay of last night's school committee meeting. It's only 25 minutes long but you only need to check out the last ten minutes. Of course, what you are watching for is another attempt by Stat Smith to get some questions answered. He basically gets stonewalled again by the school committee refusing to discuss the items by referring them to committee. Don't these guys realize how bad it looks when they do this as it appears that they are trying to hide something? Unless they're really trying to hide something.
Stat's issues this time included the cost of specific school department advertising in the local papers (claimed that he couldn't get answers when he asked the administration), whether or not school department administration contracts have been amended to added termination and suspension language (a State audit issue that was supposed to have been addressed already) and getting an interpretation of a specific clause in the superindendent's contract by the city solicitor (no details of the clause was given; "Mr. Clerk" wouldn't read it). The one request that was granted was a list of school department hires and terminations for the last three months. The list was distributed but not discussed.
Sure-fire anti-Stat piece in the Advocate this week. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 09:42:16 AM
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| Tetris, Do you know if the school department will be included in the Charter Review? If so, this could become even more interesting! |
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Wildfire132
Member
31 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 10:33:08 AM
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| I can't say about the School department, but the School Committee is included in the Charter Review. After the Educational reform act, this section will need some serious tweaking. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 12:41:09 PM
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There's actually not that much in the charter about the school committee and what's already there doesn't really seem like it would be much in conflict with ed reform. What is in the charter for the school committee is mostly about how the board is elected, the make up of the board (ward vs. at-large), the organization of the board, how mid-term vacancies on the board are filled and the powers and responsibilities that the city gives the school committee including the appointment of a superintendent and other administrators (if they wish), requesting and managing its own budget (suject to the approval of the mayor and the city council) and the maintenance of their own buildings.
At most, I could see some minor tweaking of the school committee sections of the charter and leave the rest to the state laws under ed reform since they will win out anyways. However, I believe that I will have to do some research on the issue that Councilor Peter Napolitano brought up last night in regards to the charters for the state approved forms of government to see what they contain for school committees before I'm willing to fully stand behind my interpretation. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
 Posted - 02/03/2009 : 2:52:53 PM
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| What I would like to see from Charter Reform is that we do not have a repeat of the FFF fiasco. If something illegal like that comes up, the Mayor should have the authority to remove the superintendent. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 02/03/2009 : 3:02:54 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Wildfire132
I can't say about the School department, but the School Committee is included in the Charter Review. After the Educational reform act, this section will need some serious tweaking.
Thanks for clarifying that. I meant the School Committee. |
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imbroglio
Member
47 Posts |
Posted - 02/05/2009 : 12:20:29 PM
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Back in the old days the School Committee was able to set their own budget without any interference from the council or the mayor. This is why they are elected directly by the people. They were a paralell legislature.
With the Chapter 70 reforms funding is determined by a formula and the committee has very little power other than to hire and fire the superentendent. The elected committee should be abolished and replaced by an appointed one. This is the how it is now done in Boston. The superentendent would then be accountable to the mayor in much the same manner as the police and fire chiefs are. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2009 : 08:22:34 AM
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I got behind in my posting last week. I had a few things that I wanted to comment about that I read in the local papers. So that I don't "bury" the posts and threads one after the other because most of them are in the same forum, I've decided to post them in the appropriate subject matter threads rather than the newspaper threads.
So, as I predicted, The Advocate had another hatchet job article on Stat Smith last week. I'm not going to say that the article was totally worthless. It did contain some information that I was unaware of before. I'm not sure of the validity of it but it at least sounded credible and shouldn't be that hard to verify.
First, The Advocate contends that the source of Stat's issues with the school department has "everything to do with his very close personal relationship with two former Everett school principals." It goes on to say that these "Men, who when they didn't get the higher positions in Everett schools they wanted, publicly vowed to "bring the school system down"". Does anyone know who they are talking about and what their relationships with Stat are?
The other seemingly new factual information that I found in the article had to do with Stat's efforts at the State House. According to the Advocate's research "Representative Smith has yet to make his "maiden" speech in the House and he has yet to introduce ANY legislation of his own." To be honest, those things don't surprise me. I have never seen Stat as a great legislator; he's more of a representative or advocate (strange choice of words). Does anybody think that if Wayne Matewsky were at the beginning of a second term as State Representative, that his track record in those areas would be any better? Senator Galluccio, who the The Advocate likes, seem to give Stat high marks on his performance at the State House, publicly at least. I think that he might be a fairer, more unbiased judge of that.
While I would have to admit that Stat's focus as member of the School Committee appears to be very narrow, at least he has one. While there a few members of the School Committee that seem to do most of the heavy lifting for the committee, the rest of them seem to sit there like lumps on a log. Admittedly, my views on the committee are shaped by what I see on the televised meetings. But, I just find it hard to believe that things would change all that much when the cameras are off. If the Advocate wants to rip Stat's performance at the State House, why don't these guys deserve some type of boot in the pants as well, especially now that they are paid (albeit not much) for their efforts?
If the Superintendent, the School Committee or the Advocate really wanted to shut Stat up, wouldn't the best way to appease him seem to be to give him exactly what he wants? Print the amounts paid for the ads in the paper. Print a page of a school administrator's contract that contains a termination and/or suspension clause in the paper. Print the contract clause that Stat wanted a legal opinion on in the paper so that all of us wanna be lawyers could take a look at it. Wouldn't that be a better way to diffuse the situation than to make up a new nickname for someone? Or do I have a clouded view on that because I feel that the paper is cutting in on the internet's turf? So, what's the reason that they don't take the bull by the horns? Of course, we can't say with absolute certainty but I think that most people would make the same guess why. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2009 : 10:08:58 AM
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I watched the school committee meeting last night.
I was horrified at the way another member was being treated and unable to speak at simple requests. People are asking Stat these questions and he has every right to ask them. Why cant he speak on his own motions? I'm not understanding that at all. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 02/09/2009 : 1:02:33 PM
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| I have no idea who the two principal's are that the Advocate is eluding to. If I had to venture a guess though, one would be Mr Gibson, former EHS principal and then sent over to be the Parlin principal, and then left, I believe. As much as I have tried I can't come up with the other. Is Mr Jones still a principal in any of our schools? He is the only other name I can come up with. |
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Tails
Administrator
2682 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2009 : 12:27:57 PM
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I got a copy of that article from someone. It sounds to me that the Advocate is at it again. He is referring to John Andrenucci and Eddie Murray.
Years ago they used to call Andrenucci "cat man" because he used to take in stray cats.
The story that I can remember about Eddie Murray was, he used to sell Celtics Tickets out of the Center School.
I believe the three have broken up so, it's the Advocate at his best. If I recall correctly too, the Advocate has been warned about the way he prints stories.
Typical rag mag. |
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tetris
Moderator
2040 Posts |
Posted - 02/10/2009 : 12:47:05 PM
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Not names that I remember from the recent past and sometimes it seems that the recent past is all I can remember. Can't see them taking the schools down any time soon though.
With that said, perhaps these guys could still be the root reason for the feud. But, once a feud gets started and it turns personal, the root of it of becomes pretty irrevlevant. |
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School Committee
