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NSS
Member
31 Posts |
 Posted - 01/18/2007 : 9:23:13 PM
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Good evening to all ,,this interesting discussion on paying the school committe,, for what i live in award where the only time i see my rep is either on a ball field with his son or every 24 months when they need a vote . Speaking of money the mayor got a raise in 2000 i think it was?? now the common council which i for one am not a big fan of when was their last raise??? Is this or is this not at some point going to increase our taxes?? thanks
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 08:17:39 AM
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I would imagine that paying the School Committee would indeed increase our taxes. That is where the city gets it's operating expenses. When I heard Mangan bring it up a the Council meeting the other night, I couldn't believe my ears. I am glad some of the other members spoke up and said exactly what Mangan was doing. Remember, Mangan is part of Hanlon's cronies, a bit younger than the rest, but never the less one of his lackeys.
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Lynda
Advanced Member
1282 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 08:45:08 AM
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| I too enjoyed the Council meeting the other night on this issue. (really the only one they took time to address) At first I felt bad for the guy when they started attacking him than after listening to what they had to say it all fell into place. Were they NOT aware of the fact that this was a non-paying position? If they don't like that than maybe they shouldn't have taken the seat. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 08:57:13 AM
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| It appears to me that FFF is running the city and he wants "his" school board paid. So, he tells Hanlon and Hanlon has one of his lackeys bring it up a the meeting. |
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Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 09:21:34 AM
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| Exactly right, massdee and Lynda. However, this could be "win-win." The charter change to pay the school committee could be TIED to preventing anyone with a financial conflict of interest, ie, family members and friends working for the school department, from serving on the school committee. If you don't do that - then you can't beat Fred at his game, and you will never have an independent school committee. The city could never pay the school committee what Fred "does" by keeping their spouses employed - so if you keep them from serving on the school committee, and provide a stipend similiar to what the aldermen receive, you might actually get some independent people running for the school committee. The current school committee shouldn't receive a dime, given the sheer mismanagement that has been exposed on their watch. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 09:46:06 AM
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| Court, I agree with you completely, which isn't unusual, but does anyone who would be on the charter review committee have the nerve to put those restrictions in place? I doubt it, they would never have an independent thinker on that committee. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 10:08:02 AM
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Crime does not pay ... as well as politics.
Alfred E. Newman |
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Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 10:22:13 AM
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Well, massdee, if members of the charter review committee can't take the heat, then they had better get out of the kitchen! If it gets done right, it shouldn't be pretty; it should be akin to giving birth. When this charter finally gets changed, it should reflect the reality that is Everett as a community and the collective wisdom we've gained from leaving an archaic system in place too long. Within that collective wisdom is an Everett fact of life - our wholly owned subsidiary of Fred, Inc. - the school committee. Perhaps you will take up the challenge, massdee?
Emile, mi amico, tell me that you and the Pup will take on the challenge! |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 10:27:13 AM
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| Court, school committee or charter review? Over the years I have butted heads with FFF and really do not wish to revisit that again. Charter Review, now that might be quite interesting. |
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Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 10:32:25 AM
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| massdee, Charter Review is where it's at. Living well is the best revenge....what better way to fix Fred's wagon than to reinvent his school committee so that he can't control it. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 11:03:12 AM
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In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards.
Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) |
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Citizen Kane
Advanced Member
1082 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 11:03:45 AM
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Do I understand this charter review committee process correctly. I think "review" is the operative word. They can make recommendations, but they're not empowered to actually enact change. Isn't it then up to the city council to vote on the recommendations?
I may have that wrong, because there have been so many different explanations as to what needs to be done to bring about charter review. However . . . if it has to come before the vote of the council, I can't see them voting to eliminate those with employed family members from running for School Committee. Remember, a few of the members of the city council also have family members working for the school department.
Also, you have to consider the fundamental right of every American to seek public office. Unless you're a convicted felon, you have that right.
I'm not a fan of the current school committee members, because I believe they've sold themselves for their own benefit, but I'm very uncomfortable with denying people the right to run for office.
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Court4Fred
Advanced Member
1201 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 11:19:20 AM
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| But Citizen, no one is denying them the right to run. It is a reasonable restriction to impose, and we impose restrictions all the time. The only way that Mr. King could keep his council seat after being placed on the EHA was to forgo one of the salaries. The thinking is the same; if someone wants to run for school committee, and get paid - they must be conflict-free, by either giving up a salary (having their spouse work in another school district) or not running at all. It's about financial interests in an outcome, Citizen. At one point, we had a former school committee person admit in a newspaper that he/she negotiated with his/her child's union at the school department....and state that there was no conflict. |
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justhefacts
Member
51 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 11:36:34 AM
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CK you are absolutely right. The Charter Review Committee that is in place has no standing to actually implement charter review. Anything they come up with is a recommendation. In order to get a full charter review people in the city need to collect 15% of the registered voters' signatures. Upon getting that done, the charter review will be placed on the ballot. At the same time there will be an election for an unpaid charter review elected body. If the review passes this unpaid body will have the top 9 (i believe) vote getters become the official charter review people. They have specific deadline on public meetings, hearings, etc. that they must meet. It will take about 2 years to fully review the charter, and write another. Once the new charter is written it will go on the ballot for the next statewide election (2010). This committee can come up with multiple charters to give the voters a choice, but the highest vote getting charter will become the new charter of the city of Everett. It is a long process, and one that needs many volunteers. I believe there are 500 signatures on record with the city now, and another 2500 that need to be collected. I hope we can get as many people as possible together in the spring to get it on the ballot this November.
Sorry for the long post, hope it makes sense. If not let me know and I can try to be a little better on the specifics. |
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massdee
Moderator
5299 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 11:58:13 AM
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| Wouldn't it be more prudent to have the committee go through the charter and only recommend changes that are necessary rather than rewrite the complete charter. It seems like this process is a lot more complicated that it needs to be. Hasn't there been changes made to the charter previously? How was that done? I don't ever remember anything to this magnitude. |
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Citizen Kane
Advanced Member
1082 Posts |
Posted - 01/19/2007 : 12:39:07 PM
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I'm not sure about any changes that have been made to the charter . . . the ordinances supplement it, I believe, but I think the charter itself has remained unchanged since its inception.
And Court, the restriction your talking about with Joe King has to do with him alone -- you can't receive two paychecks from the city. If you're going to apply litmus test to the school committee -- that you can't serve if you have "family members and friends" working for the system -- you'd have to apply it across the board. Taking the current personalities out of it -- how can you say to someone "you can't serve on the School Committee because your spouse or your best friend from high school works for the School Department, so unless your they agree to change jobs, if you're elected, you can't serve"?
I think we need to sit back and try not to make decisions based solely on the composition of the current school committee and the Superintendent. Fred Foresteire is not going to be around forever. Whatever we decide to do with the charter or with the issue of whether the School Committee should be paid, a big part of this lies with school education reform, which gives far too much power to the superintendents with very little oversight by the city. Everett may be an extreme example of the power of the superintendent, but we certainly aren't the only community that has had the experience of absolute power corrupting absolutely. Talk to the people in Reading and Lawrence. They have some stories of their own to tell. |
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PLEASE EXPLAIN
