Bettencourt wins, Niz loses, Peabody needs to be spending less time in courtrooms

First of all, hello to the folks who sometimes read this blog.

I have been VERY inattentive to this space and can't promise I will do any better in the near future. All I can say is when I have something to say I will try and find the time to say it.

A few stories of late have me thinking about Peabody...

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Bettencourt winning his pension is a terrible miscarriage of justice. The idea that he was not going to be able to somehow profit from his illegal activities is really besides the point. He broke the law and he did it at work... using work computers... and knowledge he could only illegally obtain through his position as a police officer. The fact that he simply was doing it to be a giant snoop and a big-shot know-it-all is really of no concern to me. This simply smacks of one public servant helping another one. Seriously can you even begin to say that what he did has no connection to his job? And THAT is the legal stance of whether or not someone should be allowed to keep their pension after they commit such a crime.

And spare me your comments about 'his poor family' and 'all his good deeds' because I'm sure that many of the people he had arrested in his career were equally 'good citizens' who happened to also be criminals. Just like he is.

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The good news is that even when the City does some REALLY STUPID STUFF... such as having the City Solicitor advising public employees to NOT TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH IN A DEPOSITION (what the heck was he thinking?) the TRUTH of the matter comes out and an idiot like Niz loses BIG TIME.

I would say that in a normal world NOT telling the whole truth to the general public concerning the 'transition' (read FIRING) of an employee - under the thought that the employee might salvage a little of his good(?) name - I would say this was a thoughtful thing to do. It happens everyday in the private sector. Someone gets called into the bosses office and is given 2 or 3 weeks to find a new position and 'move on' in good standing... or be let go if he/she decided not to go.

So here the administration of the schools tried to protect the long storied career of a man some hold in high esteem by NOT acknowledging serious misdeeds and just saying it was time for a change.

But being the type of person he is, Coach Niz couldn't do the right thing and instead of accepting responsibility for his poor choices and bad actions... decided to blame everybody but himself. And at the trial the truth came out and it looks like his reputation will never be the same.

At least he lost. Maybe he will quit politics completely and do us all a favor.

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Is anyone else tired of the same old Salem News rant about EVERYONE WHO WORKS IN PUBLIC SERVICE IS PAID TOO MUCH AND DOES NOTHING!!! The latest "outrage" is a woman who has been working for the teachers union for many years and yet is allowed to maintain her standing as a public school teacher (since she is representing them.) The idea is that she can still log the time as if she was working AS a teacher when it comes to her pension. The Salem News is typically in a giant snit about how unfair this is to the public.

Except that this is part of a contract that was agreed to by both the union and the administration (representing the public) many years ago. The idea that people today are not happy with it is, frankly, too bad. I can't sign a contract with someone and then change the rules after the fact.

Suppose I signed a year long lease for $1000/month. But after the first month the landlord calls and tells me he isn't making enough profit and wants me to pay $2000... SORRY MAC! A contract is a contract. I don't know why it was scene as a good idea to allow this 20+ years ago, but both sides felt it was good and they agreed to it.

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I will try and be a little more active on the blog. I may or may not be successful. Leave a comment or not. If you have an idea, add it as a comment and I'll try to get to it.

What is wrong with the Peabody Public School System?

Is it just me or is this one of the saddest years ever for the beleaguered Peabody Public School System?

• First they have this horrendous budget cut that pretty much will undo most of the good progress made in the Peabody Schools in the past 10 years (and remember the ONLY PLACE IN THE ENTIRE CITY BUDGET THAT NEEDED CUTS was the Public Schools!)
  
  
• Then Superintendent Milton Burnett decided that a select few of his management team needed BIG RAISES... EVEN THOUGH HE HAS AXED 75+ employees and more than 25 teachers
  
  
• And now comes this gem... The cost savings plan to remove highly trained (and higher cost) school adjustment councilors and replace them with lesser trained (and cheaper) school guidance councilors - WHICH WAS APPROVED BY THE SUPERINTENDENT - is actually going to cost the City a bundle!

The Salem News: 'Cost-saving' layoff plan has backfired

Now I have admitted to not being a big fan of coach Niz and don't think he is an effective school committee member. However I can not fault him in this instance. He was simply making a suggestion for a potential cost savings move during the ridiculous sham of a budget that the school committee was working on.

The problem here was in what happened next... the highly paid educational administrative profession known as Superintendent Milton Burnett SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE IMPORTANT POSITIONS! Now... is the difference the number one thing he needs to deal with on a daily basis? Of course not. But THIS IS HIS JOB! He should have looked into this matter (if he didn't already know how it worked) and figured this out BEFORE making this STUPID MISTAKE.

How do we expect our students to learn how to think and act in intelligent and proactive ways when the very people in charge can't even do the basic tasks correctly (while getting a very nice paycheck for the honor as well)??????

Niz in the news again

It is actually quite sad to see this man again fighting the City because he didn't get his way. I mean is this how he demonstrated good sportsmanship to his many players over the years?

And such wonderful evidence such as:

• I wasn't hired
• The guy hired was younger than me
• Therefore, I am a victim of age discrimination

I guess it doesn't matter that the guy hired was still over 50 (only a few years younger than him) or that his juvenile temper tantrum and outburst was humiliating and an embarrassment to the Peabody school sports program, and the City in general.

But, for some people , EVERYTHING is always someone else's fault.