School admins get raises - What is wrong with these people?

So the Peabody school department in its illustrious wisdom has decided that the appropriate way to deal with the economic troubles that have caused the elimination of 50+ positions and the lower quality of education that comes with it...

The very best way to move forward and to improve the sad state of the Peabody school system is to.... HAND OUT EXTRA LARGE RAISES TO THE PRINCIPALS AND ADMINISTRATORS.

All the while raising the fees parents and students must pay and going back to the union employees with the expectation that they should give up some of their recent contract changes.

The Salem News: School chief gave administrator raises as others' jobs were cut

Frankly... this is an imbecilic move that unbelievably might even top some of Mayor Bonfanti's recent public relations gaffes! I mean WHAT WAS SUPERINTENDENT MILTON BURNETT THINKING???

I mean was he thinking.... This sure seems like the right time to give some of my top people raises that are more than 50% higher than what the rest of the people are getting? That the time sure is right with all the public support for teachers and the free flowing tax money?

Frankly... this is an amateur move. It is such a bad move I would consider this actionable... meaning it might be time for him to go.

At one time (and a different economic reality) I would be arguing that these people are probably under paid compared to some other folks and that retaining people should be a priority since we seem to play musical chairs with our school administrator in this City... but that is NOT the reality of today. To NOT recognize these real issues is to be ill fit for the position of power and authority required as Superintendent of Schools.

And then the absolute WORST part of the article was when High School Principal Edward Sapienza opened his mouth and made sure we all knew just how DAMN LUCKY we are that he is willing to LOWER HIMSELF to work in a place like Peabody... That is my interpretation of his words which are here:

Sapienza said even with his $106,424 salary he still earns less than high school principals in Danvers, Lynn, Marblehead and Swampscott and oversees more students than his counterparts.

"If somebody wants to begrudge that, go ahead," he said.

The high school principal said he has 37 years of experience and two master's degrees he paid for himself.

"I've got a wealth of experience," he said. "I think I'm a very good bargain."

Administrators don't have unions to negotiate their contracts and must individually make the case for salaries, Sapienza said. They, like the unions, seek equity in pay and benefits.

Sapienza said he sympathized with people who were losing their jobs. He chose to be an educator while others opted to go into the private sector.

"It's still America," he said. "You can still choose to be whatever you want to be."

Well said Principal Sapienza, well said indeed. I however think that if you are really so darn smart... you should have known better than to have mouthed off like this making the Peabody school administration, and yourself, look foolish.

I can only guess that the real fool here would be the Principal who accepted a job that pays too little in the first place. I do not begrudge people raises, but I DO begrudge them to BITE the hand that feeds them.

AT THE VERY MOST... these administrators should have received the same raises as the unions did... which is exactly the way it works in City Hall (and elsewhere in the City I believe.) But to be FIRING TEACHERS while GENEROUSLY REWARDING the administrators (people who will rarely have a direct impact on a student's life) is simply terrible.

Peabody should join into the new North Shore Technical High School

Peabody needs to join into (and be a leader in) the new North Shore Technical and Agricultural High School (NSTAHS).

The State (finally) seems eager to move forward with the NSTAHS (the combination and expansion of Essex Aggie and the North Shore Tech HS) with at least $77 million dollars.

While the other cities and towns involved still need to finalize their involvement, they are all on the way to getting it done.

Except for Peabody which is dragging its heels and putting up false protests in order to delay the process... which will mean that Peabody will end up NOT participating in this most worthwhile endeavor.

Peabody Lynnfield Weekly: Peabody wants more info before joining voke merger

Remember, PLW stories are only online for 1 week

Salem News: New voke school will get $77.5 million from State

Peabody should stop the endless debating and commit to joining (and being the leader in) the new NS Tech HS. Peabody has the largest number of students in technical programs and people are turned away each year. The current facilities at the Higgins are woefully inadequate AND the State has denied funding for the Higgins in the past specifically because the Peabody Voke is located there! The current program is not currently meeting the needs of its students and the equipment and programs are quite far out of date. This program needs to be expanded and modernized and Peabody can not (and will never) do it alone. This is the perfect way to join forces with other cities and town to share the costs, as well as get the State to shoulder much of the responsibities for this good idea.

Now, I am not saying that the City is wrong to want good information about this project (and especially the costs the City will need to provide.) But the fact of the matter is there ARE no guarantees in this world and estimates are just that... subject to change without notice. The idea that in this one instance the City would need such a super fine level of detail in order to make a decision is NOT the usual way things work in this City.

Thus, the delayed decision making seems much more like a stalling tactic than good financial prudence. Basically... if the City waits long enough, the project will simply GO AWAY because the State will pull the funding and we can go back to underfunding the current crappy program we offer our students today.

And if you think this is simply my opinion... read Dave McGeney and Beverly Dunns comments (from the PLW):

School Committee veteran David McGeney, acknowledging that vocational instruction likely incurs higher costs, argued that Peabody’s current course offerings are poor, at best, and should have been addressed years ago.

“Under serving our kids to save money is not what we’re about,” he said, adding that vocational education is often viewed as a “stepchild” to traditional schooling, which he feels has been the case in Peabody as well.

“We’re doing a terrible, terrible disservice to that portion of our student population,” he said.

Dunne agreed, pointing out that vocational programs have been on a “shoestring” budget for decades. She said many of the teachers have to buy simple supplies for students, such as Band-aids and gloves, out of their own pockets.

Sadly these School Committee members can see the folly in underfunding programs when they occur OUTSIDE the School Committees budget - but they were only too happy to be part of the committee that has underfunded the Peabody School System for several years in a row, including this most recent kick in the teeth to the students of Peabody.

Bonfanti budget a slap in the face to the future

Much can be said about this deep financial crisis that the world is facing... we are facing it here in Peabody as well. It is up to the wise people who we citizens have elected to make the difficult decisions that will impact each and every one of us.

What is terribly troubling to me is the very people we have entrusted to make these important choices: Will we fund THIS or THAT? Can this road go another season without repair or will we need to replace it completely later? Should we cancel 20 English classes or serve 27 students who wish to learn Greek? Do we buy a new fire truck or repair/rehab the 25 year old one? Should we dip into our savings safety net to pay for ongoing expenses or maintain our high bond rating which saves us money in the long term?

These are all difficult choices and we rely on these people we elect, and a bevy of professional experts to guide them, to come to the best possible answers for all the citizens of this City of Peabody.

So why does it feel like we just screwed all the children of Peabody in an effort to maintain the bragging rights of having the lowest taxes around?

We have decided to step-by-step dismantle the school system because it is the easiest target in the budget crunch game. And from where I have been sitting and watching it most certainly is a game.

The Mayor blames the economy. Patricia Schafer blames the State. The School Committee blames the Mayor. The City Council blames the School Committee. The Mayor threatens everyone. They all (with great regret and heavy hearts) vote to allow the Peabody Public Schools to become the Peabody Public Dump.

Now, like any good game there will be winners and losers.

The Winners:

The Mayor gets praised by everyone who doesn't have children in the school systems and who see lowest taxes as better than educated children. The Mayor wins re-election all the while claiming in his reelection speech that "...another of [his] priorities is education. He said that while new schools were built and MCAS scores are improving, the overall level of education can be lifted higher and the district needs to retool and deal with declining student enrollment." From: Peabody Lynnfield Weekly News

The City Council wins both ways...
~ If you voted FOR the budget you are seen as a proactive, fiscally prudent protector of the elderly and the middle class, blue collar folks here in Peabody... just like the Mayor (see above)
~ If you voted AGAINST the budget (either time) you are seen as a defender of the parents and children of the City of Peabody! Except... you really didn't do ANYTHING except grandstand about something you can't change in the first place. This was pandering and sticking it to the Mayor (or in some cases the School Committee) in order to look Pro Parent and Pro Student when you have done little if anything to help the situation.

Bottom line: Almost all City Councilors will be reelected no matter which way they voted on this matter because there aren't enough parents to change the voting numbers... and the children simply can't vote.

The School Committee wins as well.
Frankly, it doesn't matter if they all voted for the budget or not... the budget was given to them and they had no choice but to make cuts somewhere to meet the numbers. However they all approved the union wages which it turns out is the main reason that the school department was singled out as the only department that needed to make ANY LAYOFFS... everyone else who works for the City is INDISPENSABLE while 73 people in the school department (don't worry, they say it will be less) ARE COMPLETELY UNNEEDED AND UNNECESSARY.

But the School Committee did get to LOOK GOOD as they were destroying the schools... they saved THIS program and THAT position... usually to the cheers of some very vocal group of parents, teachers, admins, etc. So they too will look like the valiant fighters who went into a losing battle and were able to snatch a few key nuggets of education for our youths. They all get reelected.

Hmmm. Yeah if all these folks win... somebody has to lose, right? Sadly you all know who…

Our children are the losers.
And when they lose, we all lose.

Peabody, your taxes are too low and your priorities are misplaced. And sadly, your leaders are failing you while they leave the next generation of Peabody citizens to fend for themselves.

Mayor's Budget is in and it is 100% Anti Education

I was appalled when I read about the cuts the City of Peabody is planning for the 2010 budget.. 100% of the job cuts will be coming from the school department. 100%!!!

NO CUTS in the public services department. NO CUTS in the fire department. NO CUTS in the police department. NO CUTS in ANY OF THE OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES:

• Assessor's Office
  
• Auditor's Office
  
• Central Switchboard
  
• City Clerk's Office
  
• Collector's Office
  
• Community Development
  
• Custodian
  
• Emergency Management/ Civil Defense
  
• Finance and Administration
  
• Health Department
• Human Resources
• Inspectors' Office
• North Shore Home Consortium
• Office of Information Technology
• Purchasing Department
• Treasurer's Office
  
• Veterans Services Department
• Water Billing Office
• Workers Compensation Office
  
• Brooksby Farm
• Cemetery
  
• Legal Department
  
• Council on Aging
  
• George Peabody House Museum/ Civic Center
• Peabody Library
• McVann-O'keefe Skating Rink
  
• Parks, Recreation and Forestry or
  
• The Meadow of Peabody Golf Course.

That's right. The only place that had people fired because of budget reasons was THE PEABODY SCHOOL SYSTEM. NOT ONE OTHER DEPARTMENT IN THE CITY NEEDS TO MAKE A SINGLE CUT!

I think that this is the first time I will need to agree with the often repeated comment by visitors to these blogs...

MAYOR BONFANTI IS NOT THE EDUCATION MAYOR.

The Salem News: An Overview of the 2010 Budget
The Salem News: Bonfanti plans to weather another term

This is the systematic disassembling of the Peabody School System. I have no problem with the shrinking enrollments... in that case be SMART and close a school to consolidate students and continue to provide quality education. BUT NO. Instead we will hack away at the very people who provide the educational opportunities to our children that will lay the groundwork for the rest of their lives.

According to the article:

The school department has about 800 full-time employees compared to 457 for the remaining city departments. The school layoffs reflect the district's declining enrollment, Bonfanti said.

"You just can't keep hiring people," Bonfanti said. "There's got to be a point in time when you right-size."

City departments, he said, have done a better job keeping spending in check and leaving positions unfilled. "We've always run lean," Bonfanti said.

This is short sighted and will anger many in the community. However... it is politically saavy as Peabody's median population is over 40... meaning that the majority of voters in the City DO NOT HAVE CHILDREN IN THE SCHOOL SYSTEM ANY LONGER. Thus the Mayor is promising CUTS to the school system and making the seniors (and others) very happy with only a tiny tax increase.

Now to make matters worse... Bonfanti has now PROMISED to build a new ASSISTED LIVING CENTER on the property at the Torigian Life Center (senior center.) I have no problem with additional assisted living centers as I think it is good for our seniors to have choices for living arrangements. I do not think that the City needs to be the developer for such an enterprise - especially in a market with many opportunites readily available.

There are 8,398 citizens over 65 living in Peabody. And they have a realively new senior center for their use. YET... we have more than 8,800 children aged 5-19 living in the City (according to the 2000 US Census.) This administration (and others) have talked (and talked and talked) about a facility for these children - a teen center or a youth center - BUT NOTHING EVER HAPPENS. Yes, they do have a Skate Park (thank you Vera Kolias), but that is not enough.

Does this not serve as yet another indication that the children of Peabody are MUCH LESS IMPORTANT than everyone else in this City? You can NOT call yourself the EDUCATION MAYOR and do these kinds of things to the youth you pretend to serve.

Teachers to give up raises? I doubt it.

School Committee member Dave McGeney has proposed the elimination of the $1.2 Million dollars in raises that the City and Union agreed to for FY 2010.

The Lynn Item: Peabody school board proposes waiving $1.2M in teachers' raises
The Salem News: Peabody unions asked to help cut expenses

Now one could be an optimist and say that in these hard economic times we all need to pull together and share the burdens for the common good...
or just as likely one might say that the City has dragged their heels and treated the teachers with utter contempt for three plus long years by not agreeing to a contract... to ask these people to give it up after this long hard fight is ridiculous...

So what will the outcome be? Well I see this as a lose-lose situation for the teachers AND the citizens. The teachers are constantly hammered because the public expects teachers to simply be happy to have the honor of teaching today's youths (and tomorrow's leaders) and believes that substandard pay for high credentials is completely warranted. And at the same time, the teachers are more than happy to screw over their own people (think younger, newer teachers) for the benefit of the older teachers.

It saddens me greatly to see the way the general public looks down at teachers who each and every day do a very difficult job - perhaps the most important job for the future of our City and Country... and yet at the same time the actions of the teachers union(s) does nothing but reinforce these attitudes by behaving greedily and NOT in the best interest of the long-term viability of the public school teaching profession.

This will probably not be happening in Peabody anytime soon. My bet is the unions would rather have many fewer teachers making more money instead of more teachers making less money. But time will tell.

Fate of the Higgins is tied to new "Mega" Voc

It seems that the fate of a new or renovated Higgins Middle School rests entirely on whether or not the City of Peabody joins in on the new mega vocational school (North Shore Technical High School) that is going forward on the site of Essex-Aggie.

Salem News: Treasurer: Schools to be built

Here is a quote from the article by Massachusetts School Building Authority executive director Kathleen Craven... (my emphasis in green)

The MSBA has pledged to pay 60 percent of the project, or $75 million, said the agency's executive director Kathleen Craven, who was also on hand for the breakfast. The state has also passed a $60 million earmark in a state bond bill for the project, but Craven said she has not seen any "relief from the state on that."

At this point, without that state bond money, the communities would be on the hook for the remaining 40 percent of the project, Craven said.

The vocational school project is also key to renovating Higgins Middle School in Peabody, Craven said, because that is where Peabody's high school vocational programs are located.

"If Peabody comes into the district, we will be able to start work on the Higgins Middle School. ... It's a domino effect," Craven said.

Cahill said money for local school projects already in the pipeline will be there.

So there you have it. The real reason that the Higgins Middle School in Peabody is on the back burner for State funded projects. We had been told that the delay was partly due to "indecision" on the fate of the Voc at the Higgins... but now we see that the State is unwilling to fund the Higgins IF we do not join in the consolidated North Shore Technical High School (NSTHS).

While I don't like the State telling local communities what to do and how to do it... this one seems to be a fair request. Join in to become part of the 16-community NSTHS and we can then move onto the problems at the Higgins.

There are many good reasons to consider joining in such a collaborative school - one being that because of the numbers of students involved, more programs with more limited interest can be offered - resulting in more highly trained and skilled workers entering our local workforce. It also will allow the local communities and the State to save money by combining separate programs that only can offer limited services right now.

So... let's stop talking about it and debating it and putting it off for someone else to decide AND VOTE TO JOIN THE REGIONAL VOC.

It will benefit our current vocational students AND it will move us closer to a renewed Higgins Middle School.

School Enrollments Shrinking

There has been much discussion on the streets and the blogs about the possibility of a school closure. But now we finally get the first professional analysis (preliminary report) of the enrollment situation.

~~click image for a larger version~~

It shows a 14.39% decline in the student enrollments within the next 10 years time. If these numbers have validity, and I do not doubt that they are indeed accurate, then it seems to only make sense to discuss the possibility of closing one of the elementary schools here in Peabody.

BUT ONLY IF THE EDUCATIONAL INTEGRITY OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM IS MAINTAINED!

July 4th: Fun should remain

I have been taking some time to consider the suggestion of Councilor Gamache to cancel the annual July 4th Ward Celebrations.

You can read about the controversy here:
Salem News: Peabody considers suspending July fourth celebrations
Salem News Editorial: Cost no reason to nix 4th of July events in Peabody
Peabody Patriot: July 4th parties... a thing of the past?

While I understand that we are in a fiscally difficult economic situation... and that practically everyone is also facing a similar economic crisis at home and at work... I simply must say that this is the wrong move at the wrong time.

I do not agree with the posters who have been saying that it is from Mayor Bonfanti's lips to Councilor Gamache's ear... Gamache can think and act for himself. However, I think that this was simply one of those times when we all wish he hadn't.

While I would certainly love to see a check for $12,000 show up in my mailbox, the fact is that this is a tiny amount of City funds that goes to making neighborhoods and families feel more connected to each other and the City. I know that the City spends more on paper clips than $12,000 each year.

We really need to get our priorities straight when dealing with this financial crisis.

Many others have suggested that the Council members could simply cut the $150/month stipend that they receive and save more than $19,800 each year. Now I am sure that they have already made plans for these funds (or not, but they get the money in either case) so they don't wish to lose it. The money for the Ward celebrations, however, will not affect them personally in any way.

So I simply think that Councilor Gamache was looking for a way to look good while losing nothing. And frankly, it might have been fine if he were not screwing the little kids of Peabody (which are the ones that these celebrations are for in the first place.)

Now others have postulated that the Councilor(s) are actually hoping to get rid of this event - as it ruins their personal vacation plans and causes them to do lots of work planning, fund raisng and running these events... but I'm not so sure of that. If someone has any evidence of this... let us all know.

So, yet again, The City Peabody looks like a fool in the newspapers and in the hearts of its citizens. All because people do not THINK about the consequences of their actions (or simply proposals in this case).

:::Caveat:::
Now all that being said... IF (and only IF) the City is actually in such DIRE FINANCIAL STRAITS that it really can not fund these 6 celebrations (for $2,000 each) then I am ready to talk about a great many OTHER CUTS that would need to be made before this one.

This amount ($12,000) is 0.0000909% of the budget ($132,000,000)

IF we can't afford this amount for something that is a long-term event that brings kids and families and neighborhoods together... we should really think about what is truly important in this City.

~ps: I fixed the erroneous number of celebrations from 11 to 6!

Close one of the Peabody Elementary Schools?

The Mayor in his mid-term address brought up the real possibility of drastic cuts in the City budget. One of those, as I quote from the Salem News is below:

He also challenged the School Committee to make some "tough financial decisions" about shedding staff, consolidating facilities and redistricting.

This brings up the contentious issue of possibly closing one of Peabody's eight Elementary Schools.

Let me be frank here. Nobody ever WANTS to close a school. I am very much a supporter of our public education system and believe we should fully support our schools. But I also understand that budgetary realities might mean that consolidation of the City Schools may bring both cost savings AND better educational opportunities.

A reader (OG) asked if I had any hard data about cost savings associated with the closing of one of the elementary schools. I do not. However, it doesn't take a degree in finance to figure out that by consolidating the Cities elementary school services into one or two fewer buildings, we would save all the costs of maintenance (heating, lighting, cooling, repair, cleaning, security, etc.) as well as reducing the need for redundant positions while still maintaining educationally appropriate class sizes.

Now those things would seem to be helpful in reducing the budget for education. But I can also see some additional costs in such a plan. Bussing students would, in all likelyhood become more expensive. We would be moving students from farther away than we do now (many students would need to travel farther to school) and fewer students in each school would fall within the 'walker' distances. Of course this might also reduce the costs of bussing as there would be fewer 'destinations' needed, simply longer bus routes.

I can also imagine that there will be structural changes/additions needed to accomidate additional students in the schools that will remain open. These might be a simple as the need for more lockers or as costly as the need to creater additional bathrooms or classroom spaces. Again, these are not simple claculations and would require some very serious and speciallized study to achieve the best possible results.

But all those factors simply are looking at the reductions that could be made in the budget. I also see some opportunities to better the overall educational experience for Peabody students. If you can begin to stop thinking about individual schools, and start thinking about system-wide resources... maybe we can have some of the art, music, sports, etc. teachers, who are now dedicated to one school, become a 'team' that travels to a different school each day or week.

For example: Suppose we have 8 music teachers in the 8 schools. what if we make 2 teams of 3 music teachers and have them spend Mondays in one school, Tuesdays in the next, etc. (or they spend a full week in each, rotating around.) This way students would get the benefits of these very important programs while at the same time getting a savings from 1) fewer teachers and 2) fewer unused spaces (all the programs could share the same spaces if possible).

I do not for a second think that I have all the answers here. I simply have some ideas and a feeling that with 400 fewer students in our system than in years past... we could easily meet the educational needs of our students even if we need tp close some of the facilities due to this budgetary crisis.

What do you think?

Peabody After School Program in Trouble

The private after school program For Kids Only is in trouble.

After a very successful start in the Burke School in 2006, Superintendent Burnett worked with the company to open locations in other Peabody schools. they now operate in the Brown, Burke, McCarthy and Welch schools.

The link to the Lynn Item story is here.

From the article:
The privately run program offers enrichment activities, tutoring, healthy snacks, and activities focused on art, science, sports and fitness for students at a cost of $21 per day. They also except vouchers and offer tuition scholarships for families in need.

“It provides an after school program for kids that would potentially go home to an empty house,” Burnett said earlier in the school year. “It’s an instructional environment with homework help, recreational activities, and peer-to-peer friend-building.”

The Peabody Schools only charge the company $1.50 per student for utility costs. However, they still need to have 18 students at each school in order to break even. Currently only the Burke and Welch are above those numbers.

The company came to the School Committee in the hopes of spreading the word to more people about this program.

Personally I would like to see this type of program be provided BY THE CITY to all students free of charge. It is a wonderful program and it serves a dire need in Peabody (especially when the mere mention of a Teen Center or Kids Center only gets comments like, "It's a great ideas BUT..." and nothing ever happens).

So if the City can't or won't fund this program I hope that enough people can see the value of this great service and take advantage of it so that it remains available to our children for years to come.