Shame on the Peabody School Committee

Bravo to our good and brave School Committee members. The Peabody School Committee is trying to cover their own stupidity and arrogance by blaming the very people they have caused all the headaches for in the first place.

Salem News: Special ed pushed to cover rehiring

Let's take a look at this ever more sad chain of events and see if we, unlike School Committee member David McGeney, can see where the fault lies... and who is ultimately at fault here...

The School Committee is told by Mayor Bonfanti to slash the school budgets and prepare the school system for the obvious layoffs (remember... it was ONLY the Peabody Public Schools that needed to lay off ANYONE - every single other position in Peabody Government was considered NOT OVER BUDGET.)

Then the crack education folks on the School Committee told the school administrators to sharpen their budgets... and several meetings were held to hammer out a workable budget.

During one of these meetings a School Committee member (sorry, I forget who it was) asked if the school adjustment coordinator (SAC) positions might be cut instead of the elementary school guidance councilors... with the idea that other guidance councilors could do the work of the SACs.

To his partial credit, Superintendent Burnett told the SC that IT WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA.

And to show that they know more than the experts, they told the Superintendent to do it anyway... and to his chagrin, he fired the SACs.

Now, only a few months later... The truth about the SACs comes out. They are specialized positions requiring specialized certification... and without that certification the Peabody Schools will be OUT OF COMPLIANCE... which really means that they will be open to law suits from parents for failing to meet the educational requirements of students.

So.... guess what? Peabody now needs to REHIRE the two SACs that they sacked a few months back (sorry, couldn't resist).

Now the Superintendent looks like an ASS.
But even worse... the School Committee all look like ASSES.

How to fix this situation so that the School Committee members DON'T LOOK SO STUPID IN AN ELECTION YEAR???

I KNOW! They will put all the blame on the director of the Peabody Schools Special Education department, Patricia Bullard... BECAUSE SHE FOLLOWED THE ORDERS THEY TOLD HER TO FOLLOW IN THE FIRST PLACE.

And David McGeney even gets a little testy that she somehow simply can not wave her magic wand and restore the $140,000 that the School Committee took out of her budget when they removed these people in the first place.

I simply can not believe that after so many LOWS in the past few years that the Peabody Schools have yet again sunk to a new depth.

Shame on the Peabody School Committee.

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)??????

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.

Summer Reading: School Committee Knows Best!

The Peabody School Committee, for a second year in a row, has decided to throw their learned weight around and yet again blast the PROFESSIONAL EDUCATORS who have selected an appropriate range of reading choices for the summer education and enjoyment of Peabody students.

The Lynn Item: Peabody school board questions suggested summer reading book

...and just for old times sake, the same controversy from LAST YEAR...

Salem News: Turf tangle over Peabody students' summer reading list
Salem News Editorial: Think before censoring school reading list
Salem News Editorial: Committee should keep hands off student reading list

First of all... my very favorite thing from this article is the fact that all these adults are yap-yap-yapping about a book that NONE OF THEM HAVE EVEN BOTHERED TO READ! NONE OF THEM. I mean, it's a KIDS BOOK! How long would it actually take to read it before casting it into the book burning pile?

So the book is called Sold by Patricia McCormick, and it centers about some pretty mature themes: prostitution, slavery, child abuse, etc. I do give Assistant Superintendent Joseph Mastrocola credit for defending the work of the school educators who selected this book. "I trust our staff and that's a selection they want to move forward with," he said. "Students do not have to read that book if they don't want to. It's suggested, not mandatory."

This is another wonderful example of what the School Committee does worst... trying to second guess those people who know better than them. Here is a little bit about this book (from the article) "...the rather racy book is both a 2006 National Book Award finalist and a 2007 ALA Best Books for Young Adults [selection]..."

But perhaps the best statement was by the original book banner herself... the person rumored to be mulling a run for mayor...
"...Committee member Beverley Dunne said because every child matures at a different age, it's appropriate for the schools to offer a wide range of books to meet their needs..."

Of course this was in contrast to these statements made about The Kite Runner and The Curious Case of the Dog who Barked in the Night, two books from previous years.
"If a book can't be read out loud at [school] committee's meetings, it doesn't belong on the list..." She said that the language in some books, especially Haddon's, couldn't be broadcast at the meeting and therefore shouldn't be imposed on students. "You're forcing them to read this book that, I'll be honest, if my children had brought it home from the library on their own, I would have considered it trash," Dunne said.

It is my opinion that the School Committee is NOT QUALIFIED to be choosing books for our students. Those are NOT the job of the committee and they do a poor enough job of doing what they are SUPPOSED TO BE DOING in the first place.

Peabody Schools: All News is Bad News?

Peabody Schools in Free Fall? What is it about Peabody and its attitude towards education?

= = = = = U P D A T E D = = = = =

In a series of news stories this week the school system and particularly the ADULT PROFESSIONALS who claim to be running it, have shown themselves to be concerned much more about personal agendas and THE BOTTOM LINE rather than how to provide each and every child in the City of Peabody a first class education. I am not speaking of the teachers here... but rather the School Administration, the School Committee and City Hall.

Peabody and Lynnfield Weekly News:....Note: PLWN links expire in 7 days
Greek language course dominates board’s decision on high school cuts
and
Salem News: Principal, superintendent spar over Greek

How stupid is this? We are cutting basic services left and right because "the budget demands it" and yet we have special cases where 27 (yes that is correct, 27 out of 1900 students at the High School) students have enrolled in Greek Language (and culture) classes at PVMHS - and Superintendent Burnett... and a majority of the school committee, including the tie-breaker, Mayor Bonfanti, were willing to keep that program in place and cut teachers in other core curriculum areas.

This is laughable and reeks of special consideration. Yet another black day in Peabody Education.

===

Of course... no one was willing to have a three hour verbal fight over the fate of the people most responsible for your children's educational success after their teachers...

Salem News: School Committee mulls plan to cut aides' hours
Lynn Item: Peabody school board continues to search for ways to trim budget

These are just more expendable fodder for the LOWEST TAXES IN THE REGION war that seems to be Peabody's only concern.

===

And then this gem of an idea!

Salem News: Peabody schools give parents free passes to games

So we are going to make the parents pay extra money so that their children can participate in all extra curricular activities. We are doing this because the schools do not have enough money. One way they currently raise some money for these activities is by charging admission to these events.

Ready for the brilliance of our elected School Committee!??!

Since the parents are going to be paying a fee for their children to play... they no longer need to pay admission fees! The problem is... they were going to pay this already! Hello!? And then the geniuses figured that since the parents will be getting in for free now... they will bring (drag?) along OTHER PAYING PEOPLE to come and fund the events.

Clue: Most people who attend the majority of these events ARE PARENTS.

===

Here is bad news masquerading as good:

Salem News: Grant will help students, teachers

It seems some industrious Higgins teachers found, wrote and won a $10,000 grant from Verizon to purchase a laptop computer and projector and to get 10 teachers trained to better prepare students for MCAS success. But this grant was undertaken because the very successful after-school MCAS Camp program was eliminated.

===

= = = = = U P D A T E D = = = = =

Maybe you are tired of seeing your Peabody schools being run in ways you would rather not see? Well why not become involved and be a part of the official screening committee for a new Higgins Principal.

TOO LATE! It seems that while Superintendent Burnett invited people to join this group on May xx, 2009... it was really already selected... Just one more public mistake in the land of Peabody Public School Administration? I would like to think so but I wonder if this means the entire screening committee will return a predetermined outcome as well?

Salem News: 32 apply for Higgins School principal position
Salem News: Superintendent invites staff and public to focus groups

....Those interested in serving on the screening committee must send a letter to the attention of:
Human Resources Director Louise Genualdo
Kiley Administration Building
21 Johnson St.
Peabody, MA 01960

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!

UPDATED: City to lose almost $900K in latest State aid cut

UPDATED COMMENTARY

I must say that I have rethought my original idea presented below. I had proposed a ONE-TIME small tax payment on Peabody households and business to make up for the ONE-TIME state funding cut.

I no longer believe this is a good idea for the simple reason that these cuts are now NOT BEING SEEN as a one-time event. This became evident when the Mayor said that we need to prepare for additional cuts in State aid in the near future.

IF indeed this is the case, then a simple band aid of money (even small amounts) will simply allow the current business-as-usual mentality to persist despite further cuts coming down the road. Since this is what is now expected, then there is NO SENSE in postponing the inevitable... make the hard cuts that the current situation demands NOW which will allow the City as a whole to operate under a better (read cheaper) financial picture and then re-access when future cuts come along.

My reasoning is the same as I put forth regarding Salem's School budget loss (thanks to the crook they had in office) where it was not a simple one-time infusion of money that would help the City, but it was an on-going need for too much money. Thus, a one-time tax would become permanent... I am NOT advocating that.

More links on this story. The Peabody/Lynnfield Weekly:

==============================================================

The Salem News: Less state aid means $871,000 cut in Peabody budget
Lynn Item: Peabody bracing for 'real crisis' in budget cuts

Well... you can't say we didn't see it coming. It actually turned out a bit better than the Peabody Patriot has been predicting ($1.2M cut).

So now what do we do. We have the lowest taxes around and the services and educational system to prove it. Where do we begin to cut the $900,000.00 Even if all the cars went away and we enacted all the moves discussed in previous posts it doesn't come to that figure without BIGGER items... like a school closure and sale (because you won't reap much $$$ immediately without a sale).

Or what about this? A poster at the Salem News said every resident should pay around $17.50 each.... and the budget is back to normal.

But that would be unfair to larger families in my opinion. Here is one other idea...

Have a special assessment. In 2006 there were approximately 1,160 businesses in Peabody. In 2000 there were exactly 18,581 households in the City.

If each household paid a one time charge of $35 and each business paid a one time charge of $215 ~~~P~O~O~F~~~ Budget problem reversed and solved.

I personally do not have money to throw around these days (well almost any days to be honest) but I would be willing to pony over $35 per household to keep the City in the black and prevent cuts in services.

What do you think?

Special School Committee Group -- Looks to the West School as possible closure target

The Salem News: Panel evaluating each school: West's turn tonight

School Committee member Michael Moutsoulas's panel will be looking at the demographics, building and grounds for each school building in Peabody in an investigation into cost savings and educational consolidation.

I am in favor of such a review of our school needs. However I am not simply in favor of closing a school.

Here is the criteria I feel needs to be addressed before any school closing takes place:

1. Show through a proper demographic study that the population patterns and projections are being taken into consideration in any such plan
   
2. Show REAL and SUBSTANTIAL cost savings (both now and over time).
   A small savings that manifests itself in 10 years is NO REASON to disrupt hundreds of Peabody families.
   
3. Show that an EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGE will happen for the students in Peabody... not just cutting teachers or administrators, but improving the quality and quantity of educational opportunities for our students.

All three of these criteria are needed if we are going to disrupt the lives of so many people.

Full text of Mayor Bonfanti's 2009 mid-term Address

The Peabody & Lynnfield Weekly News: Transcript of Mayor Michael Bonfanti's 2009 mid-term address

(note: These links to the PLWN are only available for around 1 week!)

I will post the entire address in the first comment to save space on the main page of the Peabody Roundtable. Please feel free to comment.

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?

The State of the City - January 2009

Lynn Item: Bonfanti gives mid-term address
Salem News: Difficult cash decisions will be in cards for Peabody

I was unable to attend Mayor Bonfanti's mid-term address and the seating of the new City Council last evening. And the text of the speech is NOT (yet?) available on the Mayor's page at the City website. So these comments are based on the newspaper reports and other comments made at those sites and on the Peabody Patriot blog.

First, I think that the overall tone of the message - one of difficult times ahead - is nothing but accurate and a clear thinking assessment of what is to come. I disagree with those people who say he should be emphasizing the positive and downplaying the difficult realities we will all be facing. While "perception equals reality" can be true at times, in these circumstances I would prefer straight talk and not hearts & flowers.

I do not look forward to this coming year (and to be more honest... let's say YEARS because this recession is looking like nothing we have seen in most of our lifetimes). The best estimates for the length of the world-wide financial crisis I have read point to a 18 month (minimum) to 42 month (maximum) time frame... so I am betting on 2-1/2 years of difficult choices and unhappy citizens.

While I would not like to see the schools take the brunt of these cuts (especially not FIRST) I see the reality of the lower enrollments finally coming to a head. We simply have fewer children to educate at this moment, and while I STRONGLY SUPPORT a comprehensive analysis of future demographic trends for Peabody, I believe we are going to see fewer students for the foreseeable future.

Thus the closing of one (or more) schools is both a political reality and a good move for the vast majority of Peabody folks. Of course this will be very hard on some families who might have chosen their home based on proximity to a certain school... and I actually am a huge supporter of neighborhood schools, the times dictate a more cost effective distribution of our limited educational funds. Fewer schools will yield more educational value per pupil and per education dollar.

I strongly agree with the Mayor on the issue of Downtown improvements and the need to repopulate Downtown with businesses... but I believe the most intelligent method for achieving this goal is through the REZONING of Downtown (and the rest of the City) to promote a mixed-use of public, residential and commercial/business in the greater Downtown area.

What are your thoughts?

City Cheating Teachers

* - - - UPDATED - - - *

The Peabody teachers were in force at the recent School Committee meeting to express outrage at the continued delay tactics of the City regarding their contract. Read the Lynn Item story here.

Well it seems that the Salem News article concerning the delay of the teachers contract was not the whole story...

Read the Lynn Item story here.

It seems Peabody City officials have held up the contract for several days now pending corrections that need to be ironed out because the school committee was (apparently) NOT REALLY negotiating with the teachers union... it was only having polite discussions. The deal that was agreed to by all sides needed to be vetted by the City's Attorneys (and by others?) who were not in on the negotiations.

So the City allowed the teachers to take this "agreement" to their members for a vote - all the while knowing that they were not done "negotiating" with them.

This stinks worse than the old pig farms at Centennial Park. The teachers have every right to be REALLY PISSED OFF about this and the Mayor and the rest of the School Committee should be ashamed of this breech of public trust.

The citizens of Peabody DID NOT ELECT ANY OF YOU TO SCREW THE TEACHERS OUT OF A FAIR CONTRACT! This type of behavior only further alienates the administration from the people who work for the City.

And, by the way, these are the people who are REALLY going to be the ones setting a good example for the NEXT GENERATIONS of Peabody residents! I certainly hope that the BAD EXAMPLE being shown by Mayor Bonfanti, Mr. McGeney and the rest of the School Committee are NOT lessons our school children will learn... "Go ahead and take advantage of EVERYONE you can IF it saves you a dime!"

Time to stop this nonsense and SIGN THE CONTRACT. No more DELAYING in order to get some little concession by making the teachers sweat getting their BACK PAY before Christmas.

Peabody Teachers Protest for Signed Contract

Peabody teachers are still awaiting the City to finalize their recently agreed upon, and one year late, contract.

Read the Salem News story here.

Now the article says that negotiators for both sides met on Friday of last week to iron out some minor details. This would then say to me that the big "delay" is only actually Monday (and now part of Tuesday) and NOT the three week ordeal described by the teacher's union representative.

Now don't get me wrong, I usually support the teachers as I think they are the most important people in this (or almost any) City... But I am NOT a huge fan of the teacher's union as a rule.

And in this instance I think they are making mountains out of molehills and all to get more attention for themselves. Truly, they only hurt themselves over and over again with these
protest marches and rallies.

If you REALLY want to get the people to be on your side of these issues... make them aware of the problems, show them what you are dealing with, and then let them express their concern to their elected officials.

By clogging up Peabody Square (again) you are giving more fodder to the ANTI-EDUCATION LEGION that seems to forever haunt Peabody.

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.