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CSI Scituate will post information of importance such as: School Committee Meeting highlights, news articles, selectman or advisory meeting commentary, etc.
Citizens are encouraged to provide meaningful and constructive comments, annomously if desired. Posting of comments takes 24-48 hours as they are moderated. Please see 10/24 post for mission and goals.
48 comments:
I was a bit disappointed in the Mariner's coverage and limited selection of town constitutiencies when asking the "Question around Town" related to the override;rather than surveying a solid sample representation of the town, it portrayed a negative perception that the town opposes the override. At least get a better sample of comments from varied consitutents, rather than putting in the perspective of 2 retirees among only 3 comments. Also, can we please not post the addresses of children in the paper, thanks! Anonymous
For all the older people in town, you alway say "I'm on a fixed budget". I respect that. But you have Social Security. We (families with children), most likely will not have that when we retire. Yet, we pay. We pay to support your "fixed incomes". Yes, you might not get that much, but we will get nothing.
Yes, our schools are good. I don't think that I would support our school override if they were adding wasteful bell's and wistles. Parents in the elemenetary schools that choose the bus, pay for bussing if they live within 2 miles of their school. That can cost up to $450 per family. I as a parent within 2 miles do not have a problem with that. I don't have a problem with a lot of fees that schools these days are charging. But, it's not a private school. we shouldn't be paying for our own text books.
I think the Superentendant bringing forth a proposal for a string program was a waste of time. I wish we had someone who could say no, its not necessary, or we can't afford that in this town. I think that these are the things that make people think that there is waste. However, he is also an Educator. He is also showing children to have hope, how to work through a system, and how to make change. So, knowing that I let these things go.
Come visit the schools. Come look at children with 40 year old desks. These desks have had pieces removed that used to hold them open. Look at the children who hold open these desks with their heads. I hope my children don't slam it on a finger. While you are there come listen to a child learn to play instrumental music in a closet ment for a broom. Next, stop by and use a bathroom at Gates. If your lucky, the door will stay shut and the plumbing will work for you.
2 1/2% doesn't even keep up with inflation. Even social security raised 3.3% in 2007, 4.1% in 2006, 4.2% in 2005, and the last time it was below the 2 1/2% was in 2004 with 2.1%. That doesn't even touch what we are paying for in your Medicare.
What is the figure? I have seen that there will be an override request but I have not seen what the figure will be.
Thanks,
tkr
Why is the town looking to invest more money at widows walk? Widows Walk lost over 200,000 dollars this past year and has lost money almost every other year. Part of the reason we need the override is beause widows walk is a financial drain on the town. Maybe it should
become part of the tax base by returning it to it's original intended use that is as either light
industrial and/or commercial property. But yet the selectmen are looking to invest more instead of looking to sell.
I know that Gates Intermediate School is not included in this override, but what is the plan for a new or renovated middle school?
I find it so ironic that it is the transients who move into town with all their kids--want all these programs--and then end up leaving town!
If the town is in such dire straits
why is the town "giving back" 500,000 of free cash to reduce the tax rate? Shouldn't the town use that money to reduce the override?
Also, has any thought been given to
increasing the school's allocation of the towns total tax revenue? Maybe from the current 66% to 70% or 72.5%? It just seems that the "town" side of the budget has the ability to absorb losses from
both enterprise and other town services without it showing up anywhere. This is a clear sign of too much money going to the wrong place. Where as the school uses
it's part of the budget much more efficiently and under much more scrutiny and thus should get a larger annual alloction of the total revenue.
The exaggeration factor never ceases to amuse me, although it is sad. You would think the streets were clogged with moving vans to accomodate all the "transients". I remember a woman making that argument at town meeting years ago when the Jenkins school was left empty for a year due to lack of voter support. I know that my family and "all my kids" aren't planning on moving any time soon.
This is a response to tkr who asked what the override figure will be. The Operational Override figure that will be on the ballot if passed at Town Meeting will be $2,741,729. This is according to the Advisory Booklet that was just published this week. This figure represents $2,021,729 for the schools and $720,000 for the municipal side of the budget.
The Yes for Scituate Committee is working on presenting these figures broken down for a house accessed at $500,000. The preliminary figure would be an increase in your taxes of $485 per year. We will post more information as it becomes available.
This is a response from our selectmen regarding the question of Widow's Walk posted by Joe Solomon...
The selectmen are not planning to invest more taxpayer money into Widows Walk. The Town Administrator made a recommendation that we avail ourselves of the opportunity to put together a bid package where the "food service provider" at the golf course presents a plan to build a pavilion as part of a longer term contract. The concessions provider would pay for and build this new pavilion and would have to deal with the costs of construction as part of their overall bid. This was done successfully at a golf course in Duxbury.
The pavilion would allow tournaments at Widows Walk to provide larger groups their functions at the club rather than at other local establishments. This would hopefully result in more tournaments and thereby generate more revenue for both the course and the food service provider.
The following information is available on the Town website to provide you with information on the override -
- The Town Warrant
- The Advisory Committee Report
- The Financial Forecast
Does CSI have an area where it posts the town calendar? I know that the Town Meeting is March 3. It might be helpful to link to one calendar that posts school committee meetings, selectman meetings, PTO meetings, School Council meetings, etc.
Thanks!
This is a response to "anonymous". I assume that "anonymous" it is the same C. Burns who wrote a slightly modified version of the same subject as a "letter to the Editor" in last week's Mariner.
With age comes wisdom. Hopefully your intent with your negative portrayal of "all the older people in town" was for them to consider the importance of a positive vote on the 2 1/2 override which deals partially with the schools. If it was your intent, I will tell you that it could certainly backfire. Many contemporaries of mine called after reading your letter in the Mariner to say that they were deeply insulted. These are "older people" who have always supported the schools even though their children graduated more than 20 years ago from Scituate High School.
In the future, I would suggest that before you put something in print you might have your parents or older relatives read a draft. With the wisdom of age and experience they may suggest that it would be much more beneficial to encourage people to see your point of view rather than insulting them.
In closing, thank you for your contribution to the Medicare and Social Security systems. I do hope that the same advantages are still available when you reach the stage of being an "older person on a fixed budget."
P.S. Just for the record, in spite of your comments, I am in favor of the override!
What is going on with Gates Intermediate School - why is the renovation/construction not included in this override?
The following is a response from Maura Curran - School Committee (Building Sub-committee)
"The school department began the process in 2005 set forth by the new School Building Authority to submit projects for review to receive state reimbursement. The new SBA will not "open" any new projects for review until July 2008.
As a result, the school department has filed and completed the following: A survey was completed for all school buildings
and the SBA walked the buildings and provided a detailed report which can be obtained at the Superintendents office. The school department then submitted a letter of intent to apply for funding from the State dated June 2006. We are waiting for a response from the SBA as to whether or not we are being "invited" into the process.
Our goal is to request funding at Special Town Meeting for research and design in the Fall of 2007 to have a plan to bring forth to the SBA.
It is important to note that the authority to make any changes, and/or spend any money on any of the school buildings falls solely upon the Board of Selectmen. The School Committee is working in conjunction with the Selectmen to ensure that the Gates school is either renovated, or a new one is built as soon as is possibly feasible. There is an ongoing
capital improvement plan in place that is addressing some of the other needed repairs in all the schools. For example, you will see a request for capital funds to replace all the windows at the Wampatuck school.
We have replaced boilers, and are in the process of repairing the
façade of Gates due to safety issues." You can request a copy of the capital plan from the Scituate Capital Planning committee.
The following information was provided by the Yes for Scituate Override group -
Cost of operational override and debt exclusion questions
(Source: Town of Scituate 5 Year Financial Forecast and Plan, 2/13/07; The full report is available on the homepage of the Town website)
*Impact is per year on a home assessed at $500,000
Debt questions
Senior Center: $36
Hatherly Fire Station and pumper: $39
School desks and chairs, computers and K-12 English textbooks and materials: $21
Operational questions-
Fire, police, library, DPW, schools, pension and insurance: $318
Hatherly Fire Station staffing (FY09): $70
Total: $415 (FY08)
$ 70 (FY09)
$485*
If the overide passses, while the school committee discontinue charging the bus fees ?
I pay over $300 for 2 children to ride the bus. Plus my taxes already increased this year over $400 due to reassesment.
So I can expect another increase of $300- 400 if the override passes ?
Umm, thanks but no thanks.
I forgot to mention in my last post (thanks, but no thanks) that I also pay $50 per child for extra curricula fees. So that's another $100 per year.
Before I decide how to vote on the overide issue, I am wondering whether any steps have been taken to reduce non-essential spending in the services and operation of the Town?
It seems like the school committee submits a budget that requires an override every year. Hopefully someone out there has a list of how often we have had overrides on the ballot. Money needs to be managed better around town it seems, not just within the schools. Widows Walk seems to be a bit of a money pit, and with two other courses in town and plenty in the area, I wish I was around to vote against the course when it was first on the table. Overtime at the fire stations is $100,000/year. Seems like something could be done to change that, and I believe something is being done this year.
The taxpayers purse is being pulled at in so many directions - new senior center, new fire station, new desks. It seems like we could put some of that on hold.
What about cutting back on the funding of athletics? Football, basketball, baseball, and everything in between come at a pretty huge cost to the school system. I imagine football costs the town at least $15,000 per year. Wouldn't that money be better spent on new desks and textbooks? There are a lot of deep pockets in this town, and I'm sure if the schools cut back on it's spending on athletics, Parents Booster and other organizations would step in and foot the bill.
Before we change the property tax rate for the citizens of Scituate, maybe the way money is spent within the town can be slimmed down. Get rid of athletics. It'll be an unpopular decision, but it will get some much needed funds, and many sports would probably survive through donations from parents. Maybe this option should be considered if the override doesn't pass.
I'm for the override, believe it or not, but only for this ballot. After this, no more tax rate changes. Move money around within the town - sell the golf course, etc. Make do. No more annual override for a money-hungry school committee. The school committee is defiantly committed to giving the children of Scituate the best education they can with the resources provided (even if one of the members rarely shows up to the meetings).
It's too bad that students are sitting in old desks and using old text books. It's too bad the senior center is too small. It's too bad Minot has to wait an extra minute or two for a fire truck. It's too bad Widows Walk is losing money. Hopefully the town can sort out some of these loose ends and avoid future budget troubles.
That's all, sorry for the ramble.
P.S. - Some food for thought; we have something like the lowest average teachers salaries on the South Shore, but at $133,334.90/year, we have one of the highest paid School Superintendents on the South Shore. (see http://tinyurl.com/3yyycm)
I recently attended a information/
Q&A session, hosted by YES for Scituate, at a local pre-school.
I found it very informative and now have a better grasp on the issues at hand. I highly suggest that people attend one of these sessions. This one had both Mr Mason and Mr Reidy there. I applaud the YES for Scituate group for arranging this and for all their hard work.It is now clear to me that if the prop 2-1/2 override
is not passed that it could mean
a collapse of the towns education system as well underfunding of public safety. Both of which were
an influence on our decesion to move here 10 years ago ( I hope
10 years doesn't make me a "transient"). Yes for Scituate can be expecting a gift from us in
the mail shortly to help their efforts. I just hope that they have enough funding to continue to
see this through. I encourage others to also send a gift if you have't already.
This dialog is helpful and hopefully educational. All of the talking means nothing if you do not go to town meeting to vote and be heard. The turn out at town meeting is often not a representative cross section of the town; even less so now that town meeting has moved to Saturdays. The most important step you can take is to attend town meeting. Gets your friends to go too.
Those folks who complain about the results and do not participate in the process are donkeys.
Why when the town budget can not be met do they town officals claim "public safety will comprmised"?
The overide is for the schools but we are being shaken down like the mob in the movies. "It would be a shame if something were to happen..." They say police and fire coverage will be affected. Is the overide for these town departments?
Budgets never go down. I deal with municipalities in my line of work. I get calls from town employees saying " I have 17K to spend". They know that if they don't use it they will lose it.
If the over-ride passes and we hire a new person at the library, next year that person will again have to be paid and the amount will now be in the budget and, it will go up 2 1/2%. I can not go to my boss and say " I need 10 thousand more this year".
Reality is hard. People do not always get what they want. Maybe the schools should look at the programs that have low attendance or are at conflicting times and eliminate them. There must be some cost cutting efforts before you ask for more money, at least make the effort.
I know that the teachers union want more and more power over their domain of public education and they must never be questioned, but when is enough enough?
Is there any information available yet as to how a failure of the override to pass will impact the performance of our schools? For example, how many teaching positions will be lost, and from which schools, how many AP course offerings will be lost, etc.
Thank you!
This is Cathy Burns, not to be confused with C. Burns! I have three school-age children.
I am wondering if anyone could provide some numbers about the impact of passing the override on housing values. Maybe a realtor with school age kids would have interest, and access to this information? My point is, can someone quantify the impact of a) decaying schools & b) an underfunded town education system on property values? Norwell & Hingham for example, seem to have invested a lot into their schools in the past several years. Have their property values held better than Scituate's? I know values are down in the area, but my guess is that Scituate's have declined more-
I see the override as an investment not only in our schools, in our children, but also, in our own property values! There has been downward pressure on the real estate market because there are too many houses for sale. How much more will property values decline if the override fails? (ie, some may move to put their childen in a decent school system). This is an issue for seniors and young families alike, because for many people, their house is the single biggest investment they have, the single biggest investment in their 'retirement' portfolio. In this sense, passing the override is a win-win deal!
As a "newer" resident to Scituate (we moved here 4 years ago), I was shocked to learn how many years this town has seen without an operational override. I am astounded that the town and schools have been able to do as well as they have with such extremely limited funds.
As did I.K.E., I also attended one of the recent informational sessions being held around town. It was extremely educational and enlightening. I truly feel that I now have a great sense of what our town will lose if this operational override is not approved. The result will be devastating to us ALL.
I also encourage each and every resident to attend town meeting, and an informational session and ensure that they have ALL the facts before heading to the polls on March 31. Reading the letters in The Mariner does not present an unbiased picture of the situation but, often, is propaganda and strict opinion placed there to confuse the voters. Don't get me wrong - The Mariner is a great vehicle to raise issues and questions, but should NOT always be relied upon as fact. If reading a letter in The Mariner raises questions for you, please follow up on those questions. Call town officials and leaders with your questions - ensure you have complete and factual answers - be knowledgeable as to what your "yes" or "no" vote will truly mean.
To the many people who may be on the fence with this vote or who may be frustrated by the idea of another override vote request you are not alone. I am not sure there is any group in this town who wants to increase their taxes whether we are on fixed incomes, one family income or a double income family. But here we are and it is what it is. If we continue to vote down commercial business that help offset our tax base or we don't keep up with the increase of costs for the municipal builings or the employees where else can it really come from? I agree and I am equally concerened that we have heard this before and we may not trust where the money is going. However can we really afford to not partake in this vote? It has been almost 20 years since the town voted for an operational override. That's shocking really and at the same time kudos to the town for doing it all so far. But how much longer can this go on? It can't. You can't have all the ammenities and not have the financial back up for it. So here we are and most likely we will be asked again and need to vote for another overide in the future unless the members of this community attend meetings and get involved to help this town out. What keeps a town going is the ammenties it has to offer and the school system (and each of these help our property value). There are other coastal towns in the area that are not as nice as Scituate and there is a reason why that is as well as why we are here and not there. I don't want to pay more money out, but just like all the many organizations doing many good things for communities the money has to come from somewhere. I am voting yes for this override because at this point we have more to lose then not. I am voting yes on this override but I am going to hold our elected officials more accountable for better more definitive plans for our schools and our town. I hope this is a wake up call to all the members on the various committees to work more closely together, not just have 1 or 2 members attend the different committee meetings but to have the selectmen, advisory, school and town officials meet at as a group a few times a year. (I know for a fact you all met last year and it was the first time in years since that happened). Every year that we continue to not support these issues the town will continue to lose site of what is important in this town and continue to band aid the issues which will only cost us more money down the road. Keep in mind, your tax dollars are deductible...private school is not. This override is long overdue, we need to act now and not react later
I would like to respond to Cathy Burns who questioned the real estate market in town. I'm not a realtor. I recently heard a discussion on a talk show (95.9 fm) that addressed this issue and whether or not the real estate bubble was bursting. They spoke about the decline in the market and about the south shore specifically. The opinion on the show was that there was not a huge decline, about 5% in south shore towns. The real estate expert on the show (I'm sorry but I do not remember her name), said that the exception to this 5% decline was Scituate. Our town showed a 11% decline. They discussed at length why Scituate showed an 11% decline and basically blamed the local realtors for lowering the prices too much. No one on the show was from our town but I believe the decline can be attributed to the fact that young families could very easily buy in any other local town and get more for their money. Property values have always been directly tied to the school system.
We would like to respond to comment dated February 19th, at this time we do not have plans to provide a town wide calendar of meetings. Our focus is primarily the Scituate Public Schools,the School Committee, and the School Administration activities and decisions. Both the Town and the Schools have websites that provide meeting dates and times; however, we are going to add the link to the Town website to our blog for our readers. Thanks for the feedback.
We would like to comment to Anonymous dated February 24th. We hope you were able to attend Town Meeting on Saturday so many of your questions could be answered. We would like to respond to your question regarding overrides in Scituate. The last town-wide operational override that passed was in 1990. The override that passed in 2003 was to fund the opening of the Jenkins School that required increased costs of salaries, utilities, and supplies needed to bring a new school on-line. Please refer to the Advisory Committee's report as well as the website www.yesforscituate.org, we have found them both to be very informative. Thank you for your comments.
This is an editorial written by Ann Seiter - Hatherly parent - that has not yet been printed in the Mariner.....
I moved to Scituate five years ago with limited knowledge about the town and how it operates. We relocated from out of state and selected Scituate based on what we learned on our own and from a real estate agent. Five years later I can tell you that I love this town and could live here forever. The location, it’s proximity to Boston, its beautiful beaches and waterfront and its people, combine to make Scituate a great place to live.
I’ve spent some time during the last month learning as much as I could about the upcoming override and I support it 100%. I think the best thing we could do as a town, is work together to maintain Scituate’s reputation as a good place to live for all residents, young and old alike.
I believe the town would benefit from a well-functioning senior/community center to house both the seniors and children in town; they have nothing now. The current Sr. Center is a small, stuffy, cramped building with limited room to do anything, let alone run productive programs. Let’s support our seniors and children!
With the train coming to town, we need to reassess our safety. I’ve seen first hand, residents get involved to address safety issues involving the train and our children and they’ve done an excellent job in a short amount of time! As residents, we need to look to the experts, our Fire Department , and support their recommendation for the new Fire Station. Times have changed and the train adds a new dimension to Scituate. The fire station is a must in order to provide all residents with reasonable response times. Let’s support the Fire Department!
As a parent with school-aged children, I’ve been involved in the school system. I’ve been very involved on the PTO level, in the classroom and have attended School Board and School Committee meetings. From what I’ve seen, they’ve done an excellent job with a very limited budget; there’s no fluff to be found here. Our children need text books and it would be great if they were current. They need teachers to offer essential classes at all levels. I don’t see any extra teachers floating around the schools. I don’t see any 15/1 class ratios. I see a student body who needs more teachers to offer essential courses so 217 high school students aren’t forced to sit in study hall because there weren’t enough teachers to staff a class. I see a student body at the elementary level who need enough teachers to teach them the basics, provide extra help where needed and challenge those that can take on more. Let’s support our children and give them the best education we can!
Let’s support the override. Let’s keep Scituate on the map as a great place to live, raise a family and enjoy retired life!
This is an editorial that was published in the 3/1 Mariner -
Dear Editor:
Here's some things we know as facts:
1. Here in Scituate we have passed only two operational overrides in 17 years.
2. Because of failed overrides, vital town services and the teaching staffs at our schools have been affected in negative ways that impact our citizens and our students every day.
3. Every elected and appointed official whose work is to scrutinize and be accountable for town and school budgets are unanimous in agreement that the overrides are critical to our future.
4. Our average annual tax bill in Scituate is by about $1,000 a year less than surrounding towns and the state average. Even if these overrides pass, we will still have a lower average tax bill than most of the South Shore.
Please remember to attend Town Meeting on March 3, and to vote at the Town Election on March 31. Vote YES for Scituate!
Judi and Robb Mansi
41 Woodworth Lane
To the anonymous question on 2/22 (first, sorry for the delay in responding)!
Your question reaches far beyond the scope of this blog. While I will forward it on to the town officials to see if they have any comments, I think your best bet is to review -
- the 2006 Town Annual Report (available at Town Hall)
- the 2/13/07 Town 5-year financial forecast and plan (available on the town website and at town hall)
- Town of Scituate Advisory Committee Report and Recommendations (also at town hall and on the website)
- the School budget as proposed (on the school website) and the 4 hour budget meeting (on Chan 22)
Specific questions could then be formulated for review and response by the appropriate town and school officials.
This is to the anonymous post of 2/19 re: the town/school calendar -
Again, this goes beyond CSI: Scituate's 'scope' as we are focused on the schools. The town calendar is currently on the town website and the school calendar is on the school website, to bring them together would be great, but not something we will be looking in to at this time. Thank you - you could contact the web administrator for those websites with your suggestion directly if you wish!
A response to Anonymous of 2/24 -
Sharon is responding to the first part of the message. I am responding to the "PS".
The average male superintendent salary is $144,000, average female $135,000 and overall $141,000 for the region - Boston GlobeSouth Feb 11, 2007.
That does not put the Scituate superintendent any where near the highest paid in the region.
As the article points out, the responsibilities of superintendents have expanded signifincatly in the past few year and the compensation is just starting to catch up.
This is a response to 2/17 anonomous comment -
The override is for the schools as well as essential town services, such as the police and fire departments.
You sound like you likely know more than many of us about how municipalities operate as you have practical hands-on experience. My hope would be you could put some of that experience and knowledge to work for the Town of Scituate - if you are not already. Join a board, go to meetings, give them your thoughts.
You are right that cuts should be made, in some instances, before budgets are raised. Those cuts have been being made for the past 25 years since Proposition 2 1/2 went into effect. With only 1 operational override in Scituate to adjust spending in 1990, we have gone 17 years without an increase over 2 1/2%. I don't think any of us would go to our boss after 17 years of 2 1/2% wage increases and say - lets leave my income as it is and I will try to make cuts in my personal spending again this year to cover increased costs of essential items such as heat, phone, etc.
Look at the list of overrides won in other towns and the amounts those account for (ie., Milton 6 overrides for 6,108,797 vs. Scituate 2 for $2,323,220) on the Mass Dept of Revenue website.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I would like to respond to the comment made earlier that the town could save money by cutting athletics. While money would be saved, we would be removing a vital part of the high school experience for many of our students. Athletics and extracurriculars give the student who may struggle in the classroom academically and/or socially an opportunity to participate more fully in the high school experience. Sports and extracurriculars give our students the chance to connect, make friends, and keep busy! I think it would be unwise to remove a positive influence on the lives of our teens at a time when they are most vulnerable to engaging in risky behavior such as drug/alcohol use.
I don't think there are any easy solutions this year when it comes to balancing the budget. We have cut the budget to the bone for far too long, and I believe that this override is allowing us to catch up to where we should be. Parent groups like SHORE are already filling in the gaps. Let's not move backward and remove the few, vital "extras" that exist.
The following is a response to the question asked on February 27th regarding the impact of possible cuts to the school system if the ovveride fails. We would like to thank Mark Mason for his response:
District administrators have seriously examined the impact of a failed override question before the voters of Scituate. Based upon current projections, please understand that some classes at each building may very well have rosters of 31 students, although enrollment changes do occur, most often increasing numbers, every year from March to September. It will be the unfortunate but sole task of principals, along with department chairs at the secondary level, to determine what grades and/or classes will absorb the staff cuts. While we cannot determine at this time which AP courses may be cut, it is clear that we may not be able to offer all of the courses that are requested at the high school level and class sizes will be large at all six schools. The large class sizes will clearly make it more challenging for our teachers to do the best job possible in modifying the curriculum as necessary to reach the needs of all learners. The loss of an override may require that the district make other programmatic reductions, which could in turn have an impact on the overall performance of the schools.
The following is a response by Mark Mason to the comment dated February 20th regarding bus fees. Thank you for your input.
Due to limited funds, bus fees have become a fact of life in many school districts across the south shore, including Scituate. However, there is no plan to raise bus fees dramatically in the near future, regardless of whether or not the override passes. The school district is committed to keeping all student fees within a reasonable range.
What is the actual student/teacher ratio in each of the 6 Scituate Public Schools?
What are the actual numbers of Scituate School employees? Teachers? Administrators? Support Staff?
New employees do not just add salary costs; they add pension and benefit costs extending far beyond one year's override. We need more disclosure on this issue. Twenty additional employees (teachers or otherwise) is excessive and irresponsible.
I recently received a mailing from
the North Scituate Beach Association. In it, the group supports the questions regarding the Minot Fire station but the group omitted supporting the other ballot questions. Do they realize
by not supporting article 1 the fire department can not operate properly and might not be able to
efficiently support the minot fire station? Is this omission the groups way of not supporting the other ballot questions? or do they just not care?
Wanted to share a recent article about our town's financial forecast.
http://ledger.southofboston.com/articles/2007/02/28/news/news13.txt
You can also see the full report on the Scituate Town website.
http://www.town.scituate.ma.us/
It is clear to me that we need a "town" override passed in order to restore our services.This will positively impact everyone in town-
A Senior and Community Center that we can be proud of for all, Fire Station that we have been discussing for 8-10 years now(it seems!), Police services that we need desparately, School services are desparately needed(desks are 40 years old and textbooks are way out of date).
An override can be a "good thing" for a town when done in a thoughtful manner...we've had two overrides pass in the last 17 years. There are real consequences each time we reject an override...we are feeling those consequences every day. Now is the time to reinvest in our wonderful town! We will see the benefits for years to come.
I would like to comment on MDawley's blog submission and anyone interested in "quantifying" the override request debate. MDawley wrote about property values declining on the South Shore on 95.9 WATD radio:
"The opinion on the show was that there was not a huge decline, about 5% in south shore towns....
Our town(Scituate)showed a 11% decline. They discussed at length why Scituate showed an 11% decline and basically blamed the local realtors for lowering the prices too much. No one on the show was from our town but I believe the decline can be attributed to the fact that young families could very easily buy in any other local town and get more for their money. Property values have always been directly tied to the school system."
If this is the case, our $400 per year tax increase/re-investment on a $500,000 house is a no brainer! Not only for the re-investment in our schools but ALL the town services we would get--a new Senior and Community Center we can be PROUD of and all benefit from; a new Fire Station that would allow for better response time for the ENTIRE town across all fire stations;Police Department would get what they need to adapt to the train coming in a couple of months from now; Library services that are needed, etc.etc.
All of our town services directly effect your property values($$), the value of our town as a whole and the REPUTATION of our town as a whole factor into property values.
If you do the math based on the above WATD radio discussion, each one of us just lost $55,000 on our 500k houses on an 11% decline. We are losing $30,000 on our 500k houses alone if you just factor the extra 6% (difference from 5% average)compared to other towns on the South Shore...
Let's get real...could you really pay $400 a year and get all of these services and investments in our town? That's why they call it a "Commonwealth". Basically,if the override passes at Town election on March 31st,you are getting millions of dollars poured into the re-investment of your town for $400 bucks a year and at the same time poured into your prized possession...your HOME or property...your property will increase, over the short and long term, in it's value. That's a bargain and a wise investment for needed Town services.
With a no vote, you can guarantee your property to decline in the immediate short term and long term because all of our town services directly effect your property values($$),the value of our town as a whole and the REPUTATION of our town as a whole factor into property values.
On March 31st, let's come together as a town and vote YES for the Town of Scituate.
Remember your child’s first years of school, and how you were so involved in every aspect of their learning process? This is another one of those times. Whether you are a parent of a kindergartner or the parent of a high school student, it is now more than ever, very important to be involved.
As Scituate’s override vote nears the ballot, every teacher, parent and student is holding their breath. If passed, there is tremendous hope for the struggling school system here in Scituate. On the other hand, if the override is not passed, detrimental changes will have to take place to make the budget work.
As a senior and a member of the high school’s improvement council, I know that Scituate’s current issues in the schools are only going to worsen if the override vote fails. Teacher cuts would lead to increases in already crowded class sizes with over 30 students in a classroom. This would in turn affect the number of courses and electives available to students at the high school level.
I have already experienced being forced into a study hall on account of not enough teachers to cover elective courses. And while many can argue that only the core subjects of Math, English, History, Science, and a Foreign Language are necessary; I can tell you that if not for electives such as Introduction to College Business or Statistics, I would not be able to determine my college major or future career post-high school. The purpose of education, at any level, is to prepare a student for college and ultimately a successful career.
In my opinion, if budget cuts happen, students will be less prepared for college and therefore less successful in finding a preferred job.
Even though I will be moving on to college next year, I ask you to vote yes on the override and become involved in your child’s education at every level to insure that our students have the opportunity to experience the most successful education that Scituate has the potential to provide.
I am responding to the question dated March 8th regarding student/teacher ratios. I did discuss this with Mark Mason to get his response and the following numbers. The truth is that when one merges all of our specialists, special educators, and licensed support staff the ratios can be quite deceiving and not indicative of what really goes on in most classrooms. That being said, according to Boston Magazine, (boston.com), Scituate Public Schools student-teacher ratio is 14.7 to 1 which ranks us 246 out of 328 districts. SHS has the highest ratio at 17.4 to 1 while Gates has the lowest ratio 12.7 to 1. The following are the staff numbers:
Teachers=268
Support=199
Administrators=13
Nurses=6
Total Staff=486
Thank you for your comment.
"But you have Social Security..."
It's not enough. There are many people who live in this town whose homes may be worth $500,000, but that doesn't mean they paid that much, nor could they if they wanted to buy that same house today. $400 a month in property taxes is a big bite for many people, and it's frightening to watch taxes go up when your income is fixed We need to be willing to see that dissenting views are not always mean spirited, but a means of survival.
There needs to be some researched thought into finding new ways to do things. The over ride issue is going to come up every year. Health care costs, energy costs, maintenance costs, will always rise. It's a fact of life
But, as in all things, you get what you pay for.
This includes the superintendent's salary. He is in effect the CEO of a $24 million dollar company, with 470 employees, serving the wide variety of needs of 3200 students (and their parents)!
I can't imagine how many hours he puts in a week (and this applies to the school principals as well, particularly the high school).
As Jane said, athletics provide a venue for success for kids who might not have it otherwise, they keep kids busy after school, they, like other "extras" (including stringed instruments) teach discipline and time management, and a commitment to an "extra" is an important piece of the college application puzzle, whether it be sports, music, or drama.
And I've triple checked, but I'm sure I misspelled something!
To Rose Lockwood's comment:
On a home valued at $500,000, a taxpayer would see an increase of $40.08 per month, not $400 per month, if all of the overrides were to pass.
Great work in making sure that part of the over-ride passed!
Thanks!
Jeff S.
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