The City of Boston’s Boston Day and Evening Academy (BDEA) Horace Mann Charter School guides lost students to personal success by serving as an alternative public charter high school located in Roxbury.
The school is open 12 hours a day in order to serve any Boston Public School student who is overage for high school, who has had trouble with attendance issues, has been held back in 8th grade, who feels they are not getting the attention in class that they need to succeed, or who has dropped out but is eager to come back to school to earn their diploma.
The City of Boston’s second Horace Mann Charter School is Health Careers Academy which is a college preparatory high school for Boston students exploring careers in the health professions.
Health Careers Academy has a total enrollment of 215 in grades 9 – 12 with a 3 – 1 female enrollment.
Typically all Health Career Academy students enroll in nursing schools upon graduation.
The City of Springfield’s Horace Mann Charter School is the New Leadership Charter Public School that is a college preparatory school that emphasizes academic achievement, character development, leadership training and community service in partnership with the Urban League of Springfield, and the Massachusetts Army National Guard grades.
The National Guard is training high school kids as potential recruits.
The Silver Hill Horace Mann Public Charter school is in Haverhill grades K – 5, educating disadvantaged kids (50% low income, 20% English language not or little spoken at home, and 12% special education.)
Silver Hill was one of three city schools placed on warning by the state for poor student performance on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System test.
For two consecutive years, Silver Hill was on the state's "needs improvement" list for MCAS.
In the third year the school was demoted to the "corrective action" list for poor results on the test, which public school students must pass to graduate from high school.
North of Boston, 51 schools are on the needs improvement list and 27 schools on the more serious corrective action list.
As a school on the corrective action list, Silver Hill had to make major changes or was at risk for being taken over by the state.
Among its options are extending the length of the school day or year, replacing ineffective teachers and administrators, appointing an outside education expert to recommend changes or becoming a Horace Mann Charter school. The principal and the school committee agreed to make the school a Horace Mann Charter School as the least intrusive method.
The Amesbury Academy of Strategic Learning Charter School is a Horace Mann Charter School in a renovated mill building.
The school was founded on the belief of the need to develop a curriculum that reaches at risk population of students while maintaining high expectations for learning.
Students at the Academy will exercise leadership skills, become public speakers, have an understanding of the relevance of education in their academic and social development, and have their needs met in positive and healthy ways to become productive members of the community.
Horace Mann Charter Schools in Brockton and Fall River have gone out of business and turned in their charters.
There is absolutely no need for either of Barnstable's two Horace Mann Charter schools, other than to give money to sustain
Jack McCarthy’s, Trustee of the Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School,
You have a good understanding of the needs and roles of the other Horace Mann Charter Schools in the state.
But what about the two Barnstable Horace Mann schools?
Please read the Memorandum of Understanding between the Barnstable School District and Tommy MacDonald and Jack McCarthy, (Inc.)’s charter school.
It’s a lot to read, but I dare anyone to find any mention of kids, an iota of any redeeming educational or social value to school kids, or anything of direct value to school kids.
The entire treatise is about bull shit, unions, charter schools, privately-owned educational plans, and money (for MacDonald and McCarth)y.
The school purchased McCarthy's program, while McCarthy was the trustee, a clear conflict of interest that should be investigated by the Massachusetts Inspector General.
It is my opinion that this Horace Mann Charter School is the problem with the decline in performance of the entire Barnstable School District,
because all Barnstable school kids are abruptly removed from the school district in the middle of their public education experience,
and returned two years later in the 7th grade.
The school superintendent’s primary responsibility is to develop programs for the education of all students; K – 12.
The superintendent can’t possibly do her job when she loses all kids at ages eleven and twelve for two years of proprietary education.
Tomorrow I’ll offer proof of the detrimental value of the charter schools.
by Jack McCarthy, Trustee of the Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School
Massachusetts Charter School Fellowship Program 2001
Why is it so hard to make school systems better?
We all want effective public schools where students advance one grade level or more in learning mastery annually. Across Massachusetts, few issues are debated with the passion of school performance and student achievement. Is MCAS the best measure of student achievement? Should we have small classrooms? How do we attract new teachers? Should teachers who aren't certified teach in our schools? Should the school day or academic year be longer? Should we have alternative schools for students at risk of dropping out? If everyone wants to prepare young people for success in work and life, why aren't we making more progress?
In fact, lots of good ideas sprout from our public schools, and many effective, passionate teachers and principals strive do their best for students in public school systems. Yet stacks of books, studies, and reports each year chronicle the political and institutional hurdles change agents confront as they work to improve the way school systems educate our children.
Common sense tells us that a rowboat can change directions easier than an aircraft carrier. This is why after just seven years more than 2000 charter schools in 36 states are an established fixture on America's educational landscape. While some opinion leaders still attack charter schools as taking money away from the system or as elitist or private, I think most accept charters as a novel way to introduce change and innovation.
While charter schools are independent public schools that receive greater freedom in exchange for accepting greater levels of accountability, their independence can lead to isolation. Such isolation, in turn, limits their ability to impact a great number of district schools. If charter schools don't live up to their promises, they close. If they do live up to their promises, how exactly do they extend their best practices to school systems from which are entirely separated? The leverage charter schools provide results from their role as peninsulas of excellence rather than islands of excellence.
The notion of connecting charters and accountability, to school systems is gaining political favor. Currently the ESEA, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Reauthorization (107th Congress, 1st Session, H.R.1), proposes extending the chartering concept to all levels of the public education system-thus affecting relationships between the federal government and states, states and districts, and districts and schools. In fact, under the ESEA's provisions, public schools failing to meet academic achievement goals may even be converted into charter schools.
The truth is, the charter concept is growing because everyone involved with public school systems recognizes how difficult it is to apply effective school practices system-wide. Improving schools is a complex process. It isn't enough to simply identify what to do; rather, it requires building the consensus (advocacy, negotiation, and conversation) among stakeholders so that all accept the various risks involved with making change.
Charter schools will play a more strategic role in applying best practices and building the consensus needed to do so if Massachusetts policy makers, school committees, and district education leaders take a fresh look at Horace Mann charter schools and employ them as change agents and as a means of building leadership and technical capacity for managing system-wide improvement. In this paper, I discuss how the best practices of the Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School are already working to that end.
What are Horace Mann Charter Schools?
Massachusetts has two kinds of charter schools: Commonwealth charters and Horace Mann charters. Most states charter new schools and conversions of district or independent schools. The Education Reform Act of 1993 provided only for the establishment of new charter schools (Chapter 71 of the Acts of 1993, General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Annual Session, June 1993). But after advocates lobbied to raise the cap on the number of available charters, a July 1997 revision of the statute created Horace Mann charters (conversions--district public schools that change their governance and corporate status to operate as independent public schools, non-profit corporations considered to be government instrumentalities, part of the government for the purpose of educating the public). The cap was raised, but the number of new charter schools was divided between seven Commonwealth (new) charter schools and seven Horace Mann (conversion) charter schools annually for a total of 120 charter schools.
The process of obtaining a Horace Mann charter is different from that of obtaining a Commonwealth charter. Whereas citizens, parents, teachers, and community leaders can petition the Massachusetts Board of Education for a new Commonwealth charter school, Horace Mann charters require the approval of the school district, the school committee, and the teachers union just to file an application. Because teachers unions can effectively prevent conversions, the Horace Mann charter school quota is regarded by many charter advocates as an attempt to reduce the potential number of charters allowed and to reduce the potential competitive impact of charter schools. But this need not continue be the case.
Once approved, Horace Mann charters operate as independent public schools with lay boards of trustees who are fiduciaries for the school. They may enter into contracts, hire and fire staff, makes school-based budget decisions, manages their own finances, adopt their own school-based reform models, develop their own curriculum, and operate with considerable autonomy. Horace Mann Charters file an accountability plan, make annual reports to the public, and are subject to five-year renewals, just as are Commonwealth Charters.
But strategically, as creations of the school district, Horace Mann Charter Schools have greater potential for leveraging their best practices than do Commonwealth Charter Schools--if careful attention is given to governance, finance, public relations and the ways and means of that leveraging.
How does Barnstable compare to other Massachusetts cities and towns?
Cape Cod isn't the quaint collection of seaside villages Patti Paige crooned about forty years ago. Barnstable, the Cape's largest community, is a city in everything but name--more populous than the cities of Revere, Everett, and Holyoke. Over 7,200 students attend the district's 14 schools.
Seven elementary schools feed students to a district-wide 5th grade school. After the 5th grade, students attend one of two middle schools (according to their village). A comprehensive, district-wide high school as well as a Commonwealth charter high school serves the students in grades 9 through 12.
Barnstable's diversity includes affluent seaside villages like Cotuit, Osterville, and Hyannis Port, suburban villages like Marstons Mills and Centerville, rural villages of West Barnstable and Cummaquid as well as disadvantaged, urban, largely-immigrant and minority neighborhoods in Hyannis. (Hyannis East Elementary School's students speak 38 different languages.) Barnstable's population of 47,000 is largely divided between retirees and young families with children. Half of the residents have lived ten years or fewer in the town. Growth-related issues have created tension between developers, environmentalists, retirees, and young families. Property values grew 25% in the past few years, making affordable housing scarce. During the past five years rising real estate taxes financed renovations of the high school and a middle school, in addition to full-day kindergarten. While vacationers rent summer cottages from July through August, lower income families rent them from September to June. Many of those families enroll children with special education needs in schools each September. Two Proposition 2 1/2 over ride attempts have failed by narrow margins in the last three years, indicating the tension between taxpayers and the budgetary demands of the growing school system.
Why was the Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School created?
In 1997, Tom McDonald, Principal of the Barnstable 5th grade school, believed that he could provide a better education for his students if he applied for a Horace Mann charter. As McDonald, his leadership team, and Finance Director Susan Dahn worked on the school's charter application, McDonald shared with me the group's objectives: 1.) Improve the quality of learning by aligning the curriculum with the Massachusetts Frameworks, 2.) Improve instructional management by providing the teachers with technology and professional development to make them more effective, 3.) Individualize instruction so students can achieve high academic standards, even if it takes more time or different methods, 4.) Improve the quality of program and performance evaluation, 5.) Reallocate resources to attain strategic objectives, and 6.) Manage the process of changing to a higher performing school.
McDonald is entrepreneurial, and his school enjoys an entrepreneurial culture. A few years back his students and staff even developed a board game called the Main Street Learning Game, which features many of the school's community partners from nearby Main Street Hyannis. Through the game, students learn about local businesses while businesses, in turn, connect with students and the school. The game is sold in area stores, and in 1998 it earned the school fifteen minutes of fame when it was featured on the Today Show.
McDonald and his staff saw the Horace Mann charter model as an opportunity rather than a "half-empty glass" (a "watered-down" charter school model)--the perspective many charter advocates have of Horace Mann charters. Like most entrepreneurs who believe in the value of their ideas, McDonald knew he could convince stakeholders to see the merit in and opportunities created by the application. Consequently, he convinced the school committee, the Barnstable Teachers Union, parents, and his own staff that if it were to become a charter school, the 5th grade school would make a bigger difference in the lives of students. McDonald and his staff examined a number of reform models, among them several comprehensive school designs (research-based collections of best practices, tools, and consultants that schools use to re-engineer themselves). In the end, they decided to adopt the Modern Red Schoolhouse (MRSh) comprehensive school design and to seek a charter to implement this model at the 5th grade school.
MRSh is a research-based set of standards, best practices, tools, and assessments that concentrate the entire school community's attention at improving student achievement. MRSh consultants work with teachers and staff to reorganize the staff into school-wide committees that work to improve budgeting, communications, curriculum, professional development, administration, community relations, and the use of technology at the school. The school model engages every stakeholder of the school in strategic issues. It works to improve student achievement by using high academic standards, best practices, effective tools, and ongoing professional development and teamwork, especially to manage the change process (for more information see the MRSh Web site, http://www.mrsh.org/).
The U.S. Department of Education recognizes the value that reform models such as the MRSh add to schools; it provides competitive grants (Obey-Porter Comprehensive School Reform Grants) of approximately $50,000 per year to underwrite the cost of implementing such models. The challenge most districts face is mustering the support, leadership, and technical capacity to undertake sweeping change district-wide. Tom McDonald and his staff saw an opportunity to pilot comprehensive school reform for the district. They sought to use their strategic position, as a system-wide school in the middle of the K-12 school system, to create partnerships with other schools and improve educational outcomes.
What are Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School's best practices?
The best practices of the school involve planning, organization, and school governance; curricula and use of technology; administration, finance, and budgeting; and community outreach (integrated into each of the other areas). Each best practice is transferable.
Every reform begins with planning. Every charter school plan begins with an understanding of how greater autonomy will provide greater accountability. All charter school applications consider the following questions:
1.) Is the school faithful to the terms of its charter?
2.) Is the education program a success?
3.) Is the school a viable organization?
Planning, Organization and School Governance
As stated earlier, when McDonald and his team decided to explore the Horace Mann charter option, several comprehensive school reform designs were also considered; the goal was to ensure the education program would be a success. The Modern Red Schoolhouse design was selected because it is standards-based, and its implementation strategies focus the entire school community on improving student achievement. The founding group understood that it would take time to get all of the stakeholders to support the conversion to a viable a Horace Mann charter school, especially since the recent launch of the Sturgis Charter School (aimed at gifted and talented high school students) had been politically divisive in Barnstable. The founders decided to take the time to do things right.
Faculty and parents were invited into the planning process. The founding group reached out and sought help from colleagues in the school district and members of the school committee and business community. Teachers at the school made the case to their union that the conversion was a good idea.
After the application was approved by the school committee, the Barnstable Teachers Association, and Massachusetts Board of Education, the founding team decided to take an extra year before converting into a Horace Mann charter school. This provided the requisite time for founders and the district to work through the issues of governance, finance and administration, all of which needed to be clarified if the school were to be both a viable organization and true to its charter. After careful consideration of the issues that needed to be clarified for the school to succeed, the Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School (BHMCS) prepared a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the school's Board of Trustees and the Barnstable School Committee. The MOU (see Appendix) defined and detailed the operating relationship between the Horace Mann charter school and the district and has been used as a template by other Horace Mann charter schools.
Curriculum and Use of Technology
The school's best practices in education, which result from using the Modern Red Schoolhouse model, include:
1.) Using the model's processes and consultants to align standards, curriculum, and assessments,
2.) Developing interdisciplinary foundation and capstone units,
3.) Utilizing technology for instructional management.
4.) Aligning professional development of teachers with strategic school improvement goals, and
5.) Adding aligned assessments to measure yearly student improvement.
The first "summer institute" for professional development focused the teachers' attentions on the change process, standards, and the development of curriculum aligned to the standards in both scope and sequence. The goal was to identify any gaps in content and to bring greater coherence to instruction from class to class. Development of interdisciplinary units based on the Massachusetts state frameworks began and will take nearly three years to write, pilot, refine, and complete.
The BHMCS faculty was introduced to the Instructional Management Series (IM Series, by Dr. Michael Burger and Dr. Lynn Stevenson-Burger of Learning Technology Systems, Knoxville, TN, www.imseries.com), a relational database software program that uses total quality management practices to integrate and manage standards, lesson plans, assignments and assessments. With this technology, teachers can easily monitor individual student progress in mastery of standards.
Subsequently, summer institutes and professional development focused on developing curriculum units and improving teachers' skills as instructors. Some teachers have been trained as teacher trainers themselves, thus building leadership and technical capacity for managing change.
To provide a standardized diagnostic and post-test assessment for measuring annual student progress, the school's leadership team adopted the Stanford 9 test. Its high correlation with the MCAS made the test especially appealing.
There are early indicators of success at BHMCS. The Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School's Annual Report for the 1999-2000 Academic Year reports on improved mathematics scores and high teacher morale. In February of 2001, Sue Peterson, a teacher at BHMCS and a former Trustee, told me she felt teachers at BHMCS felt better prepared and able to teach more effectively.
Administration, Finance, and Budgeting
Tom McDonald understood that he could have far greater administrative and financial ability to manage change as a Horace Mann charter principal than as a district school principal.
The leadership team recognized that the school's viability as an organization depended upon good relations with the school committee, the district leadership, and the civic community. They concentrated on developing an effective board of trustees. They recruited several business leaders including: the President of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce, the publisher of the Cape Cod Times, local finance professionals, a principal of an elementary school, several lead teachers, community leaders, and parents. After much discussion, a seat on the board of trustees was offered to Barnstable's district superintendent. He accepted.
The transitional year was used for board development and planning. The board was organized and given time to understand their fiduciary responsibilities and the opportunities available to them for reform. By including instructional leaders from the staff on the school's board of trustees, a critical "feedback loop" with teachers was created. Since much of the design implementation involves extra work on the part of the faculty, this "feedback loop" gave teachers direct contact with the board, thus avoiding the kind of "disconnect" between the board and the school's employees that frequently erupts during the start-up period.
During the first and second year of the charter, the board engaged in a strategic planning process that consisted of a full-day retreat, followed by eight 4-hour facilitated work sessions. Parents, faculty, and trustees participated in the work sessions. As the school identified key issues and strategies, it became apparent that for the endeavors to succeed, even greater levels of communication and cooperation with the school district were essential. In the areas of civic engagement and governance, the best practice is to strategically involve the community in the governance of the school.
Under the MOU, the school receives its per pupil allotment from Barnstable in one payment at the beginning of the fiscal year. Through prudent cash management policies and by investing the per pupil allotment in money market funds and certificates of deposit, the school earns $50,000 in interest during the school year, money that is re-invested in instruction, professional development, and materials.
The district invoices the school for services it provides. This gives the school an incentive to bid services to seek cost savings. Utilities were quickly identified as an area where savings could be realized. The BHMCS staff negotiated for more favorable rates of service with utilities, saving thousands of dollars. The board is also considering outsourced payroll services.
BHMCS receives federal charter school start up grants (Title X, Elementary and Secondary Education Act). These provide nearly $300,000 ($100,000 annually for three years) in much-needed capital for summer institutes, teacher training, consultants, and investment in technology, teacher stipends, and learning materials. Title X grants are augmented by Obey-Porter (federal, $50,000) grants, capital from the sales of the Main Street Learning Game and grants from private foundations that the school solicits and receives. These best practices in finance and budget enable school leaders to redirect more money into classrooms. They empower school leaders to make 100% of their budget and finance decisions based on the best interests of their schools.
How are best practices disseminated to the district and other schools?
Best practices from BHMCS are disseminated through both formal and informal channels. The formal means are through the annual report to the school committee and formal meetings with the district's elected and appointed leaders. Improved curriculum units, for example, have been piloted at the school and presented to the school committee and to parents on local access cable television. The board's strategic planning committee met with the school district's administrative leadership as well as several school committee members to discuss finance, curriculum, and enrollment issues that required cooperation. That meeting provided a forum for leaders of school and district to plan and work pro-actively on these strategic issues of mutual concern.
At a recent Barnstable School Committee meeting, which was televised to the entire community via cable, BHMCS trustees proposed a "Partnership for Student Achievement." The Partnership proposed expansion of the school to include 4th and 6th grade classes. It also proposed to institute discussions between BHMCS faculty and instructional leaders from the seven elementary "feeder" schools and the two middle receiving schools. The focus of these discussions was curriculum and student achievement.
The school committee was receptive to the Partnership.
Another formal way (presently under consideration) for the school to disseminate best practices is through a conference where district superintendents, school principals, teachers, and civic leaders can discuss the potential for Horace Mann charters to serve as catalysts for reform.
Due to the school's strategic position a number of informal opportunities for dissemination of best practices to schools in the system exist as well. Mr. McDonald attends regular meetings with principals of the district schools. At one of these meetings, McDonald shared his charter school's experience with the SAT-9 as a standardized assessment aligned, in large part, with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. As a result, the school district quickly adopted the SAT-9 assessment as a means to diagnose and post-test annual student progress.
Informal contacts also help spread best practices in the area of budget management. While meeting with school district leaders, for example, the BHMCS board demonstrated how their cash management strategies stretched the budget dollars of the school. Two school committee members requested that the trustees and school district explore the possibility of BHMCS administering the finances of one or more of the district schools to seek similar cost savings.
There are other informal ways in which the best practices are disseminated within the Barnstable school district. First, the school is district-wide. Students from seven elementary schools come together at it. Counselors and faculty of the school are in regular communication with the feeder schools. The curriculum and organizational reforms are discussed in a variety of ways through this intercourse. Moreover, several trustees also serve as members of the district's strategic planning committee and bring their knowledge of BHMCS's best practices to district-wide discussions on improving curricula, finance, school climate, and community relations.
The school is only completing its second academic year, but the reform efforts it has piloted in governance, administration, finance and curriculum are already building consensus for district-wide improvement. Moreover, as teachers, trustees, and administrative staff learn more from the best practices implemented at BHMCS, their leadership and technical expertise adds to the district's capacity for managing change.
What are the obstacles to implementation of the best practices/innovation?
The biggest obstacle to implementation of these best practices is the perception that policy-makers and superintendents have of Horace Mann charter schools. Many feel that Horace Mann Charter Schools don't provide enough autonomy to justify the effort involved in starting them. The Memorandum of Agreement negotiated by the BHMCS board of trustees is a way to mitigate this problem and still permit these schools to exhibit great autonomy over finance, governance, administration, and curriculum.
To date, all but one of the Horace Mann charter schools in Massachusetts have featured approaches to at-risk populations, rather than reform initiatives aimed at the entire school district. I would argue that this is the result of entrepreneurial educators in those programs who sought charter status to build their programs. To achieve systemic reform, however, scores of effective principals must be encouraged and empowered to seek charter status to improve the performance of students in their schools, schools which serve the general student population.
How can Barnstable's lessons be leveraged throughout the Commonwealth?
To change the negative perception many have regarding Horace Mann Charter Schools, policy makers need to build on the strengths of Horace Mann charters and address the weaknesses. To build on the strengths, superintendents and school committee members need information, technical assistance, and incentives to understand how Horace Mann charter schools can improve student achievement in their districts. The statute directs the Commissioner of Education to provide as much, but according to Associate Commissioner for Charter Schools Susan Barker (telephone conversation, 15 June 2001), plans for implementing the legislative directive have been stalled because of the inherent conflict of interest faced by the Board of Education--providing technical assistance to those making applications and then judging those applications. To remedy this situation and to assist school districts and Horace Mann schools develop quality plans and schools, the Commonwealth should encourage the creation of an outside technical assistance facility. They should also provide initial funding (through a blend of federal Title X and an appropriation) for charter school start-up and dissemination of best practices. A conference, a series of workshops, peer consulting, and publications explaining Horace Mann charter schools would also be steps in the right direction.
To address the weaknesses, technical amendments need to be made to the Education Reform Act of 1993. Clarity is needed regarding the governance and finance elements of the Horace Mann charter school model. At present most of these issues may be dealt with through MOU's, but explicit amendments would make Horace Mann charter applications more attractive to entrepreneurial educators.
About the Author
William J. "Jack" McCarthy, 45, is Managing Director and co-founder of the AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation in Washington, D.C. and has extensive experience in social entrepreneurship and education reform. McCarthy attended Northeastern University and graduated from The American University in 1978. Jack co-founded the Boston Renaissance Charter School and led the founding group's $12,000,000 renovation of a 14 story downtown building in Boston, Massachusetts in 1995. He has provided strategic assistance to charter school founders in eight states and has testified on charter school issues before Congress, state legislatures, city councils, and school committees and has advocated successfully for charter school legislation. Jack conceived of the idea for a "charter school incubator" that successfully launched two college-prep charter high schools in the District of Columbia. He serves on the boards of the Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School, the Massachusetts Charter School Association, and the Horace Mann Foundation. He serves on the strategic planning committee for the Barnstable school district and on the development committee for St. Francis Xavier Preparatory School in Massachusetts. Committed to children, McCarthy has coached youth baseball and soccer and taught Sunday school. Prior to his involvement in school reform, he worked in real estate finance as Vice-President of Boston Bay Capital, Inc.
Contact Information
William J. "Jack" McCarthy
54 Sandy Valley Road
Marstons Mills, MA 02648
508-294-6099
JackMacApp@aol.com
Business address:
AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation
401 M Street, SW-2nd Floor, Room 100
Washington, D.C. 20024
202.488.3990 Tel
202.488.3991 Fax
jmccarthy@appletreeinstitute.org
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
This Memorandum of Understanding entered into this ___ day of May, 2001, by and between Barnstable Grade Five Horace Mann Charter School, 120 High School Road, Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601 (the "School") and the School Committee of the Town of Barnstable, 230 South Street, P.O. Box 955, Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601 (the "School Committee"),
Whereas, Barnstable Grade Five Horace Mann Charter School has received, pursuant to Massachusetts General Law, Chapter 71, §89(b) (the "Act"), a charter granted by the Massachusetts Board of Education (the "Board") to operate as a Horace Mann Charter School pursuant to 603 CMR 1.0 et seq. (the "Regulations") for the period of July 1, 1999 through June 30, 2004 (the "Charter") a copy of which is attached hereto as Exhibit "A", and, this Memorandum of Understanding shall automatically renew in conjunction with reach renewal of the Charter by the Department of Education, and,
Whereas, the Barnstable Grade Five Horace Mann Charter School, upon receipt of the Charter, is a body politic incorporate with all powers necessary and desirable for the carrying out of its Charter Program, and,
Whereas, Horace Mann Charter Schools shall, in accordance with the Act and the Regulations, be operated and managed by a Board of Trustees independent of the School Committee which approve such schools, and,
Whereas, the School Committee has voted to approve the creation of the Grade Five Horace Mann Charter School and actively participated in and supported the selection of the School by the Board of Education, and,
Whereas, the Act and the Regulations impose certain responsibilities and obligations upon the School Committee and the Board of Trustees of the School, and,
Whereas, the School Committee, in accordance with applicable law, shall remain the employer for collective bargaining purposes; and,
Whereas, a Memorandum of Agreement was entered into by and between the School Committee and the Barnstable Teacher's Association, Inc. dated December 30, 1997, a copy of which is attached as Addendum "A"; and,
Whereas, the School will be creating and implementing policies and programs which may be of benefit and assistance to other schools and students within the Barnstable school system, and,
Whereas, the School Committee has established system-wide educational goals (the "System-Wide Goals"); and,
Whereas, the Board of Trustees of the School shall determine the school's curriculum and develop the school's annual budget, which budget must be submitted for action by the School Committee in conjunction with its actions on the Barnstable School District's overall budget, and,
Whereas, the Board of Trustees has determined that the name of the School shall be "The Barnstable Horace Mann Charter School"; and,
Whereas, the parties hereto desire to work in concert with the development and implementation of the Charter and, further, to foster open lines of communication, direct and honest dialogue and coordination of activities and decision making, and,
Whereas, the School will be located within the current Grade Five school building located at High School Road Extension, Hyannis, Massachusetts, which building was built in 1923, the building and associated grounds being referred to as the "Facilities", and,
Whereas, in accordance with the provisions of its Charter, the School operates in a unique fashion as a cohesive part of the K-12 Barnstable School District.
Now, therefore, in consideration of the foregoing and to foster the purposes set forth herein, the parties agree as follows:
1. Liaison and Communication
The School and the School Committee agree to facilitate liaison, communication activities and collaboration to the greatest extent feasible. Toward this end, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the School shall provide semi-annual reports to the School Committee concerning the operations and activities of the School and shall attend (or designate a representative to attend) at least quarterly meetings of the School Committee to answer questions and provide information regarding such reports. During the intervening time periods, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees and the Chairman of the School Committee shall serve as the liaisons for all direct communications by and between the School and the School Committee on any issue (the "Liaisons"). All notices to be given pursuant hereto shall be directed to the Liaisons at the addresses noted above. The Trustees agree to coordinate the School's academic programs and curriculum with the System-Wide Goals and to annually report to the School Committee on the School's accomplishments relating to same.
2. Bylaws and Committees
The Board of Trustees of the School has adopted, in accordance with its Charter, Bylaws governing the election of trustees and officers, the appointment of various committees and the governance and operation of the School. A copy of the Bylaws, as adopted, has been delivered to the School Committee and the Board of Trustees shall provide copies of any amendments or modifications to the Bylaws to the School Committee.
3. Budget and Financial Issues
In accordance with the provisions of its Charter, the School shall prepare an annual budget request to the School Committee. The primary responsibility for creation of the budget shall be the Business and Finance Committee of the School in accordance with its Bylaws. It is agreed that the District Allocation described in Paragraph 5, shall be calculated based upon the final budget for the School Department as voted by the Town Council.  School Committee agrees to provide and make available to the School the services of the School Department's Business Manager to assist in the establishment and approval of an annual budget and to complete such reports and accounting as may be required to comport with reporting requirements to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the State Department of Education. The School and the School Committee agree to coordinate, to the greatest extent feasible, the maintaining of financial records, bookkeeping and accounting procedures so as to provide each party with specific information concerning the financial condition of the School, budget projections and budget conformance. The Business Manager shall also assist the School in coordination of procurement procedures, including but not limited to conformance with Massachusetts General Law Chapter 30B. The School shall designate a procurement officer and shall advise the School Committee annually of same in writing.
4. Payroll, Banking and Accounts
It is acknowledged by the parties hereto that the Act requires the School to operate independently from the School Committee and further that the Act stipulates that the School's budget allocation defined under Paragraph 5 hereof be available for expenditure by the Board of Trustees without further approval by the Superintendent or School Committee. The School shall, in accordance with the Act and the Regulations, establish its own bank account and it may procure independent payroll services for employees solely based at the School.
5. Allocation of Funds to School
The parties acknowledge that the School Committee shall fund the School in accordance with the provisions of the Act and the Regulations. It is hereby agreed that during the Term of the Charter the School shall receive an annual allocation based upon the average cost per student in the district times the number of students anticipated to be enrolled in the school the following school year in accordance with 603 CMR 1.07 (the "District Allocation"). In addition, the School shall be allocated annually the cost of transportation, based upon the per pupil cost within the district (the "Transportation Allocation"). For budget preparation purposes, the Grade 5 Horace Mann Charter School allocation will be based upon the total anticipated School Department budget less the cost of transportation divided by the anticipated number of students enrolled in the Barnstable Public Schools as presented in the District's budget requests to the Town Council. This will be considered the anticipated per pupil cost. The average anticipated per pupil cost will then be multiplied by the anticipated Grade 5 Horace Mann Charter School enrollment. This number will be considered the anticipated District Appropriation - General for the upcoming fiscal year. Furthermore, the Charter School will receive an allocation for transportation. The allocation will be based on the total anticipated cost to provide transportation to all students divided by the anticipated number of students enrolled in the Barnstable Public Schools. This will be considered the anticipated transportation cost per pupil. The anticipated average transportation cost per pupil will then be multiplied by the anticipated
Grade 5 Horace Mann Charter School enrollment.
This number will be considered the Anticipated District Appropriation -
Transportation.  total of these two allocations will be the anticipated revenue for the Grade 5 Horace Mann Charter School for the upcoming fiscal year. The total allocation for all of the above shall be finalized based upon the final School Department Budget as voted by the Town Council for the fiscal year in question and the total number of students for the District as determined by the budget as so approved.
Following the October 1st enrollment report, the District Allocation shall be adjusted in the event the number of students actually enrolled at the school and within the District is at variance from the anticipated enrollment. In the event of such variance, the District Allocation shall be reduced or increased pro rata for any students above or below the student census projections approved by the Town Council as noted above. In addition, the District Allocation shall be adjusted to account for any changes in state funding occurring during the Fiscal year. It is agreed that the District Allocation General and the Transportation Allocation shall be paid in one payment on July 1 of each year. The School Committee and the School have agreed, subject to the provisions of Paragraph 13 that the School Department of the Town of Barnstable may provide the costs and/or services set forth in Exhibit 1 for and on behalf of the School. Exhibit 1 shall be reviewed annually in conjunction with the budget process described in Paragraph 3. The School shall reimburse and/or pay the School Department for such costs and/or services upon the presentation of detailed invoices for the services in the manner described in Exhibit 1. The School, the School Department and the Town Accountant shall meet on or before August 1 of each year to agree upon methods and procedures for such invoicing to insure utilization of the final budget approval by the Town Council and School Committee for the year in question.
6. Special Education
The School Committee agrees that it shall be responsible for all costs associated with special education and related services to be provided by the School Department to students enrolled in the School, and shall maintain appropriate records of all such costs. The cost for such service shall be determined based upon the formula described in Exhibit 1. Special education staffing shall be at a ratio commensurate with the current staffing levels and student needs based upon yearly population fluctuations. In addition, the School Committee agrees that the delivery of such special education shall continue to be under the supervision of the School Committee's Director of Pupil Services. The School has agreed to establish a line item reserve amount for each fiscal year in an amount not to exceed $20,000 to assist in unanticipated outplacement costs associated with special education services for Barnstable Horace Mann students.
7. Collective Bargaining
The parties acknowledge that, for the purposes of collective bargaining, all of the Teaching Staff of the School remain employees of the School Committee per the technical advisory issued by the Massachusetts Department of Education on August 13, 1998. The School and the School Committee agree to develop procedures regarding the hiring, transfer, evaluation and dismissal of teachers in consonance with applicable provisions of the collective bargaining agreement in effect. Subject to the relevant provisions of M.G.L. §§41, 42 and 42D, the School and the School Committee agree to communicate and coordinate concerning issues pertaining to hiring, promotion and firing, with the School Committee retaining responsibility for transfer, suspension, termination, and arbitration. Except as provided by law to the contrary, the Board of Trustees shall be the employer of all non-teaching staff and administration at the School for all purposes other than collective bargaining. The School may hire, employ, evaluate and oversee contractors, administrators, subcontractors, and employees not governed by a collective bargaining agreement, including the negotiation of salary and benefits.  is agreed that the School's Principal shall participate in all future negotiations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The School Board of Trustees shall be primarily responsible for the evaluation of the Principal. The Board of Trustees shall coordinate the evaluation process with the School Department to insure conformance with district wide standards.
8. Grants, Development and Independent Funding
It is agreed and acknowledged that the School will be embarking upon innovative projects and programs which may result in obtaining additional grants, independent private and public donations and other sources of outside funding. It is agreed that the value and amount of such grants shall not be deducted from the District Allocation described in Paragraph 5 hereof. The School shall be eligible to receive such grants and funding based upon need, eligibility and the specific intent of any grants awarded. The School shall, to the greatest extent feasible, coordinate entitlement grant applications with the School Committee and the School System. It is also agreed that the School will receive its proportionate share of all federal and state funding which may be received by the School District for dissemination throughout the district including but not limited to Eisenhower, Title I and Title VI fundings.  School agrees to disseminate all plans for innovative practices, and to share the benefits of such grants and independent funding on a system wide basis where appropriate and more particularly, within the immediately lower and upper grades. Equipment, computers and other items paid by such grants or independent funding shall be deemed to be the property of the School. In the event of the revocation or expiration of the charter, all such property shall vest in the School Department.
9. Outreach
The School acknowledges the importance of education and outreach activities within its student/parent population, within schools throughout the district and within the overall community of the Town of Barnstable. Toward this end, the Board of Trustees has, in accordance with its Bylaws, appointed an Outreach Committee, which shall prepare for dissemination such descriptive and educational material and information as the Board of Trustees may from time to time approve. Copies of all such outreach materials shall be provided to the School Committee. The School and the School Committee agree to coordinate efforts relating to system wide education, and most importantly, education and dissemination of information associated with the School to the Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, parents and students, and the public. It is also agreed that the School and the School Committee shall examine the expansion of the School to allow for the accommodation of other grade levels. Said review will result in recommendations to the School and the School Committee.
10. Curriculum and Testing
The School has established within its bylaws a Curriculum Committee, with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of curriculum within the School which will be aligned with the Massachusetts Frameworks and the Barnstable Public School's Curriculum. All curriculums shall be subject to approval by the Board of Trustees. Copies of the final curriculum as approved shall be delivered to the School Committee and regular reports shall be made to the School Committee concerning the creation and implementation of such curriculum. The School will also be developing specific testing and student assessment vehicles.  School and the School Committee agree, to the greatest extent feasible, to coordinate student assessment and testing within the School and the district to provide for maximum utilization of the assessment information facility utilization, oversight and operation. The School will be responsible for administering all state mandated testing and assessments.
11. Reports to Board of Education
The School Committee shall provide such assistance as the School may reasonably require allowing for the School to make such reports as may be required from time to time to the State Board of Education. The parties hereto further agree to coordinate, to the greatest extent feasible, the selection and oversight of outside vendors, including but not limited to transportation, food service and related entities.
12. Facilities
The School Committee agrees that the School may utilize during the term of the Charter the Facilities for its sole and exclusive use as a Charter School. The School Committee agrees to maintain overall responsibility for maintenance, repair and capital improvement projects of the facilities, in collaboration with the School in accordance with 603 CMR 107. The costs of usual and customary maintenance and repair shall be reimbursed in the manner described in Paragraph 5 hereof. Substantial, significant or unforeseen maintenance and repair items, together with capital improvement projects shall be carried out following specific coordination and discussion by and between the School and the School Committee. The cost of such maintenance and repair and capital improvement projects shall not be deducted from the District Allocation or reimbursed. It is agreed that the facilities shall be upgraded appropriately in accordance with increased enrollment and increased staffing as may be required by changes in student population.
13. Modification, Authority and Delegated Responsibilities
In conformance with the Charter, it is agreed that the School may, upon fourteen (14) days written notice to the School Committee, retain any of its powers, authority, responsibilities, duties, or obligations delegated under this Memorandum of Understanding, consistent with the School Committee's need to coordinate budgetary expenditures on an annual basis, including the ability to modify the items governed by Exhibit 1. The parties hereto shall, on an annual basis at the time of School's submission of its budget request in accordance with paragraph 3 hereof, review this MOU and, if appropriate, jointly agree to modify or amend if appropriate or necessary.
14. Extension
The terms and provisions of this Memorandum of Understanding shall automatically extend from year to year unless either party shall give notice of termination ninety (90) days prior to the anniversary date hereof.
The Barnstable Grade Five Horace Barnstable School Committee,
Mann Charter School,
By:_________________________________
By:_________________________________
Chairman of the Board of Trustees Chairman
Champion Horace Mann Charter School in Brockton
Gary:
I hope all your readers today read the Times article on Stu Bornstein. Now 'verification' has his or her answer. Someone named verification was in here on Friday asking if my statement about Stu dropping the new hotel was true. I had called Stu around 12:30 and he told me he was done. I STILL think the person named 'verification' was ONE of the IDIOT Town councilors who was asking. So ASSWIPE, I HOPE YOU ARE HAPPY NOW THAT YOU COST US ALL MILLIONS and about 200 JOBS!
The TOWN COUNCIL IS FULL OF A BUNCH OF PATHETIC LOSERS and yes, in my opinion, MOST on this council just simply HATE Stu Bornstein. I have news for them ALl and for this PUKE Town Manager:
STU BORNSTEIN has MORE BRAINS and GUTS AND INTEGRITY than all you ASSWIPES put together! These idiots NEED TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY!
As for our town manager, John Klimm is nothing but an UNQUALIFIED MAGGOT and the man has the IQ of a fourth grader!
Do these MORONS realize the unbelievable OPPORTUNITY they just screwed us all out of? NO, they have no clue!
Just so EVERYONE KNOWS, here, I KNOW THIS FOR A FACT! The following IDIOTS on this council OPPOSED this new hotel:
Jim ASSWIPE CROCKER! HANK THE MORON FARNHAM. ANN PONDSCUM CANEDEY. TOM MR ARROGANCE RUGO. GREG IDIOT MILNS. JIM THE SCUMBAG MUNAFO!
I knew all along that Canedey, Rugo, Franham and Crocker were ALL AGAINST Mr. Bornstein but had no clue zbout Munafo and Milne... I asked them both the other night.
Here is the SAD PART: I truly BELIEVE that SOME on this council JUST HATE Stu Bornstein, period. And Ann Canedey is on record long ago stating that She WHOULD NEVER EVER VOTE FOR ANYTHING THAT STU BORNSTEIN WAS INVOLVED IN! Some else also told me last night that they also heard that GREG MILNE feels the same way!
Folks, it is HIGH TIME to GET RID OF THESE TWELVE BASTARDS one by one. In my opinion, we should have a TOWNWIDE RECALL. Get IN 13 NEW COUNCILORS WITH BRAINS AND INTEGRITY and the first thing on the agenda should to be to FIRE this PUKE Manager John Klimm. I will guarantee that Klimm was likely BEHIND ALL THIS. He is always pulling the tiny PUPPETS on their strings because there is NOT ONE OF THESE ASSHOLES who has the brains of a third grader! And like I said, Klimm has the IQ of a fourth grader, IF THAT!
Here asswipes, want to know HOW MUCH YOU IDIOTS COST THE TAXPAYERS HERE?
Try this:
The AVERAGE traveler spends about $ 140 per day on meals and entertainment...
So consider this one...
Let's say Stu had opened his hotel back in April LIKE THE ONE IN YARMOUTH... Let's say that a couple hundred people visited in July and they came and spent some money LOCALLY! Do the MATH:
THAT $ 140 per person for the month of July WOULD HAVE HAD THOSE PEOPLE SPENDING $ 840,000, for JOHN KLIMM AND HIS ASSHOLE COUNCIL PUPPETS, I JUST SAID, those GUESTS WOULD HAVE SPENT EIGHT HUNDRED AND FORTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!
And guess what Klimm and you ASSWIPE TOWN COUNCIL?! THE FACT IS THAT MOST PEOPLE SPEND THEIR MONEY WITHIN THREE MILES OF WHERE THEY STAY!
THIS IS WHAT THESE ASSHOLES COST US ALL! Not to mention the 200 JOBS to BUILD this new hotel!
FOLKS, I PROMISE YOU SOMETHING:
I WILL BE AT THE COUNCIL COME OCTOBER 1st when these ASSHOLES MEET AGAIN with the PUKE MANAGER KLIMM! And I plan to have a few things to say to these MAGGOTS!
I SUGGEST THAT YOU ALL JOIN ME because they just SCREWED EVERY TAXPAYER in our town!
it is SICKENING and DISGRACEFUL how they treated Stu Bornstein and IF I were running this town, I WOULD FIRE these CLUELESS BASTARDS in two seconds and would have sen Klimm packing a long time ago!
These assholes are RUINING THIS TOWN AND RUNNING IT INTO THE GROUND!
Good day
Posted by: John Julius | September 20, 2009 at 09:06 AM
And so to all the SHOP OWNERS and MERCHANTS and RESTAURANT OWNERS in and around Hyannis:
When i wrote about that $ 840,000 that WOULD HAVE BEEN SPENT by the GUESTS at Stu'd new hotel, THAT WAS MONEY THAT WAS YOURS! That $ 840,000 FIGURE is sick to see now isn't it?!
Not to mention anothe HALF MIL or SO that WOULD HAVE GONE INTO THE TOWN COFFERS! And AANOTHER $ 100,000 that STU WAS WILLING TO PAY AS A GIFT CONTRIBUTION to landscape Rte 28 and to the NEW YOUTH CENTER RINK! And he was also going to GIVE another $ 360K for FIXING THE WATER MAINS on Mary Dunn Road coming into 28!
THIS IS WHAT THE ASSHOLES on this town council cost us all, INCLUDING the LOCAL MERCHANTS!
It is pretty SAD when one NEW HOTEL COULD HAVE BROUGHT IN MILLIONS and had not one bad thing about it only to have 12 ASSHOLES screw us all!
To EVERY VOTER IN THIS TOWN:
PLEASE VOTE RUGO, CHIRIGOTIS and JOAKIM THE HELL OUT OF HERE in November! They are all scumbags! It is sickening what they have done!
Posted by: John Julius | September 20, 2009 at 09:17 AM
Let's also not forget that the council also TOOK VALUABLE LAND OFF our tax rolls too. Here... just a few of their great deals...
1. A few years ago they paid $ 700K or so for that land at 725 Main Street, now this wonderful grand garden of open space... It USED TO BE A GAS STATION that brought in a few JOBS and $$ REVENUE to our town. IT COULD HAVE BEEN SOLD again as another gas station or maybe a convenience store, but NOPE! Not with the asses on te council. They just HAD to have that land. So puff, OFF the tax rolls it came. NO MORE MONEY. NOW IT JUST COSTS US A TON OF MONEY FOR WHITTEN LANDSCAPING to MAINTAIN! I wonder TWO things. I wonder HOW MUCH IT COST us all to MAINTAIN that LUSH GARDEN each year and WHOSE FRIEND THAT LANDSCAPER IS!
2. These IDIOTS Klimm and his 12 PUPPETS TOOK THE OLD CHILLI's RESTAURANT at the rotary off the tax rolls. SAME THING> THAT RESTAURANT USED TO PROVIDE JOBS and bring in TAX REVENUE! NO MORE, because Klimm and his MAGGOT COUNCIL PUPPET just HAD to have THAT LAND at the old Chilli's Restaurant too! MORE MONEY GONE!
3. Across from Craigville beach, the old Suni Sands Hotel.... Instead of allowing that to be sold for MORE TAX REVENUE, the ASSWIPES HAD to have that land too. I heard that they plan to have some sort of grass museum there.. something about the various beach and sea grasses for folks to go gawk at... MORE TAX MONEY GONE, forever....
Folks, we print all this to show YOU ALL just WHAT MORONS these so called councilors are.
THESE MAGGOTS are nothing but a bundh of IDIOTIC MORONS who have NO CLUE about a damn thing!
They are also running our town into the ground and running up so much debt that shortly the cost to pay all this back is going to bankrupt everyone here...
Wait and see.
Wake UP and VOTE IN NEW PEOPLE in November. This is our only hope, trust me.
Posted by: John Julius | September 20, 2009 at 09:29 AM
Gary, Can you tell me why the Stewart's Creek project was done in two phases by the council?
The DPW has it as one project with 320 abutters.
I don't get it.
Posted by: Hill Street | September 20, 2009 at 03:30 PM
To Hill Street:
WE NEED HELP! We will need a TON of HELP in the next few weeks passing out FLYERS at the dump and elsewhere! If you people over there do not help us all, you are going to get WHACKED with betterments! Please call me or Tina Carey.
I can be reached at
508 237-2700
Tina can be reached at
508 775-9119
Remember; IF this fails, YOU WILL get betterments of between 20K and 40K
TRUST ME!
And here is the ironic part.
RIGHT NOW MOST of the people TRYING TO HELP DEFEAT this do NOT live in your area! Including me!
Get the PEOPLE from YOUR AREA involved, please. WE CANNOT do this alone! TRUST ME on that too!
And to the folks around Wequaquet.... YOU are next, so you shoule HELP TOO!
Posted by: John Julius | September 20, 2009 at 04:07 PM
It was a straight scam.
The council didn't publish the fact that home owners were responsible for paying the $3.9 million through betterment liens.
The council then shifted the measure to last which wasn't heard until 11:15PM when everyone from the public was gone.
Immediately (nanoseconds) after Milne read the measure into the record, he pulled out an amendment and read that as well in an attempt to legitimize the measure.
If the omission of the betterment language was accidental, the proper thing to do was table the measure for a later hearing because it was a material change.
The council then used the fact that no one commented against the measure as unanimous support for the project.
The council then said the $3.9 million was permanently dedicated to put the westsiders asleep with claims the $3.9 million would be thrown away if they didn't go along.
The whole thing was a scam to rip these folks of for $35,000.
Posted by: Gary Lopez | September 20, 2009 at 04:28 PM
Hill Street...
it may take you ALL over there to pool some money together and SUE these bastards. For your info, the folks from Long Beach hired a lawyer for their DCPC and he is setting these idiots back in their heels. You guys may have to do the same...
For now though, please spread the word that we are going to need HELP.
With a HUGE push we may be able to get the word out to VOTERS! SHOW UP come October 13th! SHOW UP and vote NO! it is simple, that part anyway! In the meantime though, we will need the help. We are going to print FLYERS that will need to be handed out to people. So we will need help at the dump again, and at post Offices, and at the supermarkets!
Please call Tina Carey or myself. We will also have other people to call too. But GET INVOLVED and STAY involved! EVERYONE must get involved and STAY involved!
Posted by: John Julius | September 20, 2009 at 04:53 PM
I can't believe the council has killed jobs, tax revenue and modernization of Hyannis.
These clowns want to see nothing but cottages and seasonal work here in the town of Barnstable. They need to get the hell out of the 1960's and realize this is a year round community.
Get your heads out of your asses and get real.
Our government has done more to hurt this town fiscally in the last 6 years than any other city Govt. in the state.
If the people want it vote for it you jerks. If the people don't want it vote against it. It;s pretty god dam easy to do.
What a bunch of pathetic dopes
Posted by: Newly Charged Actavist | September 20, 2009 at 06:11 PM
Looks like the charter schools are here to stay for another two years. Cahoon supported all four except Fay for the school committee.
So we vote for Fay for some change. Turn the other four upside down and they all look the same.
Posted by: Walt from West Barnstable | September 20, 2009 at 07:41 PM
Gary,
The question to ask is if they would have brought out the amendment if some residents actually showed up and stayed that late.
Nobody showed or stayed so they slipped it in hoping nobody would notice. Well, guess what, we did.
Posted by: Rob Anderson | September 20, 2009 at 09:25 PM
Rob...
Yes we know about it, but can't do anything about correcting the scam other than have Milne file for a rescission as it was his resolve and he was on the winning side, or sue in U.S. District Court for violation of everyone's 14th Amendment Rights to due process which includes notification (the published resolve didn't mention the loan had to be paid back through betterments.
A Milne recall would have put the pressure on him.
Without Milne's recall voters on October 13 will only give westsiders a hollow victory, which is why I now oppose the 8.2 vote.
Stopping the sewer expansion in Stewarts Creek should be all or nothing at all.
The poorest section of Stewarts Creek (the area in and around Woodbury Ave will be driven from their homes once the sewer expansion begins in their neighborhood.
Posted by: Gary Lopez | September 21, 2009 at 07:07 AM
Wouldn't a successful no vote on October 13th also have the same effect? Would it not then give them incentive to reconsider the east side?
Lastly, The east side is much closer to existing infrastructure. I am sure that it could be looked at again and made to be much more affordable, especially if the enterprise account kicked in a subsidy. Also, weren't they going to replace water lines in that area at the same time? Couldn't the water department kick in some funds?
Posted by: Rob Anderson | September 21, 2009 at 08:18 AM
A Milne recall would have put pressure on him to do what? He already openly stated he was going with what he feels is "right".
I was totally creeped out by his statements on that YouTube video.
How stupid can the guy get? He said he would "portray reality in such a way" that he would look best in order to protect his "turf"? What an asshole!
Posted by: * | September 21, 2009 at 09:02 AM
Not sure why you think there is no recall on Milne. I just signed a petition yesterday afternoon.
Posted by: Greenwood Ave | September 21, 2009 at 09:06 AM
Greenwood Ave;
You only need 50 signatures on the affidavit to make it to the next stage.
I can go door to door and get 50 signatures in four hours.
People have been writing here that they've been signing Milne's recall affidavit for two weeks.
Whoever is promoting the recall either hasn't got a clue or is a basket case.
It's too late to help the October 13th election. You needed both.
Posted by: Gary Lopez | September 21, 2009 at 12:36 PM