Wile E Coyote, Super Genius, neglects to mention that the ignorant, benighted masses of Melrose made JD LaRock the top votegetter in the 2009 school committee election. He served for a year and a half, then resigned to take a job in Europe. I'd argue his leaving was a greater factor in losing the alderman race than people not understanding his resume. Your mileage may vary.
The same issues keep getting brought up because none of them ever get addressed, let alone fixed. What part of that escapes you? Sad.
It's funny that you bring up that this is a sleepy little suburb and mention in the same sentence Soviet Russia.... almost as if you are defending against the obvious parallels...hmmmm... And Infowars? Really? The irony here is that I largely vote as a Democrat, but I believe there is no place for partisan politics in local city or town elections; I simply vote in the best interests of the city. It is odd but not surprising that you have no respect for transparency, free speech and public records laws and fail to realize that this is a major problem here in Melrose. What happened to "an educated and informed voter? is this just a slogan?
In Melrose, it's an oxymoron.
Educated and informed voter.We do have.Just to get even basic information in order to make informed decisions on important votes. The voters will do.
"There doesn't appear to be any other systemic racism by people in authority in the schools that anyone can point to."
This is the most wide-ranging whitewash of a number of very serious issues seen to date. The corruption and mismanagement are comprehensive in Melrose, despite what too many locals wish to believe. Just because the public wasn't informed about say, the co-conspirators in the cemetery commissioner's felonious conduct doesn't mean there isn't serious misconduct that involved others in city government, only that the pubic was kept out of the loop. Duh!
Since you referenced OCR and turned such a serious situation into your bland whitewash, here's the real deal:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=2ahUKEwjdqqqG8IvfAhVRmeAKHUeDDm8QFjACegQIBxAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww2.ed.gov%2Fabout%2Foffices%2Flist%2Focr%2Fdocs%2Finvestigations%2Fmore%2F01141259-a.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0dqx3G3SOv36oNAIquiSr_
OCR found that the Student was subject to a hostile environment based on race.
OCR’s investigation finds that the District violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI)
OCR found that the incident was publicized in an online community news article, which
included comments by a city official concerning the incident, and was the subject of
discussion and commentary in the community.
To establish a violation of Title VI under the hostile environment theory, OCR must find
that: (1) a racially hostile environment existed; (2) the recipient had actual or constructive
notice of the racially hostile environment; and (3) the recipient failed to respond
adequately to redress the racially hostile environment. To determine whether a racially
hostile environment exists, the racially-based conduct must be severe, pervasive or
persistent.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/education_law/2016/02/ocr-finds-melrose-schools-failed-to-adequately-respond-to-teachers-statement-that-a-student-should-n.html
After its own investigation, OCR found that the District did not sufficiently respond to the hostile environment. First, its investigation and response was delayed. Second, it did not fully delve into the teacher's past behavior to determine the extent of the problem. Third, it did not provide parents with sufficient notice of what had occurred. Fourth, during the investigation, the district did not take action to remedy the effects of the hostile environment on other students. In short, while the District responded to the hostile environment, it did not take adequate steps to address it.
OCR's close attention to the way in which the incident affected the entire school community and the way District responded is significant. Courts are often dismissive of what they call "isolated" incidents and so long as a district does "something," courts tend to find the response adequate. Here, OCR makes clear that racially hostile comments affect everyone and cannot be viewed in isolation. Thus, it is a districts obligation to broaden the scope of its investigation and response.
The full findings are here.
The resolution agreement, which includes additional steps that the District will take, is here.
Swell. I screwed up the quote function. One more try -
"In response to the part I bolded in your reply above: That literally is what a slobbering hobo railing about how fluoride is government mind control thinks regarding proof. You are literally saying your conspiracy-addled, fevered imagination is somehow a more reliable source of information than an investigation that resulted in a conviction at a PUBLIC trial. Do you honestly think prosecutors wouldn't have been interested in pursuing more charges against more parties if there was any proof of involvement? Straight bonkers, buddy. If you can't see that, I don't know what else to say."
"He allegedly split the funds with the people he had pose as sellers – none of whom ever owned the plots that were sold, the DA said."
That, my friend is a textbook case of conspiracy. It's an interesting question, isn't it? Who were the people posing as sellers, and why were they never charged?
If you can't see that, I don't know what else to say.
Of course I know what alleged means. In the criminal justice world, it's the word you have to use prior to a conviction to avoid prejudicing the case.
A conspiracy is "an actual covert plot planned and/or carried out by two or more persons". My question remains. Who were the others involved?
I don't think Dolan had a clue about it. I didn't much care for him, but he's way too smart to get involved in something so stupid and almost certain to be discovered at some point.
Of course it's odd. It's hard for a rational person to understand why anyone would do something so stupid, but in case you hadn't noticed, the vast majority of crooks aren't really all that bright.
Unbelievable. I give up. It always amazes me that some people will turn a blind eye to anything until it directly affects them.
VOTE NO! Follow the facts.. the truth.
You can learned a lot of value from this either side of any issue on this site, either before it closed down or after it started up again. October 2018.There are no existing checks and balances for are school;s.Just look at the things that should not have came to light.
There are plenty of facts to show why not. Yes seems to be a bit more of an aggressive approach with hostile rhetoric and the same speech and information as well as slogans over and over again just like every other time.
VOTE NO!
TIME TO RAISE THE BAR IN MELROSE BACK TO A SYSTEM THAT REPRESENTS ALL OF THE
CITIZENS.
Get your facts and information and tell the community. I vote no becuase when you add the numbers and do the research it does not even come close to adding up. The Mayor has no answers. Taymore talk in circles about a plan for the future. One sentence is one thing the next is the opposite of what was said. Mismanagement! VOTE NO! SPREAD THE WORD! The Yes group spent 25,000 last time. Impressive. Give that money to the Police they need it!
So fake it will go down in history.
In Fiscal Year 2016, Melrose has already hit homeowners with a 6% increase in water and sewer rates and the legally allowable maximum tax increase of 2½%.
Ugh. Happy New Year.
My tax bill is 600 more than last year and this is BEFORE what an Override would cost. No, No No, can’t afford it and will vote NO on April 2nd. By the way, I am a Federal worker who is now furloughed because of a mentally ill president and politicians who have no guts. Trust Melrose politicians? No!
The Mismanagement lack of Transparency and Coverups. No on any Override.
And remember, it's 5.8 million a year - FOREVER! I often wonder how they could have the stones to even propose such a thing. These people are so out of touch with reality it's frightening. Also voting no - emphatically.
I would like to remember that, but I have NO IDEA what you mean.
REAR OUR LIPS...NO NEW TAXES.
Yes, $600 a quarter is nuts. That was kinda the point.
The bottom line is that I'm voting no until someone demonstrates beyond a reasonable doubt to me that the money we are spending is being spent wisely. I'm not hopeful, given the history, that that's imminent. An example I neglected before is the enormous amount being wasted on out-of-district placements, and legal fees. The only way I have to express my displeasure is with my vote, and that's what I'm going to do.
"The truth of the matter is that property taxes went down in Melrose this year. It is just a fact. I know "facts" are up for debate in this current political climate, but I am hoping there are some sane souls on this board who can understand the actual numbers on their tax bill."
I don't understand how the blanket statement above could be remotely true. The city got their 2.5% increase. Any shift between res&comm was nominal. It is possible that if your assessment went up $10k while the average went up say $30k then your taxes went down, but a general statement that taxes went down seems wrong.
The housing market is crashing and rates are going up, so I don't think it will pass. The houses are coming down so that's why people wanted to sell at this time. The override should be for the police and fire. The schools will stay the same as they have for the passed forty years that I know.
First step is to get rid of Taymore, and replace her with a real educator, like the one that the SC ignored the last time. She's the leader of a mean girl group, not an educator. Whatever success the schools have had is in spite of her, not because of her.
Those are tax rates. I thought you were well versed in the basics of prop 2 1/2? The rates go down to offset the increased assessed values, but the end result is still a 2.5% increase in the levy on existing stock.
The OP with whom you were arguing was talking about the tax rate. Don’t believe me? See the direct quote below. I was providing the numbers to back up what he/she was saying. YOU chose to argue based on a different measure. Of course the levy went up 2.5%, as it does and should every year given basic inflation, nevermind the measurable population growth that results in the need for more municipal services.
“I can tell you that my property was assessed at $15,000 more than last year and my tax bill went DOWN $10/quarterly, and the assessed value of my property is roughly $20,000 lower than what I think it would sell for on a bad day. The truth of the matter is that property taxes went down in Melrose this year.”
PS- your earlier assertion (or that of whichever poster is agreeing with you) that trash service is unnecessary is ludicrous.
It doesn't really matter what the tax rate is as a stand alone figure. It has to be coupled with the assessed value and Prop 2 1/2 restraints. It also doesn't matter what you think a property might sell for. That's apples and oranges.
In any given year, there will always be some outliers. Some property owners will see a reduction in the actual tax dollar amount. Most, like me, will not. For example, my assessed value did go up, and with the reduction in the rate the actual tax increase was a less than it would have been had the rate not been reduced, but it had to be reduced to fall within the Prop 2 1/2 ceiling. My actual tax bill did go up, by just about 2.75%, in real dollars. The real measure of whether taxes went up or down is the actual amount collected citywide, and by that measure taxes did go up. If the city collected more in one year than it did the prior year, taxes went up. His individual bill was less than a 2.5%. I believe him when he says his bill total fell. That's good for him, and will almost always happen in a few cases. Mine was not. It increased by slightly less than $600. As long as the total amount citywide did not exceed 2.5%, the law has been complied with.
And yes, the assertion that trash pick up is unnecessary in Melrose is ludicrous. We, unlike Winchester for example, don't have a drop-off facility like they do.
The OP was not simply talking about the tax rate as evidenced by the quote you provided:
"The truth of the matter is property taxes went down in Melrose this year"
If they were talking specifically about rates they would have said rates. My message was simply to correct that. I may have assumed that by showing the decreasing rates you were supporting their argument that taxes were going down on the whole.
I did not post about trash removal btw.
What he should have said was that HIS taxes went down. To say that taxes went down is silly on it's face. They didn't. Either he misspoke, or made the erroneous assumption that because his did, everyone's did.
if it’s not for the police or fire, I’m a NO. Schools have had their chance and have blown it. They keep putting incompetent people at the helm who never get the job done correctly. And forget me, this is the opinion of the majority of melrosians. We are a middle class community folks, nothing more, nothing less. NO if it’s for the schools, YES if it’s for police and fire.