This SC chair's rudeness and officiousness has been commented on (accurately) by many. After years of witnessing her disgraceful conduct (the rest are no better in allowing it and contributing), it was shocking to watch her do this to three articulate and deserving students from the MHS Robotics team Tuesday night. There were three of them, so in fact they could have rightfully asked for and used 15 minutes instead of 5, the arbitrary time limit this contemptuous body has determined is the most they will tolerate members of the public speaking during Public Participation. But in fact on the 5-minute mark, Driscoll shut them down mid-sentence before they had a chance to make their concluding statements of appeal to the SC to consider their group and its needs during the budget process. It was disgraceful. As awful as the BOA can be, they would never do this to a public speaker even if they exceed their time limit. They are allowed to conclude their statements and treated generally with respect, even those who have criticism. And in this case, it was our own district's STUDENTS who had given up their time and bravely come forward with a thoughtful statement that was anything but controversial. Even if it had been, these students deserved to be heard, in fact on the actual agenda. While this SC grants large swaths of time each meeting for their self-congratulatory BS and feelgood "spotlight" sessions (most of which are nauseating in their goody-two-shoes mode of presentation), somehow they couldn't find it in them to grant these dignified and worthy high school students a few minutes to bring their matter before the committee. The rest of the SC just sat there and quickly voted to close down Public Comment, instead of making a motion to extend the session to allow the students to say their peace. It was embarrassing and disgusting to watch this from home, and it must have been worse to be in the chamber having it happen to them. They picked up and left in dignified fashion, but they deserved much better.
Here was a perfect chance to build public engagement from the ground up from the most important constituents of the district, the STUDENTS, and instead, the committee simply had to shut them down quickly and get on with their nonsensical and duplicitous charades. The mayor got all hot and bothered, even inappropriately exclaiming during Mr. Mroz's righteous and accurate commentary, and then he was only too eager to shut down the students along with his fellow school committee members. Shameful and inexcusable. Making Melrose an Embarrassment (Again). Sad!
Was there, and yes, that was shameful and embarrassing. It was also totally unnecessary and counter-productive. Would it have really killed them to give the kids a few more minutes to finish their statements? Shame on them, all of them!
The Roosevelt students did a commendable job in their presentation before the school committee. But this little exercise every month is really getting tiresome and offensive in its Pollyanna mode. They would gain some traction if even just once the students were encouraged to be real and talk about their school, warts and all. There is a dignified and helpful way of doing this. But that would require mentoring by educators of a much higher caliber than what is obviously all they have now of such low quality.
It's too bad that the committee and their hired super are such hypocrites and can't seem to communicate beyond the gushy or trashy/douchey. It's laughable that they continue to present their "communication plans" when they are a group that has no respect for what they are supposed to be doing, let alone an appropriate set of communication skills. Their self-serving contemptuous ways are what screams out even in a 10-minute segment of watching (requiring 20 minutes of cleansing breaths afterwards to be rid of the toxicity they ooze so palpably).
You want to place blame someone for such outrageous behavior by the chair - then just look into a mirror - you probably voted for Margaret Driscoll - as well as the other committee members! You deserve the government you vote in!
Melrose should be fined for the behavior they showed at the Sc meeting. Something we instill in our children not to do. Roosevelt students you did a great job thanks to Ms. Jones.
I watched the video on MMTV of the committee meeting of Feb 28th - and I did not see Chair Driscoll shutdown these students as the original poster cited - quite the contrary - she did explain to them at the beginning that they had 5 minutes to talk - after the last student spoke - there was a pause - and the students thanked the chair - and the chair thanked the students - and the students politely left.
However, Chair Driscoll was discourteous to Gerry Mroz as she cut him off and did not let him finish his last thoughts - this is just the typical rudeness she displays to people that she dislikes. Why other members of the committee couldn't speak up and request more time for him to finish his remarks just shows how bullied they are by Driscoll - very sad to see such poor behavior by someone who portrays herself as being so open-minded and gracious to all!
I seem to remember a few of MD's favs (MEF mommies and City Hall employees) getting extra time. Horrible that the kids should get cut off when they needed a little extra time.
Anytime Martha Grover, Lisa Lewis, or any of the other unsavory sycophants want to speak, they have unfettered time and are received with gushing sickening praise. The SC rules/"norms" (which they make up as they go) are just hypocritical constructs to channel all messages only through Margaret and Dolan's office (you can be sure that even the superintendent and certainly the rest of the school committee have no idea about the bulk of it, though they are fully culpable for allowing such inappropriate control by the chair and mayor).
Listened to Tuesday's meeting after the fact, and it was just another of the gross rubber-stamp displays to keep us all quiet.
Was interested in the part where the very unimpressive city solicitor "presented" what happened in hiring school committee legal counsel, with 3 interviews, the first one with him and Driscoll (why not with the entire school committee, as would have been appropriate????), the second one with superintendent, and third with the mayor. With the mayor? How is that appropriate?? It is already totally inappropriate that his appointee--the city solicitor--is hiring and supervising this new hire, who is supposed to be the school committee representative, not the mayor's newest hack. This is so backwards and wrong it's hard to conceive that even this messed-up school committee could have approved it.
And yet, there they sat, listening to the mayor's city solicitor drone on and on about this perfect search process and its perfect conclusion for what is absolutely a totally inappropriate further consolidation of the mayor's power. Instead of one ex-officio role on the school committee, as the revised city charter put forward, this mayor now controls virtually everything. Can you spell D-O-N-A-L-D T B-A-N-N-O-N D-O-L-A-N?[:|]
What about the new Women's Commission? The agenda limits the limit time for public participation to fifteen minutes unless a motion to extend is voted. How many people go and talk to the group? What do they talk about? They do nothing. Another group of sycophants who are window dressing for the Mayor. What conversation.are they trying to control?
Yes.