"And while we dont relish the idea of paying more taxes, we believe in the importance of making this investment for the community as a whole, not just the schools. "

THIS is what's sad. The brainwashed well-intentioned Melrosians who believe the spin and fear tactics of the elected and paid officials, only one of whom (Ms. Medeiros) is actually speaking about real data and tries to get the facts from the rest of them and is routinely denied (illegally).

This is a corrupt city government, plain and simple. Many of those officials who are constructing this panic around the superintendent's and mayor's bogus false constructs know full well that the numbers are cooked, but they are jumping on the bandwagon because they fear that in such a small-minded community it would be political suicide to do otherwise. Shame on them for having no spine and no concern for the real, actual state of affairs. Those who are buying it all are just not using their heads. The numbers aren't supportable because they are based on fraudulent quicksand of bad reporting and false deductions.

This isn't an "investment for the community." It's an out-and-out fraud. It's not a "one-time" expenditure for taxpayers, either, though the spin continues to veer wildly that way.