The update Illegitimate Gail released regarding the Public Safety Building Report is a disgrace. Talk about Fake News. One Melrose is nervous because they are realizing that voters care about more than the MPS.
There isn't going to be a Public Safety project. They will perform this "budget crisis" song and dance yearly until the cows come home.
MPS salaries are low for long-term teachers in Melrose. They are on a par with the average newly hired teachers from nearby districts, and this is an important distinction. The new teachers can enter at a fairly-priced position on the "steps" and then advance quickly, getting a master's and/or additional certification on the backs of Melrose taxpayers, and then move onto a better paying district very quickly. Veteran teachers (the ones Cyndy routinely tries to get rid of, and has succeeded hugely in doing, do not have any salary incentive to stay. Add to that the bullying, toxic environment where they aren't allowed to teach and instead made to follow "rubrics" that only the most naive/green and robotic "teachers" are forced to follow by an under-educated, ham-fisted administration that truly cannot put a coherent, articulate sentence together even if one were to get them all in one room with the head of the English department coaching and proof-reading.
Taymore can only hire rookie teachers because good ones with experience won't come near this district because of her, because of the school committee, because of a reputation that is rationally viewed and openly referred to as terrible, not just statistically but because of a toxic working environment. So the district appears to pay its teachers very little, when in fact a large part of this equation is that only rookie, C- teachers AND administrators are being hired. It's a win for this utterly corrupt administration because they can whine to all the gullible parents about how they can't pay teachers more (override boondoogle 2.0) while at the same time Taymore and SC are totally in control of a failed administration about which parents can't be bothered to learn the obvious truths. Rookie teachers here are pathetic and sycophantic (the vaguely decent ones leave practically as soon as they're hired), so they do exactly as they are instructed by Numbskull administrators.
The DumbBoards are fired up dutifully each morning and the teachers scribe their daily "talking points" as mandated by the Numbskulls, who will turn quite viciously on any teacher who fails to scribe their idiotic rubrics on the DumbBoards each day, exactly as ordered. Forget if any student needs help with anything or if the actual subject matter is thoroughly neglected. Forget it if anyone thinks the real learning isn't being fobbed off onto online learning, even at the youngest grades! Forget it if the students are being forced to go through the motions at every level, becoming pod people by the first or second grade, with basic skills falling by the wayside and the joy of learning effectively stomped on by the age of 8.
Go online and take a look at what 2nd-graders are joyfully doing in nearby districts (where there are certainly bad teachers, as well, but they don't define the district as they do in Melrose!).
A Public Safety Building won't be included in any override, that is a guarantee. This is all about another boondoggle to pay failed administrators and their pets more money and keep lots of revenue flowing towards the parents of the "babies" centered with the ECC and early elementary community. (By the time your kid is in the 4th grade, the local pols have truly moved onto the next batch of young parent marks.)
The current Mayoral debacle was rushed and the voters had no say. We do not need GI leading the way on any Override push.
Hey, if the foo $hits....
If you don't like them, don't read them. What they show is that the same issues keep recurring because the same awful officials remain in power, and the same people (like you) are defending the status quo. Grow up. These problems need to be fixed, and it's disgraceful that they are not being dealt with, and that the public continues to get screwed as a result.
Agree! I want to hear what the new candidates for Mayor have to say about this override. It makes sense. They might bring different options and opinions to discuss.
The next time you are in a car accident or your husband has a heart attack or your teenager overdoses on an opioid or your house catches fire or your house is robbed or you see drug dealing at Dunkin Donuts or some nut job who owns a gun shoots someone in a school, house of worship or store here in Melrose, you will probably call the firefighters and police officers who work in buildings which should have been razed decades ago. Disgraced Rob Dolan and Illegitimate Gail Infurna will be enabeled by the BOA once again when Public Safety will be ignored in favor of the MPS. Voting NO on any Override until new police and fire stations are included.
The only Aldermen that have stepped up for public saftey personell have been Forbes and MacMaster. I know theyve been through the buildings and want something done about it now rather than later. This overide puts the public safety buildings on the back burner yet again, and makes any attempt to keep this part of the conversation even more difficult. Makes their battle an even tougher one!
What’s up with Jennifer Lemmerman?
She should be ashamed of herself!
I watch the meetings - Alderman Forbes stood his ground this year in regards to the Administrations process in hiring the new fire chief & has toured the police station and all three fire stations. Forbes is an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran which certainly explains his strong views on public safety. However, given the direction the Administration has taken since the override was made official in May, I think Forbes is a man on an island regarding the public safety buildings. I hope he continues to stand his ground & makes a compelling argument..... even though it may not the 'popular' thing to do.
There are many needs for the city, and how they prioritize these needs will be seen when the override question is sent to the voters. If the funding goes 100% to the schools, without any clear path on addressing our police and fire stations - this override will have the same results as 2015.
Forget about the buildings, 7-8 impromptu retirements on the FD with a new Fire Chief begs the question. In addition to a held up Promotional Process because Manangement claims “modernization” of the process which in the face of the Chief’s hiring process is disappointing, hypocritical & laughable. Not to mention, Fire Prevention Office remains closed yet the parade leading Realtors seem to be silent and towing the line. This coming Mayoral Election needs a True Leader who will truly Shake Up City Hall in order to right the ship or the city will have No Hope of attracting any talent to City positions whether it be MPS or our public safety agencies.