Override failed and the school ranked higher on testing the following year. Not going to keep beating the dead horse there but is is important. It shows how large the picture is. Pay increases across the country, 2.9%..3%..The override calls for 6% that is unjustified. The teachers have been getting increases from their bargaining agreement but now 6% almost double a national average. That is one hefty amount. Where is the coming from?
Taymore makes $180,000..will she be getting 6%? That is an extremely large amount of money for someone pushing for the bill to go through.

With this override are we going to neglect the police department? I hope not.

Are we neglecting the library?

Are we neglecting the firefighters?

Are we investing any of this money into the police to help with safety of our schools.

Why are there reports indicating we are at a 20-1 ratio but yet we are hearing constant ratio issues? I have not found any data that shows a ratio issue. I found one indicating we were far below the state norm.

Why do articles about the prosperity of the school after failed overrides get deleted of taken off of sites?

I am simply asking because the Mayor and most of the Alderman don't have the answers. Monica Moderos asked for more information but was shut down, I heard it was because it was her Republican background... if that is so then that is pathetic. I want information so the voting is educated.

Demand Truth and Accountability.

Yup you’re 100% right.
Demand a forensic audit and stop the BS.
Also push for term limits to get rid of the stampers!

Speaking is the first battle, going to meetings, presented data, information. You have a right to say what you feel. you are not alone and you are a citizen of this community. if you have questions I say ask them... More people will follow! I am probably more new to town than mots on here and from what I have been reading and hearing I'm scared. More people need to demand information and if No is the answer then say it and say why...

Truth scares so many but once you face it then you can correct it and I wish people would with this override. There might be a number but it is far from 5.18. At the first thought it was 275 a year in taxes then more than double overnight? The firs time the Mayor brought the subject forward it was a much smaller number than now but then again why does she have to loose she is not elected by the people and was PLACED into power by the select few. Never answers questions that might lean towards no on her blog or email. You give data or information on Yes she jumps and so do all the Alderman. But to them its soooooo simple its JUST putting it to the people. WRONG! You are suppose to vet these bills and propositions and ensure that the information being presented to the people you represent is accurate, clear, available and truthful. You have failed..plain and simple and there is the truth. Yes we should be allowed to vote but you all just sat there and said you know what lets just pass the buck... That is everything that is wrong..Minus Monica who asked for more time so questions could be answered but was denied and she continued to fight it with absolute no help. Shame...hope she runs for Mayor. Atlas she is willing to listen and ask questions, all who cares what party is involved, she LISTENED to the PEOPLE.

Did Monica listen to all of the people or just the No voters?

Go away VuVu

thank you for your post telling VU VU to get lost!

So the title Melrose Cares: A Community Dialogue is BS? This forum is only for conservatives and no voters?

If it is I think we need to ask questions and get proper information. Override or not we still need to ask questions.

That's patently ridiculous. The reason you don't see many administration supporters posting here is because every time they do try to pass on the administration's propaganda, they are totally and thoroughly debunked with facts they can't dispute.

The administration is scared to death of this site, both now, and in it's prior incarnation. Why else do you think Dolan banned access to it, a practice that continues to this day?

This is the only place where voters can get even a portion of the truth. They certainly can't get it from city officials, who continue to mislead, obfuscate, and outright lie about all things fiscal. Melrose is a house of cards. The sooner that house of cards collapses, the sooner we can get a mulligan and fix the mess we've allowed to happen.

She presented to the board a way to provide more information and data to the override. She asked for the release of such data and information so that the voter shad it. She did not vote no.. she originally abstained because the data was not given out. So yes she did stand for both sides on the matter and was the only one with the courage to ask why and where and how.. instead of just passing the buck and saying its simple.. She never thought our kids were a "simple" measure like the rest..she wanted more. I could care less about her party as everyone wants to bring up because she gave a voice too many who had none. The people not on the yes train had questions but they were continuously being shut up by ridicule and blatant harassment. Yes people are afraid to ask the hard questions she asked because the yes agenda people most have been rude, insulting and to be frank..without any validity... It is just show us why not.. Are you not the people asking for the money.. You give is 5.18 million reasons why and don't say its for the kids because that is getting old. Monica was right is asking for time to gather information and if we re listen to he meeting she asked for what two weeks to get he information out there before a vote but it was shut down..weird? She never said yes or no she simply said she did not vote either way until things were clear. That is a true alderman for the people. I thank her and she will always have my b=vote and support for doing so.

Sorry I didn't see this post. Funny you bring this up...People need a digital forum because when in public the people sporting their yes buttons are so overly rude and insulting and unable to listen for any type of compromise it makes it nearly impossible to be heard. I will once again speak up and say that regardless of which way anyone votes the matter at hand is the lack of information. You can say this forum is for conservatives? Your what? Prejudice toward a political party for what reason? This is not about party this is about truth and transparency..Is it not the Mayor who is a leading member of the Democratic Committee putting this forward and was she not elected by the people? The hell with the charter, the people are the voice of government or is that not acquire anymore? The same people who support the school administrators who allowed a kid to be bullied for his political beliefs that he transferred.. that makes sense. This forum is for those who cannot speak out for fear of ignorant reprisals from certain groups. I decided against a no pin because I needed to buy diapers for my son...

The Administration didn’t want to tape the CC at the LC because then there would be a permanent record. Vanny said the decision not to tape was deliberate because some people may not have wanted to speak in front of others. Really? From what we observed at both sessions, no one at the CC was inhibited in voicing their opinions. Either the pols didn’t want a taped record that people could watch or they didn’t think of taping the CC ahead of time. Anyone for or against this Override or any other governmental policy speak up or don’t claim being shy. If people are afraid to speak on a taped record, then it probably is due to how Melrose ignores questions and bullies those who dare to ask. Melrose Messages is needed because of what citizens and politicians allow. Melrose is far from being ONE either “One Community Open to All” or “One Melrose”.

TOTALLY AGREE!!!

So, is this truly an anonymous message board?

Of course not. Every time someone posts or does anything online their IP shows on the server. What's that got to do with the override?

We need to have a discovery done on the money that has been spent. More than that the money Cyndy Taymore has cost Melrose with her legal fees.

GI has always been a Taymore lap dog. Can't imagine her exchange with Patrick regarding the entire budget. She never understood municipal finance on the BOA, only asked simple questions and voted the way she was told. The current fiscal crisis is not in good hands. At least Zwirko works in the financial industry. The female BOA members may regret their anointing of Gail who is in way over her head. She may also regret that she stabbed MZ in the back. Taxpayers always suffer with interim placeholders who don't have the authority, respect or validity to lead. And GI doesn't have the capabilities to lead either. Looks like Melrose may start another nasty Override mess which will only further divide us and result in another defeat.

The latest on Monica's initial August 2018 request for the Demographic Study and budget forecasts that the Override is premised:

This is the Secretary of State's 11/14/18 response to Monica's appeal to City Hall's withholding of info from her and the citizens of Melrose: "Ms. Medeiros indicates on October 24, 2018, that members of the City met with her and " was led to believe the first demographic study would be forthcoming" and "was told the second one still had not been completed as of that date." The City also indicated that "no such budget forecasting documents exist," however, "the city planned to use Clear Gov but that he had not yet provided them with the needed documentation."


So there you go, the City's request for the override is backed by...Ziltch....and City Hall and the "One Melrose dupes expect us to make such an important decision while they withhold the information we need to vote?? To my knowledge, Monica has still not received the first study; correct me if I am wrong here.

Is the melrosa City up to no good for City Hall's withholding of information about Demographic Study and budget forecasts? withhold the information we need to vote for sometime April 2019? City's request for the override is backed by...Ziltch....and City Hall. citizens of Melrose??????

Good on Monica for challenging PDR and the whole rafter of slimeballs who are keeping the unpretty truths under wraps.

Keep hiding the truth and I even heard people are threatening alderman to vote yes or they will make sure they are not elected again. I am glad someone has the courage to stand against the unlawful tide presented by the mayor..Thankj you Monica and keep fighting..we are with you! We want answers and atlas one alderman is not scared to represent the people and their voices.

Doing the yes people listen period. I laughed at the first meeting when they were rallying behind yes when there ws no amount, no words, nothing. Yes yes yes.. for what? Really? Vote when you have the facts and information oh wait we still don't have it..keep on voting for unaccountability, corruption and the breakdown of democratic process.. VOTE NO!

If you want information and have questins reach out to her because she is the only one who will provide...

How about some Transparency.It is time for transparency.

Monica presented to the board some seriously inflated numbers. Someone else on here mentioned it and when we looked at it, there are numbers that are inflated and they never answered on it. It is concerning to think what is really happening with the money. I vote no because there are no real facts to vote any other way.

We choose not to pay for the Override because we are worried about our job security, the long term impact of Trump’s tax cuts, predictions about a recession in 2020 by renowned economists, the volatile stock market, the costs of bonded fire and police stations coming to Melrose soon, the doubling of our health insurance payments, the lack of transparency in Melrose government, the cost of water and sewer mismanagement, installing an Illegitimate Mayor without an election, the scare tactics used to justify the Override, the fact that the Chair of the SC is a convicted felon who scammed seniors and never made restitution, the way One Melrose runs their YES Campaign and because we know too many stories behind the “story”. We are voting NO and telling all our family and friends to do the same.

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 April 2 2019.

The city is not currently in crisis mode is not needed .No on override,2019 .April 2 2019.

The override debate has dominated civic discussion in Melrose ever since the Board of Aldermen agreed to this tax override vote.April 2 2019 Tuesday .

Demand Truth and Accountability.

The statement by MM needs a response by BOA members cheerleading for the Override. Can they refute that the “tax calculator” is based on two year old data? If true, they need to admit it. The tax increase will be much larger than a fifty dollar per month estimate, if the figures are outdated. When will Fire and Police Stations be funded? How will they be funded? Estimating Costs and predicting major expenditures is what has NEVER happened under PDR, RD and now Illegitimate Gail. PDR needs to be fired! Voting No because there isn’t any “normal” auditing or fiscal responsibility happening in this City. No Plans, No UP TO Date Data. No new taxes !!!!!!

I suspect they would respond that they used 2 year old data because that's the data that's used for current FY assessment, and thus the only official valuation available, which might sound convincing to credulous people not inclined to imagine how the city could have constructed a smarter tool that could have allowed users to provide different types of inputs over different periods of future time. (It's not like this idea has not been suggested to Melrose City Hall folk in the past; I know it has, but as in so many things that group of folk ignores suggestions that they fear.)

I don't think it's arrogance or overconfidence in their ability; quite the contrary, rather, as I stated, I think it's fear that their imposter syndrome will be revealed in harsh light. Insecurity of this sort can be manifest as bluster and efforts to control. Anyone from a family with an alcoholic parent would understand that....

Never thought of it that way before. So you're saying rather than arrogance it's fear of inadequacy being revealed. Food for thought.

Special Election
It’s interesting the water and sewer rates increases will be recommended on April 30, 2019. Four weeks after the special election. Apparently the city doesn’t want residents to be thinking about the increase water& sewer rates as they head into the special election on April 2. Wonder why??

Much of the talk in Melrose of late has centered on the upcoming tax override vote, with each side of the debate making their presence known and stating their respective cases to all who will listen.
Faced with a Recession, what part of "We Can't afford It" do they not understand ? April 2 2019

https://patch.com/massachusetts/melrose/alternate-facts-don-t-cut-it-melrose

Alternate Facts Don’t Cut It in Melrose
Carrie Kourkoumelis, Melrose School Committee member 2010–2016

Once again Melrose is enduring a divisive override campaign geared towards a large annual cash infusion for the schools in perpetuity. Those promoting this referendum are using the same kinds of fear-mongering tactics as they did in their previous failed attempt. Sadly, there is now even less reason to believe the claims as before.

The school administration is largely made up of the same individuals, even after the 2016 findings of the United States Department of Education Office of Civil Rights condemning the administration for creating a “racially hostile environment,” among other disgraces. Instead of holding those accountable for harming students (and the entire community), the School Committee chose to lavish praise and salary raises on the administrative team. They simultaneously voted to use taxpayer dollars from the school budget to hire a public relations firm tasked with whitewashing the unprecedented and deeply shameful state of affairs. Rather than address the chronic poor decisions of our elected and hired officials, the override proponents seek to reward them further. This is ludicrous and unacceptable.

Whether or not the school system needs more money remains to be seen. There is no reason to trust that the facts and figures as published are anything but “alternate facts,” since this city governance has become increasingly less transparent and less competent in its financial reporting.

The claims about the supposedly insufficient teachers’ contract are equally galling. One need only recall the statements made by city officials after the most recent two contracts were approved in order to understand the breadth of the hypocrisy and disingenuous claims of the override proponents.

From the October 13, 2013 Melrose Free Press:

“Robert J. Dolan called the agreement the ‘richest contract the city has ever given’ to the teachers union….

The union approved the agreement by a vote of 195 to 35 last month, according to Dolan.

’We’re very happy with it,’ said School Committee chairwoman Kristin Thorp.

School Committee member Carrie Kourkoumelis said she voted against the contract because the committee did not receive a full draft of the agreement. … ’We have yet to see a fully integrated contract,’ Kourkoumelis said, noting the committee only received copies of memorandums of agreement and the old contract. … ‘I am also concerned about the terms of the agreement. We didn’t really have a discussion about where the funds are coming from, or what impacts come next.’”1

From the Jun 29, 2016 Melrose Free Press:

“’The focus of the contract is to live within our means, but also to invest in teachers and in particular teacher retention in lanes and steps,’ Dolan said. ‘I think both parties targeted that, and it was a very successful conclusion for teachers, for students and for taxpayers.”

’Those adjustments [the “steps” and “lanes” that determine teacher pay based on professional qualifications and experience]’ said School Committee Chair Margaret Driscoll, ‘are intended to “more competitively attract and retain teachers.’

Mayor Rob Dolan said the contract balances fiscal responsibility with a desire to keep good teachers in the district.”2

Simply put, if Melrose teachers are unhappy with their contract, they could have insisted on more acceptable terms from their negotiating team; they could have demanded that the inequities for veteran teachers at the top end of the steps and lanes be corrected, among other concerns. Of course, they can’t legitimately demand more money if they aren’t willing to amend the contract to require more of them. If city officials are dissatisfied with the contract terms, they have only themselves to blame. After both the 2013 and 2016 negotiations Mayor Dolan, Superintendent Taymore, and the chair of the School Committee lavished praise on themselves for their superb negotiations. Current officials come whining now to the taxpayers about what they claim as a woeful state of affairs, and we do not hold them accountable.

Similarly there is hand-wringing about the supposed overcrowding and enrollment problem in which officials promised in 2017 would be addressed by the $6.3 million bond for the modular classroom project (not including the cost for the consultants hired to study enrollment). Citizens were told adamantly that this project was the only fiscally responsible solution; that reopening the Beebe School was not possible; and that approving this project would ensure adequate space for Melrose students for years to come. 2017 wasn’t very long ago. Are the officials really so cynical that they believe residents have such a short memory and care so little about the truth?

If you doubt the lack of transparency, ask the schools for a full accounting of how much taxpayer money they spent to fund their stonewalling of federal investigators, while protecting themselves and the teacher (who told a black student to "go back to the plantation") so that she could receive her full retirement pension and the public would be kept away from the facts of the matter. You won't get the requested documents without a fight, if at all. I, as a member of the school committee, was not even informed that we were being investigated by the federal Office of Civil Rights until the superintendent ran out of discretionary funds and had to come to the Committee for many thousands of dollars to pay the stonewalling attorneys.

As a school committee member (sworn to protect confidentiality), I was forced to seek school district invoices in redacted form through the state Public Records request process—invoices that itemized the warrants I was expected to sign without knowing the reasons for the expenditures. Even my emails, sent to my official School Committee email account were only released to me through Public Records request. Then the superintendent tried to charge me $40,000 to receive them. So don't let anyone tell you there is transparency where Melrose school administration is concerned!

Treating the taxpayers this way is abusive of the public trust. The citizens of Melrose deserve much better. Perhaps the school system needs more funds, more space, and more highly qualified educators. Writing a Five-Million-Dollar annual check in the form of this tax override to the same individuals who have so thoroughly botched up the district with shameful illegal conduct, a revolving door of administrators and teachers, and incompetently managed district resources would only compound the foolishness. There needs to be a sea change towards more respectful treatment of the citizens and the truth. Only when there is meaningful accountability and transparency can a real discussion about our city’s finances and vision be held with any credibility.

1. https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2013/10/12/melrose-teacher-contract-calls-for-performance-evaluations-million-raises-over-years/IhMkeT47gnb3b5BEvz6MXO/story.html

2. https://patch.com/massachusetts/melrose/melrose-state-city-read-mayor-dolans-full-speech-here