Saturday, March 3, 2012
Superintendent Budget Proposal
This week Dr. Levine proposed a potentially very hefty budget for the schools in the coming year. He is attempting to raise the bar of the current status quo budget that we have seen year over year with the previous school and city leadership. How does everyone feel about this. Should Peabody be pouring this much money into a new school budget or is it too soon with the way the economy is going? This in conjunction with the Higgens Project and Regional Voc is demonstrating a lot of the taxpayer money will be earmarked for the schools...Levine is in a unique position because he proposes this knowing he is leaving. Is he just grandstanding for his consulting gig?
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more money = more resources, better professional development and qualified educators= better test scores = more young families = higher property values. I think it is a no brainer.
ReplyDeleteOkay I have a rebuttal to this and I am not saying you are wrong but 4 letters MBTA..... They continue to poor money into that agency and it does nothing....oh and one more US Postal Service...Two government agencies that no matter how much money you give them they never improve....
ReplyDeleteYou make a very valid point.
ReplyDeleteI guess my only rebuttal to your rebuttal is that there are well funded school systems all across this state...and there appears to be a very strong correlation between being well funded and higher test scores. And there is definitley, 100%, a correlation between better school systems and higher property values...
Masco, North Andover, Wilmington and Burlington all place a much higher value on education than Peabody, Salem and Lynn...and you don't have to be a real estate agent to know which cities have higher property values. It actually is disheartening to have to equate Pebaody with Salem and Lynn...but that is where we are headed if things don't change.
And those towns have nothing to do with the per capita household income at all??? All those towns you named have more professional college educated families than the last three do. SO what you are say is that the schools determine the success of the children and the families don't? Maybe in Peabody, Salem and Lynn they do but those top tier towns have higher MCAS because of the solid homes the children come from. Thats where all this needs to begin...
DeleteNow if you are saying lets spend more money to attract more affluent families that will then bring up the scores of the schools then I will believe you but lets face the facts...The people that either stayed in Peabody or moved to Peabody are not coming from affluent towns or cities...
So be honest, lets poor a ton of money into the schools, maybe the teachers will start to care and then we will get better caliber people moving into this city....
My hope is exactly what you stated in your second to last paragraph...
DeleteI haven't seen any improvement in mcas score. So lets build a new school which is 40 million and drop 2-3 million per year into our schools? Whats my return except a higher tax bill. This school committee has been mediocre at best and they havent shown they can improve anything except they all take the health insurance. Spend more and whats our guarantee the schools will improve? The St. Johns school is 100 years old and people pay money to put their children in that building. So whats wrong with the higgins building or is the education faulty.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, the actual buildings are not the problem. However, let me pose a couple of questions before you continue to blame only the education "faculty."
ReplyDelete1. Do you think it is easier to attract qualified teachers to new, technologically advanced schools (see: masco, burlington, even beverly) or the dungeons we call our middle and high schools?
2. Do you think that a qualified educator would covet a job in Peabody, which pays significantly less than surrounding communities?
3. Do you think a qualified educator who reads this blog would want to teach here? Most of the posts on sites such as this simply whine about keeping their "low taxes" and blame the "education faculty."
4. Parents in schools such as St. Johns VALUE EDUCATION...this city seems to feel it is not a high priority. Where would you want to teach?
5. The city administration is considering taking away one of the only incentives to work in this district: a very good health insurance plan.
I have a relative at the high school who has complained to me about 2 major topics:
1. Over HALF of their teacher's from last year are GONE.
2. Most of the teachers at the high school have less than 3 years of experience in the education field.
So, I would argue, that the major concern here is teacher turnaround. We must ask ourselves, "Why can't we attract/retain good teachers in Peabody?" It appears as though Peabody is nothing more than a launchpad. Young teachers gain a couple years of experience, and then move on to something better. Still wonder why our scores are low?
You can't complain about low test scores if your major concern is your property taxes rising. You are not going to have the best of both worlds. "I don't want my taxes to go up, so let's not invest in education. Wait a minute, why are our test scores so low!"
Don't worry, because are property taxes will be REALLY LOW soon. Unfortunately, it will be a result of our plummeting home values due to our poor school system scaring away young families.
Wake up. It is time to invest in education...it is very short-sighted to care only about "your taxes going up" You will be the first to complain when your house is worth nothing...but you will have no one to blame but yourselves.
Rant complete.
I apologize, I misread the last sentence of your post as "is it the education faculty." I know see that it says "or is the education faulty." I do, however, still stand by my rant.
ReplyDeleteI'm confused by the rant regarding the proposal to add $2-3M to the school budget. Your basic argument is why spend more if the MCAS scores haven't improved. Its a weird statement considering we know the the previous mayor was level budgeting the school system over the last decade, which actually was reducing the core school budget since fixed costs (like insurance) went up dramatically during the same time-frame.
ReplyDeleteWhen you actually get into the details, the extra money Levine is looking for is directly related to increasing MCAS scores in areas where its needed. Such as reading and math specialists.
So if we don't hire additional resources to assist with actually driving improvement in the test scores, how else are you supposed to do it? Should we pray that scores increase and maybe Jesus will help us out?
You get what you pay for in life, and we've been doing education on the cheap in this city for far too long. Its time we start investing and getting improved outcomes and giving this city of ours a better profile in the state.
As for the new Higgins....just walk through the building before you comment on it. Its a shit-hole and has been for 3 decades. This decision is called a lay-up. Invest $36 in renovating or $40 on a new model school. This should be a fast discussion.
The top kids at Peabody High are going to the same schools as the top kids at North Andover, Burlington, Wilmington, etc... Gee, I wonder why? Stop blaming buildings and teachers. If parents care and the kids are trying Peabody is a fine place to get an education..
ReplyDeletePercentage wise it is a lot lower than most schools. Remember the population of our schools versus NA, burl and wilm.....Those towns have better economic backgrounds in households compared to Peabody. That is the fact and those households care more about education than the percentage of families in Peabody. Pretty much from the Higgins East is a completely different city with very different challenges.
DeleteAgain, pump the money into the schools but lets to know that you are not going to light a fire under any of these union cronies that are currently there. Use it to market the city for more affluent families to come to the city. That is when you will see real change. Teachers and administration will want to come work here knowing their kids will respect them and the parents will support them. Then you will see increased performance in our schools.
Only somewhat related, but I saw the school salaries today on the Peabody Patch and noticed the the AFJROTC has two of the highest paid staffers (3rd and 7th) in the entire school system.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone familiar with this program that can shed some light on that? Does the Air Force pick up some of these costs? Is the program that big that it justifies two $100K+ administrators? Are they also teachers/coaches/specialists or is this all they do? Seems unusual, but I honestly don't know. Anyone?
I guess my concen is I have no faith in the current school committee and giving them more money to decide whats right for our schools is disturbing. They picked the last 2 superintendents. Where are we now? They voted in a reading curriculum and later realized it wasn't any good. Recess issue, lets not go there.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for paying my fair share for the schools but not with this pathetic group overseeing it. Also Mastocola may be wonderful but you gotta love the nationwide search.
Let's face it! We've got dumb kids and Lousy teachers(The good ones have all retired with GREAT pensions). $70-80K is just not enough for a teacher nowadays. The smart kids come from caring families. Remember the "Blackboard Jungle"?
ReplyDeleteWe all know of double dipping "retired" education professionals.
Yes, We need a Taj Mahal like Swampscott and Newton. The SC is tired of that lousy school auditorium.
Maybe we can do a video on Peabody Education?
I went to Peabody schools, and am thrilled that many of those "good ones" have retired. Most were burnt out, terrible teachers waiting for retirement. I had the pleasure of visiting Peabody high for parent's night yesterday, and met many young and enthusiastic teachers that I feel are an asset to our community (many are pvmhs alum). Young does not mean "lousy." I only hope that we can keep them here (see Anon 1128am).
ReplyDeleteIf you think things are so awful, stop sitting there and complaining about it. Pull papers for mayor, run for school committee, get a teaching license....or shut up.
OG says...blue collar mentality here in Dark City...always has been and probably always will be....come see me at peabodypulse.blogspot.com for a dose of reality....
ReplyDeleteAre you admitting to the ownership of both sites? If that be the case why not stop one as being of your use?
ReplyDeleteAs a parent of 2 kids who are pre-school age, the question among our peers is "where are you moving to". Not a good sign for the city when people are moving out rather than put their kids into the school system.
ReplyDeleteI applaud Mayor Ted for his efforts to kick-start things with a new Higgins, but I question if its just a little too late. Peabody's reputation is a city that just doesn't give a damn about families or providing kids with an excellent education.
I wish I could blame this on Bonfanti's awful leadership over the last 10 years (and he certainly accelerated the decline), but I think it goes much deeper than that. I think OG hinted at it above.....the city as a whole is fine with mediocrity. Never striving for anything better....just getting by.
Unfortunately, the secret is out and people do not look fondly upon our little city.
Why is it that no one ever answers my question...Every year Peabody High has kids going off to great colleges. These kids are well rounded and highly motivated. They learned in the shabby buildings from so called shitty teachers yet they still seem to get a great education. So let's see... what's the difference? they are all in the same buildings - they have the same teachers... the same curriculum.. hmmm.... Wait.. I get it.. The only difference is the parents of the child... Stop your whining you lazy entitled bastards.. Maybe you suck and everything else is what you make of it..
ReplyDeleteYour answer is correct but incomplete. The parents are an influence but it's the students themselves that make the real difference. They get out of school what they put into it. My sister has two kids that went to Peabody public schools. One of them graduated with honors and went on to college and graduated again with honors. The other one dropped out of school. Same parents. Same house. Same upbringing. Two years apart. Two completely different results. It's the student that makes the education work. The parents can only do so much for the child, the rest is up to him/her. By the way, both of these kids are doing well today. The college grad is working and the dropout is serving proudly in the armed forces and got a GED.
ReplyDeleteTo Anon 3/27 5:04pm
ReplyDeleteThere are great kids that will always succeed regardless of where they are. But do you think that some of them may have gotten into even better colleges had they come from a better school system?
The answer is of course they would have....a top 20 ranking in Peabody is significantly different than one from a town with a better school system.
And I do agree that socioeconomic standing plays a role in how well prepared students are for their learning each school day. However, just because you are poor or come from a single-parent home or whatever other disadvantage you may have...it doesn't mean your dumb and it doesn't mean that your community shouldn't try to provide you with the best possible education it can.
I wish I could say your attitude regarding education in Peabody is unique or is in the minority, but unfortunately its not. I think your mentality is exactly what OG mentions above....its lets just do enough to get by. Mediocrity is sufficient in your eyes.
That's why those of us who value a good education are looking to other communities. Would my kids do well in Peabody, sure. They would do great anywhere. But as a parent I want to provide them with the best possible opportunities I can. And right now, local cities and towns surrounding Peabody have significantly better school systems in which to do this.
I guess the only advice I could offer you is sometimes you have to ask yourself, are you part of the problem or part of the solution?
That was well written and to the point. Each teacher is paid well enough for their services however the environment that surrounds them and the students do not help either of them . The overseeing of the teachers and the students is what is of importance for students going onto college with the knowledge of having a great teaching and school system . This isn't to say any one or all the schools should be torn down and rebuilt to have and make the betterment of the educational system.
ReplyDeleteANON 5:04 - "maybe they would of gotten into even better colleges"
ReplyDeleteWow! what a snob you are. Define "better" please? Parents like you will never be happy with any educational system.
By the way -- Peabody is the third fastest growing community in Massachusetts.. I thought all you know it alls were moving to Boxford so little Adam could get accepted to Columbia instead of that shitty school Yale.
I wish Peabody students had the opportunity to choose between Columbia and Yale, don't you?
ReplyDeleteAnd if your looking for a definition of a better school, a good place to start is the US News higher education rankings http://www.usnews.com/rankings.
As for your statement that I'll never be happy with any education system, I think your missing the point entirely. While parents like me strive to improve things, parents like you are happy with the status quo and making sure its "good enough".
For far too long has the "good enough" contingent in Peabody had their say about the school system and look where it has gotten us. Declining MCAS scores, crumbling buildings, and an unstable workforce.
So again, your either part of the solution or part of the problem. If your part of the problem, all I ask is you step aside and let those of us who want to improve the situation improve it. In the end it will benefit us all.
Anon 441pm...what are YOU doing to improve the peabody public schools? If your only answer is complaining on a blog...then I suggest you take your own advice and "step aside."
ReplyDeleteANON 4:41 AM..(just the fact that you blogged on this site at 4:41 AM tells me that you have issues.)
ReplyDeleteDon't label me a "status quo" parent - You fatuous douche bag !
My point is and always has been-If the parents and kids care then they can receive a great education in the Peabody School system.
Please leave my city...
seeeing nobody has commented in a month now, let me change the subject.
ReplyDeletewhy is this city still using so many outside contractors ? all them thousands we spend on them add up to millions. I know we need contractors for alot of different special jobs but things like new sidewalks ? maybe Ted just isn't aware of this yet but what a waste of our tax dollars. put them guys we pay to work.
It could be that they have put on so many on the payroll that have no trades back rounds. Politics at its finest patronage before hiring a person with abilities to do the work is what has happened and will continue until the voters get pissed enough to say it stops now. What is wrong with the supervisors to over the workers doing the work needed to be done? There is an inspection department isn't there. Granted , not all work can be done by the city employees but they aren't being used to the best of abilities either.
ReplyDeleteThe flip side to your argument is maybe it's saving us money because we're not paying for benefits?
ReplyDeleteThe flip side? The city pays the employees salaries that includes bennies. Why pay outside contractors that cost more to get "outside" work done than applying the work force that are in place in the city. Think about it, the city pays salaries and bennies for its city employees and then when they aren't doing the work the "outsiders" do the city is paying them with the costs that includes profit, bennies ,and salaries in hiring them to do the work that could and should be done by the city employees. Oiy Vay!!, such a loss to the taxpayers!
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong. There will always be outsiders being hired for some work. What I'm trying to say is use the supervisors and inspection department people with the over seeing of workers to do jobs that aren't being done when they can be done by the city employees. Hell! do you remember the old state and federal programs of work being done by people on the dole? They did good work for the city and some were very talented in what they did. I do remember that so just let me say that there are not any city employees that I know of who are on the dole roles today and they should apply themselves to do more work than the outsiders. May be T.T. will get wind of this blog and do some thing to keep costs down for the taxpayers when it comes to ,efficient,effective use of the work force in the city employment.
ReplyDeleteNo one on the dole? Have you seen our mayor's recent appointments?
ReplyDeleteAnon 5:45 a.m. ... sounds like you may have backed the wrong dog in the mayor's race, and lost your taxpayer funded gig? Huh? A little bitter?
ReplyDeleteBa ha haaa. you backed the looser. How is Sean the looser these days?
ReplyDeleteAnon 9:14am, Just show up for work?
ReplyDeleteDidn't back anyone. Just noticed the well familiar hack names being appointed and promoted. Don't look forward to the future bulging public payroll for all the promises made (and tax increases). Raises for ALL the public employees is a guarantee. Some (public employees)are upset they didn't make $100k. The average private sector taxpaying citizen in Peabody working 40+ hours a week makes about $50k. City employees "work" 32 hours a week. Some even get to sleep on the job! They ALL bitch about how rough it is on their "tough jobs" (Just ask any teacher).
Life is GOOD on the public dole, er payroll.
Just look who was appointed by the mayor.
Right! Those educated HIGHLY compensated private professionals looking for the easy. Can you name them? Moe, Curley and Larry.
Signed,
Didn't back any Horse in that race.
I backed Ted but I kind of agree with anon. It used to be the public employee made less money but had great benefits and a future pension. Now they make more money than the private sector employees and still have better benefits and pensions for life. I hope the new Mayor won't keep feeding the monstor..
ReplyDelete---unless you are a teacher, of course.
DeleteMay 8:32 & 8:50 has a point and yet no one has said any thing to debate it or say it will or not happen. You guys holler that taxes are high but you fail to answer the suggestion by the anonymous person who made the suggestion to make the city workers do what they can to keep taxes down. To top it all off you guys claim the city workers are better paid than the private sector worker. If that is so then make them give you your monies worth for the pay they get.
ReplyDeletelets not forget all the other benefits of a city job. free cars, cell phones & who is getting all the wood from "our" city trees when they are cut down ? $250-$300 a cord ! who's pocketing that money ? it should be going back to the city.
ReplyDeleteAnon May 9 7:46pm
ReplyDeleteThat is why we elected a new mayor! Now, Let's see how HE manages the City! Will it be raises for everybody and same old, same old. Everybody does a GREAT JOB etc. etc.... or will there be REAL changes in city government?
So far, from what I see. it is the same old, same old. Everything is just great!
Crime is down.. Hire more $$$$ police.
Add more firefighters.
The school enrollment is down. No problem. Build NEW schools.
We haven't reached the limit of Prop 2 1/2 yet.
The Peabody taxpayer (home owners) must be able to afford it. Their taxes are the lowest on the North Shore!
Let's build some more "affordable housing" on the taxpayers' dime of course.
And the beat goes on.....
I'm pretty sure the mayor has knowledge of these well intentioned suggestions and complaints of not getting the taxpayers dollars worth from the employees of the city. He has most likely read them for himself or a bum kisser has told him of it. Now lets see if he does any thing about it. I can agree that the superiors and the city inspectors can do more to get things done by the city employees and at far less the expense to the taxpayers rather than farm out work to out side contractors.
ReplyDeleteI've been seeing alot of landscaping contractors mowing our parks & ball fields recently. do we still have a park dept ? if we do, why aren't they doing that work ? if our park dept isn't doing this work , what are they actually doing all day for that paycheck ? lets stop the waste & save the taxpayers a few bucks when we can.
ReplyDeleteThe parks and ball fields are used pretty much on a daily basis. There simply aren't enough members of the parks department to keep them all trimmed up nice and neat for people to use every day without someone complaining that their particualr field's grass is too long to play on. Using landscaping contractors to do this job makes all the sense in the world. They are not city employees, therefore we save money even if we pay them the same rate as the parks department employees because we don't have to pay for their equipment, health insurance, workman's comp and retirement benefits. We also don't have to carry them on the city payroll year-round. This isn't waste, it's fiscal smarts at work so quite yer bitchin'!
DeleteYou don't know how wrong you are. You hire them and the costs of bennies and equipment use are included in the bill. We pay the city employees these same things and we do not use them to do the work as we should. That is wasteful of our tax dollars and our man power. We should all be city workers!!
ReplyDeletelets pick one or the other. use the park dept or get rid of them, sell all the equipment, fire the boss that does nothing anyway & use contractors. I mow my lawn once a week with the kids running all over the place. it always looks just fine.
ReplyDeleteYou have a point but I think I have a better idea. Keep the park department ,get the boss off his back side and let the workers do what they should. If we can cut our grass on a hot day then so can they. Better supervision is the key along with accountability.
ReplyDeleteNothing here since 5/14. Is the site going to continue or not? There has to be some thing going on in the city worth writing about. An answer to these inquiries should be forth coming as a courtesy to its readers. A reasonable excuse to why this lack of input is acceptable if it is to be a site that is going to continue.
ReplyDeletea 83 year old man got arrested in South Peabody for assault and battery. he must have been a real threat to society.
ReplyDeleteHey ,thats a start.
ReplyDeletewhat a great start !
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it were OG? The site he has is being given up by him at least for now he says.
ReplyDeleteproperty taxes going up again, contractors doing what city workers should be doing & managment people getting better, higher paying jobs without the knowledge of the the job. I am very disappointed !
ReplyDeleteThis site may be down but I could not help but respond to the Mayors involvement with the Solomini home building at the top of Bartholomew Street. The builder has his right to hire who ever he may want as a consultant. What bothers me is who he has chosen. That person being a the costly former head of the D.P.W., Richard Carnavale. Is he not the one that ok'd the contamination at the Spring Pond station and then moved on to another municipality because of his blunder? It seems to me ,at least, that he doesn't know what he is doing even if he has the credentials and degree[s] to have been in his former position. I see no reason why the Mayor hasn't protested the hiring of "Tricky Dickie" to the builder knowing what he was responsible for and he did before leaving for his present position.
ReplyDeleteThat is and of itself a disappointment. Maybe the "retired" owner of the site can make a come back by commenting on this.
ReplyDeleteYour writing of redirecting my comment led me to believe that it was not going to be published. Please over look my 12:25 comment except for the site owners making a come back.
ReplyDeleteI hope that development never sees the light of day.
ReplyDeletedon't worry, Osborne is keeping an eye on things. he's almost as useless as Carnevelle. nothing ever changes for the better here in Peabody.
ReplyDeleteThe developer is the only one who benefits from this job....the neighbors certainly don't.
ReplyDelete"Trickie Dicky's" wife is the new city treasurer...
ReplyDeletehmmm, something smells a bit fishy here.
IT SURE DOES!!!
ReplyDeleteThe site owner ,where is he now with his claims of caring about what goes on in the city? What has been said here on the site is a perfect time for him to respond and keep the site on going for its citizens to give their view points of the cities happenings . I wonder if the mayor had to appoint "Trickie Dickies" wife in return for some political favor. I question why he did appoint her after what "Trickie Dickie" did to the city before moving on to his new position. That should be enough to get the site owner to write on his site wouldn't you think?
ReplyDeleteIt is but I think that if we don't hear from him in September then the site is going to disappear from the internet. I say this because he has to pay for the service to keep it as it is now.
ReplyDeletespray for mosquitos while Lower Spring Pond turns into a stagnant, smelly swamp again this year. why is our drinking water supply so ignored ? out of site, out of mind ? does someone have to get infected and die before the city does something ?
ReplyDeleteMay be the pipe that leads into the treatment plant should be extended to the upper Spring Pond . That is where the water comes from anyway,through the dam way. Then the lower pond could be cleaned up and let nature takes it course to fill up with water . In the winter it could be used as an ice skating rink for every ones use. -- Then too ,after the lower Spring Pond is cleaned up it could be used as it is now. Keeping the extended pipe in place with a shut off valve just in case there is another mess by the next great brain like Carnavale was when he messed the lower Spring Pond basin up .
ReplyDeleteWell it is the first of September !! Will the site be up and running again by the last day of the month? I guess we will have to see after all.
ReplyDeleteWell it is the first of October so I guess the site will disappear from the internet after all. Shame is there were so many more things to tell and talk about.
ReplyDeleteNew blog, one by Bob Croce. I like it. It is professional almost like a real news site. www.eyeonpeabody.com. Just opened today
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