The
next meeting of the Templeton Elementary School Building Committee (TESBC) will
begin at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 20 at Baldwinville Elementary School.
The agenda
has been posted.
The
first step for this committee is to obtain a piece of land on which a school
can be built. Land has been identified at the Templeton Developmental Center
for building a school.
This parcel of land will most likely be on the opposite
side of Rte 202. Senator Brewer has been working tirelessly on behalf of the
Town of Templeton to make this happen. This is a process that will take some
time.
I
was a member of the former TESBC. I believe one problem that committee had was
too many members. The long and the short of that committee was that $216,000 of
the $550,000 feasibility money has been spent with nothing to show for it.
I
take exception to the comments made by BOS Chairman Chris Stewart when he
stated that I said I didn’t want a school built when the BOS was deliberating
the membership of the new committee - WRONG!
WRONG! WRONG! I said that the taxpayers would not support paying close to a
million dollars for prime piece of commercial land in order to build a school.
Especially, when the bank didn’t have clear title to that land (the land by
Exit 20).
I
was campaigning at the high school when the vote for the feasibility study was
on the ballot. The numbering of the ballot questions had been reversed. One
school committee member was holding signs to try to alert voters of this issue.
I went home and made some signs to hold up as well. There was no one else up at
the high school holding signs for the feasibility study. Where were you, Mr. Stewart?
Where were the teachers? Where were the parents? It was surprising that the
feasibility study ballot question passed …by about 50 votes.
The
feasibility study is just the first step in the process for a new elementary
school. We have already spent over $200,000 with nothing to show for it except
that Templeton has very wet parcels of land!
The
reformatted TESBC committee has less members and a very large job ahead of it.
We need to devise a plan that meets the needs of our students and the wallets
of the taxpayers. The town needs to analyze its budget and possibly restructure
its debt in order to be able to take on the additional debt burden of a new
school.
This
is a fresh start for this committee. No one can dispute the need for a new
elementary school. It will take a lot of hard work, transparency and
communication to make a new school a reality. I’m up for that challenge. I will
voice my opinion if I feel the committee is wasting money…it’s what I do.
My
opinions…supported by FACTS ! !
Julie
Farrell
We all want a new school. So, lets all figure out how to make it happen with the money and resources we have. I think the new committee seems serious and intelligent. I cannot find a list of all the new members anywhere, however. I hope the town website will be updated with current members on all committees. I thank everyone that works hard to improve Templeton and aid its evolution.
ReplyDeleteI would like the committee that is in charge of giving out grants,{the MSBA} to give us a larger percentage. They have the ability to do this, if they want to! If they have not got the picture of the financial mess this town is in, somebody better enlighten them! It is easy for Chris to make Julie the bad girl, than face the true picture of what the people are going to say when the decision comes down to yes or no. Remember, this is a town with no industry, to speak of, to asorb alot of the increased cost if a big project. Right off the bat, this year, our new school superendent cries job losses, things cut, then like magic, she finds the money. DO not do this! When you are in a real mess, no one will believe you!!! Why don't these people ever learn??? Do I want a school, yes I do! I also want to know where $216,000. of our money went? It better be good,(the reason that it was spent.) I also remember something about, the OPM, giving us a refund, on some of the money they billed us for. There is a school comm. meeting tonight, 6:30 in the kiva. Bev.
DeleteCurrent members of the Elementary School Building Committee should read;
DeleteJulie Farrell, Chris Stewart, Ruth Miller, Henry mason, K. Koziol, Bill Clabaugh, Kirk Moschetti, Thersa Kasper, and Mr. Graziano. Those should be the 9 members as per a selectmen vote. Hope that helps.
I just got back from the School Comm. Meeting. We presented a total of $1500.00, for the kids in need. This was recieved very well. It was interesting that when Will. Spring asked them, as a group, why they did not post their meetings on the town web sight? There was some, "well, isn't it the town clerks job to do that"? At first, it did not appear that they were going to be willing to out due them selves. One comment was made about the public, thinking every one had been called back to work by the Sch. Dept. Then a question was asked, to no one special, if someone in the community was saying that! Gee, if they wanted more transparency, don't you think they would be more open to letting people know when they are having a meeting, without searching high and low to get the information that should be available in the first place. At any rate, Mrs. Triffilo suggested that they notify the web master, and the town clerk both, and they agreed. I thank Dianna, Will., Theresa, Carol Garvy, and Dave Smart for comeing with me. We did good tonight, we let people know we will do what we can to help our community. Bev
DeleteOMG, I think this is nuts, but I guess this is the world today! Do you know that they are giving third graders M cast tests? So much for being a kid. They went over the results. Some ups and some downs. I agree with Dave, when he asked me if all the texting, and distractions kids have, especially in Jr. High, make a difference in how they are doing in school. I think kids should not be able to use these things until the weekends, but fat chance of that. Some kids have so many activities , it seems they have no down time. I think I'll stick to being a grandmother. Bev.
DeleteThank you, Bev for the meeting update. You're doing such a great job helping to make Templeton a better place! I hope the C4T donation will help a lot of kids with their needs. As a community, we have to be better at helping one another. I'm encouraged to hear they will try to post their meetings on the website. Its a start. I wish ALL town departments and committees would follow suit. The more that citizens know about each branch of the town, the more successfully run they will be. And that includes the school. The MCAS results for our kids could be better. Although I personally feel standardized testing is not a tool that can accurately measure the intelligence of the kids or the job performance of the teachers, it is something the state uses and should be treated with importance. I like your reference to the town being a tree with many arms or branches of the tree being different parts of the town. Citizens cannot be interested in preserving only one branch and ignore the rest of the tree. All the parents of school kids need to educate themselves in all aspects of how the town runs. Its in their best interest, their kids' best interest, and the entire town's best interest. I hope with more communication with the school committee we can understand the REAL needs of the school and help meet those needs. But, I hope the school committee will understand the needs of the town and help the town meet their needs as well.
ReplyDelete