Friday, January 16, 2015

The facts are out there - Phillipston opted out of school project!


I suggest huff n puff and any other interested parties go to the Templeton selectmens office and request a copy of an email dated Wednesday, march 24, 2010, from Carl Weber to Paul Fowkes; Kathleen Timmins and Cc: to Roseli Weiss; Peter Hicks; Carol Skelton (cskelton@templeton1.org; Chistine Nolan.


Subject: Templeton Designer Contract Approval.


It reads as follows:


Paul,


The town of Templeton has approved the architect contract for SMMA as expected at Monday's Selectmen meeting, see email below.


A question has been raised that perhaps you can help us with. It is necessary for the School District to sign the designer contract as well as the town of Templeton? Keep in mind that this is a Regional School District and the other town of Phillipston has opted out of the new school project? As a result, the Narragansett Regional School District has an intermunicipal agreement with the town of Templeton for the town to have financial control of the elementary school project.


I would imagine that this will not be the first question about which entities should be signing the contracts. I believe this same issue will be raised again when the feasibility study agreement will be signed.


Please review and lets discuss, perhaps during our phone conference later today if appropriate. Let me know if you have any questions.


Paul


Hope that clears up that issue huffy, it is a Town of Templeton project, NOT a district project, hope you understand that.

8 comments:

  1. huff finally back from vacation and still does not have conviction to post under real actual name which is why you continue to be removed. I would dare say I worked very hard to get all contracts under the name of Town of Templeton rather than NRHS. I am also the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen who refused to sign a contract on behalf of the Town at a meeting of the school building committee even as the superintendent Ms. Miller tried to persuade me to do so. Perhaps you huff should check into who was responsible for the failure of a certain reimbursement from MSBA reaching the Town in time thus resulting in an increase in tax rate, all be it a small one. Perhaps you should ask the current chair of the BOS why the continued line is that MSBA only deals with school districts. Also if you bother to read the intermunicipal agreement, you see how intertwined the finances of this project are so it is not just on selectmen which is why I opposed this mesh of Town and school district on a Town building project from the very beginning. So off you go Huff to delete land.

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  2. Huff, why don't you do this, ask the school superintendent and the school committee why they told at least one selectmen that they don't really need to see the end of year report, on school finance, because it is really a big report and it would cost a lot. What is there to hide? I would think that report would be thrown out there in its entirety with plain English explanations just so all taxpayers can see how much money the district had in the end of FY14 excess and deficiency account and how much was in the general insurance account. How much was spent on what.

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  3. Why does this start with Paul and end with Paul?
    I would think all taxpayers and parents of kids in school system would like to see the report to see how the administration handles the financial matters of the district as a whole. It's sad to hear there is 600,000.00 left over after the town went through what we did. To think we didn't have to layoff anyone or cut services is a shame. How do we trust the people who put us in that position like they did.
    On the issue of school choice - all my grandkids from gardner go to school here. It is my understanding when one gets in they all from that family get to also. Even if we stop the choice there still may be a increase due to the rule.

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  4. Dave, subsection j of section 12B reads in part......Any school committee that accepts non-resident students under the provisions of this section shall notify each district from which it has accepted a non-resident student of its acceptance of that student; provided, however, that a school committee may not publicly release the names of students leaving or entering a district under the provisions of this section. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this paragraph, any sibling of a student already enrolled in the receiving district shall receive priority for admission to said district.

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  5. subsection k states any child accepted to attend a public school in a community other than one in which he resides pursuant to this section shall be permitted to remain in that school system until his high school graduation, unless there is a lack of funding of the program as authorized by said sections.

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  6. So clearly the district has to keep the kids already here but they could opt out now. My biggest concern is a lack of a plan for this project and how much the taxpayers will have to pay for it.

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    1. How can a plan that was supposed to work on the land off 202, now work in Templeton Center ? How many changes can the residents of this town afford ?? What was the cost of figuring out it would cost the town too much to try to use the land off 202 ? At the re-use committee meeting for the TDC, Kirk referred to the "junk land" the State was willing to let the town use, and he was right to feel angry. All of the changes to this haphazard plan or lack of one, puts the town deeper in debt. The money is going to come from some where (our pocket) , so I would think it is time for Ms. Miller and company to ask if the taxpayers if they are willing to sink more into this venture. It would seem we could have done a lot of work to the schools we have, with the money spent already. Bev.

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  7. Fix up the TC school there now ASAP. Show a plan to add on a building to be a combination to old part and then we don't throw away another good building. Even the new building will be in need of replacement before the old one will. Look north to N.H. they replace schools that are 25 years old and build again. After you look at the new schools look at your tax bills. The water dept needs a 1/2 million plus loan to paint the water tank! Watch your water rates soon to increase.

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