Elementary School ...Revisited
Where to begin? Let's begin at the end of this section of the management letter:
In Larger font:
"A project of this magnitude is very complicated to manage and continued mismanagement of this project could prove catastrophic to the Town. It involves several short-term, multi-million dollar borrowings all interlocked seamlessly and transitioning between each maturity; in addition it involves timely submission of reimbursement requests to the MSBA to assure cash flow is positive. Estimating cash needs on a monthly basis and comparing that to the projected receipts is critical."
We do not believe the current Treasurer or anyone in the Treasurer's office have the skillset necessary to financially manage the largest project in the Town's history and bring it to a successful conclusion. Therefore, we strongly recommend that the Town utilize the services of a consultant familiar with school projects in Massachusetts to assist in the administration of this challenging process."
Okay. That makes sense, but isn't there an OPM ( owner's project manager) for this project? You know, a consultant familiar with school projects in Massachusetts to assist in the administration of this "challenging process"? So okay then. WTF.
So the Town will need to borrow "$1.4 million BEFORE June 30, 2017 or the Town will face a deduction to free cash in this amount."
That looks like a slam dunk vote at town meeting!
Tic tic tic. Only 3 days left
ReplyDeleteHere's what we will be getting for our money when it comes to Public Schools.
ReplyDelete6.The New Dumbness: The Underground History of American Education by John Taylor Gatto from archive.org
The New Dumbness
Ordinary people send their children to school to get smart, but what modern schooling
teaches is dumbness. It's a religious idea gone out of control. You don't have to accept
that, though, to realize this kind of economy would be jeopardized by too many smart
people who understand too much. I won't ask you to take that on faith. Be patient. I'll let
a famous American publisher explain to you the secret of our global financial success in
just a little while. Be patient.
Old-fashioned dumbness used to be simple ignorance; now it is transformed from
ignorance into permanent mathematical categories of relative stupidity like "gifted and
talented," "mainstream," "special ed." Categories in which learning is rationed for the
good of a system of order. Dumb people are no longer merely ignorant. Now they are
indoctrinated, their minds conditioned with substantial doses of commercially prepared
disinformation dispensed for tranquilizing purposes.
Jacques Ellul, whose book Propaganda is a reflection on the phenomenon, warned us
that prosperous children are more susceptible than others to the effects of schooling
because they are promised more lifelong comfort and security for yielding wholly:
Continued
Sounds like a slam dunk? I was at the audit conference. If I'm not mistaken one of, if not the only time the BOS members spoke up was about the school funding. It sounded to me like our BOS feels its better to spend $50 million on a poorly planned, managed project then to have to pay $1.4 million and get, well, nothing.
ReplyDeleteIt's truly amazing that Mr. Rosellis firm backs up exactly what has been said on this Blog for months. Our misguided BOS has placed Templeton in a dangerous position and the mismanagement of this project could damage the entire town finances for years to come if it is managed as poorly as Templeton management team as shown they manage Capital projects.
Rescind the school vote and work on a plan on a better location, cheaper after we have regained a positive bond rating.
Our BOS is acting just like homebuyers in the early 2000's. No credit, limited income and buying a McMansion. Remember what happened to those folks?
It really appears that these folks just DONT get it! Anyone want to bet they fight the townspeople on this vote just like in the Special election.
All of the towns around us are cutting back and merging schools because long range projections show the number of kids going to schools is not increasing. So what will we have ? A big expensive building with no one in it. Just what we need !!
DeleteBev. I agree 100%. Look whats going on all around us. Just now in the Gardner News it says Gardner student base is shrinking and they are dealing with it now. Quabbin, etc....... Look at the cost increases the school system has reaped over the past few decades at the expense of the town.
DeleteWe might need a school, but we definitely should be doing it in the financial shape we are in.
Bob i think the word might is kind of out of place at this point.
ReplyDeleteWe have to replace the school we just shuttered.
When you look at the chapter 70 funds at stake if we don't build one the state can reduce it for us. Could we be in a place worse then now without the go ahead we need.
For sure. The problem i have with the school deal is we were told the TC was just a place marker if the land we got for free didn't work out.
So how does a place marker turn into a state blackmail situation do it or else.
I want a new school and there are few who don't know we need one. So do we get bent over and pushed into what many feel is a big mistake by building it there. We do know the last time a citizens petition can before us it was done differently and put to rest in a manner we now know was done to squelch any opposition to the plans now in place.
We were told about a interest rate when the information was given.
It put us with a better than good bond rate and now with audits finished we/some think we will be in good shape. The questions surrounding the whole process are always found to be a variable and in the end we think this and we think that. I would rather see us build a school we need with our 25 million and keep the MSBA out of it than a 50 million monster
oversized we can't expand. Many feel the same as i do and after we build it we change Templeton Center forever. The traffic alone will be a problem and if the amount of kids get dropped by parents as do now it's trouble with a capital T.
Again we will have the vote to rescind as Mark has petitioned for it.
There is no place for the kids to play ! There will never be a place for them to play ! What the hell are people thinking ? We will have a empty monstrosity stuck in the center of our town for ever , as if having a ugly fire station is not bad enough.
DeleteDavid, I say might because if we cannot finance it or manage the construction we should not start a monstrosity.
DeleteShould we have a new school built on a different location at a costs that is far more reasonable/realistic. We are 50% above the average per sq ft cost in the Northeast region, but people are freaking out about having to pay 1.5 million if we stop the project. It's asinine.
I would much prefer we built a 25 million dollar, single level school with all town money then this mess at this time.
We need better staffing, more qualified leadership in both the TA and BOS positions or we will be screwed.
I for one will be voting to rescind, not because I'm against school, but because I'm against this one!
Being irresponsible by building an overpriced undersized (land) school is not a lesson children should learn from their parents while saying its for education. Better to prove to them your educated and spend what you can, WHEN you can in a frugal yet satisfactory manner.
Delete