2/12/08

Question:

This $53 million dollar new high school sent students home on February 12 because there was no heat.

Answer:

What is Reading Memorial High School!

Classes had to be cancelled because of heating problems in the brand new school. Reading never had problems like this with the old building.

1/20/08

Reading Advocate 1/09/07 - Couple Asks Ban on Book .pdf - According to Reading School Superintendent Patrick Schettini, "Taken as a whole, the book is life-affirming."

The Reading School Committee unanimously supported the superintendent's recommendation that "Where the Heart is" by Billie Letts remain on the RMHS English Department's recommended Summer Reading list.  The book, a 1998 Oprah Book Club selection, was written for an adult audience. The PG 13 movie made in 2000, loosely based on the book, contains little of the extremely graphic, patently offensive sexual content that pervades the original text.

Concerned parents Linda and Gary Phillips requested that the School Committee revisit how books are placed on recommended reading lists, the age appropriateness and the compatibility of the Reading list with the Massachusetts curriculum frameworks reading lists. They did NOT ask for the book to be banned but objected to its contents being forced upon high school students.

"By the end of the first week, Willy Jack had been in the infirmary four times.  The doctor, Dr. Strangelove to the inmates, found Willy Jack to be wildly attractive, a situation that would not work to Willy Jack's advantage.  Dr. Strangelove's response to sexual attraction was physical pain and his craving for Willy Jack was strong.  When he packed Willy Jack's broken nose, he stuffed it with so much cotton that the soft tissue of the septum was perforated.  When he treated the wound on Willy Jack's buttocks, he added a pinch of Drano to the salve he slathered across the teeth marks around the soft, torn flesh.  And when he stitched up Willy's Jack's rectum, he signed, with a flourish and fine suture, his name."

"Taken as a whole" who wants to explain to their kids why, in a summer reading book, there's a sexually depraved surgeon creatively stitching up raped prisoners? Or the other scenes in the book describing sexual violence and abuse.

And the end of the story? The bad guys go unpunished. That's real "life-affirming." But it is like the real world where bullies and criminals, white and blue-collar, often get away with their crimes.

11/27/07

Long Time No Write - Informed Residents of Reading isn't gone, just resting.  Former Superintendent Harutunian is, however, gone, enjoying a new Salisbury beach house paid for in part by the children and taxpayers of North Andover.

And do we also hear wedding bells??

A few of the enablers who assisted Harry during his reign in Reading remain, revising history whenever they get the chance, often claiming they never really liked Harutunian, "went along to get along" and generally making excuses for their own actions.

Reading has a New High School. The architects and contractors and anybody else who was "in the know" got what they wanted. It's a smaller school, rife with problems but some parts are nice, it has that new car smell. And everyone knows new is better, right?

It's not worth what Reading paid, though, and this building won't last half as long as the old Reading Memorial High School. It's not a quality building designed with the needs of a school in mind. The citizens and children of Reading will now have to make the best of what they have... and forget about what might have been.

For a new building, the Reading High School has an astonishing number of problems: from the heating, ventilation and cooling problems, leaking roof, inadequate cafeteria space, press box obstructing views and sinking athletic fields to out of control power consumption. Anyone who remembers what citizens of Reading were promised by Harutunian and his special interest friends knows the school has utterly failed to live up to what was promised.

There's a new crop of parents in town. To them, the horrors of the Harutunian administration and Reading's school building projects are just history.

Informed Residents hope these parents will not be as clueless or as blindly trusting as their predecessors. Understand that you need to take an active role in your school system. You need to pay attention. School administrators are employed to serve YOU and not the other way around. Don't be afraid the ask questions. Don't be afraid to dig deeper to find out where your hard-earned money is being spent. You may not like the answers you find but at least you'll know the truth and a better idea of how to protect yourself and your children.

Reading Advocate, 11/29/07, Letter from Citizen Bill Brown - Is School Beauty or Beast? - Bill Brown wrote a great letter about the New High School's energy consumption problems. After all the talk during the proposal stages of the project about energy efficiency, Reading's New High School is an "energy hog."

Approximately 60 percent of the 192 elected Town Meeting members convened the week of Nov. 13, 2007, in Reading Memorial High School on stage at props used by the drama club's production of "The Beauty and the Beast."

On June 9, 2007, Reading citizens and others gathered to rededicate the new building. Many of those in attendance expressed how beautiful the new building was compared to the 1954 building.

In the Boston Globe Magazine of Nov. 18, 2007, an article was titled "It's a Green Green World."  -  PDF. An article by Reading resident David Talbot (It Takes A Town) quoted Marie De Lie, director of human resources and finance for the Reading School Department that the new building is "an electricity hog." Perhaps the word beast should be used instead of hog, thus The Beauty and The Beast. While Mr. Talbot pointed out that the school was smaller, taxpayers of Reading should know that the building has a capacity of 1,400 students compared to the old building of a 2,000 capacity, thus the 30 percent increased cost of electricity is not a true figure.

In the same magazine section, in yet another article by James Hadley, "A Flawed Foundation." Mr. Hadley points out not only the environmental costs of demolition of old building in disposal costs but the costs to the environment of new materials.

During the debate on the renovation of the 1954 building versus demolition and a new building, many residents felt that if the old building were renovated, it could not only house high school students but could serve as a central kindergarten and not require the building of the Wood End School.

It would seem that the article points out that perhaps while the new building may look like the Beauty, we now find out it is an electricity Beast and the taxpayers of this town will have to pay for the next 20 years and contribute to the global warming that we are teaching our students about in "The Beauty and The Beast."

03/24/07

Reading Advocate 3/07/07 - The Insatiable Appetite - "The most recent school building projects were substantially over budget with very poor oversight from the school committee/school building committee. Contractor profits could only be maximized with quality downgrades and size and scope reductions approved by the School Committee:"

• "Wood End was over budget by $2 million even with quality downgrades such as cheaper wood siding and half-sized elementary classrooms, against state regulations.
• The Barrows renovation was over budget by at least $1.7 million.
• The high school project is over the initial budget by $2.3 million and is still with many modifications, not yet complete."

"The superintendent and school committee does not tell you that in Fiscal Year 2001 they provided the same education for the same number of students that we have today for $5 million less. Since the 2001 budget, the school dept. has increased staff positions by 41, mostly to staff the new Wood End School - even though they claimed
they 'only needed' to hire four positions, a principal, nurse, secretary and custodian with the teaching staff coming from the other existing schools. And, the 2008 budget has them wanting to hire yet more."

"The four school renovations and building of a new elementary school since 1997 has negatively affected the town's bond rating. No other community has pursued school building projects with such frenzy, adding more debt before earlier debt is paid off and in such a short time period."

Weary taxpaying parents, working yourselves ragged trying to pay for your middle-class lifestyles and big houses, the schools are not going to stop taking from you. Unless you start asking questions, demanding answers and start paying attention, every year, the price you pay for less will rise higher and higher (much like your water bills). School administrators have a good thing going and a steady supply of public consumers (YOU) who gladly hand them money hand over fist to improve nothing.

They have no incentive to change.

No amount of money thrown at the schools will ever guarantee your children a comprehensive, competitive education. Accountability and consequences for financial misconduct, waste and incompetence are the only solution.

02/03/07

Eagle Tribune - Former North Andover school official arraigned on charge she stole more than $27K in cash from schools - "Catherine Entsminger, 60, of North Andover, the former director of community programs in charge of administering and overseeing the School Department's summer school and after-school programs, was arraigned in Lawrence District Court on a charge of larceny over $250. Entsminger is accused of not depositing cash receipts, including some from parents paying for the pricey all-day kindergarten program, with the town treasurer from June 24, 2004, to June 5, 2006."

Nobody noticed that this money was disappearing for two years? Her boss, Harry Harutunian, didn't notice she was stealing from one of his "pet" programs?

"School systems like (ours) who are having financial troubles can't tolerate white-collar crime," School
Committee Chairman Alfred Perry said. "That could make the difference in us being able to pay for a teacher
or a program."

NO school systems should have to tolerate white-collar crime.

"Jill Ramano, a parent who had a child in full-day kindergarten last year at the Annie L. Sargent School, said
parents could pay cash for almost everything, including after-school programs and tuition for full-day
kindergarten at a price of $4,000. 'Why they didn't get rid of that years ago is beyond me,' she said."

All-day Kindergarten was an easy way to overcharge parents and raise extra cash that could be diverted for other purposes. Harutunian implemented costly, all-day kindergarten programs in Reading too.

01/28/07

Valley Patriot - Audit Shows School Committee Incompetence - "An education audit shows that Al Perry and his puppets on the N. Andover School Committee gave raises and bonuses to superintendent Harry Harutunian with no written evaluations... no goals or education plans district wide... no evaluations of administrators (who were also given hefty raises)..."

"Evaluators said contracts and state laws were broken."

Who will be punished for breaking these laws and contracts?  The only people being punished right now are the citizens and children of North Andover.

Harutunian poisoned and corrupted the North Andover school system, just like he did in Reading.  He showed others in positions of authority how to game and manipulate the system, compromising them and minimizing the risk that they would "squeal" and report his own activities to law enforcement.

The ideal school system for a corrupt school superintendent is one in which every high-level administrator and employee is also corrupt and no one in a position to stop the corruption is able to "blow the whistle" without incriminating themselves.  Although Harutunian is gone, he still has "puppets" in Reading and in North Andover obligated (by self-interest) to protect his secrets.

Sadly, Charles Ormsby may be the only member of the North Andover school committee who has not been "compromised" by Harutunian and the scandals.  As demonstrated by the laughable and unnecessary 186k payout Harutunian received to resign (they could have and should have just fired him) and the suppression of the disturbing and potentially incriminating (publicly-funded) private investigators report on Harutunian, North Andover School Committee members still aren't being honest with the public.  Why?  What motivated committee members to illegally give Harutunian raises (and other perks)?

True change and reform will only happen when the full extent of the corruption is revealed and the guilty are removed from power.

12/02/06

Yahoo News 12/02/06 - Corruption Hits Cities in L.A.'s Shadows - "A string of gritty suburbs in the shadow of Los Angeles has produced a growing parade of public officials jailed for corruption and prosecutors say illegal schemes on a scale more commonly associated with big Eastern cities have devoured tens of millions of taxpayer dollars."

"The former mayor of Lynwood was sentenced in March to nearly 16 years in prison for funneling millions of dollars in city contracts to a sham consulting company he secretly controlled. Paul Richards, 50, was found guilty of multiple counts of mailfraud, money laundering, extortion and making false statements to investigators."

"Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, whose office created a special unit to concentrate on public corruption, says the recent run of cases can be easily explained. 'I think it was going on all the time,' he said. 'No one was investigating it.'"

10/11/06

Boston Globe, 10/11/06 - Everett schools chief placed on probation - "'Mr. Foresteire abused his position of power and the public trust. We are pleased he acknowledged the evidence against him was sufficient for a guilty finding in this case,' Stone said in a statement. 'We disagree with the judge's decision to not follow our recommendation for a guilty finding and repayment to the City of Everett for the air conditioners that investigators found in Mr. Foresteire's home."

So he gets to keep the air conditioners?

Until "one of their own" takes a serious fall and gets jail time, school administrators are only going to become more bold and corrupt. There is simply no one in law enforcement able (or willing) to hold superintendents accountable for their actions and even fewer to prosecute "white collar" financial crimes. It's open season on children and taxpayers.

09/24/06

Eagle Tribune, 09/24/06 - Guess who's teaching: Embattled ex-superintendent gets teaching job - "Former School Superintendent Harry Harutunian has landed a job as a long-term substitute teacher at Lynn Classical High School, earning a full-time teacher's salary at $61,961-a-year plus benefits."

"Kostan said he has known Harutunian for six years. In 2004, Harutunian hired Kostan's wife, Kathleen, to be principal of North Andover's Thomson School. She retired at the end of the school year."

Two years? She had hoped to be there for at least five. But then, so did Harutunian. She left when he left.

"The job was not offered to other candidates. 'This was a last-minute thing. It happened a week before school started,' Kostan said."

Yeah, right. What a coincidence. Harry hires Kostan's wife in 2004 but now Harutunian is the one who needs a little "shelter from the storm." Isn't that what this really is all about?

The question is, how will the children of Lynn benefit from Harutunian's presence? What lessons will Harry "deplorable violation of trust" Harutunian teach the children? How to game the system, manipulate people who trust you and abuse power?

And what message does this hiring sham send honorable, ethical teachers who have actually worked hard and deserve the opportunity Harutunian has just been handed?

Allowing Harutunian to circumvent the hiring process speaks volumes about Superintendent Nick Kostan and his priorities. Harutunian was the best "teacher" Kostan could find on short notice? It just doesn't make any sense.

With Superintendent Kostan's retirement pending, continuing structural / design problems at new Lynn Classical High and school construction "connoisseur" Harutunian hanging around "teaching," citizens of Lynn should be very, very concerned. This arrangment does not pass the $61,961 "smell test."

09/24/06

Necn News, 09/24/06 - According to NECN news, the Harutunian has a new job working as a "teacher" somewhere in Lynn, Massachusetts.

09/14/06

WCHS6(Portland, ME).com - Former School Chief Fined For Creating Job For Girlfriend's Son - "Harutunian signed a settlement agreement admitting he improperly used his influence to create a part-time custodial job for his girlfriend's son, who was a student at the high school."

"It happened last fall while Harutunian was romantically involved with a school worker. Harutunian admitted directing school custodians to transport the student to and from work and covering up his actions."

News at 11 (see below).

09/14/06

Tommy Duggan / Valley Patriot.com - "State Ethics Comission Fines former Superintendent Harry Harutunian $6000 for Hiring his Girfriend's son as a custodian. Channel 5 will have an exclusive story at 11pm."

Has Harry also been asked to pay for all the illegal phone calls he made to his lady friend using his official school cell phone?

06/29/06

Boston Globe 06/29/06 - Is town cheating special ed kids? - "Davarich is one of about a half-dozen Reading parents rankled by what he characterizes as an ailing and corrupt special education system in the town of 23,000. The parents, said Davarich, are now gearing up to take action on the controversy that has simmered for years, mostly behind closed doors."

Reading's Special Ed Director, Steve Gannon, has faithfully served as "foot soldier" for both the Harutunian and Schettini Administrations, playing parents off each other, ignoring ed plans, misrepresenting programs and denying continued services to students thriving in programs outside the Reading schools. The SPED horror stories have continued for years in Reading, mostly unseen by the publc thanks to various gag orders imposed upon parents and children.

Finally, some parents are waking up and communicating with each other.

06/09/06

Reading Advocate 06/08/06 - It should not be necessary - Why are parents collecting an additional $100K now when the school department already received the $100K from (November 2004) Town Meeting for that very purpose? - "Five months before the Wood End project was completed, the school committee asked Town Meeting in May 2004 (.mp3 audio) to transfer $634,000 from the incomplete Wood End project funds into the Barrows construction project. In reality, there was more than enough money in the Wood End project budget to fund the $100K playground. The school committee and school administrators count on the 'forgetfulness' of Town Meeting, and the ignorance of well meaning parents."

"Parents need not raise money for a playground when public money was already been appropriated for it twice, (once within the project's scope and budget, and second time with the additional $100K appropriation)... and it should not be necessary to then raise funds again, this time privately, before that Wood End playground becomes a reality."

Download audio from 11/08/04 Town Meeting (.mp3, 1.44 MB) in which Superintendent Schettini attempts to justify the (first) transfer of SPED money to the School Building Projects and references $100,000 originally set aside to build a new playground at Wood End.

05/22/06

Deliberate Falsehood? - Examining Reading's Use of SPED "Circuit Breaker" Money to Fund School Building Projects - Contrary to the objections of Superintendent Schettini and others at the April 27, 2006 Town Meeting, the school department's pattern of transferring funds from the Special Needs areas of the School Department budget to finance construction projects is extremely relevant to the '07 budget.

Download an audio clip from this 04/27/06 Town Meeting (.mp3, 1.3MB) in which Schettini claims "a spouse of a town meeting member" accused him of lying.

Download an audio clip from this 04/31/06 Town Meeting (.mp3, 1.4MB) - Superintendent Schettini: "Please let it be clear, I have too much respect for this body, our town and our schoole to lie to you. Unfounded, unsubstantiated allegations do not just hurt me personally, they hurt our town, our schools, and the important position I am blessed to hold as your superintendent."

Unfounded? Unsubstantiated? No.

Cloaking himself in righteous indignation does not negate the facts or prior votes of Town Meeting. Although Superintendent Schettini pretends to clarify details of the Circuit Breaker funding mechanism for Town Meeting, he stops short of explaining himself or the schools' practice of moving SPED money into other accounts.

Documentation suggests that Circuit Breaker reimbursement money has not been spent as the Legislature intended -- on the needs of Special Education children.

Webster's Random House College Dictionary defines a lie as "a false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive."

Carl McFadden, Reading School Committee Meeting, 02/27/06 (.mp3, 1.3 MB) - "We have, unfortunately, in the past couple years and I don't know if it's going to come up, if we, we're gonna do it again but we've taken money out of educating our children, money has been taken out of the operating budget that the taxpayers have given us to educate chldren. Whether or not we feel as though we met that and this is what was left over, the fact is we have taken money out of our operating account to educate our children to supplement this high school project."

Reading Advocate 11/10/04 - Transfer of $650,000- "Under Article 3, Town Meeting was also asked to approve a transfer of $650,000 from the school department's special education budget to the capital budget in order to help with school improvement costs at Reading Memorial High School, Barrows Elementary School and Wood End Elementary School. Schettini explained that the schools received more special education money than anticipated."

Reading Advocate 10/11/04 - Discrepancy Over Special Ed Funds - "Jeff Wulfson, associate commissioner of the Department of Education, wrote a letter to Selectmen Chairman Richard Schubert and School Committee Chairman Carl McFadden, stating that the special education money shouldn't, in fact, have been switched to the school building projects."

"'There is a special education revolving account but we didn't do that this year,' Schettini said, 'We thought this [extra money] was just a one-time event."

"Schettini said, 'This is good business practice: when you have funds, you put them when they are needed most. The transfer didn't impact the services rendered to students. This made common sense to us, and we believed we had sufficient power to do so.'"

Good business practice?

Tell that to the Reading parents and children who have been denied SPED services because there allegedly was no funding. Many Reading parents are unable to talk about their experiences battling the Reading Public Schools to get services for their children because of gag orders written into their settlement agreements!

Reading Town Meeting - November 2004 Warrant, Article 3 - "The School Department had a surplus of over $650,000 in the FY 2004 Budget due to better than anticipated reimbursement of SPED costs under the circuit Breaker program. The School Committee voted to transfer those one-time revenues to capital projects -- the three school projects under construction.The State Department of Revenue rules that transfer to be inappropriate indicating that for transfers of this magnitude and for projects of this type, Town Meeting approval is needed.

Therefore, there will be a requested transfer from Free Cash to fund these additions to previously approved capital projects, and the moneys from the FY 2004 Budget that the School Committee had previously transferred will revert to Free Cash. Funding of these projects would be accomplished under Article 5 of this Warrant."

Reading Town Meeting - April 2005 Warrant, Article 4 - "The School Department had a surplus of $850,000 in the FYI 2005 Budget due to better than anticipated reimbursement of SPED costs under the "Circuit Breaker" Program. The School Committee voted to transfer those one-time revenues to capital projects - the school projects under construction. $350,000 will go to the Barrows project and $500,000 to the RMHS project. Funding of these projects would be accomplished under article 6 of this Warrant."

One-time revenues?

School Committee Minutes, June, 2004 - "Mr. Dahl made a motion that the sum of two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) be transferred from the School Department's Special Needs Budget to the Reading Memorial High School Construction and Renovation Project. Ms. Webb seconded the motion. The vote was 4-0. Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden and Ms. Webb"
"Mr. Carpenter made a motion that the sum of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) be transferred from the School Department's Special Needs Budget to the Alice M. Barrows Elementary School Construction and Renovation Project. Ms. Webb seconded the motion. The vote was 4-0. Mr. Carpenter, Mr. Dahl, Mr. McFadden and Ms. Webb"

Massachusetts Department of Revenue - Letter from James R. Johnson, Director of Accounts to Chairs Schubert, McFadden - "I therefore conclude that the three votes of June 15, 2004 transferring a total of $550,000 are defective; such funds should have been closed from the FY04 school budget to fund balance as of June 30, 2004. ...I would suggest consultation with the DOE or the newly created School Building Authority relative to amendment of the existing applications for the three school construction projects."

Boston Globe, April 2005 - School Budget Transfer Questioned - "The decision allows school administrators to use the money received from a state grant to increase the contingency funds on two school construction jobs. School Committee member Carl McFadden said the schools had $850,000 in surplus funds, after lower-than-expected special education costs."

Lower -than-expected? Surplus or Inflated SPED budgeting?

Sped Budget History (.pdf, 96 KB) - Information regarding Reading's padded SPED budgets. Enrollment of special needs kids has not increased (and has, in fact, often decreased) but the SPED budgets have consistently increased. Reading officials talk about the unanticipated costs that might arise for SPED children's needs. They claim that there is a need for a buffer ($200,000, currently), to deal with these potential costs. But examine the numbers. Only in 2003 has buffer money actually been needed for its intended purpose. What has happened the rest of the years? They keep adding to this unanticipated costs buffer regardless of whether there are kids who need it or not. How much money has accumulated? How has this extra money been used?

May 20, 2005 Letter from Town Accountant Richard Foley to Pat Schettini(.pdf, 48 KB) - "To book this transfer, I need the School Committee to vote to transfer the $850,000 from a specific segment of the School Department's budget."

"Contrary to what was reported by Town Meeting members, the Special Needs segment of the School Department's Budget has no funds available to transfer to the school building projects."

At the April 2005 Town Meeting, TM members voted to transfer $850,000 from school department Regular Day account after they were assured that the source of this $850,000 was Special Ed surplus, originating from state Circuit Breaker reimbursement. Circuit Breaker money has special requirements as to how it may be used, as outlined in a March 5th, 2004 Department of Revenue (DOR) letter (.pdf).

One month after the April 2005 Town Meeting vote, Town Accountant Foley reframed the source of the $850,000 surplus. Suddenly, the surplus was no longer listed in Special Ed but in Regular Day. In his May 20th letter to School Committee, Foley advised School Committee to vote to transfer the surplus from Regular Day to the Capital School projects; he insisted there was no surplus in the Special Ed accounts and there now was funding in Regular Day.

Where did the $850,000 come from? Did the School Department overbudget Regular Day by $850,000, or did they improperly use state Circuit Breaker revenue for building projects?"

"The Regular Day segment of the School Department's Budget is currently projecting a surplus at the end of the Fiscal Year. It is the only segment of the School Department's Budget that is available to fund the building projects."

03/21/06

Eagle Tribune 03/21/06 - Disciplinary hearing set for Harutunian - "The School Committee will confront Superintendent Harry K. Harutunian about an alleged improper relationship with a female school employee at a closed-door disciplinary meeting tomorrow, The Eagle-Tribune has learned."

This news should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Superintendent Harutunian. Bad behavior and rumors of "extracurricular" or improper activities have dogged him throughout his career. The only surprise here is that this particular "rumor" has surfaced in the pages of the Eagle Tribune and someone may actually hold Harutunian accountable for his actions.

What sort of verbal gymnastics will "Hypocrite Harry" use to escape this time? Stay tuned... the latest news will appear in the Harutunian in North Andover section.

02/19/06

New Appointments - Reading School Administrative Council (the Best Friends’ Club) welcomes two new members: Craig Martin, Marie Pink chosen as Coolidge administrators (February 9, 2006, Daily Times Chronicle)

On a recommendation of Superintendent Patrick Schettini, Reading School Committee voted at their recent meeting to waive the public search process. See Policy CBBA .(Selection of Principals and Citizen Screening Committee for Administrative Positions).

This policy required “input of parents, teachers, community, and in special cases, students in the process of screening candidates for positions of associate superintendent and principal.” Martin and Pink have been “acting principal and vice principal” since last June when former Coolidge Principal John Doherty was appointed assistant superintendent.

Reading school policies are a sham.

No public process was followed in replacing the assistant superintendent or administrators at Joshua Eaton Elementary and Reading Memorial High School.  The Reading School Committee no longer follows Superintendent’s evaluation (Evaluation of Superintendent CBI).

School superintendent evaluations no longer are compiled and created by School Committee at public meetings. School Committee no longer holds public hearings or conducts votes at two separate meetings to create School Committee Policy.

Gone is “process and the Reading public’s right to know.”

Reading's School Committee rubber stamps administrative recommendations, regularly conducts public business in private, obstructs access to public information and denies parents, teachers and the community input in choosing their school administrators.

The erosion of the public's rights began in Reading while Superintendent Harutunian was in power and has become even worse under the Schettini administration.

Other communities do things differently.

The practice of choosing school administrators with public input and participation is alive and well in Carlisle, Salem, Medford, and Swampscott.

Carlisle – Principal and Assistant Sought (Globe NorthWest 02/16.06) 14 member search committee of parents, teachers, the SPED director, a selectman and two students

Salem – Help pick the new high school principal(Salem News 12/28/05) Input from five distinct groups including parents teachers, students, administrators and community leaders.

Medford – Seeking New Principal (Globe NorthWest 02/19/06) A committee of parents and educators to review applications.

Swampscott – New principal will be named Monday (Salem News 02/02/06) 11 member search team of teachers, parents, and an administrator.

01/13/05

Boston Herald 01/13/05 - Foreclosure Filings Go Through The Roof (.pdf) - "Communities with the greatest foreclosure spikes include Reading, at 250 percent; Burlington at 200 percent; Seekonk, at 163 percent, and Newburyport at 163 percent."

01/05/05

ForeclosuresMass.com - In The News - Eyewitness News TV - Filings on the rise (.pdf) - "In the suburbs, Reading had 28 filings, compared with just eight in the first 10 months of 2004."

12/30/05

Reading Town Meeting 11/17/05 - Reading officials' failed attempts to bully two Town Meeting members into silence. Toward the end of this "debate," a flustered Chairman Rob Spadafora, in a classic smokescreen maneuver, accuses his questioners of "making disparaging comments" and tries to distract listeners from the issue at hand by negatively associating Town Meeting members Linda and Gary Phillips with the school system's anti-bullying program.

When you can't attack the message, attack the messenger.

Article 9 Discussion - Part 1 (.mp3, 3.17 MB) - Background information.
Article 9 Discussion - Part 2 (.mp3, 3.70 MB) - Linda and Gary Phillips detail the manipulative game school officials are playing with Reading contingency fund appropriations.

School officials already moved money into the high school project contingency fund to cover replacement culvert repairs at April 30, 2005 Town Meeting. Responsible Town Meeting members should review the audio from both meetings (April 30, 2005 and Nov. 11, 2005) before they approve any additional funds for culvert repairs.

11:33 - 12:37 - Town Meeting 11/17/05

"Gary Phillips: What vigilant action is the school building committee taking to insure that those problem areas are being corrected at the expense of the contractors and not the taxpayers of Reading? Can I hear from anybody on the school building committee?

Chairman Rob Spadafora: Mr. Moderator, it's going to be quite simple, I am not going to address either one of the Phillips this evening, if they continue with the disparaging comments. If they continue to be disruptive, they will be removed from Town Meeting.

GP: What? For presenting information that's essential to make intelligent, informed decisions, Mr. Spadafora?

RS: Mr. Moderator, he's talking about slush funds, he's talking about dishonesty. I don't think he's showing respect to the speakers, the town(folks?) or the contractors.

GP: Let me document my statements. I'm sorry.

RS: We're all adults, we demand respect. Our children are watching this, there's a bullying program, I think all of us should take note of how we treat each other in public Mr. and Mrs Phillips."

Respect? Are the slush funds real? Is the dishonesty real? If there was not so much glaring evidence suggesting the slush funds and dishonesty are, in fact, real, perhaps Reading officials would not have to "demand respect."

Respect is earned.

Honest, hardworking school officials doing their jobs, advocating for the best interests of children and the community earn (and deserve) respect.

Public servants who limit access to public information, help protect the interests of private companies and dodge questions by attacking the questioners deserve investigation.

From the veil of secrecy surrounding the school projects to the arrogance and open hostility of some top school officials (who, if they were doing nothing wrong, should be happy to answer questions from an interested taxpaying public), the signs of wrongdoing in Reading are everywhere.

11/28/05

Mass FY06 Budget Amendments - Extended Learning Time Planning and Early Implementation Grant - See floor Number: 85 clerk number: 258 - Early implementation grants? Why would Reading groups seek an early implementation grant if they didn't intend to implement it? Also, where is the parent support in Reading? And how many Reading teachers knew about this grant application?

"...the department shall only approve implementation plans that include evidence of support from teachers, administrators, parents, and any community-based organizations or institutions of higher education involved in implementation, and all collective bargaining units involved in implementation; provided further that the department shall only approve implementation plans that include documentation of leadership capacity to successfully implement a longer school day or year and evidence that the district has made recent progress towards improved educational outcomes and improved district capacity..."

Reading's original application on file included no surveys, studies or letters of support from parents.

11/25/05

Globe North 11/20/05 - School-day study to proceed - "Reading school officials have decided to go ahead with a study on lengthening the school day at the town's two middle schools despite concerns expressed by parents in a series of public sessions held to discuss the idea."

"He (Schettini) has assured parents their voices are being heard on the matter."

Voices in Reading are heard, certainly, then ignored.

Peabody found time to do their research on extending the school day. Why is similar research "not doable" in Reading?

"The team is a group of teachers, administrators, and 13 parents who will study the longer school day idea."

Is this true? Contrary to the Globe article, page 14 of Reading's application to the D.O.E. lists that only 2-4 parents will serve on this committee.

Why don't they announce who these parents are?

UPDATE: Soon after this posting, Edline released November updates regarding the Expanded Learning Time commmittee.

11/05/05

Reading Advocate 11/03/05 - We are all watching - "Maximizing contractor profits at the expense of the health and safety of our students and teaching staff should not be tolerated! Fix the new $11.5 million school the way it should have been built in the first place, with adequate heat, fresh air, ventilation and skylight shades. Do it for the children. Do it for the teaching staff. And do it because it is the right thing to do! Stop giving lip service to the public and making excuses. We are all watching!"

1/20/08

The Two Million Minutes DVD - "2 million minutes stands for the time that students have in high school to build the foundational skills for the rest of their lives. (I like the title's reference to the importance of considering time-efficiency in the process of learning.) American education and the attitudes of American students are compared to those in China and India. In one sequence, a student from India talks about how when he was young, he could calculate quickly in his head; that scene is followed by an American high school teacher passing out calculators to a class of students before a pop quiz."

11/28/07

Conservation Committee hears Parker Middle School artificial turf field proposal - For the real scoop on synthetic fields from people who have no personal interest in the industry, check out "Synthetic turf raises safety Issues" from Doug and Patti Wood  Grassroots Environmental Ed. and the website of Environment and Human Health, Inc. www.ehhi.org  original research report: "Exposures to recycled Tire Crumbs used on synthetic Turf Fields, Playgrounds, and as Gardening Mulch."  EHHI recommends a moratorium on new synthetic fields until more testing has been completed. 

04/24/07

The Destruction of Reading Memorial High School is complete - Reading Memorial High School is gone now, replaced by a smaller, inferior structure that will not serve the Reading Community half as well (or as long) as the 1953 building. The iconic, historically significant school tower was the last part of RMHS to be demolished.

All Reading Memorial High School needed was maintenance and repair. Maintenance and repair, however, would not have benefitted Harry Harutunian an and his special interest friends.

$20 million could have upgraded and  repaired the various maintenance problems (like broken windows and stained ceiling tiles) the Harutunian administration did not bother to fix (to be fair, for $1.8 million they did replace the roof and upgraded heating and HVAC systems in 1997-2000 only to be torn down -- what a waste!!!). Instead, Reading has built a new, smaller school for more money (remember when they called it a "renovation" to sell the project to the public?) and located the ugly, box-like structure in a swamp.

And guess what? $57+ million later, the brand new school has the same old heat, HVAC problems and a bunch of new problems, including but not limited to:

1. a classroom space shortage (since the New High School is so much smaller, teachers are now being forced to share classrooms)

2. a cafeteria that is too small to support the student population (some students have to stand during lunch and wait in line to use restrooms)

3. a defective press box that obstructs the views of 100+ fans (who will take credit for this design snafu?)

4. defective track and artificial turf football fields

 5. inadequate provisions for drama productions (the oversized stage door specified in building plans failed to materialize in the final product - the door currently installed is too small to move drama props onstage).

6. Leaks (in the High School) and flooding (in the new Field House)

The list goes on and on... R.I.P. RMHS

03/24/07

Reading Advocate 3/14/07 - Frustrating To All Of Us -  "Dissatisfied with the continued poor performance of a subcontractor on the Reading Memorial High School construction project, the School Committee voted Monday night to assume control and send the work back out to bid."

Frustrating? What do you expect to happen when building projects are planned and carried out in secret with no real oversight?

Where is the Building Committee? Oh yeah, Reading (supposedly) doesn't have one.

Who is in charge? The School Committee was already supposed to be in charge!

What a mess.

02/01/07

Massachusetts State Ethics Commission, Sept. 14, 2006 - In the matter of Harry K. Harutunian - Disposition Agreement PDF -  "...in December 2005, Harutunian told a career counselor at the High School to write a memo to him backdated to November 21, 2005, requesting that Harutunian find his girlfriend's son a job. The career counselor expressed a concern that other students were in need of jobs as well. No other students, however, were given the opportunity to apply for the position Harutunian created for his girlfriend's son."

"22. This Cover up was a privilege. 23. The privilege was unwarranted because public officials may not seek to hide their role in public decisions through false records."

Where has the State Ethics Commission been all these years?  In Reading, this was "business as usual" for the Harutunian administration.

01/29/07

Boston Globe - School audit hits ex-chief - Harutunian cited for district's woes - "Despite Harutunian's turbulent reign as chief administrator, the School Committee never properly evaluated him and gave him a $10,000 bonus one year. Harutunian also had a $50,000 merit pay account he dispensed as he saw fit, without established criteria for performance, according to the audit."

Harry also used slush funds to dole-out "merit pay" to his loyal employees and followers in Reading. It's encouraging that the auditors were able to locate this particular 50k merit pay account in N.A. but the question remains; what will be the consequences for this and every other violation of the public trust that Harutunian has committed? Is his "incompetence" a punishable crime?

"While Harry K. Harutunian was superintendent from 2003 to 2006, the district lacked an improvement plan and a
professional development plan, and had incomplete personnel records, according to preliminary findings."

Who needs development or an improvement plan? You don't need any of those things to run a public school business empire.

And exactly what information was missing from the personnel records?

"An audit of the North Andover school district sketches a portrait of the former superintendent as a micro-manager who bullied subordinates and blocked information from the School Committee."

Follow the money trail, Dr. Argenziano, follow the money trail.

"Argenziano, a former assistant superintendent in
Lawrence in the early 1990s, raised his eyebrows and shook his head at the dearth of proper reporting in North
Andover. He said 90 percent of what he cited in his presentation as lacking was required by either the Massachusetts Education Reform Act of 1993 or the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001." 

01/25/07

N.A. Citizen - Schools face sharp criticism from state - "School employees told the state Harutunian also advised staff members not to speak with the School Committee directly — to instead communicate through him. He threatened to fire them if they didn’t do this, Argenziano said."

01/24/07

Eagle Tribune - State audit: North Andover schools 'achieving below 50 percent' Former superintendent Harutunian's leadership style cited - "Over the three years covered by the audit, employees told the state that Harutunian would not allow them to speak to the School Committee. And Harutunian didn't share information with the board. At the same time,
committee members overstepped their authority by contacting school employees directly, circumventing the
superintendent, Argenziano said."

"Much of his criticism lay with the lack of leadership from the former superintendent and the School Committee."

"Harry Harutunian, who resigned last year after it was revealed he gave a pay raise to a secretary with whom he was having an affair, was a 'top-down administrator', Argenziano said."

12/02/06

Weapons of Math Destruction - A charming site dedicated to the "disarmament of all fuzzy math weapons." First to find a tutor wins the game!

09/15/06

Eagle Tribune 09/15/06 - State fines Harutunian for giving girlfriend's teenage son school job; Ethics Commission calls deal 'deplorable violation' of trust - "Former School Superintendent Harry Harutunian created a new position to employ his girlfriend's son as a janitor at North Andover High School and then tried to cover up the indiscretion, prompting a $6,000 fine, the state Ethics Commission said yesterday.

Later in December, Harutunian ordered a counselor at the school to write a letter, backdated to Nov. 21, asking that Harutunian find the teen a job. In its report, the commission termed the letter a 'false memo' and discusses it under the heading 'cover-up.'"

Just when you think you know all the sordid details of Harutunian's activities, if you dig a little bit deeper, you find more.

In Reading, the custodian who was assigned to watch over Harutunian's son for the summer ended up getting fired. Somebody.. started spreading a nasty rumor about him having an alchohol problem.

It's not surprising to hear that Harry fabricated or ordered employees to create false documents, either. Under his direction countless fake and inaccurate memos and documents were created in Reading. Backdating documents, cover-ups and the fabrication of meeting minutes (a.k.a. rewriting history) were common activities for some members of the Harutunian administration.

05/14/06

Boston Globe 06/18/06 - State pays its share for special ed - (.pdf) - "Most people are unaware of the Circuit Breaker Program and assume ...that special education is little more than a huge financial drain on their town or city." - Jeanne Cappuccio, Chair of Readiing Parent Advisory Council for Special Education.

That is exactly what the Reading school adminstration wants the public to continue to believe - that SPED is a huge drain and there's hardly enough money to care for the children who need it. Well, don't believe it, there's plenty of money to be had from the SPED programs and large sums of it are being (mis)spent on raises and bonuses for school administrators and rewards (cushy part-time jobs) for political supporters. Unfortunately, in a sick school system, the ones who struggle the most to get access to SPED money are the kids and parents who actually need SPED services!

In Reading, school officials plead poverty to parents and the community at large while they move large sums of Circuit Breaker money (intended by the Legislature to reimburse Reading's Special Education expenses) into accounts used to fund school building projects. Is this legal? It's certainly not ethical.

06/20/06

Feeling The Heat At Wood End - Again - June 20, 2006 Letter from Linda and Gary Phiilips to Reading Health Administrator Jane Fiore (.pdf 90.9 KB) + 2005 May, June Wood End School Health Logs (.pdf 472 KB) - "After months of waiting, and ultimately State intervention, the Reading School Department finally released the Wood End School's public nursing incident health logs from last year, student names redacted. These logs reveal what we knew all along: children and staff have suffered in the heat and poor ventilation at that brand new school, particularly last spring where temperatures at times exceeded 100 degrees in the upstairs hallway. Contrary to what was reported to you by the Head School Nursing Director Lynn Dunn, the logs indicate dozens of heat related medical incidences."

"Where accountability and action are needed to correct HVAC design flaws, adequate heat during the winter and sufficient ventilation during the warmer months, students' needs have been continually neglected. Rather than correct and mitigate the problems, School Administration and School Committee have chosen to "shoot the messenger", retaliate against those who dare raise issues. Teachers last year repeatedly raised ventilation and air quality issues, yet nothing has been resolved, and teachers and staff have been bullied into silence."

"We have grave concerns that a health professional hired to oversee the health and welfare of Reading's student population has purposefully misrepresented public health information and obstructed public access in an effort to conceal hazards and building flaws."

05/14/06

Architects.org - Fame - People and Firms - (.pdf) - "Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott reports that Sidney Bowen AIA has joined the firm as director of business and market strategy."

Sid Bowen did a excellent job marketing (i.e. selling) unnecessary school construction projects to the Reading public (Wood End + The New High School). Remember, although Flansburgh Associates (Sid's old employers) failed to secure the high school project, Sid, along with Harutunian and Community Manipulator Matt Wilson, spearheaded the PR campaign to excessively "renovate" Reading Memorial High School.

Sid will be a great asset to former Reading school committee / building committee member / architect / attorney Tim Twomey's firm.

01/03/05

Wall Street Journal, Opinion Journal.com - Teacher's Pets - .pdf - "The NEA is spending the mandatory dues paid by members who are told their money will be used to gain better wages, benefits and working conditions. According to the latest filing, member dues accounted for $295 million of the NEA's $341 million in total receipts last year. But the union spent $25 million of that on "political activities and lobbying" and another $65.5 million on "contributions, gifts and grants" that seemed designed to further those hyper-liberal political goals."

12/28/05

Boston Herald 12/16/05 - Defendant admits school corruption - In case some of you missed this in the Boston Herald:

"A key figure in the Everett school corruption case pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiracy and procurement fraud charges, authorities said.
Lona Defeo, a top maintenance manager who prosecuters said was a central figure in the bid rigging scheme was sentenced to two years probation. School Superintendent Frederick Foresteire, accused of having two school-bought air conditioners installed at his home, still is awaiting trial."

12/28/05

Reading Advocate 12/08/05 - Letter About Disparaging Remarks - "Perhaps two or three years ago the now chairman of the School Committee had a picture on the front page of the Advocate making what myself and others felt was a very visual "disparaging" comment after two outspoken school project Town Meeting members where not reelected, was that treating others like adults, or perhaps the children did not read the papers?"

Listen to the supposed "disparaging remarks" made at the 11/17/05 Town Meeting here: Article 9 Discussion - Part 2 (.mp3, 3.70 MB).

12/11/05

Reading Advocate 12/01/05 - Hey, have you heard the latest rumors about school gossip? - Some Reading officials use these same schoolgirl "gossip" tactics to conceal their own misdeeds and smear and marginalize political opponents.

11/26/05

Reading Public Schools - Extended Day Application to the Massachusetts Department of Education, submitted by John Doherty, Assist. Superintendent, Reading Public Schools (.pdf, 1.22 MB). Signature page A has not yet been released to the public.

Please note the many "revelations" made by Reading school officials in this document:

"Our students have not made adequate yearly progress in math. Moreover, 50% to 52% of students in grade eight scored in the Failing or Needs Improvement categories in the 2004 science MCAS" (p.1).

"Students at Parker Middle School have not made adequate yearly progress on the math MCAS and performance at Coolidge Middle School has also not improved at the anticipated rate. It is crucial that we address the math and science achievement gaps and the lack of mastery of required skills before students continue to high school." (p.5)

"The data indicates that between 2002 and 2004, that there has been no improvement in the percentage of grade six math students in Parker who score in the Needs Improvement and Warning categories. Scores have remained stagnant ranging from an annual total between of 28% and 29% of students." (p.7)

Stagnant? No improvement? Lack of mastery of required skills? 50% to 52% of students failing science MCAS 2004?

This is not good.

If the author of this grant application, former Coolidge Principal John Doherty, has "the experience, training, knowledge and credibility to provide the leadership, required to make the school redesign initiative successful," why are Reading's middle school students performing so poorly? Weren't these kids his responsibility while he was a principal? Or are higher-level administrators at fault for these decisions?

By Reading school officials own admission, major parts of the present curriculum have failed.

And what is at the heart of the failing curriculum (implemented in Reading just 12 years ago)??

Chicago Math.

Extending the school day won't improve a defective school curriculum (See: 11/23/05, Is it just a matter of time). It may, however, expand the school department's after-school "opportunities."

If anything, extending the school day will cut into outside learning time already spent with the private tutors / Kumon / Sylvan Learning Centers parents employ to compensate for the school system's deficiencies.

Also consider that, if Reading is granted money, Reading may be obligated to implement the program.

"Each district selected has committed to a planning process to develop an implementation plan that will be submitted to the Department of Education Jan. 13, 2006 for approval. Districts will then be expected to open their redesigned schools in September 2006, pending state allocation in the FY2007 budget." - DOE Press Release 10/25/05

Reading may also have to fund up to $1300 in matching funds ($1.3 million for 1000 students) to extend the hours for the 1000 students at the middle school. State money is not guaranteed beyond the first year (See Globe Northwest 10/09/06, officials ponder longer school day).

The Massachusetts D.O.E's instructions (.pdf, 32.6 KB) for the extended day "expanding learning time to support student success" application. Are Reading officials following these instructions? You decide.

11/24/05

Globe North 11/24/05 - Schools divided on hours (.pdf, 24 KB) - "Peabody applied for $107,000 to plan for extending the school day by two hours at the Brown and Welch elementary schools. But the School Committee on Nov. 9 voted not to move forward with those extended hours next fall, and not to accept the $25,000 awarded by the state, according to Superintendent Nadine Binkley."

Peabody made its decision based upon parent forums and a completed survey indicating a lack of interest.

Reading officials held a forum and noted the unhappy response of parents but continued to push the grant process forward anyway.

Once again, Reading is putting the "cart before the horse."

After they have the grant money, it will be time to convince parents it's a good idea and conduct "surveys."

11/23/05

Is it just a matter of time (study by Julie Aronson, Joy Zimmerman, and Lisa Carlos 1998. WestEd.) is considered by Massachusetts 2020 to be the most "concise review of the literature" on time and learning.

Aronson, Zimmerman and Carlos conclude:

"The research literature suggests that, while time is certainly a critical factor, by itself it has little direct impact on student performance. Simply adding time to the school year or day would not likely produce large scale gains in student achievement... what research studies repeatedly find is that in education, quality is the key to making time matter.... educators must -- to the greatest extent possible -- make every hour count...

Policy makers and practitioners should evaluate any potential reform with an eye to whether and how it will contribute to increasing the amount of time when students are truly learning. Only when time is used more effectively will adding more of it begin to result in improved learning outcomes for all students."

10/26/05

Reading School Department - 10/17/05 Superintendent memo to parents regarding the Extended Day Planning Grant. - Superintendent Schettini sets the record "straight," criticizing recent Boston Globe reporting... in a memo sent to Reading school parents.

Boston Globe 10/03/05 + Globe 10/09/05 - Districts pushing for longer school day + officials ponder longer school day - Two Globe articles that triggered "quite the buzz about town" and Schettini's damage control memo.

Boston Herald 10/26/05 - Officials consider extending school day - "The state board also approved grants for some schools in Cambridge, Fall River, Lowell, Malden, North Adams, Old Rochester, Regional, Peabody, Randolph, Reading, South Middlesex Regional, Springfield, Ware and Worcester." Wasn't this State grant intended to help struggling school districts?

Is Reading slipping? Reading usually tries to compare itself to Lexington, Winchester, Lynnfield,and Concord.

10/20/05

Boston Globe - Magic Carpet: The newest synthetic surfaces aren't perfect, but they're a
smoother, safer ride - Interesting information about synthetic turf surfaces.

"While it's still too early in the development of the surface to have conclusive studies on injury rates, in-fill turf would seem to cut down on the knee and head traumas often sustained on AstroTurf, as well as the turf burn that defined the original. But the new turf is also harder on the joints than grass, giving way to a soreness that usually sinks in about the fourth quarter."

"By its second season of use, Brockton's AstroPlay surface began to show its age. The company that manufactured it, SRI Sports, which once marketed AstroTurf, never came to repair the damage -- then went bankrupt in early 2004. Now Brockton athletic director John Boutin is saddled with synthetic turf that, in its fourth year, has begun to break down enough that the top layer is pulling away from
the backing underneath. Boutin has already had to spend nearly $4,000 fixing a surface that came with an eight-year warranty."

10/08/05

Teachers’ letter to Reading Health Administrator, Jane Fiore (.pdf), correcting misrepresentations in 09/18/05 Boston Sunday Globe article (.pdf).

“Submitted by: An Overwhelming Majority (42 out of 49) of the Former Wood End Teaching Faculty and the Educational Assistant Support Staff: Personnel Who Provided Direct Services to Students in Classrooms, not in Air-Conditioned Office Area.”

Teachers and staff only initialed the original document, fearing reprisals, intimidation and bullying from some local officials and members of the Reading School Department.

Unfortunately, since the document was only initialed and not signed with full teacher's signatures, the Boston Globe has refused to print it and Superintendent Schettini, Town Manager Heckenbleikner are treating the document as though it does not exist.

See the note at the bottom of the teachers’ letter in which Fiore claims local officials advised her not to respond to the complaint from 42 teachers about hazards at the defective Wood End Elementary School.

“10/3/05 Showed copy to Peter Hechenbleikner. Advise - no response without names. 10/4/05 Spoke with Superintendent of Schools, he received letter. No name, no response.”

Is this the “Reading way"?

To ignore and marginalize the legitimate health and safety concerns of teachers? To pretend as though serious problems at Wood End don’t exist?

To bully and intimidate teachers and citizens into silence?

To NOT hold responsible the architects, contractors, and local officials who built the school??

Official Complaints to Reading Health Department regarding conditions at Wood End (and action taken, see below): Notice when officials knew about problems, what they knew, and the inconsistencies in what has been told to parents and state agencies. Look at the resistance put forth by some public officials who should be protecting Reading’s children and teachers!

It makes no sense.

What are these officials hiding and who are they really protecting?

June 9, 2005 Complaint from “ group of concerned parents.”(.pdf) - The “everything is OK” June 9 assurances from the Superintendent’s Office reference a May 19 air quality test that apparently does not exist..

Read the truth in the Garcia-Galuska-DeSousa consultant tests conducted May 12 which report extensive problems with Wood End heat and ventilation systems as well as problems with the roof.

June 13, 2005 Phillips' Letter and Complaint (.pdf) - Only after the Phillips letter did Fiore visit the Wood End School.

Superintendent Schettini visited the school June 8, however, when industrial fans were brought in to inadequately deal with the heat. Yet, the official word from Schettini's office remains: deny, deny, deny there is a problem at Wood End.

Sept. 18, 2005 Voice mail complaint from parent left Sunday morning after reading the Globe article (in which Reading officials denied that there were complaints and problems).

Sept. 19 and October 3 Fiore follow up on heat problem (.pdf) - Fiore made several attempts to reach School Superintendent 9/21, 9/23, 9/26.

School officials including Superintendent Schettin, last year’s principal at Wood End, Karen Callan, and the present principal Richard Davidson, know Wood End has serious design flaws and unhealthy conditions, yet they continue to pretend publicly that there are no problems. Why?

Why can't Reading officials take action to protect the children while openly working to find and FIX Wood End’s problems? Why can't Reading officials hold responsible those accountable for the poor design and construction and MAKE THEM PAY?

09/28/05

Boston Globe 09/25/05 - Ed Colley's View (cartoon) - Boston Globe 09/22/05 - Sight lines have some seeing red - "Fans who watched the Reading Rockets football team christen the facility with a 26-20 win over Medford Saturday were reluctant to talk about the obstructed-view seats on the record, but McFadden said a number of fans joked with him about not being able to see the whole field."

Why would fans be reluctant to speak out and talk about the seats on record? Do they fear retaliation? From school officials?

The "old" pressbox, built with a lot of hard work by volunteers (like Chuck Schena) and donations in 1996, was concrete block construction and included a storage area below. While some insist the press box did not meet American Disability Act requirements, others claim the press box was specifically designed for the simple addition of an elevator at a later time.

Meaning, the cost of an elevator would have been far less to the community than building this huge, new, view-obstructing press box.

Keep in mind that the new artificial turf fields, stadium, press box and reduced athletic facilities also do not qualify for even partial reimbursement from the State; Reading taxpayers are paying the entire bill.

The inaugural home game in Reading High's new stadium revealed the now infamous major design flaw: roughly 150 seats have views obstructed by the new press box!

This is what happens when public projects proceed in secret, behind closed doors. Had the press box plans been presented and discussed at a public meeting, someone with common sense would have identified the problem.

"There was a lot of discussion about the press box," (Vice Chairman Elaine Webb) but, apparently, that discussion never occurred at a posted public meeting.

School Committee minutes going back through 2003 fail to show any press box presentation and discussion, including those minutes from November 12, 2003 at which Design Partnership of Cambridge architect David Capaldo now claims he presented the bleacher and press box design.

See RSC Minutes from November 12, 2003.

Will Reading school officials suddenly "find" additional minutes? Will they recreate history in their feeble attempts at damage control?

Or were details about the press box illegally discussed in executive session? According to the Nov. 12 minutes, members of the school committtee along with "Jim Jordan and Scott Dunlap from Ai3" were present for executive session. What were they there to talk about? Litigation?

'''If I knew it was going to be like this, I think we would've worked for some design changes" (Pete Dahl).

If the school committee didn't know, who did? Who was in charge of the projects? The building Committee? But they disbanded years ago... or did they?

The buck stops with Dahl, Schettini and other high-level Reading school officials. They were in a position to know what was being built. And if they didn't know or weren't paying attention, they weren't doing their jobs.

It's called "incompetence."

09/26/05

Yahoo News 09/26/05, - Ex-N.Y. School Chief: I Stole Millions - "For years, ex-Roslyn schools chief Frank Tassone admitted, he stole millions of dollars in taxpayer money to finance everything from his breakfast bagel to European jaunts on the Concorde. His next big journey on the taxpayers' dime will be to prison."

"The schools in Roslyn, 20 miles from Manhattan, are among the best in the state. The district, where homes frequently sell for millions, sends 95 percent of its high school graduates to college, and SAT scores are among the nation's best."

09/14/05

Linda Phillips Apologized:

More RMHS Construction Updates:
Do you remember how Reading parents were told that there was all extra "wasted space" in RMHS hallways? School officials used the wide hallways to justify "renovating" the high school.

After spending millions of taxpayer dollars, there's still a tremendous amount of "wasted space" in the hallways of Reading's New High School. In fact, the hallways of the new high school are reportedly as big as, if not bigger than, those in the old RMHS structure.

To add insult to injury, the lighting in the new hallways is inadequate. Lights are positioned above the student lockers, not in the center of the hallways, and there is no overhead lighting. Consequently, it is difficult to see in many high student-traffic areas. Kids planning to deal drugs, do drugs or commit other crimes in the hallways will appreciate the low-lighting conditions.

The new cafeteria is too small. Cafeteria staff are already unhappy about the diminished size of (and lack of resources in) the kitchen. Students and parents will soon be outraged when they realize how many fewer students the new cafeteria can accommodate.

The new high school is a mess. Literally. There's construction debris and equipment everywhere. Demolition of the old structure has started. The ramp past the library to the 1970s Science wing has been torn down. According to sources, opening day will be the 12th, not the 6th, because the more time is needed to clean up.

The lockers in the school apparently are blue and purple. Are these Reading's new colors? Out with red and black, in with blue and purple! Observers claim the interior color scheme is reminiscent of a nursing home or hospital.

While the school itself is in danger of not being finished on time, the school's non-reimbursable, synthetic-turf athletic fields, bleachers and press box are well on their way to completion. How nice.

The non-essential athletic fields and stadium intentionally were constructed first. When the money runs out through (the inevitable) project cost overruns, will taxpayers refuse to pay for the essentials like bricks and mortar for academic buildings? Of course they won't. Reading school officials know that citizens and parents will always work to raise funds (or go for another override) to fund the basics that other more sensible communities make sure are taken care of first.

Extras before necessities, profit over the needs of children and the community; it's the Reading way!

Visitors describe the new Reading "Memorial" High School as being "stark and industrial" in appearance. Much like Wood End Elementary, there is little that is warm, comforting or inviting about the new (but not necessarily improved) high school. And why should there be? These schools were built to "maximize architect and contractor profits."

The school memorial tower will soon be destroyed, demolished and replaced by some cheap plaque or "memorial-designated area." But, really, who cares about the service of war veterans when there's big money to be made from new school construction?

08/04/05

Reading Advocate 07/28/05 - Heat too much for building (.pdf) - "Extreme heat and a faulty air conditioner forced the library to close its doors Tuesday and Wednesday, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner told the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night.

According to Hechenbleikner, the chillers on the six-year-old unit malfunctioned, raising indoor temperatures past 80 degrees.The building’s portable units were unable to combat this week’s heat and
humidity, he said, which necessitated the closing of the building."

When temperatures rose over 80 degrees in the library, "cooler heads" prevailed and Town officials closed the building.

When temperatures soared over 100+ degrees at Wood End Elementary, school officials focused their efforts on concealing the problem... and forced teachers and children to suffer in the heat.

07/07/05

Jane Fiore, Reading Health Services Administrator - Report to Principal Karen Callan: Complaint regarding elevated ambient air temperature in classrooms - A Reading official's attempt to minimize intolerable conditions and soaring temperatures at the brand new Wood End Elementary school.

Fiore's report of her Monday, June 13, 2005 visit fails to mention children sent home with heat rash. Also omitted from the report is the extended absence of Head School Nurse Dunn from Wood End during the heat wave period she was "carefully monitoring all complaints."

The report does not adequately specify exact time of each sample temperature reading. The report also does not evaluate temperatures in a fully occupied classroom. The report's highest occupancy number is 15 students (small classes at Wood End?) and that class had been moved to the cafeteria from their roasting classroom. Cafeteria temperatures are not representative of conditions in the second floor classrooms and hallways where temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. The testing of air entering the windows does not represent conditions children experienced sweltering in their seats.

Fiore's report suggests turning off computers and lights. Yet, requiring children to labor in darkened classrooms has little impact on effects of Wood End's poor ventilation design, particularly as it pertains to the second floor. Fans installed June 8, 2005 (not June 13) following complaints to the Superintendent and Principal simply (and ineffectively) moved hot air around, with no exit for the hot air as the sun beat down through skylights in the corridors.

Though the Fiore report is peppered with questionable temperature readings, the temperature in the extended second floor hallway curiously is described only as "elevated." A reading by the gymnasium area corridor does not accurately reflect temperatures on the 2nd floor classroom side under the skylights. Unknown too is the service record and accuracy of the calibrated Ratytek ST Model referenced in the report.

Desks and work areas in the narrow second floor corridor are fire hazards, as are fire doors open to the staircases at the end of the corridors. Remember the cries of override supporters: Reading children working in the hallways and corridors is educationally unsound and unsafe?

$18+ million later, Reading school children are still being taught in hallways.

Bottom line: this undated report says very little that parents and teachers can rely on. The report uses vague numbers, doublespeak, omits information and references unreliable data. Public officials have done their best to minimize and conceal serious problems at Wood End Elementary and this report does not deviate from that pattern.

Without public discussion of these problems, parents have little assurance that the unacceptable conditions of this past year will not be repeated.

Gary and Linda Phillips' reaction to Fiore's undated letter:

From: Linda Phillips
To: Peter Hechenbleikener ; Pat Schettini
Cc: Rob Spadafora ; Elaine Webb ; Carl McFadden
Sent: Friday, July 01, 2005
Subject: Board of Health Letter

"(Please forward a copy to Ms. Fiore and other School Committee Members)

We are in receipt of an undated letter to Karen Callan, Principal at Wood End School, postmarked June 28, 2005, in response to concerns we addressed, via a hand delivered letter to Reading's Board of Health on June 13th, time stamped 9:30 a.m. (not the 12:40 p.m. time claimed in Ms. Fiore's letter).  According to Mr. Michael Fenney, (State Dept. of Public Health), he had not had any conversations with Reading's Health Dept as of Tuesday afternoon, June 14 at 4:00 p.m. about the heat issues at Wood End when he assured me he would call Ms. Fiore.  We are glad to hear 17 days later, that the school was visited the same day, and that now, sky light shield/shades will be purchased to reduce glare and lower the second floor temperatures. These shades should have been part of the school's original equipment to minimize skylight heat and glare issues.

We have regularly received complaints from students and parents since last September and early June who stated that their teacher's thermometer on the second floor read 104 degrees and nothing was being done about it.  When I personally visited the school on Friday, June 3rd at 3:00 p.m., the outside temperature was 91 degrees, and the interior temperatures upstairs was so much hotter than the 91 degrees outside, that after 5 minutes of visiting with one of my daughter's former teachers, I had to leave the premises because I felt sick.  This occurred while standing in the middle of an upstairs classroom, well away from any window ventilation where Ms. Fiore's and Supt. Schettini's testing of 4 upstairs classrooms on 6/13  took place showing temperatures between 84 and 94 degrees.  When I visited on 6/3, I noticed that there already were large exhaust fans placed in the open emergency exits downstairs on high speed, but the fans did not affect the upstairs temperatures.

No doubt any administrators would complain if they were expected to work without office air conditioning on an on-going basis under such conditions. The most important thermometer, the human response of teachers and students was missing in this evaluation. These issues are consistent with the ventilation issues since the school was opened last fall. In no way does the "movement of a tissue" measure CFM (cubic feet per minute) which is the critical measure.  While this new facility was built to house the same number of students in less than one-half the space of the state's  recommendation of classroom size, when the classrooms were downsized, so was the capacity of the classroom ventilators to save money.  Apparently the ventilators do not move enough air out and take fresh air in and thus the overheating and Carbon Dioxide problems.

To no fault of our Health Department, this is yet another major school deficiency when the town was seriously shorted only to increase contractor profits at the expense of our teachers and students. Air quality and ventilation issues should be monitored on a regular basis to insure everyone that the Wood End School functions they way we all expect it should, and not wait until someone complains before addressing any issues that arise.

Sincerely, Gary and Linda Phillips"

06/15/05

Stoneham Sun 06/15/05 - Colonial Park School Heat Too Much For Kids - "'The teachers and everybody else have been told it's too expensive to turn on the air conditioning,' parent Alex Masel said. In fact, he said school officials have told him it would cost approximately $5,000 to turn on the air conditioning at the school. One parent, he said, told him she planned to keep her child out of school until conditions improve there...

'She (secretary to School Superintendent Connelly) told me there was no way they were going to turn on the air conditioning because of a lack of money in the budget,' he said. 'I asked her if hers were on and she laughed and said 'yes, but this is the first year we've had it on.' I don't think it's right for the students and the teachers to suffer and the administration can have their air conditioning on."

Administrators at Reading's Wood End Elementary also enjoy air conditioned office suites while students and teachers have been forced deal with the heat.

Temperatures at Wood End are also reportedly far higher than 86-90 degrees.

05/16/05

Boston Globe 05/12/05 - State lacking in oversight of school spending - "No state agency is assigned to pay close attention to how Massachusetts school systems spend their money, making it possible for misspending to escape unnoticed for years.

As a result, the financial mismanagement a state audit highlighted in Everett's public schools last week -- including overspending its budget by $1.2 million over four years -- may be happening elsewhere, state officials acknowledge."

'''It's not just comical, it's criminal,' said Senator Robert A. Antonioni, Democrat of Leominster, cochairman of the Joint Committee on Education. 'You're looking at a state that aside from some basic reporting requirements on school spending in certain
categories, there's really no oversight.'"

Boston Globe 05/12/05 - Everett schools blasted in State audit - "'It's a facade. It's a clandestine operation up there,' said Stephen Smith, an Everett
city councilor."

Boston Herald 05/12/05 - Reading, writing, rip-offs - "The far-reaching 85-page audit - following a Herald report on the troubled school system - reveals a school business office rife with phony bids and other procurement shenanigans, unlicensed teachers in the classroom and a district overseen by a rubber-stamp school committee."

For more information about the ongoing State investigation of the Everett Public Schools and the efforts of Everett citizens to "take back the School System," visit theeverettmirror.blogspot.com.

05/09/05

Newton Tab, 05/04/05 - Mountain: Plan, not pool, short on logic - Reading school officials' success at "maximizing architect and contractor profits" attracts attention. Public officials looking to get into the "construction business" in other communities have only been encouraged and emboldened by the ease with which school waste-master Superintendent Harry Harutunian and his special interest friends misled and exploited the Reading public.

Newton officials appear to be following in Reading's footsteps, using similar misleading tactics to trick the public into believing that only costly new construction can solve their school building maintenance problems.

Mimicking the Harutunian administration's shameful treatment of Reading Memorial High School, Newton School Committee Chairwoman Anne Larner "and her School Committee have deliberately withheld crucial maintenance funds for the (Newton North High) school. They actually want the building to look dilapidated and unworkable; an eyesore for those who venture in to see for themselves."

04/27/05

Reading Chronicle, 04/13/05 - 35 More Parking Spaces at Wood End School - More parking spaces are to be added to Wood End, to compensate for the deplorable lack of parking at the school.

There are a few problems, however...

Wood End was supposed to have 50-55 parking spaces.

In 2000, Flansburgh Architect Sid Bowen stated (under oath) that 50-55 spaces were included in the Wood End plans. Read the page in his 2000 deposition.

Bowen also explained that in an earlier design phase, half the parking spaces were on the north side and half on the south.

However, by Sept. 2000, roughly 3/4 of the 50-55 parking spaces were in the South and 1/4 in the North.

Bowen explains: "Well, Parking's changed about 16 times. It's been up and down, but it's revolved around 50 and 55 spaces for all of discussions, because that's what the school department required."

In his 2000 deposition, Bowen also explains that the school is in the aquifer protection district (the source of Reading's water supply!!!) and that "no more than 20% of the site can be subject to impervious materials, building or parking lot."

With 55 spaces, the design covered no more than 19.4 percent of the site. So what happened? Who decided to reduce the number of parking spaces and why?

Why is Reading now paying extra to Judith Nitsch Engineering to create parking that should have been (and was) part of the original project design?

04/09/05

Boston Herald 04/09/05 - 'Slush fund' gets special attention from DOE: State to probe Everett super's cash handling - "Everett city auditor Frank 'Skip' Coppola has accused school Superintendent Frederick Foresteire of using a $218,000 'slush fund' of special education money for other purposes, many unrelated to special education, including dinners at the Silver Fox restaurant for teachers, $53,000 on local newspaper ads and $24,000 for homecoming parades."

Audit: School Boss Used Kids Cash - "Foresteire, who is awaiting trial on charges of receiving stolen school air conditioners at his house, maintained the expenses were legitimate. He blasted Coppola, calling him an 'uncertified municipal auditor'' seeking revenge for being embarrassed at a recent School Committee meeting."