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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."
"Reading - To the
editor:
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."
William C. Brown
Martin Road
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:"
"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 "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 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 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." 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." 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." 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." Good business practice? 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" 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." 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?" 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. 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!" 10/25/05 June 20, 2005 Reading School Committee minutes (released to public on October 5, 2005) - The official denial of a heat problem at Wood End, created for the Town's permanent record. "Mr Dunlap stated that the air quality consultant stated that the air quality is fine and not a problem at Wood End. The air temperature was 87 degrees on a particular day and not 105degrees as rumored." Not a rumor. Fact. At least 42 Wood End teachers agree. Superintendent Schettini and the Reading School Committee should be ashamed for 1.) concealing architect and contractor errors, 2.) protecting the interests of those who profited from defective building projects, 3.) allowing school officials and employees to threaten and intimidate teaching faculty and support staff who speak out about problems at Wood End and 4.) putting teachers and children at risk in unsafe school environments. Parents, YOU have the power to hold school officials accountable for their actions. When you remain silent, however, and do not question the actions of the school department, the more intolerable Reading's schools will become and the more YOUR children will suffer. March 28, 2005 Reading School Committee minutes (released to public on May 25, 2005) - School Department spin for the Town's official record regarding the October 2004 evacuation incident at newly opened Wood End Elementary. The school was evacuted and children dismissed early. Several children and teachers were taken to the hospital, overcome by fumes. Air testing conducted hours after windows and doors had been open, still showed unacceptable levels of VOC (volatile organic chemicals). May 16, 2005 Reading School Committee minutes (released to public on October 5, 2005) - A very superficial evaluation of Superintendent Patrick Schettini May 16, 2005 (Page 2) by his loyal followers. Hugs and kisses all around... 10/05/05 Massachusetts Division of Occupation Safety (DOS) - June 28, 2005 DOS letter to Reading Director of Facilities - On June 28, 2005, a complaint of excessive heat and unhealthy conditions was filed with DOS. Though response is requested within 15 days, the Reading School Department did not return the Investigation Response Form to DOS until Sept. 17, 2005. The June 28, 2005 DOS letter to Reading Director of Facilities, John Thiffault, references a comprehensive assessment conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH). This letter followed the Fall 2004 incident in which several teachers and students were sickened by conditions at Wood End School and transported by ambulance to the hospital. The DOS investigation requests an update on Reading's implementation of recommendations contained in the DPH December 2004 report. A Sept. 21, 2005 letter to Reading's Assistant Director of Facilities Donald Johnson from DOS's Robert Kenrick references the brief investigative response finally sent by Reading on Sept. 17 and states: "Relative to item 13, excess heat, you indicated that work is in progress to install roof mounted exhaust fans and also to install ceiling fans in all classrooms to address this issue. In a telephone conversation today, you indicated that the expected completion of this work is within approximately one week for the ceiling fans and within approximately one month for the exhaust fans." Almost a year ago children and teachers were overcome by fumes at the Wood End School. In June 2005, teachers and students suffered terribly from extreme heat, thanks to the school's poor design. Yet, the School Department and School Committee still publicly deny and cover up Wood End's problems. Parents and teachers can report, in confidence, hazards and unhealthy conditions at Wood End to the Division of Occupational Safety (617-969-7177). According to the Sept. 21, 2005 DOS letter and investigative response, classroom ceiling fans should have been in place by Sept. 24 and roof exhaust fans to pull the hot air out of the school should be installed by October 17. 09/28/05 Boston Globe 09/18/05 - Officials look into complaint Wood End School too hot - Since post-and-beam Wood End (designed by Flansburgh & Associates) opened in Fall 2004, School Superintendent Pat Schettini and Reading Health Administrator Jane Fiore have minimized or denied the existence of serious problems at the school. Documentation, however, reveals that school officials have been aware of problems at Wood End for at least one year. In 09/16/04 Advocate article, School Field Delayed by Town Project, school committee references complaints about temperature fluctuations and stagnant air at Wood End. Then Chairman Carl McFadden told Sam Bird, Flansburgh senior associate in charge of construction: "We're frustrated, It's a beautiful school, and then when people get in there the complaints are justified." Bird stated "airflow tests and air balancing reports, expected this week, would help them diagnose the problem and remedy the situation." And this is how September 13, 2004 School Committee minutes describe the same discussion about air quality complaints: "Mr. McFadden asked about the air circulation at Wood End. Mr. Bird from Flansburgh stated he was in the process of gathering data and analyzing it." So what happened to those reports, Mr. Bird? Over a year later, local officials are still "diagnosing" the problem or, even worse, pretending the problems don't exist. Also see a Reading Chronicle article from 09/14/04. Compare the level of information included in the local newspaper articles to the school committee's "sanitized" minutes. Why is there so little information published in the official minutes? The August 16, 2005 report by Garcia-Galuska-Desousa Consulting Engineers (.pdf), mentioned in the 09/18/05 Globe article and just released to the public, also tells a very different story than that of local officials-- one of "poor engineering and design judgments." Compare Reading officials' denials in the Globe article with what the Garcia-Galuska-Desousa report reveals. Some details include: 144 - No heat provided in stairway. 114C No supply or ventilation air provided. 102A No heat or ventilation air provided. 220 Refrigerant lines run through electric room which is not code compliant. "During an investigation of the rooftop equipment, it was noted that the roofing membrane did not appear to be adhered to the roofing structural system...this overall condition should be investigated." (Edward Galuska, P.E.) Reading's latest "jewel" was designed and constructed with a roof that leaks, an unhealthy heating and ventilation system, inadequate plumbing and not enough parking for the staff, let alone parents attending school functions. After Wood End opened, the Town poured in another $50,000 to create enough parking for the staff. What is motivating Schettini, Fiore and other officials to minimize or deny the existence of problems at Wood End? Who is going to be held accountable for this misfit school? 09/15/05 Reading Advocate MHS 09/15/05 - Barrows listed in top 100 schools (.pdf) - Informed residents may find Flansburgh Associates' business practices unethical, disgusting and worthy of investigation by State and Federal authorities but when the firm does a project and doesn't completely screw up, they deserve credit. With the Barrows project, it appears that teachers' input was actually incorporated into improving the existing structure: 1.) Flansburgh didn't gut the entire interior of the school, only some of it. Many of the original classrooms walls remain and those rooms are the same size they were before the renovation. The original Barrows kindergarten room dimensions already met current state size regulations, even though the Barrows school was designed years ago. 2.) Many of the windows in each classroom now open from the top and some open from the bottom. This gives teachers tremendous flexibility in controlling heat in their classrooms. Good job! 3). Ceiling fans were added which can now circulate the rising hot air out of the classroom through the top opening windows. Contrast this scenario with what happens at Wood End, the brand new school FAI designed from scratch. At Wood End, the two or so windows in classrooms open only from the bottom. Proposals to install ceiling fans at Wood End will only turn the classrooms into convection ovens, forcing the hot air down, roasting the children and teachers. Problems for the new Barrows structure include: 1.) The art room (formerly, the gym) is unnecessarily huge, is an heating / energy hog, has audibility issues and is empty most of the week because the school has no art teacher full-time at Barrows. The art room is much too large for the population of the school. 2.) The loading dock is in the front of the building, next to the air vents. 3.) The location of the dumpster probably is a fire hazard. At Birch Meadow Elementary, the fire department ordered a similar dumpster, considered a fire hazard, moved away from the loading dock in the front of the school. The dumpster at Barrows is right next to the school. But hey, none of Reading's schools are perfect! Compared to Wood End and the New High School, Barrows is a fine school, worthy of praise. All of Reading's schools should be more like Barrows Elementary. The Barrows renovation may have cost three times more than it was supposed to (do you remember all the extra redesigns that were done?) but at least the Barrows renovation worked and critical defects and mistakes haven't surfaced... yet. 08/25/05 Harry's Latest 10k Cash Grab - Reading residents, burdened by high taxes and expensive, unnecessary schools, know what an awful job Superintendent Harutunian did during his tenure in Reading. Well, he's still abusing the authority granted to him as a superintendent, accepting a $10,000 bonus while complaining about the budget and laying off teachers in North Andover. 08/25/05 RMHS Construction Updates - Reading Advocate 08/25/05 - Asbestos found in school building (.pdf) - Why is it such a surprise that large, unexpected amounts of asbestos exist in the RMHS structure? Why did school officials not know about this earlier? Could it be because during Superintendent Harutunian's tenure someone illegally shredded the school's federally-mandated asbestos records? Someone did Harry a big favor by getting rid of those public records and enjoyed years of preferential treatment in return for that favor. And now, thanks to her efforts, Reading taxpayers face a possible $200,000+ unexpected charge for asbestos removal. If Reading taxpayers had known how much it was really going to cost to tear down RMHS and replace it with smaller, inferior structures, would they have voted to approve those overrides? 08/06/05 Legal Notice - Town of Reading - Proposed Wood End traffic rules and regulations (.pdf). - Let's face it, with all these proposed driving restrictions, the only way children can safely get to Wood End Elementary is to fly there. There are no sidewalks. To expect young children to walk, with or without parents, along the side of Franklin Street is absurd. In the interest of safety, the Reading School Department should provide busing for all children who attend Wood End Elementary. It's the least they can do. 07/06/05 Eagle Tribune 06/27/05 - North Andover Schools Custodian forced to quit over sex report - "A former Franklin School custodian is suing Superintendent Harry K. Harutunian for $1 million, saying the superintendent pressured him into resigning after police reported him for having sex with another man. ...Police did not arrest Magalhaes, but the former custodian said Harutunian accused him of committing 'a crime of moral turpitude' and told him he was unfit to continue working as a school custodian. Magalhaes also charges that the superintendent threatened to expose his 'alleged homsexuality' and 'make your life miserable' if he refused to resign." Threats. Manipulation. Intimidation. Sounds like typical Harutunian behavior! Read more about this incident in the North Andover / Harutunian news section. 06/13/05 Hot Times at Wood End Elementary - Temperatures inside the new Wood End school soared last week, showcasing yet another aspect of the building's poor design. The absence of shades on the skylights of the 2nd floor hallway and inadequate/nonexistent ventilation created an 100+ degree sauna for 14 adjoining second-floor classrooms. At the same time, photographers visited Wood End to take pictures of the school for a Flansburgh Associates marketing extravaganza. Wood End is their first "state of the art" post-and-beam school building and they will try to use the school as a marketing ploy to generate new business. Wood End Elementary School is, however, a disaster; a building designed to win architecture contests (for its "look" and "innovative" materials) that utterly fails to address the basic needs of children and teachers. If students and teachers succeed in learning / teaching anything at Wood End Elementary, they do so in spite of the school's impractical and, at times, hazardous environment. At least one Reading resident is trying to do something about the deplorable conditions at Wood End: "Monday June 13, 2005 Director Reading Board of Health We have received several complaints indicating that temperatures last week reached as high as 104-110 degrees have been recorded in student areas on the second floor. Last week District Attorney Martha Coakley shut down the Middlesex District Courthouse when temperatures there were in the 80’s because she felt the state’s business could not be carried out effectively in those temperatures. Students with asthma, students and adults taking medications, and expectant teachers are at unnecessary risk under such conditions We sincerely hope this urgent condition is not allowed to happen again when it is absolutely unnecessary. Sincerely, Gary and Linda Phillips Cc: Supt. P. Schettini 05/17/05 Cato Institute for Policy Analysis - Corruption in the Public Schools (919 KB .pdf) - "In many districts bureaucracy is now so thick that the purveyors of corruption use it to hide the fraud they’ve perpetrated and to deflect blame if their misdeeds are discovered." "On one side of this underworld were people like some local
board members who transformed their districts into Town Meeting Members Air Schools' "Dirty Laundry." Article 4 -
Transfer of special ed circuit breaker funds to building project
accounts (approved). TM 04/28/05
- Article 4 discussion part 1, 7.83 MB Some highlights include (on article 4): Superintendent Schettini,
article 4, part 1, TM Member Dale Merill,
article 4, part 1, TM Member Diana Kaine,
article 4, part 1, TM Member George Hines,
article 4, part 2, (on article 20) SC Member Carl McFadden,
article 20, part1, TM Member Christine Derse,
article 20, part1, TM Member Dale Merril,
article 20, part 1, SC Member McFadden,
article 20, part 1, TM Member Andrew Downing,
article 20, part 1, TM Member, Precinct 5,
article 20, part 2, 04/18/05 Boston Globe 04/18/05 - State balks at $11m in school costs - Could this be the start of a State crackdown on wasteful spending under the guise of school construction? Treasurer Cahill, the waste and exploitation of local communities and taxpayers has got to end. When no one holds school superintendents, committee members and their special-interest friends accountable for their actions, the spending problems only expand to more communities. Without State oversight, school officials spread the word that it's "ok" to exploit public funds, give jobs to friends and rip off taxpayers... because they are confident that no one can stop them. No one at the Department of Education was paying attention when former Reading Superintendent Harry Harutunian and his architect friends pushed their building projects on the Town of Reading, taking full advantage of SBA's lack of oversight. Now Reading has 1.) Wood End Elementary, an industrial mix of exposed pipes and wires, wood and metal that Reading didn't need and does not even have enough parking for the school staff. 2.) A gutted Barrows Elementary school, redesigned three times (at cost), that is still under construction and that is smaller than (and, likely, inferior to) the original school and 3.) a new, smaller High School under construction to replace the existing structurally-sound building. Reading is getting artificial turf fields but not much else (and we're losing an entire HS gym that will need to be replaced!). How many other communities are spending $78+ million for less?? Will Reading's completed projects bear any resemblance to what was approved by the state and the voters? How much of the projects has been changed in secret, behind closed doors? And by who? Where is our State-required Building Commitee? Does it even matter that Reading no longer has a building committee overseeing these projects? It might matter to Treasurer Cahill (and others) when it's time for the State to reimburse the Town of Reading for the cost of this mess. Mr. Cahill, the State needs to stop and do a comprehensive investigation of what is under construction RIGHT NOW. What you've already found is likely just the tip of a very dirty iceberg. Don't wait until these projects are completed to investigate them. In the process, show all Massachusetts communities that school construction waste and corruption, past and present, will not be tolerated. Start with Reading. 04/06/05 Indoor Air Quality Study At Wood End School - Official October 26, 2004 "Roofing Solvent Incident" Report by Universal Environmental Consultants - On October 26, 2004, police and fire departments transported teachers and students to the hospital and evacuated the Wood End School. Extraordinarily high levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs), typical in new construction, were found in two areas of Wood End. Reading School Superintendent Schettini and the School Committee have yet to publicly release or discuss this report on the testing conducted 6 hours after some occupants became sick (see reference in Mass Department of Public Health Dec. 2004 report, also yet to be released or discussed by Reading officials + Iror News 03/05/05). If such high levels of dangerous volatile organic compounds still existed for testing by Universal Environmental Consultants 6 hours after the school had been evacuated and aired out, imagine how severe the levels were when the fire and police departments first arrived! Who was exposed to what and for how long?? No wonder this report has been kept under wraps... 03/29/05 The April 5th Election School Committee Race: VOTE EARLY, VOTE ABSENTEE if you have to, but VOTE! - Many Reading school parents and citizens are angry. Angry about redistricting, skyrocketing tax bills (up 29% in the last two years!) and manipulative school officials. Angry that their voices are not being heard. But are they angry enough to do something about it? People are complaining. Writing letters. Talking. But few people are willing to stick their necks out to actually change anything. Incumbent candidates Carl McFadden and Lisa Gibbs are counting on the apathy and laziness of Reading voters to defeat Linda Phillips' most recent bid for a seat on the Reading School Commitee. Voter turnout will be low and the outcome easy to control. The incumbents will quietly direct their core school supporters to the polls... ...but individuals can make a difference in this election. Promises of support from parent groups convinced Linda Phillips to run again. Growing dissatisfaction among parents and taxpayers has created a window of opportunity. If enough unhappy parents and taxpayers go to the polls on April 5th, Linda can win. Now is the time to "put your money where your mouth is" people. If you want Linda Phillips' help in the future, you need to help her get elected now. Linda will demand answers and accountability from the Reading School Department. She will respect and value the input of taxpayers and citizens. She will advocate for parents and children and work to improve curriculum. She will fight to get the schools the money they need but make sure the schools are spending that money wisely. Linda has the knowledge (and a willingness) to expose fraud, waste and corrpution. For this reason, those "feeding at the trough" in Reading continue to make a concerted effort to misrepresent and discredit her. Reading citizens should be thankful that Linda Phillips has stuck her neck out again, for all of us. She's willling to challenge the Reading School Department's political machine. What are you willing to do? Barrows at Wood End Elementary School - Indoor Air Quality Assessment Nov. 5, 2004 (.pdf 1.34 MB) - The Massachusetts Department of Public Health report on Wood End air quality has finally surfaced... four months after the tests were conducted. Read this report and cover letter and note the public officials who received copies of this document (and when). Why did the School Department "sit" on this report? Among the report's findings are high carbon dioxide levels in several rooms, indicating insufficient air circulation within the building. What is most troubling about this report, however, is not so much the high levels of carbon dioxide but what those levels mean. In new schools, there are typically high levels of gasses from the building materials (glue laminates, formaldehyde, plastics, flooring, paints, finishes etc). Most of the "off-gassing" of such substances occurs during the first few years a new / renovated school is open. The prevalence of white boards contributes another irritant; dry erase materials can be very irritating for children and adults, triggering upper respiratory and eye problems. Childrens' delicate immune systems are more vulnerable than adults' to airborne chemicals. High CO2 levels combined with poor fresh air ventilation indicate that there are also potentially high concentrations of these other contaminants in the school. The Wood End was never properly cleaned before the school opened. Accumulated layers of construction dust are visible on the exposed heating and ventilation system, wires, pipes, beams and tubes. The exposed mechanical systems design was "sold" by Flansburgh Associates as a "great learning tool" for the children but, to many, it is an unfinished, cheaply constructed, hard to maintain structure. Note that some of the air tests in the MDPH study were conducted with classroom doors open or rooms empty. Testing of rooms with doors closed and which have been occupied with a full classroom of children for an extended period (children breathing, exhaling carbon dioxide) would offer a more definitive indication of the poor air circulation and levels of harmful gasses in the school. Even at that, some classrooms, empty and with doors open, still have unacceptable levels of carbon dioxide. Inadequate ventilation is a serious problem at Wood End. The October 26 roofing solvent incident is briefly referenced in the MDPH Air Quality Assessment report. On that day, ambulances took to the hospital teachers and students sick from fumes at Wood End. Note that the photos in this report show the proximity of roofing patch work (on a brand new roof) to the air intake vent on the roof. This December 29 report is NOT the official report of the October incident. Where then is the report from "Universal Environmental Consultants," the consulting firm hired by the Reading Schools following the October 26, 2004 incident? What gasses and chemicals were the building occupants exposed to during that incident? Where are the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) sheets for those chemicals? Wood End Elementary has had serious problems since its opening in 2004. These problems have been repeatedly downplayed and concealed by the Schettini administration and others. Reading teachers and children have been school administration's guinea pigs... and this disturbing trend will continue with the renovated Barrows Elementary school project and the new high school unless parents and citizens become vigilant and intervene. 02/25/05 New Jersey Star-Ledger 02/15/05 - School-building blues and 02/13/05 - Why the big difference? - "The state agency created to help urban districts design and build schools proves to be a specialist in midproject changes and costly overruns." Sound familiar? "It just became a big grab bag and everyone said, 'We have to get our share.' And they did..." Local officials and architects know that State regulatory officials aren't paying close attention to school constuction projects. State agencies generally don't have the resources / desire to hold anyone accountable and sometimes even work "hand-in-hand" with exploitative architects and school administrators. Consequently, no one is enforcing State laws designed to protect children and citizens. Download both articles as a .pdf file. 02/17/05 Reading Advocate 02/17/05 - Frustration, dismay over process, plan - "Regardless of where our children go to school next year, we too expected more serious analysis of the questions and concerns regarding redistricting for all neighborhoods. We too felt the difficulty and frustration of having these issues brought to light during the holiday season. At the Jan. 27 School Committee meeting it was difficult to hear, let alone understand, much of what was being said and done." Reading Advocate 02/17/05 - Price one pays for not listening to reason - "A note of interest: two former members of the School Committee have gone from Reading as has the former superintendent for another town for 40,000 more per year and left us with a building that is shaped in an 'H' in his memory." The renovated Barrows will also be shaped like an "h." A short, squatty lowercase "h." Reading Advocate 02/17/05 - Final decision made with little resident input - "Open meeting laws prohibit school officials from discussing school issues as a group via e-mail, phone or outside the public forum. Yet with virtually no public discussion or exchanges, the redistricting plan, affecting hundreds of students, was a done deal. The little School Committee discussion that did occur was drawn out praise for all the hard work and consideration put into their plan and other blather. Amid patting themselves on the back, they lectured residents on how appreciative we should be and how the needs of Reading children will be best served." 02/09/05 Reading Advocate 02/09/05 - Letter: Not seeking exemption, only fairness - "In your front page article on Feb. 3 (Redistricting plan approved with few changes), your correspondent wrote that "The parents, members of the Eaton East Neighborhood Alliance, had requested that their children be exempted from the redistricting plan and be allowed to remain at Eaton." Our organization has never requested (or expected) an exemption from the redistricting process. We have, without question, sought fairness and a sharing of the redistricting burden." Reading Chronicle 02/08/05 - Letter: Eroding Trust - Reading Advocate 02/09/05 - Agreement, trust violated by School Dept. - "How's your memory? Think back to the time we were being asked to vote on the construction of a new elementary school. Do you remember the hearings hosted by the School Committee and School Administration? Do you remember being told that once the new school was built, the only new hires for that school would be the principal, a secretary, a custodian and possibly two new teachers? The plan was that the students and the teachers occupying the four elementary schools would be channeled into five schools..." "...I'm scratching my head again. I'm wondering where the money is going to come from to cover the additional staff that was not included in the 'original bill of sale' when we 'bought' the new elementary school. However, as I said at the outset, this letter is NOT about my tax bill. This letter IS about trust - eroding trust." -Betty Vanasse 02/03/05 Reading Advocate 02/03/05 - Changes will strengthen schools - These days, Reading school officials have to sing their own praises... because fewer and fewer people will. Committee members McFadden and Spadafora knew negative letters were coming and had to counteract them with their own "spin" on redistricting. Reading school officials live in an alternate reality. Out-of-control and out-of-touch with the needs of parents, children and the community, they're so busy with PR, hiding evidence, covering their tracks and protecting their own self-interests that they can't be bothered with the day-to-day issues of running a school system. Truth is, Reading now has five elementary schools to fill and 400 fewer children coming to fill them. Remember the t-shirts Harutunian had his principals model at Town Meeting? "If you build it, they will come." Well the students didn't come. And, even back then, some people knew they weren't coming... and that the whole thing was a scam to finance architects, builders and other interested individuals. Parents and taxpayers were deceived by the Harutunian administration and its supporters, who misprepresented the intent and objectives of Reading's school construction projects (and the levels of State reimbursement!). The current administration continues to perpetuate those myths. Reading Chronicle 02/03/05 - Resident responds to School Committee letter - "...a lot of people do not think this whole process went well. It was and is, rife with abuse of power, influence and perhaps, incompetence. It does not pass the 'smell' test for many Reading residents." The business of the Reading Public Schools has been conducted in secret for so long that some administrators and officials actually believe operating behind closed-doors is normal and acceptable. Mr. Shairs has a keen nose. Keep sniffing. P.S. Open meeting statues do not apply to administratively-created committees and meetings. These committees are not required to post or keep minutes. That's why the majority of parent / search / sub-committees (including the recent redistricting committee) are technically created by the Superintendent's office and not the Reading School Committee. It's all legal... and highly unethical. School Committees with nothing to hide choose to create sub-committees themselves, operate openly and don't abuse loop-holes in the Open Meeting Law. 01/27/05 Reading 01/27/05 redistricting meeting - The Reading School Committee voted to approve most of the new elementary school redistricting plan as it was presented in November. Minor changes to the plans have been reported involving homes on Rustic Lane, in the Eaton district and elsewhere. However, the changes involve only small sections and, in some cases, individual houses. Reading Advocate 01/27/05 - Letter: Redistricting plan needs to be re-vamped - "The elementary school redistricting issue is causing great consternation among elementary school parents. This is the legacy created by the current and past school committee members and former Superintendent Harutunian. It is now obvious these individuals engaged in a misinformation campaign by inflating anticipated elementary enrollment numbers to justify the new Wood End School. The 430 additional students predicted did not come (as some of us already knew). Now our current school administration is proposing redistricting with busing to compensate for a very expensive problem of their own making. Under the guise of a non-existent state mandate for dedicated art and music rooms that will be empty most of the time, the School Committee and administration have unnecessarily taken two classrooms off-line at each of the four elementary schools (total of eight). These vacant classrooms are absolutely necessary to justify the existence of the new elementary school. Why didn't the School Committee and superintendent correct parents' misconceptions that state reimbursement is not contingent on dedicated art and music rooms? There are no requirements compelling separate art and music rooms. Why does the School Committee and Mr. Dahl continue to mislead parents?" -Linda Phillips 01/20/05 Reading Advocate 01/20/05 - Letter: Schools aiming too high for this budget - "The hard facts are your tax bill has gone up 29 percent in two years. Given only $463,333 more money next year, look for increased class size, fewer crossing guards and certainly no sidewalks. A local department store slogan is spend less get more; perhaps Reading's slogan should be pay more get less. Just think of how much less you may get with another override." -William C. Brown 01/08/05 Audio from the 01/06/05 Elementary School Redistricting meeting: 01/06/05 - Part 1 (8.17 MB) and 01/06/05 - Part 2 (8.12 MB) and Linda Phillips' comments and suggestions to solve the current busing / school crisis (1.57 MB). As usual, right-click, "save target as" to download the files. If Mrs. Phillips is right about one thing, it is that Reading citizens and school officials need to think "outside the box" that Harutunian and his special interest friends created. The current way of thinking isn't working and it's hurting the Town... taxpayers.. parents.. and kids. People responsible for creating this mess are still trying to cover up what they've done. Superintendent Harutunian may be gone but his influence remains. He still has a few friends here, actively working to protect themselves and the interests of the Harutunian administration. That's why some school officials continue to support a silly redistricting plan that defies logic and common sense. That's why these school officials really haven't taken the input of parents, citizens seriously and won't make any changes to the redistricting plan until they are forced to make changes. Citizens of Reading have a choice: continue to support the status quo (and let the community slide further into ruin) or speak out and start making changes. 12/27/04 Reading Advocate, 12/23/04 - Schools took needless steps - "To the editor: Your Dec. 16 editorial that urged 'Parents need to trust the School Committee's intuition' displays a lack of historical knowledge. Those of us who opposed the new Wood End School but supported an addition at Barrows, realized a Barrows project alone would have solved school space needs. Unfortunately, the School Committee, Building Committee and their CARE, PEP and PRIDE supporters presented inaccurate information, and saner voices were ignored. The originally proposed Barrows's renovation would have minimized the need for redistricting. Remember, the two-school solution was sold to the town because it would 'eliminate the need for busing, while creating neighborhood schools.' It appears many supporters were deceived! Elementary school enrollments continue to decline from the peak year of 1997 when 2,097 students were in the four elementary schools. The flawed 1999 Flansburgh enrollment study projected 2,312 students for this year, 2,415 students for 2005-2006 and a maximum of 2,440 students in year 2007. The School Committee and administration ignored the most accurate 1997 DRA feasibility study enrollment projections (see www.iror.org) to suit their predetermined outcome for a new school. We have wasted $11.5 million on an unnecessary school. Current elementary school enrollment is 2,013, not the 2,312 students we were told were coming. Why do you think the school district is offering all-day kindergarten, and has reduced the size of the proposed Barrows renovation by approximately 5,000 sq. ft. from the original project? It is to cover up declining elementary school enrollments. Why do you think the new high school project is a reduction of over 50,000 sq. feet from our current high school? It is because enrollments will continue to decrease. Next year, the School Department's own figures (Reading Dashboard site) show that only 85 of the available 94 teaching classrooms will be needed for our elementary school children. Conspicuously missing from the official web site is the classroom enrollment distribution by school for 2004 and projected 2005; I look forward to seeing it soon. To compensate for the 300 students who have not come, the school department must bus to level enrollments throughout the district rather than have the new school sit empty. My advice to those parents who supported the wasteful Wood End School is to indeed trust the School Committee, but as President Ronald Reagan said when dealing with the Soviet Union: 'Trust but verify'. Some of us knew better, while some have to learn the hard way. Unfortunately, it is the taxpayers (did you enjoy your new tax bill?) and the children (busing and no sidewalks) who will have to pay for the School Committee's arrogance and ignorance. Dr. Robert L. Mandell Lowell St." Even as late as January, 2003, Harutunian and his cronies were still promising to eliminate the need for elementary school bussing. At the time, they needed voters to approve an additional $2.5 million (via a debt exclusion) to fund the construction of the Wood End Elementary School. See Article 6, page 25 of Reading Report on the Warrant, Special Town Meeting, January 13, 2003. Also see CARE (Community Action for Reading Education) propaganda from 1999-2000+. "A new school combined with an already approved Barrows addition and renovation will eliminate the present need for crosstown busing. Funds currently spent on busing would offset staffing costs for a new school." Where are the CARE ringleaders now? What happened to the whole "neighborhood schools" idea? Was it all just marketing and community organization strategy? 12/19/04 Breaking RMHS Construction Project News -"There will be a joint meeting of the BOS, FINCOM, and School Committee on Monday, December 20 at 7:30 at Parker Middle School Multi-Purpose Room. The purpose is to discuss the need to replace the Aberjona River culvert through the Birch Meadow site, at an estimated cost of $305,000. This is an emergency project - the existing culvert failed when a construction worker fell through a portion near the artificial field. We will have options for funding available for discussion at the meeting." Is this an "emergency" meeting? Reportedly, this meeting was posted at Town Hall on December 16th, just in time to sneak it in before Christmas. How long have Reading school officials known about this costly "emergency"? According to Flansburgh Associates' March 4, 2003 schematic design report, review of existing conditons, II-15, "the existing town of Reading's water, sanitary sewer, and storm drainage systems may need to be repaired, relocated, and / or upgraded if these mains are disturbed by the proposed development of the existing school site." Not many communities invest in a non-reimbursable artificial turf field before they complete the construction of their new high school building. Not many communities are willing to tear down a structurally-sound high school and then pay to rebuild it in a swamp. How much is this artificial turf field really going to cost Reading taxpayers? $305,000 more and counting... 12/15/04 Detroit Free Press 12/15/04 - Former Clintondale schools superintendent sentenced to 23 months in corruption case - " Raymond M. Contesti Jr., who held the post from 1983 to 2002, plead guilty in June for his role in awarding school district building contracts in exchange for kickbacks in the late 1990s. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Engstrom, who prosecuted the case, said in statement that Contesti's cooperation helped the government assure the convictions of former East Detroit Superintendent John Gardiner and former Macomb County Sheriff's Department Inspector Ronald Lupo. Prosecutors say Gardiner and Lupo took bribes from William Hudson, a contractor who embezzled money from the schools. Hudson used bribes to build a network of influence that landed him school district construction projects worth more than $50 million. Gardiner's children and stepchildren also got jobs, prosecutors said." See also: 12/13/04 Valley Patriot, December issue - Lawrence's $110 Big Dig: Waste, Overruns and Mismangment - "Nobody is holding them accountable,' he continued. 'We are going to put an end to it. There are a lot of people gouging us. The children are not on their radar screen, it is clear. This is going to stop.'” - Lawrence Superintendent of Schools Wilfredo Laboy Nothing Flansburgh Associates does is surprising anymore. The resistance they are facing from high-ranking Lawrence school officials is, however, quite surprising. In Reading, Flansburgh Associates faced very little resistance and worked hand-in-hand with Building Pride, Reading school officials and building committee members to secure lucrative construction contracts. Everybody "in the know" got what they wanted in Reading. In Reading, Flansburgh Associates was paid by the Harutunian administration to redesign the Barrows school THREE TIMES. Not once. Not for one design. But three separate times for three different designs. If citizens of Reading are lucky, the Town of Reading will only be reimbursed by the State for ONE of these designs. To boot, like the new High School, the Barrows School will end up being a smaller school after the "renovation." As usual, Reading citizens will pay more to get less. Reading has it's own "big dig" going on, involving millions of dollars, more than one school construction project and numerous special interest groups exploiting parents, children and taxpayers. Why are Reading property taxes so high (and still rising)? Why are kids going to be forced to walk to school down dangerous roads with no sidewalks? Why will some kids be bused miles away from their neighborhood schools? The sooner Reading parents realize and accept the FACT that people have been making money at the expense of children and taxpayers, the sooner everything will start to make $en$e and State officials with the authority to investigate school corruption will get involved and clean up this mess. 12/09/04 A New Parent Group in Reading - Eatoneast.org - A video produced by members of this new "Eaton East" parent organization has been seen on RCTV. To all those newly-disillusioned school parents, feeling betrayed and looking for answers, be respectful... but when that doesn't work, mimic the tactics of Building Pride. The sqeaky wheel gets the most grease! This time, though, maybe parents and community activists will do the right thing and advocate for the best interests of children and not architects, school officials and special interest groups (who exploit communities and drain taxpayer funds). Do it for the children! 11/27/04 Daily Times Chronicle 11/24/04 - Proposed Elementary Redistricting Plans - The Reading School Department unveiled their preliminary elementary school redistricting plan last Tuesday. According to the 11/24/04 Chronicle article, "there were no handouts" but the map shows the new lines for the Wood End district encompassing the northern part of Reading, with the line meandering across town from Spruce Road to Rustic Lane. Fewer changes occur in the southern part of town, with Prescott Street the new dividing line between Barrows and Eaton. Meetings will be held at the following times / locations to present the administration's recommended plans and collect "input" from parents. If you're unhappy about the prospect of driving your kids through a hideous Wood End traffic jam every morning (or telling your small children they have to walk on the sides of busy roads without sidewalks), make your voices heard at these upcoming meetings: December 8, Barrows (to be held at the Parker Middle School
Auditorium), 7 PM On January 6, 2005, a public hearing on proposed recommended changes, public input will take place. The time and location have yet to be revealed. On January 27, the school committtee will vote to approve the new elementary redistricting plans. Interestingly, there are no redistricting meetings scheduled at Wood End. Why is this? Reading school officials don't want to show off their brand new building?? Could it be because there isn't even enough parking at the new school to accomodate the school's own staff?? Reading school officials don't want the public to realize the magnitude of the Wood End school's faulty design. Officials deny and minimize the problems but it's obvious to anyone who has actually visited the school that the designers really screwed up. The sad truth is that Wood End simply lacks enough parking (and space within the school) to accomodate common, routine athletic, social and educational functions. 11/21/04 Globe Northwest 11/21/04 - Community briefing - "School Superintendent Patrick Schettini is expected to unveil his preliminary elementary school redistricting plan Tuesday. Next fall, all five of the town's elementary schools will be open to students. To ensure that students are evenly distributed among them, school officials will need to do some reshuffling. The preliminary plans are expected to be presented during a regular school committee meeting, which begins at 7:15 p.m. at Reading Memorial High School auditorium." Reading School Committee meetings usually start at 7:30 p.m. Scheduling important meetings 15 minutes early (and before holiday weekends) is a typical tactic of the Reading School Committee to discourage attendance and limit public awareness of major policy decisions. If you are concerned about the effects of redistricting on your children and your property values, attend this meeting - early. Do you want your kids to have to walk to the Wood End School via Franklin Street, where there are still NO SIDEWALKS? Do you want to deal with the horrendous lack of parking at the school? Birch Meadow Elementary and Killam are looking better and better every day... 11/15/04 Boston Herald 11/15/04 - Super under fire in Everett bid rig scandal - "As the Everett schools chief awaits trial on larceny charges, recently unsealed documents show police suspected he was even more involved in bid-rigging than previously revealed. Court records show Superintendent Frederick Foresteire had work done on his home for free by an Everett Public Schools subcontractor, who later turned informant." Similar rumors and allegations of school chief misconduct have been floating around Reading for years - but are they true?? To date, the biggest difference between Everett and Reading is that the proper law-enforcement authorities actually seem interested in investigating the activities of Superintendent Frederick Foresteire. 11/02/04 Ambulances at Wood End - Again! - Principal Karen Callan 11/02/04 letter to Parents - "A first grade student ran into one of the cement benches... the children will then begin having recess in the gym." For the second time in the last two weeks, ambulances have visited Reading's new Wood End Elementary school. The week before, gas and roof repair fumes and chemicals sent teachers and children to the hospital. This week, during recess, a first grader fell and gashed his head against a cement bench in Wood End's cement play area. Principal Karen Callan has now notified parents that recess will be held in the gym until further notice. What architects would design a play area for elementary children with a cement surface, masonry benches and jagged rocks? Oh yeah... Flansburgh Associates.
Pictures of Wood End's cement play area: wood_end_cement_playground.jpg wood_end_cement_playground2.jpg wood_end_cement_playground3.jpg 10/31/04 North Andover Citizen 10/22/04 - Kid's calculators don't add up for parents - "A small group of first and second-graders now are learning to do their math problems with a calculator, a practice that has some parents wondering where math is headed in the North Andover school system." Math skills in North Andover are headed the same place they went in Reading: down! Why does Superintendent Harutunian continue to pilot poorly rated math programs he already knows (12 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars later) didn't work in Reading? Private tutors, the Sylan Learning Center in Woburn, MA and Reading's own Kumon Math & Reading Center are thriving in the aftermath of these 'new math" programs. Why would a school system implement such a poorly rated math program that requires yearly purchases--workbooks, handouts and other consumables--and guarantees regular long-term income for the publisher? Ever wonder about the "relationships" between school administrators and publishers? Reading Advocate 10/28/04 -
Everyday math should get a failing score - "Everyday Math is not an approved
curriculum by either the state of Texas or the California State Department of
Education under the 2001 Mathematics Adoption and it does not meet the
California Key Math Standards. Further investigation showed that in 1999, the
Everyday Math program, along with numerous others, had been publicly denounced
in an open letter to the U.S. Secretary of Education. This letter is signed by
over 200 professors of mathematics from some of the most prestigious
universities in the nation. Unfortunately, The "This program, in its 12th year of implementation in the Reading schools, continues to fail our students." ---Dr. Robert Mandell is a former member of the Math and Science Advisory Committee to the Massachusetts Board of Education. For more information on the hazards of "new math" programs, visit the Reading CPR homepage. A scanned copy of the article, including the correct presentation of Dr. Mandell's table summarising "MCAS results for the years 1998-2004." 10/26/04 Wood End Elementary School Evacuated - Schettini 10/26/04 letter to Parents - "Odor coming from the roof" is blamed for children and staff members' "lightheadedness." Well, is this odor actually coming from the roof or is there really a problem with the gas / heating system? Complaints of headaches and gas fumes have been frequently expressed since Wood End's opening. There have also been numerous complaints about the air quality in the school, the lack of proper ventilation and excessive heat in the classrooms (or no heat at all). Is this supposed "roof problem" just a way to cover up more serious deficiencies at Wood End? Or is the roof problem just one more example of poor project and building management? Why are "roof repairs" being done on a brand new school in the first few months it is occupied? Barrows parents... do you want your children to be Reading's test "canaries" for both the Wood End school and, next year, the renovated Barrows project? How will you and your children benefit from a double dose of new construction hazards, school administrator mistakes, bad designs (compliments of Flansburgh & Associates), poor ventilation, heating problems and abysmal parking situations? Have the State Department of Public Health and the Department of Occupational Hygiene been contacted yet? If not, why? Call them yourself. Don't count on Reading school officials or their "hired gun" environmental specialists to tell you the truth. Do you still think school administrators, architects and contractors are looking out for your best interests? Wake up (Barrows) parents! Your children's welfare depends on you. NEW! Boston Globe 11/07/04 - Fumes Affect Students, Teacher - "Seven students and a teacher at the (new) Woold End Elementary were treated at a local hospital last Tuesday when fumes from work at the new school left them feeling dizzy." Daily Times Chronicle 10/27/04 - Chemical solvent the culprit behind complaints - "Dizzy" or the victims of badly designed building? 10/18/04 Reading Advocate 10/14/04 - Parking Banned on Sunset Rock - "Selectman Camille Anthony, upon hearing that some staff were forced to park offsite, stated 'It doesn't make sense to bui |
