Disqus - Latest Comments for johnbowe

Re: Vote Will Brownsberger For Senate On Tuesday

John Bowe — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 18:50:00 -0000

I got two calls this afternoon, one from head of the state teachers union machinery, one from Tolman. Both hid the Caller ID. (Reminder (ala Scott Brown's campaign): It's the people's seat, not the AFL-CIO's...)
The one from Will's campaign was a live, non-robotic call. (and valid caller ID) That hold much more cred for me.

Re: Recommended listening: education, democracy and the meaning of intelligence

John Bowe — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:12:31 -0000

One thing that stands out the past few years is the Town's (right, not just our town) "race to the minimum". Let's figure out what is required by law (for schools, council on aging, health dept, library support, ...) and go no further. For the schools in particular we've been forced into the position of only supporting what NCLB dictates, what is tested on MCAS, what will avoid sanctions (loss of state and fed funding), etc. We no longer even mention the "whole child". Having spent 6 years on Belmont's School Committee, I know this very well. It is very disheartening to hear community members (especially finance people) try to avoid supporting arts, any afterschool activities, foreign languages, advanced high school electives, a youth commission, etc., as if they are not important for Belmont or society in general.

You ask for "why" and how it relates to democracy and and the next century. Let's look back 230 years. The Massachusetts Consititution, Chapter V, Section II, "The Encouragement of Literature, etc." (http://www.mass.gov/legis/c... seems to summarize my view. It's a single (long) sentence:

Wisdom, and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this commonwealth, to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them; especially the university at Cambridge, public schools and grammar schools in the towns; to encourage private societies and public institutions, rewards and immunities, for the promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, manufactures, and a natural history of the country; to countenance and inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings; sincerity, good humor, and all social affections, and generous sentiments among the people.

Some of the key thoughts: "diffused generally among the body of the people" - to me means not concentrated in the select few; the wide list of areas, including the arts, academic endeavors, and practical (trades) - not just ivy-bound and not a narrow view of what "educated" means; "humanity and general benevolence" - good citizens. They're all still imperative today.

Re: Crazy Idea bubbles up at Town Meeting

John Bowe — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 11:31:17 -0000

On eliminating busing - in recent years, fees covered just over half of the costs. We're required (state law) to bus some - grades K-6 who live > 2 miles from school. I think the current plan for FY10 is to charge 100% for those we can charge. Killing off busing would bring a whole lot more car traffic to some schools, which I consider a serious safety issue. (Right, as it is now there too many SUV drop-offs of precious kids who live within 10-minute walk of school.)

PJ - I also like exploring that 20% reduction idea. (where were you when I was on school cmte?)

Here's an interesting thought on Belmont Hill School (similar to some church parking issues): what happens when they charge outside groups for use of their rink or other facilities? Are they still a non-profit? Is that income taxable?

Re: Who let the dogs out?

John Bowe — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:06:47 -0000

For FY07, the school committee and town meeting both approved a budget of $34.6M. The state FY07 reports show we spent $41.016M. (FY08 numbers are not yet on the state web site.) Did anyone think we were hiding something that $6.4M difference? The Town accountant reported that $4.5M from the town budget contributed to school spending. (I cannot see a motivation for under-reporting that.) This includes things like trash pickup, crossing guards, athletic field maint, snow removal, skating rink maint, portions of the town accountant's and treasure's office time, capital expenditures, and debt service for Chenery construction. (If you've sat through enough Town Meetings and Warrant Committee meetings over the years, you might recall whining about "we're providing crossing guards but it's not part of the school budget". True, but it's completely accounted for and reported - and part of per-pupil spending numbers.) Note that $34M + $4.5M does not equal $41M. We also report donations (Foundation for Belmont Education, etc.), athletic fees, building rental revenue, grants, etc.

We also pay an outside auditor to go through this (the state (Dept of Ed?) requires us to), as does the town for general government budget. I have a lot of confidence in the district-to-district comparisons.

I hear the Winchester story once or twice a year. I've now reached my quota for that for 2009.

Re: BCH: School Committee taps Entwistle for Super

John Bowe — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:21:06 -0000

Yeah, lots of criticism, and unanticipated bursts of praise, sometimes even when you'll really need it. And expect both criticism and praise for the same issue on the same day.

Re: School Budget cuts would mean layoffs and fewer, larger classes

John Bowe — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 15:26:04 -0000

Note that the Belmont School Committee has ZERO control over Minuteman. Same goes for the school committees of the member towns. Minuteman is its own regional school district with its own school committee. Belmont has one seat (I think appointed by the Selectmen). http://minuteman.org/sch_comm/ . It's rare that we hear anything from our MM rep.

When towns' School Committees bring up the issue, the response from many is "you are just envious". The message has to come from Town-wide voices and from more than just Belmont. PJ - how about you leading this?

Just to annoy you/us all more, non-member towns can send their kids to Minuteman - and they pay quite a bit less per student than member towns are forced to pay! Membership does not have its privileges.