School Committee member Alison Laraba’s committee is hosting a re-election Fundraiser at the Shedd Park Pavillion.

Host: Committee to Re-Elect Alison Laraba
Location: Shedd Park Pavilion
Date: Saturday, October 8, 2011
Please RSVP by Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Time: 9:00am to 12:00pm
Donation: $15.00

Under the MA. State Law it is allowable:

Please note that Section 14 applies only to public buildings, not public property such as parks, streets and other common areas. Property owned by a public entity such as the state, a city or a town may be used for fundraising to the extent allowed by the owner.

Such access, however, must be consistently available to all political candidates and committees; if one candidate may have a fundraiser at a certain public park, all other candidates must be granted use of the park under the same terms and conditions if they request it (they do not all have to be notified of its availability). On the other hand, the campaign finance law does not prevent a public entity from adopting a policy denying use of its property for any political fundraising, as long as that policy is consistently applied.

The Lowell Board of Parks which is the permit issuing authority has allowed political rally’s, candidates to take pictures for political ads, etc at Shed Park, Alumni Field and various parks but I can’t recall any candidate actually hosting a fundraiser.

I’m not sure why a candidate would pick a park to have a fundraiser in but it seems to me that it just seems like a conflict of interest for an elected official or candidate for elected office to host a fundraiser for their election at a city park.

It gives the appearance that they wanted to save a few bucks and have it at a public place instead of renting a private hall. (I do know that the permit holder pays for the permit ($25-$50) and a minimum of $100 in fees for up to a 4 hour block.)

I know different civic organizations and neighborhood groups have held fundraisers (Dancing with the “Stars”) and the tea-party hosted a rally at Shedd. Several baseball leagues throughout the city hold their end of year parties at a park but in all my years on being in this city, I don’t ever remember a candidate hosting a fundraiser for themselves at a city park. (I’m sure some veteran political people will remind me if they know of any.)

Is it no big deal? Should the Board of Park allow rallies and photo’s but NOT individual Political Fundraisers?

I just don’t think it looks proper and think while hosting a rally is okay, personal fundraising for an elected office be it school committee, congress or president should not be allowed on a city park.

@6:15PM: Lowell High School Student Advisory Committee

AGENDA – LOWELL SCHOOL COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING
DATE: Wednesday, October 5, 2011
TIME: 7:00 PM
PLACE: City Hall, Council Chamber

SALUTE TO FLAG:
ROLL CALL:

SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS:
MINUTES:
1. Regularly Scheduled Minutes of the Meeting of Wednesday, September 21, 2011

PERMISSION TO ENTER:
MEMORIALS: (Committee as a Whole)
 
1. Robert ‘Beau’ Collette, retired paraprofessional at the Butler Middle School and former cook manager at the Bartlett and the Butler Schools.
2. Stella F. (Strykowski) Diamantopoulos, mother of John Diamantopoulos Bartlett School custodian.
3. Virginia Holland, mother of Ruth Holland, Wang Middle School clerk.
4. John A. Cronin, retired Principal of the Bartlett Jr. High School.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:
1. Permission to Post:
Coordinator of PreK-4 Mathematics
Coordinator of Grades 5-12 Mathematics
Coordinator of PreK-4 English Language Arts and Literacy
Coordinator of Grades 5-12 English Language Arts and Literacy
Coordinator of Science/Social Studies PreK-12

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION:

MOTIONS:

1. [by John Leahy & James Leary]: To request the Superintendent provide the School Committee with an update regarding the Lowell High School parent/student portal. The report should contain the number of parents that are now able to view their child’s school status and how many parents are not yet able. In addition, what action steps are in place that will ensure 100% access.

2. [by John Leahy & James Leary]: Request the Superintendent provide the Lowell School Committee a timeline and action plan for the implementation of the student portal program for grades K-8.

3. [by Jackie Doherty]: Request the Superintendent report on the status of the light and sound systems in the Burgoyne Theatre of the LHS Freshman Academy. The report should include current status and recommendations on updating equipment to enable the theatre to be used as a fully functional performance venue.

SUBCOMMITTEES:

REPORTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT:
1. MCAS Status Report
2. Sports-Themed Schools/Childhood Obesity
3. Recycling Participation in our Schools
4. MSBA Green Repair Program
5. Technology Update
6. List of Eligible Teachers
7. Personnel Report

NEW BUSINESS:

CONVENTION/CONFERENCE REQUESTS:

1. Miriam Morgenstern, Lowell High School teacher, to attend a Summit for Fellows at the Cohen Center at Keene State College in Keene, New Hampshire on Friday, October 14, 2011. The cost of $100 for a substitute teacher will be funded by LHS Individual School funds.

2. Pawtucketville Memorial School staff [Kim Clements, Wendy Serrano, Tara Scola and Cheryl Ortega] to attend a training session entitled: Units of Study Across the Year in an Intermediate Writing Workshop in Seacaucus, New Jersey on Monday, October 17, 2011. The cost of $209 per person for training and $200 for substitute teachers will be funded by the Pawtucketville Memorial’s Individual School Funds.

3. Kathleen McLaughlin, teacher at the Bailey and Lincoln Schools, to attend the American Federation of Teachers Program and Policy Council meeting in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, October 20th and Friday, October 21st, 2011. All costs will be paid by the American Federation of Teachers. No substitute teacher is needed.

4. Murkland School teacher Tracy Mainville to attend the Literacy for All Conference/Reading Recovery Council of New England in Providence, Rhode Island on Monday, November 7th and Tuesday, November 8th, 2011. The cost of the conference will be funded by the 13 Grant/Lesley University. No substitute teacher is needed.

5. Mary Payne, Lowell High School staff, to attend the Marine Corps Educator Workshop on Tuesday, December 6th through Friday, December 9th, 2011 at Parris Island in South Carolina. There is no cost to the school department budget and no substitute teacher is needed.

6. The Lowell High School International Language Club [40 students], along with LHS staff William Donaghey, Philip Maia, Mary Ann Dyson and Danielle Lessard to travel to Quebec City, Canada from Friday, February 3, 2012 through Monday, February 6, 2012. There will be no cost to the School Department budget. No substitute teachers are needed.

COMMUNICATIONS:
1. INFORMATIONAL: Lowell Telecommunication [Channel 10] Broadcast of School Committee Meetings: Live on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the Month; Thursdays @ 9PM; Sundays @ 2PM; Tuesdays @ 10AM.
PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL:

PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL:
1. The members of the United Teachers of Lowell hereby request to donate sick leave days to the following teacher: Anna Collupy, Bailey School, thirty-nine [39] days.

CIVIL SERVICE:
ADJOURNMENT:

Today Consumer advocate Elizabeth Warren will make a Senate campaign announcement in Lowell at 1:00 p.m. 50 Warren Court , The Announcement will take place on the public walkway behind the UMass-Lowell Inn and Conference Center.

In addition Congresswoman Tsongas will endorse her at Today’s event, here is the announcement from the Congresswoman.

As a valued supporter I wanted you to be among the first to know that today at 1:00PM in Lowell I will formally endorse Elizabeth Warren for United States Senate.

We are fortunate to have so many great candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for Senate. I have had the privilege of getting to know many of them. Any would make fine United States Senators.

However, these are challenging times for our Commonwealth and our nation. Many are barely hanging on, struggling to make ends meet, hold a job, pay their mortgage, or feed their families. Often it feels as if the deck is stacked against working people.

Times like these demand leadership that speaks to the unique challenges working men and women face every day. Elizabeth Warren grew up in a working class family, often living paycheck to paycheck. She knows what it means to be one bad break away from losing your home.

Because of this, Elizabeth made fighting for the middle class her life’s work. She knows there are plenty of people in Washington to look out for the billion dollar corporations and their friends on Wall Street. Elizabeth thinks there should be someone in Washington looking out for you.

I watched her closely as she fiercely advocated for the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Wall Street reform, efforts that I was proud to join with her in advancing. They said it couldn’t be done. But, because she stood up to the big banks on Wall Street we passed historic protections for middle class families.

In the Senate, she will fight to level the playing field so that average people have a voice. She sees an America that invests in people, with educational opportunities that don’t require a lifetime of crushing debt, where entrepreneurs take an idea and start a business without becoming bogged down in red tape, and a place where our sense of fairness dictates that everyone pays their share in contributing to our economic recovery.

In the more than two hundred year history of our Commonwealth only four women have gone to Washington to represent Massachusetts in Congress. I am proud to be one of them. As I often say, women can’t win unless they run. Women make up a majority of our state’s population, yet it is no secret that Massachusetts has historically struggled to elect women to federal office. We’re going to change that right here, right now, by electing Elizabeth Warren as the first woman to represent Massachusetts in the United States Senate.

Over the coming months I plan on joining her as she travels to the cities and towns of my district making the case for progressive solutions to our most pressing problems. I hope you will join me in supporting Elizabeth Warren at 1:00PM today behind the UMass-Lowell Inn and Conference center at 50 Warren Court, on the public walkway overlooking the Pawtucket Canal.

Thank you, as always, for your support.

Sincerely,

Niki