The decision by Stacey Scott to leave Dracut for Framingham and take $20,000 along with him inspired someone to ask me what it would cost to let Supt. Franco or one of the Asst. Supt’s walk away from their job for greener pastures. Which led me to wonder about the Greater Lowell Tech Supt.? Or Tyngsboro Supt.? I had No clue so I tried to do a little research and found the following:

The Greater Lowell Technical School is the ONLY School system to have ALL contracts online and available to the Public.

The Lowell and Dracut School Departments do not (Dracut Forum had a copy posted of Stacey Scott’s contract) nor does the City of Lowell or Town of Dracut make contracts available online for city or town government.

Tyngsboro has contracts online for the entire Town Government.

Something Lowell and Dracut should also do in this era of ‘Transparency” ! Yet there is no group or newspaper calling for this to happen. The former Move Lowell Forward requested this at the tech a few years ago but no one has asked the Lowell School Dept. or City of Lowell or Town of Dracut to make all contracts available online.

Anyway after reviewing information I could find, here are the cost associated with a Supt. or Asst. Supt. pulling a Stacey Scott and fleeing the contract they agreed to.

Greater Lowell Tech: Supt Mary Jo Santoro $160,000 Salary based on 243 work days in a year. She is required to give 6 month notice via Certified Mail to the Chairman of the School Committee’s Home Address (committee can at their discretion allow less than the 6 month notice.)

She would receive a Lump Sum payment 100% of monies for WORK PERFORMED and 100% of unused Vacation Days not to exceed 45 days. Nothing defined about sick days in the termination language.

Asst. Supt. Robert Lussier $131,000 salary based on 243 work days in a year. He is required to give 6 month notice via Certified Mail to the Superintendent / Director’s Home Address (Who can at their discretion allow less than the 6 month notice.)

He would receive a Lump Sum payment 100% of monies for WORK PERFORMED and 100% of unused Vacation Days not to exceed 45. Nothing defined about sick days in the termination language.
There is NOTHING in the contract of the Administrator’s (Director’s) that deals with any termination language or payouts.
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Lowell – No information is available online. I did find contract information for Supt. Franco and the Asst. Supt.’s from an old Post I did in June of 2011 but nothing with exact details or dealing with voluntary termination.
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Dracut – We know what Scott’s requirements are (see a former post) the thing that I noticed is the contract does not specify the number of days worked per year. So technically can he work only the same number of days as teachers? How do you figure out what his per diem rate is if you haven’t spelled out the number of days required to work?
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Tyngsboro Supt. receives $132,500 based on 260 work days a year and has the most interesting Termination clause.

21. Termination by the Superintendent Prior to Expiration

The Superintendent shall be entitled to terminate this contract prior to its expiration date, upon written notice to the Committee of one hundred fifty (150) days. Said notice shall be sent by registered mail, return receipt requested, to the residence of the Chair of the Committee. The Superintendent may request, and the Committee may consider termination on less than one hundred fifty (150) days notice.

Should the Superintendent choose to terminate this contract and leave the employment of the Tyngsborough Public Schools to work as Superintendent in another school district prior to its expiration date, he shall compensate the Committee an amount equal to fifteen percent (15%) of his annual salary within the first year of the contract; ten percent (10%) of his annual salary within the second year of the contract and ten percent (10% ) of his annual salary within the third year of the contract.

I think this is the most interesting contract and believe this is a fair clause for ANY public official who wants a contract. In Lowell the Manager gets a 3 month severance if the Council terminates his contract but there is no penalty (from what I recall because I can’t read it online) if he is the one who walks away.

Should City/Town employees under contract have a termination penalty if they choose to leave ahead of the contract expiring?

This morning on City Life Greater Lowell School Committeeman Erik Gitschier stated that he didn’t feel his fellow committee members should be able to receive the School Health Insurance. Greater Lowell Tech School Committee unlike a Lowell School Committee member doesn’t receive a stipend but can pay the same cost of a staff member and receive the health Insurance. (Lowell School Committee members can also take City Health Insurance).

Member Paul Morin is a retired teacher and would be eligible to collect it anyway. Member Steve O’Neil is a Lowell Police Officer so he receives a public paid for Insurance (like Mr. Gitschier who works in the public sector) and Mr. O’Hare is retired from Verizon and receives his insurance from them. That leaves 4 members out of 8 who pay the same as a staff member and receives the insurance.

I’ve always found it strange that a person on the public payroll such as Mr. Gitschier would criticize a fellow member for collecting a benefit that he is entitled to when he collects his salary and benefits from the public.

I grant you that members don’t work 40 hours a week but most former school committee members will tell you, you spend everyday talking with someone about the school. Gitschier proved that my relaying a conversation he had while walking down the aisle at Market Basket. Does he think people don’t speak with all others members also? Since the state of Ma. mandates that all people have insurance, why is Gitschier calling out his fellow members for taking it?

In a budget that is well over $34 Million Dollars Gitschier wants to criticize his fellow members over maybe $80,000 that they are entitled to for their service? At least 2 members that I am aware of are private business owners who also create jobs and hire people and unlike Mr. Gitschier work in the private sector and not on the public payroll.

He also seemed a bit frustrated with a couple of his fellow Lowell members and stated he doesn’t believe in the tradition that the Tech School Committee has allowing the longest serving member who hasn’t been Chair be the Chair and wants to change that. (I believe the Lowell School Committee follows that same tradition when they select the Vice Chair.)

I have been told that it is 100% certain that Dr. Stacey Scott will announce tonight that he is leaving the Dracut School Dept. at the end of this School year and has accepted the job of Supt. of Framingham Schools.

The news should come has no surprise and the Dracut School Committee will have to begin the search for a new Superintendent.

Here is the text of the Press release that the delegation will be distributing at today’s press conference. A nice job by Sen. Donoghue along with State reps. Murphy, Golden and Nangle.

PRESS RELEASE

THE LOWELL DELEGATION HOLDS PRESS CONFERENCE REGARDING SEVERAL RECENT LOWELL GRANTS

(BOSTON, MA) – Senator Eileen Donoghue and Representatives Kevin Murphy, Tom Golden, and David Nangle held a press conference today with City Manager Bernie Lynch and Police Chief Ken Lavallee to recognize several recent grants awarded to the City.

In January, the City of Lowell was awarded $500,000 from the Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs (EEA) to assist with the Concord River Greenway construction. The money will be used for the construction of a paved path along the Concord River.

Earlier this month, the City of Lowell was awarded $450,000 in Senator Charles E. Shannon Community Safety Initiative (AKA Shannon Grants). Shannon Grants are used to create regional methods to confront gang violence through multidisciplinary approaches. These funds are vital to the Lowell Police Department’s continued efforts in combating gang- related violence in our community.

Additionally, Lowell was given a MassWorks grant in November to assist in the construction of the Rivers Edge project. The City was awarded $1.5 million to create 28 housing units including 14 single-family homes and seven two-family homes. This project is identified in 2020 Vision: Planning for Growth in the Northern Middlesex Region.

GN: School Committee member Jim Leary is on the road but requested I share the following regarding his view on the Charter School Issue I posted about in yesterday’s Sunday Notes

Sorry, I am coming in late on this…If the Charters, which are public schools, take “everyone” including special educational, disruptive and just your every day average student (people like me), then there really is no reason not to want them in Lowell. Then I welcome them to our city and will get ready to work with them to educate our children.

However, they do not take the aforementioned.

Ask the superintendent how many special education students come back into Lowell schools each year because the area charters cannot meet their needs – and yet we are forced to pay the extra special educational costs.

Their costs are not always the $13,000 year we receive to educate the average child, some are much more.

Note, it is not the child’s fault they have needs and I would not want them to leave the Lowell public schools, but if a parent with a child who has special educational issues wants their child to go to a charter school, then the charter must have to pay for the extra costs if there are any.

Ask how many disruptive students come back in from the charters and the Lowell Voke each year?? This has to stop now!

Both the Charter and Vocational School are public schools and both send students back to Lowell (and even Dracut) schools each year.

Sean, I love competition too!!!! And, I agree that more choice for the students the better it is for everyone. But, let’s have real honest competition with at least the attempt at the same playing field.

I’m just asking for an honest attempt @ it.

CityLife LIVE Weekdays on Comcast Channel 8 from 6 AM until 8 AM (repeated weekday afternoons from 4-6PM) George Anthes hosts with John McDonough at the controls.

This week’s Line-Up:

Monday: State Senator Eileen Donoghue

Tuesday: Joe Mendonca and Tom O’Brien

Wednesday: Erik Gitschier, Linda Bown and Tom Wirtanen

Thursday: Chelmsford’s Evelyn Thoren, Jack Mitchell, Amy Pessier and Greg Page

Friday: John Dyer

Saturday: (repeat of Monday) State Senator Eileen Donoghue

Sunday: (repeat of Tuesday) Joe Mendonca and Tom O’Brien

The spotlight is turning toward the Lowell School Department and Lowell School Committee. Earlier this week I posted that Lowell High ranks 286 out of 392 State High Schools. Over on Left in Lowell Jack Mitchell points out that Lowell’s Drop Out rate shot up, from 4.4% to 8.1% (3384 students enrolled -273 drop-outs) and today’s Lowell Sun has a story about Supt. Franco joining with Teacher’s Union president Paul Georges in opposition to a new charter school opening in the city.

The story states ” Franco sent an email to all principals and central-office administra­tors informing them that the state Board of Education will hold a public hearing tomorrow night in Malden regarding Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester’s recommendation that four new charter schools, including one slated for Lowell, be allowed to incorporate.

“Although the recommendation of the Commissioner is not often reversed, Paul and I were thinking that we should be present to testify in opposition of the Charter project coming to Lowell,” reads Franco’s email, which goes on to advise any administrators who would like to go and testify to let her know. The email also explains how people may sign up to speak. Collegiate Charter School of Lowell wants to open in September 2013 as a 540-student facility serving grades K-5.

The school would add one grade each year, ultimately becoming a 1,200-stu­dent, K-12 school.

Lowell is against against a Charter School for several reasons, one is that the record of the Lowell Community Charter Public School which was almost closed by the State and instead settled for eliminating grades 7 and 8 which resulted in an additional 65 students being enrolled and Lowell’s middleschool class sizes jumping from 24 to 27.

Another is this particular school will be targeting ‘College” bound students and offer 75 minutes longer per day than traditional public schools. Lowell will loose top students along with the cost per pupil for each student. Based on 540 students this next year at the average per pupil cost today of $12,899 would see Lowell lose almost 7 million dollars this year and a full 1200 enrollment in the next few years it would be well over $15 million dollars along with several teaching positions.

Lowell has the largest enrollment in one High School 3,384 in the state. Over half are minority students who english is a 2nd langauge and already faces challenges from several private high schools and vocational schools in the area. They still have not yet finished upgrading the technology that they set funds aside for in this years budget. The Departments Web site has said it is under construction all year, individuals schools have their own websites NOT under the control or authority of the School Department and no contracts or even the meeting packets are posted on-line.

So far the newly elect School Committee has been out of the limelight but with these new stories along with what looks to be at best level funding for 2012/2013 or a minimal increase and the need to begin contract negotiations with the Teacher’s Union the School Committee and Administration have a long tough road ahead with many challenging issues.

I have to give the SUN some credit for presenting both sides of a story. On Wednesday the Sun noted that Councilor Elliot wondered why and how LHA could hire contractors for renovations without going out for bidding and Lyle Moran wrote a story saying More than $6 million of rehabilitation work has been completed at the Lowell Housing Authority’s North Com­mon Village since 2008 without the agency issuing contracts for the work, according to the LHA and in an editorial Headline on Thursday said
Questions mount on LHA project and included the lines ” Since 2008, the Lowell Housing Authority has done $6 million of construction work at its North Common Village properties without issuing contracts or seeking competi­tive bids on the projects. That does seem odd, doesn’t it? While the LHA’s actions may not be illegal, they certainly violate the spirit of good govern­ment regarding the expenditure of federal tax dollars.Were the best interests of taxpayers served without binding contracts in place or a competi­tive- bidding process implemented?”

Yesterday in a story by Lyle Moran they made it clear that “public housing authorities are allowed to pur­sue construction and rehabilitation work funded by both federal and state dollars without advertising for bids and issuing contracts, according to housing officials.

Instead of going out to bid, the housing authorities use in- house labor and local union workers, known as “ force account” labor, for some con­struction projects. Using in-house and union labor is seen as a cost-saving measure that can also produce better-quality work, experts told The Sun.

“Former LHA Executive Director James Milinazzo said the use of force-account labor was common during his LHA tenure. The LHA even created a program called “Step Up” that allowed residents to learn different trades while working under union workers on force account projects. Milinazzo, who served as executive director from 1992-2002, said he never received any complaints about work done by local union laborers, and he found the LHA could do more work with the same amount of money under force account.

“It was also a strong practice because the labor representatives on the board wanted to make sure their union people were put to work,” said Milinazzo, crediting former LHA Commissioner Joseph Grenham for his advocacy for force account.”

Nice to see the Sun questioning then revealing the correct facts. Now maybe Councilor Elliot who has already been informed that the Lowell City Council has NO jurisdiction over the LHA can move on a deal with a subject that he actually has some responsibility over. Pick one like finding more funding for schools, making sure the permit process at the Buddhist temple in your neighborhood is being held to the proper requirements and following the rules or working more on the fight against the Bladder Dam or even that the Library is following the porn guidelines. Leave the LHA to the people who are responsible and pay attention to YOUR OWN Responsibilities as an elected City Council member.

Dracut Selectman Cathy Richardson who is running against State Rep. Colleen Garry is holding her first fundraiser on Thursday March 8th at Lenzi’s in Dracut. Suggested donations are $20.00 and the time is 6:00 -9:00 pm.

Sen. Scott Brown drew a large crowd yesterday at M.L Shaw’s in Dracut. I was surprised NOT to see George Boag who has announced he is running for the Republican nomination against State Rep. Colleen Garry in attendance to support Sen. Brown.

Rep. Garry who served with Sen. Brown stopped by to say hello and Thank the Sen. for assisting her with an issue a constituent had and his office was working with Rep. Garry on.

Jen Myers had a nice story this week on the revival of the Sunrise Shopping Center over here in Centralville. I can vouch for the great look and variety of the new and improved Market Basket along with the great customer service at the newly opened Verizon Store. Lou Mallous is the Manager and excels in Customer Service. Stop bye and Lou will help you review your plan, offer suggestions and advise if you are do an upgrade.

The old CVS across the St. from the Shopping Center has some work beginning but I haven’t heard what might be going in there. Let me know if you know.

Did you graduate from Robinson Jr. High? Did you teach there? Work in the Cafeteria?
Share and Show your pride and be part of the Legacy Wall Project.

We want to build a tile wall that shows today’s students that we are proud we attended the Robinson Junior High and we want them to be proud of their school.A $20 donation lets you buy a tile and help this year’s 8th grade students build there own Wall of the future. We are looking to have a Reunion Night at the school to work on the tiles or we can send you the tile and you can mail it back to us.

We need 100 people to commit so PLEASE, tell your friends and family and email LegacyWall@Yahoo.com to sign up or send me a Face book Message

Anything you can do to help spread the word would be greatly appreciated.