CHESHIRE VOTERS REJECT FAT SCHOOL BUDGET; SUPT. GORDON CALLS A $1 MILLION HIKE ‘A CUT’ … PITTSFIELD VOTERS CAN ONLY LOOK ON WITH ENVY
By DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 2015) — In towns and communities throughout Berkshire County this year, voters have slapped back greedy initiatives advanced by local school departments, teachers’ unions, and their bobo politicians. Their message: “Enough is enough!” Two examples will suffice.
Last year, South County voters rejected a $55 million renovation of Monument Mountain High School. It marked the second time in a blink voters told the school pirates “no way.” The first time, the budget came in near $60 million. That, too, was slam-dunked. In another example of voters controlling the process, earlier this week fed-up and tapped-out Cheshire citizens rifled the proposed school budget back in the egged faces of the politicians and apologists.
This is what real news looks like, from Andy McKeever‘s lead in his iBerkshires account yesterday:
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This fabulous action by voters triggered several panicked actions:
(1) The smug school committee, which saw itself sitting pretty after submitting a $19.1 million budget that gave the department nearly everything it wanted, asked Supt. Kristen Gordon to “meet with her cabinet to suggest areas to cut the budget” [McKeever]. In other words, sharpen the pencils, ladies and gents, that you didn’t point well enough the first time around. If you ask THE PLANET, Gordon’s “cabinet” needs a thorough scrubbing.
The proposed budget adds $1 million to the burden of Cheshire taxpayers. Gordon thought she had the public sold, evidenced by her comments after the voters had spoken: “We went in with a budget that wasn’t level service[d]. We went in with a budget that was cut.” See?! That’s how school administrators frame a $1 million addition over the previous year. It’s not more. It’s less. It’s not a raise. It’s a “cut.”
(2) The enablers on the Cheshire School Committee called an emergency session Tuesday night. The committee has two choices: Tell Gordon to find and cut more fat or try to pass the same budget again — the same one that called for an override of Prop. 2 1/2 to pay for padding the school department. The committee has 30 days to decide. In the meantime, the town will ask the state for permission to file a 1/12 budget based on FY15 numbers.
(3) Gordon said “I don’t know where … to cut.” The school committee likewise looked at the problem as if it had been asked to check the math in Einstein’s Field Equations. Rather than curse the darkness, THE PLANET offers our services free of charge to Cheshire and its school department. Give us one day. We shall be more than glad to find the needed $350,000 reduction to avoid an override. Better yet, take away $1 million and come in level funded.
Plan Nine From Outer Space
The choice is simple: find the cuts or prove insanity by asking voters to approve the same budget they hated the first time around. If the town goes the latter route, they will “Pull a Pittsfield,” you know, drag “The Children” into the fray before frightened politicians, with wailing and gnashing of teeth. This tactic doesn’t work in the rest of the Berkshires the way it does in Podunk, because in the town meeting form of government, voters have power.
After a new budget is presented, Cheshire will have 45 days to schedule a new vote. If the electorate says “No way, Jack” a second time, the school committee could still ask for a districtwide vote, in which Adams would also participate. It’s funny how when The Suits pass something, their “yes” is a biblical “yes.” When The Little Guy voters reject an initiative, however, The Suits have Plan B, Plan C, and Plan Nine From Outer Space to try to get around the will of The People.
Goddam phony bastards.
The Fourth Should Plead the Fifth
The Dumbest and Dumberer Award for the stupidest quote goes to Edmund St. John IV of the school committee. The Fourth actually said, “With this override vote, there are consequences. We may have to cut services.” Duh.
Meanwhile in poor Podunk, voters have NO SAY. The corrupt Suits just rammed through a school department budget at the behest of Supt. JIV Bobo that will add nearly $4 million to the citizens’ burden. Total cost of the schools in Podunk: Well over $100 million.
And we won’t even get into the $121 new school, where Mary Jane and Joe Kapanski had no voice and no honest representation. Even we aren’t that monstrous.
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“It is not a time for grief, / Nor a time for tears to flow.” — William Cullen Bryant, from “An Indian Story.”
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
With about 70% of Pittsfield residents on welfare, Pittsfield politics can afford yearly tax hikes, increased spending, and hundreds of millions of dollars in debts!
Can you provide a link verifying the statistic that 70 per cent of Pittsfield residents are on welfare?
When there are no full time, living wage jobs;
When teen pregnancies double the statewide average;
When thousands of people and jobs leave;
When taxes, fees, spending, and huge debts go up;
When local politics is totally corrupt;
When local public schools are failing and overpriced;
When local home foreclosure rates are increasing;
When Jack Welch and Gerry Doyle sign a fraudulent Consent Decree;
When Jimmy Ruberto spent tens of millions of dollars on North Street;
When Dan Bianchi bets it all on a new Taconic High School;
When Pittsfield is known as the welfare capital on the Northeast;
When community pillars include Angelo Stracuzzi and Carmen Massimiano;
When state and federal candidates run unopposed for reelection;
When it is difficult to sell your home in Pittsfield;
When Pittsfield is on the path to financial insolvency and bankruptcy;
I believe it is safe to say that about 70 percent of Pittsfield residents are on welfare!
Again, do you have a source confirming your 70 per cent figure? Many citizens receive assistance, but I doubt the number is anywhere near 70 per cent. please cite your source before stating this info as fact.
FACT! –
Pittsfield qualifies for free meals for school children. The entire Pittsfield School Department consists of 55.8 percent of students from low-income households. 63 percent of the elementary students are deemed low income so the multiplier factor used in the federal program will give the city 100 percent reimbursement for all meals. The city’s percentage is now locked in for four years before the eligibility is looked at again. Source: “New Pittsfield Program Feeds Elementary Pupils For Free”, By Andy McKeever, iBerkshires Staff, May 28th, 2015.
Note: This information does not include Senior Citizens who receive welfare benefits in Pittsfield.
The income qualifications for receiving free or reduced lunch are different and much higher than those for welfare. Free and reduced lunch statistics are an unreliable indicator of the number of citizens receiving welfare.
One more reason to be positively disgusted with pittsfield politics. Gotta love the wit DV, favorite? “Supt. Jiv Bobo”
That’s what they teach at the Newhouse School, name calling. I had a professor once that professed that ‘Once you resort to namecalling, you’ve lost your argument’. Or was it somewhere else that I read that?
TM
THE PLANET never — NEVER — “resorts” to name calling. That expression applies to someone who ONLY calls names with no facts, logic, or reasoning to support it. THE PLANET always — ALWAYS — states the case, first and foremost. So, yeah, it was somewhere else that you read that.
no need to go to the ocean, they’re biting on land
Thomas More
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
THAT A GIRL SPAGIRL–MY FAVORITE IS SIMILAR –DONT SAY ANYTHING– IF YOU– DO YOU WILL CONFIRM YOU ARE A FOOL I have had a good time posting with everybody during my vacation. I WILL BE RELYING ON EVERYONE TO GET MY NEWS AS I WILL BE HEADING BACK TO LAKE ONTARIO. I HAVE A CHARTER BOAT SERVICE THERE. I WONT TELL YOU THE SIZE OF THE FISH WE CATCH THERE AS YOU WOULDNT BELIEVE ME. INSTEAD, I WILL POST PICTURES ONCE I FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO THIS ON THIS COMPUTER. PEACE EVERYONE. SINCERELY CRAIG.
Every single sitting councilor has denied you, the voting public, a vote on the new high school. It was unanimous. They all locked you out and obligated you to pay for it.
They got the nerve to run for reelection. No matter what they promise to do for you the people, its all lies. They’ve proven they don’t care what you the people want.
Vote them all out along with the bum mayor. You can’t expect to get a better council as they always turn GOB but at least get rid of THESE bastards who have betrayed you and denied you a vote.
Vote them out, sell your house and move out. When Pittsfield goes down, don’t go down with it.
Of course the BB ran an editorial the other day saying how cruel Cheshire voters are being to the children. They always frame it that way as though none of these schools districts have any responsibility for living within a budget. They don’t even know where to begin to budget since all they have ever done is take more and more money each year. This is a recipe for waste and greed. It is really pathetic. Good for Cheshire voters. If only voters here in the increasingly poverty ridden city of Pittsfield would wise up before it’s too late to save the city. Until then the voters are enabling the corruption in Pittsfield. The suits continue to take more power from the people and become even more corrupt. There is barely any money left over for anything else in the city after the schools have run off with their share.
Interesting that a financially failing business is giving advice to anyone about financial issues.
Pittsfield Politicians have Nothing to be proud of. Everyday they look themselves in the mirror, they should know the Taxpayers have been duped.
I agree Dan that the vote was taken and that should be the end of it. Yes, let’s keep having the vote over and over until we get the result we want. This sounds so corrupt it’s not funny. It sounds like what Obama is doing with his trade agreement vote. Whether you are for it or against it, the vote was taken and Obama lost. Why should the vote happen again? This is not America when this kind of dishonesty is tolerated.
Massachusetts voters voted twice saying NO to the seat belt law. Its not that wearing a seat belt is a bad idea. It is a good idea. Its just that Massachusetts voters did not want the government telling them what to do. Its now something you can be pulled over for and a punishable offense. How did that happen when the people rejected it twice?
Whenever they don’t get what they want, they bring it up again and again. They have learned that doing things without a public vote gets them what they want.
Taconic high school was a done deal since its inception. They stopped at nothing to railroad it through. Now they pat themselves on the back when what they need is a good swift kick in the butt. Out the door, out of office, and out of our lives.
With any luck, Mayor Gaetani can overturn this bad Taconic deal. A new roof, Taconic carpentry students along with voluteers can make the old Taconic better than it ever was for a fraction of the cost.
Socrates-you are right on -your phrase without a public vote is what has doomed us here in Pittsfield and all other communities in America where run away school spending has many in the community a pay check away from disaster.many people are hoping and praying for new employers to come to Pittsfield . one has to ask why new employers aren’t coming to Pittsfield and the clear answer is the present administration. you have to realize that there are many here who like things just the way they are the gob network has the schools and police and fire dept.to place their friends and relatives in plum positions with great pay and benefits and pensions. the other groups are the contractors who have lucrative contracts with the city and the rich. they love a small city and support the gob network and they can have their children get jobs with the city and and be assured of employment at the jail and court system. it is a wonderful life for all of them and of course if you go to court here and are well connected you will win every time. these are things that must be overcome and only an election with full disclosure as to what one goals are can we even remotely try to turn this deplorable situation around. finally comes our goup, wokers holding 2-3 jobs and still shut out of a decent life and relegated to working for the rich. as I have told everybody, the city of Pittsfield has never seen a candidate like me in the history of the city. I have been very poor most of my life and very well off also. I choose to rub shoulders with my many many friends on the west side white people, black people, chineese people and every other creed and race you can think of.these are the people I grew up with and many are hurting and need to be thrown a life line and that’s exactly what I plan to do when I am mayor. the city needs a mayor who is for everyone rich or poor. the first thing we need to do is stabilize the jobs are here and to convince all city residents here that the citys business is our business and we will have the final say on everrrrrrrrrrrrything that is the way it needs to be and is clearly not the way it is now. pv posters you need to talk to 15-20 people per day and ask them to talk to 10-15 per day as this is the only way we can take back this city as the gob network is quite large. still working on a question for.. write in vote re new ths. work hard folks and start talking to a lot of people this is our only chance to turn this ciry around. sincerely –craig
Yeah we little guys won round 1 here in Cheshire, but the school committee is already starting the rumor bugs here. Already its we will have to cut “services” and sports. And more town meetings so the school committee can try to bs the public some more. Ms. Gordon herself said she thought she had a slam dunk because she thought she laid out a good convincing case. She did a good job convincing many to say enough is enough. I love how when they want money “it’s for the children”, but when its time to make cuts they start to threaten to gut “sports and services” to the same children instead of looking where to cut the fat. Maybe not rehire after someone retires. Look and see what is duplicated.
Good point made by “CheshireCat”. It’s the same tactic used here. When they don’t get the money “for the children”, they hurt those very children by cutting all they enjoy. And, of course, the parents will then obediently come to the defense of the SC and teachers.
This has been going on for years…..AND IT WORKS!
Don’t forget OUR brain trust concerning the New Bus Fleet, JIV and the P Diddies reasoning was, trade them in while we still have value? Another was safety, who the heck buys these buses when traded in anyway? Would anyone want a supposedly junk Bus FleetfromPittsfield? But the kicker was the Planet’s take on it..Let’s Purchase a new Fleet when WE hadn’t Paid for the First one. Progressively speaking, of course.
The school bus deal had nothing to do with “the children”.
It had nothing to do with good economic sense.
It was a money grab….plain and simple.
Just like the airport was a money grab. Hey we need another $3.5 million over here.
Taconic High School was a huge money grab. The holy grail. The mother load.
How did Pittsfield taxpayers benefit from giving Monterosso $150,000.00 of their money?
The move to 100 North St. will result in giving Scarafoni over a half million dollars.
You paid for new carpeting in city hall. Did you get new carpeting? How is the bagler doing at solving the pothole problem in Pittsfield? How have you, the taxpayer, benefitted from giving the methadone clinic an extra $100,000.00 of your money? How do you feel about being overtaxed and the city keeping and spending your money, calling it “free cash”?
But wait…. there’s more.
Cash grabs coming
New police station
New garage
PCB cleanup at the Taconic site
New water treatment plants
Repairs to PHS and other schools
Open your wallets or lose your property.
poorboy–not a new water treatment plant. DR.WANG A ND I will incorporate changes at the Pittsfield plant that we successfully incorporated in other plants we built after we built the Pittsfield. The more plants you build the new tricks present info that you can go back to update the previous projects such as Pittsfield plants. THE updates that are needed at the sewer plant is a very interesting situation. The updates there are mandated by the govt. BIANCHI told DR Wang and I and former councilor JOE NICHOLS that COLLINGWOOD told him the updates there will cost 70-90 million dollars. Lets assume for a minute that these figures are correct. don’t you think that Bianchi should have told the citizens that they are facing this enormous of a sized project? Not a word from him. NOW lets add this to the cost of the new shool and water and sewer rates which will go through the roof. your taxes and rates will go thru the roof. Of course DR. WANG AND I CAN BRING THESE COSTS DOWN BY TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS AS WE DID AT HE WATER PLANTS. BEING A MANDATED PROJECT THE CONSULTING ENGIEERS WILL COME IN WITH THE MOST COSTLY TECHNOLOGY AS THIER FEE IS BASED ON TOTAL PROJECT COST. Can you see BIANCHI OR TYER TRYING TO DEALWITH THESE SHARKS? They will be eaten alive. they will look to COLLINGWOOD FOR ADVISE AND DOING THAT WOULD LIKE TRYING TO FIND AN ICECEL IN YOUR BACK YARD ON A 90 DEGREE DAY. With me as mayor there will be no way to pull the wool over my head and the taxpayer will have someone in their corner who knows what they are doing this sewer project could be the straw that broke the camels back. THIS is the mast important election for mayor in 40 years. IF the wrong candidate buys the election it is all over for Pittsfield. PVposters you must get everybody you know to vote and those people need to contact as many people as they can.Dan said there is only one long shot chance to correct this situation and you know it is me. talk talk talk to your friends your family and your enemys as they might feel the same way as we do about the two GOB BACKED CANDIDATES WHO ARE GOING TO TRY TO STEAL THE ELECTION WITH NO PLATFORM WHAT SO EVER . BACK TO THE JUNGLE. SINCERELY CRAIG
Excellent coverage, Dan. I was happy to read an alternative account to the awful coverage of the Eagle.
Thanks, LINDA
I have seen the m donz on arts st. Now I here some camp out under bridges by the Bus Depot and get the donz and walk around like zombies on arts st. all day and night.
DV POSTERS – It is becoming very clear that ms. Tyer is going to have many rah rah events, such as the one she staged last night and five more in august. I am not a rah rah type person and my campaign is about facts facts facts. Having turned in her nomination papeDIrs and been a candidate since APRIL 1ST WE HAVE HEARD NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE FROM HER OTHER THAN SHE THINKS BLIGHTED BUILDINGS ARE THE MAIN PROIRITY IN PITTSFIELD. SHE IS BEING COACHED B Y THE GOOD OLD BOY NETWORK. THIER POLICY IS TO SMILE AND GET YOUR PICTURE IN THE NEWSPAPERS AND SAY VERY LITTLE. AS I promised that I am not going to let the gob network bye the election I propose the following -scheduled and well advertised debates between me and MS.. TYER.No moderator just her and I DISCUSSING THE BUDGET AND WHAT OUR PLANS ARE FOR REDUCING IT. — IMMEADIATELY ON PCTV. I am sure dan would allow us to use his show as dan is very proactive about debates. The only ground rules is for each of us to ADDRES how we can bring the budget down down down and how we propose to do it. This will be our first debate and we can have one every week until the primary in sept. We all know barry clairmont reads the pv post and he can tell her that I and all pv posters are waiting for her reply. THIS is the only way to let the citizens KNOW what we stand for and what we don’t. I am awaiting your reply ms. Tyer. YOU noticed that I didn’t invite bianchi because he is afraid of me like the plague and rightFULY so because he knows I would have him filleted and wraped and sent to the freezer quicker than one could say jack rabbit. I guess I will invite thiss coward . IM sure he wont come but ill dismantle him early in other scheduled debates to be held by the press and other city organizations.IF YOU ARE GOING TORUN FOR MAYOR THE CITIZENS NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU PLAIN AND SIMPLE—SINCERELY CRAIG
What day are you having the debate Craig? It does not matter because I am pretty sure Linda is busy that day and Bianchi will only talk if he does not have to answer questions of substance.
But I do think if anyone is willing to debate you that you need a moderator. You just do.
DUSTY–I thought about this and I actually think a dialogue between us is better because with a moderator you get limited time for a topic. the time spent on each topic can be as little or as much as either of us need. if she gets caught or tongue tied, I will help her out .all I want out of the debates is to see where she stands. HELL, if she does a good job I might vote for her. I am all about electing the best candidate. sincerely—CRAIG
oMG if you actually get invited to a debate which is unlikely I hope you can behave yourself better then you you do at the city council meetings. You can just leave that attitude at the door.
Urine town–my attitude is strong type A. if you go back and watch some of the CITY council meetings, it was mazzeo who had the attitude. She couldn’t follow her own rules. I wasn’t going to stand there and take her crap. I AM ALWAYS A GENTLEMAN WHEN I AM DEALING WITH NORMAL PEOPLE BUT IF I AM DEALING WITH A BUFFON WHO IS TRYIING TO PULL THE WOOL OVER THE TAXPAYERS EYES–WATCH OUT. OH BY THE WAY, NO ONE HAS EVER SEEN ME SHOW MY TEETH BUT YOU WILL see THEM WHEN I AM CHEWING ON BIANCHI DURING THE DEBATES. THAT YOU CAN BANK ON.
Biachi said he felt cheated last debate cycle, well now is you’re chance. Odds are he’ll diss Mayor Gaetani like he did The Kapanski’s.
Tyer is a self admitted PROGRESSIVE! She will not get my vote.
She won’t get mine either. The progressives think they are wonderful, but they do nothing but destroy any city they take over.
A moderator less debate, with Mayor Gaetani. With those two? it ain’t going to happen Craig.
NOTA — I will talk for the whole hour myself. lf we use a moderator who would you suggest? TOMORROW I am going to send a press release to all media inviting these two to immediate debates.If these two don’t agree I will ask for the air and print time for myself. I need to get before the citizens any way I can. If any of you posters have any ideas, please post. I AM NOT GOING TO LET THESE GOB BACKED CANDIDATES BUY THIS ELECTION WITHOUT AN ALL OUT ASSAULT ON THEM. WE DONT OWN OUR CITY WITH THESE TYPES OF PEOPLE RUNING OUR CITY.WE HAVE TO TAKE BACKOUR CITY—CRAIG
Go Waterman or I mean Craig.
Man allegedly defecated near Pittsfield Christian Center…….
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/local/ci_28339499/man-allegedly-defecated-near-pittsfield-christian-center
Right down the street from the supposed cultural mecca that is North Street.
It’s not the first time he’s done it.
He was a mayoral candidate, I believe, just a few years ago.
A young person wrote a letter in todays Berkshire Eagle complaining about the vote in Cheshire for the schools. It doesn’t sound like a young person’s writing, however, it sounds like an adult wrote it and signed a young person’s name. No young person I know uses the word “dumbfounded”. The lengths these school people will go to in order to get money is insane. It’s probably a teacher in the district writing it or someone on the school committee. They just don’t get that it doesn’t take tons of money to get a good education and/or they are afraid of losing their large salaries.
They’re brining our ‘The Children’… Shameful. At least we now know what skunks they are in Cheshire school dept and supt thanks to this website.
My son no longer has a connection to the school districrt. Jacob is my son and he is an 18 yr old scholar athelete.
He will be going to College at Stonehill in the fall.
He wrote the letter right after he found out the vote failed.
I was very proud of his letter as it was insulting to me as a proud father that you would say an adult must have wrote this.
Have a nice day and I hope someday you will read great things that this 18 ueat old Adult has done from somewhere else in this country because we don’t retain our youth.
Response to Pat,
Regarding the young person who spoke of the “cheap” Cheshire residents, his message speaks loudly of the “Age of Entitlement”. His reference to the hand me down books in the school system and other areas that his generation abhors. Having to walk to school is so disgusting when buses should stop at every students home.
I, for one, never saw the interior of a school bus in Pittsfield even though I lived 2 miles from school. My mode of transportation was my bike on warm days. My own feet on rainy or cold winter days. On extreme cold winter days, I would wait for a city bus paid for by me. I never asked the city for a free ride or expected paid for public transportation. After visiting the “deplorable” Taconic High School, I was amazed at how many Mac computers the school has. I counted at least 10 in one room. At $1,200.00 apiece, They should demand more.
(Deplorable is Councilor Tully’s one word for describing the present Taconic).
Back to the kid who complains of the “cheap” Cheshire residents, I wonder if he ever read a book on economics. I further wonder if he ever notices the empty stores in the Berkshire Mall, the main street of Adams and North
Adams or the empty storefronts in Pittsfield. The lack of good paying jobs in Berkshire County, or for that matter, jobs period!. To call someone cheap or a town cheap when you have not paid one cent in taxes.
I could go on and on on this subject but the kid who wrote that letter needs to find work and pay taxes before he slams the residents of Cheshire. After a few years of low wages and high taxes, that kid may consider writing another letter to the residents of Cheshire thanking them for his education and other “free” services the town provided him during his school years. .
All of this makes me want to pour every cent I have into education so we can maybe avoid this level of ignorance!! Frightening!
Dumbfouned , thanks for proving what is wrong with the thinking of educators. Pouring money into districts and building swanky (121 million) new schools will not solve the problem. Other Countries spend far less with much better results. N.Y spends more than MA. and haven’t had much success. Why should someone get a automatic raise. showing up