INTRODUCING THE PITT$FIELD $CHOOL COMMITTEE!! (STOP US IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE BEFORE)
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20, 2016) — For those new to Pittsfield — scammers, gang-bangers, drug dealers, and other assorted types who make up the city’s growth sector — we present this pictorial on and of the Pittsfield School Committee. You should know who these people are, for they provide your children with the “free” day care called “education.” This “talented” six-pack controls nearly 75% of the city’s $150 million budget. You should know who they are, because they are spending YOUR money without giving you a say in it.
KATHY YON — Real name, Lady Boots. Living fat off the land with a $50,000 a year retirement package from taxpayers, this boony bureaucrat is singularly responsible for the city’ hopeless educational picture. What else can you call it when you keep upping the cost of failure?
- LADY BOOTS
- LADY BOOTS in action, chairing a school board meeting.
GRANDPA MUNSTER JR.
JOSH CUTLER — Real name, Grandpa Munster Jr. Young Josh said he would be different if he got elected. Right, and after the cow jumped over the moon, the little dog laughed to see such a sight, and the dish ran away with the $poon.
This kid is a climber and his type of ambition has only one path to success in Pittsfield: Kiss up to The Suits, do their bidding without question, and show lap-dog loyalty to the Special Interests. Taxpayers? Grandpa never heard of them. Oh, he’ll say he has, but then again, the kid wants soooo badly to be taken seriously, lose his high chair, and get a place at the Grownups’ Table.
DAN ELIAS— Real name, Dan Elias. THE PLANET won’t digress further. Elias gets kid-glove here because, full disclosure, we are friends with his brother Tommy. That’s known as integrity.
PAM FARREN — Real name, Venus Hum. When she comes out in her neon dress, the flashing rainbow lights going up and down and the taxpayers gasp. Full-throated, with JIV‘s Blue Men Group, she breaks out with “I Feel Love.”
CYNTHIA TAYLOR — Real name, Bob’nWeave. She fakes left, tricky dribbles right. You can’t pin her down as she drives to the hoop. Cost: Pricele$$.
TONY RIELLO — Real name, Cop Out. No ones knows for sure how many pensions the C.O. pulls down, or perhaps it’s all combined into one gigantic lump. Rumor has it that C.O. gets his $4,000 stipend for school committee work in ones, which he feeds into his fireplace to keep him warm. Wintertime, and the living’ is easy.
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“You mean I get all that dough for not doin’ nuttin’?” — Marlon Brando as Terry Malloy, On The Waterfront, (1954).
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
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AND NOW, SOME BONUS PICTURES FOR YOUR EDIFICATION!
COP OUT
VENUS HUM, so proud of her latest vote for more money to the PSD!
VENUS HUM
BOB’nWEAVE
PILLSBURY DOUGH BOY
Pittsfield politics has one of the worst performing public school systems in the state and nation. Over 650 students per year choice out of Pittsfield’s public schools to neighboring school districts. All K – 6 Pittsfield public school students receive free lunches because about 70% of Pittsfield’s local residents live in poverty and receive welfare benefits and social services. When I studied public administration, I read that the 2 main factors of residential growth in a community are safe streets and good public schools for children to attend. Well, Pittsfield has violent crime, deadly shootings, mass shootings, and murders on its dangerous streets, along with poorly performing public schools. No rational middle class family would choose to move to Pittsfield given these sad realities. I would not want my children to attend Pittsfield’s public schools with the mentality of the underclass who doesn’t really want to learn and achieve academic success. I would be setting them up for a lifetime of welfare, social services, and being part of Pittsfield growing underclass. When I studied public administration, I found out that governmental budgets are based on economic formulas. The more poverty, welfare caseloads, social services agencies, free school lunches, and other special needs, the more money school districts like Pittsfield receive from the federal and state government for its budget. That means Pittsfield profits off of the growing underclass!
I can assure you, that although the school administration is allegedly inept, that there is not a single person involved that is trying to limit system improvement in order to bring more funds in.
But it is the way the bureaucratic system works! Pittsfield politics enters “human” numbers into the school system budget and then receives funding from the federal and state administered departments of education. The more poverty, the more federal and state administered funding for Pittsfield’s public schools.
There are many post industrial and rural communities throughout the nation that receive federal and state administered funds due to their welfare caseloads. They have come to depend on the government to run their public schools and other bureaucracies.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_correlation
I guess my OPINIONS expressed on Dan Valenti are all “Illusory correlations”. My OPINIONS are not pseudo-intellectualism. Rather, they are my OPINIONS! I have a right to express my OPINIONS just like everyone else!
You do have a right to express illusory correlations and other fantastic conjecture laced baloney. Just like I can disagree.
It won’t be pseudo-intellectualism when Pittsfield politics raises taxes again next fiscal year that begins on July 1st!
It won’t be “Illusory correlations” when Pittsfield politics starts financing the new Taconic High School later this year!
It won’t be “fantastic conjecture laced with baloney” when Pittsfield politics loses over 500 jobs after Sabic Plastics moves out of Pittsfield!
It will all be REAL!
300 less than 500. Your math, thanks to your miserable Pittsfield education, does not compute. If Pittsfield was not saddled with so many veterans falsely claiming mental illness and blaming others for their inability to get a job, then there wouldn’t be so many crime and poverty problems in town. The correlation between veterans claiming mental illness and getting handouts from the taxpayers is high, so they are clearly faking it to get improper benefits. That is my example of illusory correlation, that I’m willing to guess you agree with.
Soon my retired neighbors will be stuck with a 150,000,000 dollar high school,and I believe it will be.built so could we at least move it downtown so that it can play a part in urban renewal. Build it across the street from the old bcc.
Take every house from Fenn street all the way to Lincoln street,or what we know as the hood.all the way to east street. It would be part of peda and then build a.new police station at the old second Street jail property in the hood and now we keep 2000 people and staff downtown, and it will.pull together Tyler street ,at least you add another dimension to this 150 million dollar project. ..please please please have a 5 year plan….ask local artist to design a new downtown high school with football baseball track……Valentine road is terrible the high school will overlook silver Lake and peda……5 year plan, stop taconic
Hey Change how about for a “change” you stop complaining of the new Taconic. We get that your against it, about 50 responses ago! Give it a rest!
There is a parasitic component to the whole boondoggle. The good old boys sprinkle crumbs along a trail and beckon young opportunists to join in the immoral grab for goodies. So sad for the children who suffer and have no say in their own fate. Much shame to go around.
DUSTY
Excellent observation. I love your phrase “parasitic component” in your great first sentence.
In 2005 the question of who will go to bat for the children of Allendale school and in 2016 the question has been answered. …no one will ever do anything and your only choice is Mrs yon….please close this toxic dump ….Mrs yon please try and use information to arrive at the answer, you expect this of 3rd graders so please set an example ….denial is not a river it is the school chairperson
If you want to know more contact one of us at http://housatonic-river.com We have been fighting Hill 78 for years
I don’t see much hope for Hill or the Rest of the River DEP is now GE’s lapdog courtesy of their moving to Boston.
Remember, GE faces large environmental issues in Fitchburg and Lynn too – so moving to Boston was an insurance policy, guaranteed to save them billions.
You are right, SE. There isn’t much hope. THE PLANET will run a column soon that explains why.
yes,for a long time
LOL…Dan, ya gave us half an article today; started off strong but seemed to run out of gas. Or you seemed maybe to lose your enthusiasm for the topic. Whatever it is, everyone is entitled to a clunker occasionally, even in the Dreaded Private Sector. Just try not to go all “public employee” on us and start mailing it in every day! Or to quote the motto of the PSD, as carefully crafted by the above School Committee over several lengthy “visioning” meetings and with the intensive help and guidance of an entire team of expensive consultants: Strive, for mediocrity!
No argument there, MR G. After we got done dealing with LADY BOOTS and GRANDPA MUNSTER JR., our eyes began to glaze over, followed by headaches, confusion, drowsiness, vomiting, cramping, hair loss, stomach pains, and convulsions. We realized that we had to get out of there fast. Fortunately, we did, and thus go on to mud-rake another day.
There is nothing like a good public shaming except I don’t think these people feel any shame for their actions….that’s the problem.
It’s too bad you couldn’t get the two losing candidates (Frieri/Moiseff) for the school committeeelection to comment/interview with you either here or on your show. It would be nice to get their actual perspective on the situations where the answers aren’t canned and people are actually paying attention. Let them speak there piece without the worry of a vote.
autocorrect is just mind boggling. It’s no wonder kids are on the brink of illiteracy.
“On the Brink of Illiteracy” = I think I might write this up as a TV show, a daily soap opera. It stars Ruben Espinosa,D’qua’n Jackson, and Tyler AirBaggio, three “typical” PHS students. They can’t read or write, they don’t go to class, but they end up making the honor roll every year.
So true, I’d watch.
That’s a real good idea Lone.
The School Committee can make all the demands it wants, but ultimately its up to the mayor and the councilors to put on the brakes. They are the ones who should be looking at the big picture of what is best for the city. The School Committee is unfortunately only thinking of what in their opinion is best for the schools. They will take all they can get which is what they have been doing without anybody saying, “Hey wait a minute, this is ridiculous.”
Pittsfield needs a Lone Wolf. One who is not afraid to say we need to do things different. One with a vision, with eyes wide open….to stand up…to chart a course and say we need to make changes for the good of our Children. The budget needs an overhaul, monies directed into the school programs. Top heavy administration cut… I don’t care if it’s to the bone. Re structure, and make people do more at the top. Like the rest of the real world.
Trump for mayor. Stop this political correctness and pandering to the special interest groups like children and women and minorities.
Yeah, how about helping the struggling middle class regardless of their race or gender. Wouldn’t that be different?
There is no middle class in The Berkshires, or anywhere else, there are the working poor and the haves.
Good to see you back twin. You didn’t come to the table once yesterday. I was worried, thought you were sick or worse than that losing interest.
Bedraggled Pittsfield taxpayers have a series of firewalls. The school committee is supposed to reign in the PSD. The mayor is supposed to reign in the school committee by virtue of her ex-officio membership and, more importantly, her control of the FY17 budget. The council is supposed to watch-dog the mayor (allowing for the creative verb!). Taxpayers are supposed to guard their own interests as the OWNERS OF GOVERNMENT. Here’s the problem. The first three firewalls are made of rice paper. The final one, taxpayers oversight, has succumbed to apathy and ignorance.
it would be nice if they reigned in the PSD to at least maintain performance metrics instead of falling behind in spite of asking for more money and higher salaries.
Planet now has 2 great topix that require an answer
Stop taconic and put it on hold and close allendale.school.we elected a mayor to change pittsfield…..then go after all the heroin,oxygen Mafia in town.barry can afford higher taxes,so can mayor tyer,and Mrs yon. ….80 percent of pittsfield can not and.I know after talking to the mayor she support a 5 year plan.if pittsfield looks just like this …move
All school committee meeting s should be held at Allendale school, what do you say planet could you get on board for that.
Yes. Allendale school, outdoors in winter and any time it rains; indoors whenever the temperature gets to 90 or above. Windows must be closed, with no A/C of fans.
apparently more than 50% of the windows in PHS don’t close. So they dodged a bullet on that one; along with any other lead that flies past coming from the skatepark
The days of only a certain few on boards and commissions making decisions,have seen it’s time when it comes to major decisions that effect the entire community.
closing Allendale seems very doable. The school has about 325 kids over 6 grades. I would imagine the school could be re-districted into Morningside, Williams, or Egremont now that a new bridge will open over the RR tracks through PEDA.
To add 100 or so kids over 6 grades to there schools does NOT seem impossible. the downside? the 100 kids re-districted to Morningside do what any sane parent would do – choice out of the district altogether.
Agree, Southeast. Hmmmm. Perhaps it is time to get an organized, citizen-driven effort to shut down the school, given that there seems to be no official urgency to the saner alternative: Get rid of Hill 78.
Hill 78 is no threat to Allendale School. It’s well capped. I’m more worried about it contaminating the ground water because there is no lining under it and many toxins were dumped there back in the day before they decided to pile the river sediment on top.
Ymca gets free custodial services in the school and they make 4500 hundred a week at each school or about 160000 at at each school that has the program per year or 500,000 bucks to the Ymca on taxpayers dime
There is a problem in the school with outside program using taxpayers buildings for Ymca huge profits….school dept health grant needs an audit…they have bought a hoopla hoop for every man woman and child inpittsfield….
Crosby school had 27 staff out today,Mrs yon and Dan ellias willlllll thank them for their hard work like I said if you get administrators to go to work at crosby you then need to get him and her out of the office to help teachers, someone said if they come out of their office and see their shadow there’s only 6 more week’s of winter……he is very busy counting stock at his school store
All this goes on as Allendale students learn in a toxic dump. ..point being school committee just does not know what is going on….every mayor has passed the buck on Allendale and I don’t think linda tyer will …stop taconic ….devote curtis to Allendale school,school air filters should be changed every 30 days and Allendale should be done every Saturday
Eberwien is gone, masimiano is gone …it’s hard work….goodnight planet
As predicted – come on down Guyer and pick up your political hack job with the City of Pittsfield…up next Kerwood & Durwin…and maybe Barrett, but I’m not predicting that one….
what did he get? kerwood has it easy in Richmond, they will take him out of there feet first.