Maple Road Project

Here is an update on the Maple Road water/sewer and gas pipeline reconstruction project…

According to Mike Wrabel, Longmeadow DPW Director, Bay State Gas began the installation of a new gas main last week with expected completion by the end of October, weather permitting. The sewer work was relatively deep and it is anticipated that some differential settling may occur over the winter and through the spring freeze/thaw cycles. For this reason the road will only be patched this fall and final paving of this section of Maple Road will be delayed until late spring.

If there is something happening in Longmeadow that you would like to some additional information, send your inquiry to LongmeadowBuzz@comcast.net.

Now is the right time!

At the September 16 town forum seven different options ranging from "do nothing" to building a completely new school on a different site were presented by the project architect for review and comments by town residents. The Longmeadow School Building Committee met again on September 30 during which cost estimates for three of the seven alternatives were presented. After public comments and committee discussion, the SBC voted 14 to 1 to choose option 2B at an initial estimated cost of $80.5 million and a first year estimated property increase of ~ $1/$1000 (mil rate) of assessed value or ~$372 for an average home assessed at $370,000.

[click image to enlarge]

One town resident voiced his concern at the recent public forum that “now is not the right time” because of uncertainties in the economy including job losses, state level cut backs in funding, etc. Recent news shows that the state of Massachusetts continues to be plaqued by large drops in revenue which may result in future cutbacks of local aid to cities and towns.

The proposed high school building project should be examined in a different light rather than as a simple property tax increase.

A vast majority of our recent local property tax increases have been caused by increased operating costs rather than capital building costs. The estimated increase in taxes of $372/ year for a typical $370,000 home for the new high school building project should be looked at as a mortgage payment for the typical homeowner since the new high school becomes a valued assess of the town and its residents.

Using an interest rate of 4.5% and 25 years as the duration, a simple mortgage calculation reveals a principal amount of $5400. Given that Longmeadow’s reputation for excellence in education is one of the primary factors for our higher home prices vs. surrounding towns, a new high school would certainly add at least $5400 to the sales price of the median home. In these terms, building a new high school is equivalent to a minor bathroom home remodeling project and the investment should certainly be worthwhile since it will add to the long term value of the typical home.

The next steps for this project include a presentation to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) in mid November. If Longmeadow’s high school project is approved by the MSBA, there will be months of intensive efforts to finalize the project’s details and costs before final presentation and approval by the MSBA next spring. Longmeadow will then have 120 days to approve the project (Proposition 2½ debt exclusion override) which will include a required 2/3 vote at the Annual Town Meeting in April and a majority YES vote at Annual Town Elections in June.

If the town of Longmeadow votes no on this project, we will return to the end of very long line with another 160 Massachusetts school projects awaiting consideration. The cost of continuing to "fix" our high school will continue to escalate with corresponding increased operating costs and property tax increases (and/ or reduction in town/ school services).

There is a need to do something about our deteriorating high school. Please support this important project.

NOW IS THE RIGHT TIME!

For additional information (including web videos of the recent public forums) and to stay informed on this important project. visit the SBC’s website.

Say "NO" to Special Warrant Article

The Special Town Meeting Warrant article that would limit the ability of our firefighters to determine their own working conditions is bad management, ill conceived policy and inappropriate for a town meeting vote. The article reads: "No employee of the Town shall be regularly scheduled to work for the Town more than 14 continuous hours in any midnight to midnight 24 hour period."

There will be a public forum on October 7th at 7:00pm to discuss the proposed charter amendment. The Special Town Meeting to pass the article is scheduled for October 27th.

Working conditions, including shifts and hours, are part of the collective bargaining process and involve administrative and professional technical issues that the general public is ill equip to judge appropriately. The proposed article not only interferes with the administration of the fire service, it would also apply to all town employees regardless of department, position, or activity, making it a prime example of a “one size fits all” policy that will certainly set a bad precedent and very likely produce serious unintended consequences. Our town employs a wide variety of professionals, who operate with distinct professional standards and methods. One size will not fit all.

Why has this article been proposed? Twenty-four hour shifts are common in our area and around the country. There is no evidence that such shifts lead to reductions in public safety, fire service efficiency or effectiveness. Nor have such shifts increased public safety expenditures to communities. Indeed, cost savings have been achieved.

Concerns over sleep-deprived fire fighters on 24-hour shifts are unwarranted. In fact, 24-hour shifts reduce the likelihood of tired firefighters. Presently, most fire fighters need a second job and are more likely to go directly from their 2nd job to their fire department 10-14 hour shift. Twenty-four hour shifts allow for more reasonable scheduling of 2nd jobs and increased on-duty rest opportunities for fire fighters. By accommodating the difficult schedules of our fire fighters, we help maintain high morale and signal our respect for their time, sacrifice, and professionalism. Allowing the general public to dictate working conditions sends these dedicated public service professionals a very different message, especially if it makes it harder for them to make ends meet.

A final criticism without foundation is the concern over changes to personnel operations such as the administration of sick leave and vacation time. Since several local communities have these shifts, we simply need to ask our neighbors if there have been any problems related to personnel administration. According to a member of the Chicopee Fire Department with whom I spoke, there are no such problems. In fact, the 24-hour shifts have saved Chicopee money in emergency overtime, which is required every time a call overlaps with a shift change, something far less frequent when there is only one shift change per day.

This proposed charter amendment is an insult to our hard working public safety professionals who deserve our support and have surely earned our respect. I encourage my fellow Longmeadow residents to vote against this ill-conceived and unwarranted interference with the administration of the Fire Department, as well as the rest of our town’s agencies. It is bad management, bad policy, and bad politics.

Jerold J. Duquette

Decision Making Time

The Longmeadow School Building Committee will be meeting on Wednesday, September 30 (6 PM, LHS cafeteria) to decide which school building option to move forward for approval by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). This is an important decision because it sets the path forward ending with a town meeting vote in April 2010 and a town election vote in June 2010.

At the last public forum on September 16 seven different options ranging from renovation to all new construction were presented to a group of ~ 150 town residents.

[click graphic to enlarge]

The presentation revealed that there has been a great amount of effort thoughtfully expended with a number of interesting options identified. The one that seemed to be the frontrunner in the discussion was called Option 2B. This option involved renovation of the 1971 section of the building (to preserve the pool and building wing in best condition), demolition of the remaining sections and the building a new addition of 190,000 sq ft for classroom and primary core spaces (see figure below).

[click graphic to enlarge]

Other than qualitative commentary, one important piece of information was missing from all of the options presented was cost. From what was presented, it appears likely that option 2B may be the most expensive choice since it will involve construction of 190,000 sq ft of new facility that is not considered “model school”. Options 3A and 3B will likely not be far behind. If the new Wilbraham-Hampden Regional HS cost is any indication, we should expect a pricetag of option 2B to be in the neighborhood of $70-80 million. It would have been of considerable value to have an estimated cost for each of the 6 options presented at this public forum. For a copy of the full presentation or to view the forum video, visit the SBC website.

At the SBC meeting on September 30 cost information for the six options will become available and used to make the final choice. According to Bob Barkett, co-chair this information will be presented at the beginning of the meeting.

Longmeadow is getting a chance to do something about its deteriorating high school facility and have the state of Massachusetts provide a large amount of the required funding. The SBC needs to make the choice that has the best probability of being accepted by the residents of Longmeadow. Because the state has ~ 160 other school building projects in the pipeline, it will be a long time before we will get another chance.

I wish the SBC much wisdom and good judgement with the decision that they make on Wednesday night.

Longmeadow Fire Department- 24 hour shifts

There were indications at this week’s Select Board meeting that contract negotiations between the Town of Longmeadow and the Firefighters Union are not going very well. During the comments period at the beginning of the meeting, Robert Taylor, president of the local firefighters union read a strongly worded message charging the Town Manager and the Select Board of not acting in good faith during the ongoing collective bargaining process. In support of these comments, there were at least six firefighters and a few members of the Longmeadow Police Dept in attendance.

For those of us who were unaware of some of the issues currently being discussed (collective bargaining meetings are not open to the public), the harsh comments were completely unexpected.

While I am not privy to any confidential collective bargaining information, here is some background information leading up to this public criticism….

• The Longmeadow firefighters are interested in changing their normal hours of employment from 8 hour shifts to 24 hour shifts. Rather than work 8 hour shifts, they are lobbying to consider working 2- 24 hour shifts/ week. The firefighters union will argue that they are entitled to choose their own shift schedule. According to the International Association of Fire Fighters website (http://www.iaff.org/) one possible shift rotation is as follows: (24 hours on/ 48-72 hours off/ 24 hours on).
  
  Correction: According to the recent comments, the Longmeadow Fire Department works two consecutive 10 hour day shifts followed by 2 consecutive 14 hour night shifts. They do not work "8 hour shifts" and the normal work schedule is 48 hours/week.
  
• The Select Board just announced the following public hearing:
  
  There will be a public forum on October 7 at 7 PM at the Glenbrook Middle School auditorium, regarding a Special Town Meeting Warrant Article. At this forum the Select Board will be seeking public input on the question of public employees working scheduled shifts of greater than 14 hours per day. All employees of the Town of Longmeadow would fall under the auspices of this proposal: DPW Employees, Park Department Employees, Firefighters, EMT/Ambulance Service, Clerical Employees, Police and Teachers.
  
  The proposed STM warrant article reads as follows:
  
  Article ___: To see if the Town will vote to insert the following new provision in the Town Charter:
  
  Section 7-10: Limitation of Hours of Work
  
  No employee of the Town shall be regularly scheduled to work for the Town more than 14 continuous hours in any midnight to midnight 24 hour period.
  
  
• There have been arbitration rulings upholding the right of firefighters to select their own shift schedule. It would appear that the Select Board is trying to block the ability of the firefighters union to change to the 24 hour shift schedule by changing the town charter. It is interesting to note that the town charter can be changed with a simple 2/3 vote at the upcoming fall special town meeting.

Why should the Select Board oppose the 24 hour shift change?

1. Would you want to have a medical emergency and have the paramedic(s) who responds be in the 23rd hour of a 24 hour shift?
   
2. There are also concerns about the personal safety and health of our firefighters. Medical studies have shown that sleep deprivation can have significant adverse effects on physical health and well-being. In addition, there are job performance issues as well including poorer judgement and reaction times.
   
3. In many cases the reasons for this shift change is a desire to work a second full time job for increased income. It is possible that the responding firefighter or paramedic will have worked many more hours in a week than the current shift schedule allows.
   
4. How do you cover sick leave/ vacation time? Are additional personnel or reduced staffing likely to be needed? What is the impact on the fire department budget

The above are only a couple of reasons why the Select Board should consider a change in the Town Charter to block this change to a 24 hour shift schedule.

For additional information and commentary read The Slow Death of the 24-Hour Tour that was posted on Mu+ual Aid- a fire chief blog.

I would encourage everyone to consider attending the Public Forum on October 7 to provide feedback to the Select Board and to attend the Special Town Meeting on October 27 to pass the warrant article changing the town charter.

Longmeadow School Building Project Continues to Move Forward...

The Longmeadow School Building Committee (SBC) has been working hard developing a plan to renovate or build a new high school. A number of factors, taken together, will determine whether the SBC selects an addition/ renovation or a completely new school as the long term building solution.

The current project timetable shows a presentation to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) (November 2009), final MSBA project approval (March 2010), a debt exclusion vote at the annual town meeting (April 2010) and if successful, a followup vote at town elections (June 2010). Longmeadow will get only one chance through this process so it's important to get it right the first time.

A first public forum to discuss the status of this work was held on August 18. A web video of this event and the accompanying slide presentations are available on the SBC website.

Most recently, the SBC posted a series of FAQs on its website that should be of interest to most town residents.

The SBC is charged with developing two options for the MSBA and then the MSBA makes the final decision. On November 18 there is a scheduled meeting between the SBC and the MSBA to review Longmeadow's proposals.

**It is important to understand that the town will not be able to vote on new vs. renovation nor will the town be able to vote on multiple options. There is only one vote- by the SBC.

On Wednesday, September 16 at Glenbrook Middle School at 7 PM there will be a second (and last) public review session conducted by the SBC for feedback and discussion. The architects will be presenting several building options for the long term building solution for LHS.

The purpose of the public forums is to present the options to town residents and solicit feedback. Community input is essential in order for the SBC to make informed decisions. The forums are designed for residents to come and speak up and ask questions. The School Building Committee will be voting on the final recommendation on September 30.

This school building project is one of the most important issues facing our the town in recent years. Take the time to come to this last public forum on September 16.... listen, ask questions and provide feedback to the SBC.

Visit the School Building Committee's website often to keep abreast of new developments.

Feedback can be sent to the SBC via email to: longmeadowsbc@yahoo.com

or simply shared by commenting to this post.

A message from Longmeadow School District

The message below is from Ms. Jahn Hart, Superintendent- Longmeadow Public Schools concerning President Obama’s Address to School Children.

As you know, the Longmeadow Public Schools will be taping President Barack Obama’s national address on Tuesday for future viewing after review by the principals and their staff. Our administrators will determine the appropriate venue and logistical arrangements for sharing the speech. The stated purpose of the message to speak to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school is, of course, one that we support and value.

The decision to postpone the airing of the speech was not a policy decision by the School Committee, but an operational decision by the administration. Let me clarify the reasons for that decision, which involved much more that a reaction to concerns about the message and which were guided by a desire to provide the very best educational setting for our students to receive the message. Here are the multiple logistical challenges that faced our schools:

• The communication about this speech from Secretary Duncan was made directly to school principals in late August. School superintendents were not contacted. Several of our principals did not receive the original communication and did not learn about the event until Thursday, September 3rd. That allowed them 2 days to make all of the necessary preparations and to communicate with parents about opt-out provisions for their children.

• We did not hear from Commissioner Chester, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, on this issue until midday on Friday. His message includes the following key statements:

“If the timing of this speech works with your school schedules you may want to make arrangements to allow students to view the speech. . . “ and “That said, we recognize that the speech has generated some controversy . . . Commissioner Chester asks that if you do have students watch the speech, to please respect the requests of any parents who ask that their child not participate.”

• The President's speech is intended to be part of a larger classroom activity that involves writing and discussion. None of our schools has the capability to air the speech in every classroom at the same time. It would need to be viewed in larger group settings that would not support such learning activities.

• Our schools are not equipped for instant, live viewing of broadcasts in large group settings. When we made arrangements for viewing the Presidential Inauguration, we had almost 2 months to accommodate our technology and logistical needs.

• This event will occur during the noon lunch time. Arranging for students to view the speech “live” would require changing school schedules, including lunch, with very short notice at the beginning of the school year.

• Since many parents have requested that their children not view the live broadcast, we would have to make arrangements for those students to be identified and separated from their peers into another location, supervised by adults and engaged in an alternate activity.

• Reviewing the speech will allow our principals and teachers to determine the best settings for using the message in the classroom to integrate with curriculum - by grade level and subject area and will allow us to plan the most appropriate and respectful venue for those lessons. Also, our teachers would have an opportunity to modify the recommended lesson plans as appropriate by age and for alignment with curriculum. In addition, we will be able to manage the technology requirements for viewing.

• Our school district respects the President and believes that the stated purposes of the speech are worthwhile. Nevertheless, (1) we are challenged by the constraints of our technology to offer all students equal access to the live message in the appropriate classroom setting and (2) we look forward to the opportunity to make informed decisions about the best use of the speech in an appropriate classroom environment.

• While we would prefer that this event were devoid of political overtones and controversy, it is not. Therefore, we must make decisions in the context of that environment. It is our hope that after viewing the speech and learning of our plans for utilizing the message in the classroom setting, the concerns of parents will be allayed and the environment in which children view the speech will be conducive to learning, rather than confusion and possible tension.

• Once plans for future viewing of the speech are made, they will be conveyed to parents, who can then make an informed decision about their child’s participation.

• On Tuesday, parents are welcome to dismiss their children from school prior to noon to view the live broadcast at home, if they wish.

Please note, however, that the speech will be available on the Internet and on television for later viewing, and we would encourage parents not to dismiss their children, but to take advantage of the opportunity to view the message with their children after school, and to await announcements about our plans for school viewing.

• I should also add that ultimately the decision to postpone the airing of the President’s speech and to have the administrators jointly decide how to best plan for future airing within each of their buildings was mine – that of the Superintendent of Schools. I chose not to put each of them in the difficult situation of having to handle those plans alone and without collaboration.

• To reiterate, the administration of the Longmeadow Public Schools has great respect for the President of the United States and looks forward to viewing his message and to planning the appropriate use of the message at a future date.

E. Jahn Hart/ Superintendent, Longmeadow Public Schools

The President's address to school children

The decision to defer showing Longmeadow school children the President's back to school address, pending a review of the speech by "Longmeadow school principals and teachers" who will "decide the educational appropriateness of the message for different schools, subjects, and classrooms" is not a good one. It sets a dangerous precedent. By giving in to overtly partisan complaints, the school department has inadvertently done exactly what it was trying to avoid; it has allowed political partisanship to impact their decision making about the education of our kids.

Despite the release of the text of the speech, which puts to rest any fear that it would be inappropriate, the school department has chosen to try to avoid controversy by appeasing those who have complained. This dangerous precedent will provide cover and encouragement for partisan attacks on educational decisions in the future. Today, they object to the exposure of the President of the United States to their kids. Tomorrow, who knows.

There is a bright side here, however. By making the speech an issue, critics have given it increased importance and created some additional interest in the speech, in it's contents, and more importantly, in it's context. School children, especially middle and high school students will learn more by taking an interest in the context of the speech than they ever would have by simply listening to the feel good message of the president.

As a civics educator, the controversy over the airing of the speech provides a much richer and more substantive opportunity to teach kids about politics and government and citizenship. As for the poor kids whose parents are afraid to expose them to the President, I'm afraid they will have much more serious problems getting a decent education.

Jerold Duquette

Presidential Message

The president of my school's Parent Teacher Organization forwarded this note about a speech that the President of the United States of America planned to offer to our Nation’s schoolchildren to promote their success in school and of the unfortunate decision not to permit Longmeadow’s schoolchildren to hear the President’s words when spoken (if at all).

Surely success in school rests both with the communities that provide quality education to individual children and with the children themselves. Nonetheless, any message of encouragement to children as they start their school year is appropriate. When the message comes from the President of the United States of America, that message is all the more inspiring.

Although President Obama has a political-party designation (as have all Presidents in this Nation’s history), any President offering a message of support to students at the start of the school year should be considered the message of the Office, not of a party.

How sad that, in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, we find a school committee shielding schoolchildren from a historic moment – one that is intended for schoolchildren. I did not elect school-committee members to be the guardians of my children from OUR President. I find it outrageous that this is a controversy, and pathetic that the Longmeadow School Committee would pander to the pharisaical fringes of society and enable them to wield a heckler’s veto.

Although I lay this decision at the feet of the Longmeadow School Committee as of today, September 5, 2009, I cannot be sure that it is a product of their deliberation, for there are no posted minutes detailing the Committee’s consideration this matter. I must assume that a district-wide policy comes from our School Committee, and therefore I direct my outrage at them and encourage others to do the same.

Sincerely,

Rebecca M. Townsend

Longmeadow, MA

http://www.longmeadow.k12.ma.us/pages/schoolcommittee/School%20Committee.html

-----Original Message-----
From: Donna Hutton <dhutton@Longmeadow.k12.ma.us>
To:
Sent: Fri, Sep 4, 2009 2:36 pm
Subject: RE: Obama's message

President Obama’s Address to School Children

At 12:00 p.m., Eastern Time (ET), September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama will deliver a national address to the students of America. During this special address, the president will speak directly to the nation’s children and youth about persisting and succeeding in school. The president will challenge students to work hard, set educational goals, and take responsibility for their learning.

The U.S. Department of Education invites students of all ages, teachers, and administrators to participate in this historic moment by watching the president deliver the address, which will be broadcast live on the White House Web site (http://www.whitehouse.gov/live/) and on C-SPAN at 12:00 p.m., ET. After the original broadcast, downloadable video of the speech will be made available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/mediaresources/ as well as on www.ed.gov and C-SPAN.org will provide archived and "on-demand" viewing options.

Unfortunately, this speech has generated considerable negative reaction from a variety of political groups and media outlets who have speculated about the content=2 0and/or intentions of the message. Parents are being encouraged to ask school principals not to air the speech or to "Make September 8th Parentally Approved Skip Day.” Since our focus is to keep “eyes on the child – learning” and we pride ourselves on making informed decisions, our district will be taping the President’s message for possible future viewing. As noted earlier, the summary released by the US Department of Education states that the special address will be about persisting and succeeding in school. Longmeadow school principals and teachers will view the video and decide the educational appropriateness of the message for different schools, subjects, and classrooms. Those decisions will be communicated to parents prior to any planned use of the video.

We invite you to view the President’s message and make your own informed decisions about its merit.

Regards,

Donna L. Hutton
Acting Principal
Center Elementary School
Longmeadow, MA
Tel: 565-4290
dhutton@longmeadow.k12.ma.us

Longmeadow Food Pantry

With all of the press about the “affluence” of Longmeadow residents we sometimes forget that there are people that live in our town on a fixed income that cannot afford continuing increases in their property taxes and other living expenses without giving up something or doing with less.

It was recently announced that the Longmeadow Adult Center has started a Food Pantry for needy town residents- what a great addition to the services already provided by an underfunded and sometimes under appreciated resource in our town. The new Food Pantry will be affliliated with the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts and will obtain additional items from this organization for distribution in our town.

The Longmeadow Food Pantry is now accepting donations of non-perishable food, personal care items and paper goods between 9 am – 3 pm every weekday at the Longmeadow Adult Center at 231 Maple Road (Greenwood Center).

As part of the National Day of Service & Remembrance on Friday, September 11 donations will be accepted from 9 am – 3:30 pm (extended hours) at Longmeadow Adult Center. Please consider stopping by on this day with your contribution to kick off this new service.

Further details about Longmeadow Food Pantry and its operation will be announced in the coming weeks. Call 565-4150 with questions. Thank you for your support!