Longmeadow High School Project

For all those interested in the future of our high school, please read the following, mark your calendar and forward to your fellow residents:

Historically fall Town Meetings are attended by less than 100 residents. These 100 or so residents vote on warrant articles that impact the entire town--all 15,000 of us.

This fall town meeting will be held on October 28th at 7:00pm in the High School Auditorium.

This is a VERY IMPORTANT meeting for all residents who are concerned about the condition and future of the High School. There will be a warrant article to appropriate the funds needed to begin the study of a long term solution for the high school building.

If the warrant article passes at Town Meeting then we must turn our attention to November 4th. On the ballot there will be a debt exclusion question to raise the funds needed for the high school study. So please note that if the warrant passes at Town Meeting that does not mean we have the funds, it only means that we may use the funds if they are approved on November 4th.

If the warrant article fails at Town Meeting then the November ballot question is null and void and we do not have the choice to raise funds on that date. The Select Board will need to decide if they wish to hold a special town meeting and special election to raise the high school funding option to the town again. This second go around is not guaranteed and costs the tax payers money.

We simply cannot let this unique opportunity pass us by. If so, we will be giving up potentially millions of dollars in state reimbursement. Let's not allow less than 100folks determine the fate of our high school. Now is the time to get involved!

So, lets vote YES on the warrant article for the High School Building Project at town meeting October 28th and YES on the Debt Exclusion ballot question on November 4th.

Longmeadow- One of the Top 10 Healthy Places to Retire

Longmeadow was selected this week as one of the "Top 10 Healthiest Places to Retire" by the online version of the US News and World Report.

Selection criteria was as follows:

"These are places way ahead of the healthy living curve—they provide numerous places to exercise, promote strong social support, and encourage healthy lifestyle habits. And each has a little something extra, too."

Read the full story on Longmeadow and don't miss the photo gallery .... you will see some familiar faces and names.

Some personal reflections...

My wife and I have lived in Longmeadow for 28 years- the last 5½ years after my retirement from Monsanto/ Solutia. In contrast to a number of our friends and my work colleagues who have moved elsewhere for warmer weather and other reasons, we consider Longmeadow our retirement home and are very happy with the lifestyle that we enjoy here.

If you have some comments about this US News and World Report, please take some time to share them on the LongmeadowBuzz blog.

Longmeadow's Primary, 16 September 2008

Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Democratic Primary:

US Senate Precinct A Prct B Prct C Prct D Prct E Total Total Voters %

Voters      467 408   298    350   333 1856 11563  16%

Kerry      237 261 165 203 219 1085 1856 58%
O’Reilly      226 144 131 143 111 755   1856 41%

Blanks       4     3      2     4     3   16    1856 01%

State Rep. Precinct A Prct B Prct C Prct D Prct E Total Total Voters %

Voters 467 408 298 350 333 1856 11563 16%

Ashe 248 233 174 208 220 1083 1856 58%
Walsh 202 168 114 130 104 718 1856 39%

Blanks/Other 17 7 10 12 9 55 1856 03%

Commentary:

Kerry carried every precinct. Kerry was strongest in E. O’Reilly was strongest in A.
Kerry’s biggest vote was in B. O’Reilly’s biggest vote was in A.
Ashe carried every precinct. Ashe was strongest in E. Walsh was strongest in A.
Ashe and Walsh got their biggest vote in A. More people blanked the State Rep. race than the US Senate race.
Ashe goes against Scibelli with 58% of the Democratic vote. Scibelli got 239/274 = 87% of the Republican vote. 274 people took a Republican ballot. There were 35 (blank/other) votes cast in the GOP primary for State Rep. 13% of GOP voters did not vote for Scibelli.
2132 people voted on Tuesday, 16 September 2008 in Longmeadow. 18.4% turnout.
Jeffrey K. Beatty unopposed in the GOP primary for US Senate got 195 votes. 79 (blank/other). 195/274= 71% of the GOP vote.

District Vote:  Ashe = 2,860 Walsh = 1,535 (Source: The Republican)

Compiled by John J. Fitzgerald, 19 September 2008, Town Clerk data.

Superintendent's Welcome Back to Staff

Longmeadow Public Schools
Opening Day
August 26, 2008

WELCOME AND WELCOME BACK!

E. Jahn Hart, Superintendent of Schools
Longmeadow, Massachusetts

Good Morning and welcome back to school! I hope you had a chance to enjoy the breakfast pastries and coffee. It’s always a joy to arrive on Opening Day and reunite with friends as well as to meet new colleagues.

I would like to once again acknowledge and thank people who support the work of educating Longmeadow’s children.

I would like to thank the School Committee for volunteering their time to improve and advocate for our schools and to acknowledge the current members of the Longmeadow School Committee: Christine Swanson, Chair; Rob Aseltine, Vice-Chair; Gwen Bruns, Clerk; Mary Vogel; Geoff Weigand; John Fitzgerald; and Armand Wray. Thank you for all that you do on behalf of our students.

Thanks to all of the other volunteers who give of their time and resources to enrich the learning experiences of our students and staff. Special appreciation goes to LEEF, to the various PACs, PTOs, booster clubs, and other groups who do so much to enhance our educational environment.

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge the presence of Chris Halista, President of LEEF who has asked me to give you a few reminders:
In the past seven years, LEEF has raised over $1,000,000.00 and awarded over $562,000 for 144 teacher grant requests. Chris has asked me to urge you to start planning your LEEF grant requests NOW! She has provided flyers with information about LEEF, as well as her home phone number and the LEEF web site. Thank you, Chris, for all that you and LEEF do to support our schools.

I would like to extend thanks to the Town departments, boards, and community organizations who partner with us to provide essential services to the schools of Longmeadow.

Thank you to all of you who are here today: the educators, support staff, and all the many specialists and special people who work in our schools.

I want to extend my appreciation to the folks who worked all summer to clean and prepare our schools for today’s official opening. As was done last year, I convened a meeting in June with all of our building custodians and principals to invite them to set reasonable expectations for summer cleaning and to give feedback about areas for improvement. They identified three key cleaning priorities: (1) clean all carpets and rugs, (2) clean all floors, and (3) clean bathrooms thoroughly. Again, those priorities were met and exceeded! As you walk through your buildings, take a moment to admire the results of their hard work and be sure to thank them. Our maintenance workers were involved in multiple Capital Improvement projects throughout the schools, and the grounds crews are working hard this week to spruce up the landscaping. Kudos to the entire custodial and maintenance staff!

We should recognize our wonderful school secretaries who ordered materials, greeted families, answered phones, and met the many and assorted needs of students and parents during the summer. Thanks to my assistant, Dianne Georgantas, who took on the responsibility of centralizing student registration in our office – to increase consistency and efficiency and to reduce the burden on school secretaries. Dianne NEVER has a quiet moment and somehow manages to retain her patience, grace, and humor. We are truly blessed to have Central Office staff who continually look for ways to make improvements.

Kudos to the many teachers and other staff who worked on curriculum, procedural updates, and New Teacher Orientation this summer. You will reap the rewards of their curriculum improvement efforts over the next few days. . . . thanks especially to Maureen Wilson, Karla Zukowski, Joanne Paar, Karen Palazzi, Dale Skowera, and retiree Gail Meehan who continues to help with our New Teacher preparations.

I am thrilled to welcome all of the new staff this year, including Kim Stillwell and Chris Collins, our two new principals, who have been working hard all summer to meet and hire staff and to become immersed in the Longmeadow School cultureJ

I want to speak to you this morning about continuous improvement in Longmeadow: continuous improvement in (I) the operations and physical environment, (II) in teaching and learning, and (III) towards ensuring a safe, secure, and caring learning environment.

All of you, whether veterans or new employees, know that Longmeadow is committed to continuous improvement. Last year we made some substantial improvements to our operations and physical environment. We instituted the AESOP web-based/phone system for attendance reporting and substitute calling; the ConnectED communication system; new security measures and systems in every school and central office; and new phone systems. We also made substantial technology and budget improvements.

We made advances in teaching and learning last year by purchasing much-needed reading and social studies textbooks as well as math Investigations materials; and by continuing and expanding our use of John Collins writing and Lesson Study. Two other administrators, 6 teachers, and I took a graduate course in gifted education and we will establish a district committee to look at ways we can improve challenges and enrichment for all students.

Longmeadow High School was removed from warning status by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC) and we received an invitation by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to conduct a feasibility study of the high school. Recently we were named as one of 8 schools in the state who appear to be a good match for the model schools project, which (if approved) would result in a new building (not a renovation), reduced building costs, increased reimbursement from MSBA, and a savings of about a year on the planning and construction timeline.

Goals this year include (I) the advancement of improvements in operations and the physical environment. Christine Swanson has already outlined the School Committee’s goals of Budget, Buildings, and Balance.

(II) Our teaching and learning goal this year is to advance our work in curriculum, instruction, and assessment to the persistent examination of these four critical questions:

1. What do we want each student to learn? (What are the essential learning outcomes?)
2. How will we know if or when each student has learned? (How and how often do we assess learning?)
3. How will we respond when students experience difficulty in learning? (What intervention strategies do we have in place?)
4. How will we respond when a student has mastered the learning? (How will we differentiate instruction and/or provide enrichment?)

Your administrators and I have been engaged in joint professional development this summer that will continue throughout the year as each principal advances building-level structures for collaboration in learning.

Our final goal of the year (III) is to ensure that we provide a safe, secure, and caring learning environment. Last year, I told you about some interesting research that concludes that superior learning takes place when classroom activities are enjoyable and relevant to students' lives, interests, and experiences. The primary aim of education is not to enable students to do well in school, but to help them do well in the lives they lead outside of school. The world is changing and, as Arthur Clarke said, “We need to educate our children for their future, not our past.” I proposed that we assure that our students are engaged in joyful, relevant learning. I want to reiterate that proposal and add to it. One of your colleagues lent me a book a few months ago: Jodi Picoult’s Nineteen Minutes. I confess that I didn’t want to read it. But I did. It is a frightening and relevant novel. Bullying has expanded to “cyber-bullying” and has affected the lives of many of our most vulnerable students. Last year, our secondary students heard Ed Garrity speak about this issue and I know that Longmeadow middle schoolers have been reading The Revealers this summer. When I looked at the student work that was sent to me this June, I was fascinated by the responses to the prompt regarding “The greatest thing a teacher or staff member did for me this year.” It was clear how the actions of one caring adult can make a lasting difference in the life of a child. Thank you for what you do already for our children and please continue to keep your eyes and hearts open.

It is with pleasure that I am now going to share with you samples of the student work that came to me from our wonderful schools. I was pleased to see evidence of

• Essential student learning,
• Assessments FOR and OF student learning
• Teacher interventions and strategies to assist student learning
• Challenge and enrichment for students who excel, and
• A culture of caring by staff throughout the Longmeadow Schools!

Yesterday I filled two art display boards in the lobby with a small fraction of the many student feedback forms I had received. If you didn’t have a chance to look at them this morning, take a few moments to check them out. I will be posting this presentation on our web site (this file is quite large- 8.9 Mb so be patient if there are extended download times when viewing). Each of you – whether educational or support staff - has the opportunity to encourage and nurture children every day. Thank you for the many ways that you keep your “eyes on the child”! Have a great year!

E. Jahn Hart, Superintendent of the Longmeadow Public Schools

Exterior Painting at Storrs Library

On September 5, the Town began the project of painting the exterior of Storrs Library. It is estimated that workers will take approximately 5 or 6 weeks to complete the job which will consist of power washing, replacing rotten wood and painting the entire building. We expect to keep the library open throughout the process, and we anticipate that there may be only minor inconvenience in access to the building. Let us all look forward to our newly painted library building brilliantly white against the Fall foliage and bright blue autumn sky.

Fall Hours at Storrs Library

Starting on Saturday, September 6th, Storrs Library will be open on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. September is a lovely month to stop by and enjoy the inviting sun-filled spaces of our elegant reading rooms, to peruse our extensive collection of magazines, to select a book for weekend reading or pick out a DVD for a movie evening at home.

Now that school has started, the staff invites students to visit the library for help with school assignments. The library has trained staff, an extensive print and digital reference collection, periodicals, primary source materials and computers with broad-band internet connection. Color printers are also available and printouts cost .15 per page. The library hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 10-8, Thursday and Friday, 10-5 and Saturday, 10-4.

25 minutes is too long!!

I consider myself very fortunate to have lived in Longmeadow for 28 years and not needed to call 911 for a family medical emergency and ambulance service.

The Longmeadow Fire Department has provided outstanding 24/7 ambulance service for our town residents for many years and it is one of our town services that is a critical resource for everyone.

Many towns in our area such as East Longmeadow engage private companies to provide this service and sometimes the service does not meet expectations.

As part of my Longmeadow- FSBO service on LongmeadowBiz I get to meet many people who are selling their Longmeadow home and moving out of town.

I spoke to one of my past clients who had sold her home in Longmeadow and moved to a condominium/town house in East Longmeadow earlier this year. I asked her how it was going and she told me that she missed the great services provided by our Longmeadow Fire Dept. Recently, her husband had an medical emergency and she promptly called 911 for help. When the 911 phone call was answered she was placed on “HOLD”. While she didn't elaborate on all of the details, the end result was that it took almost 25 minutes for the ambulance to respond to her home. The crisis ended well and her husband was OK but such a response is unacceptable.

I’m counting on our Longmeadow town leaders to provide the necessary budget resources for our Fire Dept for ambulance equipment, personnel and training so that when my wife or I or anyone else in town needs to call 911… it will not take 25 minutes!

Visit the Digital Bookmobile on August 28th

Have you been to www.longmeadow.org/library and wondered about that link to Digital Books, Audio and Video? Would you like special help getting started with this new offering? Then come to a special event on Thursday, August 28th at the Agawam Public Library, 750 Cooper Street, sponsored by OverDrive Media and CWMARS. A 74-foot, 18-wheeled Digital Bookmobile will be there from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on its only stop in western Massachusetts! This traveling exhibit for public library download services allows readers of all ages to try out digital audiobook, ebook, and video downloads. Library staff will be on hand to help and advise regarding downloading free software, transferring to compatible portable devices and other matters. We invite you to participate in this unique opportunity and become a frequent user of this exciting new offering in Storrs Library services.

Mass Ballot Question #1

This fall Massachusetts voters will be asked whether or not to eliminate the state's income tax. The issue, relentlessly pushed for years by the state's Libertarian Party is a perfect example of why the Framers of the Constitution sought to create a "representative" democracy at the national level and to guarantee it in each state.

While the will of the people is the basis for democratic government, the Framers understood the need to "refine" the peoples' will by filtering it through representative institutions. Direct democracy, of which a ballot measure is an example, is COMPLETELY absent in the US Constitution. Without mediating institutions the will of the people is much too easily manipulated and distorted for the advancement of particularized interests.

Eliminating the state income tax in Massachusetts would reduce state government revenue by more than 50%. While each citizen can be shown that they are personally benefiting from only a small percentage of government spending (making this measure individually attractive), a reduction of government spending by half would slash ALL government services to the bone.

Supporters of this measure assume that with only half the revenue, state government would only be able to do its most fundamental tasks. What they do not realize is that there is no clear consensus on which tasks are "most fundamental." Because eliminating the income tax will not eliminate electoral politics in the state, what is and is not appropriately provided or subsidized by the state will continue to be determined by politics and public opinion. The temptation to slash the revenues of a government that you think is over-taxing you is great, but the unintended consequences of such a radical move would produce a monstrous backlash as more and more citizens start to appreciate what has been lost.

If this ballot measure were to succeed, it would likely bring the end of the Libertarian Party in Massachusetts and hasten a populist movement to beat all populist movements. The best result for the measure's proponents is a narrow defeat, which would add fuel to their anti-government rhetorical fire, without forcing them to take responsibility for burning down the state with their rigid ideological dogma.

While I will certainly oppose the measure, I must admit to a quiet hope that it passes and serves to totally discredit its advocates. It's like when a parent is constantly nagged by children to give them something they want that the parent knows would harm them. I'm sure every parent is tempted (under duress) to give in and let the kids learn the hard way. Of course, better judgement prevails and the responsible parent accepts the "bad guy" label in exchange for the greater good. This ballot measure provides voters with a similar temptation. I hope and expect that voters will act responsibly and oppose the measure for the greater good, even though doing so will encourage the wrath and whining of the childish, anti-government zealots among us.

As a political scientist, I have long recognized the failure of most citizens to realize what the government does and how important its activities are to the daily lives of individuals. Americans take the good things government does for granted. Those who feel overly burdened by government have the greatest incentive to organize to make it look bad. The majority of us who get more than we give from government are not motivated to similarly organize in support of government. Eliminating the state income tax would radically change the incentive structure for political activism in a way that would soon horrify those supporting this measure. I have to admit, I wouldn't mind seeing that.

Have you seen the "new look" fire hydrants?

Driving around town I've noticed some fire hydrants covered by a green mesh- certainly not the traditional look. So I asked our Fire Chief and DPW Director a couple of questions about this situation and here are their answers.

How many hydrants are involved? Will they be repaired or is this part of the cost reduction program from the last town meeting?

According to Mike Wrabel, Director- Longmeadow DPW …

“There are 43 (of 1120) hydrants out of service. It is intended that they will all be replaced and the bagging is not part of a cost reduction program. The ‘out of service’ hydrants are ‘bagged’ and the Fire Department is notified. As long as the Fire Department knows the hydrant is out of service, they can connect to another hydrant some 400 feet away and not waste time connecting to a hydrant that is non-functional.

Most are very old hydrants that are difficult to obtain parts for. This year’s budget does not have sufficient funds to replace all 43 of the hydrants and we are prioritizing which hydrants we are replacing. We have identified about 350 hydrants that we wish to replace over the next several years at an average cost of about $3,000 per hydrant.”

Are there any risks to property owners where there is a non-functioning hydrant near their home?

According to Eric Madison, Longmeadow Fire Chief ….

“No. There is a greater risk if we have a fire and don’t know a hydrant is out of service. When the hydrant is “bagged” out of service, we quickly identify that and find another hydrant to use. Additionally, the water dept supplies us with a list of all hydrants undergoing repair, and tells us when they are back in service.

In my opinion the water department is doing a superior job identifying issues within our water system, and making repairs. In my opinion the system was neglected for the past 20+ years, and I strongly support the work the water department is now doing. It’s long overdue.”
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