Left In Lowell

School Committee Meeting 5.7.09

15 Responses to “School Committee Meeting 5.7.09”

1. K-R-S Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 6:54 am

   It’s instances such as this that really make me think twice about putting my girls in public school this year. Geesh.
   Seriously, now is the time to explore all opportunities for cost savings, not next month or next year. A reality check is truly needed. In my mind all options are on the table from contracting out food services to contracting custodial and maintenance services!

2. michael Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 8:50 am

   i was also at this meeting i believe what they are trying to do to our cafeteria is an outrage.this is not going to help anyone but themselves and effect the kids of lowell. as a lowell high junior ive been at this school long enough to know that the lunch ladies are some of the nicest people in the school they make small talk in the mornings,during lunch, and ny other time you see them.Many of them actually know our names and care about us. they spend so much time preparing food for a meere 11 dolars an hour and they do not complain about it they just like coming in everyday and working taking away there jobs and our food for some pre-packaged garbage is ridiculous! I can personally vouch for hunreds of student who will skip their lunch purposely in order to get a better meal from downtown lowell just becuase t7he pre-packed meal would not even supplement a 9 year elementary school student,let alone a 17 Year old high school student who is still growing.

3. MOONLIGHT Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 8:54 am

   was the MAYOR, a profile in courage last nite!!
   were does bud get his information???
   and regina looked preety smug last night
   i dont think she is going anywere.

4. waittilnextyr Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 8:54 am

   Grandstanding for special interests has served many politicians well in their quests for reelection, so we shouldn’t be surprised by that.

   Time to return to bag lunches and take both food service options off the table.

5. kami Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 9:18 am

   All the superintendent was trying to do is get information. That process would be to issue an RFP. How else would she get the costs? They don’t have to award the contract just because they issued an RFP. RFPs and bids are issued all the time by the schools. They don’t require School Committee approval to issue to issue an RFP. That is what I would guess the City Solicitor is going to say. The issue of what happened in the subcommittee is separate from the food service RFP question. The subcommittee has no authority to order anything really. Only the full committee has authority. But the superintendent didn’t need their go-ahead anyway so the point is mute. This is an issue of a power struggle. The Mayor thinks he runs everything and everything has to go through him. The Mayor is the worst offender of Plan E. He thinks he runs the city not the City Manager. Look at his interference with the crane operator on the Pawtucket falls bridge and the time he invited a vendor to speak before the City Council on installing citywide WiFi with no bid. He’s anointed himself in charge of everything. As far as the ridiculous comment he made on WCAP this morning about all the “homemade” food the cafeteria workers made each day. Who the heck does he think he’s kidding?? Fish sticks, pizza, canned meatballs, when did we consider that homemade food? The only difference I can see is they’re going to either heat up pre-packaged meals or the more labor intensive bulk food products. The only difference being labor costs. Anyone who has seen any specials on school lunch nutrition knows that the food doesn’t even meet federal guidelines for nutrition. When did we start considereing french fries a vegetable? Honestly, the first thing they need to eliminate is the pre-school classes and the assistant principals. The preschool program is not a federal or state mandate and it costs money, takes up teachers and classroom space. It’s a free babysitting service for people. Those children that fall into the low income guidelines would be eligible for Head Start and other programs anyway. Its a complete waste of money. Spots are done by a “lottery”. How many school committee members have had their children go through the program? We need to elmininate it. We also need to move the “alternative” classrooms back into the schools. Those students are treated with kid gloves. They get big graduation parties with tents and caterers. It’s ridiculous. Our well behaved students don’t get the things they get. They’re rewarded for being problem students. They’re disciple problems, so discipline them. But of course, we’re worried about their “self esteem”. They’re street wise and they’re laughing at us. There are going to have to be big cuts and we need to keep teachers in the classrooms and cut whatever else we can. Thats the reality. And not looking at food service or anything else and the superintendent isn’t doing her job.

6. Victoria Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 10:20 am

   Kami, I was struck by your comments about students in the alternative school and was immediately reminded of a parable by Jesus of Nazareth that he told about 2000 years ago. It’s about a highly undisciplined young man who asks for and recives his inheritance early. He goes out and is totally irresponsible with his life and money. He hits bottom and decides to go back and seek forgiveness, to try and start over. When he gets back, his father throws a huge party for him. The older brother, who has been highly disciplined and responsible, complains about the party. The father trys to help this son understand how difficult it was for the younger brother to return and seek a better life, and that by throwing the party for him doesn’t take away anything from the older brother, because all along his good behavior has been its own reward. It really doesn’t seem fair to the older brother, just like it doesn’t seem fair to the good students. But sometimes fairness and justice is not what seems most obvious.

7. Prince Charming Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 1:41 pm

   When Regina gets fitted for her prison clothes, the stripes should run vertical, not horizontal.

8. K-R-S Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 4:23 pm

   What an absolute embarrassment to the City of Lowell and the school system.

9. K-R-S Says:
   May 7th, 2009 at 5:08 pm

   I’m referring to the incident that occurred between the Supt. and an elected official.

10. Prince Charming Says:
    May 7th, 2009 at 5:30 pm

    Thanks for the clarification. I thought you were referring to me.

11. Kim Says:
    May 7th, 2009 at 11:02 pm

    Kami,
    I think you need to look into why Lowell has a preschool program and how it is funded. The menu for the school is disgusting and I rarely let my child eat it. I can not see how a pre-prepared program could be any worst. Please explain how the following items are homemade and difficult to make:
    ABC Nuggets w/ Tater Smiles, Carrots, fruit
    Papa John’s pizza (What are they doing that day?)
    Real slice pizza, Carrots and celery, juice
    Popcorn Chicken, Curly fries, salad, fruit
    Chicken patty sandwich, salad, fries, fruit
    grilled cheese, tomato soup, tater tots, fruit
    cheeseburger, fries, fruit
    Nachos supreme, fruit
    Italina Grinder,potato chips, soup, fruit
    If my kids ate like this everyday they would be fat! Maybe we could have 2 bagged lunch days with just sandwiches(A turkey or ham sandwich would be preferred by my child and it could be outsourced) and 3 hot days and switch to part time employees? We need to do something.
    We could probably make healthier lunches, and maybe even demand better packaging and recycling procedures then we have now at a lower price.

12. K-R-S Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 5:48 am

    homemade lasagna and meatloaf..my a$$.
    Kim, the type of food you list above, is considered a “treat”, like when I take my kids to McD’s!

13. Prince Charming Says:
    May 8th, 2009 at 8:18 am

    Let’s cut to the chase. Bud went batshit crazy because Rita’s daughter is gonna get canned. Period. “Middle-management makes the big bucks.” Didn’t you have a vote on the contracts Bud? Typical big-mouthed grandstanding pol who makes a mountain out of a molehill. If it saves us a few hundred grand, it’s his duty to look into it. I think it’s time to take a closer look at this guy. I’ll get right on it.

14. BTS Says:
    May 9th, 2009 at 7:15 pm

    Behind the scenes:The lunch program in Lowell has always run in the black. It has always made the school department money, until 1 administrator, who was only on the job for a few months, decided to take the health care cost off of the city side line item and make the lunch program try to support 100% of their own health care . No other employee group in the city has to carry that burden on their budget. Lowell has one of the last remaining self funded health care programs in the state.The lunch program held it’s own for a little while but the health care cost have risen so much that it has thrown them into a deficit. The School department was told that the program could not sustain such a move. They refused to fix the accounting.The union has worked with the Administration to comply with recent changes in the federal nutritional guidelines. As a result,the lunches are far superior with more choices than anything that would come pre-packaged. This is done cheaply. Cheaply enough to cover the vast amount of children that cant afford to buy a lunch. Children who may not have responsible parents.Its unfortunate but its the world we live in. The lunch ladies only want a chance to get back to the negotiation table and get a chance to make this work. There is alot more involved in this story than meets the eye. We know how to trim the fat too!

15. Kim Says:
    May 9th, 2009 at 10:38 pm

    Maybe Rita’s daughter could take over Regina’s job at the sheriff’s department? I am sure this must not be much of a concern. They will get her a job somewhere.

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