Left In Lowell

The Winners: Students!

by Lynne at 8:53 am.

On to another subject of analysis…the two School Committee races.

I have to admit to being astounded by the bleed of votes away from Faticanti. She has been a strong vote getter for so long, I thought there would be a larger unshakable core. Never been more happy to be so wrong!

For the challenger, Alison Laraba, my biggest congrats and kudos. She jumped in the race when no one else would, started from total zero, no name recognition (except anyone who watched her speech against the four SC members who left the room in the middle of a principal’s time on the floor) and she wound up finishing 5th with over 7,000 votes. I am certain the schools are in good hands with her addition to the SC. I am also glad that Martin and Doherty were reelected, and to see Doherty finish so strong a third, only 179 votes behind first. Congrats to both of them as well. And to Leary and Leahy as well. I believe that the GOB contingent on the SC is now effectively diminished.

Also very notable: the top five vote getters in the SC race got more votes than the top vote getter in the Council race, Rita Mercier!

As did Fred Bahou. And honestly, the biggest turnaround, I think, was on the Tech SC side. 7185 votes for Bahou. He ran a fabulous campaign and just blew the vote totals out of the water. To see so many votes for a candidate in a race which is often totally neglected, that many voters leave blank, it just renews my faith in humanity. To see O’Hare beat Hayden by a fairly small margin (278 votes) also warms the cockles of my heart. I think we here contributed in a small way to that. I am glad that the students will no longer have to worry about a SC member who will try to pull down all their safety signs in Spanish or will try to illegally ban undocumented children from attending the school. Lowell rejected such politics this election.

And the 1637 vote difference between Bahou and O’Hare sends a really gigantic message to O’Hare and other long time school committee members over there. You are now on the radar, kids. Don’t screw up again.

First order of business is that I would like to see something done about Superintendent Cassin. The committee must find out what is going on with the teachers under this person, and honestly, I think he should be fired. If only because we cannot afford a $181,000 salary with 9.5% raises for this position. If he is found to be doing a bad job obviously he should be gone anyway, but I say that if Mr. Cassin cannot take a pay cut of some $56,000 to bring him down to $125K or thereabouts, he should be gone and a new superintendent at a sane salary brought in. $56,000 is more than one decent young teacher’s salary, dammit.

I’m not sure how the contract for Cassin is worded (probably in his favor) or how long before renewal but seriously. Think of the children.

[Filed under Local politics, School Committee] [link]

14 Responses to “The Winners: Students!”

Teacher Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Why do you think he is doing a bad job? I agree that he should get about a 33% pay cut, but I’ve heard nothing but good things from teachers and parents about the voke.
Lynne Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 9:45 am
That is what I have heard from multiple sources at the Voke. That there is a bad work environment in several of the departments, directly because of the hiring practices over at the Voke by Cassin. Also, a guy who, as someone mentions, hires the daughter of the now-ousted sitting incumbent at the same pay as a more experienced teacher is not doing the job well, if indeed that accusation is correct.
Right in Lowell Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 9:50 am
Maybe it’s time for us to start attending Voke meetings to send a message that we’re watching. Honestly, I don’t even know when they are held, only that I catch them occasionally on LTC when I’m flipping through the channels at odd hours. It’s only hearsay, but I hear a lot of talk that teachers are not happy with Jim.
Lynne Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Agreed, RiL! I agree that it’s “hearsay” but it needs looking into, which is I guess my point…I want to see this closely examined, and NOW!
Teacher Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Oh, I’ve never heard anything about that. The people I talk to are mostly refugees from places like LHS. I’ve heard nothing but plaudits. Maybe it is all relative. Nashoba is a different story. Again though, in talking to parents, the two schools I consistently hear the best things about are the Daley and the Voke. And Jeanne d’arc (sp?)
Robby Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 11:01 am
I agree with Hayden respectfully when it comes to preference given to naturally born citizens vs. “illegal” immigrants. I agree with Hayden in regards to Spanish signs in school.

Hayden did not get my vote last night.

Mr. Cassin’s salary is absurd. While we on Main St. are struggling to pay our bills and put food on our tables, these politicians (from both sides of the aisle) are giving themselves ridiculous raises. Raises that we the People are paying for. Teachers are being laid off and other cuts are effecting the education of the students, but there is money for Mr. Cassin’s raise? Give me a break.

We saw through it, and when you start wasting my money, you lose my vote. Its that simple.
Lynne Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 11:04 am
I’ve heard great things about the Voke too. I never realized how many lives the Voke touched, until I started talking about this race to people. A LOT of people who live in Lowell attended the Voke, and have great things to say about it.

I think that is a huge credit to its teachers more than anything.
Lynne Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Robby: Unconstitutional. Also dangerous. You’d rather flout the US Constitution and the Supreme Court, and let kids die in a fire, than allow them to attend the school/put up safety signs in both English and Spanish?

Never mind the morality of blaming kids for choices THEY did not make. Yeah, great idea, let’s just let a segment of the kids living in our city to not get educated, so they can wallow in crime and poverty. Jesus.
Teacher Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I can see good points on both sides of the “illegals” debate, it is a selective school. The sign thing, however, is sub-moronic. Never mind the students, what about anyone else who might be in the building? For what gain?
Mr. Lynne Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
When I read this quote from Hayden in the paper:

“My main goal has always been to protect and stand up for the taxpayers of Lowell.”

I had to laugh. I read all about his main goal on his campaign literature and website… illegals. Plain as day.
Lowell Resident Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
I don’t think the totals from the SC vs. Rita’s are very telling of anything. There were 21 candidates for CC and 7 for SC. Plus there was a lot of sentiment of voting for “Everybody but Regina.” I voted for people on School Committee that I normally wouldnt have just so it would oust Regina (like your vote for O’Hare)

So minor nitpick, but still important to note nonetheless. I think comparing vote totals between the races are apples to oranges.
Maggie Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
I agree with Bahou that Cassin’s salary is outrageous. Good luck to him trying to control it though. I also believe that anyone with any family members at the Voke should not be allowed to run.
Kim Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Can you imagine Regina talking to Lowell School students about bullying! lol
jmm Says:
November 4th, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Hayden and O’Hare both used student success as proof of the good jobs they tought they were doing. However, the teachers at the voke have been without a pay raise for sometime while Cassin’s increased outrageously. Not to mention the salaries of the people who work for Cassin in administration. Talk about top heavy, it is just plain rediculous. Both Hayden and O’Hare just could not get past all the wasteful spending that they approved. Not knowing Hayden at all personally, by reading his website and what not and his add in the paper I think he came off as a bigot. When I read his large ad before the election and saw him refer to Fred Bahou as Fareid “Fred” Bahou, I was convinced. And it is O’Hare’s daughter who with no prior teaching experience was given that salary of a 20 year veteran. I believe I might of said Mr. Hayden in a prior reply. However, it doesn’t make much of a difference, they both received favors from the Superintendent. And it doesn’t take a genius to realize why. 75 grand is a hell of a lot of money. I’ve also heard many people there could not stomach Hayden just because he was constantly in the school walking around like he owned the place and wasn’t a very friendly person. He got what he deserved thats for sure

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November 4, 2009

The Winners: Students!

14 Responses to “The Winners: Students!”

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