Left In Lowell

Seeya, Buh Bye

11 Responses to “Seeya, Buh Bye”

1. More to it Says:
   January 15th, 2010 at 11:57 am

   Mr.Cassin loves money and would never give up that raise. Things are not changing they are getting worse. Mr. Tulley wasted no time appointing a subcommittee to find a replacement for Mr.Cash-In. Come on he pick five people that would go his way. Why, because he has a vested interest in the next Supt.(with family members working in the building) and already has decided on Mary Jo Santoro. Seach committe, what a joke Lenzi wants a replacement by April. Why, simple how does a board do a complete seach for a Supt. in about two months. They can and will pick the in-house person named Mary Jo Santoro. Why pick Mr.O’Hare to be the chair person? Why not he has the most family members working at the school and will also pick Mary Jo Santoro. The person who took part in hiring his family. Why not have the whole Greater Lowell School Committee do the “grunt Work” isn’t that why we the people elected them? Having all members with their input working together on the “Grunt Work” would only make sense wouldn’t it? Not if they already have a person (Mary Jo Santoro) in mind. This has never been about the children but has been about keeping power at the top. Read the article in the Sun carefully and you will see there is a motive behind each statement. Again how does a board make a decision that will effect our children for the rest of their lifes in just two months? Easy they already have a replacement and that is May Jo Santoro. The dog and pony show has begun.

2. Lynne Says:
   January 15th, 2010 at 12:43 pm

   We thought we had a dog and pony show with the CM replacement a few years ago…let’s keep the light of day on the Voke committee so this doesn’t happen. But yes, I thought it was weird, the make up of the “search” committee.

3. gerrynutt Says:
   January 15th, 2010 at 1:10 pm

   I posted this on my own Blog:

   Time for Positive Change..but Tully isn’t helping
   January 15, 2010 by gerrynutt | Edit

   Now that Jim Cassin has announced his retirement the people of Lowell and the supporting towns must keep pressure on the school committee to conduct a fair,open search for a new Superintendent.

   Requirements should be made public and include administrative experience. While In-House candidates should be considered now seems like a time when a qualified outside candidate without political ties or ties to the former Superintendent gets hired to set a new fresh tone for the school. The salary should be less than the Lowell City Managers and the Lowell School Superintendent. Whoever it is should be asked point blank if they would pledge NOT TO HIRE any family member of the School Committee.

   The Sun and area bloggers have bashed Jim Cassin for abiding by the rules of a contract he was given by many of the same people we now entrust to hire a new Superintendent. Mr. Tully has already showed his bias against new member Fred Bahou by not appointing him to the search committee who will outline the qualifications of the new Superintendent. Instead he appoints George O’Hare as chairman when we all know he can’t vote on a teachers contract because he has family there but can hire the guy who will have to negotiate a new contract. Isn’t this type of action the reason the Lowell Sun and bloggers have kept the Technical School under fire?

   Mr. Tully seems to be flipping off the Lowell Sun, bloggers and anyone who dare question the way the Technical School is run. He would prefer they go on in the same way as they have and as long has the school committee can get their relatives jobs, they will structure the contract has they see fit. He would not allow Fred Bahou who campaigned on changing the status quo to be included in the process and has basically told us all to screw.

   This cannot continue, the school should be kept under the microscope and the need for a new unconnected Superintendent who wants to create an atmosphere of teamwork with the unions and administrators and a priority for the kids should be hired. Not the school committee’s employment agent !

4. Eleanor Rigby Says:
   January 15th, 2010 at 5:25 pm

   I know people have had praise for the Sun for bringing this story to light, but really, stuff like this has been going on for decades out there in Tyngsboro and the paper hasn’t seen fit to cover it in the past.

   It was Fred B’s campaign that brought this issue to light, not due dilligence from the paper!

   Let’s see how long the paper continues to keep an eye on things out there, and if coverage of other boards suffer because they will stretch their staff too thin.

5. Paul@01852 Says:
   January 16th, 2010 at 9:11 am

   I just saw (from a correction published in today’s Sun on pg 2) that Cassin will use unused vacation for the rest of the school year so he has effectively retired as of now. This seems to negate the comments of SC Lenzi at Thursday’s SC meeting of expediting the selection process so that there would be a transition period for the new superintendent overlapping Mr Cassin’s term. More to It above may have hit the nail on the head.

6. More to it Says:
   January 16th, 2010 at 10:42 am

   I did hit it on the head and there is more.

7. nextyearishere Says:
   January 16th, 2010 at 2:54 pm

   Does he really have that many unused vacation days, or is it “sick” days that he now wants to cash in on without being sick?

8. Right In Lowell Says:
   January 16th, 2010 at 3:30 pm

   Why isn’t there a outsider on the search committee and a member of the staff or teacher’s union? It’s a moot point now, but Cassin has no admin experience and now they have it as criteria for the job. Santoro would be same old, same old, but it would appear that’s how it’s going to be.

9. Lynne Says:
   January 16th, 2010 at 5:49 pm

   We need to get a pledge from as many Voke board members as possible that they will NOT vote for an insider candidate for the job.

   Is there a majority of nonGOBs on that board yet? I know there was turnover in some of the non-Lowell seats.

10. More to it Says:
    January 16th, 2010 at 7:07 pm

    No there are four GOBs (Tulley, Lenzi, O’Hare, and Laferriere) still on the board. Lowell’s reps are the problem.

11. Lynne Says:
    January 17th, 2010 at 8:07 pm

    Then we need to focus on 2011’s elections and make sure there’s at least one good challenger in the race. Hopefully more.

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