Left In Lowell

Will GLTHS Board Choose the Best Candidate? (Updated)

11 Responses to “Will GLTHS Board Choose the Best Candidate? (Updated)”

1. Right In Lowell Says:
   April 27th, 2010 at 11:30 am

   Lynne… I felt the same way after reading the article in the Sun. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does or has done or how good they interview, it’s Santoro all the way. The other two wasted their time, unfortunately.

2. Maggie Says:
   April 27th, 2010 at 11:52 am

   My hubby used to teach at the Voke and knows 2 of the 3. In his humble opinion, Santoro is NOT the best candidate. It’s all in who you know and not who the best candidate is. He actually would like to see the guy from Malden get it on what he calls “general principles” . The school does provide a good education ( all of our kids have great jobs). But it needs a good shakeup and a few politically connected people removed.

3. Lynne Says:
   April 27th, 2010 at 12:35 pm

   The problem with hiring someone barely mediocre like Santoro, who obviously isn’t really interested in forming any sort of plan to continue or push excellence, is that eventually, the “good education” will likely diminish further and further. Treading water doesn’t mean you can’t sink.

4. Gerry Nutter Says:
   April 27th, 2010 at 1:41 pm

   I worked there and like both Mary Jo and Jane but after reading the Sun and also speaking with someone who was there Mr. McCarthy does appear to be the best candidate for the job.

   You could guess based on their public statements that Laferriere , Lenzi and O’Hare support Santoro and that Tully probably does also which gives her 4 of 8 votes.

   Bahou and O’Neil seem like they would go with the best qualified and based on his initial comments I beleive Olson would go that way.

   That leaves Paul Morin, who I beleive worked at the school and knows both MJ & Jane so he could go either way.

   It could be a very long night of voting next Tuesday.

5. Brian Flaherty Says:
   April 27th, 2010 at 3:06 pm

   And how about the line that they won’t visit the guy’s school in Malden, they’ve “looked at its website.”

6. Lynne Says:
   April 27th, 2010 at 10:01 pm

   Do any of those GOBs even know how to use a website??

   I find this whole thing pathetic, just sad. McCarthy, as well as Connell, deserve real consideration, not this farce of a hiring committee.

   Someone also mentioned to me that in her own statements, Santoro said that she was given her current position after Cassin created it. As in, the position didn’t even exist before she was hired for it. Couple that statement with the one where she said she just wanted to be a teacher but was encouraged to move up.

   Real leadership material, eh?

7. Michael S. Ready Says:
   May 3rd, 2010 at 11:36 pm

   I have attended almost all of the meetings this year of the Greater Lowell Technical High School Committee including last Monday’s interview sessions. (In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of the Move Lowell Forward PAC.) Tomorrow evening, May 4th, at 6:30 PM the GLTH School Committee will be casting their vote for the next Superintendent-Director of that institution. The meeting will take place in the Administrative Conference Room of this Tyngsboro based facility. Word has it that the clear winner will be none other then the pre-ordained, Mary Jo Santoro. I am humbly requesting that any and all who are fed up with the shenanigans of this so called governing board, please make an effort to attend this meeting to show your complete disdain for the behavior of this “clandestine organization”.

   To motivate you, please note the following comparison between the ongoing parallel searches currently underway for new Superintendents for the Greater Lawrence Technical High School and that of the Greater Lowell THS:

   • Applicants for the position of Superintendent of Greater Lowell THS – 5.
   Applicants for the position of Superintendent of Greater Lawrence THS – 16
   • Number of known admissions to the local newspaper by board members of Greater Lowell alluding to an in-house shoo-in prior to the initiation of the screening process – 2 (Lenzi & Hayden).
   Lawrence - 0
   • Number of members of the Search Committee for Greater Lowell – 4 (A sub-committee made up only of 4 of the members of the 8 member School Committee – all chosen by the former Chairman himself, David Tulley. The sub-committee members are O’Hare, Lenzi, Olson & O’Neill - no one else. Period! (Additionally, Lowell entered into executive session for the first round of eliminations. (Secrecy means everything to these guys and transparency is obviously a very dirty word.))).
   Number of members on the Search Committee for Greater Lawrence – 17. Including ALL seven school committee members AND a representative from each community AND staff members AND one parent AND one student. Nice!
   • Current salary for the Superintendent of Greater Lowell, James M. Cassin - $191,000.
   Current salary for Greater Lawrence Superintendent Judy Ann DeLucia - $144,000.
   • Days Greater Lowell spent introducing the finalists to the school faculty, staff and the public – 0.
   Greater Lawrence - 1 or more
   • Number of Greater Lowell Committee members to visit the finalists’ school – 0 (Only one of the three Greater Lowell finalists is from a school other then Greater Lowell and his name is Robert McCarthy of Malden Regional. I saw him interview and he was, in my opinion, first rate! A clear winner in all respects! But don’t worry folks, your opinion may have value with the Greater Lawrence SC but fo-get-about-it here in Greater Lowell).
   Number of Greater Lawrence Committee members to visit the finalists’ school – ALL!
   • Number of questions asked of the finalists by Chairman David Laferriere at last Monday’s Greater Lowell interview sessions – NOT ENOUGH! Because he was so busy complimenting Mary Jo Santoro, and then spent the rest of his time soliloquizing and imposing his personal commentary on the poor interviewees. (Something relating to something about the ‘sky is falling’ or something like that…)
   • Number of Greater Lowell Committee members who have sons, daughters and/or other relatives working at Greater Lowell THS – 3 that I know of. One being the esteemed George O’Hare whose two daughters - it is alledged - secured their jobs AFTER the Committee awarded Cassin the “Golden Goose” contract (otherwise known as the Goose-Job). My understanding is that Committee members Mike Hayden and Dave Laferriere both have relatives currently employed by the school.

   Enough of a reason to show up? Hope to see you there!

8. Paul@01852 Says:
   May 4th, 2010 at 6:31 am

   Micheal, There was no need for GLTHS SC to visit any schools when the )pre-ordained) winner already worked at their OWN school! Wouldn’t want them to waste any time away from the their busy (catering) schedule would we?

9. Michael S. Ready Says:
   May 4th, 2010 at 11:51 am

   Addendum: Concerning the number of Greater Lowell School Committee members who have relatives that work for the school, I have learned, and, at this point it is alleged, that members O’Hare, Tully, Lenzi, and former member, Mike Hayden, all have family members that have been hired AFTER having been elected to their positions. I have also learned that shoo-in Mary Jo Santoro is alleged to have hired her sister, niece, cousin and friends to positions at GLTHS since her job was created for her by her buddy James “Goose” Cassin (pronounced as Cash-in by some). What a machine these guys have in place and all with the blessings and encouragement of our elected Committee members! This, the very governing board who is supposed to be policing these people!

   And you wonder why in this past election, Fred Bahou garnered almost 7000 votes while O’Hare pulled in, what, 300? To put it another way, if Mickey Mouse had run alongside Bahou, O’Hare wouldn’t have been re-elected for another four years. And, Mickey Mouse would have been done a more admirable job. 7000 votes for a Great Lowell Tech School Committee member speaks volumes as to how pissed off the people are (and how much we are relying on Mr. Bahou to right this sinking ship of dirty birds). This distorted ratio also speaks of the need to convince more good, honest people to run for these seats in upcoming elections. Right now, Bahou is a lone wolf. Hopefully, the future will bring him like-minded allies who can begin the task of cleaning that place up.

   Now, it is said and alleged, in some circles, that all of this “circle-jerk” hiring activity is in violation of chapter 71 of the State Education Laws. And, according to the story last week in the Sun, member Mike Lenzi has booked consistently - at his private business, Lenzi’s - from four to six events a year for the very school whose governing board he sits on. In other words, he is allegedly drawing income from the Greater Lowell Technical High School coffers. The Sun article also stated verbatim the Massachusetts ethics law that he is alleged and questioned to have consistently and repeatedly violated. Where is the cavalry in all of this? Who is policing this group of ethically vacant pirates?

   I knew we were in trouble when not one of our State delegation members showed up at the Tyngsboro meeting to discuss the out-of-control funding (15 to 20% per year guaranteed) increases being placed on the member cities and towns. Their actions, or rather inaction, sent a clear message that this school – board members and staff inclusive - operate in complete autonomy and, obviously, enjoy complete immunity from oversight and, quite possibly, the law. Must be swwwweeeeeet!

   As I stated earlier, I have attended something like six meetings of the GLTH School Committee since January. I actually feel like I’ve been attending the meetings of the local Moose lodge with all of the back patting and ass slapping that goes on between certain members of the Committee and the Superintendents. The camaraderie between those who govern and those who are (supposed to be) governed is disturbing. Whereby with the Lowell City Council and/or Lowell School Committee, there is always this natural tension that exists between the Boards and their employees – the City Manager and Superintendent in this case - that does not exist with the Tech board. As Mary Jo Santoro constantly emphasized in her interview, ‘everything is just wonderful and things are sailing along just fine’. Yeah, for those in the circle it is!

   When I listen to, or read quotes made by George O’Hare, I am affected by some temporary transcendental occurrence in which I look down at my 1969 issue of Look magazine and up at my black and white rabbit-ear equipped RCA television featuring Leave it to Beaver. In other words, this guy is so locked into his intractable, Good Ole Boy, crony style approach to politics that it is as if I’ve been transformed back in time.

   To close, I also feel a heavy heart for the applicant from Malden, Mr. Robert McCarthy. With 20 requests for packets and a measly 5 applicants (3 technically qualified), it seems as if this genuinely nice guy somehow was not tapped into the same grapevine that all of the other qualified regionally accessible applicants were. You know, those who got word that this whole interview process was a bag-job from the beginning. The poor guy actually thought he had a chance and put, what appeared to me, an exhaustive amount of preparatory work and money into his interview. He prepared a professionally presented booklet on his plans to make GLTHS the great school that it could be. He knew all of the Committee members names like he knew them for years. He was dressed beautifully and was well, well researched in all things GLTHS. But, in the end, he was an unknowing shill in a game hosted by the Greater Lowell Technical High School Committee and their puppet master, James Cassin. Sorry about that Robert. I feel for you man….

10. JC Says:
    May 5th, 2010 at 8:31 pm

    Michael S. Ready, you are hitting the nails, and all the right ones! We are of like minds on the GLTHS fiasco. The swamp is deep and full of hungry alligators. What’s called for is a complete transformation. Drain the swamp and disperse or capture (some need to be locked up) the alligators.

    Of course, now we also know how the superintendent search ends: sadly and with a slap in the face to the public.

    Thanks for the posts…you are right on!

11. Michael S. Ready Says:
    May 5th, 2010 at 11:07 pm

    JC Says: I like how you think and I like how you write!
    Thanks!

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