November 1, 2006
Bridgewater
Raynham
Easton
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Massachusetts
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Opinion/Analysis
Joseph Gillis Jr.
You can do something!
I was at the Raynham Special Town Meeting, and based on the tone early in the evening concerning finances and the stabilization fund, I must say I am surprised that Raynham voted this way. In Bridgewater, the thought is that Raynham is flush with cash, but that is not quite the whole story.
A paid volunteer position is not a priority of the School Committee as a whole. In the report of the FY07 budget at last week's school committee meeting, it was reported that a district-wide technology person is the next priority. A position at the high school, a custodian for Williams when the other half of the building opens, MCAS remediation and educational materials are also on our radar screen. As far as I am concerned, I do not intend to allow policy, priority and direction of education to be determined by whoever can write a check.
Pat Riley and Selectman Don McKinnon have said that the 2006 election was a referendum on volunteerism. They have both said that Pat was elected because the communities wanted to have a paid volunteer position. If this is their interpretation, what should be taken from the 2004 election? I ran for election and spoke often of a need to identify and eliminate wasteful spending, address very highly compensated teachers and secretive processes. Therefore, would paying a volunteer coordinator contradict my campaign platform - and the intent of the citizens who voted for me? I believe my election was based on a broader message of an intent to look at the details of the B-R District and to exercise fiscally responsible judgments on the issues. Pat was elected based on her passion for involving the public in the schools on a large scale; not because voters believed RAVE needed the services of a paid volunteer to continue to operate.
Pat has a passion for volunteerism. While that is good, the six thousand students depend on the direction school leadership sets in a thousand other ways. With a current $50M budget, next year's $54M budget, insurance and contracts, new buildings and student re-assignments & grade re-alignments, new MCAS requirements, School Choice, and a high school on probation, there are many other issues that are critical to the success of the children in Bridgewater-Raynham Schools.
So, just because Raynham voted at Town Meeting to grant money to B-R to fund a position, it does not mean that the funds would be accepted by a vote of the B-R School Committee.
