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January 21, 2008
Did tough criticism hurt Baehr's chances?
Did tough criticism hurt Baehr's chances?
\IN THE FINAL analysis, Lowell Superintendent of Schools Karla Brooks Baehr was bested by a better candidate.
Mitchell Chester, associate superintendent at the Ohio Department of Education, had more experience, a sterling reputation and support from nationally renowned educators.
His qualifications made the decision by Board of Education members easy.
Baehr, the only in-state candidate of three finalists, faced scrutiny for her public record in Massachusetts. Two issues possibly led to her undoing: Questions about how she handled a principal accused of sexual assault when she was a superintendent in Wellesley; and an anti-charter school label.
Other attacks were lobbed behind the scenes, including a complaint from officials with the diversity program METCO, and several anonymous letters from charter-school proponents targeting Baehr's record.
It's hard to believe that the "attack campaign," as Board of Education Chairman Paul Reville called it, had no effect. But board members swear it didn't determine the outcome.
BAEHR'S FRONT-RUNNER status was a myth, some board members said.
She was the best known because she was the only Bay State candidate. But the more members looked at credentials and references, the stronger Chester became.
Still, many members made note of their "agonizing" decisions. Others took pains to bolster Baehr.
"She should hold her head up," said board member Thomas Fortmann, who was appointed by former Gov. Mitt Romney. "She has my support for any future endeavors."
SO WHERE does Baehr go from here? According to the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, at least three dozen Bay State school districts are searching for a superintendent, including Lowell and Worcester. Baehr has said she won't consider a return to Lowell. There is also talk at the Statehouse that Patrick might find a spot for her in his revamping of the Board of Education, if it wins legislative approval.
THE UNANIMOUS vote for Chester is nothing to sneeze at.
As detailed in The Column last week, the board is deeply divided between appointees of Romney and Gov. Deval Patrick.
But they were able to find common ground in Chester, who has many accomplishments in closing student-achievement gaps between suburban and urban school districts. The issue was key to all members as the Bay State grapples with an alarming chasm between low-income students and wealthier ones in eighth-grade math.
Some, such as member Sandra Stotsky, backed Chester because he supports teacher accountability. Others, such as MCAS critic Ruth Kaplan, voted for him because he said MCAS shouldn't be the only yardstick by which academic performance is based.
THE LOWELL School Committee has yet to define the scope of its search for a new superintendent, such as who will be on the search committee, but that's not stopping aspiring educators.
As of last week, the School Department had received four applications, all from New England candidates.
The School Committee's Personnel Subcommittee will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. to discuss how it will pick Baehr's successor. A special meeting of the full School Committee will follow the subcommittee meeting.
The names of two School Department employees are making the rounds as candidates: Wendy Jack, the high school's curriculum coordinator and a former assistant superintendent in Hudson and Manchester, N.H., and Paul Schlichtman, the district's research, testing and assessment coordinator.
So are they interested?
For sure, said Schlichtman, a 55-year-old Arlington resident who's been in the system since 2001. He also served as president of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees in 2004.
Jack, 56, said she is "seriously considering" it.
A couple of weeks ago, the name of Ann Murphy, assistant superintendent of student services, surfaced as a possible candidate. Murphy said she hadn't given the prospect any thought.
FIRST IT was off. Then it was on. Now it's off again. This time for good.
Lowell state Rep. David Nangle never seemed to have his heart set on the largely ceremonial sergeant-at-arms position, which was his for the taking thanks to his close ties to House Speaker Sal DiMasi.
Despite a promise to increase the duties, the costume-requiring post promised to be little more than a velvet-lined coffin for the 47-year-old.
Those close to him encouraged the move, pointing to job security, but Nangle wanted to stay a part of the action.
DiMasi's recent fight to retain his bully pulpit as speaker against Reps. Robert DeLeo of Winthrop and John Rogers of Norwood could also be a factor. Nangle, who denied DiMasi faced any coup, will continue to be a loyal soldier for the speaker.
So Steve Geary, Eileen Donoghue and Maria Sheehy, who were expected to pursue Nangle's seat if it were to open up, will have to take on an incumbent if they still want a taste of Beacon Hill.
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JIM CASSIN, superintendent at Greater Lowell Tech in Tyngsboro, didn't mean to slight either Mike Lenzi or Dave Laferriere when he mailed invitations for the recent swearing in of both Lowell reps on the GLTHS School Committee.
On behalf of Lenzi, Cassin mailed invitations to about 30 friends and family members, with no mention of Laferriere. Cassin did the same for Laferriere, with no mention of Lenzi.
But a few dozen generic invitations that were mailed contained both Lenzi's and Laferriere's names.
The swearing-in cost taxpayers about $680 for food, which was prepared by culinary-arts students.
The Lowell School Committee's recent swearing-in cost taxpayers nearly $900, as that total, too, represented the cost of food prepared and served by students in the Culinary-arts Department at Lowell High.
After the City Council's Jan. 7 swearing-in ceremony at City Hall, councilors and guests retired to the Olympia for their share of moussaka and spanakopita. Councilors paid their own way at $18 a head.
FORMER STATE Rep. and City Manager John Cox, who resigned in July 2006, has managed to do well for himself since leaving City Hall.
Cox pulled in $98,250 in lobbying fees in 2007 while working for the Salem-based law firm McGlynn & McGlynn, according to reports filed last week with the secretary of state's office.
Cox clearly still has many connections on Beacon Hill, and lobbying seems to be a good fit.
He has represented a number of clients in the past year, including Lowell's Bradford Industries, the United Teen Equality Center, auto insurer Arbella Insurance and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
Cox also maintains a law practice in Lowell.
SO MUCH for favoritism.
Lowell resident Martin Elliott, cousin of City Councilor Rodney Elliott, was the subject of an anonymous letter-writing campaign last spring that led to a New England Cable News exposé on alleged fishy circumstances surrounding his property-tax bill.
Martin Elliott's nearly 11,000-square-foot East Avenue lot and house were valued at about only $97,000, even though he had recently built a new 3,300-square-foot, single-family home on the land. As a result, his tax bill was only $1,450 last year. That's less than many condominium owners pay.
City officials contended Elliott got a break because his building permit was not properly recorded. So, guess who saw one of the biggest property-tax increases in Lowell in 2007? Cousin Elliott's property value increased by 125 percent to $310,000. His bill jumped to almost $3,300.
LENZI SHOWED a flair for bombast and props. During his first council meeting on Jan. 8, he pulled a wad of what obviously was receipt paper from his suit-coat pocket and claimed it to be a list of people who had called him with complaints about their property taxes during his first 33 hours on the job.
LOWELL POLICE Sgt. David Tousignant, 60, has prepared for his eventual retirement from the PD in an unconventional way.
Tousignant, the former Criminal Bureau chief who now works in the Detail Bureau, recently received official certification from the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, or MIAA, as a high-school boys and girls indoor- and outdoor-track coach.
Tousignant has volunteered as assistant coach for Lowell's indoor and outdoor teams for the last several years. He's hoping that when he retires, he can become a high-school coach in Lowell or elsewhere.
SPEAKING OF coaches, Dracut High football coach Pat Murphy has generated much excitement with his dual announcement that the Middies will take on Division I powerhouses Brockton and Everett next year. Several schoolboy observers are giving Murphy credit for stepping out big time to put the Merrimack Valley Conference and his Middies in the state spotlight. Others wonder if he's being too ambitious, saying big losses to t could damage Dracut's MVC aspirations.
The Column's solidly behind Murphy. Much like the movie Cinderella Man, featuring the rags-to-riches story of boxing champ James Braddock, Dracut could turn out to be 2008's "Cinderella Team." Bring 'em on!
FIRST-GRADERS at the Lincoln Elementary School were immensely impressed that Mayor Edward "Bud" Caulfield came to read to their class last week.
"Do you live in the White House?" asked one of the mayor's starstruck young fans.
"Yes I do," he replied. "The one on Princeton Boulevard."
Caulfield also was asked if his picture is on the dollar bill.
FORMER WESTFORD Selectman Bob McCusker has thrown his hat into the ring.
McCusker is running for one of two seats on the Board of Selectmen against Selectmen Chairwoman Valerie Wormell, Selectman Dini Healy-Coffin, Finance Committee member Kelly Ross, and resident Kirk Ware.
McCusker says he wants to level the playing field for all town employees.
"The custodians and the town manager should have the same insurance and benefits package, there should be no difference, McCusker said. "There shouldn't be any special deals cut because you're the town manager."
Nomination papers are due Tuesday, March 18.
QUESTIONS OF ethics reached the boiling point this week in Chelmsford, after resident Roland Van Liew filed a complaint with the state against Selectman Bill Dalton over an affordable-housing project. Van Liew alleges that Dalton's wife, Linda Dalton, a senior housing-project manager with the Chelmsford Housing Authority, might have influenced Dalton's vote to support the Hillside Gardens 40B.
Van Liew's argument is that because Linda Dalton works for the town Housing Authority, which is supportive of affordable-housing projects, she is biased in favor of the endeavor, giving her husband a similar bias.
Bill Dalton called Van Liew's conflict-of-interest charge a personal attack and blasted Van Liew for dragging his wife into the fray.
Van Liew said his letter to the state Ethics Commission was more of "an attack of common sense townwide," meant to hold town officials, like Dalton, accountable for their actions.
Dalton also was criticized for praising CHA director David Hedison at a recent selectmen's meeting, while neglecting to mention to the public that Hedison is his wife's boss.
Hedison said Dalton's wife has no ties with Hillside Gardens.
"I don't like the idea of (Van Liew) going after my wife because he didn't get the decision he wanted," Dalton said.
RUMORS OF Chelmweb going offline because of a lack of interest have been squashed.
The community discussion board is not only up and running, it has a streamlined new look. When The Column reported recently that the site was set to expire Jan. 25 because of no new sign-ups in about a year, the paper took some heat and a big "told you so" from avid posters. The revamped site includes a slew of new comics, including "The Chelmsford Far Side," which takes some jabs at town officials.
WILMINGTON OFFICIALS are not scared of a little snow.
The town's Board of Selectmen was one of the few boards -- if not the only one -- that met last Monday night despite a snowstorm that dumped nearly a foot of the white stuff on the area throughout the morning and early afternoon.
The Column asked Selectmen Chairman Michael Newhouse whether other towns were being a bit feeble because they canceled their meetings.
"You said it, not me," he said. "Seriously though, there was no real consideration not to have it. Given the timing of the storm, I was quite confident that the roads would be cleared and safe by the time of our meeting. I didn't sweat that."
Newhouse didn't want to cancel on the Wilmington Pop Warner "D" Team cheerleaders, who were scheduled to appear before the selectmen to be recognized for a recent national championship win.
"They had their hearts set on this, and I saw no reason to disappoint them," he said.
DRACUT SUPERINTENDENT of Schools Elaine Espindle is passionate about the construction of a new high school, even though she won't be at the helm when, and if, it occurs. Espindle's contract expires in June, and she will be replaced by Spencer Mullin.
Yet Espindle is still negotiating hard with the Massachusetts School Building Authority to obtain money for a new facility, which could be six or seven years down the road.
Meanwhile, some members of the School Committee are jockeying for recognition. Committee member Nancy Mendonca and former committee member May Paquette were instrumental in lobbying the building authority to get on the list for funding. They are the ones who petitioned Espindle to send a letter of intent to the state agency.
Mendonca has rallied the PTOs in town and has held meetings in which she was the only committee member to attend. But in a column for a weekly newspaper, committee member Dennis "D.J." Deeb credits the entire board for promoting the effort.
BY THE numbers: Of the 4,322 employees listed on the city of Lowell's 2007-2008 payroll, 2,400 reside in the city and 1,892 live in other communities.
Contributing to this week's Column are City Editor Christopher Scott, City Hall reporter Michael Lafleur, Statehouse Bureau Chief Hillary Chabot, Statehouse reporter Matt Murphy, Billerica reporter Jennifer Amy Myers, Westford reporter Bridget Scrimenti, Chelmsford reporter Rita Savard, Dracut reporter Dennis Shaughnessey and Wilmington reporter Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl.
Posted by Admin at January 21, 2008 5:55 PM
