tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post9161897122415237422..comments2023-10-17T22:56:42.784-04:00Comments on Only in The Republic of Amherst: Citizens to School Committee: Et tu, Brute?Larry Kelleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-21854954248942326322009-03-27T22:48:00.000-04:002009-03-27T22:48:00.000-04:00So let's take Amherst's top-rated schools and put ...So let's take Amherst's top-rated schools and put them in the same district with Hadley, Belchertown, and Greenfield. That's a loser of an idea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-1475683863548116842009-03-27T16:16:00.000-04:002009-03-27T16:16:00.000-04:00Maryland, a state with almost the same population ...Maryland, a state with almost the same population and geographic size as Massachusetts, has 32 school districts; Massachusetts has 375.<BR/><BR/>And of course each district has a Superintendent who makes over $100-K. What a scam.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-9760266567371598342009-03-27T15:15:00.000-04:002009-03-27T15:15:00.000-04:00C'mon people, this is to be Superintendent. How m...C'mon people, this is to be Superintendent. How much do you think he should earn to move here from another state? $25,000? Get real. Presidents of colleges earn $500,000 to $1 million-plus. This isn't 1955 anymore. Houses cost a half a million not $20,000.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-38785486538840252742009-03-27T11:54:00.000-04:002009-03-27T11:54:00.000-04:00So you are quite right in assuming that the Town's...So you are quite right in assuming that the Town's Non-school employees will not agree to give up any of their cost of living increases. This group of employees has said repeatedly they are willing to share the pain, but the sharing must be with the school employees as well. The current direction that the Town is going is to give everthing to the school and throw scraps to the Town employees and watch them wither and fade away.<BR/><BR/>$158,000 with a housing and transportation allowance!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-74586470189868960142009-03-27T10:20:00.000-04:002009-03-27T10:20:00.000-04:00I love to read people complain about this blog. T...I love to read people complain about this blog. They come back again and again to say how much they hate it. They don't realize how funny that is to the rest of us.<BR/>I don't agreee with everything Larry posts but I often find out some bit of info I won't find elsewhere, at least not for a few days. Just like all the other Amherst blogs, take it or leave it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-6278828437022520622009-03-27T09:07:00.000-04:002009-03-27T09:07:00.000-04:00Hey, at least rubbernecking Anons don't have to wo...Hey, at least rubbernecking Anons don't have to worry about rear end collisionsLarry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-72149476804983752492009-03-27T08:59:00.000-04:002009-03-27T08:59:00.000-04:00Jeez, the negativity on this blog makes it exhaust...Jeez, the negativity on this blog makes it exhausting to read. Obvious solution: I'm going to stop reading it! Why, WHY, does LK and everyone waste their time here. Any that goes for me too. Must. Stop. Typing. Now.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-67195441962097602592009-03-26T22:34:00.000-04:002009-03-26T22:34:00.000-04:00Yeah, an "elected" Town Meeting member (since 1991...Yeah, an "elected" Town Meeting member (since 1991 I might add). <BR/><BR/>And this coming election we have contests in 2 out of 10 Precincts for 3 year seats-- meaning 64 folks (over one-quarter Town Meeting total membership) are guaranteed election with just their own vote.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-64777692417082888192009-03-26T22:29:00.000-04:002009-03-26T22:29:00.000-04:00It is one thing to have a strong opinion, that is ...It is one thing to have a strong opinion, that is a sign of deeply held beliefs. Name calling on the other hand is a sign of immaturity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-60218476156807211822009-03-26T22:27:00.000-04:002009-03-26T22:27:00.000-04:00As a town meeting member you are one of our electe...As a town meeting member you are one of our elected officials. I am sorry to see we have elected one that is so intolerant and rude to others. Pity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-90743120195731428752009-03-26T22:25:00.000-04:002009-03-26T22:25:00.000-04:00They are safely in bed A__hole.They are safely in bed A__hole.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-2690943147281616112009-03-26T22:23:00.000-04:002009-03-26T22:23:00.000-04:00Well, this is Amherst. Bullhorns are standard iss...Well, this is Amherst. Bullhorns are standard issue tools.<BR/><BR/>And perhaps enough folk with them outside his "housing allowance" home would encourage him to go back to Miami...<BR/><BR/>After all, this is Amherst, this is how things are done here.....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-21745582014291041132009-03-26T22:14:00.000-04:002009-03-26T22:14:00.000-04:00Jesus, you are a freakin nitwit. Get the Hell out...Jesus, you are a freakin nitwit. Get the Hell out of my way, will ya!<BR/><BR/>Anon 9:52 PM (the good one):<BR/><BR/>Unconfirmed. But I would bet my life--not my wife or daughters of course--on it: $158,000<BR/><BR/>And that does NOT include housing/transportation allowance.<BR/><BR/>And yeah, there should be a HUGE reaction.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-65343775669415083032009-03-26T22:05:00.000-04:002009-03-26T22:05:00.000-04:00"And it is W-A-Y easier to criticize while cloaked..."And it is W-A-Y easier to criticize while cloaked under a cowardly pseudonym."<BR/><BR/>I think it's interesting that anonymous posters rarely call you names but you call them cowards, nitwits, etc. Despite their being anonymous, they usually are better behaved than you are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-12425112628666026962009-03-26T21:52:00.000-04:002009-03-26T21:52:00.000-04:00Any guesses on what the salary will be? Your 20% i...Any guesses on what the salary will be? Your 20% increase takes it to $160,000+.<BR/><BR/>I predict that the masses will break out the Molotov cocktails and begin overturning cars downtown at $145,000-$150,000+.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-59173868136548965012009-03-26T21:24:00.000-04:002009-03-26T21:24:00.000-04:00Yeah, and notice Michael Hussin Chair of the Amher...Yeah, and notice Michael Hussin Chair of the Amherst Pelham Regional School Committee already signed the contract and sent it to him for his John Hancock (probably Fed Ex overnight).<BR/><BR/>Thus telegraphing that we are desperate for his almighty services (at W-A-Y too high a price).Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-37012639533135021932009-03-26T21:19:00.000-04:002009-03-26T21:19:00.000-04:00I see a bad moon a-risin' on the Superintendent's ...I see a bad moon a-risin' on the Superintendent's compensation.<BR/><BR/>Once Diversity figures out how badly a community wants Diversity, Diversity exacts its price.<BR/><BR/>AIG, meet the Amherst School Committee.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-20524894202312715152009-03-26T20:53:00.000-04:002009-03-26T20:53:00.000-04:00And folks are really going to freak when the find ...And folks are really going to freak when the find out the housing/transportation allowance alone is greater than a 10% raise over what we were paying Hochman.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-4182023090228071072009-03-26T20:51:00.000-04:002009-03-26T20:51:00.000-04:00Yeah, good point.I know (because I obtained a copy...Yeah, good point.<BR/><BR/>I know (because I obtained a copy of the contract under Public Documents Law) the Town Manager was paid a ONE TIME $5,000 moving expense and in addition to his $125,000 annual salary has a $350/month cell phone/automobile allowance. But nothing for housing.<BR/><BR/>A dollar is a dollar is a dollar. Don't matter if you call most of it "salary" and some of it "housing/transportation", it all adds up to a burden on the overburdened taxpayers.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-13089356091843467642009-03-26T20:40:00.000-04:002009-03-26T20:40:00.000-04:00Back to the original post:You mentioned a transpor...Back to the original post:<BR/><BR/>You mentioned a transportation and housing allowance. Why would our superintendent need a transportation allowance? And, since when do we pay for school administrators' housing? Isn't that what his seemingly very high salary is for?<BR/><BR/>What gives?Joelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13141742420717242724noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-84842603651032878142009-03-26T18:41:00.000-04:002009-03-26T18:41:00.000-04:00Hmmm... So again I have back-to-back Anonymous cri...Hmmm... So again I have back-to-back Anonymous criticisms from individuals who are ANONYMOUS. <BR/><BR/>And the most recent Nitwit insists that if "I treat the guests on your blog like dirt, the constructive commenters will leave."<BR/><BR/>Well Nitwit, you are not a "guest" as I did not personally invite you here. And you are far from "constructive." Go start your own blog.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-40488768354757387022009-03-26T17:52:00.000-04:002009-03-26T17:52:00.000-04:00It's Anon 11:41 back again after posting just the ...It's Anon 11:41 back again after posting just the first comment earlier this morning.<BR/><BR/>No, I'm not the Realist.<BR/><BR/>But I do rest my case about the deterioration of conversation on this blog, with many in the string of comments today as Exhibit "A".<BR/><BR/>The point is that Larry's daily blog entries and the attempts at muckraking are in fact very fun to read. The filmed bikerides between the speed cushions on Lincoln Avenue and over the potholes on Hulst Road were two of my favorites. <BR/><BR/>Larry has accomplished one thing: you do feel the compulsion to peek regularly to see what he's up to. If attention-getting is his prime objective, he's succeeded. But in other respects, he's making a serious mistake.<BR/><BR/>The personal slamming of commenters who do sign their names, AND the really cruel remarks about some people in town (like the stupid, truly self-defeating fat jokes made about a former Select Board member last week, even as he was lauding her self-restraint on business matters that might be seen as a conflict) will result in the inevitable: the steady slide into the Amherst equivalent of Masslive Forum, and its corresponding level of relevance in the public discourse. <BR/><BR/>Fortunately, the lady bloggers in town seem instinctively to understand this: if you treat the guests on your blog like dirt, the constructive commenters will leave.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-10464892844701897662009-03-26T17:37:00.000-04:002009-03-26T17:37:00.000-04:00This is too funny...who the heck do you think I am...This is too funny...who the heck do you think I am?!?! You can keep on with the "it's over" (cue the scary music) comments until the cows come home but that won't change the fact that I have zero, nada, zilch to do with either the Town or the Schools (other than having two children who went through the Amherst Schools many years ago). I am semi-comfortably retired from owning/managing several small businesses (hard to be truly "comfortable" in this economy) and find this "hobby" to be more engaging & fun than doing Sudokus and crossword puzzles. Sorry to put a pin in your conspiracy theories but all you have here is a guy making some observations from the peanut gallery. Nothing more, nothing less.<BR/><BR/>And when you get right down to it...near as I can tell, you only have 2-3 truly UN-anonymous bloggers at this site: Alison, Rich Morse, and yourself. Everyone else is basically "unknown" to the readers (including the ubiquitous "Ed" who could actually be a nom-de-plume for some 70 year-old woman from Topeka named "Gertrude"). On-line personalities & identities are established through the consistent use of the same "stage name" (mine being "A Realist") - anything more than that is unnecessary, unless you are the Site Steward (LK in this case) in which case it is helpful to the reader to know if/when you are throwing in your two cents.<BR/><BR/>Still interesting to me that you defend Mr. It's Over's right to stay anonymous - implying that his selfish, fear-based reasons for staying Anon are somehow more "legit" than other people's similarly based reasons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-902318667284950062009-03-26T16:48:00.000-04:002009-03-26T16:48:00.000-04:00"Yeah, same guy."That's right.Hey, what's new down..."Yeah, same guy."<BR/><BR/><BR/>That's right.<BR/><BR/>Hey, what's new down the maint/trans. dept?? Hmm? They sweating down there? <BR/><BR/>Hey, why not get a picture of Peter at his desk? You can keep it in your wallet... you know, remember the "good times".<BR/><BR/><BR/>"hoping that he can somehow exact some revenge on the Schools for you b/c of your having been let go by Ron B/Pete C. Kinda sad." <BR/><BR/><BR/>LOL.<BR/><BR/>(BTW my slippery, heartless friend, it's over.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5035949355013113578.post-26902205508639564222009-03-26T15:56:00.000-04:002009-03-26T15:56:00.000-04:00Not really a double standard.Because it is far eas...Not really a double standard.<BR/><BR/>Because it is far easier to agree with somebody than it is to criticize them.<BR/><BR/>And it is W-A-Y easier to criticize while cloaked under a cowardly pseudonym.Larry Kelleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02614645831526190536noreply@blogger.com