A failure to communicate

10:55 AM (Original Post)
So the B-I-G news today is not who turned in nomination papers for a spot on the March 29 local election ballot but, she who did not. Indeed, now we know for whom the bells toll. They toll for all of us who care about accountability and transparency in our expensive system of governance--particularly for those who work incredibly hard to better the Amherst schools for all our kids.

For almost three years Catherine Sanderson has been a lightening rod for controversy--all too often resulting in an avalanche of rude public comments within earshot of a husband and children. Thus, she's decided to take a breather, step back from the breach, let somebody else lead the Charge of the Light Brigade.

In other words she will not seek, nor will she accept the nomination to Amherst School Committee for a second term. A dark day indeed for those who respect the rays of sunlight she brought to a system that prefers operating in the shadows.
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Take this for example, posted yesterday on Catherine's blog:

catherine sanderson - you are an embarassment to this commmunity. your arrogance and self serving behavior are unconscionable. you had an agenda prior to the search - you wanted an ivy trained PhD and would settle for nothing less. you don't listen to your constituents either. many SC members mentioned that maria had overwhelming support from parents, community members AND staff. you ignored all of it. you are a disgrace and i hope your loss in the upcoming election is HUGE.

as for comments about you being outspoken, you are not outspoken. you are a BULLY. you only do things for your own ego - not for the common good. you didn't even look at maria during her interview. for all i know, you were doodling on your notepaper the whole time. i never saw you look her in the eye. how can you possibly know what she had to say if you weren't even listening????

you are a LOSER.

February 7, 2011 11:28 AM

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UPDATE: 5:45 PM So no competition for the two open Select Board seats or the School Committee seat now occupied by Catherine Sanderson in the upcoming election. Seems like Amherst is a $65 million enterprise that nobody wants to actually compete to oversee. A race for the two Jones Library Trustee seats, but they only absorb under 2% of the overall budget. Only in Amherst.

Party "house" of the weekend

Salem Place unit #11

According to APD narrative: "Approximately 50 people cleared from residence. Two residents identified and issued Town Bylaw Noise citations. Citations were issued in hand and explained in full. Both residents declined to sign the citations."

Cha-ching: That will be $600!

Okay, so it's a condo and not exactly a house; but like most winners in this category, it is not owner occupied.

Superintendent Super Sunday: It's Geryk by a nose.

UPDATE: 5:45 PM. Well I can let my headline stand (unlike the Chicago Tribune) as Union 26 did, finally, confirm Maria Geryk as permanent Superintendent--but with one major caveat: it's only for one year (until June 30, 2012) and the evaluation of her performance is due in January, 2012. Irv Rhodes (Chair Amherst School Committee) changed his vote to break the 3-3 deadlock.
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UPDATE: 4:15 PM okay, so like the Chicago Tribune in the famous Dewey/Truman Presidential race I was a tad too quick to hit the publish button with a Page One Headline. Union 26, made up of three Amherst School Committee members and the three Pelham school committee members, also had to approve the original vote to make any of the three candidates permanent Superintendent. That vote tied 3-3 with all the Amherst representative voting NO to Ms. Geryk by supporting Dr. John Bayless. We still have a horse race!

3:10 PM UPDATE:

Acting School Superintendent Maria Geryk, the local lady (and as a result the inside candidate) who made good, received the narrow nod with 6 out of 10 votes from the Regional School Committee charged with hiring a new permanent School Superintendent for the venerable Amherst School system, which also includes Leverett, Pelham and Shutesbury. Even though four out of five Amherst School Committee members voted against her. And Amherst makes up over 75% of the Region.
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Rick Hood, Amherst School Committee, Regional Chair but not a committee member to Union 26
1:03 PM
So while most of America in now comfortably curled up in front of the large screen flat panel watching all-to-far-in-advance coverage of the Super Bowl folks in Amherst are glued to cable access watching this School Committee meeting choosing the next School Superintendent for the Amherst Regional School system.

Discussion starts concerning the three candidates. Nobody seems to want to go first.
Rob Spence (Amherst School Committee): I favor by a slight margin Dr. Gerald Kohn and my second choice is Dr. John Bayless. Considering experience and background. I favor the strongest candidate with the best background. Either of them can move the schools forward. That's very important.


1: 15 PM Kristen Luschen: Doesn't seem to like Dr. Kohn (simply because he "turned around a district" as Amherst is not a district that needs turn around). Emails and calls were overwhelmingly in favor of Maria Geryk. She supports her "hands down."

Okay so now we have a tie. Eight to go.

1: 23 PM Kip Fronsh: All the candidates are good but there are profound differences. Attributes the "diversity" of womanhood to Maria Geryk (sounds like he's going to vote for her.)

It's been overwhelming the support for Maria Geryk. Her mother was a maid her father a mill worker. Twice she has stepped into the breech (to act as temporary Super). Conducted herself with class. Yep, he's voting for her.

1: 35PM
Catherine Sanderson jumps in to mention she's getting text messages about ACTV not airing this live. And I'm switching back occasionally to Comments to see that it is indeed the case. Let's hope they fix it soon.

Debbie Gould: Instantly dismisses Dr. Kahn. Sounds like she's voting for Maria Geryk. Dr. Bayless was okay, but he's from California which would increase his "learning curve" for how things are done here in Massachusetts. 85% of the feedback she received favored Maria Geryk. Okay I've heard enough to call her vote. We're now at 3 for Geryk and 1 for Bayless.

Steve Rivkin (Amherst School Committee): Cites the schools objection to transparency "troubling," especially when comparing how much we spend for education per child vs. Northampton. Mentions declining enrollment and attributes it to academic performance of the schools even though the student teacher ratio is pretty small.

Rodriguez came in but could not navigate threw our dense system. Cites hostility towards Catherine Sanderson for her championing of evaluation and results. Says either Dr. Kohn or Dr. Bayless could make an improvement in our system. Seems to favor Kohn (but acknowledges some risk in supporting him). Bayless seems less creative but very solid otherwise. Sounds like anybody but Maria Geryk.

1:50 PM Catherine Sanderson: Cites drop of 99 students in Elementary schools and 30 in kindergarten. Families are choosing not to attend our schools. I hear the "passion" folks have for Maria Geryk. I appreciate the work she's done but, I have real concerns about her being able to handle the problems we currently face. Have not seen a budget from her yet for elementary schools or the region. Have not seen a sense of "urgency" on her part. She was appointed 11 months ago as acting superintendent only by a very divided vote and she has not even tried to "reach out" to those on the School Committee who did not support her. She's way more comfortable in dealing with her "supporters".

I hoped I could vote for Dr. Kohn but it would require "too much of a leap of faith." I feel quite comfortable taking the leap of faith with Dr. Bayless. Score another one for Dr. Bayless.

2:05 PM
So far no surprises. The swing vote is going to come down to Rick Hood Regional Chair. And I bet he's going to go last. (Great for the ratings I guess)

2: 07 Ms. Weilerstein. I was disappointed that there were not more stronger candidates from Massachusetts. Striking how different individuals can have such polar differences in hearing the same presentation. This is a challenge. Immediately dismisses Dr. Kohn. Sounds like she likes Dr. Bayless but the fact that she's taking him up second means she's going to vote for Maria Geryk. That makes four votes for Geryk.

2:25 PM Nora Maroulis (Pelham School Committee). Geryk all the way. Now we're up to five. One more does it. Mr. Rhodes (Amherst School Committee) will go next.

2:30 PM Irv Rhodes: Appreciate all the feedback from citizens. In a popular election Maria Geryk would win by a landslide. I'm aware of that. Large majority wants to see her remain as Superintendent. Her performance at the interview was "astonishingly great". But then he uses the magic word "but". Sounds like he's not going to vote or her. As I said earlier, it will come down to Mr. Hood and if I had to guess he's going to put Maria Geryk over the top.
3:00 PM Yeah, Irv does talk a lot but he supports Bayless. Now it's up to Mr. Hood...

3:02 PM Dismisses Dr. Kohn instantly. Starts talking about Dr. Bayless second so that tells you where this is going. Describes some of Maria Geryk's weaknesses (math and special ed problems.) Cites her creation of an ombudsman for the schools. She has strong qualities. Do I want to work with her to address her weaknesses or just hire somebody else? I support Maria Geryk.

That's it folks.

Let the floodgates open

Four viable consultants responded to the Gateway Project RFP

February may be the shortest month of the year, but for the Amherst Redevelopment Authority it will be our busiest in over a generation with three meetings scheduled to peruse proposals submitted by consultants competing for the job of leading a "visioning process" to ensure public acceptance of the proposed Gateway Project, the most ambitious undertaking for the ARA since founding almost 40 years ago.

At our last meeting 1/31 we were presented with the four consultant proposals and a legal opinion from the town attorney stating that Umass is indeed exempt from all local zoning when it comes to the Gateway Project, meaning they can do whatever they damn well please with that property--especially since they paid $2 million to acquire it, and tens of thousands more to demolish the five frat houses.

Of course if vocal NIMBYs had their way, the ARA would be spending the next three meetings playing solitaire. Their unelected leader, John Fox, appeared before the Amherst Select Board on 12/20/10 to submit a petition that requested a moratorium on the current consultant search.

Ironically the consultant is being hired precisely to attract and engage ALL stakeholders (including taxpayers townwide) in a process that allows EVERYONE a voice to shape what develops at that strategic location--not just those immediate neighbors with a misguided sensitivity fueled by a bawdy recent past.

This outreach curation will include at least six provincial stakeholder meetings and then another three Charrettes--a kind of Three Ring Circus where everybody gets to come under one big tent to share feedback.

By March 1st we will have chosen a consultant; they will spend 8 to 10 weeks dealing with a myriad of planning details--not to mention voluminous feedback from the general public.

Then the consultant provides the ARA with an initial draft of the "Gateway Project Vision" and we put it under our microscope. They then come back with a revised version incorporating our suggestions and that version, hopefully, is finalized by a majority vote (preferably a unanimous vote).

And even then, the finished proposal is formally presented in a joint public meeting of the ARA and the Planning Board. All leading up to the biggest hoop of all: a two-thirds vote of Amherst Town Meeting to approve the new zoning required for turning this dream into reality.

Yes, more hoops than a Chinese hula hoop factory. But in the end, well worth it.

Snow be gone

Walmart Hadley roof snow removal

Blue Flag on a blue/white background. (I hear it's hot in Egypt about now.)

Expanding my audience

UPDATE: 9:35 AM

So my radio debut went well if I do say so myself. As usual, the only problem is not enough time or bandwidth to properly discuss "All things Amherst." I had planned to highlight four hot button issues (any one of which could end up being the issue of the year) and really only managed to work in two of them: the impending Superintendent search decision and the somewhat intertwined School Committee race between upstart incumbent Catherine Sanderson and newcomer Katherine Appy.

Did not have the time to touch on the other two, Umass related, issues: Blockading Lincoln Avenue access to Umass for the first time in 150 years; and the Gateway Project, an ambitious significant infrastructure upgrade dressing up the main entryway to Umass formerly stained by the slummy presence of Frat Row.

Oh well, there's always next week.
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ORIGINAL POST: Wednesday night
So tomorrow morning I start my weekly gig at WHMP radio with a 7:40 AM eight minute segment on Chris Collins Morning News broadcast talking about "All things Amherst." I've always loved radio because of the immediacy--kind of like the Internet.

Fifty years ago my mother routinely set the clock radio alarm to WHMP during school days to rouse us in the morning (and during the winter hoping for a school closing announcement, as she was a public school teacher in Easthampton.)

So I would almost always awaken to the sound of the legendary newsman with a golden voice, Ron Hall.

The Ghost of Christmas yet to come?

So yeah, I'm sticking my oversized neck out by publishing this but, unlike WikiLeaks, I will provide background and context for this important document, obtained under the legitimate protection of an Executive Session Monday night at the Amherst Redevelopment Authority meeting (legal advice from the town attorney is exempt from disclosure under Mass Public Documents Law.)

Kind of an "Executive Decision" on my part--as the acting Chair of the ARA and, as such, I of course take full responsibility.

I consider it a journalistic "correction" for something I previously published. When overly concerned, outspoken neighbor John Fox (a retired Washington attorney) visited the Amherst Select Board to rail against the Gateway Project and present to them a petition signed by 147 fellow "concerned citizens" he also attached to that petition an email exchange he had with town planner Christine Brestrup declaring Umass was subject to local town zoning and as such was limited in what they could develop on the former Frat Row, a now vacant prime piece of property (worth millions) sitting at the entry/Gateway to Umass.

Turns out our town attorney disagrees with that assumption. And it's an extremely critical point: UMass does not need the town or the ARA to build anything--including any kind of housing--on the former Frat Row. Backs up what Mr. Diacon pointed out an an ARA meeting months ago; they could build a 20 story residential project designed exclusively for undergrads if they so desired--all of it off the property tax rolls.

Key sentence of attorney Bard's email being the close: "It is therefore my opinion that, were UMass to retain ownership of the Gateway site and to development it for its own use in furtherance of its essential governmental function, such development of the site would not be controlled by the Town's Zoning Bylaw."

So NIMBY neighbors: be careful what you wish for. Torpedo the Gateway Project as envisioned in this joint coalition between the town, ARA and Umass...at your own risk.