Chinese Outsourcing

 PVCICS

The grim budget news for Amherst Regional Public Schools just got a whole lot grimmer with the surprising -- to me anyway -- news that Elementary and Secondary Education Commissioner Chester is recommending the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter  School be allowed to expand, at but only at the high school level.

PVCIC was founded in 2007, and briefly did business in South Amherst.   The charter school has already absorbed 52 Amherst elementary students, up from 35 in 2010, out of their current total enrollment of 280.

The Chinese Charter school petitioned the state to allow them to more than double in enrollment to 684: 240 High School students and 444 elementary. Commissioner Chester is approving the expansion to High School which will increase enrollment by 284 students to a total of 584.

Charter schools have a financial incentive to raid the public schools in the area with a higher funding, like Amherst, because they receives from the state the per student average cost of the sending district.

Thus it is far more lucrative to acquire a student from Amherst elementary system at $17,116 in profit than, say, Hadley at only $9,770, which is well below the state average of $13,361.

And now that PVCIC will also expand fully to a High School, how many of the 1,533 Amherst Regional High School students will they steal appropriate away at $17,916 per head?

Ironically the current Chinese charter school leadership, founders Principal Kathy Wang and Executive Director Rich Alcorn (who are married), originally offered the language program lock, stock and barrel to the Amherst public schools, but they were turned down. 

"...here for our kids"

Kathy Mazur (left) In the Hot Seat 

While they may not have carried pitchforks and torches, sixteen concerned parents showed up to voice their strong concerns this morning at a coffee hour with rookie Amherst School Committee member Amilcar Shabazz, who is also the parent of a Crocker Farm second grader.

But the session became more of a give-and-take with Superintendent Maria Geryk's right hand person, Director of Human Resources Kathy Mazur, who found herself defending the budget decisions of the MIA Superintendent.

One major complaint was the decision to promote former Crocker Farm Principal Mike Morris to Director of Teacher Evaluations and moving him to "Central Office," not that anyone was complaining about the job currently being done by co-Principals Deryk Shea and Anne Marie Foley.


 Co-Principal Derek Shea at Crocker Farm concert

To which Mr. Shabazz responded, "Crocker Farm took a hit and that has not been acknowledged by the Superintendent (Maria Geryk)"

Amherst School Committee member Amilcar Shabazz also UMass Du Bois Professor of Afro-American Studies

The move to Central Office by Morris also sank the idea of turning Crocker Farm into an "innovation school."

EJ Mills questions an $80,000 Grant Writer

Amherst has a reputation for being top heavy with administrators so it was only natural the new budget proposal, which calls for two additional administrators in Central Office but cuts teachers and para professionals, would be controversial.  

At $17, 916 Amherst has one of the highest costs per student in the state  (compared to neighboring Hadley at $9,770) and an "administration" cost per pupil 65% higher than state average.

 

Amherst Schools by the (state) numbers

The Cover Up Continues

In his FY14 budget Letter of Transmittal to his bosses the Select Board, Town Manager John Musante writes, "The 9-hole Cherry Hill Golf Course budget increases by $2,465 (+1%). In addition to offering one of the best values in Western Massachusetts it will expand its winter programming as well as introduce a disc golf program. The golf course will cover its operating and employee benefits costs entirely from user fees."

Hmm ... maybe the Town Manager needs to look up the definition of "entirely".

First of all, according to his own figures, the $2,465 increase is a 1.6% increase over last year's budget, so it would be more correct to round up to 2% rather than down to 1%.

Second of all, according to his own figures, the golf course is "projected" to intake $268,000 against semi-total expenditures of  $277,629  ($240,100 operating and $37,529 employee benefits).  In the red by almost $10,000 or $9,629 to be exact.  Thus the user fees do not entirely cover overhead.

Now I use the term "semi-total expenditures" because those two overhead costs combined leave out one other important cost of doing business in the expensive world of golf:  capital equipment. 

And in FY14 that comes to another $26,654 in lease payments on two mowers, or a grand total of $304,283 against an overly optimist projection of $268,000 in revenues, or a loss of $36,283.

Of course the real problem is the Golf Course will not take in $268,000.  In FY12 , for example, they were "projected" to intake -- guess what? -- $268,000.   But, according to the Town Manager's figures, only managed $242,569.

That year total expenditures with employee benefits and capital came to $283,106 for a loss of over $40,000 or $40,537 to be exact.

Interestingly last year the capital request spreadsheet for the golf course showed a projected total of $135,654 in FY14, the two movers plus $24,000 for a fence and $85,000 for parking lot resurfacing. 

Last year's Cherry Hill five year plan

Those two expensive items have simply been shuffled into the near future along with another BIG ticket $60,000 item, Irrigation Pond Dredging.

Even by fudging the figures Cherry Hill does not "cover its operating and employee benefits cost." And the expensive capital items -- entirely paid for by taxpayers rather than "user fees" -- over the next five years average $50,000 annually.
   

And that alone would cover the cost of one badly needed police officer or firefighter. 
  

This year's five year plan

Voting In The Digital Age

Town Clerk Sandra Burgess, center 

The nail biting time for election candidates their supporters and the media -- usually starting as soon as the polls close at 8:00 PM -- could be reduced if Amherst Town Clerk Sandra Burgess gets her lone capital item wish.

Ms. Burgess made her obligatory appearance this morning before the Joint Capital Planning Committee, the initial gatekeepers for all capital items purchased across all town departments for Fiscal Year 2014, starting July 1st.

The JCPC simply makes recommendations to Town Meeting, who holds the ultimate granting authority,  but a negative recommendation is the kiss of death.

Ms. Burgess made a modest proposal, only $8,850 for a GEMS computerized voting tabulator system that includes a (Dell) laptop , software, licensing and comes with a two year warranty.

The system would speed up the 10 precinct tally on voting night thus speeding up the breaking news of who won what position.  Equally important, the new system would also improve accuracy.

The results would still be "unofficial," however, as write ins and provisional ballots are  counted by hand the next day. Each election would cost an additional $175 in programming.  Average election cost in Amherst is around $14,000.

JCPC is using a target of 7% of the overall town budget as a spending guide, but not necessarily in a uniform manner across all departments.

The Town Clerk's operation budget for FY14 is $190,153 so a 7% share would come to $13,310, thus this request is well under her theoretical ceiling. 

The Town Clerk closed her presentation saying this system represents "The final step ... It would bring it all together for us."

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

DPW digs away at large pile of snow in front of Town Hall today

What's in a name?

Town Manager Musante, SB Chair Stephanie O'Keeffe, Pat Kamins at yesterday's meeting

"Permit," "license," or "business certificate" -- call it what you will, but the success of the much needed rental housing bylaw coming out of the endless meetings of the 'Safe & Healthy Neighborhoods' working group comes down to that simple concept.

Rental registration and licensing go together like auto registration and licensing.  Can you imagine the problems if anyone, regardless of license, could drive a car simply because the vehicle was properly registered?

Member Pat Kamins (a mid-sized local landlord) sarcastically asks his fellow members to think about businesses in Amherst "that require licenses or permits that can be revoked if their customers act inappropriately."

Well first of all, think about all the businesses that are not in Amherst because their customers could act inappropriately:  Strip bars, porn shops, head shops, etc. 

In fact, the Board of Health crushed the 'Smoking Ban in Bars Revolt' (by the more rowdy bars) a dozen years ago by threatening to revoke food handling permits for not enforcing the smoking ban.  Since alcohol licenses are tied to food handling permits, the bars quickly caved.

The rest, as they say, is history.  And the town is immeasurably better for it.

 
Crowd of 20 showed up for last night's meeting Safe & Health Neighborhoods working group

U Drink & Drive? U Lose!

This lad drove his car onto active RR tracks, got stuck, and was then arrested

I thought about using the title "Law & Order" because this important public document shines a light on the seamless follow up to Amherst Police Department's all too numerous arrests for the dangerous crime -- people still don't take seriously enough -- of drinking too much and then sitting behind the wheel of a car.

But I figured the text lingo would get the attention of my pre-gray-hair target audience -- not that DUIs in Amherst are solely the province of college aged youth, or people with hair for that matter.

And I thought about using "Don't drink and drive in Amherst" as a lead; but then I would have to quickly add, "Don't drink and drive anywhere!"  So I'll just go with this delayed lead:

In 2011 Amherst police arrested a whopping 144 drivers for DUI.  In 2012 even more, 155!  (And yes, I seldom use exclamation points!)

Let's hope in the current year it starts to go down.  And one good reason for that is District Attorney Dave Sullivan.  He takes drunk driving very seriously.  I present exhibit A:

Amherst Drunk Driver Conviction Rate by Larry Kelley

This 87% conviction rate (for completed cases) is better than the overall state average of 77% found in a major study released in 2012 spanning 57,000 cases over 45 months.  But that study also uncovered a major problem: "When judges consider the merits of OUI cases in a bench trial, 86% were acquitted."  86%!

Jury trials were also problematic, as 58% were acquitted.

In this snapshot of Amherst DUI cases I can't help but question if the "2 not guilty" and "3 dismissed" would have turned out differently if the state changed the absurd rule making inadmissible as evidence in a trial the refusal to take a breathalyzer.

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According to my legal advisor:  

 “Nolle pros” is shorthand for “nolle prosequi”, which is a filing by the Commonwealth (DA’s office or AG) indicating that the Commonwealth is not going forward with the case.  This is usually based on a decision by one or more prosecutors that there is not enough evidence in the case, or that the witnesses have disappeared. It does not rule out the future prosecution of the case, especially if filed prior to a trial date, but I must emphasize that is rare. It is a unilateral action by the Commonwealth which is not reviewable by the Court. The Court merely accepts the filing and tells the defendant he or she can go.