Your editorial on the Mashpee Public Schools’ handling of a threat by a fifth grade student misses the point.
You said it yourselves: “What do we pay our principals and administrators for if not to assess each incident and take appropriate action?”
The key word here is “appropriate”.
Yes, the school should have alerted the police, who have the authority and responsibility to investigate whether or not this child has access to weapons.
Yes, the school should have removed the student from the premises and obtained a psychiatric evaluation – SOP in other districts – before allowing the child back in class.
Yes, the school should have investigated whether this little boy was the victim of bullying.
None of the above was done, not even notification to parents until several days after the incident.
As for the teacher: I don’t know her personally, but would be very surprised if this public school veteran has refused to return to her classroom based on this incident alone.
What I do know is that this employee’s unwillingness to return to the workplace is costing the taxpayers $75-80/day in stipends for a substitute.
When you consider how much work it takes for the Quashnet School PTO to raise $400+, that’s a lot of bake sales to compensate for the administration’s egregious mismanagement.
By the way, it would be helpful in the future for your editorials to give all parties equal time, and include quotes from everyone involved, not just the school superintendent.
After firing 6-7 teachers, hiring of at least 2 unqualified administrators with high 5-figure salaries and the recent DOE criticism of the Mashpee schools, the superintendent has very little credibility with many of us.
Ineptitude
This week, my granddaughter’s school made the news on the local talk radio station, the local paper and two Boston TV stations.
A 10 year old in one of the fifth grade classes had made threats against his fellow students, and the school administration, including the superintendent, tried to sweep it under the rug.
Grace for Governor
The last Massachusetts gubernatorial debate was far more entertaining and substantive than any of the others.
Could be because unlike the earlier debates that were hamstrung by tedious talking heads, the candidates themselves did the questioning.
Could be because Cokie Roberts was a superb moderator, maintaining control of the proceedings while allowing just enough drama to keep the hour interesting.
Trick
Halloween has started, and the first trick of the day is a bit of flim-flam from a group called the Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy.
The headline of an article about them in this morning’s Herald online jumped out at me: “Massachusetts teen moms and their kids cost the state $109 million a year in social services.”
Holy moley, $109 million: that translates to almost $24,000 per teen mom, which happens to be about 3 1/2 times the _maximum_ annual welfare benefit in Massachusetts (about $7,000).
Gee, what could possibly be the point of inflating a number by 350%?
Justice Served
A Michigan jury wiped the smile off Lisa Holland’s face when they found her guilty last Friday of first-degree felony murder and child abuse in the death of her adopted son, Ricky, age 7.
In Michigan, felony murder carries a mandatory life sentence without parole. Formal sentencing is scheduled for November 28.
We Live in a Sigocracy
This from Shanto Iyengar, a Stanford professor, in an interview by the Washington Post on the subject of this year’s negative political ads:
“If you get people disgusted, they might withdraw from politics, and that’s the real goal these days.”
Cross-Endorsement and Question 2
Massachusetts voters have a chance to make cross-party endorsements legal again by voting “yes” on Question 2 this November 7.
If this ballot initiative passes, alternative political parties would have the option to show their support for a major party candidate in general elections.
In other words, the candidate’s name would appear multiple times on the ballot, once for their party and again for any third party that endorses the candidate
An Embarassment
Kerry Healey has been my choice for Massachusetts Governor, but her campaign – and the lack of support from her boss, Mitt Romney – has become a confluence of ineptitude, a confederacy of dunces.
Nice Service
There was some press a while back about manufacturers’ rebates and how many consumers are too lazy or too busy to claim them.
So, I was pleased to see that BJ’s, the membership warehouse retail store, has put together an online service, simple to use, for submitting rebates.
Refreshing, isn’t it, for a retailer – especially one running on slim margins – to have invested resources into building a nice convenience for its customers.
Duh, and Duh Again
This, from this morning’s Cape Cod Times: