The week that was and the week that is
April showers bring mud.
Plenty going on last week and upcoming this week in Town. Townie Talk will address the weaponization of the Town budget, the appointment of a new Superintendent, and some interesting tidbits. Be prepared for a potentially tumultuous month of April with Belmont in the news and not in a good way.
Important Correction…
When writing in Floyd Carman for Treasurer include (Brighton Street next to his name)
While trying to spell Amy Zuccarello’s name correctly I messed up Jung Yueh’s name. Regardless, both are getting my vote for School Committee. Sorry Jung. Good luck.
Town Meeting… Every few years a High School student runs for Town Meeting. This year it’s Antonio Molle in Precinct 6. Good Luck and while at it P6 is home to the brilliant mind of Marie Warner and worthy of your vote.
Big development for Belmont Center
Townie Talk sources can confirm locally owned Stone Hearth will be extending hours and adjusting the menu to attract later diners. In addition, they are improving the comfort factor for outdoor seating. This is a big development for Belmont Center which tends to see the lights out at dusk. My only requests are that they add “Red Stripe” as a tribute to Jamaica Jeff’s and play some Country music.
Belmont Dramatic Club
Less than 1 month until the Belmont Dramatic club returns to the theatre otherwise known as Belmont Town Hall. They will be performing Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery. Tickets can be found at bdcbaskerville@brownpapertickets.com or on their Facebook page. Shows are 8pm April 22 and 29th with 2pm matinees on April 23 and 30th. $20 Admission.
Trivia Answers:
The Senior Goalie for the BHS ’86 Boys soccer team was none other than the Recreation Commission’s David Kane. Will never be a trivia question on Jeopardy, but this is Belmont.
Shortly after incorporation, 147 Belmont residents volunteered to fight for the North under President Abe Lincoln during the Civil War. The Town offered $125 to volunteers. 360,000 Soldiers gave their life fighting for the North to end sanctioned slavery.
Town Politics
The weaponization of the budget
In what can only be described as astonishing, a member of the warrant committee openly proposed weaponizing the budget to inflict pain on voters for not supporting an override. To make matters worse the incoming Select Board candidate seemed to endorse the opinions of the warrant committee member which is shocking as it instantly calls her credibility into question on fiscal matters. The meeting is available on the Belmont Media Center site and is now posted on BelmontBriefing.com for residents to see and hear for themselves.
From the Public meeting…
Doyle: “I think we should be making some cuts in the town side of the budget so that people who do not have children in school experience and feel the pain that’s in the budget. Right now, the pain in the budget is only being felt by families with children, it’s not being felt by people who don’t have children in the schools.”
Dionne: “We can tell citizens who don’t have students in the schools if the next override fails, it will be… a bloodbath”
Doyle: “I’m talking about actual cuts. Like for example… we should be cutting the hours of the library so that people in the public can see this is the result of not passing an override. We should not be having all the yard waste collection that we have so that people can see, that’s the result of a failed override.”
Dionne nodding in agreement.
Dionne: “I also wholeheartedly agree.”
As you see above or can watch on the video this is suggesting targeted cuts to punish voters who didn’t support the override. It has nothing to do with prioritizing needs over wants… it is just retribution. To be fair many on the warrant committee do not share this attitude but how can we as residents have any faith around the budget with weaponization of it being openly discussed and seemingly endorsed by an incoming select board candidate.
This is no small deal. Let’s look at the school budget for example. Does the School Administration need to cut Kindergarten aides or is it just more weaponization of a budget? The trust is gone. I have long suspected budget weaponization was taking place but now have proof of intent. If we the voters don’t give them all the money they want then they will “punish” us by making cuts as retribution for not getting their way.
This is beyond damaging… this is an issue of credibility moving forward. You can’t walk it back. It’s in your heart.
The next Superintendent of Schools
Dr. Jill Geiser
First, Congratulations to Dr. Jill Geiser on being selected as the next Superintendent of the Belmont Public School system. She has the educational background and credentials for the position and as a Belmont resident she knows the powder keg she is walking into. Everyone should be given a fresh start but that doesn’t mean we ignore the past. More on that later…
The vote
Early on it looked like Dr. Kimo Carter, (another Belmont resident) was going to be the choice. He was described as focusing on consensus building, positivity, and capable of acknowledging mistakes and correcting them. Seemed like the safe choice to not raise tensions higher than they are. It appeared both Carter and Geiser had support from essentially all the Committee. When they went to a straw poll… Committee member Jamal Saeh became more aggressive in his support of Geiser and that seemed to move retiring member Bowen in that direction. Chair Moriarty supported Geiser as did Checkoway. Retiring member Crowley supported Carter as did Liberty. They then took a vote with Crowley joining the majority. Geiser was appointed 5-1. They will need to negotiate a contract with Geiser before it’s official.
Reality strikes…
The SC didn’t want to go into a fight with a weak interim Superintendent. The fight being the FY25 budget and the need for a strong vested voice at the table when meeting with the WC. As a result, there was no discussion around an interim hire. That’s a logical position. Of course those who wanted an interim hire also make a very good argument that having a superintendent is not as important as having the right one. Anyways that fight is over and now we have Dr. Jill Geiser and time will tell.
What makes Geiser controversial?
Politics of course. There are about as many moderate Superintendent candidates as there are Republicans teaching at Ivy League schools. Odds are you are lucky if you get one left of center. Geiser comes across as deep left and one would say progressive based on her postings.
She seems to be a big fan of Ibram Kendi for one. The man has made redefining racism into a lucrative career. Here is Kendi…
RACIST: One who is supporting a racist policy through their actions or inaction or expressing a racist idea.
ANTIRACIST: One who is supporting an antiracist policy through their actions or expressing an antiracist idea.
Superintendent continued….
Kendi’s book is candy for progressive intellectuals and has caused a divide between liberals and progressives. His message is white people are racist and the only way to change that is to be anti-racist. So how does that apply to Belmont schools. Quite simple… the consultant hired to look at advanced math offerings at the Chenery Middle School cited the lack of Black and Brown students signed up for those classes and said for equity reasons it should not be offered. A Kendi disciple would see the course as institutional racism and demand its removal on equity grounds. Parents who seek academic excellence and want their children challenged are instead seeing the opposite of what we are told DEI is supposed to be. We are told it is about evening the playing field by providing more services to those who need it. Clearly, the example at the middle school is not consistent with the “messaging”. AP courses are another area of inconvenience and probably at higher risk of being eliminated in an “Anti-racist” mindset.
Another area of concern occurred when Dr. Geiser was involved in allowing Monica Cannon Grant to speak at Billerica HSMS. Cannon Grant was known for vile anti-white and anti-cop rhetoric. She was invited to speak at a Black History event at the school. At the time she was also charged with fraud involving her charity. Since then, Cannon Grant is about as toxic as the chemicals spilling off train derailments in Pennsylvania. The event reflected poorly on Billerica and was bad judgement for all those involved.
Townie Talk solution…
Massachusetts needs to embrace a school choice voucher program that includes charter, parochial and private schools as options for Parents that don’t like the race to mediocrity in public education as well as the indoctrination. Excessive amounts of time and money focusing on gender and race while learning falters. The liberal message of Martin Luther King Jr. and Barack Obama who focused on progress and equality is being hijacked by the progressive Kendi version of equity (equal outcomes). It’s a bridge too far for many and it widens the education gap between the affluent and struggling as the affluent will pay for the services taken away while the less affluent do without. I used to oppose voucher programs because I saw them as weakening public education but at this point it’s the only fair solution.
In the meantime, the only way to express dissatisfaction with the progressive overreach in public education is to reject overrides. Why reward policies that prohibit some students from learning at their level. Maybe one day DEI will morph into the Belmont Travel Basketball model. Until then it will be an anchor on academic excellence in public education.
Murder Mystery 2
Nothing to do with Belmont but two of my faves (Adam Sandler and Jen Aniston) sequel “Murder Mystery 2” was released on Netflix March 31st.
Belmont Police
On Wednesday, 3/29/2, John Connolly, the latest addition to the BPD, was officially sworn in by Town Clerk Ellen O’Brien Cushman. Officer Connolly was brought on board through the process of lateral transfer from his previous position with the Boston Police Department. BPD Facebook. Welcome to Belmont.
Small Towns… perfect for Hallmark Movies
The “Visiting New England” website lists Belmont as one of the 33 small towns in New England that would look great in Hallmark movies.
Do you hear that buzzing?
Belmont Day School welcomed a new hive of 10,000 bees to their on-campus garden. Townie Talk wants to know who counted them?
Beer and Chocolate.?
I love beer and I love chocolate but personally I don’t mix the two. However, if you are adventurous, two Belmont businesses are teaming up and hosting Flight Night: a pairing of beer and chocolate on Wednesday April 12th at Trinktisch. Tick Tock chocolates and Trinktisch paired up for this “advance ticket” event.
Trivia:
The NFL draft is approaching, and this Belmont product could hear his name called in the late rounds. The 6’5 215lb Wide Receiver seems like the type of player Bill Belichek may take a flyer on. Who is he and where did he play his college ball?
Early Facebook Poll results…
Do you support the weaponization of the Town budget?
Yes 0 No 31.
So why is it allowed?
Update…
Still no takers on my house even though it is at the same price per sq foot as the new Library. I am beginning to think maybe the library isn’t a bargain.