WRRB/Telegram District City Council Forum 10/18

This forum is for all district council candidates; all candidates are here today.

Format: 14 total questions, 4 questions across districts (for all candidates), 10 other questions are 2 questions per district; 2 minute opening statements, 1 minute closing

Opening Statements:

Pacillo (D1): so amazing to be here in Mechanics Hall (isn’t it??). Grew more involved in community when she and her partner bought a house in Burncoat area; got an MPH. 3 priorities: quality of life, constituent services, city planning. Led charge for greater engagement and transparency in city meetings. Many endorsements. A lot of people in the city are doing work for others that is not seen. Will be a voice for every resident. (A lot more that I did not type)

Peterson (D1): came to the city in 2002 through his media connections – first job with WXLO, taught him how to deal with business owners, non-profits. Job didn’t pay much, saved enough $ to buy a house in Indian Hill right before market crashed. Got involved bc of his biz background, for last 10 years has run the Worc Bravehearts. Started a literacy program in the WPS. Started a penpal club that connects seniors and kids. Free food/buses for kids to come to ballgames on field trips. Will focus on constituent services. Always rooting for Worcester.

Bilotta (D2): lived in Worcester/D2 for his whole life, has worked as a disability consultant for the past 10 years. Served on Access Advisory Commission for 5 years, currently on Human Rights Commission. There are infrastructure, public housing, affordable housing issues – needs to make sure all residents are thriving. (He spoke well; listen, I didn’t get it all)

Mero-Carlson (D2): PROUDLY serving her fourth term. She is someone who has lived in the city her entire life. Has worked in nonprofit sector for much of her life. 38% of parks are in D2. 17 parks since she has been elected have done some work on. Isn’t a neighborhood in D2 that she hasn’t worked with. 8 years ago, the city just became a city on the move. With George Russell on Public Works and MO and Econ Dev, this city is moving in the right direction; has challenges like housing and homelessness. Looks forward to working on it like they have over the past few years.

Jattan-Singh (D3): grew up in NC, parents from Trinidad and Tobago, went to Johnson & Wales, came to Worcester in 2010, has four kids, substitute teacher at AKF, ever since she became homeowner in 2010, noticed a lot of unpaved roads and no sidewalks. Has tried to petition with no success as well as meet with city manager with no success – this is why she is running.

Russell (D3): 6 term incumbent, before he was incumbent was on the Planning Board, former pres of Lake Quinsig Watershed Association. 100% roll call vote – every time a vote was taken, he has voted. He wishes that he could say yes to every request, but we have to look at the big picture: what’s in the best interest of the city?

Norford (D4): been here for > 20 years, husband/beautiful family that attend WPS, also have biz (Carlito’s Barbershop) and is a homeowner. Involved in DEI in Main South Biz – different business owners and their perspectives helped her become more engaged. Involved with Main South CDC. Club director for kids 3-10 years old. Why not help and be voice of her district in the things that drive her crazy? Wants to see district become better.

Ojeda (D4): resident of Worcester that grew up in D4. build strong vibrant neighborhoods and allow people to take ownership of their lives (not exact quote). Homelessness, drug related problems, violence. D4 needs to be on the map for the right reasons. Showcase beauty & vitality of the district. More opportunities for residents without living in fear. More block parties, neighborhood gatherings. Police is also our neighbors. Tools to thrive not just survive. Detach labels, be who you are. Children must be anything they dream of.

Haxhiaj (D5): absolute privilege to serve D5 residents for a second term. She invites D5 residents to figure things out together, big or small. 3 months in Mill Street neighborhood meeting, 3 months later Stafford Street safety walk after Candice died. 267 Mill Street building support. In May, supported Pleasant St owners whose livelihoods evaporated in fire. Big D demolished last week – Mill Street improvements are going on now. Established Worcester’s first emergency funds. 500 resident issues. Wants to keep working with you.

Rivera (D5): Tonight his oldest daughter has senior night and he’s missing it. [It’s my 20th wedding anniversary, Jose. Suck it up.] Ready to fight for roads, sidewalks, public safety. Friend to small businesses. Will walk into city hall on his first day with a great appreciation for duty – will make D5 a desired place to live, work, play, go to school.

Q1 for all candidates on compromise. In setting policy, majority or supermajority required. Is council effective? Compromise y/n? How have you compromised in past?

Peterson: council is very cliquey. Wants to hear both sides before decision. Works for a small baseball team that has come in – head of Worc Sports Commission, teams need to work together. On city council, will make sure he doesn’t enter in with decision premade. Surrounds himself with people who have disagreements with me.

Pacillo: doesn’t always agree with her partner – have to work things out. Was a waitress for 15 years, built on compromise, easy on customers, bartender, kitchen. Important to hear both sides of the argument.

Mero-Carlson: many times that we’ve had to compromise and someone like myself had to compromise. When she first got elected, this was not a labor-friendly city. With work, we’ve been able to have a much stronger TIF policy, wage theft policy. Work on ballpark, that was someplace she needed to compromise.

Bilotta: doesn’t feel council compromises enough or listens to residents. Consider all stakeholders in decisions. In his work at Easter Seals, has had to compromise on different compromise decisions.

Russell: forgot to mention he was in the real estate business! He’d be broke if he didn’t know how to compromise. For me, it’s not right or left, it’s right or wrong. It’s hard to track his voting record. You wouldn’t have a TIF policy if it wasn’t his idea in the first place. I get things done in city hall and in the neighborhoods.

Jattan-Singh: many things have not been moved forward for years. ALSO works in real estate. Many areas for compromise. Good example is in her work to get transactions to close. She’s a mom, she gets four kids where they need to be – buses aren’t effective so she needs to drive them everywhere.

Ojeda: issues of compromise on the council. Short of embarrassing to understand [what is going on right now]. Work at Boys/Girls Club – if negative behavior going on, can use green space with folks to use it during their time.

Norford: for her, it’s not just compromise, but commitment. All of her meetings (Beacon Brightly, Main South Biz Assoc, CDC, etc.) – 445 backpacks – for that kind of giveaway event, need to have compromise. With Church, on Saturdays, to teach kids.

Rivera: the council is a 50-50 – sometimes they compromise, for the most part they don’t. If they did more, they’d accomplish more. Compromise is his bread and butter. IN his work/employees, work together to cover each other. He had to compromise on the way here – his wife didn’t like the tie he picked.

Haxhiaj: has done her best to listen to all points of view. One of the things she found challenging is that there are so many needs – resources are not what you want to please everyone on district. On important values (human dignity, pedestrian, important place to live and thrive), she does not compromise.

Q to D1 candidates: Burncoat School replacement. Will cost more than others because of shared facilities. (Question maker said this is out of their purview – NOTE THAT THIS IS IN THEIR PURVIEW!!!)

Pacillo: $500 mill affects bond rating. Staff, students, should not be in school that does not suit them. Will work with WPS facilities to see what needs to be done with all schools. Make sure schools are equipped to serve all students.

Peterson was speaking about Burncoat when he began campaign. Doherty needed addl $23 million [note the state will reimburse most of that, which Peterson is not mentioning]. Solar panels, school will need to be vibrant for years to come. Widening road in front of it.

Pacillo: green collar jobs, good local union wages.

Q to D1 candidates; Greendale revitalization. WBDC – 250 acres. What would you like to see?

Peterson: at prelim debate, talked about idea for a film studio, with tax credits. Opportunity for us to add jobs and use land that will bring flights to airport, more hotels, more walking to support small biz. Other than that, look at WuXi. Needs to not disturb AKF.

Pacillo: has been attending WBDC meetings for this whole time. Reality is that these will be pad-ready sites for clean manufacturing, advanced tech, life sciences – goal personally to connect with WPS to have pipeline from schools to QCC to these jobs.

Peterson: FILM STUDIO, not movie theater!! Soundstages!! Will work with developers for best use. Exit off 190, connect neighborhoods residentially as well.

Q to D2 candidates. Econ Dev. D2 has UMass, Abbvie, Reactory. City will prioritize new projects. Which parcels? What will econ dev look like in next 5-10 years?

Mero-Carlson: UMass and Abbvie are large employers in D2. D2 is economic engine of the city (this is what question asked, she agrees). WuXi – partnership with public schools to hire graduates.

Bilotta: UMass and Abbvie are really great. As we push, (1) don’t go overboard to tax relief for developers. (2) continue to make sure development has good paying jobs for residents.

Mero-Carlson: one of the things she does is meet with every developer. One of the first things she asks is wages for our people. Most important thing is for people to work in well-paying jobs.

D2: street safety. Prioritization for Complete Streets approved for MassDOT – 22 projects in 3-5 years – what are your priority projects for D2?

Bilotta: redevelopment of Lake Ave. Like Mill Street, has turned into a speedway. Safe for pedestrians to cross as it becomes more densely populated. Make sure streets are accessible to pedestrians, bike, wheelchair users.

Mero-Carlson: the city has been going after speed aggressively. Working on people who park on sidewalks. [this does not answer the question at all] Proud that WPD is working on the speed in the city. Public safety is a concern and a top priority.

Bilotta: speeding issues have been going on for 4-5 years – think proactively, do things every year and that we continue to improve sidewalk accessibility.

Q for all candidates. Dual tax rate battle. Are you in favor of single or dual?

Haxhiaj: I will answer the same as two years ago. We take a very narrow view of this issue. Proudly voted for lowest possible resident rate this year. At MOAD forum, what are we doing for minority/bipoc owned biz, will always stand up for homeowners but also small biz owner workforce can barely afford to live in city

Rivera: I don’t see Worcester doing a single tax rate, or dual tax rate. He doesn’t have a magic bullet. It doesn’t help if we block new biz growth. Incumbent opposed new gas station on Park Ave. We need electric charging stations. Answer is to encourage smart biz growth.

Norford: she’s a homeowner and business owner and knows how it feels. Taxes are so high on biz side. Unfortunately, losing businesses post-covid. ARPA was not available for small businesses. It seems like she wants a single tax rate.

Ojeda: engages with renters daily. Taxes impact people differently. He has a business and his rent has increased 3-4 times. Vehicles, fuel, construction materials, tires, affected by inflation. Housing crisis – but incentives for new homeowners, would love to understand this.

Jattan-Singh: things taxes are too high on both sides. Encourage more biz growth. If we had more homes built, there would be more income. Shrewsbury’s taxes are lower. [They’re not, really, it’s a lower rate] The taxes are too high period!

Russell: lowest residential always

Bilotta: keep taxes low for growing families and seniors. Important to keep residential low, but find ways to support small biz owners to help grow local economies.

Mero-Carlson: lowest residential always. Prices of homes through the roof. Homeowners have taken the biggest hit. Time for city to be creative with businesses.

Pacillo: they bought house in 2017 and it’s doubled in price. Will always support lowest residential tax rate but will look at it thoughtfully every year. Intermediate tax for commercial landlords/LLCs who own 12+ units, not owner-occupied. Think creatively to help homeowners and small businesses.

Peterson: will never solve tax problems by bickering on floor of city hall. Look at town of Auburn and Webster. Construction projects are all residents – need commercial. We have to increase commercial base. Commerical going down – wrong direction.

D3 Q: Complete Streets (similar question to the previous D2 q)

Jattan-Singh: Sunderland Road needs a sidewalk. Eminent Domain! Heywood Street sidewalk. Traffic calming on Heywood and Grafton Street. Lake Ave is crumbling.

Russell: my opponent is correct – what about Whipple, College, etc., streets in the city. Watch on the city of Public Works committee of May this year. Commissioner of DPW this year, Sunderland would be very difficult – $4.5 million. Those bills would be paid by abutter.

Jattan-Singh: the rules can be changes – even though they are written, they are set in stone. That is the first thing she will change when elected!!

D3: trash, despite clean team – further measures needed?

Russell: address pockets of issues in D3. We need to look at this in general. Asked city admin of how much we actually pay in yellow bags. [note: he got that report and I have blogged on it]

Jattan-Singh: bulk should not be charged, don’t charge people for any trash. This is why there is dumping on Granite Street.

Russell: has wanted open bulk disposal – state says that it would need to be classed as a transfer station.

Q for all: affordable housing. How do you think council should address? Other policies? What role does private sector have?

Rivera: inclusionary zoning helps. get people investing in city.

Haxhiaj: she and Bilotta pushed for strong(er) inclusionary zoning, which would have created more affordable units. Majority of council shot that down. Affordable housing trust paid for with CPC. Will help people retrofit homes. Council and manager can only do so much.

Ojeda: we are facing a housing crisis. Refugees and those with low incomes not causing crisis. Identify solutions from past, look at other cities, our numbers are rising, our pop will continue to grow, families are coming and we should get ahead of it. TIF for homeowners for reduced rents.

Norford: Main South CDC, Common Ground. We can create ADUs (?) – incentive to help them. Land that we have to develop and build houses to get through this crisis. Federal funds.

Russell: with city manager’s team, look at plan from last night. A lot of programs candidates are talking about were mentioned last night. ADU idea was his. [I feel like at least three people have claimed it was his idea]

Jattan-Singh: agrees that many things on that report. One that is not is city-owned vacant properties, senior center units could be renovated and rented out as affordable. Agrees with Norford about Fed funing.

Mero-Carlson: Sarai Rivera said how amazing it is that there are so many new programs to help with affordable housing. Those aren’t coming online tomorrow – city council is working tirelessly on housing and homelessness.

Bilotta: Worcester Affordable trust fund, owner-occupied rehabilitation, City council missed a huge opportunity in passing on a larger inclusionary zoning ordinance.

Peterson: we are not attracting the right developers. Section – we want more 60% AMI units. Reduce number of parking spaces needed for unit. Tiny homes, worked in other cities.

Pacillo: Dunn’s report last night very good, rethinking zoning – ADUs that Councilor Russell has been trying to get. Would be better if friend could have ADU for her mom.

D4 q: Clark University expansion to redevelop a block on Main Street. How would you work to strengthen town/gown relations?

Ojeda: Clark us trying – they have made a chance on what project will look like because they listened to residents. Hold them accountable. Continue making sure – be creative in ways – speak with Joe Corazzini, everyone thinks Main South is just D4, but it’s the heartbeat of D4.

Norford: definitely need to hold them accountable. Her business is across from the building Clark wants to demo. Corazzini will be at the next biz association meeting. Wants to see them provide more to D4.

Ojeda don’t want people to think he’s all for Clark – he’s all for Worcester. Make the youth involved and understanding.

D4: econ growth. What do you perceive as barriers? What will you do to overcome?

Norford: with Main South CDC, “I Love Main South” lot – 6 commercial units, rent to own. This will allow business owner to own the property. More venues to help businesses.

Ojeda: agrees. Became part owner of Pleasant Street TDI. TDI is only for three years – we have to hold ourselves accountable but educate ourselves. Prepare youth.

Norford: after pandemic, small businesses are struggling. Resources to help them thrive in this economy. Expenses increasing daily.

D5 on homelessness. City Council has directed CM to explore solutions. What to do this winter?

Haxhiaj: group of doctors, nurses, etc. There will be an increase in homelessness. Issue that affects people who influence homelessness. Have to expand shelter bed capacity. CM has been working hard with lt gov to find suitable spaces to house folks this winter.

Rivera: there are folks who refuse housing. Look at Mass and Cass. Opponent says sweeps cause problems – but what about the problems homeless people cause? WHAT ABOUT OUR RIGHTS? [Screw you, Jose. People are people]

Haxhiaj: people who through no choice of their own live in encampments, cars, people who through no fault of their own do not live in a home. We are not relocating homelessness from one corner of the city to the other. This does not solve homelessness. (just listen, she is amazing, I cannot believe I know this woman)

Q on turnover in WPD

Rivera: likes city manager, Saucier is transparent. 38 officers short right now, right amount of officers will only help growing city population. Don’t defund the police.

Haxhiaj: D5 one of the safest places in the city. Met with interim chief Saucier, good meeting about transparency, DEI, DOJ inverstigation, make sure recommendations are followed and implemented.

Rivera: as long as city council works with the dept, don’t make them sound like the’re always doing something wrong in the city.

Q on Council avaluations (my battery is dying; I’ll post when I hear the video)

WEC School Committee Contested Districts Candidate Forum 10/12

video

Dianna Biancheria was not able to attend because of a family commitment

Kathy Roy is not here (yet?)

Opening Statements – 4 minutes

Jermoh Kamara: Schools in District C deserve better representation. Currently at-large school committee member. Daughter of West Africa/Liberia immigrants. Graduate of WPS, Providence College, also master’s degree. Has served as adjunct faculty member. Running to fight for equitable allocation of resources, uplift voices of students, parents, educators. Served on ad hoc committee to hire new superintendent. Serves on two SC subcommittees. Proud of progress with new school committee and new superintendent. Decisions we make in the current election cycle could make or break the direction of WPS. Single positive choice candidate for this district. “You have seen the work we have done in the last two years – that means something, it counts for something.”

Nelly Medina: Mother of a six year old, dedicated to grassroots organizing and educational advocacy. Efforts have spanned a diverse spectrum: housing equity, repro rights, LGBT rights, addressing youth violence (LOTS MORE). One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that brought about the consent decree and district seats. Affinity groups – wants to expand upon Tracy Novick’s idea. Children with disabilities. Efforts to engage/include stakeholders will set her apart. Most importantly, she is a mother with skin in the game. Give DCF kids a better voice in the schools. District E needs candidate who can unify not separate – organizing skills regardless of political background, sexual identity, etc. Upland Gardens has 17 languages spoken. They need leadership they can believe in. Role is as a representative – not to speak with people but to stand with them. Her opponent does not respect all. Some of the most impoverished populations in the school district. A lot of work to be done in re buses. Need to move schools, district, community forward.

Q to both candidates: this is first election in which public will choose at-large and district candidates. How will you work to assure that broad needs of district addressed as well as specific community/constituent needs? (long question, that’s the crux)

Kamara: Diff btw district and at-large: everything that you do is for the district, the entire education district. Clear policies, budget considerations, hiring of superintendent and other positions in our purview. The work is broad, but excited that we have a district model. Doorknocking to focus on district – that model lends itself to understand the needs better. Needs are stark – Worcester East Middle – beat down building that needs window repair, Rice Square – you can see difference btw that and Roosevelt, then Lakeview, etc. We need to do more work on that. Ceilings falling in a school, other needs in a district. Roosevelt School has a traffic issue that has impacted businesses. Health of any one school determines health of the whole district. She is on the ground, meeting with family members, visited schools repeatedly to ensure that she is learning.

Nelly Medina: We don’t exist in a vacuum; education issues belong to all of us. Many white families struggling with disabilities, difficulties accessing 504, IEPs. Accountable to the city. Looks forward to working together. Wants to work on budgeting. Not a one-size-fits-all city. How do I represent my district? I will have three city councilors to work with. We don’t have all the answers, but she wants to set a high standard for how to do this work. About consensus, knocking on doors post-election. We don’t have a lot of reference for this in the city. All children deserve right to succeed – a lot of listening. While she represents her district, accountable to the whole city.

They have heard from Kathy Roy – unable to attend due to another commitment.

Q to Jermoh Kamara: served on SC during period during/after covid. What did you learn about role and delivery of education?

Kamara: Her background did not start as an elected official. She brings her vast worldly and professional experiences. Learning curve – had to rely on those with that information. Vocational education she has a passion for. Sue Mailman – it’s been great to hear her experiences. Various depts in administration, enjoys talking with the staff to learn. Lens of equity and justice. The things that you are not equitable to everybody. Look at diversifying opportunities so that kids/families can stay in schools in their district. Glad that superintendent sees that vision. Seeing schools puts a context to the budget work and other school committee work. Sometimes I like to break the rules – sometimes I like to follow them. This position allows her to do great things, and she is learning a lot.

Q to Nelly Medina: needs of students, schools, families, vary widely as well as ideas about how those needs should be met. How will you work to reach consensus with colleagues on school committee?

Medina: not about me at the end of the day. As a statewide organizer, she found people who didn’t feel she looked like a leader – gaining trust, listening. That shaped how she viewed consensus. The only way is to listen, study, not assume she knows everything, her record stands for herself. Able to work under harsh/uncertain circumstances. Knows what it’s like to be a new person but also knows what it is to collaborate with others to achieve a goal. As long as she’s meeting people’s needs, working from the heart, respectful of others, there should be no problems.

Closing Statements (I will only type items that interest me):

Kamara: appreciates the work others have done to get her in office. Asks that you push her. Nelly and she have been to a lot of forums and their opponents have not always attended forums. Very proud of sex ed curriculum. Wellness spaces instead of suspending kids – we’re giving them chances! Bring school committee members that you have trust in. In next term, she wants to learn more about school funding, we need to start striking at the federal level.

Nelly Medina: has been an advocate for moving forward with transformative thinking. District needs someone with a good imagination, good ideas, impacted by the schools. Work to combat drug addiction. Student reps talked about kids sharing pipes and drugs – the solution should not be punitive. Boston just adopted a program called I Decide. Bring in program like Pa’lante Holyoke. So few children graduating high school in this city of opulence and renaissance. Moms like me having a tough time understanding accommodation. Assist in finding resources – not taking them away. Afraid that her opponent would ignore us. This is not something she chose lightly. She needs folks to make phone calls and knock on doors with her. She hits over 400 doors a week, 200 phone calls every two days. She was an alternative school student and wants to make sure that kids know we can accomplish anything.

WRRB/Telegram At-Large City Council Forum 10/11

video

Candidates: Bergman, Coleman, Colorio, Creamer, Hampton-Dance, King, Morales, Petty, Perrone, Toomey

(I don’t see Nguyen)

Opening Statements (2 minutes each):

Toomey: committed to continuing work for positive change. Good jobs, great housing, infrastructure incl transpo, city employees are diverse, trained staff in addiction, homelessness, mental health issues. Educator, worked in addiction, currently in re-entry for sheriff’s office. Understands need for technology, Green Worcester. 116 countries represented by residents.

King: social worker and father of three girls raised here in the city. Dedicated his life to public service. Uniquely qualified to be cc at large and mayor. As social worker, has sat at tables across the city. Allows him to problem-solve. Known for rolling up his sleeves and going to work. Recruiting & retention, transparency and accountability. Additional measures – we ought to do more. Same old leadership has not closed those loops – housing costs rising, affordability, public health, public safety.

Hampton-Dance: longtime resident of Worcester, attended WPS. Works for UMass – info and referrals to elderly/disabled throughout MA, caregiver for her son. Lack of equity for a v v long time, no movement when it comes to change. Now is time to elect new council, new blood, elect people who want to see the needle on the record move.

Creamer: proud product of the city. Worcester deserves a chief advocate. Path defined by his own parents, immigrants. actively listened to Worcester residents, lead on Worcester Now/Next, has connected with hundreds of residents and business owners. Led a nonpartisan effort to diversify work pipeline. Moved back to Worcester to build his family in the city that shaped him to be the person he is today. Not just a choice but a vision – tireless commitment to the ideals that make Worcester great. Proven track record of getting things done.

Morales: running for the people. Afro Latina from PR, lived here for 30 years working in the nonprofit sector. Wants to be part of the change that is so needed in the city. Has advocated for those for whom the city and systems do not work – will do everything in her power to make changes to policies so that everyone will benefit. CC has been at odds – not able to move city forward. Will use her collab skills to move city forward. Transparency and accountability.

Petty: thanks fellow candidates for running for office. After 6 mayoral terms…back to the basics: residents want to focus on clean streets, env, job creation, affordable housing. Safe city bc he has added more policy classes. Worcester Green Plan. Ensuring future developments are built in a sustainable way. Inclusionary zoning. After becoming cleanest Gateway City in Commonwealth bc of proposing 1000 trees planted over next x years…city needs council that can work together. Strongest skillset is working with others. Middle of the road means he can work with others [not his exact words, but the sense of them]

Colorio: spent last 4 years as vice chair of council, chair of Traffic and Parking. Proud of vote to support police in schools. ShotSpotter Connect, body cams, fully fund police. Proud to vote for friendliest lowest tax rate. $51k median household income. Proud to vote against CPA tax. Loves the city, has raised her three children in Worcester. As small biz owner, she has employed 1000s of people in the area. Proud Albanian/Italian.

Perrone: wants to continue to ensure that we prioritize equity – comprehensive public health solutions. Early childhood, places to live all over the city, cultural economy, sustainable and resilient city. Currently works at Clark. Prior to that worked at DHHS at City of Worcester, worked across lines during the pandemic. Deeply understands how the city budget works. Lens as renter, child of immigrant, two masters degrees. City Council needs to reflect that change.

Bergman: a lot of people are going to talk about what’s wrong with Worcester, he’s going to talk about what’s right. There’s not that much wrong if people are coming here. Looking for opportunities in jobs, schools, safe neighborhoods, and parks. We can always do better. Has talked about homeownership opportunities this whole time. Need to do better with parks. We don’t fix existing older parks. Also streets and sidewalks need to be better. Synchronized lights. He’s also a child of immigrants. Has been a friend at city hall to people for a decade.

Coleman: needs your vote to be on the city council. Has run – has been a nonpaid city councilor for the past 30 years. Petitions, cleaning up neighborhoods, encouraging people to apply for positions. Renaissance needs to be expanded so that people can feel reflective of newest populations.

Q 1 for everyone: Compromise: in setting policy directives for the city, a majority/supermajority is required. Do you feel Council is performing effectively. Give an example of how you have or would compromise.

Coleman: Pres Kennedy said politics is the art of compromise. Believes that in order for city to move forward, need to respect opinions. If elected, will compromise but reflect the voice of the people.

Petty: one of his successes has been the art of compromise. Important to hear both sides of the issue. Ex: inclusionary zoning. Had compromise to get that done.

Colorio: role of councilor is to listen to constituents, colleagues, and come up with best vote. Times she voted different ways – listening, compromise. Important thing bc city has pockets of different people. Doorknocking.

Bergman: part of the issue on council is that there are activist ideas that are important but do not result in us being the best public servants. Social media dialog isn’t where it should be. Can be alienating and disrespectful. Have to act more as public servants. Proposed speed humps where there are no alternatives. Q about permanent – they became temporary humps (May/Nov).

Perrone: when she worked at HHS, emergency shelters. Public schools at table, behavioral health, mobilized within days. One of many reasons she is running. We can move these things and make a change every day. believes in responding to crises with fierce advocacy. Happy to talk to all colleagues about these issues.

King: Contention necessary for democracy. Groupthink is not the way to go, esp about rights for laborers, children, families – certain families in his government – his equity lens will not blur. Necessary to do it respectfully. Compromise when merged HHS and Human Rights Division.

Hampton-Dance: Council is not performing effectively, there is not compromise. Groupthink mentality takes place every Tuesday at 6:30 pm – anything that has to do with people gets stomped out.

Creamer: new leadership needed to work together – not just elect people who are leading a certain block. Successfully allocated diversified workforce in DC during a very contentious time. Residents want us to move things forward, like sidewalks and trash.

Morales: doesn’t look at it as compromise but as collaboration. In collaboration, I feel like I have done that for many years in our community. Room for innovative ideas, everyone gets heard around the table. Everyone works together on a project.

Toomey: compromise, two-way conversation, listening, all elements an elected official needs to utilize. Difficult when people are focused on the end result. Has learned that you won’t always get your way. An example would be the tax code.

Q2: for Colorio: citywide planning process will serve as roadmap for next council. How do you feel? Will you follow through with recommendations?

Colorio: as councilor, should have input in process. The process starts off that we get recommendations. Committed to outcome of whatever we decide on and vote on.

Hampton-Dance: Colorio’s answer missed getting input from the community, to make sure people are aware. Make plan to move forward after getting resident input.

Coleman: agrees with Hampton-Dance. 108,000 eligible voters and maybe 9%-16% turn out to vote – we need to ask people’s opinions, hold more neighborhood meetings and publicize in newspapers and on the radio. More input from community in process explained to the public.

Perrone: echoes what Hampton-Dance and Coleman said. Inaccessible times because people are at work or caring for family. Lack of civic engagement seeps into who is able to participate in council meetings, etc. When that happens, council not reflective of the people.

Colorio: at every city council meeting, there is public participation. She flyered upper Pleasant Street/Tatnuck Square and got people to contribute their voice.

Q3 to Perrone on housing. number of housing policies debated this term. Other policies that should be debated? What role of public and private?

Perrone: Housing crisis. Worcester #2 in least affordable places in the country. Inclusionary zoning compromise – she would not have done. We need to be more bold.

Petty: ADUs, down payment assistance, rental assistance, housing trust fund, CPA. How to make affordable housing better for people – we should look at how landlords can apply for discount on tax rate for allowing affordable housing.

King: voted for more not less in inclusionary housing. Listen to concerns brought by people, not developers. During housing crisis, we have to do better. We should ask for more for our people when we offer developers tax breaks. Look at the research.

Morales: for me, what is most important is having ppl on council who have worked with those most affected by housing crisis. Bring innovative ideas – not people who are learning week to week. This will not be resolved by one means, multi-faceted. Would like city to continue to fund homeownership. Review inclusionary zoning.

Perrone: we are not against development, but for the people who live here. Accessible, low-threshold, single-room occupancy, wide range of occupancy needs.

Q: spike in homelessness, shortage of shelter beds, committee on HHS for solutions. What policies would you support?

Morales: homelessness or unhoused individuals or families – result of low wages, expensive rents/mortgages, untreated mental health, domestic abuse. Homeless people are not asking for giveaways. Some have paid with their mental health, esp veterans.

Bergman : need to advocate on the state – every city/town needs to have minimum of 7% – ALL towns need to have responsibility. Housing First – he supports. Does think that at the end of the day, multitude of factors, lot more work to do.

Hampton-Dance: disagrees with Mr Bergman about other towns are not our problem. Human problem – on the affordable housing board, we have 7 projects completed. Would like to see more – not about what district it’s in, it’s about having a roof over your head. Continue to try to build more affordable housing. Cold is coming – they are outside.

Toomey – sees this every day in my work. Mental health, addiction, have contributed. Also increase in elderly homelessness. Need to address emergency needs first.

Morales: Housing First with wraparound support. does not support sabotaging/destroying what little they have.

Q: economic dev. A few econ dev projects completed – what new projects/parcels? What in next 5-10 years?

Toomey: biotech projects, expanding from Boston/Cambridge to here. job creation opportunities that recognize remote work aspects. When we create housing, do we also create workspaces for those remote working.

Creamer: city has improved – but for whom? New housing projects – people in city already should be able to take advantage, not just build to bring people into the city. Cater to people who live here. Worcester is a very young city.

Petty: focus on higher ed, finance, biotech and biomanufacture, WDBC on ?? Main, Wushi project. Job focus. affordable housing.

Coleman: inclusive with ed, buildings, places to live, enjoy life, prosper. Will do some more listening.

Toomey: job training. Free job training out there, QCC has a lot of programs. MassHire has wonderful manufacturing programs.

Q: trash an issue in many neighborhoods. More needed? How to fund?

Coleman: has organized neighborhood cleanups. Think globally, act locally. Every biz used to sweep in front of their place, what if we did this in front of our houses. If every one of us picked up two pieces of trash, would improve the city.

Colorio: trash has been an issue ever since she has been on council. Part of Duffy Field cleanups, other neighborhoods do great. Fund some groups. Get students and pay them. [WE ALREADY DO ALL OF THIS. THE CITY MANAGER HAS REINSTITUTED REGULAR CLEANUPS.]

Bergman: city of Worcester trash bins in commercial areas. We do have some drop-off locations – only open for a limited amount of time. should be easy to dispose of. More dedicated staff in parks.

King: too much focus downtown. Back to basics – back to community – back to where people are. Take yellow trash bags – provide them to local service providers. Increase hours of dropoff. Has called for audits of overtime.

Q7 to all about city manager evaluation – whatchu gonna do? Is current CM performing effectively?

Petty: yes, performing very effectively. Eval process – meets with cc on regular basis, they evaluate him on four categories annually. He told the CM that he should look at developing goals and strategies.

Perrone: we should have had an open search because that is what we deserve. Muni gov’t not reflective of democracy – that is not his fault. Participatory process for budget – created in CM’s office, council and community should understand, fully fund dept of youth opportunities.

Hampton-Dance: agrees fully with Perrone. The way he got the seat was nepotism like. Came in to clean up a mess and implement his own plans, which she can respect. She has worked with him – he was able to allocate $1mill for landlord improvements. Open with discussion/compromise.

King: prior admin did not have a good transition plan. Many things not communicated to current CM [from prior admin]. Goals/strategies – very reason to have a process, they are given up front, not playing catch-up. Priorities often set during budget time, individual priorities given by city councilors. Quality of life, etc., are priorities. Doing best he can with what he has been given.

Morales: most important thing is how the people think. Last eval process not good. Need to come up with a better tool, measurable goals and objectives. Then hold accountable for transparency. Meaningful DEI work within city hall and all departments.

Creamer: as human rights commissioner, excited for the CM’s vision. Most people do not know we have a city manager. Our job as councilors is to educate them – he needs to be accountable to us. When it’s time for eval process, much positives, not challenging the system. Make sure we are working together as a team to move the city forward.

Colorio: CM Batista moving effectively. We have opportunity to list goals throughout the year. Goals for Traffic and Parking can be on fewer accidents. They all meet with the city manager [privately] monthly.

Bergman: performing effectively, learning curve. Do think that the once-a-year evaluation is problematic. That needs to be looked at. One point in time once a year not the best way, at least twice a year if not quarterly.

Coleman: current one-year eval is inadequate – every two years. [HE HAS A TWO-YEAR TERM, BILL. Also, there’s a little thing called the city charter.] Home rule petition ?

Toomey: proud to have voted for him, he’s doing a good job. Econ health – can request reports on issues at any time. International City Manager group has a tool to evaluate a cm. [Then why don’t we use this, Kate?]

Q on the police dept. Multiple investigations, new chief, do we need policies for accountability?

King: important to recognize what they do well and don’t do well. Want to see their policy as relates to young people. We don’t have that skillset anymore bc juvenile division was eliminated. CM needs to hold folks to account.

Perrone: agrees – should have civilian review board. Police budget – imbalanced and shows up in many ways – we rely on policing for mental health, housing, youth violence prevention. We need policing for specific violent crimes. We need social workers and crisis response teams.

Creamer: serving on human rights commission, intimate relationship with WPD, makes sure they are pushing back. Need to be very blunt that it is not great that we are under investigation. Committed to working with WPD to make sure they are centering themselves in our community.

Hampton-Dance: two years ago, when ran for D2 – will always push for police reform. A few bad apples doesn’t sit well with her. Not just how they police, but how they serve and protect – proper vetting system. Mental health screenings, making sure they are stable enough to police our streets.

King: legislative branch (CC) has a public safety committee – this has not occurred, looking forward that we have that sort of oversight. Proud to have led on body cams, social workers coming with police, have to make sure oversight and transparency is there.

Q on WRTA. Suspended collection of fares – do you support permanent extension of free fare? How can city support?

Hampton-Dance supports buses remaining fare-free. Push for more state funding. Creative ways to generate. Hire more drivers. I met a blind woman who relies on our bus system, we have to keep those people in mind – transpo and mobility, making sure they can get from point A to point B.

Morales: supports zero fare. Cost of collecting fares is greater than fares. Increasing ridership increases state funding, which is currently 75%. Public service that needs to be protected and expanded.

Colorio: if we’re gonna stay fare free, about paying for it from feds or state. Homeowners should not pay for the bus. [Hey, Donna, I took the bus here tonight! And I pay taxes!]

Petty: expansion of WRTA. Allows people to get to work. Makes a difference – can evaluate at the end of the year.

Hampton-Dance: no rebuttal. Keep them fare-free by any means necessary. Net zero, walkable city, expanding timeframe that we run.

Q10: tax rate. setting of new tax rate is a business owner/homeowner battle.

Petty: 1984 – biggest mistake we made was dual tax rate. Probably the same as why housing is so high. [Note: Petty has been in office since before I graduated college. And I am OLD.] We have a lot of amenities, then people who go to a surrounding town because taxes are cheaper.

Toomey: looks at many sources of information. Single tax rate not possible, but we need to close the gap if we can. Commercial properties have a lot of empty space – if they lose value, homeowner will pay more anyway. If we can find ways to bring more business in…broaden tax base.

Perrone: data-driven person, would not support increasing homeowner but business tax rate is one of the highest in the state. How can we incrementally move to single tax rate. TIFs, tax breaks to small biz.

Bergman: residential taxpayer – if rentable, will pass increases onto tenants. leaving a lot of money on the table because of nonprofits that don’t pay taxes. tax liens – people losing property bc of small amounts.

Petty: as business base strengthens, the residential base will ultimate see taxes go down.

Q11: mobility action plan. Complete Streets

Bergman: missing out on synchronized light patterns for traffic. Need Complete Streets. Lots of traffic issues, affects quality of life on many levels. Opportunities to improve things. Streets that don’t line up well. Cambridge and Southbridge and other examples.

Coleman: supports plan that reflects requirements from city gov’t. People have died on our streets – people are getting hit on Lincoln Street. Abled and disabled people to be considered.

Morales supports Worcester Mobility Action Plan. A lot of areas that are not comfortable for folks to walk around safely. Mill St, Lincoln St., Belmont Street.

Creamer: Mobility Plan came from Now/Next, served as consultant in beginning parts. We have to build transit-centric n’hoods, ensure bike lanes and fare free system that is strong and moving our city forward literally. Folks using it to go to work, grocery store, leisure.

Bergman supoorts the mobility plan, certain aspects that can be improved upon.

Q12 refugees

Creamer: “influx” has negative connotation – these are a resource. Need to be appropriately resourced and supported – rather an invitation for those who come into the city. [This was a better answer than I wrote up]

King: task force – public/private is necessary to wrap around individuals and families that are here. Family gained asylum here, and immigrated here. Requires fed/state legislators to provide funding for housing, health, schools, but we can do it.

Toomey: no notice, no funding, doing the best they can. Several local nonprofits. Waiting for tiny house project to come on board but we need housing now. [Tiny housing was not intended for refugees]

Colorio: must engage fed/state partners. Refugees in hotels not a solution, need a permanent solution. [This was a crappier answer than I recorded]

Cremer: supports for community partners, our mayor needs to make sure we have strong relationship with governor, fed/state partners.

Q13: differentiation – what differentiates you, what is top priority? to all candidates.

Toomey: new class for police and fire is her #1 priority. We need to recruit diverse workforce. Provide safety for citizens.

Bergman: open to telling people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Doesn’t pander. #1 priority is homeownership opportunities. Generational wealth. No one ever got rich renting.

Petty: experience and understanding how the city is moving, to bring people together. Top priority is affordable housing.

Creamer: I lead by lived experiences. They are not unique, but are unique at decision making table. Lot of struggle in city, folks need us to step up so that we can actually achieve something.

Colorio: businesswoman, has been psychotherapist, coach, educator. Priorities are public safety, econ growth, and constituent services.

King: girl dad. Devil’s in the details – rely on evidence-based research. Intentionality, mental health response in police and HHS, in shelter. Not subsidizing corporations and businesses by increasing taxes on the residents.

Morales has been working on the front lines for a really long time. Folks in need of food, diapers, sleeping in their cars. Working with community – brings that voice to the table. Top priority is affordable housing and that those who live in Worcester can continue to live in Worcester.

Perrone: combo of lived and professional experiences. Leads with diversity lens. 31 years ago, came 7 years ago for Clark U, stayed because she loves the city. Here to fight so that she can own a home and have a family here. CM committed to [something at a meeting tonight, sorry, I didn’t catch it]

Coleman has been running for office since 1979.

Hampton-Dance: my lived experiences. I know what it is to stand in a food pantry line, section 8, fuel assistance, live in the projects. I know what it is to be a homeowner and a small biz owner. I know what it is to be homeless too. Lots of layers. Will be able to put everyone’s interests forwad – balance, keep residents here while moving city forward.

1 minute closing statements – I am only going to write stuff that interests me

Bergman: “People still want peace and the American dream” in re homeownership. Goes on a critical rant about banning new gas stations. Not do as I say not as I do.

Ballpark Commission: To Be or Not to Be

In April of 2021, seeing an absence of any data whatsoever regarding how Polar Park was doing fiscally (or attendance-wise) or how the Pawtucket Red Sox were complying with the community benefits agreement signed with the city, I petitioned the city council the following:

Nicole Apostola request City Council request City Manager place easily accessible data on the city’s website concerning the funding, use and community benefit agreement for Polar Park that identifies 1) all funding sources for the project; 2) exact project costs, including any/all cost overruns; 3) documentation for gate receipts; 4) how hiring goals are being met; 5) tabulation of the community days and community meetings hosted and scheduled for the current year; 6) tabulation of the revenue-generating events the city is holding during the current year; 7) document usage of the city-designated ballpark suite; and 8) document game tickets given to Worcester Public Schools students.

None of these items were ever delivered, on the city website or otherwise.

Instead, at the same meeting I requested these informational items, a ballpark commission was proposed (held by Councilor King) and then approved by the Council at its next meeting.

A bit less than a year later, in February 2022, the Ballpark Commission held its first meeting.

What is (was) the purpose of the Ballpark Commission?

According to the city website:

• Monitor and administer the implementation and operation of the Governance Documents, including the Ballpark Lease Agreement and the financial status of the Ballpark Facilities.
• Promulgate reasonable rules and regulations regarding the use and operation of the Ballpark Facilities.
• Issue approvals, permits or licenses for the use of the Ballpark Facilities for “City Events.”
• Keep the City Manager informed of the activities and needs of the Ballpark Facilities and provide the City Manager with information developed by the Commission which would have a material impact on the community and/or financial success or status of the Ballpark Facilities.
• Prepare prompt and thorough responses to requests of the City Manager for reports, memoranda, opinions or other documents or actions.
• Perform other such duties as may be prescribed by law or requested by the City Manager.

How often did the Commission meet?

Sporadically at best. At the second meeting, there was discussion about the meeting frequency; it was proposed (but not voted on) that the commission should meet monthly at first, or perhaps monthly during baseball season, and then quarterly thereafter (in subsequent years, or in the off-season). The commission never met monthly during the baseball season; it is unclear how meeting times were set, but it was never regular.

Did the Ballpark Commission perform its functions?

The Ballpark Commission has never posted its minutes online, so I’ve watched every one of its meetings (except for the November 2021 meeting, which did not have video posted). “Proposed (but not voted on)” could be the motto of the Ballpark Commission.

From the start, it does not seem as if the commission members had a good sense of what their job was. As of the second meeting, only one commission member had taken the Open Meeting Law training that the city’s HR Department requested; they still needed training on Robert’s Rules and other aspects of serving on a city commission.

At that second meeting, a commissioner asked about the commission’s role in hotels and other development around the ballpark.

Answer: none, which the commissioner would have known that had they read the packet delivered describing the purpose of the commission.

Let’s review some specific purposes and how the ballpark commission failed to do anything about them.

Purpose: Issue approvals, permits or licenses for the use of the Ballpark Facilities for “City Events.”

As a reminder, in the Ballpark CBA, the city is entitled to 8 revenue-generating events a year, 10 community days a year, and 15 community meetings a year for the first five years the ballpark is open. We are now nearing the end of year three of that five-year agreement.

At the second meeting of the commission, they discussed the potential of having an events manager for the ballpark’s city events. There was discussion of an RFP for companies to present potential events, with the commission to approve.

At the commission’s third meeting, in May 2021, no one seems to have understood what “event manager” meant. Commissioner Mulhern had wanted an information coordinator, so that someone could compile requested community days and give the commission a report. It seems the city’s assumption was that the commission would need someone to actively solicit revenue-generating events, which would be used to pay down the bond.

While the prospect of an RFP or RFI for an event manager (or something like an event manager) was mentioned again, the idea seems to have gone away by 2023.

The city does not have the staff to put together revenue-generating events. Dr Charles Steinberg offered to help (at various meetings) in a vague way; considering that the WooSox themselves don’t have the number of events they need, it’s unclear how he would have helped, but it’s very clear that no one bothered to see how the WooSox might help the city with its own revenue-generating events.

Regarding Community Days, the commission seemed very concerned about getting the word out to various community groups, but never prioritized the creation of a form or a process. Commissioners who had served on different commissions, most prominently Commissioner Harrity, mentioned that there should be a deadline for applications, to give the commission time to talk to the groups at a meeting, but that never happened.

Instead, there was a haphazard approach to approving community events. At some point, there was an informal meeting (which was mentioned at the February 2023 meeting) in which it was decided that the chair could approve community days in the absence of the full commission when there were last-minute requests. No one seemed concerned (a) that there was a potential Open Meeting Law violation with an “informal meeting” to discuss commission policy; (b) that there would be no public process for approving community days; and (c) that groups could just claim an emergency and get a community day approved quickly.

In fact, the Police vs. Fire Baseball Classic was not approved by the commission but by Dr Charles himself. When pressed by Commissioner Dixon at the May 2022 meeting, Dr Steinberg said that he had had a conversation with then-chief Sargent in 2018 and promised the police chief a community day for this game. But no commissioner pressed further. At what point could Steinberg, or anyone at the team, reserve community days because of promises made years before? No one seemed to care.

Again, this commission was not concerned with public process or any sort of transparency. There were no real rules for deciding community days and no recognition of the importance of revenue-generating days. When the form for requesting a city event was finally created in February 2023, a year after the commission was created, it sounds as if Commissioner Dixon (on the phone) tried to ask a question and that the vote takes place as he asks.

Purpose: Monitor and administer the implementation and operation of the Governance Documents, including the Ballpark Lease Agreement and the financial status of the Ballpark Facilities.

At the May 2022 commission meeting, there is an informal proposal for quarterly team reports or financial statements about how much is in the capital accounts (which will be needed for capital investments or approvals). There is no formal motion or vote and the need for the commission to provide any sort of financial oversight of the ballpark is quickly forgotten.

Instead, they are treated to long digressions from Dr Charles about how he hopes to get The Dropkick Murphys to hold a concert in Worcester…in 2025.

Purpose: Keep the City Manager informed of the activities and needs of the Ballpark Facilities and provide the City Manager with information developed by the Commission which would have a material impact on the community and/or financial success or status of the Ballpark Facilities.

In September 2022, residents of the city found that due to an architectural issue involving door height, Polar Park would not be able to host concerts and other similar large events.

Were I serving on a commission and had to find out major news from the paper of record rather than the ball team, I’d come into our next meeting making sure that this was the first item addressed and expecting real answers.

Instead, at the October 2022 commission meeting, the first meeting after the news broke, it took forty minutes for a commissioner to mention doors, and they only discussed egress to the park. That’s right, no commissioner was angry, and no commissioner even asked about why the park wasn’t holding the major events it was supposed to.

They did request a summary of community days and revenue days — but they haven’t posted minutes or video of their November 2022 meeting, so who knows if they got that report? Chances are they forgot about it, just like they forgot about the need to have a professional manage revenue days.

Wow.

Yes, wow, indeed.

I’m a big fan of well-run meetings, and these meetings were anything but.

The chair, former city solicitor Moore, frankly allowed the meetings to be a free-for-all. Rather than making sure that every meeting addressed at least one of the commission’s purposes, Moore did not ask commissioners if they were making a formal motion, and he allowed a non-public process wherein he (and he alone) could approve community days outside of scheduled meetings.

So – should we get rid of the Ballpark Commission?

That’s such an important question that the City Council is going to meet tomorrow night to discuss that topic, and that topic only.

Is there any way that the City Council, a body that can’t even figure out how to evaluate its lone employee, would somehow find its way to provide appropriate oversight to the ballpark?

If the Council had taken what I requested two and a half years ago, or if the Ballpark Commission had looked at that as a model for the regular reports it was due, then perhaps we would not be in the situation we are in. It doesn’t take a lot of time or brainpower to come up with questions to ask the WooSox or city administration about the state of the ballpark. It does, however, require a fortitude that few of our elected officials currently possess.

WRRB/Telegram District School Committee Forum 10/4

So many #WorcPoli celebs here, mostly of a certain persuasion: Larry Shetler, Ted Kostas, John Monfredo, Donna Colorio…and some from a different persuasion!

2 minute opening statement

6 questions to each candidate district – 1 minute to answer, 1 minute to respond, then 30 second closing to original

3 candidates for all candidates

1 minute closing statement

Moderators are Joe Corazzini and Laura Martinez

Opening Statements

Dianna Biancheria proud lifetime resident of the city and District C, various locals have endorsed her. A former at-large SC member, honor of serving 6 terms. 3 elementaries, 1 middle, and 2 high schools in the district. Worked in the area of education activities at Worcester Housing Authority. Former school to career coordinator at WPS. 24 years in finance up to assistant vice president, in charge of two bank branches, currently supervises employees – first female aide to Ray Mariano.

Jermoh Kamara – daughter of 1st gen Liberian immigrant – serving as at-large SC. Proud product of WPS – scholarship to Providence College. has been working in school-based health in developing countries, was an adjunct prof, was a director at the YWCA. Brings background in her role on SC. Equitable allocation of resources – school safety. Serves on different subcoms. Proud of progress in WPS for the last year and a half.

Nelly Medina – dedicated to grassroots education and advocacy. Actively involved in the community, advocating for env justice, food justice, lgbtq+ rights, policy and language justice (and more). Plaintiff for D5 – brought district representation to the school committee this year. Foster collaboration with parents, educators, and stakeholders, to establish community groups, esp for those with disabilities like her 6yo son. Parent organizer for spending of ARPA funds. The person who gets this position needs to know how to bring people together.

Kathleen Roy – attended Elm Park, graduated […?] high school, her kids are grown. Heavily involved in Ty Cobb. Teamwork, sportsmanship, etc. Assistant D4 administrator for another sport. PTO president. Also planned events. Parent liaison for Heard Street on parent advisory council. Quinsig Elementary instructional aide, worked in Auburn PS. Last winter, 20 volunteers served at Seeds of Hope homeless shelter. Pocketbook drives.

Q (general topic): what do you see your role as as a district school committee member?

Kamara: ensure everything is equity-aligned, student recruitment and support of educators. Other role is to be a voice for all public schools, shine voices of those in District C.

Biancheria: as a district, this was my backyard for my entire life. With 6 schools, we are looking at: transpo, union articulation agreements, internships, medical connection at UMass. We need to have a broad brush across city. Specific areas will be the 6 schools.

Medina: unifier, wants to bring people together. 11 schools – many different languages. Many cultures not honored in WPS so far. She knows what it’s like to be siloed. Change of policy in how we spend money.

Roy role of WPS to set the budget for following school year, policy for schools to thrive and succeed, hire superintendent. Very diverse school system, work within our means to promote/help every student, irregardless of their race, creed, or anything like that. We have to impress upon them successful values and a successful future.

Q: large urban center. Is WPS doing enough to support ELL, special ed students?

Medina: better job than they have in previous years. New dual lang director. IEPs – missing paraprofessionals, need to meet needs not being met. We don’t understand different languages, 17 at Upland Gardens, folks knocking on doors, cultural intelligence. Knows how to organize diverse communities. No parent should feel lost in the system.

Roy: WPS are mandated by DOJ to ensure … adhered to. Services to specifically address ESL students. 5 added school psychologists, 12 wraparound coordinators, etc., recently added. Ambition is to work feverishly to make sure all their needs are met.

Q: School safety audit. Do you support current strategy? What do you hope from safety audit?

Roy: in talking to many teachers, school safety is important. Mental and emotional, making sure children feel safe in environment. MOU with WPD is needed, to provide continued safety, discretion with providing schools assigned police liaison officer. Then to travel btw lower grades.

Medina: school safety – not punitive, transformatively. Some of the money we saved should be on mental health, Pa’lante program should be brought to WPS. One kid who entered the program in Holyoke felt much safer in school. Students need more mental health services at school.

Roy: I would just like to reiterate that mental health, bullying touches her heart. There should be programs in place to teach good sportsmanship and to treat people the way you want to be treated.

Q: Safety Audit but for District C

Biancheria: I have and will continue to advocate maintaining safety and security for schools. Nov 16 will be a presentation to SC. If our schools are not safe, there will be no learning and no teaching. Staff, students, parents – this is what they look at when evaluating our school system. Locks, lights, etc. – MOU with police

Kamara: MOU btw WPD and WPS – priority for superintendent. We all value relationship with police and SLO model. Plan for how to include culture and climate dean – build rapport with the students. Curtail issues. Wellness spaces in schools. Policy should reflect physical bldgs.

Biancheria: funding comes from city side and not school side, so police should be at the table.

Q: MCAS for graduation metric. what other would you use to measure academic progress?

Kamara: did well on MCAS – but feels that this does not completely measure. ELL, disabilities, should be able to show creativity. Include more project based and aspirational learning.

Biancheria: under a position she had, kids could take 1 college course and then do an internship with stipend to prep them to take the MCAS. Wants a study – some students are not good test-takers, one test will not make them successful. DESE is responsible for this, they need a major overhaul of grad requirements.

Kamara: WPS has done a great amount of work in the past. Not all services are across the district. People at North High didn’t have the same skills as she did when she graduated South. They have been working for the past 2 years to make things more equitable.

Q: How can WPS support teachers?

Roy: Programs in place – we need to have more, to deal with diversity of our students. Important to embrace diversity, the students want to share their cultures. What a great learning tool. [This has nothing to do with the question.] Teachers need to maintain their knowledge.

Medina: More science. Classes are so big, no opportunity to be creative. One educator from Gates Lane said kids going to B&G Club had higher MCAS scores. [This is also not answering the question]

Roy: looked into programs with B&G Club and the Y, these are fantastic programs. We need to figure out way to get funding to take burden away from the parents. [still not answering the question]

Q: Student Opportunity Act – were funds used effectively? What are your plans?

Medina: how do we recruit bus drivers if there is an open contract? Need to treat contracts with more dignity. She has seen that money is not to combat learning loss. Many foster kids – we don’t have one program specific for these kids. Rebuild communities hardest hit by covid.

Roy: ESSER are like ARPA but for schools. True question is where will this funding come for FY25 to continue to serve our students? Revenue from schools come from many sources – worried about how we will sustain. Recently helped a parent with special needs child whose bus was late and spoke with “the bus company” about it. [what bus company?]

Medina: we need to continue to prioritize.

Q Outcomes, for all candidates. Many paths to success post-graduation. Wage data. DESE says public HS student earned $36k within 5 years, however WPS grads earned $29k, no matter where they lived. How to improve?

Kamara: this is one of her big issues. Every child should have future-ready skills. Vocational programs in career and college dept – early college classes. In my time, advocate WPS get skill-based, certifications,

Biancheria: throughout the community over last few weeks, WPS has been asking about strategic plan. In new strategic plan, talks about college readiness, reading, math, life, culture, safety, health, wellness – all of this will be incorporated. Glad looking at this. 12 to 28 Ch 74 courses bc of her hard work.

Roy: this discussion concerns me; numbers you stated are poverty level. We have to better prepare students – foster their abilities. Find out what they are interested in, then lead them to career path. A lot of kids are not school oriented, but also have no direction. [Some guy] has a program to teach them to work with their hands.

Medina: kids in charge of those at summer programs are not trained. Counselors should be trained in 9th, 10th, 11th, and work all year round. they will be more prepared and confident in their roles. Eliminate MCAS – trio program to help figure out what their next path is.

Q about Chromebook and other tech maintenance

Kamara: there was a time – still – with plagiarism, running on 5 point plan. Appreciates that district embraces AI and ChatGPT. need policy to protect new technologies, policy to protect students should also be at the forefront. Educators and their use of tech.

Biancheria: technology rapidly changing every day. Review Chromebook leases, include timeframe. Specific grants may allow budget, staff needs training. Advantages need to be discussed and determined.

Q about cellphone usage, restricting. WPS currently allows discretion – now reviewing policy. What would you support?

Biancheria: this discussion will present some real serious challenges. Social/emotional behavior – teachers are the front line – they should be part of convo. Board cannot make determination quickly – what are advantages, benefits? We cannot be fooled to think that every student can afford to have a cell phone.

Kamara: in college, physics class had apps – if we want to pursue educational policy, we serve BIPOC, language barriers, studnet will enter the real world, loves WTHS policy – not in shops, classroom, but in hallways

Biancheria: not one positive response from parents about privacy of kids when cellphones are used continually.

Q about responding to student needs

Medina: schools are at capacity, over number of students per counselor. Wraparound coordinator + counselor just for foster kids in Shrewsbury. WPS has so many foster children, more wraparound but esp for those most at-risk.

Roy: COVID threw us all for a loop, my children were affected quite deeply. Meet kids needs on daily basis – 2-3 years of missing in-school – still playing catchup.

Medina: 552 million in this budget, not one program to take care of foster student demographic

Q about parent engagement

Roy: thoroughly believes that parents should play a role in their kids’ schools – should have an open door policy. “Parents should have a say in the curriculum.” A lot of single moms. We need to set up support systems to help parents be a part of their kids’ ed.

Medina: should be a few models for parent engagement. Not all of the ways are sustainable. Hours are not always doable for parents who work 2-3 jobs. What would be best mode of communication?

Roy: We have to make sure that we have programs in place for ALL students and parents. If they need help with ESL and parenting?

Q about WTHS admission requirements

Biancheria: There are Ch74 programs at the comprehensive schools. Number of students that apply and have to wait. You will learn hands-on and you will learn what you will do in college. Revision of admittance – would like to see it and would like to be involved.

Kamara – pathways in some areas and not others in the city. Has been advocating for different pathways. South High now has a diesel program, etc. Need to do more in terms of pathways for kids earlier on.

Biancheria: when on SC, advocated for middle schoolers to visit high schools. There are Ch74 offerings throughout the city.

Q Strategic plan:

Kamara: reached out to orgs – more engagement, essential to strategic plan. Over next few months, final copy will be headed in the right direction.

Biancheria: will be able to have a lot of discussion to grow our own for teachers. Discuss college readiness, caregivers, covers an array – will come out in December. No areas have been cut out at this time. This may truly fit all our kids.

Kamara: took bringing communities together – people fought tool and nail to ensure we got here. Consider the forward movement we have been on.

Last Q: facilities. As buildings age, how to plan/prioritize?

Biancheria: when we look at our budget book, 25 pages just in facilities. For 62 bldgs that need to be maintained and kept safe. Need collab and communication. Need to get a detailed listing – including capital improvements.

Kamara: audit of bldgs, knows each priority, $14 million – we have been on it, why is it that it’s just taking til now for us to be on this track? Sen Markey – new bill will bring trillions into infrastructure for schools.

Roy: needs to be prioritized with super and city manager. Parking lots, playgrounds, need to be repaired.

Medina: retrofit our buildings, money save on electricity can be put back into schools.

Closing statements – I will only type items of interest

Medina: we don’t need Daughters of the Confederacy or reconstructionists – has never heard of Kathi Roy

Roy knows plenty of people who have never heard of Nelly Medina. It takes a team to do this – no I in team. [One wonders who her team is…]

WRRB/Telegram At-Large School Committee Forum 9/27

video; Twitter thread

Format: 2 minute opening statements, questions: primary responders get 1 minute, 30 seconds to responders…each candidate will get 3 questions

Opening Statements

Clancey running for her third term; bachelor’s and master’s; WPS parent; very active in community, coach softball, past and current PTO pres at Nelson Place, licensed guidance counselor, had worked 17 years with kids in juvenile justice system. Worked tirelessly during covid – incredible work during that time. One of goals is top-notch education for all, new super, in-house transpo, along with Novick has been working on updating outdated policies.

Novick in her fifth term; mother of 2 WPS alums, one senior in Burncoat/dual language, bachelor’s, MAT, works in school finance. Proud of work done this term; does not remember a time when she has been so proud of sc’s work. National search – results in superintendent – moving ahead together as a governance team. As a parent, nothing like knowing the bus will turn up. Facilities funding – 3rd year of implementing Student Opportunity Act. On accountability, we have good chance to continue work.

Mailman she’s 61 years old, worked in family biz for 38 years. Attended college for many nights while working full-time. Son Jeff graduated in Burncoat and died at age 21. That loss has changed her and increased her sense of urgency in improving our little corner of the world. Chaired and served on various boards; at the heart of all: K-12 PS system needs to be the best. Equity/social emotional health/robust community partners important. Skilled tradespeople, project managers, etc. – rounded, safe, robust education.

Binienda possesses a comprehensive understanding of the issue. HAS WORKED WITH MULTIPLE SCHOOL COMMITTEES SUCCESSFULLY. has a bachelor’s and a couple of master’s. She is well-versed in educational leadership; 46 years in WPS. Has prioritized safety, Early College, CH74, dual language program expansion. During the pandemic, SHE INITIATED WAITING ROOMS, SCREENING. Her tenure at South High School, fostering learning environment. educator to administrator.

Q : what do you see as role (at large vs district)? First item of business.

Clancey: top priority is enhancing school safety. study will be released in November. Looking at new positions and enhancing – pilots were successful last year.

Binienda first of all, need good communication btw at large and district candidates. Improve school safety. Academic access, school partnerships.

Novick the good work of admin and SC needs to get underway. Strategic plan implementation. 3rd, 4th, 5th years of Student Opportunity Act, school safety needs to be looked at, multilingual program comprehensive review, facilities (fed, state, city level).

Mailman City Council represents biz + residents. In SC, just residents. People in your district that go to school in other places – not the same job as in the city side. Tracy Novick will ensure that MASC’s rules will be in front of us.

Q: buildings. WPS manages 62 facilities, handful built/substantially renovated in 15 years. increased construction costs. How to plan, prioritize, fund?

Mailman one minute to answer 100 year old question. We don’t have any great solutions yet. Student Opp Act $ does not give us bldg funds – look statewide, nationally, grants – Burncoat needs to get done. 50/50 voke/arts school. Hopefully the state will fund 90% if more than 10% voke component.

Clancey keep up with facilities master plan, which is a live document. Expand roles in facilities dept. Quarterly updates at F&O meetings. Admin has set bar for turnaround time – will see incredible impacts.

Novick Student Opp Act – increasing operational budget. State discussion, same as other Gateway cities; partly a federal issue. Feds finally have a sense – need to put some money behind that.

Binienda important to state that WPS has a capital plan written many years ago – she was part of it. List of bldgs and what needs to be fixed. In budget, $14 mil for some work in the schools.

Mailman plans that were drawn up 5-10 years ago need to be revisited, we are doing that work right now.

Q for strategic plan and implementation

Clancey her committee directly works on this. improving acad scores, esp in reading. Align these goals with what we do yearly with super’s evaluation. You will get a sense of how the strategic plan is going. Proud of hard work we are doing on this.

Novick SC isn’t setting the priorities. From listening/learning tour by super – community groups. Will be tied into superintendent’s evaluation.

Binienda – has been involved in the last two strategic plans. Great strategic plan at the time. Some priorities have shifted. Budgetary – how will things be paid for

Mailman as part of last strategic plans as part of the community – we as community pushed because we did not have buy-in — what we have different this time is engaged educators, saw photos from session today.

Clancey looking at strat plan – priorities from admin, unlike in the past we did not get updates, will move in a clearer direction this time.

Q: Technology – maintaining investments like Chromebooks. How to continue innovation, how to fund, integrate in classroom?

Novick: need a plan, and luckily we do. Tech plan – over a decade of chromebooks and teacher laptops – we will need to work on maintenance, item she filed will have report from IT about budget responsibilities. Need to review policies, like access. Spark Academy intended to look at this kind of thing.

Binienda – Chromebooks on leases, we need to continue to do that for financing. Grants and SLA.

Mailman AI and Tech – what we will see in tech in 5 years is beyond what we have seen in the last 30 years. We have to stay ahead of game – we have super very interested in this work.

Clancey integrating into learning, so that kids are prepared. Curriculum that will prepare kids for an unknown world.

Novick administration is not afraid of tech. Many lock it out as much as possible. This does not prepare kids for the workforce – kids need to be ready for technology.

Q: WPS safety audit. do you support current school safety strategy?

Binienda: has a lot of experience with safety. Lists her resume again. Most important thing is that schools are safe. Students cannot learn unless they feel safety. Current WPS mostly provides safety but more can be done.

Mailman building audit – we will have bldg safety issues addressed with current audit. In favor of process taking now – climate officers, differnt approach.

Clancey safety audit – not afraid to see where the inadequacies are. Budget choice, serious changes.

Novick as a parent, no stronger statement in safety than sending kids on the bus every day, which is what she has done for 17 years. How does it feel to be LGBTQ student, black student, more than single facet.

Binienda students should be expected to acknowledge respect, conform to school rules, we have to develop policy around that.

Q strengthen/expand early education

Novick Student Opportunity Act $100mil/6 years – helping to expand, we know that parents have been frustrated for a long time – esp with half day programs. Ongoing collab with early childhood providers also important. Working with community in all kinds of ways – pay attention to those relationships bc those kids will be in WPS.

Binienda – program for kids who have kids at South, worked on expanding preschool there. Need to continue to expand

Mailman from community side, we get to place where we have universal pre-K, that we don’t destroy our current childcare providers. I needed those services. When we get to that, we need to collab with community.

Clancey – she had asked for early childhood center from previous admin (BINIENDA) and nothing happened. Compliments to current programs, like Head Start.

Novick Head Start will be impacted by fed gov’t shutdown. In listening sessions, this has come up quite a bit. What do our families need from us as a district and how are we responding to that?

Q about superintendent eval? how’s she doing?

Binienda – loves the super’s rubric set by DESE. Under each category, there are also indicators. Just been updated. As far as current super, doesn’t have info to do that at this point. All new supers go to new program to learn job as you go.

Novick state eval system set by regs, no option. We do set goals – we are told to choose from indicators based on goals. First SC she’s worked with where there was a conversation, she came back with feedback. On the same page which is refreshing. Updates throughout the year which makes evaluation easy.

Mailman became familiar with state’s rigid guidelines – we are going to be measuring student achievement, recruit/retention of staff, 72 hour response time; grade 3 reading.

Clancey I know the superintendent is doing a wonderful job – in the schools every day and can see it. She goes over the basics of the state system. Refreshing last year – felt like she did a concrete, concise, exactly what we were looking for.

Q restricting cell phones, review of acceptable use policy. What to support?

Binienda: THIS POLICY IS BAD. not a learning tool, they are a distraction. Those cell phones should be shut off, this is a place of learning, teachers don’t need to tell kids to take the earbuds off of their ears.

Mailman: my answer is less definite. In our schools, we have principals who are trying to figure out what works. We have asked for a citywide policy. Could we evaluate what cream rises to the top?

Clancey: current policy was from previous administration. Get opinions from different folks, make policy based on facts.

Novick: policy is vague and not implementable. Has a Master of Arts in Teaching – we did this with ballpoint pens, whatever the new tech is, we can’t handle it.

Binienda: FIRST OF ALL, phones are not like ballpoint pens. Admin was also not asked about the cell phone policy before it was voted in.

Q: MCAS for graduation and as a metric

Mailman 700 students in MA who do not graduate bc they did not pass MCAS. Having worked at QCC board, readiness for college takes many forms. Not sure MCAS has to be the final – certainly not for apprenticeship.

Clancey as an educator, people in 30s who only have cert of attainment because they couldn’t pass MCAS. Believes in standards but not tying MCAS to hs grad.

Novick cannot answer in 30 secs. Competency determination in MGL goes not need to be MCAS – constitutional obligation – state has to have some way. Not sure how the state will do that.

Binienda – so old that she was around before the MCAS. Before MCAS, we were not meeting standards. WE NEED ONE TEST – has to be the whole test – employers need to know this!!

Mailman doesn’t think employers evaluate based on this test.

Q on student outcomes. only 30% of WPS students earn certification or degree by mid-20s.

Clancey: we are tying this to 3rd grade reading level. This sets students up for graduating – high standards for all students, including at alternative schools. Make sure that we start in earlier grades – then better outcomes and middle/hs.

Novick – not familiar with one of the statistics cited. Ongoing q about longterm – seems to be earlier indicators.

Binienda – has always been on her mind. Began Early College, Innovation Pathways, so students would be able tohave opportunities.

Mailman – not a straight line – the governor’s decision to fund community college at age 25, hopes youngest stepson is listening, at 25 you’re more ready than at age 18.

Clancey – start them for success early.

Q – learning loss, social/emotional needs, how to support/retain teachers

Binienda – provide training for teachers, observe classrooms, provide mentoring, no teacher should feel like they are out there on their own.

Mailman – retention is a big question across all industries. For teaching, people want to work for a system that is going forward, that people in charge are building a team around them.

Clancey – start with positive school culture. We have seen that in this administration. In this SC, best contract in 20 years.

Novick – relationship with union is deliberately built, comprehensive support of schools across the district. (She had something else that I missed)

Binienda – on first day, brought everybody together. Everyone with same goal.

Q – remote learning and the pandemic. Wraparound coordinators, how else to respond?

Novick: first, acknowledging that they existed. Making sure that we had sufficient staff, over the past year using community partners. Wraparound partners referring people to mental health supports in the community. Current staff keeping tabs on kids. Sometimes it’s not a teacher, sometimes it’s someone else, more of those “someone elses” are a good thing.

Binienda: SELs should be part of the curriculum. Now that we have staff – focus back on academics, along with integrated SEL.

Mailman: it’s not about academics or SEL – it’s about both, it’s about supporting kids. I don’t see this as OR, see it as BOTH every day in school.

Clancey: we are creating a climate and culture – having community agencies to help staff – she has brought this up to previous admin, it’s taken this admin to get it done

Novick: you need to meet kid’s basic needs before they can larn – this is why we feed them, have clothes, laundry, sel is like this.

Q: is WPS doing enough to serve increasingly diverse student body?

Novick – we can always do more, Student Opportunity Act is helping. Make sure staff is reflective, family/community engagement directors added.

Clancey: getting there, need staff that reflects student body. Look at addl resources for special ed students. People in front of students that reflect them. Huge difference in student morale.

Binienda – has put washing machines in schools, clothing, college tours, babysitting, has done this. WPS has done a great job in the past and still doing a great job.

Mailman: in so many areas, we have been behind the 8 ball. Some of it funding – some of it leadership and structure. Rethinking how we are supporting the district.

Clancey: we need to be intentional in hiring. We are making huge improvements to chief equity office.

Q: SC salaries to be the same as CC

Mailman: hoped you were going to ask this. In this city we don’t look at hard qs – I didn’t say that the SC should be doubled – it should NOT be 50%. CC would rather not talk about it.

Clancey as a single mom, should want it – but happy with compensation as is.

Novick – most SCs in MA are not paid at all. Pay determines who gets to do this. She started this as a stay-at-home mom. If we believe in it, we should put money behind it.

Binienda feels that all the money should go to kids.

Mailman talks about this as an equity issue.

Q about how you differentiate yourself

Mailman: community relationships, familiarity with vocational education. Jermoh Kamara brings a different perspective than she does, everyone brings something.

Binienda is the only one who has been a teacher, asst principal, principal, superintendent. SHE HAS POSITIVELY THE LIVES OF THOUSANDS OF STUDENT

Clancey is active in schools but also an educator in this district and 30 others. Works well with all of her colleagues. As Tracy said, we all work together well.

Novick: EMBRACES HER IDENTITY AS A WONK. I do budget and policy as my full-time job. I know what I know because of Worcester and serving on school committee. This is what I now do for work. Appreciates that colleagues and admin find her valuable. In this spring, third child will graduate high school.

Closing

Novick: joy from incumbents because we’ve been able to get things done, we are not putting out fires because we have a strong administration. Current super said she wouldn’t be putting out fires because she would make sure they wouldn’t get set. Only three more years of Student Opportunity Act – pick wisely!

Clancey: builds consensus to get things done. Kids in schools, educator in schools on a daily basis.

Binienda – was a student in the WPS, her daughter is a graduate of Doherty. Spent time in Boston on SOA. She is a lifetime public servant.

(I am going to tap out – just watch the video)

Worcester Education Collaborative – School Committee At-Large Candidate Forum 9/20

Video

Fred Taylor is doing a quick presentation on the consent decree and the changes in School Committee elections; link to slidedeck

Now – on to candidate statements. Each candidates has FOUR MINUTES!

Sue Mailman: running for what would be her second term. Ran in 2021 because concerned with district’s leadership and direction. believes that city is just the right size to be one of the best urban districts in country. 61 years old – worked in family biz for 40 years. Started work full-time at 18, QCC, Worcester State and Assumption. MBA at age 39. Has been married to two good men, 6 stepchildren, son Jeff died at age 21. This has spurred her to improve our corner of the world. Was general chair of Vocational Advisory, chaired board of QCC for 6 years, chaired board of Chamber of Commerce. K12 needs to be best to offer opportunities for kids. Equity, social/emotional health, robust community partnerships. As employer, next gen of skilled tradespeople will come from WPS.

When current SC began term, finished search and hired Dr Monárrez, has grown to admire her skills as a leader. SC has worked well, held Super accountable while moving forward. Expanding career readiness/voke, school buildings, fostering partnerships – we do not need to manage day-to-day issues in schools. (She spoke more – watch the video)

Laura Clancey – 2 daughters in WPS, very active in community, softball coach, PTO pres at Nelson Place, experience with kids involved in juvenile justice system. Throughout beginning of covid, on daily union meetings, talking with parents and students. Students needed to be fed, educated. She never had excuses that she was new. Since getting back into classrooms, been able to focus on impact of pandemic. Throughout 4 years on SC, requested admin work with community counseling agencies, hired new superintendent who has brought morale boost, team she has put in is incredible. She has found communication to be much better. Significant improvement in comms to caregivers and students. In-house transportation. As a parent, no longer is at bus stop wondering where her daughter is. With Novick, huge project updating outdated policies. One of best contracts educators have seen in over 20 years. She is an educator that works in schools, her experience matters.

Maureen Binienda: Her 47 years make her the most qualified candidate. Her WPS experience: 6 years superintendent, responsible for high-quality instruction for 25,000 students, supervision of 5,000 employees, construction of 2 MSBA projects, responsible for implementing SC policies and day-to-day admin. HER team under HER leadership successfully led us through Covid. Principal, assistant principal, teacher, dept head, coach. Sincerity and integrity. Here to support and collaborate for educational excellence for all students.

Goals: 1 – safe school env for all students, review discipline policies, we all have vested interest in safety/security of all

2 – collaborate with all stakeholders and experts on … academic excellence? (sorry, I missed it(

3 – monitor fiscal budget

4 – connect schools with community

Tracy Novick: in 5th term, seeking a 6th term. 2 WPS graduates, 1 senior at Burncoat (dual lang program), former teacher, now works in school policy and finance, licensed school administrator. Never run before where she is so proud of the school committee and superintendent’s work in the previous term. National search for new superintendent – advocated for national search – new super has put into place supports that the schools actually need, moving forward in comprehensive fashion. District operated transpo – has experienced situations like Clancey with buses – note that they have received state and national recognition for this program. Every week gets qs from other school committees on how to implement. Requested increase in MSBA budget line – Worcester will see that the state will pick up much of inflation for Doherty; hope for Burncoat entering the system. Third year of Student Opportunity Act, had advocated for this for ~18 years. Was active in fight to bring this forward. $100 mill yearly into WPS. Accountability – MCAS and other results. This change in administration and collab btw SC and with the community – much better position than we were previously.

Q1: When data is segregated Race/disability/language/other measures there are significant disparities revealed – how to work with admin to identify and address?

Binienda: has been working at dater about this in the WPS. Broken up in all these areas. SC is not supposed to get involved in daily ops – convo to see where to support. Have someone who understands dater and how to present it. When she was super, data person broke it up, met with teams of teachers, presented to school council, looked at which areas needed to be improved. Would look at standards. What to do to improve. For discipline and attendance, talk to principals about other alternatives. I believe every single student should have access to academic success but in safe env. How to get school culture so all those things can happen.

Novick: need to know what the school committee’s job is. Two places where we have most: budget and policy. Are we putting $$ where support is most needed? In looking at desegregated data from state, we improved on school attendance – proficiency of english language learners – as SC we can put in supports and the evaluate superintendent based on that. Describes teams the new super has put together. One of the ongoing works of SC – make sure your policies do not have negative impacts on different groups of students. School discipline. State has changed law and regs on school discipline – how do you implement? Young men of color, special ed – how do you make sure policies are not unnecessarily discriminatory? SC members need to know which part of this is theirs, then strive to do better at the job.

Mailman: possibly most important q of the day. Ongoing through city and state for far too long. Student Opportunity Act funding – Worcester supposed to get $$ to address this. F&O focus on busing. That same kind of attention is needed in this area, need an entire leadership team that says this is a problem, we’ve not had enough attention or acknowledged this is an issue. New admin will focus on this. All the data is at our fingertips. All our subcoms can work on this. Starts with leadership team – not about defensiveness, about offensiveness. We can be a district that improves the lives of all of our students.

Clancey: New admin open and honest in giving data – not to denigrate any particular school, but to work to improve. We as SC members need to make sure putting $$ in appropriate places. The morale improvements are because of looking at data, much more training than we have had in past, supported with staff, wrap coordinators for every school. Must look at budget and policies.

Q2: given that majority of students are kids of color, teachers white – how to recruit, retain teachers of color?

Binienda: hired more teachers and staff of color than anyone else. 1 – IAs who are dedicated, great skills, in partnership with Worcester State, paraprofessionals get free courses after school and during night. 5 retired teachers to be their mentors, then many of them graduated and became teachers. Promised to hire them. 2 – Worcester Future Teachers – it was not funded by grant and South kept it. Ran program for 38 years at South High in partnership with Worcester State. Hire alum as teacher, ch 74 program in education at South/Tech. Early College program, she started that.

Novick: for much of history, teachers have come from people who have felt comfortable in schools, building schools around people who look like me (white girls) – ask ourselves what kind of school system we’re building – why would you come back to work in a place where you never felt welcome? Then when we improve that – … state has been very effective, Worcester can join those efforts.

Hiring systems that are deliberate in their practice. What do our hiring systems look like? We are finally looking at this – what is process to be hired in WPS? Does that lead to equitable outcomes? Part of presentation by current super – increased leadership of color in the past year. You can’t be what you can’t see, whether it’s for students or teachers/staff. that takes deliberate effort. Worcester Future Teachers has been funded as long as she has been on SC, not sure where Binienda’s comment came from.

Mailman: thinking about presentation, lawsuit was because we were not representative. Who is at the table, how do we support those at the table. For me as an old white lady, important to be in contact with young people of color. Look at different workforce opportunities. Change in leadership v important, need to continue giving others voice. QCC > Worcester State or other colleges. Have very solid hiring practices. Apprenticeship – what opportunities can we provide to seniors? Engage with all kinds of higher ed partners – they are looking for opportunities to engage. Early College is increasing, that may give us an additional avenue.

Clancey: we have seen a huge culture change. Equity office doing a great job. Hiring is increasing BIPOC leaders – rate of hire gone up 37%. Clearly a priority of district, clearly doing a great job.

Individual questions

Q to Novick: as a current member, and one of the longest tenured, what have you learned role of community in education (there’s more)

Novick: appreciates – she has reflected. When she ran to get back on SC, there was a giant community outcry about transpo that was not being heard. Needed shift in SC to overrule superintendent. Proud of McCullogh and others’ work on search, deep collab with community about what we were looking for. What are impacts? Dress code – you don’t have to talk to any woman about being dress coded. Mental health supports – student voice is key. Make sure we are allowing students (reps) to speak at committee authentically. Q of whether schools are hostile or welcoming to community. Family/community coordinators.

Clancey has to leave for Know Your School Night

Q to Mailman about education ecosystem – how do you understand that concept? what role does it play in Worcester?

Mailman: it’s been lacking for a long time – ecosystem is our city, broader community. We have been missing that respect for what the outside community wants and can contribute to education of our kids. Breadth of what we can provide in W is rich – increased funding is being able to provide broadest education available. How do we use ecosystem outside our doors to benefit students? Higher ed, Boys & Girls Club, YWCA. Speaking truth – the things that we are struggling with, we need to focus on being truthful with parents and community with the struggle. If we can do that in the right way, broader ecosystem becomes part of our system.

Q to Binienda: changes post-her leaving in discipline

Interim in Quaboag, then Easthampton. One of policies is set by DESE. One of colleagues didn’t fully understand changes to discipline law, no way to discipline student for harmful behavior – law was changed in Dec of last year – make it much more safe for students at school. Law: principal [does something?] – you have to engage the student in learning. [I am sorry, she is reading something and I have no idea what she is talking about] Idea that alternatives like mediation, conflict resolution, collab problem solving, we had a contract with a Boston-based hospital developing collaborative problem solving. Our job as educators was to make sure that kids learn skills needed. We need to have safe schools for everybody.

Closing statements:

Binienda: only candidate that has been a teacher, administrator, superintendent, and interim superintendent. MOST IN-DEPTH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE. Has directly worked with thousands of students all levels of diversity. Lifelong public servant. Has accumulated wealth of experience and will work collaboratively with other SC members to help kids become productive adults.

Novick: You can run for school committee and think it’s one thing, you find it’s something else. Policy, budget, goal-setting, eval of super is yours – day to day is not. Never had so much hope, never been so proud, because of collaboration. Doing it in a way that brings in community and helps students. Has been on committees that have it and ones that don’t – those don’t. Encourage you to return as many of us is possible. We’ve just gotten a start with this administration. Added 2 years to her contract – huge vote of confidence. This election is about the community showing they have confidence. Elect SC who will use Student Opportunity Act $$ wisely, good strong structural convos, needs of multi-lingual learners, students of color.

Mailman: Worcester, like much of nation, election is hotly contested. One of my values is to try to bring people’s voices to the table. Not about me – about us, really about these kids. We can achieve something that is pretty special here. Listening to parents and teachers about policy, to be a person at table willing to listen, learn. As a 61-year-old lady, not interested in touting my experience, but younger teachers, paraeducators, students, should feel they can reach out to SC and that we will listen. Vocational education is my passion.

Yellow Bag Meditations for 2023

The city budget used to have a much more detailed section about trash and recycling, especially when it came to the amount the yellow trash bag fee accounts for the overall cost of trash removal.

We last saw a detailed accounting of the yellow bag fee in 2012. At that time, the bag fee paid for 77% of trash removal in the city.

Councilor Russell had asked for a report on this (frankly, he should’ve asked for this to be detailed in every budget!) and the report is back, beginning on p. 11 of the city manager’s attachments.

According to Commissioner Fink, this year, the bag fee only pays for 60% of the cost of trash removal in this city. This “does not include the costs of benefits for city sanitation employees, fuel, or maintenance of trash trucks” – or any capital costs. However, when I looked at the numbers he provided — $4.7 million in yellow bag revenue on an $8.5 million sanitation budget (not including benefits, etc.), that comes to 55%.

So, unless the calculation is dramatically different, we’ve increased the amount every taxpayer subsidizes trash collection from 23% in 2012 to 45% in 2023.

When people mention that the bag fee is an unfair burden, I’ve often said that it does not cover the actual cost of trash removal — and these numbers bear it out. Trash removal is expensive, and I’ve felt that it is important that people who generate more trash pay their fair share of the burden. We ask that people who use more water pay for that water; we’re not really doing that right now in the waste space.

In a future report (especially in a budget), I’d like to see the “real” cost of a small or large yellow bag. That is, if a small bag currently costs $1, is the “real” cost of disposal $1.80? If a large bag costs $1.75, is the “real” cost $3.18? (This would partly cover the recycling associated with the trash…) I think it would be informative for people to see how much it actually costs to remove their trash.

It’s also unclear how much of the cost is for recycling vs trash; I think, again, we used to have more detailed reporting on this, and I think the city council should make sure that is part of budget reporting. (For a much longer exposition on the history and future of trash in the city, I wrote four years ago about the yellow bags, especially the beginnings of the pay-as-you-throw program, which was really intended to subsidize the cost of recycling.)

Something else in the report is a result of recent trash program improvements: that the Millbury Street facility opened drop-off bulk waste appointments (at $5 an item) on Wednesdays. It doesn’t appear that this day was heavily used, and there is a recommendation to expand hours to Sundays (instead of – or in addition to – the Wednesday hours). The report says this would cost $61,000 a year – which seems small when compared to the overall budget. (I’d also say – please expand this to more months of the year!)

Another fun fact: the two annual Household Hazardous Waste days cost approximately $30,000 per year.

I’d have liked to have seen a report on how the outsourced textile recycling is working, and I’d like to see the city get regular figures about how much work private compost businesses are doing in the city.

As I said four years ago, the point of pay-as-you-throw and recycling is to reduce the solid waste stream. The city still has a long way to go. We can be leaders again, but it will require a firm commitment to composting and increased publicity about textile recycling.

Extortion in the city

Backbones Needed

On a day in which Worcester was referred to as “something of a news desert“, we saw coverage from both Patch and the Telegram about an alleged (probable?) road rage incident that involved former Police Chief Sargent. The incident was investigated, Sargent was found less credible than other witnesses, and then-City Manager Ed Augustus did nothing.

This incident echoes another road rage (and then some) complaint against Sargent that only came to light a couple of weeks ago.

The city council, and candidates in general, have been strangely quiet about these incidents and the cover-ups about them.

Joe Petty was one of the two people who proposed that Ed Augustus become city manager. He supported him in nearly every aspect of his administration. And, most critically, Petty did everything in his power to foul up both a national search in favor of Ed Augustus and then for his successor, Eric Batista.

It would seem to me that those running against Petty for mayor, or even city council challenger candidates, should get out in front of this, and request the following:

1 – A full independent investigation into any and all complaints about former chief Sargent, including a report about why complaints were not submitted to POST Commission

2 – The city manager should post the position of police chief now with the intention of fully vetting and evaluating the best possible candidates from within and without the Worcester Police Department. We have a temporary chief, and we know that temporary becomes permanent very quickly in this city. Considering that the past two chiefs were internally promoted to chief, and knowing all the issues that surrounded their administrations, we really need to make sure we are evaluating outside candidates as well.

3 – The city manager needs a real evaluation process with real goals. Stabilizing the WPD so that officers and the general populace do not need to worry about retaliation from senior officers seems like an obvious goal to me!

But, seriously, challengers – if you think Ed Augustus did a lousy job on this, make it a campaign issue!

Augustus opened the city up to liability by declining to pursue any action against Sargent, by not reporting complaints to the appropriate places, and has actually been promoted to a cabinet-level position despite all of this!

Petty was actively involved in not only bringing Augustus to be a short-term city manager, but paved the way for him to be a long-term manager — and the consequences of these decisions will be even longer term!

And, lest I be accused of favoring challengers rather than the incumbent, Petty could use this situation to rectify what has been a longstanding unwritten policy of the city: that we are so special that no one who hasn’t worked here for their whole career can possibly understand us; that we are so cheap that we can’t afford a basic search for an important position; therefore, we must swiftly promote from within without any further thought.

Mayor Petty could also lead on any or all of these suggestions, and it might not need to involve any slices of humble pie.

But any incumbent, mayor or city councilor, who does not use this as an opportunity to make substantive changes is opening themselves up to their challengers.