Town of Braintree

Welcome to the real world, Bebe

yes, your tax rate went down and your taxes went up, but so didn't the value of your home. A lot of good that does us though when we are struggling to pay our current bills.

At least the Selectmen had the guts to raise the tax shift so that the homeowners didn't get stuck with all of the increases, like the Assessors suggested.

The average residential tax bill went up 3% but the commercial taxes went up more this year, even though their properties haven;t appreciated like residential.

legislators back early education

Local legislators support early education bill
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Braintree's legislators, Senators Brian Joyce and Michael Morrissey along with Rep. Joe Driscoll have indicated they support Early Education For All legislation The Early Education for All (EEA) Campaign announced that it has filed ''An Act Establishing Early Education for All'' for the 2005-2006 session with extraordinary bi-partisan support. 132 state senators and representatives, representing 66 percent of the Legislature, co-sponsored the bill which lays out the essential elements of a universally accessible, high-quality early education program, building on the momentum generated last session with the creation of the new board and consolidated Department of Early Education and Care.''Last legislative session, the Legislature and the administration made a commitment to the state's young children by creating a new Board and consolidated Department of Early Education and Care, and we are grateful for their leadership,'' said Paul O'Brien, president of the O'Brien Group and co-chair of the EEA campaign. ''However, there is still much work to be done to build on that foundation. This legislation provides the essential next step to achieve our shared vision for children. We look forward to working with Governor Romney and the Legislature to make that vision a reality.''''The bill we have filed will help policymakers craft an efficient, effective and successful program for Massachusetts' children, families and providers,'' said Mara Aspinall, president of Genzyme Genetics and Co-Chair of the EEA Campaign.The legislation is the result of a comprehensive process undertaken by EEA, including dozens of community forums, interviews with early childhood experts, and other public meetings, to solicit input on the design of a policy proposal to meet the early education needs of Massachusetts' 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds.
''The campaign's outreach effort was instrumental in gathering recommendations and feedback from 4,000 parents, teachers, providers and other concerned citizens,'' said Margaret Blood, Director of the EEA Campaign. ''Their input was essential in forming this legislation.'' Highlights of the legislation include:
Establish Early Education for All (EEA), to provide funding for every preschool-aged child in the Commonwealth to have access to an early childhood education that: 1) meets a high-quality early learning standard; 2) is staffed by well-qualified early educators; and 3) is delivered through a mix of public and private programs; Develop a phase-in plan for EEA to be fully funded and implemented by 2012, which gives priority to children in low-income communities; and Establish a special commission on full-day kindergarten to study and develop recommendations on the expansion of high-quality, full school-day kindergarten throughout the Commonwealth.



By THO

differencewith a School contract

Obviously any contract settlement needs to be funded (i.e. needs money to pay for any increases). My understanding is that the difference with a School contract is that they do not need to get appropriation approval from the legislative authority (in our case, Town meeting) for the contract to be binding. That is related to the law that states Town Meeting votes on the total amount of the appropriations requested by the schools (not broken down by line items) and cannot place any restriction on such appropriations.

By they do not need approval

And now comes the school dept.

The plot thickens, the schools want to pay for part of their new raises with extra
monies they have on hand. Why would they want to do that?

The schools need to come up with an additional $300,000 to pay teachers
from school start in September .super Peter K has on hand some $130,000 available.

The school dept will ask town meeting in May to transfer an additional $150,000 from the stabilization fund for the rest and any additional would come from the school dept.
Remember this year one of a one, two, three, four year increase schedule, it will get
much worse!

The next three years are going to be beautiful with tax increases to pay for the contract negotiated by the school committee The growth in the schools budget due to teachers pay alone will bury the town!.

the School Committee and the Superintendent have a tremendous amount of respect for the role Town Meeting plays. State law as it is, I know school officials do not feel as if they are above Town Meeting.


As to the school contract, it is my understanding that it is state law that dictates we treat school contracts differently than others. I am not a lawyer, but I believe it is Chapter 105E (section 7b) and Chapter 71 (section 34) that spell it out.

Obviously any contract settlement needs to be funded (i.e. needs money to pay for any increases). My understanding is that the difference with a School contract is that they do not need to get appropriation approval from the legislative authority (in our case, Town meeting) for the contract to be binding. That is related to the law that states Town Meeting votes on the total amount of the appropriations requested by the schools (not broken down by line items) and cannot place any restriction on such appropriations.

By Why Bother its a blank check