Editorial

Sandwich Teacher Union Sours School Choice

Union Snatches Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

What is the matter with teacher unions today? How disappointing is it to read that the Sandwich teacher union is staging a "work to rule" job action to punish the school district over contract negotiations?

Lately teacher unions seem to have incredibly bad timing. Those who followed the scandal that unfolded over Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School may recall that the entire story arc began with the Orleans charter school's teachers voting to unionize.

Why have the teachers in Sandwich gone 424 days without a contract? Since contract negotiations are held behind closed doors, we probably won't ever know the entire truth.

Could it be that the teachers' union "doesn't get it"? Could it be that their leaders are out of touch with the new reality facing public employee unions in this economy and political climate? Does the union realize that it might not be possible to squeeze the taxpayers of Sandwich for more money or super-deluxe benefit packages?

Despite recent melt-downs in the leadership of the Sandwich school district, we believe the district is doing the best it can to work with the teachers that have helped make Sandwich High School one of the best in the nation.

Lately teacher unions seem to have incredibly bad timing. Those who followed the scandal that unfolded over Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School may recall that the entire story arc began with the Orleans charter school's teachers voting to unionize.

Now we have Sandwich poised for success in the school choice competition, offering an excellent "product" - and here come the teachers shutting down the co-curricular activities that comprise a key part of the district's success.

If the district can't control its teachers any better than this, perhaps Sandwich should put aside its school choice plans and leave that to the more stable school districts.

                             VOTE in our POLL: Do you think teachers should be unionized?

CapeCodTODAY's Halloween Trick or Treats 2011

Rewards for noteworthy Cape Cod folk

With Halloween upon us, it's time to think about how we might reward some of the people and organizations that have graced our pages this year.

Nauset Superintendent Richard Hoffmann gets to take off his Grinch outfit and have a pizza and cupcake party to celebrate Nauset High's success with school choice.

Nauset school board member Sarah Blackwell gets force fed two dozen cupcakes at Dr. Hoffmann's pizza and cupcake party.

Save our Sound gets a package of windmill cookies to celebrate their pyrrhic victory over the FAA.

Cape Cod Times columnist Sean Gonsalves gets a new Truro-made cross to bear and a tape recorder which resembles a pistol from Cardinal Borgia's Badican Academy for getting educated about so many issues by rewriting Cape Cod Today stories.

Nstar gets 3,000 rotten pumpkins that were killed by their herbicide spraying.

Touched by Angels trickster Gina Clark a stale Devils food Cake without a file in her cell.

Wampanoag tribal leader Cedric Cromwell gets a Lifetime Membership in the Jenny Craig Weight Loss program in preparation for the millions he'll be making when the Tribe's Casino opens in a couple years.

Cape Wind's Jim Gordon gets the "Job Award" for putting up with a decade of bullshit while trying to help America free itself from foreign oil.

The Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod gets 100 pounds of smelly scallop shells for changing their name and allegedly using off-Cape contractors to handle the re-branding.

The Sturgis Charter Public School gets 200 shiny red apples for continued excellence and five apple trees to plan on their new "Sturgis West" campus.

Superintendent Carol Woodbury of Dennis-Yarmouth Regional gets a cameo in The Walking Dead zombie series for her leadership in a dying school district.

Barnstable Town Manager John Klimm gets 450,000 pieces of candy corn on his way out the door.

The Town of Falmouth gets the "Nasty NIMBY Award" for Article 7 in this year's Town Warent which will ban "Sober Houses" and such.

Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School gets 1,000 pounds of popcorn to serve in their new multiplex-turned-school.

Laptops for KidZ gets 219 Hershey Kisses - one for each computer they placed this year.

Balise Ford of Hyannis gets a truckload of M&M's for revitalizing the old Puritan Pontiac building.

The Harwich Ecumenical Council for the Homeless gets 62,000 candy apples for soldiering on through a difficult loss.

Orleans board of health member Gussie McKusick gets 100 rolls of toilet paper for her verbal diarrhea about this newssite's coverage of the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School.

The Orleans Highway Department gets a bucket of cold molasses for their glacial progress on the Cove Road sidewalk replacement.

The teachers and principals in Sandwich Public Schools get giant tollhouse cookies for soldiering and teaching excellence despite two years of meltdowns at the top.

Superintendent Carolyn Cragin of Chatham, Harwich and Monomoy gets a case of Milky Way's for seeing the future of education and embracing it.

Yarmouth and Orleans' Sewer Proponents each get one Snickers bar to float in their toilets but must pay $25,000 each to flush it down the toilet.

Select members of the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum board each get a poisoned apple from the Evil Queen for way too much drama in recent months.

The Animal Rescue League of Boston’s Brewster Shelter gets a giant bowl of pet treats for their love and kindness all year long and warm hugs in memory of their beloved Squash.

Camp Good News gets one stale, melted Good News bar for reasons best known to them - and our 50,000 daily readers.

Truro Police Chief John Lundborn gets a case each of Mounds and Almond Joy candy bars, because "sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don't."

Special Sheriff Jeff Perry gets $110,000 worth of Payday candy bars to celebrate his new sinecure.

Cape Cod Community College President Kathy Schatzberg gets a case of Whoopee Pies to celebrate her impending retirement.

Senator Scott Brown gets an extra large Nestle Chunky candy. As the ads used to say, "Open wide for Chunky," Senator, and maybe it'll help keep your foot out of your mouth.

Congressman Bill Keating gets to use Scott Brown's pick-up truck to move his stuff from Quincy to his second home in Bourne when the Mass. Re-districting is finalized.

Kudos to State Rep Sarah Peake for coming up with the best reelection idea ever, a Special Mass. License Plate for Baby Boomers who are the arch typical "to to the polss" kind of voter which earned her a NY Times Editorial.

A truckload of Gummy Dinosaurs for the region’s print newspapers. 

Holders of the Massachusetts Animal Coalition “Spay Neuter” plate get a bucket of toys for their pet.

The keepers of the Edward Gorey House get a big bag of chocolate spiders

Members of the Barnstable Street Crime Unit each get a big bag of Dum Dums (the candy, not the bullets) for all their good work cleaning up the streets of Barnstable

Judge Brian Merrick gets a big box of saltwater taffy for making jury duty at Orleans District Court fun and interesting

Mal Hughes and the folks at Cape Cod Child Development get a truckload of pumpkin pies for bringing Thanksgiving to hundreds each year.

Merrill Blum and his colleagues at the Veterans Outreach Center get grocery store gift cards for supporting our veterans so well.

Truckloads of groceries for the region’s food pantries that feed thousands each year.

Mandy's Cape Creamery gets 10 pounds of gummy bears for their great food and ice cream throughout the summer.

Alberto's Ristorante gets a bucket of Portugese Anchovies to add to it's Caesar Salad.

The Masonic Angel Foundation gets a case of Listerine in memory of Trevi the cat’s special kiss.

The good people at Independence House get 2,500 Mr. Goodbar’s – one for each person they helped last year.

Our men and women in the military get any treat they like to thank them for their service.

Kudos to the Barnstable Street Crime Unit

Taking Back the Streets of Hyannis
A Warm Nod to the Barnstable Police Department

Barnstable's new Street Crime Unit "took a bite out of crime" in recent months and we commend them for that. As one Hyannis business owner told Cape Cod Today, "I am most impressed with the new street crimes unit because their high-profile arrests have the biggest trouble-makers running scared. There's still a lot of work to do but, with the community's involvement, real progress is being made."

Chief Paul MacDonald can be proud of his officers, and Barnstable's taxpayers should be pleased to get their money's worth from the BPD.

Barnstable Police Chief Paul MacDonald can be proud of his officers, and Barnstable's taxpayers should be pleased to get their money's worth from the BPD.

Indeed, this morning's radio broadcasts included Chief MacDonald declaring that there hadn't been a shooting or stabbing since the new street crime unit was deployed. They have singled out the trouble spots, such as Pufferbellies Entertainment Complex and have taken assertive steps to eliminate dangerous behavior in such venues.

Cape Cod Today commends Chief MacDonald and his officers for their exemplary work. We also commend the members of the Hyannis community who have come together to get most of the street people out of the downtown area as well as those who work to improve education and housing opportunities in the downtown Hyannis area.

We remind everyone that this is an ongoing process. The BPD must maintain constant pressure on the troublemakers and this means the taxpayers of Barnstable need to support the police in this costly endeavor.

Step-by-step the businesspeople and downtown residents are taking back the streets of Hyannis. This bodes well for the future of Hyannis and for the entire mid-Cape region.

We look forward to a day - very soon, we fancy - when we will be able to write "Beautiful downtown Hyannis" without a punch line.

Grinch loses Cupcake skirmish

Victory in the Cupcake War
But Détente on the Pizza Front

The Grinch who stole cupcakes returns transmogrified.

Score a victory for the children of the Nauset region’s schools!  Cupcakes are still permitted for birthday parties in the region, despite the misgivings of school committee members like Sarah Blackwell of Eastham.  Blackwell appears to have been the driving force behind the misguided “wellness policy” that caused us to label Superintendent Richard Hoffmann “The Grinch that stole cupcakes” last June.

Under the revised wellness policy, kids may still have cupcake birthday parties at school on their actual birthday.  However, use of “food rewards” as an incentive for students – such as the traditional pizza party for an outstanding class – are off the menu.  No longer will kids receive candy, gum or soda as a reward for good academics or behavior.  As the Cape Cod Times reported today, “class rewards involving food would pair a food with an activity to teach kids the relationship between the two – so, for example students might walk to an ice cream shop.”

Oh yes, that’ll motivate the kids.  Not!

At any rate, we appreciate that school board members came to their senses before they maintained the Draconian policy originally approved in May. 

The concept of practicing good nutrition in the schools is commendable but only up to a point.  We fear that the misguided actions of individuals like Ms. Blackwell tend to rob our youngsters of childhood’s “magic moments”.  This reminds us of “Bad Santa” making children cry at Christmas.

Is Homey the Clown next for Nauset Christmas Parties?
And he really doesn't approve of cupcakes or whole milk.

Meanwhile, go to any ice cream shop during the summer and witness the huge ice cream dishes that parents order for their six-year-olds.  Nauset can feed the kids brown rice until it comes out their ears and then Mommie Dearest can comfort them with soda pop and sweet treats as soon as they arrive home.  Good nutrition begins at home!

Kids know what they like and are sublimely clever.  You can’t “reward” a kid with a glass of Metamucil and tell her it is soda pop or hand her a celery stick in lieu of pizza.  They’ll tell you exactly where to insert your celery stick and will find something unspeakable to do with the liquefied fiber.  In terms of “cause and effect” - when the schools start handing out low fat bran muffins will they have the kids clean the bathrooms afterwards or will Ms. Blackwell and friends volunteer to do that?

Cape Cod Today is proud to have played a part in foiling this cupcake-filching policy.  We hope the district will eventually come to its senses about the classroom rewards issue, as well.

It's time to limit the state historical commission

Secretary of State calls bill "Special Interest Legislation"

(The possibility of) Indian artifacts chosen over much-needed jobs

TWEET your comments here.

This week State Senator Michael Rodrigues (D-Westport) filed legislation seeking to limit the authority of the state Historical Commission and prevent it from ruling on properties that are not list on the state’s Historical Register.

Senator Rodrigues filed this legislation in response to the cancellation of a $65 million office complex in Freetown after the commission demanded extensive archaeological work in case there were artifacts left behind by the Wampanoag Indians.  Had the complex been built, Westwood medical software publisher Meditech would have employed some 800 workers.

The Boston Herald reported that Secretary of State William Galvin’s office referred to the bill as “special interest legislation”.

Jobs are of special interest to just about everyone in Massachusetts right now – and his hysterical commission just chased 800 jobs away from Freetown.

We suppose Galvin might have a point.  Jobs are of special interest to just about everyone in Massachusetts right now – and his hysterical commission just chased 800 jobs away from Freetown.

And how many more jobs would the Meditech facility have created?  How many businesses in and around Freetown might have increased their revenue?  Had the facility been built, some 800 people would have been working in Freetown at least five days a week.  The commuters would need to buy gas somewhere, eat lunch, enjoy morning coffee, shop during their lunch breaks, and have their cars serviced whilst at work.  Meditech would have needed landscape care, snow removal, trash removal and the services of skilled tradesmen on a continuing basis.  Indeed, many of the company’s employees might have chosen to buy real estate in Freetown and environs.  Meditech is reported to employ over 3,500 people in Massachusetts, so there’s an excellent chance some of them might have visited Freetown on occasion, as well.

Additionally, the built-out property would have ended up paying a much higher tax bill than the acreage is currently generating.

So let’s be clear, the “special interest group” here is a lot more than those 800 employees who won’t be contributing new revenue to Freetown’s economy.  For Secretary Galvin’s office to call Senator Rodrigues’ bill a piece of “special interest legislation” is an insult to every unemployed worker in Massachusetts.

For Secretary Galvin’s office to call Senator Rodrigues’ bill a piece of “special interest legislation” is an insult to every unemployed worker in Massachusetts.

If the state Historical Commission and the Mashpee Wampanoag nation are concerned that the Freetown property contains Indian artifacts, the Wampanoag’s should immediately pay for an archeological study of the property.  If it is found to be historically significant, then the Wampanoags, perhaps with the help of the state, should buy the 138 acre site at market rate and preserve it to their hearts’ content.  Maybe it would make a nice site for a casino.

Massachusetts needs to retain every job and must look to creating more jobs.  Rhode Island seems to have its eye on the ball as they woo away Massachusetts employers.

We’re getting tired of political correctness when it is as damaging to Massachusetts’ economy as this outrageous situation.  As Secretary Galvin’s historical commission slams the gates shut in the face of Meditech we say, “Enough is enough!”  Sustainable jobs for Massachusetts’ taxpayers are too important to be overridden by the archaeological concerns of another “special interest”, in this case the Wampanoags.

We urge our readers to ask their state legislators to support Senator Rodrigues’ bill.  Tell them, “I’m mad as hell and not going to take this anymore!” 

Monomoy Regional: The Feisty New Kid on the Block

Dr. Carolyn Cragin gets rare opportunity in education

Technology, culture will differentiate new district from the competition

To open a new school is often the high point of a school administrator's career. Indeed, most principals and superintendents never get that opportunity. Dr. Carolyn Cragin, transitional superintendent of the new Monomoy Regional School District, will not only open a new high school building - she has the rare opportunity to open a new school district when Chatham and Harwich consummate the merger their school districts.

Dr. Carolyn Cragin, Transitional Superintendent of the Monomoy Regional School District.

The education field has changed many times since Dr. Cragin started as a teacher back in 1971. Back in those days the nation was still recovering from the "new math" and "open classrooms" were still in vogue. Today technology and individualization are of paramount concern to educators, all the while working in the shadow of MCAS and other standardized tests.

On October 4th we had an opportunity to spend ninety minutes with Dr. Cragin, who spoke with us on a wide range of topics - from the new school district, to MCAS, to school choice and education technology. It was a wide-ranging discussion far too complex to cover in a single story. Cape Cod Today will cover this interview in a series of articles on the various topics covered.

Competition comes to Public Education

Many educators have questioned the medium-term viability of the new Monomoy Region because of declining enrollments Cape-wide and because of competition from charter schools, private schools and other area school districts.

Competition? In public education? Absolutely! In an era where the pool of students is dwindling, every school district is fighting for its share of a smaller pie. Districts such as Provincetown have faded because they couldn't draw sufficient enrollment to sustain themselves. Indeed, Chatham maintained its independence for over a decade based upon its ability to draw large numbers of school choice students from neighboring districts.

So now the Monomoy Regional School District enters the fray. The fledgling district faces challenges on several fronts. First they must meld the cultures of the Harwich and Chatham middle and high schools into two new regional schools. Second, they must find a way to maintain the in-bound school choice students that have helped both districts - last year 207 students in Chatham and 144 in Harwich. Third, Monomoy must continue to attract more school choice students from other districts even as student counts Cape-wide continue to decline.

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The most technologically sophisticated school on Cape Cod

There are also some splendid opportunities ahead for Monomoy. Dr. Cragin tells Cape Cod Today that she's looking forward to Monomoy Regional High School being the most technologically sophisticated school on Cape Cod. They will continue to cultivate a culture of a public school with a private school environment that was executed so well, especially by Chatham. Another opportunity that Cragin was too polite to mention is the potential separation of Dennis' K-8 students from the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional School District. Should a schism develop in DY, Monomoy would be in an excellent position to welcome additional school choice students from Dennis and would offer an excellent high school alternative to families in Dennis.

How to measure a school's success

One cannot rate the success of a school simply by who has the most technology, the broadest curriculum, the most diverse population, the nicest building or even who has the hippest culture.

The only truly successful school is the one that employs teachers who can connect with the students and advance their education. A gifted teacher in a derelict schoolhouse can turn out far more learned students than a congenial imbecile trying to teach in the most splendid building.

Dr. Cragin certainly has the experience and desire to pull that rabbit out of her hat for Monomoy.