LETTER: Responsibility for the Shrewsbury School Budget

'The proposed 2014 Shrewsbury school budget has a $4,000,000 deficit.' Planned increases in salaries amount to about $3,000,000.'

Submitted by Benjamin W. Tartaglia, Sr. town meeting member, precinct 6, Shrewsbury If you watched the Shrewsbury public hearing on the school administration’s proposed $52,000,000 budget for FY2014, you might have noticed two characteristics of the hearing. First, the meeting was sparsely attended compared to previous years. The poor attendance may indicate taxpayers, (including parents of school children), are weary of the School Administration’s annual appeal for unrealistic and unsustainable funding. The second was, only one point of view was voiced, namely, to support the proposed budget, even if it meant attempting a prop 2-1/2 override. Proposals allowing the school administration to live within its means were noticeable by their …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter: Tartaglia Thanks Voters, Chastises Adversaries

Former Selectman Benjamin Tartaglia lost his bid for selectmen to James Kane in the annual town election, but he wants to thank all those who worked on his campaign.

Well, the 2012 election is in the history books. Anyone who stood out in the 40 degree weather through the cold drizzle the downpours and the dampness should be congratulated, regardless of their position. Everyone gave it their all.  I thank our team for their efforts. Our Campaign Chairman, Leo Feinstein, did a great job organizing and overseeing the entire operation. Our Treasurer, Charlie Garabedian made sure we “Lived Within Our Means”. Our Sign Captain, John Martin was outstanding, managing sign placement, replacing stolen and broken signs and herding cats. Our sign crew was out until midnight on election night, collecting signs from the Shrewsbury frontiers. I thank the volunteers who made it all possible through their incredible …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter: Support of Selectman Candidate James Kane

A letter writer outlines why Selectman James Kane should win a fourth term.

The following letter was submitted by Selectman John Lebeaux: To the Editor: I support Shrewsbury Selectman Jim Kane’s re-election May 1st. Jim consistently speaks plainly, honestly and clearly; he doesn’t take facts and reinterpret them to benefit his political standing. Jim has regularly proven to be a hardworking, thoughtful selectman who works collaboratively, gaining the necessary consensus to convert good ideas into successful actions, helping secure Shrewsbury’s present and future best interests. He’s done this increasingly since his election, with his greatest success with the current board in this third year of his term. Please re-elect Jim Kane Shrewsbury Selectman May 1 so he may continue working for families, businesses and …

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Dan B.

1:53 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2012

I voted for him last time solely because of who he was running against, and now I'm voting for him again because he did a phenomenal job in his term (and because of who he is running against.). Best of luck Kane!!   more ›

Letter to the Editor

Letter: Support Mindy McKenzie-Hebert for State Election

The selectmen banned together to ask for support of the Republican state candidate.

To the Editor: We each strongly support and endorse the candidacy of Mindy McKenzie-Hebert for State Republican Committee Woman in the Second Worcester State Senatorial District. The election takes place in the Republican Presidential Primary on Tuesday March 6. All registered Republican and all Unenrolled (Independent) voters may vote in the Republican Primary. We believe the best government is achieved through the healthy discussion and debate that occurs from a balanced political process, not one that is dominated by any singular point of view. Presently the Massachusetts House of Representatives is composed of 128 Democrats and 32 Republicans; the State Senate is composed of 36 Democrats and 4 Republicans. Mindy possesses numerous …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter: PTO President Thanks All for Making Playground a Reality

The Paton School PTO reached their goal and will build the playground this spring.

Cheers spontaneously erupted and were undoubtedly heard throughout Central Massachusetts on Monday morning at approximately 10:56 a.m.—the exact moment that Ms. Wilkin joyfully announced during Paton Pride that the Paton School PTO has completed fundraising AND that the new playground will be installed this spring. That’s right… we’ve done it!! Together, through the hard work and dedication of so many—local businesses, community organizations, private donors, Shrewsbury families and the grassroots efforts of Paton students themselves –we raised just over $70,000 in less than 11 months. We achieved our goal two years ahead of schedule. Simply remarkable! I’m sure many of you remember that cold, dreary day last March when the playground …

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Letter to the Editor

Letter: The Shame of School Bus Fees

One resident is concerned with the school bus fees to young families in town.

The Shrewsbury school bus fees are a shameful tax on young families who must use the school buses to comply with State law. The school bus tax was unilaterally instituted, (without Town Meeting approval), by the school administration. It was done in response to a proposition 2-1/2 operational override being voted down at the polls.  Young families, who have little alternative to busing, must pay an unfunded mandate which is a selective and regressive tax. The school bus fee is a mandated tax because you must pay it to receive a government service, namely school transportation. It’s selective because paying depends on where a family lives.  It’s regressive because younger families have less earnings, transportation alternatives and …

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Letter to the Editor

Library Project Too Big, Expensive

A letter writer urges voters to vote down the proposed library building project in the hope that the plans can be scaled back.

To the Editor: Town officials want to increase your taxes again! They want to spend $19.2 million [this is the TOTAL project cost, which includes private donations] to expand the library with an over-priced, over-sized public library project. They are planning a snap election on October 18 to pass a debt exclusion question. They are hoping for a low turnout on this special October ballot. Meanwhile, our sewer bills go up yet again this August. (In 5 years we will be paying an additional $300 a year on our sewer bills.) And soon after the Shrewsbury library project, the selectmen will be asking for another tax increase, to replace Beal School? Don’t town officials realize that we are in the midst of a devastating recession? Unemployment isn…

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Now is the Time for the Library Project

The former library director says the building project will solve the problems at the library.

To the Editor: Now is the perfect time for the Shrewsbury Library Expansion Project. Since the early 1990's, facility use studies have been done, consultants have been hired and reported their findings and recommendations, residents have participated in several surveys, building programs have been written and two construction grant applications have been submitted for state funds. The 2005 grant application addressed the critical need for more space for children. This need was apparent from the February 1981 opening of the renovated and expanded library. Also addressed were the need for more public computer space, an expanded area for young adults, as well as the infrastructure needs including the HVAC system, leaking roofs and ADA …

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Letter to the Editor

Signs Send Wrong Message

One resident urges voters to get the facts from town officials about the Shrewsbury Public Library building project.

To the Editor: I am writing to express my great concern about the signs some residents have on their lawn opposing the library project. While I fully support everyone’s right to oppose any issue, I believe each of us must be ethical and responsible with that right. We should be honest and forthright in our positions. Many of the signs I currently see around town, whether professionally manufactured or hand drawn, contain inaccurate and untrue information. Here are just two examples. On Oct. 18, voters are not considering a permanent override. They are voting on a temporary debt exclusion to fund the town’s share of the project—$8.7 million. The remaining funds (almost $10 million) will come from the state grant and donations, and will be …

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Letter to the Editor

Local Mom Says Library Needs More Space

Letter writer says e-books will not make libraries obsolete.

To the Editor: I am a stay-at-home mom and a resident of Shrewsbury. I am writing in support of the proposed library expansion project. I love the library. There is a wide range of programs and books for children. I am a happy and frequent patron, and yet I am not unaware of the problems. There is a serious lack of space in the children’s room, so much so that when my children were small and in a stroller, I found it difficult to even get there. We had to go down a tiny elevator that barely fit the stroller, let alone the rest of us; then into a hallway with hardly enough room to navigate the stroller; finally into the children’s room where my next problem was where to park the stroller (my only option being in front of the librarian’s …

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