0 Boston City Council Members - Reject Mayor Walsh's FY17 Budget

UPDATE: According to Boston City Council President Michelle Wu: No BPS or General Boston budget vote today. Budget version 2 will go to committee and there will be a hearing on revisions Monday, June 27 at 11:00 a.m. (Boston City Hall 5th floor). The final vote will be on June 29th.

What does this mean? 

• More time to spread the word and ask family, friends, neighbors, groups and everyone you know to email, call, visit and use social media to demand that our Boston Public Schools be, at the least, level funded! 
• Time to plan our next steps for Monday and next Wednesday!
• Because this will now only allow one vote prior to the June 30th budget deadline, City Council is more likely to pass the budget, so we must take action!

If you are interested in getting involved in next steps since we now have more time, please email me!!

At last night's Citywide Parent Council (CPC) meeting we decided to put together a draft email for all Boston residents to use to ask City Councilors to reject the FY17 Boston budget at today's hearing. Below is everything they need to email the Councilors:

• the email addresses for all City Councilors, 
• a subject line to use (to ensure they are recognized as the same ask) 
• and the template email for folks to personalize before sending. 

Please remember to DELETE items in RED and any of the notes below before sending!

If you have questions, feel free to email me directly.

You will also find below

1. A great graphic created by John Lerner which shows the percent spent by cities and towns on education out of their budgets. This disproves the "Boston spends more than anywhere else on education" mantra by Mayor Walsh et al.
2. List of the City Council Hearings (which I edited to get rid of old meetings) showing the two potentially scheduled city council votes on FY17 budget.

Don't know who your City Councilor is? Find out now!

If you want to watch the hearing and vote you can do so online.

Follow along on Twitter and Facebook. Make sure to follow the city councilors, and those who are always on top of the budget issues:
Kristin Johnson,
Kenny Jervis,
Heshan Weeramuni,
Mary Lewis-Pierce
and me (though my posts will be sporadic)

List of city council members which includes phone numbers - if you have family, friends etc who don't like technology! 

Please:

1) SEND YOUR EMAIL first!!!!

2) SHARE WIDELY! Ask everyone you know to email and call RIGHT NOW and - if possible - stop by city hall in person before or during the hearing which will be held in City Council chambers on the 5th floor of Boston City Hall. 

City Council Email Addresses to copy and paste into your address line:

Michelle Wu
Ayanna.Pressley@boston.gov

Michael.F.Flaherty@boston.gov

A.E.George@boston.gov

Mark.Ciommo@boston.gov

Josh.Zakim@boston.gov

TJackson@boston.gov

matthew.omalley@boston.gov

Timothy.McCarthy@boston.gov

Andrea.Campbell@boston.gov

Frank.Baker@boston.gov

Bill.Linehan@boston.gov

Salvatore.LaMattina@boston.gov

Subject line: Reject Boston’s FY17 Budget Until BPS Funded Correctly

Copy, paste & personalize:

Dear Members of the City Council,

I am a Boston resident who is extremely concerned that our Mayor is devaluing our students and their futures despite the wealth of our city. First, I want to thank you for refusing to pass Mayor Walsh’s FY17 budget at your June 8, 2016 hearing. You clearly heard the voices of all of the students, families and community members regarding the harmful effects the BPS budget cuts will have on our most vital resource: the students who are the future of our city.

Now, as you are no doubt aware, since your vote on June 8^th, Mayor Walsh has added an additional $4.68M to the BPS budget. Unfortunately, though appreciated, with the exception of a small percentage (approximately 36%), the majority of these funds will never reach the school level, our students directly or offset the detrimental and, in some cases, potentially harmful cuts impacting all of our BPS students. Even with this sudden influx of $4.68M, which is still about $25M short of the funds necessary to level-fund our BPS schools, the Mayor is clearly not prioritizing our students or their education.

In the long run, many of the choices now being made for BPS to the tune of “we don’t have the funding” may lead to many costly, and potentially precedent setting, legal cases which will cost the city far more than what we are demanding now.

So today, as you prepare for your second vote on the FY17 budget, I am writing as a resident(, voter, BPS parent and Citywide Parent Council member - Feel free to also insert your school and/or other affiliation or anything else you think important to personalize this AND DELETE THIS COMMENT and anything you do not use!) to ask that YOU prioritize our students and BPS schools by once again rejecting the FY17 budget until Mayor Walsh, at the very least, funds our Boston Public Schools to ensure that we maintain the current level of supports our students had during the 2015-2016 school year. 

I expect every one of you who represent Boston to join me, my fellow residents, BPS students and families to insist that Mayor Walsh again dig into the city’s purse to restore the cuts that are already negatively impacting all of our students, especially those with language and special education needs. Anything less is ethically and morally reprehensible and unacceptable in an elected official.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your Name

Address

(Phone Optional)

School or other affiliation

Have questions or just want to see what I am working on? Feel free to email me at karen.kastmcbride@gmail.com or follow me via Twitter: @BPSNightmare. 

0 Walsh's Woe: Boston Public Schools Families Protesting State of the City 2016

Well, if you are a resident of Boston or a Boston Public School community member you may have heard that there is going to be a protest tomorrow afternoon before Mayor Walsh's State of the City address. The protest, already making news on Twitter using the hashtags #SotcProtest #SOTC16, has been getting a bit of news coverage. 

Why are the #handfulofparents protesting? Short answer: BPS budget "shortfalls*." Bet you are thinking, I heard Mayor Walsh has said he did not cut the budget and in fact is generously giving BPS another $14M to bring the BPS budget to a whopping $127B total! And rumors are that Mayor Walsh will be announcing a bit more money to add to that! Geez, BPS families and students sure are asking for a lot! What is the issue - you should really be able to educate every student with that kind of money! 

This protest is about the "shortfalls" to our BPS budget and despite Mayor Walsh's request that BPS "trim down" central administration which ALWAYS seems to trickle down and negatively impact ALL of our students and schools more than the central administration. Even with the central office trimming down, that doesn't stop the bleeding that happens at the school level - and quite frankly, if nothing changes then pretty soon BPS will bleed out completely. 

Shortfalls - however they happen and no matter what we call them- translate to actual cuts at the school level. Cuts which eliminate positions, services and programs like:

Nurses: It is rare to have a BPS school with a full-time nurse - better hope those students don't need emergency care except during that nurses' hours at the school; 

Teachers: Why do we need science, math, language, history or special education teachers? STEM? Eh, whatever, city students don't need that stuff - we are preparing them to WORK, what do they REALLY need to know to press a button or say "Welcome to Walmart"?!; 

Libraries and/or Librarians: students only need to read the items which will be on the MCAS/PARCC - so really no need for literature or fictional reading!;

Programs: Art - they can draw, sing, dance or play instruments at home! Sports - what obesity problem? Specialty programs - all they need to pass high stakes testing is ELA, Math, a bit of Science and we TELL those teachers WHAT to teach them for those! 

Supplies: computers? paper? toilet tissue? bottled water? Pshaw - the teachers that DO remain are getting paid so well, they can buy it!

The above is brought to you by me channeling my inner non-BPS parent 1% corporate ed reform political donor - to my regular readers, I apologize!

Maybe now you are beginning to think, well... maybe there is something wrong here (at least, I hope you are!) - students need more than just Reading, Writing (oh yeah, no cursive in schools anymore!), Arithmetic and testing. Wow, Boston is a very rich city, why do the public schools have to keep eliminating so much? 

That, dear reader, is the 127 billion dollar question! The answer: declining federal and state funding for education, costs taken out of the BPS budget for students who attend other schools, and rising costs all contribute to the issue.

Mayor Walsh is correct, he did not cut anything from the BPS budget. And yes, we are thankful he has actually kept the "shortfall" from being worse by allocating that $14M to the budget - thank you Marty! Without it the "shortfall" would actually be $64M  instead of the $50M it still is with these added funds. Of course, this latest "shortfall" is in addition to the prior two years "shortfalls" totalling $140M. And really, this is just the tip of the iceberg. 

What do we want? After all, the BPS budget takes up a huge portion of the city budget, do we think Mayor Walsh can give even more? Well, another short answer: yes, and no. 

If the city can afford to give huge tax breaks to General Electric to entice them to make Boston the home of their headquarters and propose putting the city into debt to bring the 2024 Olympics, and let's not forget Indy Car racing; well, shouldn't there be a way to add more to the most important resource for our city, state and country: the education of every single student in Boston?

Additionally, we are asking that Mayor Walsh commit to, at the minimum,the following: 

1. Join in solidarity with Boston’s students, families and community members to aggressively advocate for our Boston Public Schools at state and federal levels;
2. Through strategic planning and ambitious revitalization, reduce the BPS budget shortfalls of $50 million this year and $140 million over the last three years;
3. Invest in fully-resourced community public  schools with wraparound services for Boston's children;
4. Work with the true stakeholders of Boston Public Schools: students, families, educators and community members to fully audit BPS’ budget in order to assess community needs and address inequalities; and,
5. Collaborating with the true stakeholders, demand democratically controlled public schools through an elected Boston School Committee.

Who are we? We are the true stakeholders of BPS and come from all walks of life to take part in this movement to invest in our students and Boston Public Schools. We are every race, religion, economic and education level; whether we are for or against the Boston Compact, charter or traditional Boston public schools, love or dislike our elected leaders - we are all in agreement and solidarity where it counts the most: "Shortfalls" are still "cuts" at the school level!

Please join us before Mayor Walsh's #SOTC16 for the #SOTCProtest at 4:30 p.m. to demand that Mayor Walsh and our elected officials collaborate aggressively with us: the students, parents, educators and community members fighting to ensure that every single BPS student has the education and schools we deserve! 

It will be cold, so Mary Pierce and I bought quite a few hand warmers!

Please dress warm, grab some caffeine, make a sign - or use one that my daughters and I made - and join me and the awesome students, families, educators and community members! 

And yes, Bospoli, Mapoli - especially our Boston City Councilors, Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives Boston Delegation members, Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito - we would hope YOU all will stop by to speak with us, otherwise, the next protest may be at your big event!

Have questions or just want to see what I am working on? Feel free to email me at karen.kastmcbride@gmail.com or follow me via Twitter: @BPSNightmare. 

0 BOSTON FAMILIES AND STUDENTS TO PROTEST MAYOR WALSH’S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

MEDIA ADVISORY FOR: January 19, 2016

BOSTON FAMILIES AND STUDENTS TO PROTEST MAYOR WALSH’S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS

Boston, MA—On January 19, 2016, a broad-based coalition of public education stakeholders made up of families, students, educators, community members and groups representing public schools throughout Boston will come together at Mayor Walsh’s 2016 State of the City Address to protest budget shortfalls which negatively impact all of our Boston Public Schools. We are protesting the Walsh administration’s failure to aggressively advocate for adequate funding and to make the investments needed to create success for every single student in all of our Boston Public Schools.

DATE: Tuesday, January 19, 2016
TIME: 4:30pm
LOCATION:  Intersection of Westland Ave and Mass Ave Under BSO sign

We are demanding that Mayor Walsh, at a minimum, do the following:

1. Join in solidarity with Boston’s students, families and community members to aggressively advocate for our Boston Public Schools at state and federal levels;
2. Through strategic planning and ambitious revitalization, reduce the BPS budget shortfalls of $50 million this year and $140 million over the last three years;
3. Invest in fully-resourced community public  schools with wraparound services for Boston's children;
4. Work with the true stakeholders of Boston Public Schools: students, families, educators and community members to fully audit BPS’ budget in order to assess community needs and address inequalities; and,
5. Collaborating with the true stakeholders, demand democratically controlled public schools through an elected Boston School Committee.

In Boston, the stakeholders have come together to build a new vision for our public schools and our children—one that champions great public schools as the heart of our neighborhoods and ensures that every student, regardless of zip code, receives the highest quality education available. Our stakeholders have developed a community-driven movement for the benefit of all of our students  and we will hold all of our elected officials accountable to us as their constituents and voters.

To follow this action on social media search #SOTCProtest

Check our our Facebook event page.

Contact:
Karen Kast-McBride Mary Lewis-Pierce
(617) 877-2871 857-891-3271

Karen.Kastmcbride@gmail.com lewispierce@gmail.com

Have questions or just want to see what I am working on? Feel free to email me at karen.kastmcbride@gmail.com or follow me via Twitter: @BPSNightmare. 

0 David vs. Goiliath: How Big Money Is Being Defeated by Unfunded Citizen Activists in Boston

Boston, MA July 2014: For months, years really, the public was fed misinformation.  There were campaigns, and millions of dollars were poured into countless political coffers. There were non-profit organizations, (Stand for Children, Families for Excellent Schools and others) whose purposes were supposedly to help income-challenged families and students advocate for their schools, but were really fronts for those trying to destroy those schools and profit off of public funds.  Then there were millions more spent on flashy campaigns crafted to make the public believe that only education reformers and charter schools would solve the public education "crisis" we supposedly face in America. This was our Goliath (aka Democrats for Education Reform, Massachusetts Charter Public School Association et al.) Unfortunately for Goliath, David gave him a beating he didn't see coming. 

This was accomplished in much the same way the colonists of Boston achieved their goal of freedom from England: by organizing, coordinating, planning and never backing down. 

First it was just a few "naysayers" at meetings and on the social media fronts - easily and clearly dismissed by the paid lobbyists and those funding them. Very soon though those few became many, students, parents, educators and concerned residents, who worked together, each contributing selflessly to the cause. Utilizing raw data, pure and provable facts, and their many talents, these activists held meetings and attended the meetings of those who wished to acquire public funds to bolster private treasure chests. They researched, blogged and utilized social media - especially Twitter. They rallied, knocked on doors, coordinated meetings with legislators and leaders, and worked with real public education groups to inform, educate and activate others across the state. All of this was done without one single cent. 

On July 16, 2014, much to the dismay of the education reform groups heavily invested in the campaign to lift the cap on charter schools, the Massachusetts Senate voted against the Bills before it which would have decimated our public education system. Score 1 for David.

Boston, MA: Again, for over a year residents were fed misinformation. There were secret documents, citing "confidentiality," which residents were not allowed to see, millions of dollars spent to be chosen as the USOC's city of choice for the 2024 Olympic bid and to market it to the citizens. There were lightly veiled threats that without the Olympics our public transit, highways, infrastructure and other public needs would not receive the upgrades necessary. This was all being done by politicians and Boston2024, a group that made the decision to push for the Olympics bid without ever having asked the residents of Boston beforehand if they wanted the Olympics in Boston. The fact that Boston2024 had several incestuous relationships with the political leaders of Boston and Massachusetts certainly did nothing to assure residents that anyone was truly watching out for the needs of the city or its citizens.

As soon as the push to bring the 2024 Olympic Summer Games to Boston was out in the open, citizens across the state started raising questions about the lack of public input and dialogue. They asked about the money needed to get the state prepared to host such a large scale, albeit short time-frame, event and the impact which the event would have on residents livelihood and neighborhoods, etc. Groups formed: No Boston 2024 and No Boston Olympics became the "face" of the skeptical residents who demanded answers. Soon Boston politicians joined in on questioning Boston2024's lack of transparency, refusal to listen to the concerns of so many, and they too pushed for answers and the truth.

Boston 2024 and the politicians who were part of the plans from the beginning, felt the heat of the uprising that grew. Then there were the polls which continuously showed that the people of Boston and the entire state, did not support the bid for the 2024 Olympics. Despite the revamping of Boston 2024, and the release of the original bid documents submitted to the USOC, the poll numbers never moved. Yet still, those hyperbolic and clearly malcontent naysayers not only continued to object, but also expanded their ranks.

On July 27, 2015, the USOC made the decision to pull the bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics in Boston. Much to the dismay of Goliath, he was again beaten by David. David 2, Goliath 0.

Some would argue that a first of its kind Olympics debate on TV, the failure of Governor Baker to signal his support, and then a traitorous statement by Boston's Mayor Walsh refusing to sign a contract which would put taxpayers on the hook for the expected overruns the Olympics historically have, is what led to the Bid’s withdrawal. Surely, this did play a small part in the USOC’s decision. 

However, anyone who believes that the above are the only reasons for the downfall of Boston2024's bid, is sure to continue the trend we see across the country. That where political leaders, corporate sponsors and those wearing the guise of "community groups" discount the clear voice of the people who elected those political leaders, the workers who assist the corporations in acquiring their billions, the families and "little people" who live in this country, who are clearly fed up with what is going on, is sure to be part of their downfall.

These are only two examples of how citizen activists are working to protect their beloved schools, cities, public services (transportation, infrastructure etc) and their rights and freedom from those in power. Those in power seem to have forgotten who they are truly answerable to, not those who strive to line their own pockets with the money of the hardworking majority. And despite Mayor Walsh's claim that “The opposition for the most part is about #10peopleonTwitter and a couple people out there beating the drum beat.” clearly the multiple polls show that to be false.

Maybe it is time that some of our politicians - here and in D.C. - wake up and start working for those who elected them. Much like the small actions that took place before the "shot heard 'round the world" and the defeat of tyranny from England, I believe these latest defeats to those with deep pockets are just the small skirmishes leading to something much bigger. 

I will always put my money on the "Davids" of the world, especially the residents of Boston and Massachusetts, because we are educated, informed, outspoken, demanding and willing to put our talents, sweat and yes, if necessary, money, into protecting our people and our cities. Of course, as has been shown many times over, Massachusetts residents, and especially those of us lucky enough to live in Boston proper, also tend to be a bit of a rebellious bunch too!

I look forward to continuing to advocate, collaborate and educate with all the great residents of Massachusetts. For though this battle is over, the war is not yet won!

0 Calling all 6 - 9th Grade Students: Your Voice, Your Future

Are you a sixth, seventh, eighth or ninth grade Boston student, or have one in your life? Want to be able to share your vision for Boston's future and possibly help the new mayor make those visions a reality? Want to meet a surprise celebrity guest, have some fun, enjoy entertainment, refreshments and an ice cream social while sharing your thoughts with Mayor-Elect Walsh?

If the answer is yes, than what are you waiting for? Get signed up now for the first of its kind Inaugural Youth Summit hosted by Mayor-Elect Marty Walsh this Saturday afternoon, January 4th! The Youth Summit will be held at Roxbury Community College in the Media Center, 1234 Columbus Ave., Roxbury, from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. If you need transportation or want more information, please call 617-357-5777 x215.  Click here to RSVP! 

The goal of the Summit is for Mayor-Elect Walsh to hear the hopes and dreams of Boston’s youth and inspire our youth to achieve those dreams and play a part in Boston’s future by becoming involved themselves. Mayor-Elect Walsh realizes that our youth are our future leaders and citizens, so he hopes to see many of our awesome Boston students on Saturday!

I have to admit, with a celebrity guest, all the socializing, entertainment and refreshments, it definitely sounds like a fun event for sixth through ninth grade students to be attending on Saturday after being out of school for a couple of weeks, and possibly cooped up due to the snowstorm! (I am kind of jealous - maybe this should be the format for all school committee meetings? Hint Mayor-Elect Walsh!)

I know this will be a fun event for Mayor-Elect Walsh also and kind of wonder if he requested that the committee have an ice cream social. What? I am pretty sure he hasn't had much time to enjoy ice cream since his campaign started, and let's face it, listening to our youth has got to be more relaxing than what he has been doing for the past year!

Whether you are a student who is just curious about the event and come for that reason, or are concerned about things like education, the environment, making sure your voice is heard, jobs, or you have ideas and suggestions that can help move Boston forward, make sure you come to the youth summit on Saturday. Only you can make sure that Mayor-Elect Walsh knows what the youth of Boston want to see happening in their city, now and in the future!

My own daughters, 12 and 15 years old, were very involved throughout the election process so will be at the youth summit Saturday. They have a lot of ideas to share with Mayor-Elect Walsh regarding Boston's future. Of course, I am 90% sure that the promise of food, meeting other students, fun and the ice cream social factored into their decision to go also!

Want to see if friends are going or connect with others who are attending? You can check out the youth summit event page on Facebook too!

And, if you are the parent or friend of one of the students who decides to attend and want to hang out and wait for your fabulous student, please consider volunteering to help out, that's what I will be doing! (Otherwise I am sure my girls will think I am "watching" them - which no teen ever wants their parent doing while they socialize!) 

Also, please mark your calendars now for the Walsh Transition Committee's Youth Public Hearing on Thursday, January 9, 2014, 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at English High School, in the Auditorium, 144 McBride St. Jamaica Plain, MA 02130.

Have questions or just want to see what I am working on? Feel free to email me at bpsnightmare@gmail.com or follow me via Twitter: @BPSNightmare. 

 

0 Two Candidates, One Choice: But Not An Easy One

Full disclosure: I have worked closely with Councilor John Connolly on a couple of education issues previously. If you are a frequent reader of my blogs you will remember I did an extensive assessment of his "Quality Choice Plan" (QCP) for education in Boston Public Schools (BPS) last October; until that time, John and I were friends and he would generally return my calls and answer my emails, since then and another incident where I questioned something his chief of staff Ann Walsh said at an External Advisory Committee (EAC) meeting, not so much though. Marty Walsh I only met during this historic mayoral election process and have really gotten to know since the preliminary. Also, though education is my primary issue that affects how I vote, I also have other concerns: public safety, Veterans, health care and other issues. So take my opinions and research for what they are worth to you.

The mainstream media has said that John Connolly and Marty Walsh are so similar that it is hard to differentiate enough to make a choice, and on the surface that may appear to be true, but once you stop looking at only what they claim they want to do and start looking at their track-records and character, there is a very distinct difference. 

There are a number of ways to find out the track record and where candidate's stand on particular issues, besides their own websites and social media sites, when they have worked in the type of government roles both our candidates for mayor have. Unfortunately, because Boston City Council does not put everything online in a concise and comprehensive way, Mr. Connolly's record of voting was also frustrating and daunting to get a true handle on. 

Thankfully, the same is not true of the state house, so you can assess Marty Walsh's record of sponsored and co-sponsored acts here and also a list of votes on other legislative actions through Project Vote right here. 

Luckily a local writer for the Boston Dig put together a few articles outlining John Connolly's record of votes and sponsored bills while on the city council. This accounting is accurate: I verified it myself via the online list of council meeting minutes, my own record of meetings I attended or watched, and via multiple news sources. Please check out the compiled records via the articles here:

John Connolly's City Council Record 2008-2009

John Connolly's City Council Record 2010-2011

John Connolly's City Council Record 2012 - Present

If you would like to see Mr. Connolly's history via the council's own records, they can be found via the Roll Call Votes pages (56 to be exact) and the Meeting Minutes pages though you will need to note that there is a link for meetings prior to 2011 as they are on a different system. 

Okay, so now we know get an idea of where the candidates stand on most of the key issues,  along with what they have accomplished while in office. But that doesn't tell me everything I need to know, so I went into OCPF records for both candidates to look at where their campaign funding has come from, both in prior campaigns as well as this one. 

John Connolly's OCPF Reports 2005-Present 

Marty Walsh OCPF Reports 2002 - Present
NOTE: There is a drop-down box on the right side of the grey menu bar - to see prior campaigns select "Periodic Reports")
  
Please be sure to also click on "Related Reports" which takes you to the IPAC funding reports (Independent PAC payments on behalf of a candidate) which will show you the "outside money coming in from we don't know where" (John Connolly on NECN November 3, 2013). Quick campaign finance lesson: though candidate's must itemize and report exactly where each individual donation comes from including name, address, occupation of a donor and donation amounts are limited to $500 max per individual ($250. if you are a lobbyist) and no corporate/business donations are allowed, IPACs do not have the same reporting requirements, so the money they spend on behalf of candidates can indeed come from "we don't know where." 

I found it interesting that Marty Walsh never tried to hide that outside money and people from out of state were helping his campaign via "Work for America" and other groups, while John Connolly did not clarify that his own campaign benefits from outside money via DFER and Stand for Children who also paid for ads, mailers, phonebanks and canvassers, some of them also people from outside Boston being brought in to campaign for him. 

And this leads to my last factor: who I trust more to lead the city I love. 

It would make sense for me to just pick the man I have worked with for years, who called me friend, and who, despite it all I still think is a nice enough guy to know. However, in the past year I have seen a side of Mr. Connolly that started to make me question whether he was actually a good representative for Boston even before he announced he was running for Mayor. Because of how Mr. Connolly responded when asked questions about his plans (whether on education or his mayoral campaign): avoiding not only me, but many parents and advocates who questioned his plans; his office failing to respond to his constituents questions whether via email or social media venues; his reactions when questioned or challenged; his lack of responsiveness to one of the students he claims to be on the side of until her email to him was posted on a news website, and even when he did respond, he never actually addressed her concerns. 

Additionally, knowing that the groups backing him are pro-corporate education reform and who backs them, and having read all his policy plans for the city, I worry that Mr. Connolly will help those groups accomplish their goals of turning our public schools into profit centers for their backers. I was happy to see that at least Mr. Connolly has now agreed:

• "To meet with the Boston Student Advisory Council (BSAC) three times a year, every year he is mayor, to discuss charter accountability, as well as any other public education issues BSAC brings to him. 
• that he "will also include BSAC and YOUNG in his decisions and work around the Charter School Compact. 
• Furthermore, BSAC/YOUNG, and Boston Truth along with adult stakeholders, will be involved in creating a Charter Accountability Plan if John is elected." 

I only met Marty Walsh because of the mayoral campaign, initially while I was working on Rob Consalvo's campaign, but about a week after the primary Mr. Walsh called me personally. Mr. Walsh told me he really needed my support. Well Mr. Walsh, this lady's support isn't quite that easily attained. As a friend who was in the room said after the call was done: "Every other person Marty Walsh called probably said yes right away, but not you! YOU proceed to grill him on issues and his votes for 20 minutes and even then say 'I will consider it, but we need to talk more!' Priceless."  

Since that call Mr. Walsh and I have had multiple conversations about his plans and ideas and the concerns I and others have regarding the privatization of schools, government, city and other services as well as  his record as a Representative. The very next time we really spoke was actually because my 12 year old daughter, who spends too much time with me at education related meetings apparently and was very involved in Rob's campaign, stated that she wanted to meet with Mr. Walsh to discuss his education platform. Her request led to a meet and greet at my house, though I made it clear to the Walsh campaign staff that even then I was still not sure how I would vote. Mr. Walsh came specifically to speak with my daughter, but also answered a few questions by friends who also attended, and clearly told my daughter that he would invest in not only her school, but all of our BPS schools. Since that time he has also listened to not just myself, but countless other families, students and I will gladly share the many other conversations I have had with Mr. Walsh if you are interested, feel free to email me if you like. 

Mr. Walsh has also agreed:

"To commit to not allow the charter cap to be lifted or raised until he establishes a Boston Charter School Task Force. Students, including YOUNG coalition members, parents, teachers, administrators, experts and other community stakeholders should all be part of the Task Force. The role of the task force will be to:

· Design a Charter Accountability Plan and oversee its implementation

· Monitor for-profit corporate interests in the city and the Commonwealth

· Monitor the cap on charter schools and make recommendations on any activity pertaining to it"

Everything I listed above and more factored into my decision, which I made in the past two weeks, but was solidified through the latest agreements with BSAC and YOUNG. 

Because of his honesty and straight-forward way of dealing with everyone, the character he has shown despite numerous attacks on him, his willingness to listen to the concerns and the way he has handled criticism of his policy ideas even from those not old enough to vote, I am now supporting Marty Walsh for Mayor of Boston.  I hope you will all join me in voting for Mr. Walsh tomorrow!

0 Email Response from John Connolly to BPS Students' Email

As you may recall, on Wednesday, October 23, 2013, one week after Rhianwen had sent John Connolly, mayoral candidate, an email with her concerns about his positions regarding education in Boston, I posted that email as part of an article on the Patch. I did so because Rhianwen had not received even a courtesy response to her email from the man who claims he will be the "education mayor" and that he "will bring students in so their voices can be heard" if he is elected.

Roughly 12 hours after posting the Patch article, Mr. Connolly did finally respond to Rhianwen, which she received when she got on the computer Thursday night. I did text Mr. Connolly on Friday to ask that I be allowed to post his response here, as I am a fair person. To date I have received no response to that request, but again, because I like to be fair, I am posting it now for all to read:

Dear Rhianwen,

Thank you so much for reaching out to me.  I apologize for the delay in getting back to you, but the campaign keeps me very busy plus I try to spend some time with my three kids, including my new baby Mary Kate, so sometimes I fall behind on emails.  Thanks for your understanding.

I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying your school year at the Irving and that you are doing well.  I am running for mayor because I believe that every student deserves a great education and I will work incredibly hard to ensure that students with an IEP, ELL students, all of your friends at the Irving, and children all across the city have access to a great school.  The ELT and other great programs at the Irving seem to be working well for you and your classmates and I want to make sure that every young person in Boston loves school as much as you do.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

Best Regards,
John

I will leave it up to each of you to decide whether Mr. Connolly's response answered Rhianwen's concerns or not.

I can be reached via email at bpsnightmare@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter: @bpsnightmare.

0 A Boston Public School Student's Email to John Connolly, Mayoral Candidate

During Tuesday night's mayoral debate on WGBH, John Connolly made the statement: "I will bring students in so their voices can be heard." This reminded me to ask my daughter Rhianwen if she had received a response to her email sent to Mr. Connolly a week ago. She has not.  

Background: Rhianwen is 12, an extremely smart, loving, giving and thoughtful child who has known Mr. Connolly through my volunteer work in Boston Public Schools, especially the Roslindale Pathway, since 2009. Rhianwen has also attended the majority of school SPC/SSC and pathway meetings as well as the school committee, school choice community and EAC meetings for the past two years. Hence, my 7th grader knows far more about education policies and issues than most adults do. Over the past 7 months, Rhianwen became very involved with the mayoral race, working on a mayoral campaign herself. Rhianwen is not shy and has always spoken up about issues that concern her or to defend something or someone when necessary as she is fiercely protective and loyal. 

All of the above said, Rhianwen is also a child with special needs, who struggled for years to pass from one grade to the next and constantly would tell us that she was "dumb" and "stupid" no matter what we tried to tell her and what other successes she experienced. Since 1st grade Rhianwen has been receiving at least 45 minutes per day of services, every single day of school. Toward the end of 4th grade things started to change and she was able to really start showing, via her work, how smart she is (which everyone knew, but it was not evident via tests or classwork consistently.) This came about because Rhianwen has always worked hard and tried to do her best, but also thanks to help from the fabulous teachers and specialists at both the Mozart and Irving public schools. Over the past year Rhianwen has finally begun to experience more consistent success in school with her academics, yet even now she struggles with organization and writing, so she does not really like writing all that much.

Given the above, you can imagine my surprise last Wednesday night when she stated that she had written an email to John Connolly. I asked her to share it with me, so I am now sharing it with all of you:

From: rhianwen

Date: Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 9:33 PM

Subject: MY VOICE HEARD

To: info@connollyforboston.com

Hello Im hopeing this goes straight to John Connolly him self. Im a 12 year old kid in Public schools and I want to be  heard Now Mr. Connolly please do not make my schools go into the dump for one I love my school how it is and I know you want to raise the charter cap thingy but please I want to tell you how important Public schools are to me. They are where I have my friends my help because I am on an IEP and I don’t want no charter schools to take away my love of my schools now. Please Don’t take away my education because I want a successful future and with no public schools no city year and stuff like that it will be harder for me to work. I got to the Washington Irving Middle School. Please don’t take the one thing I care about so much away from me.   To contact me email me at <removed to avoid spam>

I am very proud of Rhianwen, for many reasons, not the least of which includes showing more civic engagement than many voters in Boston have so far, for even thinking to send an email to Mr. Connolly, for taking the time out of fun endeavors like Webkinz, Minecraft and Skyping with her cousins to look up his website, get the email address and then putting herself out there: that she has an IEP, her thoughts and feelings about her school, her education, her future and charter schools and his stance regarding them and her understanding that more of them will impact her school and education. Sometimes my daughter literally takes my breathe away, this is one of those times. 

Now, given his schedule, maybe Mr. Connolly has yet to see this email himself. Maybe someone, whether it was Mr. Connolly or a staffer, saw the last name and dismissed the email thinking it was from me (as I have questioned Mr. Connolly quite frequently about his education policies.) Maybe Mr. Connolly did see it and thinks I put my daughter up to it, though clearly he should know better. However, given the "voices heard" similarity to Rhianwen's email subject line in Mr. Connolly's answers last night, I suspect he has in fact read her email. So, why no response?

No matter what the endless possibilities are that Mr. Connolly or one of his staff may have contemplated, I think that his lack of response to a BPS student who reached out to him about her concerns regarding his mayoral education goals and platform speaks volumes about the reality behind the campaign rhetoric Mr. Connolly has been stumping on. 

Semantically, he may have "heard" my daughters voice when she wrote the email to him, but what does it say that she has received absolutely no response from Mr. Connolly or even a courtesy email from the campaign? 

Does this seem like the action of a person who claims he "has fought to give parents and students a voice in the Boston Public Schools" as his website claims?

Actions speak louder than words, campaign ads or stump speeches Mr. Connolly. Shame on you for not responding to Rhianwen.