Jennifer DC
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On the article School Officials Look at Existing Buildings for Short-Term Space Needs
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On the article Low Interest Rates Have Braintree Investing Aggressively in Infrastructure
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On the article Low Interest Rates Have Braintree Investing Aggressively in Infrastructure
Jennifer DC
8:49 am on Wednesday, May 8, 2013
ReplyHow is the school space needs study being addressed in the capital plan?
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On the article Mayor Selects New Braintree Fire Chief
Jennifer DC
6:49 am on Wednesday, April 24, 2013
ReplyI'm sure that all of these new appointments will do a fantastic job, but I'm a little concerned that the new superintendent, new police chief and new fire chief are apparently ALL from within. Hiring from within is fantastic but you'd think ONE of these positions would be an outsider. Sometimes outsiders offer important perspective.
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On the Blog Post Public and Interactive Discussion of Religious Pluralism April 4 7:00 p.m.
Jennifer DC
10:33 am on Monday, April 8, 2013
ReplySorry to have missed this event! Somehow I only saw it now. I hope it went well!
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On the article UPDATE: Karate Associate Defends Braintree Instructor Charged With Child Assault
Jennifer DC
7:24 am on Friday, April 5, 2013
ReplyI find it impossible to believe that the people who are denigrating the girl's family could possibly be confident that they have ALL of the information about what happened. While there have recently been communities in the news that have rallied around perpetrators of sexual assault, I certainly hope that people in Braintree will withhold judgment until they have more information about what happened. While I can understand how disturbing it must be to have someone you know and trust face such an accusation, we know that generally we have to handle such deep disappointment since most of the time these allegations have some truth to them. However, we do not yet know that and should pray for all involved that the truth comes out and that justice is served in whatever way is accurate.
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On the article Committee Pondering Liberty School Squeeze as it Approves 2014 Budget
Jennifer DC
6:27 pm on Tuesday, April 2, 2013
ReplyComprehensive solution to the space needs required. They are doing an admirable job at keeping the school system working but the infrastructure needs, while not fun, are critical.
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On the article Braintree's Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Review Schedule
Jennifer DC
7:03 am on Tuesday, April 2, 2013
ReplyI think that the meals tax should be approved AND earmarked to deal with space needs like this. That amount of money added to the capital budget for the schools would go a long way to updating, renvoating and perhaps building a new school. It is also a tax that does not fall solely on Braintree residents - we pay a meals tax when we eat in surrounding towns - why shouldn't their residents pay the (very small) meals tax when they eat here?
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On the article Another Meals Tax Battle Brewing for Braintree Councilor
Jennifer DC
9:26 am on Monday, March 25, 2013
ReplyI find it so hard to get hard data on these issues - I have been trying to figure out whether Braintree just has significantly less funds per resident than other towns (in which case, the fiscal management is fantastic - you can't squeeze water from a rock) or if we have about the same funds per resident as other towns (in which case we need to look over all expenses with a fine toothed comb several times). Does anyone have this info? The only thing I could find was comparing us with Norwood - which suggested that we are a woefully underfunded down since their budget - for a few thousand fewer residents - was 50% MORE than Braintree's. If that is true - and I am not certain I read this right - than we are in the "you can't squeeze water from a rock" situation. You do in fact need a certain amount of funds to provide services.
I think people are always going to disagree on whether you'd rather have more services and pay more (since I have two toddlers, I'll likely be using lots of services so I'm totally in this situation since I have to pay one way or another) or if you'd rather have less services and pay less (possibly if you don't have small children and are less concerned about plowing and property values).
I do wish I had the hard comparison data since I'm willing to be convinced that the money is there. . . -
On the article Another Meals Tax Battle Brewing for Braintree Councilor
Jennifer DC
8:41 am on Monday, March 25, 2013
ReplyI'm not an expert on this issue, so please correct me if I'm wrong - but do tax rates keep up with increases in cost-of-living? (Prop 2.5 certainly doesn't.) Not only the cost of basic goods and services (relatively easy to calculate, though I haven't) but also the occasional larger expense (new schools, new equipment, etc.) that is needed in a community.
I certainly expect to live in a community with functional public services and understand that this requires us to not only keep up with inflation but also have periodic larger expenses like equipment and buildings.
Yeah, it would be great if we could pay nothing and still have good property values, educated children and safe streets but I don't think that's going to happen. What we can "afford" is relative - can we afford not to plow the streets? to have overcrowded schools? It depends on your perspective, I guess.
Jennifer DC
7:19 am on Thursday, May 23, 2013
I am also puzzled at how all of this new construction is approved without linking it directly to additional classroom space, etc. It's fine to accept new development, but it needs to be paired with a clear plan to expand services in line with the new population. It seems that all of the buildings need substantial renovation (I have heard parents with children throughout the school system concerned about the quality of the physical plant.) We are in a much better position than some other communities, in part due to fiscal prudence and in part due to our diverse tax base. I am glad that the school committee is looking at a long-term plan -- I hope and expect that it will include substantial renovations to existing structures. Personally, I am not at all excited about permanently using modular classrooms - while I have friends who teach in underfunded urban school systems who use them (and are unhappy with them), it seems to me that suburban school systems (recently, Needham) use them while they build new construction.