MELROSE DEMOCRATIC CITY COMMITTEE
OCTOBER 2003
This
Month
Because
of changes in the library’s hours, regular meeting time has not yet been
finalized.
Be
sure to remind all your friends and family how important this election is for
our city.
The
future of the middle school and races for Mayor, Alderman, and School Committee.
Every vote counts!
March
2004
July
2004
Democratic National Convention comes to Boston-- Lots of opportunities to
get involved!
Check
out preliminary designs at http://home.comcast.net/~melrosedems/.
Have ideas for improving the design or content of the site?
Send an e-mail to Nyal Fuentes, Webmaster, at melrosedems@comcast.net.
… sign up for the Melrose Dems e-mail listserv. You will receive the monthly newsletter and other late-breaking news by e-mail from our new address: melrosedems@comcast.net. Just send an e-mail to that address if you are interested. For those who don’t have access to e-mail, or don’t check regularly, US Mail will always remain an option.
By
Rep. Mike Festa / View From The Hill
The citizens of
Doubts
have been raised by the opponents about the state's commitment to pay its share
of the cost: over 50 percent, approximately $17 to $20 million. When I recently
appeared before the Melrose Board of Aldermen to dispel this doubts, I thought I
had addressed this issue in a most unambiguous way. The state money will come,
but only if
The
present state School Building Assistance Program is certainly going to be
revised, and possibly seriously reduced, in future years. Under these
circumstances,
It
is no less than absurd to think it is preferable to give up the certainty of
state financial assistance now, for the uncertainty of any state aid for an
alternative plan to renovate the middle school that was rejected soundly by a
school building task force under two mayors, and has absolutely no support in
the educational community.
Of
course the opponents don't support the debt-exclusion override to pay for a new
middle school. They'd rather leave tens of millions of state dollars on the
table to insure that we don't raise taxes for any reason. I have the feeling
that the opponents would find "compelling" reasons to fight a
renovation project for $17 million, with
All
of us would like to avoid paying higher taxes, but I would hope no more so than
avoiding the profound negative effects of having a flagship school that is
unhealthy, physically unsound,
Two
final thoughts:
-
I
wonder how many of these opponents are as worked up about President Bush's plan
to spend $87 billion in Iraq, on top of the tens of billions of dollars we've
already spent there, chasing an uncertain peace thousands of miles away, while
in Melrose we consider spending a few hundred dollars a year on the future of
our own children ...
-
Thirty
years ago a courageous candidate for mayor supported a plan to build a new high
school in the face of substantial opposition (many of the same faces today, by
the way). Jim Milano won that fight and two generations of students
unquestionably benefited from his vision and leadership. Some, like me, were
inspired enough to run for and remain in public office ...