The Manchester Board of School Committee had quite a session last night. The board revisited its decision to have school principals forward student schedules by the first of July. Assistant Principal Peter Perich of Memorial, Central Principal Ron Mailhot, and McLaughlin Principal Bill Krantz testified as to the difficulties the schools have with scheduling. Turns out a big monkey wrench in the schedule has to do with students who fail individual classes that must be retaken. That’s something they don’t know until the end of the school year. Having to manually input incoming students from Hooksett and Candia is also a challenge. In a perfect world said Mailhot, it takes eight to ten weeks to get student schedules finalized. The outcome was that the date by which students have to have their schedules has been moved to mid August.for this year. Motions to move the date up to the end of school for next year failed. As best we could, their concerns are documented at in the live blog section of Oh My BLOG! at Girard at Large dot com.
The board also ratified new contracts with the Association of Manchester Principals and its Directors and Coordinators unions. Girard at Large has learned that the union representing the school support staff failed to ratify the terms reached with the board’s Negotiations Committee. Ward 9’s Arthur. Beaudry said the deal didn’t go far enough with the principals, that the committee should have addressed the practice of giving a new principal the salary of the outgoing principal and that there should be pay parity between principals at all levels. Mayor Ted Gatsas opposed the deals because they didn’t save money. The principals’ contract will cost the district fifty eight thousand dollars in the first two years. In an interview with Girard at Large after the meeting, Gatsas, in reference to the paraprofessional contract, said that the people who made the least were giving up the most and that was wrong. Negotiations Committee Chairman John Avard said the contract enacted the desired changes in health benefits immediately.
Finally, the board adopted a budget that basically allocated the additional million dollars given by the aldermen during the budget process. There will be an additional ten teachers in classrooms this year. The one new position not going to the elementary schools will be going to the Manchester School of Technology. Outgoing Superintendent Dr. Tom Brennan said that incoming Superintendent Dr. Debra Livingston agreed with his recommendations. Believe it or not, we’ll have more on last night’s meeting during the show.
The news continues after this.
More twists and turns and setting the record straight in the Manchester ambulance contract controversy. This thing has overtaken my life and I want it to go away already. Anyway, Fire Chief James Burkush says he did not meet with AMR ambulance officials prior to recommending they be awarded the new ambulance contract as we reported yesterday. However, he said he did call AMR’s regional director to discuss their bid to see if they would match the patient pricing given by American Ambulance, which they agreed to do. As we reported yesterday, that is perfectly allowed in the bid process. Burkush remains steadfast in his choice of AMR. Girard at Large has also reviewed documents relative to the Corporate Integrity Agreement AMR entered into and can confirm that it pertained only to the company’s holdings in New York State. As stated by AMR Regional Manager Christopher Stawasz, AMR of Massachusetts, which is the independent corporate entity bidding for Manchester’s contract, was uninvolved in the shenanigans leading to the regulatory sanctions in New York State. We’ll have more on this during the show.
Senator Lou D’Allesandro’s having a birthday and he wants you to come. So, if you have a spare thousand bucks and want to be a General Manager…oh, you only have five hundred bucks? Well, then you can be a Coach in his…wait, you mean you’ve only got two hundred fifty bucks? Okay, you can be a captain on his…huh? Well, for just a hundred you can be a player on his…Oh, well anything less you’re off the team, but you can be a booster. We’ve got the invite posted with this newscast. It’s Tuesday July 30th at the Athens in downtown Manchester if you want to go, wallet and all.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is straight ahead!
Nooooooooo Richard don’t make it go away!!!!! Kudo’s to you for all the work that you have done thus far on the Manchester Ambulance story. My mother in law, who is in a large assisted living facility in the city, keyed me into this as everyone in the facility is appalled at what is going on and is watching and talking it up all over.
Now I have spoke about it to my relatives, friends and neighbors and even THEY are now watching this and are raising an eyebrow about what is going on. I am surprised the Union Leader is not running with this as well……hmmmmm
This ONE story may be giving us some insight into how our Alderman and Mayor REALLY feel about the citizens of Manchester and how we should consider this in upcoming Aldermanic, Mayoral, and Gubernatorial elections.
A quick internet search of AMR concerned me greatly not just over they widespread and repeated issues with billing ALL OVER the US, but over the multiple local recent 911 contracts they have both walked away from and lost in Massachusetts and Connecticut! (Search for yourself its easy and revealing) (A like search of American Ambulance found NONE of these issues and a very impressive history at that-Give it a try)
Richard, You have made what could have been a very confusing Ambulance bidding process VERY easy.
A) Manchester (Fire/MAyor/Alderman) is UNHAPPY with AMR due to MUTIPLE complaints of their service and especially billing practices–targeting our most financially challenged Manchester citizens.
B) They decide to put it out to a VERY tight bid process (Tough bid)
C) Three companies bid.
D) One is tossed out
E) One should have been tossed out but now, after telling the city they promise to NEVER do BAD things again, (Got teenagers?) they are back in favor?!?!…….and are even asked if they will meet the lower price of not just the LOWER bidder, but also the HIGHEST scorer in the bidding process??? Your kidding me right? NOPE….. Chief Burkush–WHAT ARE YOU THINKING??????
As I said, we have a potential for many upcoming Aldermanic, Mayoral, and Gubernatorial elections here in the city…..Hmmmmmmmm……..Could a Nationwide Corporation be a campaign donor in the near future…I’m just saying, to use your own words Richard, “SOMETHING STINKS!”
We are all watching to see which of our political officials do RIGHT in this process and which don’t! It may be VERY revealing! Talk this up as I and my mother-in-law are and let get more EYES on this revealing political process!!!
Thanks for the post, Don. This thing has been like wrestling with a squid. It’s been very tough, so I appreciate your feedback. I am in the midst of writing a full expose on what’s happened and expect to publish within the next 36 hours. What I’ve discovered has shocked, disappointed and made me determined to get the story out. I appreciate that you’ve been spreading the word about the show so we can make more people aware of what’s going on.