Dance The Night Away

 

UMass Haigis Mall 10:15 PM Friday

This coming weekend -- and in a "college town" the weekend begins on Thursday -- should be a notable one for our understaffed public safety departments.

 The crowd was exuberant but, fortunately, well behaved

On Friday night UMass PD came very close to calling in the Amherst Police Department for help dealing with a large crowd (700-1,000) of somewhat scantily dressed youth congregated at the Haigis Mall awaiting bus rides to Holyoke for an Electronic Dance Music event, a fundraiser for breast cancer promoted by a local fraternity.

That event was so popular the Fire Marshall shut down entry soon after I took these pictures, and most of the crowd above did not actually board the rented yellow school buses.

 AFD responded to the scene for an over intoxicated student

The UMPD officer in charge told Dispatch to hold off since "APD probably has their hands full about now," and indeed call response at the time was delayed by up to an hour as Amherst police were dealing with the simple routine of weekend in a college town when the weather is still warm.

On Thursday the Mullins Center hosts Skrillex a notable EDM artist, and of course the following weekend is Halloween -- the mother of all excuses to party hardy.

Main ingredients in the making of a not so perfect storm. 

I'll See Your Blarney Blowout & Raise You

 Keene State College this afternoon (Seth Meyer photo)

Looks like police in bucolic Keene, New Hampshire didn't read the $160,000 Davis Report deconstructing police response to the March 14 Blarney Blowout.

And by the looks of photos posted to social media the drunken angry crowds do not appear quite as large as those faced by Amherst and UMass police that ignoble day.

 Blarney Blowout March 2012

When alcohol fueled college aged youth start throwing beer bottles and cans -- some of them full -- police simply have to act.  And if they are not wearing riot gear there's a much greater chance of the officer being injured.

 Blarney Blowout March 2013

It really is a chicken and egg kind of thing.  If rowdy youth listened to heavily outnumbered police and dispersed rather than dangerously escalating things via thrown objects, tear gas would not fill the air.

Blarney Blowout March 8, 2014

Our Survey Says ...

Calvin Terrell stands before angry public school parents

In yet another front page Gazette follow up -- pretty much a rewrite of a Masslive story from earlier this week -- concerning the disturbing presentation that occurred to our Middle School children on October 2, results from a parent survey that I requested via Public Documents Law  (thus far ignored) for the raw results gets a brief mention.

 Calvin Terrell:  Not my fault!

As I suspected, a majority (54%) of the 103 parent/guardians responding had problems with the presentation.  And only 15.5% thought the Schools should "continue the work begun by Calvin Terrell."

Considering the "work" to fight racism and bullying is an admirable goal, not a very good overall response to such a leading open ended question. 

Of course if the aging Gazette actually had children in the schools they would have actually received the survey and would know that it was anonymous. Doesn't get much more "private" than that.

Thus when the Schools do get around to responding to my Public Documents request and blow me off  like they did the diffident Gazette with the old "information that could be considered student records" thus protected by state privacy law, I will call them on it. 

What Other Admins Make

Maria Geryk, Sean Mangano, Mike Morris

Just so I'm not accused of being an Irish sexist bully picking on a female CEO by publishing Maria Geryk's five (5) year taxpayer funded contract, here's the other two contracts for recently promoted males. 

   Mike Morris ARPS Contract

Interestingly Mr. Morris gets three (3) years as Assistant Superintendent and Mr.Mangano only gets two (2) as Finance Director.  

   Sean Mangano Contract ARPS

Not that I would accuse anybody of sexism because of that.

Also have to wonder in his contract what is meant by "good cause" under the termination heading?  Since his predecessor Rob Detweiler simply disappeared, aka was fired, back in January for what may have been "good cause".

But since the Schools refuse to talk about it, we will never know.

Don't Feed The Trolls

2nd day in a row for above the fold headlines (both racism and Ebola)

In response to the first incident of racial vandalism aimed at black teacher Carolyn Gardner at Amherst Regional High School back in October last year, Amherst school officials simply covered it up.

It was only after an incident of student bullying that led to a Facebook "threat" and the dramatic closing of the High School that ongoing incidents of racism and bullying became public.   Although it didn't fit the Politically Correct agenda because it was black on white bullying.

So I have to wonder what would have happened at UMass if officials and the impacted students had simply cleaned up the graffiti and said nothing?  

Yes racism is intolerable, but then so is nuclear war.  One of those things where you don't get much of a public argument from an opposing view -- especially here in "Nuclear Free" Amherst.

Unless of course you're an anonymous troll.

Status Quo Budget

Four Boards:  Finance, Schools, Select Board and Library

When all was said and done, after a one hour rich-in-graphs presentation by Finance Director Sandy Pooler at tonight's Four Boards Meeting, the best guess for overall revenue increases next Fiscal Year  (FY16) is a comfortable 2.5%, or what Select Board Chair Aaron Hayden described as a "status quo budget."

 Current Fiscal Year Schools account for 52% of all spending

But with no increase in police or fire personnel, not an overly safe one.

Reserves of $9,152,345 this Fiscal Year best in ten years

Platinum Parachute?

Superintendent Maria Geryk, RSC members Lawrence O'Brien, Katherine Appy

So for those of you who honestly think the lap dog Regional School Committee and Union #26 would ever even remotely consider terminating the $168,000 per year contract of Amherst Pelham Regional School Superintendent Maria Geryk (and the free services of her husband Kurt) take a gander at her very recently signed five-year contract.

Although it was retroactive a full year (2013) it would still take a buyout of 3.5 years or $553,000 tax dollars.  Which, simply put, ain't gonna happen.

   Maria Geryk Schools Contract