Letters to the Editor

LETTER: Three Questions, Three Unnecessary Taxes

A letter to the editor from West Newton resident William Hobbib.

  President Calvin Coolidge once said, “Collecting more taxes than is absolutely necessary is legalized robbery.”  That’s how Newton residents should view the three question override vote on Tuesday. The unanswered questions about tax hikes that could cost the average taxpayer $5,000 to $10,000 over ten years should leave all residents with the conclusion that the taxes are unnecessary. 1) Why are the Newton schools more than twice the cost per student of other elementary schools in the state? The new Angier elementary school will cost $37 million for 465 students, and Cabot elementary school will cost $47 million for 450 students, or a combined cost per student of $91,000. Yet Burlington built their new elementary school for $16 million …

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Ryan McGlothlin

8:41 pm on Tuesday, March 12, 2013

I am assuming 10 years, not 9, in the calculation. It is not clear from the original post which dates to use (I assume 1/1/2003-12/31/2012). Even if you assume 9 years and an "expected" increase of 28% based on general CPI, education-related inflation ran at almost 5% p.a. over the same period and is probably a better comparator than general price inflation. It also ignores that original poster's…   more ›

Letters to the Editor

LETTER: Newton PTO Council: Vote "Yes, Yes, Yes" on Override Package

A letter to the editor from the Newton PTO Council asking residents to support all three override questions on March 12.

  Last week, the Newton PTO Council voted overwhelmingly to support the Mayor’s proposed override package.  A yes vote on the override package, which includes three ballot questions, insures that the children of Newton get the education they deserve, in facilities that address their needs. Our schools are facing serious enrollment issues, budgetary pressures, and deteriorating facilities.  For Newton to continue to uphold its standard of educational excellence, we need improved buildings, more teachers and greater funding for our schools. To receive the full benefits of this override, the three ballot questions should be viewed as one.  One ballot question provides for a debt exclusion to finance the reconstruction of Angier Elementary, a …

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Robert L. Cerra

6:44 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013

The schools receive 88% of our property tax money, that is appently not enough. No matter how much we give the schools it will not be enough and they will continue to tell us they need more. To ask them to live within a budget is unfair, anti-educational . President Obama wants just a little more, Governor Patrick wants just a little more and now Mayor Warren want just a little more. To ask them …   more ›

Letters to the Editor

Letter: The I-95 Add-a-Lane Project, and Traffic, is Almost Here

Waban resident Sallee Lipshutz reminds residents about a meeting this Thursday, Jan. 31 to discuss concerns about the I-95 Add-a-Lane project.

To the Editor: WAKE UP, WABAN! THE TRAFFIC IS COMING, THE TRAFFIC IS COMING! Add-A-Lane is nearly here! The design process of the Mass Department of Transportation is almost 75 percent complete. The Public Safety and Transportation Committee of the City of Newton’s Board of Aldermen has had the item on its agenda eight times already. The time to get educated and involved is NOW!  THE MASS DOT IS PROPOSING A PERMANENT CHANGE TO THE INTERSECTION OF RT. 9 AND RT. 128/95 THAT INVOLVES MORPHING THE EXISTING FOUR-LEAF CLOVERLEAF INTO A TWO-LEAF CLOVERLEAF. They want to install two traffic lights at the intersection that will allow eastbound Rt. 9 drivers to turn left onto Rt. 128/95 north and westbound Rt. 9 drivers to turn left onto Rt. 128/95 …

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Matt Carter

7:34 pm on Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Also if you don't like this design I would like to hear your proposal because I have tried to think of one that meets State/FHWA standards and I can't.   more ›

Letters to the Editor

LETTER: Re-Zoning Austin Street Lot Will be Detrimental to Newtonville Residents, Merchants

A letter to the editor from former Alderman Allan Ciccone (Sr.) regarding the re-zoning of the Austin Street municipal lot.

Editor's note: The Board of Aldermen is currently considering an item that would re-zone the Austin Street municipal parking lot to a "Mixed-Use 4" zone. This follows a study done by a joint advisory planning group (JAPG), which recommended the lot be used for a combination of housing and commercial space, or a mixed-use site.  In addition, the Traffic Council considered last month removing several metered spots in Newtonville at Walnut Street and Newtonville Avenue to improve crosswalk visibility.  Dear Editor --  I am writing because I do not agree with the city taking away 85 parking spaces from the Newtonville Municipal Parking Lot on Austin Street, re-zoning the parking lot and selling it. In my opinion, it will be detrimental to the …

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LETTER: Unexploded Fireworks Were 'Isolated Event'

A representative of the Pyrotecnico, the company responsible for the unexploded fireworks shells left behind this 4th of July, explains the measures the company has taken.

Editor's Note: The following letter to the editor is in reference to the story published July 11, 2012, on Wilmington Patch titled Unexploded Fireworks Shells Found in Wilmington. A subsequent article was filed on Newton Patch related to the punishment levvied for local fireworks technitian Tony Gentile.  To the Editor: Our family-owned company, Pyrotecnico, has been a fireworks industry leader representing a standard of excellence for over 100 years – and safety has always been of utmost importance to us. It is our commitment to safety that led us to act immediately when we learned that unexploded fireworks shells were retrieved in some of the Massachusetts communities in which we recently performed shows. We acted quickly to conduct …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter: Pitter-Wright says "Thank You"

A letter from newly-elected Ward 3 School Commitee member, Angela Pitter-Wright.

Dear Newton Voters, I am honored and pleased to serve you on the Newton School Committee. This has been a rewarding experience and I’ve become more inspired as I met and greeted each one of you. I’m particularly inspired by those who told me that they often ignored unopposed candidates, but appreciated that I made an effort to reach out to them. Outreach is not just for election years; I plan to continue the dialogue and work hard on behalf of all 13 villages of Newton. The journey is just beginning but I know with your support and encouragement I am not alone. I expect to hear from all of you and look forward to the opportunity to continue to improve the Newton school system. I is the bedrock of our community and the beauty of Newton is …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter: Think Carefully About Your School Committee Vote

Newton resident and blogger Emily Norton gives her support for Margaret Albright, Steve Siegel and Josh Krintzman.

I consider myself a close observer of Newton school issues. I attend School Committee meetings and blog about them at www.greatnewtonschools.org. As a mom of three boys and an alum of the Newton schools myself, I am concerned about the direction our schools are headed. Over 20% of Newton third graders are not proficient readers; our math curriculum drives thousands of parents to enroll their children in private math schools; NPS runs a deficit every year, requiring layoffs, program cuts and increased fees on families; class sizes are overcrowded and growing more so every year; buildings are in disrepair and growing worse every year. The Newton schools were not always this way, and I think with proper leadership they can be returned to …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter: Pitter-Wright Has the Skills, Energy and Drive

A letter from Ward 3 Alderman-at-Large Ted Hess-Mahan supporting Angela Pitter-Wright for the Ward 3 School Committee seat.

Some time ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with Angela Pitter-Wright for a cup of tea and a conversation about her first run for School Committee.  By the time we finished talking, I was convinced that she knows what it takes to make public schools great.  Angela is a senior program manager executive for a major company where she has worked for the last 25 years.  She and her husband have three sons who attend the Newton Public Schools, and she has freely given her time, talents and efforts to the Superintendent Search Committee, the Cabot School Council, as chair of Cabot Technology Committee, and on the Newton METCO Scholarship Committee.  Given her background and work experience, Angela understands how integrating technology into …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Are They Public Schools?

A letter from Upper Falls resident Jerry Reilly on new school bus fees for the elementary schools.

To the Editor, This year the school system changed their rules so that kids in K-5 who live between one and two miles from school now have to pay $310 to ride the school bus. This grates the parents in my neighborhood for a number of reasons: If they are indeed public schools then all reasonable and necessary transportation to those schools should be part of the city's responsibility...especially since the city quite purposefully created the situation where a large fraction of the student population now lives too far away to walk. --Jerry Reilly Upper Falls 

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Emily Norton

6:03 am on Thursday, September 15, 2011

Jerry you make excellent points - the city brought this situation on to your neighborhood when they closed your neighborhood school and now are adding insult by charging you to get your kids to school. Unfortunately more and more fees on parents seems to be the direction our school system is headed.   more ›