Lowell Superintendent Chris Scott released her proposed 2011 budget and it includes 1.8% increase in funding. The proposed budget is expected to change drastically because the state and city still don’t have firm numbers for next year. As it stands K-8 schools will see cuts from last year of $2.5 million and high school will [...]

Is funding local firefighters through a federal grant really a smart solution to likely long term fiscal problems in Belchertown?
Springfield Republican

Only 9% of Lawrence voters participated in the primary to fill former state rep and current mayor William Lantigua’s seat. Marcos Devers won the Democratic primary and will now face independent candidate Rafael Gadea [...]

To get some insight on how the Boston City Council will vote on the controversial new contract for firefighters it’s worth taking a look at the campaign contributions from Boston Firefighters Union Local 718. Since 2007 they have donated over $9800 to campaign coffers of current city council members.

Salvatore LaMattina: $500
Bill Linehan: $600
Maureen Feeney: $1500
Charles [...]

You know things are rough financially when a town is going after unpaid school lunch money. Yes, school lunch money. In Framingham things have gotten so bad that the local school department is going after students with unpaid bills as low as $10. The total unpaid tab of lunch money is estimated to be near [...]

Over 104 employees at the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority make over $100,000 a year. They work as auditors, in quality assurance, and of course engineering & construction. Where were they with their six figure salaries before the aquapocaplypse?

While most of the state recovered from the massive water main break local town budgets were betting hashed out across the Commonwealth.

Brave local officials in Longmeadow declined to take a position on their proposed new $78 million high school. Board members have a disagreement on whether they should speak as joint body or as individuals. [...]

Greenfield may be on to something with this virtual school stuff.
The town of Greenfield is taking advantage of the new education reform act passed in January to experiment with something called virtual schools. It is what it sounds like: you participate in school but from your home computer. It’s like modern correspondence courses but for [...]

Norton High School won a three-year $400,000 grant for math, science, and English education from the Massachusetts Math and Science Initiative.

The grant is expected to increase enrollment in AP (advanced placement) courses at the school. AP courses are usually given to high school seniors who are qualify only after passing an exam. The courses can [...]

Lawrence Mayor and former state representative William Lantigua was the most egregious example of politicians double dipping at the elected official trough this state has seen. Are there more?

Massachusetts had a really, really rough week.
In a the western Massachusetts town of Middlefield local taxpayers are upset with what they alleged is an illegal Prop 2 1/2 override on the local ballot. The taxpayers say that the question was place on the ballot illegally because it failed to meet certain deadlines for placement.
WGGB-TV

Patrick [...]