I know, the probate-validate rhyme lede was a bit of a stretch, but the James House on Gothic Street was the former site of the Commonwealth’s juvenile court and probate offices before they moved them to Hadley. So, you can see why I’d go with tha-…no? Yeah, you’re right. Lame.

But that is good news. The Mayor included it in her E-mail update which you should really sign up for already. Here are the details:

The City is renovating the James House for use by the Northampton Community Education Consortium (NCEC)…The City has worked with local non-profits to create a central location for adult education, literacy and employment training and family support services.

NCEC partners include the Regional Employment Board, the Center for New Americans, and the Literacy Project. Also, community colleges and other “local institutions of higher learning” will be offering college readiness workshops and for credit courses.

This is quite a coup for downtown Northampton. Not only are we able to reclaim a building for an important civic use, all of the work is either funded by grants such as the one from the Beveridge Family Foundation or donated. The financial donors are Smith College, Home Depot and the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. (BTW, Home Depot, I think your Hadley store is overkill. But thanks for the cash.) Here’s a partial list of donors and participants who have participated in the project so far:

New England Regional Council of Carpenters-Local 108 (Donated construction labor)

Westover Job Corps (donated demolition and construction labor)
Dietz & Company Architects (donated and discounted design services) – Kevin Riordan, Jeremy Michaels

Ayotte & King for Tile, Inc. (Donated flooring and labor) – Bob King

And from what I can determine from the online Smith College archives, the James House was originally the Young Women’s City Club, “The purpose of the club, founded in 1926, to develop educational and recreational opportunities for young women in Northampton, was carried out in programs (lectures, slide shows, music, book reviews); lessons (in cooking, crafts, parliamentary law, child psychology); social events (teas, dinners, dances, holiday parties); and volunteer services and fund raising activities.”

The NCEC is a return to the James House’s roots! I love it when a plan comes together. [Insert cigar stub at the right corner of your mouth here.]

BID protesters outside City Council Chambers.

The Council voted the BID into being last month and now property owners in the district should have received their new tax bills with the .5%  surcharge.  The owners have 30-days to submit a written notice if they want to withdraw.

Fad Diet or Hard Science?

Now  I read through Poverty Is Not a Crime’s blog by Caty Simon that the three main opponents of the BID, Eric Suher, Alan Scheinman and David Passauit are taking the city to court over its decision.  From Caty’s very thorough post:

“The property owners are hiring Alan Seewald, a well regarded area lawyer who has also worked for the city before. His politics are conservative, and thus, the plaintiffs of the lawsuit can avoid the accusation of being hotheaded, unreasonable radicals (we at Poverty Is Not A Crime are quite happy to fill that role!)…”

and

“But despite all these valid political problems with the BID, Sheinman [sic] and the other plaintiffs have decided to keep their legal complaints technical, so as to reduce controversy and increase their chances of prevailing. Their suit will be based on the fact that the BID proponents failed to give the sufficient notice required by law before the BID hearing. By law, two notices should be given 14 days before the BID hearing. In the first BID hearing, held on Jan. 15th, one notice was given on December 31st, meeting the standard. But the other notice was given on Jan. 6th, only 9 days before the hearing and without compliance to the standard.”

and

“Use special shell-shaped Madeline molds that have been buttered and floured (or small 1 1/2 inch muffin pans). Fill molds 2/3 full; fill muffin tins less than 1/2 full. Bake in a 425 degree oven for ten minutes or until lightly browned. Dust cooled tea cakes with powdered sugar. Yield: 5 dozen.”

Wait…never mind that last part.

If the lawsuit is successful, the City Council’s vote would be considered null and void.

And the BID goes on…

From the Mark Roessler article:

Currently, the mayor crafts decisions ahead of time with her staff, he said, and then offers her conclusions as take-it-or-leave-it propositions: “Either you’re for her, or against her. As mayor, I want to be more inclusive. I want the Council and public to understand the dimensions of what’s to be decided and what the options are before we settle on a direction.”

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This announcement was a rumbling in the works for a while.  What will be interesting to see is if last election’s write-in candidate Gene Tacy will throw his heft behind Bardsley go for it again himself.

Let the games begin!

I just caught this story at Gazettenet.com about Ward 4 City Council David Narkewicz (freakin’ sub. req’d.) not re-upping for his position this year.

From the article:

The 42-year-old, a stay-at-home dad who says “domestic engineer” will remain one of his main job titles, ruled out a run for any elected office this year.

“I don’t have any immediate plans, but I’m not going to rule out running for elected office in the future,” said Narkewicz.

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That creaking sound you hear is the rumor mill slowly grinding in to action.

Prediction #1: He takes this campaign cycle off to ready himself, his family and his war chest for a run for Mayor in 2011.

Prediction #2: He takes this campaign cycle off to ready himself, his family and his war chest for a run for Elector of the Oliver Smith Will.  No doubt it means practicing walking around wearing a sash, top hat and monocle.

Prediction #3: He goes all Tacy on us and pulls out write-in papers for Mayor right before the deadline this year and stops paying his taxes.

It all would have been fine with a level-funded budget had the Mayor not asked for a 12% reduction due to the city’s own budget shortfall of $6M.  Thwarted.

So here’s who ended up on the cutting room floor:

• 23 teachers and 4 aides across all four elementary schools
• 11 teachers at JFK Middle School
• 14 teachers at Northampton High

What will also be cut way back is busing.  Before, kids who paid for passes could ride the bus through twelfth grade, if I’m understanding the information correctly.  Now it’s been pushed back to the state mandatory minimum only for kindergarteners through sixth graders.  Superintendent Rodriguez clarified further that would mean seventh through twelfth graders would not be bused.  Again, if I’m understanding it correctly, that is a rather dire set up.

What also went into a different part of the budget meaning it was moved from allocated funds to revolving funds was stipends that pay for coaches and teachers who lead extra-curriculars afterschool.  This was immediately interpreted as sports and extracurriculars were being cut.  Not the case, Rodridguez said, just the funding of these posts.  She’s hoping that booster clubs will form to take up the costs.

I’m still a little unclear as to what this means.  I know the stipends of the coaches and teachers will be put out to booster clubs but does this also mean transportation to and from practices and games, rehearsals and the like?  Also how does equipment and uniforms figure in to this?  Any clarification would be much appreciated.

Also, if there are no boosters or boosters but still not enough funding, does this mean the activity is…cut?

Bleak times are ahead for our schools, friends.  It’s been bad before but having to cut close to 50 teachers across the school system is Brontë sisters depressing.

Having spent the last year covering school committee meetings for WHMP, I will say the committee is very responsive to parents that show up to speak during the public comment.  They truly seem to take a keen interest and listen intently to the concerns of those who show up to speak their minds.

Here’s the list of upcoming meetings.  They begin at 7:15pm and are in the community meeting room of JFK Middle School on Bridge Rd., the school that’s getting eleven teacher positions cut.