By: Dj Deeb – January , 2019 At its December Business Meeting, members of the Methuen School Committee voted unanimously to adopt a $100 student parking fee effective during the 2019-2020 school year. Unfortunately, I was one of those votes and after analyzing the issue further I regret my decision. I have placed a Motion […]
By DJ Deeb – Dec. 2018 Earlier this year (in the February, March, and April 2018 Valley Patriot editions) I outlined many suggestions for cuts in spending for the City of Methuen. Last year, the City filled 13 non-civil service municipal positions, hired 10 new firefighters and 3 reserve firefighters, hired 3 new police officers […]
By D.J. Deeb – Nov. 2018 Methuen City Councilor Steve Saba has shown true leadership in dealing with the outrageous Methuen Police Superior Contracts these last few months. In leading the charge, along with fellow City Councilor Jim McCarty, Councilor Saba proposed a reorganization that would have eliminated the Captain positions and maintained a necessary […]
B: DJ Deeb – Oct. 2018 At its September 10th and September 25th meetings, members of the Methuen School Committee wasted no time in voting to adopt policies to address student residency and educator licensure concerns. The latest moves are intended to increase transparency and accountability following revelations in August that the former Superintendent did […]
By: DJ Deeb – September, 2018 The City of Methuen has gone through a very difficult few months. The latest involves the controversy surrounding Superintendent Judy Scannell not having a license to be Superintendent of Schools and prior to that no license to be Principal of the Tenney and Timony Elementary Schools. Deciding how […]
By: DJ Deeb – August, 2018 As of the deadline for this article the City/School budgets have not been fully resolved or finalized, but I hope to provide more information in a future article. In the meantime members of the City of Methuen Charter Review Commission recently discussed the possibility of recommending the elimination of […]
By: DJ Deeb – June, 2018 The Methuen School Committee held a budget workshop meeting on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 to discuss the upcoming Fiscal Year 2019 budget. In April, the School Committee voted to request that the Mayor and School Committee approve a budget of $82.5 million, a nearly 14% increase over last year’s […]
Dear Members of the Methuen City Council: I am very concerned with the dismal state of our current budget in the City of Methuen and with the budget for Methuen Public Schools. This is truly unfortunate, but was a predictable outcome of years of mismanagement. City spending increases have averaged 3% annually for the […]
By: D.J. Deeb – May, 2018 Members of the Methuen School Committee voted to request that the mayor and School Committee approve a budget of $82.5 million, a 13% increase over last year’s budget of $72 million. This comes after years of not filling positions through attrition as enrollment numbers continue to climb and Special […]
By: DJ Deeb – March, 2018 Members of the Methuen School Committee has been very busy these last few months as we prepare for the upcoming budget discussions, contract negotiations, and course planning for next year. I will be devoting my column next month to discussing the city and the school budget as members of […]
By: DJ Deeb – Feb.2018 I have written numerous times that the City of Methuen is truly fortunate to have Superintendent Judy Scannell at the helm as the leader of Methuen Public Schools. Members of the school committee completed their annual evaluations of Superintendent Scannell in December and as expected, Superintendent Scannell received high marks […]
By: DJ Deeb – Dec. 2017 Although I ran unopposed in the recent municipal elections, it is nice to know that I am officially back on the Methuen School Committee. I want to take an opportunity to congratulate my colleagues Jana DiNatale, Bob Vogler, and Nick DiZoglio on their re-election bids. I also want to […]
By D.J. Deeb, M.A., M.S., M.Ed. As most Valley Patriot readers already know, the Methuen Municipal Elections are scheduled for Tuesday, November 7th. I am running for re-election to the Methuen School Committee because I want to continue to give back to the community that I have made my home. Although there are only 6 […]
By: DJ Deeb – July, 2017 Things are beginning to wind down for the year with Methuen Public Schools. At our June 12th Methuen School Committee meeting, members of the committee devoted a great deal of time recognizing and awarding citations to outstanding Methuen school educators and employees. In addition, the committee welcomed a new […]
By: DJ DEEB – June, 2017 At our May 22nd Methuen School Committee meeting, members of the committee voted to approve an operating budget for fiscal year 2018 of $72 million, a decrease of 2% from last year’s operating budget of $73.47 million. This is a positive development given the constraints of our city, but […]