Dear Friends,

I hope this message finds you enjoying some fun and relaxation during the last half of summer vacation! My own family visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, we spent a few days exploring Niagara Falls, and we’ve just returned from a very fun canoeing & kayaking weekend trip with several other North Andover families [who were very good sports about some very heavy rain!].

• In between some great fun, I’ve been keeping up with North Andover municipal matters: 
• I’ve attended and/or watched Finance Committee meetings, Board of Selectmen meetings, School Committee meetings; 
• I’ve met or talked with not only our own leaders, but also with elected officials from other communities interested in the way NAU is working to unite our community; 
• I’ve met with leaders of advocacy groups outside of North Andover who share philosophies and goals closely in tune with NAU objectives; and 
• I’ve kept up with your discussion postings on www.northandover.org.

If you’ve visited our website, you’ve seen the intense interest in whether Thomson Elementary School will meet the Adequate Yearly Progress goals under its MCAS scores, required by No Child Left Behind. I strongly urge parents of both Thomson School students, and students attending the other four elementary schools, to attend the School Committee meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 19th. It is currently listed on the Town’s website with a start time of 7:00 pm at the Town Hall; watch for either a shift to a 6:00 start time or even a shift in meeting place. It is not clear whether this meeting will be televised. School Choice is on the agenda. If Thomson students are offered a choice of schools, it affects not only Thomson school, but also the receiving schools. And since practically ALL of our elementary school MCAS scores leave something to be desired... parents should be concerned, regardless of where their children attend. I know I’ll be listening for specific information on what steps will be taken to improve both leadership and instruction at Thomson, but also at the other schools too.
 
Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Sincerely,

Sandy Gleed. Pres.
North Andover United, Inc.

Welcome to northandover.org... home of North Andover United and the 'unofficial' community web site for North Andover, MA.

If you're just discovered this site I encourage you to please take a moment and subscribe to our email lists (click on this link ) to stay updated on important topics relating to our town.   We have received a lot of testimonials from the community thanking us for providing information that people are not able to stay updated on because of their busy lives.   In the coming week the contents of our discussion area relating to the town meeting will be getting a lot of new information as well as hosting community discussions relating to each warrant article.  

You can always automatically and instantly unsubscribe from our emails and your information (email address and name only) is never shared with anyone.

Once again, North Andover Youth Services is sponsoring Children's Programs that will be held Tuesdays & Thursdays at 10:00 am, July 8th - August  21st at the North Andover Middle School.   While the older kids are enjoying Summer Fun , bring the little ones to sing, dance, see a puppet or magic show! 

What:    Children’s Programs
When:   July -– August 21, 2008 - Tuesdays & Thursdays 10:00 am
Where: North Andover Middle School

 
Sponsored by North Andover Youth Services - (978) 682-9000

From the June 29th Eagle Tribune.

NORTH ANDOVER - The Thomson Elementary School has been under the watchful eye of the school district for some time because it has the lowest MCAS scores of the town's five elementary schools.

Now, the federal government is also noticing.

School officials will learn in August whether Thomson has met its improvement goals for MCAS scores for the 2007-2008 school year. If not, parents will be given a choice of sending their children to another school in town.

Click here to read the rest of the article.   Discuss this topic by clicking here.

Come enjoy the fun!

• Sunday, July 13 The Oberlaendler Hofbrau Band (sponsored by Wheelabrator North Andover)
• Sunday, July 20 Four Guys in Tuxes
• Sunday, July 27 Overdrive
• Sunday, August 3 Russ McQueen Entertainment
• Sunday, August 10 The John Penny Band (sponsored by CitiBank)
• Sunday, August 17 The Front Page Band
• Sunday, August 24 Bob Batchelder’s Totem Pole Band (co-sponsored by Council on Aging and
  Friends of the Senior Center)

The band concerts are scheduled in the grass area in the rear of the North Andover Middle School (adjacent to Hayes
Stadium) at 6:00 p.m.

The schedule above is tentative.   Visit www.townofnorthandover.com for the lastest information.

Congratulations to Christina Morgan of North Andover.   Christina was the winner of the Wii drawing which was held at the Senior Center on June 17th, 2008.   A total of $1710.00 was raised for the capital improvement campaign from the "Wii Can Do This Together" campaign supported by North Andover United and Friends of the Senior Center.

You can still make tax deductible contributions by clicking on this link.

Dear Friends,

For the second year in a row, I worked up enough courage to get up to the microphone at Town Meeting.  Two different years, two very different results, and yet I’m equally satisfied that I’ve done the right thing.

I’m President of a larger organization now with 14 talented, dedicated board members, and quite frankly, our fourteen board members really struggled hard on how to approach the police and preschool building project articles this year.  Click here to read our statement - this is the statement I read during the public comment on the police station article.

As author of this newsletter, I get to tell you my personal perspective.  How did Sandy Gleed vote?  I voted "NO" on the police station, and I did not vote on the preschool. 

Why did NAU recommend citizens vote "NO" on the police station?  NAU believes in honest answers.  We have done our homework, attended far too many meetings, talked to more than our share of both politicians and townspeople, personally toured Bradstreet and the existing police station with the Town Manager and Finance Committee, and wholeheartedly agreed that the Credit Union was the least expensive, most appropriate space for a truly needed police station.  The police station should have been replaced years ago; it’s disgraceful and unfair that we allowed our employees to work in those conditions.  And NAU said that, right up front, in every one of our communications. 

However, both the Town Manager’s and the Finance Committee’s financial forecasts left considerable doubt about our ability to shoulder new debt.  Of all people in town, NAU knows how hard it is to pass an operational override.  If our town had trouble passing a $1.65 million override less than a year ago, are voters likely to pass a $2 million override?  A $5 million override?  NAU stood firm with its mission to "ensure the availability of high caliber municipal and school services"; our position was based on solid financial principals and a concern to preserve those positions just restored with the override.  Additionally, we’re concerned about the risk of even deeper cuts over the course of the next few years.

So why did I abstain and not vote "NO" on the preschool as well?  Fair question.  Don Stewart also asked why people voting no on the police station the first night didn’t also get up and urge voting "NO" on the preschool the following night.  Also a fair question.

Here’s my honest answer: 

• First, for NAU, the two projects needed to be treated equally.  We were prepared to vote no on both projects - yet when a 2/3rds majority of town meeting attendees voted to build the police station without regard to the financial risk, it made no sense to pass one project without the other.  The economics of the preschool are very different from the police station.  The Police station was needed, not because it would save the town money, but because it represented unacceptable working conditions.  The preschool, on the other hand, has some real cost savings/cost avoidance built into it that makes it more cost neutral. The cost of not building the preschool could ultimately be more expensive, especially when we consider the cost of out-of-district placements, actual cost savings (buses, portables), and the possibility of additional grant monies.  So although there’s an initial hit to the operating costs, the preschool building ought to pay for itself in future years and even return money to the operating budget.
  
  
• Second, I stood by my original position:  Town Meeting should never be asked to vote for major expenditures in the operating budget without sufficient financial information to assess the tradeoffs in services.
  
  
• Third, since Town Meeting had already decided to shoulder the risk of cuts in services presented by passing the police station, I decided not to support - but not stand in the way of - the second project that would pay for itself.  Again, for NAU, passage of the projects had to be treated equally.
  
  
• Finally, I had already made the NAU position on both projects crystal clear the first evening.
  

NAU never questioned the need for these buildings - it has consistently been "how do we pay for them?"   So although we are pleased that our police officers will finally be able to work in acceptable working conditions and the preschool will alleviate some congestion and potentially free up operating funds once it’s complete and accredited, NAU continues to be very concerned about the impact these projects are going to have on our future operational budgets.

The true fiscal reality probably resides somewhere between the Town Manager’s forecast and the Finance Committee’s forecast.  That still means operational overrides will be necessary.  Let’s hope that our elected leaders and union employees come to affordable terms on both their employment contracts and the financial necessity of joining the state insurance plan, the "GIC".  In order to make these two new buildings affordable, they’ve got to either trim approximately $600,000 in annual expenses, or find $600,000 in new revenues to offset the new debt service. 

NAU sincerely hopes they achieve this objective!  It’s in the best interests of us all.

I’m now looking forward to catching my kids’ last games, spending my summer vacation enjoying time with my family and in my garden, and being able to have dinner together again without running out to attend meetings! 

Hope your summer is equally enjoyable! 

Sincerely,

Sandy Gleed

This year the Senior Center was appropriated $250,000 through the Capital Improvement Fund to update and improve the existing space.  The Friends of the North Andover Senior Center have embarked on an 8-week Capital Improvement Fund Raiser.  Their goal is to raise $80,000.00 in 8 weeks.  These funds are necessary to fully fund and complete the proposed renovation project. Improvements to the senior center are as follows:

• Expanding reception and waiting area for better access for handicapped adults as well as all seniors entering the building.
• Moving and improving office space for better access to staff members by handicapped adults.
• Direct accessibility to all classrooms and nutrition site.
• Improving size of existing health screening office, and computer area

During the next 8 weeks, The Friends of the North Andover Senior Center Inc. will be aggressively fundraising to generate the $80,000.00 shortfall needed for this project to move forward. We need your help to accomplish this ambitious goal. If you would like to support us, mail your donation check made payable to:

Friends of the North Andover Senior Center, Inc.
PO Box 661, North Andover, MA 01845

This donation is tax deductible, please write "Capital Improvement Fund" in the memo section on check.

Your support is greatly appreciated,

George White President of the
Friends of the North Andover Senior Center

Related stories can be read in the Eagle Tribune and North Andover Citizen.

Dear Readers,

I received an email today that posed an excellent question:  what does NAU mean by the term "Honest Questions"?  Here’s my response:

I have spent 17 years attending town meetings, and 10 years attending and/or watching way too many BOS/School Committee/Fincom/Planning/Zoning/PTO/etc. meetings where people get up and ask questions intended to stir the pot, cast aspersions on the skills or effectiveness of the boards, or to intentionally plant seeds of doubt in the minds of the townspeople.  "Honest Questions" are questions that seek accurate information, clarification of details, or call attention to an issue not previously considered.  They are questions that do not already assume an answer, and they are questions that do not attempt to color the answer with political overtones.
 
But please understand - honest questions can certainly question the status quo, and they can absolutely express disagreement with prior answers and/or the positions or decisions adopted by elected officials.  It's just that honest questions can accomplish that with respect and without causing further divisiveness, something our town just can't afford to tolerate anymore. 
 
NAU encourages you to contact us with questions like this one - we’ve got a whole discussion forum area on this website provided for any topic you’d like to discuss. 

--Sandy Gleed

It is with great pleasure that we announce Sandy Gleed as the 2008 Pristash Award winner.   The Pristash Award established in 2006 to honor David and Leanna Pristash is voted on by all the parent / teacher organizations in town.  The recipient is selected based on their selfless dedication to our public schools.  Last year's recipents were Lianne Patenaude and Paddy Duncan.  The award will be presented to Sandy on Thursday,  April 10th  2008 at the Top of The Scales from 6 - 9pm.  Tickets are $35 per person and are on sale (3/4) at B-Sporty on Chickering Road (across from Hafners).   For futher information or to place an Ad in our Best Wishes Book please contact Margaret Shaheen at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or at 978-686-6562.  All proceeds to fund the Pristash Scholarship at the High School.

Most people, when they retire, get a small severance and a hearty thank-you. But if you've spent your career in the public sector, you're likely eligible for tens of thousands of dollars worth of "unused" sick and vacation time on top of a generous pension.

Read the rest of the article on the Eagle Tribune.

An interesting article from the Boston Globe:n "It's technically neither free nor cash, but it is a tempting way to balance the budget at the end of the fiscal year. Repeatedly raiding the account, however, can have costly ramifications."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/31/no_such_thing_as_free_cash?mode=PF