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Hello, My name is Scott and this is my town.

I’m from Swampscott - a coastal suburb north of Boston!. Hello, My name is Scott and this is my town. Won’t you be my neighbor?. Population: 14,412 White - 97.5% Black - .7% Asian - .7%.

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Hello, My name is Scott and this is my town.

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  1. I’m from Swampscott - a coastal suburb north of Boston! Hello, My name is Scott and this is my town.

  2. Won’t you be my neighbor? • Population: 14,412 • White - 97.5% • Black - .7% • Asian - .7% http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US2568680&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=swampscott&_cityTown=swampscott&_state=04000US25&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=DEC_2000_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=

  3. The Cribs • Median household Income(as of 1999): -Swampscott = $71,000 -National Ave = $42,000 • Household Demographics: -Swampscott = 2.48 -National = 2.59 http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFFacts?_event=ChangeGeoContext&geo_id=16000US2568680&_geoContext=&_street=&_county=swampscott&_cityTown=swampscott&_state=04000US25&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=010&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=DEC_2000_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=

  4. Thesis • Swampscott government’s role in the building of the new high school was efficient, though the process was not as wholly democratic as many citizens had hoped it would be.

  5. Leading Or Impeding? • 5 person Board of Selectmen: Marc Paster (chairman), Charles Baker (vice-chair), Reid Cassidy, Adam Foreman, and Daniel Santanello • 1 town administrator: Andrew Maylor • 1 town moderator: Boze Goldman http://www.town.swampscott.ma.us/

  6. Like Athens? • Athens had an Archon that was selected by lot - Swampscott chooses their Town Admin. by selecting the qualified candidate that is available • Athens had a representative Boule of 500 after Kleisthenes - Swampscott has a representative town meeting of over 300 • Athens’ Boule meetings were held under an open roof for all to hear outside - Swampscott allows for open Council meetings and town meetings • HOWEVER • Athens limited citizenship to men while Swampscott’s is limited solely by age.

  7. Big Brother • Representative Town Meeting -6 precincts -324 Town Meeting Members -1 moderator (Boze Goldman) Meeting is open to public and all can speak -- only members can vote http://www.town.swampscott.ma.us/public_documents/SwampscottMA_TownMeeting/S0012F54C

  8. Mayor, 5 Council Members, 2 Supervisors Council meetings are open - every 2 weeks “Council has the authority to enact, amend, or repeal local law.” - Mayor’s approval required (City Charter: 3.1; Powers of the City Council and 9.1; Enactment of ordinances) Mayor has authority to appoint some administrative positions in citizen commissions - app’ts. must be in accordance with Civil Service Law Elections for City Officers are held every two years - top 5 vote getters are make the City Council 5 Selectmen, Town Administrator, Rep. Town Meeting Council Meetings are open - every 2 weeks Selectmen bring forth ideas of amendments which are vote through by a simple majority of town meeting (Town Charter: 7.1; Duties of Selectmen and 8.2; Powers and Duties of Admin.) Selectmen appoint some citizen commissions while the Moderator appoints others - Selectmen approval needed Selectmen elections are every three years, Town Meeting Member elections are annually with staggered term lengths Saratoga vs. Swampscott

  9. School of the hard knocks • Since 1978 there had been plans to rebuild the schools • Main Issues: • Where would a new HS go? • How would it affect taxes? • Would there be government subsidizing?

  10. Years later… • For years these issues held the town back - every few years there was a failing vote to build a new school • 1998 - school board has a master plan where all schools are inspected and architecturally re-evaluated -- cost = $200,000 (Interview with Arthur Goldberg) • Plan brought before town meeting - A new HS at Phillips Park, moving the Jr. High to the current HS, and refurbishing elementary schools over the next 10 yrs. (“Swampscott at odds over school plan”. Nov. 29, 1998) • Town Meeting passes the idea - special vote called for 2.5% tax override in 2001 - this fails due to location. • 2002 - Different location (Jackson Park) - 2.5% override passes in town vote. (“Ten years later will the school plan pass?”. Aug. 1, 2002)

  11. And it gets interesting… • After the vote passed narrowly passed (by just 224 votes), neighbors of Jackson Park brought a lawsuit against the town. • The state gov’t. then investigated the environmental hazards of the area. • In all, a year was lost to these ordeals - by contractor decisions in early 2005, material and man-power drives up price $8M • In total, $47M HS plan went to $56.5M - 20% over budget. (“A costly lesson on schools”. Nov. 19, 2006)

  12. Opponents • Marianne McGrath - Accused town gov’t. of turning its back on the neighbors. • Smilia Marvosh - Claimed the placement of the new school was too close to Aggregate Industries • Harvey Greenberg - criticized gov’t. action as forcing the new school on the residents -- felt that many decision makers forgot how much a 2.5% tax increase really is ($13+ per thousand or $500+/yr. on just school taxes)

  13. Proponents • Arthur Goldberg - School Committee member; wants to keep property values of town high, thus need new school • Paul Levenson - Selectman that felt new schools would improve the quality of education • Mark Schwartz - HS history teacher that can’t understand how the schools through the town have gone over three decades with no new advances/major repairs.

  14. Conclusion • Yes the school is built -However, it is over budget, over a year late, and has completely divided the town -Had the process been more democratic - more town wide votes throughout the process then the year delays could have been avoided. -It is important to remember that of the 6 precincts, 3 voted against the plan while three were in favor - of 55% voter turnout of the nearly 10,000 registered voters, 224 votes is not a large majority at all.

  15. Bibliography • Derringer, George. “More money for new high school approved”. Swampscott Reporter. Nov. 16, 2006. • Laidler, John. “Swampscott at odds over school plan”. Boston Globe: North Weekly. Nov. 29, 1998; pg. 3. • Rosenberg, Steven. “Ten years later, will this school plan pass?”. Boston Globe: Globe North. Aug. 1, 2002; pg. 1. • Rosenberg, Steven. “Swampscott school override vote set”. Boston Globe: Globe North. Dec. 8, 2002; pg. 10. • Rosenberg, Steven. “A costly lesson on schools”. Boston Globe: City and Region. Nov. 19, 2006. • Rosenberg, Steven. “Swampscott approves new high school”. Boston Globe: Globe North. Dec. 19, 2002; pg. 9. • Rosenberg, Steven. “Swampscott project in jeopardy”. Boston Globe: Globe North. Feb. 27, 2003; pg. 6. • Personal Interview with Marc Pastor, Chairman of the Selectmen. Nov. 24, 2006. • Personal Interview with Boze Goldman, current Town Moderator. Nov. 24, 2006. • Personal interview with Arthur Goldberg, former School Committee member. Nov. 24, 2006. • Charter of the city of Saratoga Springs, NY • Charter of the town of Swampscott, MA • General Bylaws of the town of Swampscott, MA • www.factfinder.census.gov/ • www.town.swampscott.ma.us

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