The Select Board and School Committee can ask more of this "exclusive" institution that owns more than 200 acres of land used for golf for the privileged
Haha here's a half-baked conspiracy theory for you -- what if the town has an invisible ruling class who stays out of the public eye and tacitly allows government to do what it wants as long as it doesn't do anything to disturb their interest?
The story would go something like: they own the local newspaper (the Globe), it doesn't cover their town very much and they like it that way. (It's still kind of amazing to me that the town had a manslaughter case in January 2020 and it was unreported in the press for about a year?)
Would they care about the public schools? Well as long as they're not too expensive I guess everything is fine. But you know there are many excellent alternative private options they can buy.
Would they participate in local politics? Well, no. If the select board or town meeting got out of hand they could fund alternatives, but frankly as long as the executive and legislature stay in their lane and don't make anyone uncomfortable, they can do what they like with whatever mandate a 20% voter participation rate implies.
That's it, that's the conspiracy. Far-fetched? Well, yes. I'm re-reading Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" right now and have this stuff top of mind.
Supposing it were true -- which I doubt -- would re-evaluating the Country Club's valuation rankle the mythical elites? (As a 501(c)7 do they pay property tax at all? Does their valuation matter?) Would demanding that the Club follow new social rules upset them enough to push back? (I think so?.) Would significantly raising property taxes via override to fund the town's municipal salaries -- which can only go up ~2.5% while inflation goes up 7%+ -- rouse the powerful moneyed interests into some kind of retaliation?
Other thoughts:
Will the town ever need a ninth school again? Or did COVID-19 permanently redirect enough public-school students elsewhere so that overpopulation is no longer an issue? Is enrollment low enough that a school should be *closed* and some renovation projects cancelled?
The town also has a municipal golf course, which runs at as an enterprise fund with a slight profit. Should it be razed to produce affordable housing, more retail (which produces tax revenue without using expensive services), public parks, or other priorities?
When the town was looking for space to seize for a school ("Save Stop And Shop") did they ever consider 178 Kent St, the seven acres of Northeastern University athletics field?
Haha here's a half-baked conspiracy theory for you -- what if the town has an invisible ruling class who stays out of the public eye and tacitly allows government to do what it wants as long as it doesn't do anything to disturb their interest?
The story would go something like: they own the local newspaper (the Globe), it doesn't cover their town very much and they like it that way. (It's still kind of amazing to me that the town had a manslaughter case in January 2020 and it was unreported in the press for about a year?)
Would they care about the public schools? Well as long as they're not too expensive I guess everything is fine. But you know there are many excellent alternative private options they can buy.
Would they participate in local politics? Well, no. If the select board or town meeting got out of hand they could fund alternatives, but frankly as long as the executive and legislature stay in their lane and don't make anyone uncomfortable, they can do what they like with whatever mandate a 20% voter participation rate implies.
That's it, that's the conspiracy. Far-fetched? Well, yes. I'm re-reading Umberto Eco's "Foucault's Pendulum" right now and have this stuff top of mind.
Supposing it were true -- which I doubt -- would re-evaluating the Country Club's valuation rankle the mythical elites? (As a 501(c)7 do they pay property tax at all? Does their valuation matter?) Would demanding that the Club follow new social rules upset them enough to push back? (I think so?.) Would significantly raising property taxes via override to fund the town's municipal salaries -- which can only go up ~2.5% while inflation goes up 7%+ -- rouse the powerful moneyed interests into some kind of retaliation?
Other thoughts:
Will the town ever need a ninth school again? Or did COVID-19 permanently redirect enough public-school students elsewhere so that overpopulation is no longer an issue? Is enrollment low enough that a school should be *closed* and some renovation projects cancelled?
The town also has a municipal golf course, which runs at as an enterprise fund with a slight profit. Should it be razed to produce affordable housing, more retail (which produces tax revenue without using expensive services), public parks, or other priorities?
When the town was looking for space to seize for a school ("Save Stop And Shop") did they ever consider 178 Kent St, the seven acres of Northeastern University athletics field?