RALPH FIGY
Good afternoon and greetings from Ward 2. I hope that this finds everyone in good health and I hope that you can avoid the nasty cold that has found me. Enjoy the fall weather and activities that go with it. Attend a sporting event, go to a corn maze, go apple picking, or just take a foliage drive. There is nothing that compares to New England in the fall.
Just when you think the road construction is coming to an end, we received word that Westfield will be the first Turnpike exchange to have the toll booths removed. This is a major project and will impact users of the Mass Pike for quite some time. Thank you to Chief Camerota and the Westfield Police Department for assigning officers at the Pike entrance to assist with traffic.
North Elm Street and Notre Dame look great. The improvements are helping with the traffic flow as designed. The face lift at Prolamina is another welcomed change. North Elm Butcher Block is resurfacing their parking lot. All in all things are much improved in this section of town. Ward 2 is looking up. Further downtown the Inter-modal project is taking shape. I am hopeful that in the very near future buses will no longer be parking on Elm Street and we can get those parking spaces back. I believe that we need parking in order to bring business back to the downtown area.
I am the City Council’s liaison to the School Committee. This allows me to witness our schools in action. Many great things are happening here in Westfield and we should be proud of those. Just recently, the State awarded a $500,000 grant to the Technical Academy. This grant is to be divided between Manufacturing and the new Aviation programs. The money is to be spent on equipment and supplies that are not covered by the City’s budget. Both programs can use this money to update and acquire needed equipment. Westfield was the only School Department in the Commonwealth to receive the full $500,000. Congratulations to Superintendant Czaporoski and his grant writers. Other big happenings include the first Business-Education cooperative. This group of local businesses wants to partner with our schools to assist in the education of our students. They would like to help our student become better prepared for the world of work and for Higher Education. Once again Tigers Pride is open Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for your dining enjoyment. Take in a gourmet lunch from 11AM till 12Pm when in operation. The food is great and the desserts are better.
November 8, 2016 is a historical day in American history. It is Election Day. Election Day is the one day where every American that is registered to vote, has the opportunity to actively participate in choosing the direction our great land will go. I cannot think of a greater responsibility than to get out and vote. There are several State and County races to be decided as well as who will be our next President. It is unacceptable to say I do not like the candidate so there for I am not going to vote. Remember, if you do not vote your give up your right to complain.
There is one ballot question that I would like everyone to consider voting NO on and that is Question 2. The idea of lifting the cap on Charter Schools is nothing but a direct assault on the Public School System as we know it. The idea that Charter schools are going to produce revolutionary ideas and procedures to improve education has not been forth coming. No one should be able to make a profit on education our students at the expense of other public school students. Last year Westfield was docked $195,856. We were reimbursed $33,692 for a net loss of $162,164. This is State money that never gets to Westfield. By allowing the State to increase the number of Charter schools by 12 every year, it won’t take long to really cripple public education as we know it. There is an even scarier policy that Charter Schools enjoy. If they have a student and they cannot meet the student’s needs, the Charter School hold a meeting and they decide on the placement of the student. The student is forced to withdraw from the Charter School, reenroll into the public School and the public school must pay for the program that the Charter school developed. No questions, no input from the district. This is the real budget buster that no one talks about. This has the potential to bankrupt cities and towns all across this Commonwealth.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article and again remember to VOTE on November 8. Ward 2 votes at the new Senior Center. I will be having office hours at the Senior Center at 11AM on the third Thursday of November. I hope that everyone has an enjoyable Thanksgiving.
Ralph J. Figy
Ward 2
