I applaud Councilor Bean’s comments and arguments regarding signage in the City of Westfield. However I should like to make one point. Councilors Bean’s employer Westfield State is one of, if not the worst, signage offenders. The signage density along upper Western Ave. is perhaps the highest and most redundant in the city. It should also be pointed out that many of these signs are non conforming to City of Westfield zoning or signage regulations. The argument most often used is “We are the state and not bound by local authority. Perhaps Mr. Bean should bring his campaign to his workplace and obtain some relief for taxpayers and visitors along the Western Ave. corridor who have to endure this signage pollution and vista degradation.
The recent state school test rankings published in the papers once again show the Westfield school system performing well below the state averages. This goes on despite the recent 8 percent real estate tax increase (check your tax bills, you just had a 5 1/2 percent tax override without voting for it) needed to support the latest teachers contract and a significant decrease in the number of students in the system (I hear up to 30 percent). These state test results simply do not support the school superintendents selective newspaper articles. Eighty-eight percent of the class of 2016 meeting the minimum standards is simply not acceptable. Our children need more than a “minimum” education to make it in today’s world. And yet local parents and taxpayers seem content to ignore this long-term situation or to simply remove their children from a failing system. Where is the outrage? Taxpayers and parents should demand better by attending school committee meetings, contacting their local council member and the Mayor, contacting state school authorities and doing whatever else is needed. Is this the kind of teachers and education you really want for your children?
