We have a new contender for a seat on the Billerica School Committee. The only thing better would be to have another first timer run for office. Mr. Dan Cugno, a man with a history of behind the scenes political activism and a member of the Partnership for Parker has thrown his hat into the ring.

Mr. Cugno will be running for one of two seats held by long time incumbents, Maureen Collins-Rea and Marie Blanchette. Ms. Collins-Rea has been a member of the school committee for 35 years, and Ms. Blanchette is seeking her 4th three-year term.

It is this person’s opinion that the town will be much better served by marking this the end of two long, unproductive careers that have brought about more harm to the Billerica school system than good. The proof of this statement regarding Ms. Collins-Rea and Ms. Blanchette is found by simply walking through the buildings under their control. When a town employee falls through the floor of a public school, I would say that a significant case of neglect and incompetence is self-evident.

In a Billerica Minuteman article recently published, Mr. Collins-Rea states the following:

“We were quite excited with the money coming last year through the federal budget,” Collins-Rea said. “We put together lots of ways to spend it, but when state budget fell apart that money was taken to shore it up.”

I can understand her excitement about the potential of extra money coming available via federal funding. However, her lament about not being able to realize “lots of ways to spend it” highlights her lack of concern for the prudent and judicious use of taxpayer resources.

Instead of trying to devise lots of ways “to spend it”, perhaps, she could have made mention of how significant an unexpected influx of funds would be toward overdue and essential repairs and replacement of failing equipment, such as fire protection systems, in an effort to give more life to multi-million dollar investments already made. Instead, she would spend money on other things as people around her continue to suddenly disappear, mid-conversation, into the bowels of school buildings as they plummet through unstable and rotted flooring, or suffer other undesirable fates due to the neglect and careless management of plant facilities by current leadership.

If those of you who felt authorizing a debt exclusion to build a new mult-million dollar school was wrong or done on the wrong scale at the wrong time want to release some pent-up aggression – here’s your chance. Vote her OUT or shut up!

Marie Blanchette has been a member of the school committee for 9 years, looking to go 12. Why? In her words,

“I want to make sure things run smoothly.”

Great job, so far, eh?

Yeah, she’s done a great job so far. Budget after budget includes line item spending for capital equipment replacement and repairs as well as honest measurements and commitment of funding needed for building maintenance. Why then, are our schools in such horrible shape, physically? Why are children allowed to attend school in old buildings full of structural deficiencies without a working fire alarm system, when it is clear that a fire under those conditions would be much more damaging, severe and swift than if it were to occur under a well-maintained building? Is this evidence that the current school committee is “running things smoothly”?

Additionally, I think it is an abomination that an employee of the school system can also be the leading member of the school committee, or for that matter, a member in any capacity. Even a two-year old can see a conflict of interest when faced with deciding on new bells and whistles and more lucrative employee contracts over preservation of what already exists. But, Town Meeting has not sought to discuss the issue, and I’m sure, like in most instances, they will line up with a million reasons to excuse their lack of leadership – in this particular case – over 35 years!

Certainly, Ms. Blanchette should have the opportunity to serve as a Town Meeting member or a member of the Board of Selectmen, Planning Board, etc., but to serve on a board that directly influences the pecuniary and self-serving interests of the specific member is more than unethical: it is obscene. Even the United States Congress, as corrupt as it is denies service on committees where a member would be perceived to have a personal or financial advantage by so doing.

Again, from this writer’s perspective, Ms. Blanchette needs to be voted OUT OF OFFICE along with Ms Collins-Rea. In the interim, I will hope for someone else either with or against the Partnership for Parker group to jump into the fray and work to avoid a similar debacle in the future as a measure of thanks to the people of other precincts that supported them.