Council Chair: Schools Are In A "Death Spiral"

Ken O'Brien

At Monday's Town Council meeting, during Councilors Forum, Councilor Monique Manna brought up a motion to request a joint meeting with the School Committee and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. 

While the motion was ultimately postponed until January, the discussion that ensued illustrated that our primary law-making body has had it with the ongoing situation with the Southbridge school system. It was clear that Councilor Manna was seeking what the current School Committee leadership refuses to provide - ANSWERS.

All taxpayers in the town of Southbridge should watch this video.

Avoid Chaos - Learn The Rules

Ken O’Brien

On Tuesday I poked a little fun at the prior night’s meeting of the Southbridge Town Council.

The fact is, however, that over an hour of wasted time as well as a vote to reconsider just before the close of the meeting could have been avoided easily.

All that was required was a fundamental understanding of the provisions of Robert’s Rules of Order as they apply to points of order.

Southbridge School Committee Still Misleads On Policy

Ken O’Brien

At the November 5 meeting of the Southbridge School Committee Town Councilor Monique Manna questioned the procedure used to select the chairman of the committee following the resignation of former chairman Patricia Woodruff.

Following is a video of the question posed by Councilor Manna and the response from Chairman McLoughlin.