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The Westfield News Serving Westfield, Southwick, and the surrounding Hilltowns
www.thewestfieldnews.com VOL. 85 NO. 234
The Westfield News will run its masthead in pink, in recognition of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2016
Westfield School Committee addresses Question 2 By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The Westfield School Committee voted unanimously on Monday for a resolution against raising the existing cap on charter schools in Massachusetts. In making the motion, Diane Mayhew asked the committee to join more than 100 School Committees across the state in voting to oppose Question 2 on the November ballot, which would increase by twelve the number of charter schools allowed in the state per year. Mayhew said if passed, Question 2 could triple the number of charter schools statewide in ten years. During the discussion of the motion, Westfield Public Schools Superintendent Stefan Czaporowski gave the committee a picture of the financial effects of charter schools on the district. He said in FY 16, $191,578 was deducted from the local allocation for the district for students attending charter schools. The state then reimbursed the district $20,851 of that cost, for a net loss of $170,727. This year, $195,856 is going to charter schools and the state reimbursement is
$33,692, for a net loss of $162,164. Czaporowski said that among the schools Westfield students are attending are Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School of Excellence in Springfield, Pioneer Valley Performing Arts in South Hadley, Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion in Easthampton, and Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School in Holyoke.
The resolution under consideration in Westfield stated that the Commonwealth’s reimbursement to districts has failed to be fully funded, and Governor Charlie Baker’s proposed reform of charter reimbursement neither fully funds reimbursement nor equitably treats sending districts. Kevin Sullivan said the biggest issue is the
reduction in state aid. “If this passes, it’s going to be another stream of revenue that we’re going to lose as a city,” Sullivan said. “Unfortunately, it’s the public schools that are going to come out on the short end of the stick.” Mayor Brian P. Sullivan said that he attended a Massachusetts Mayors Association (MMA) meeting last week, at which that board also voted unanimously to oppose Question 2. He said at this point the Westfield City Council may or may not weigh in. Ward 2 Councilor Ralph J. Figy, City Council liaison to the School Committee, spoke at the start of the meeting to encourage the committee to take a strong stance on the question. In other business, Westfield Technical Academy senior Tyler Simpson and junior Payton MacTavish gave a report to the committee on activities at their school. Upcoming events include the first annual alumni barbecue this Thursday, Oct. 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. Also, Culinary Arts students will begin a See Question 2, Page 3
Police warn of rental scams By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD — Local police want to remind those looking for rental properties to be aware of scams. Westfield Police have been investigating recent rental schemes that have cost possible tenants thousands of dollars. The schemes traditionally request a down payment, security deposit or first and last months rent, and after those are paid the apartment cannot be moved into and the person who conned them has not been heard from. Police say this works because the property is usually priced significantly lower than it should be. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Westfield detective Tony Tsatsos said. Tsatsos said that scammers will often take houses and apartments already for sale and create their own ads, but with the aforementioned much lower prices. After someone shows interest, the scammer will request money ahead of time, often in cash. Another way that potential tenants are being taken advantage of is when the property is owned by someone, but the owner accepts multiple deposits for the same apartment or property. A scheme of this type is currently being investigated by Westfield Police they said, and has been prosecuted before. These scams are mostly targeted toward those moving into the area from another, so visiting the location may be difficult. However, Tsatsos said that visiting may be the best way to prevent losing money, especially if you can talk to neighbors about the property. Tsatsos said another way to prevent this from happening is to work with a company for rental properties. “We recommend you go through a realty company,” Tsatsos said. “Realty companies will also assist people with rental properties.”
Southwick Fire fighters Brian Schneider and Jessica Bishop went in front of the Select Board to request approval for the Fill the Boot fundraiser on Oct. 9. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
Safety plan in place for Fill the Boot fundraiser By GREG FITZPATRICK Correspondent SOUTHWICK – The Southwick Fire Department is teaming up with the Muscular Dystrophy Association to have a Fill the Boot Drive Fundraiser on Sunday Oct. 9 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. It is the first year that the Southwick Fire Department will be a part of the event constructed by the MDA. At the Select Board meeting on Monday Oct. 3, the Select Board made the motion to approve the fundraiser. Members of the Southwick Fire Department will be at the
intersection on College Hwy near the Southwick Fire Department walking up to cars to collect money. All of the donations will go to the Muscular Dystrophy Association. According to Southwick firefighters Brian Schneider and Jessica Bishop, about 15 members of the Southwick Fire Department are already expected to be volunteering. All members of the department will be collecting money into the boot when there is a red light at the intersection. The firefighters will then move to the sidewalk or median before there
is a green light. Referenced from the Fill the Boot Safety Plan that the MDA has constructed, “One member of the crew is to be a “lookout” during Fill the Boot operations at an intersection. They will be advising of light changes, possible hazards, etc.” The firefighters or volunteers will all be required to be wearing traffic safety vests. Every intersection that will be held for collections will have signage to alert the oncoming traffic. Just recently, a representative of the MDA presented in front of the entire Southwick Fire
Department to talk about their safety when participating for this fundraiser. “I think the thing I appreciated was the model safety plan they (MDA) presented,” said Southwick Fire Chief Russ Anderson. Being a part of an important cause, the Southwick Fire Department wants to help the MDA in any way they can. “It’s a great cause,” said Anderson. “We see people with muscular dystrophy all year long with ambulance calls so anything we can do to support is a positive.”
Holyoke man who claimed to be Uber driver arrested again HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) — A Holyoke man charged with claiming to be an Uber driver and sexually assaulting a University of Massachusetts student he picked up has been arrested again after allegedly violating bail conditions. Prosecutors say 18-year-old Samuel Texidor was under house arrest with GPS monitoring after pleading not guilty last month, but left his home over the weekend. Authorities issued an arrest warrant for Texidor and Holyoke police say he was arrested Monday evening at his home. Police say Texidor approached a UMass-Amherst student on Sept. 3 and identified himself as a driver for the Uber ride-hailing service. He then allegedly offered the woman a free ride and during the ride assaulted the woman. He denied the charges.