Great Administrators are Essential

As Everett officials get ready to have the independent Task Force review expenditures and operations in both the schools and municipal budgets, one is impressed by the high quality of talent that both Mayor Carlo DeMaria and Superintendent Frederick Foresteire have brought into their respective departments.

At last week’s School Committee meeting Dr. Michael Baldassarre gave a through presentation of the Special Education Department that he heads and the changes that he has suggested and implemented that have saved the local system millions of dollars in cost while at the same time expanding services to students that have even exceeded state requirements.

On the municipal side, the Chief Financial Officer Eric Demos since being appointed less than a year ago has demonstrated a seasoned grasp of the intricacies of the city budget.

As Everett moves forward with the ambitious plans of both DeMaria and Foresteire, the need to have a superior bond rating is imperative.  In the good old days, bond ratings did not matter as much to many elected leaders as it was more important to spend the money to create jobs so that they could continue in their elected job regardless of their mediocre performance.  Their attitude was, “So what if it costs millions more to the taxpayers in interest, I am not paying .”

Today, DeMaria is absolutely correct in making sure that Everett has a better bond rating that not only many municipalities, but the state.  This bond rating is the crux for building the new schools that Everett has now, the rebuilding of our infrastructure and the renovated parks.  For in the end if you pay $10 million in added interest each year, that is $10 million less in improvements that you can do each year.

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