The Wakefield Warriors football program checked in on our MySpace page:
"Keep the faith...as Warriors we are all on your side!!! Let us know what we can do...Middlesex Leaguers stick together! Go Spartans!"
Check out the Warrior Football page on MySpace.
From Randy Perillo of Stoneham United:
"I attended a meeting of the Stoneham Public Schools Foundation on June 28. Here are some highlights:
A group called Save Stoneham Arts has started a MySpace page to promote a benefit concert with all proceeds going toward the art and music programs in Stoneham's schools. Bands include Another Life, The Gardner Shakedown, Hel Toro and The Steve Gutenband. Dates and details to come.
Check out their MySpace page.
From Randy Perillo of Stoneham United, who will be attending tonight's meeting in the High School cafeteria:
"Last night the school committee said they would accept donations from this official charity...
Generosity doesn't end with the public schools. I also advocate fundraising for the town's fire department, police department, public works department, and public library and hope to have more specific information to help you give to those groups as you see fit."
Join the Stoneham United mailing list by emailing Randy Perillo at perillo@rcn.com.
From Eric Moskowitz of The Boston Globe:
"Mike Lahiff hadn't even tweaked his resume since he landed the Stoneham High athletic director's job in 1994, returning to the school where he'd started his career as a teacher and coach two decades earlier. But after Stoneham officials announced that a failed property tax increase might force them to cut sports and eliminate his position, Lahiff began looking elsewhere this Spring.
'I just had to do what I felt was right for my family,' said Lahiff, who has two daughters in college, and another daughter and a son in the tuition pipeline. So he interviewed for a job at Middlesex League-rival Watertown, accepting the position in late May."
Read the full article.
Dan Shaughnessy, who recently read from his new book at the Stoneham Public Library, writes about the Stoneham situation in today's Boston Globe sports section:
"High school sports connect kids to their school, and parents to the school community. Want to know what your freshman is up to? Go to his Friday afternoon football game against Walpole. You'll find yourself sitting next to the parent of another freshman boy and you'll learn something about your own child that you didn't know."
Read the full article.
"A little over two years ago, when the idea of instituting a trash fee was
first proposed by the Board of Selectman, I was one of the earliest and most vocal opponents to such a tax. Little did I know that two years later I would be sitting in the position of being the swing vote on this very issue.
In contrast to my position two years ago, voting in favor of the trash fee last Tuesday night was an easy decision. As much as I respect the hard work that Selectman Rotondi did on the override election earlier this month, and his position that “the people have spoken”, I believe many peoples’ opinion changed last Wednesday evening following the School Committee’s decision to eliminate High School Sports from next year’s budget. Based on the phone calls I received and the many e-mails I answered this week, most people never believed that the School Committee would actually institute a threat that they had used so many times before.
Yes, “the people had spoken” on an override vote that would have added a $500-$600 permanent increase in their real estate tax base forever, but all that changed last Wednesdaywhen the School Committee presented their proposed list of cuts based on the override’s failure, and their need to cut $1.5 million from the budget. I’m not criticizing our School Committee; they did what they had to do for the overall benefit of every child enrolled in
our school system. Not just for the students who play sports. We all knew sports was going to
be somewhere on their list of cuts. They were faced with a horrible decision and made the only choice that they could.
For this very reason, it is time to eliminate our High School Sports program as a pawn in the annual chess game played by our elected officials. One speaker at Tuesday night’s meeting echoed what several callers said tome after the school committees vote. One caller, a friend and women who was a stellar athlete at Stoneham High in the late 1970’s, and who has no
children in the school system, said “Frank, let’s start raising money right now. They can’t get rid of sports. If they do, we may as well close the schools altogether.”
The only other Massachusetts town to ever eliminate high school sports was Winthrop High. Through the efforts of many concerned parents and taxpayers, they brought back sports that same year and the program continues to run strong today. I agree with those who say that the trash fee is a temporary fix, a band aid to stop the bleeding, and is not a fee that should continue year after year. I have spoken with Town Counsel and discussed potential warrant articles orballot questions that could accomplish the goal of extracting these costs from the school’s budget.
Whether it be privatizing the sports programs, or setting up a perpetual trust to manage the dollars that will fuel this program, the time to start is now. We can no longer sit back and talk about the issue without coming up with a definitive set of goals. Based on the outcry from all our citizens, not just those of school-aged children, I don’t think there will be a shortage of volunteers to carry out this task.
Frank Vallarelli
Stoneham
Board of Selectman"
This letter was sent to The Stoneham Independent.
Visit Vallarelli's website.
Derrick Z. Jackson from The Boston Globe spoke with Geoff Beckwith, executive director of the Massachusetts Municipal Association:
"'It's unfortunate that we're heading to even greater disparities between wealthier towns where cuts may not hurt as much and working-class families that already have enormous pressure on property taxes,' Beckwith said. 'No one, not even the state, has a handle at this point as to what fees communities charge parents, from band, to drama, to sports. The further we go down this path, the problem gets harder and harder to solve.'"
Read the full article.
From Jesse Kawa of The Stoneham Sun:
"The narrow victory was met with cheers by the overflow crowd hanging on the board's vote.
'I want to thank you very much for stepping up to the plate,' said Marie Christie, a school board member who joined others at the meeting."
Read the full article.
Got some great photos posted on our MySpace page tonight from a current Stoneham High athlete:
I'm Matt Edginton. I'm a junior at SHS. I'm going to be 17 on September 6th. I play defensive tackle for Stoneham Spartan football. I'm 6'6". This year being my junior year I was going to play varsity, but because of all this stuff going on now, it got taken away from me. I was looking forward to this year and was training a while for it, but now we might not even have it and that is unbearable to think about.
From Eric Moskowitz of The Boston Globe:
"This town's budget woes, the most vivid recent example of local spending cutbacks, eased a little bit tonight.
With dozens of high school athletes and parents looking on, the Stoneham Board of Selectmen voted 3 - 2 for an unpopular trash fee that could save some of the popular school programs -- high school sports among them -- that are threatened with elimination because of a tight budget."
Read the entie article.
Haven't heard the results from this evening's trash fee vote yet, but regardless of the outcome, arts, music and sports in Stoneham are probably going to need some cash. Between this site and our MySpace page, we are starting to pick up steam - now is the time to use our momentum and voice and do something.
What are some of your ideas for fundraising events that we could have?
A concert on the high school football field? I don't know if we could get a permit for that, but we can find out, and I'm sure there are some bands out there that would like to be involved. And the SHS band, too.
A bunch of sports clinics for kids on Stoneham fields and courts? For like $5 a head I bet a lot of parents and children would come out to learn the finer points of their favorite sport from some current and former SHS players. Who wants to do kickball?
A production at the Stoneham Theater by the SHS drama club, or a professional acting troupe, or both. Maybe they can mix and the older actors can school the youngsters - you tell me.
Three words: Whiffle Ball Tournament.
A walking tour of historical Stoneham sites. Dog day on the Sheepfold. Easter egg hunt-type thing at Rec Park even though its Summer.
A "Paint The Rocks" day for a buck a square foot - there has to be a couple thousand dollars up there.
An outdoor gallery where Stoneham businesses display student artwork in their shop windows. Or maybe a mural somewhere sponsored by a local business.
Live music in the Square day - we can walk around Harvard Square style and pitch a penny into the hat.
Surely you guys have some ideas of your own - let's start throwing them out there and try to put something together.
UPDATE: Some great ideas are starting pour in. If anyone has any expertise in any of these things, or would like to take charge and get the ball rolling on one of them, let us know and we'll do all we can to help.
So far: a car wash, a Spring Carnival type event with rides and face-painting, a golf tournament, the band Bad News wants to get involved with a benefit concert, a road race. Keep 'em coming -
From Joe, a friend of Save The Spartans:
"There's a meeting set to be held at the SHS cafeteria Thursday, June 29 from 7 -9 pm by the Stoneham Public Schools Foundation (SPSF), where they're hoping to form a committee to 'raise the funds needed to restore athletic programs at the high school and music, art and PE programs at the Elementary and Middle School Levels.'"
Check out the Stoneham Public Schools Foundation website.
The Winthrop High football coach, Tony Fucillo, spoke with The Boston Herald's Dan Ventura about how his town overcame proposed cuts:
"'They need to come together as a community and do as much as they can to restore the activities,' said Fucillo, who retired after leading Winthrop to the Division 2A Super Bowl title in December. 'Why not start up something like Stoneham Pride or Spartan Pride or whatever they want to call it.'"
Read the full article.
John Gillooly writes in today's Providence Journal:
"One note to the people of Stoneham - forget the obviousness of high school sports for the teenagers in your town like better health, improved self-esteem and learning to work as a member of a team. If you want to see your property values plummet, then go ahead and become the only town in Massachusetts that doesn't have any sports programs at its public high school."
Read the full piece (scroll down).
From Stacey Sullivan:
"I am a former Spartan, Class of 1995. I played three sports, soccer, basketball and softball and upon graduation accepted a scholarship to play softball at the University of Maine. During middle school and high school years my life belonged to sports and my teammates. I was lucky to have had very talented teammates and even better coaches in each sport I played. Those years could never be replaced for me as I'm sure many former Spartans feel that way.
Now, I am the head softball coach at the University of Maine and spent much of this Spring rooting on the Spartan softball team that went well into the tournament and earned a #10 ranking from the Globe. It brings tears to my eyes to think that those girls, along with every team at SHS, may never take the field or court together again.
Where would I be today if I went to a high school that did not have sports? I certainly would not be a softball coach at the college level, nor would my adolescent memories be filled with bus rides to Lexington, toilet-papering Coach Burnham's yard or football jambories in Melrose."
Check out the Black Bears' softball website.
Got this email today out-of-the-blue from Dan Ventura from The Boston Herald:
"Part of the problem in Stoneham is that too many people had their head in the sand over this issue. I get a chuckle when people such as yourself claim you didn't know this was going on until the Globe article. Perhaps if more of you had read the Boston Herald article back on March 14, there would have been a groundswell movement started sooner. The article clearly stated that high schools sports in Stoneham was in deep trouble. The problem didn't start with the Globe article on June 23rd."
Save The Spartans has made it quite clear from the beginning that we were woefully behind on this story - as were many other former Stoneham residents who don't follow the town's politics closely. But does the fact that we were late to this situation mean we have to stifle our impulses to do something to change it? We don't think so - how 'bout you?
Email Dan and let him know what you think at dventura@bostonherald.com
Thanks to the enormous reach of the internet - and specifically MySpace - former Stoneham residents are speaking out against the planned cuts from across the country. People from Florida, Texas, California, Arizona, Illinois, DC and even one far-flung Spartan in South America have checked in.
Thanks to everyone who is forwarding this site to friends and relatives - the more people we get involved the stronger we become and our voice gets that much louder.
This memorial stands outside the Stoneham High School, right in front of the baseball and soccer fields. Its inscription reads:
"Saul Weiss Memorial Fields - Dedicated to the memory of Saul Weiss, 1949 - 2000. Athlete, Scholar, Businessman, Friend to the Community. He played with determination, intensity, fairness, spirit, and a lifelong respect for hard work, on and off the field."
I never met Mr. Weiss, but it seems that his tenure on Stoneham's ballfields served him well throughout his life. Will Stoneham's current and future students be so fortunate??
From The Boston Globe 6/25/2007:
"Yesterday in Taunton, a working-class community that no one could recall voting in favor of a tax increase, people expressed shock that their city had bucked the statewide trend. By a nearly 2-to-1 margin Saturday, voters approved a plan to borrow $18 million of the $104 million it will cost to build a new middle school and renovate a cramped, crumbling high school, seizing an opportunity to reap $86 million in reimbursements from the state ...
The final tally: 4,247 for, 2,548 against. Homeowners will pay, on average, an additional $72 in annual real estate taxes. Construction of the middle school is expected to begin next spring, followed by the high school renovation."
Read the full article.
The Stoneham Board of Selectman will meet at Town Hall on Tuesday at 7:30 pm to vote on the trash fee - which could raise approximately $1 million and help save some of the doomed programs.
Local media is starting to notice Save The Spartans. While we have their attention, lets let them know what we think about Stoneham's planned cuts. Add to our comments section below any post.
From Randy Perillo of Stoneham United:
"I attended the June 20 School Committee meeting.
The committee distributed a list of all reductions in light of the failed Proposition 2 1/2 tax override on June 19. The list also showed the order in which the school committee would restore programs/personnel in the event funding increased.
Restoration in order of priority (approximate dollar amounts)
1. Close Stoneham Middle School (SMS) rear wing (16 classrooms) and transfer 10 sixth grade teachers to Stoneham's four elem. schools.
($170k)
2. Eliminate 3.1 FTE (full-time equivalent) SMS art & music teachers ($137k)
3. Elim. 2.1 FTE elem. art & music teachers ($103k)
4. Elim. Stoneham High School asst. principal ($80k)
5. Elim. SMS media specialist ($45k)
6. Elim. 1.0 FTE SMS PE teacher (6-8 grade students will lose 1/3 yr. PE) ($43k)
7. Elim. 1.1 FTE elem. PE teachers (K-5 students will lose 1/2 yr. of PE) ($63k)
8. Elim. SHS athletic program ($393k)
9. Elim. 4 elem. library aides ($67k)
10. Elim. 2 elem. CLASSROOM teachers (Colonial Park 1st grade, South School 3rd grade - class size average increases to over 27) ($66k)
11. Elim. 1.0 FTE School Nurse ($34k)
12. Elim. 2.0 custodial positions (close schools at 7pm) ($79k)
13. Not fund SMS restoration plan (restoring 4 teachers) ($218k)
The total reductions are approximately $1.5 million.
From this statement SHS sports will only return with a minimum of approximately $1 million.
The Board of Selectmen will meet on Tuesday June 26 at 7:30 pm at Town Hall regarding reinstitution of a trash fee which has raised amounts reported at $860,000 to $1.2 million in past years. It is unlikely that the town will turn over 100% of funds to the School Committee.
It is also possible that the trash fee will be lower in past years as its adoption does not take place until after Town Meeting in October, thus making the trash fee collectible for only 2/3 of the year in 2007-08 and after the beginning of the school year and fall semester sports seasons."
Join the Stoneham United mailing list by contacting Randy Perillo at perillo@rcn.com
From the Stoneham Public Schools Foundation:
"The Stoneham Public Schools Foundation is now accepting donations with the goal of helping to restore some if not all of the eliminated programs. As of this past Wednesday's School Committee meeting this means we will need to raise over $1 million dollars if we want to be successful in restoring most of these programs."
See their website for more details.
Students, alums, coaches and concerned citizens today joined the new Save The Spartans MySpace page at a rapid rate, and we expect more when word of Stoneham's planned budget cuts reaches a wider audience. Around Stoneham and around the country, people are determined to find a way to keep sports, art and music in Stoneham's schools.
Visit Save The Spartans on MySpace.
When schools are forced to cut art and music programs, the results are grim - and expensive!
"Within two to three years, every school that cut arts showed a decrease in morale and attendance and an increase in vandalism and disruptions, and within three years most of them had to add extensive disciplinary staff to account for the problems that were created by not providing the full range of experiences that human beings need," Rayala said. These staff additions are costing the school more than keeping the arts programs and are hurting testing scores in the process, he said."
"According to a nationwide survey taken in 2003 by the Gallup organization, 95% of Americans believe that music is a key component in a child's well-rounded education. Eighty percent of respondents agreed that music makes the participants smarter; 78% believe that learning a musical instrument helps students perform better in other subjects areas; and 88% believe participation in music helps teach children discipline.
The evidence found by the College Entrance Examination Board showed students in an arts appreciation class scored 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on math than students with no arts participation.
Researchers Frances Rauscher of the University of Wisconsin, and Gordon Shaw of the University of California-Irvine, found that music lessons have been shown to improve a child's performance in school. After eight months of lessons, children showed a 46% boost in their spatial IQ, which is crucial for higher brain function learning in complex mathematics, science and engineering.
Arts aren't only very important to a student's education, but they have a positive effect on the economy in Wisconsin. The arts are a job generator and have an economic impact of more than $289 million annually in Wisconsin while costing the state less than $5 million per biennium, according to the Wisconsin Assembly for Local Arts."
Ron Sen, MD, who competed against neighboring Stoneham athletes while growing up, writes for armchairgm.com:
"We think very little of paying exorbitant prices for star athletes, exclusive seats, memorabilia and team insignia-laden clothing, but won't support our young people.
The benefits of athletic participation for girls are well known, better grades and graduation rates, less osteoporosis and breast cancer, lower substance abuse, fewer teen pregnancies, increased self-esteem and lower depression rates."
Watch the Fox 25 news feature with reactions from students, parents and the former athletic director.
Do you have a memory or photo of yourself or a family member as a Stoneham High athlete? How about one from art or music class, or maybe a project you made in school? Add your Stoneham school memories or email them to us at savethespartans@gmail.com and we'll post them on this site.
From The Contra Costa Times: "It's safe to say we're moving forward," said Wood Middle School coach Dave Stebbins, after a meeting with city and school district officials Thursday. "It's looking more positive than negative. There will definitely be something equitable for the whole city."
"Alameda Unified School District officials are optimistic about a collaboration with the city that would prevent drastic cuts planned next fall to the sports programs at the city's three public middle schools.
From the Bangor Daily News:
"By proposing the co-curricular and extracurricular cuts, the state is sending a strong message, and it’s the wrong message, Bangor Superintendent Robert Ervin said Wednesday.
'Participation is directly related to higher performance in the classroom," he said. "In my book, we should be doing more — not less.'"
Read the full article.
After graduating from Stoneham High in 1988, Joe Vitiello was drafted by the New York Yankees. He eventually signed with the Kansas City Royals, where he hit 8 home runs and drove in 40 runs in 1996. Named to the 2002 International League All-Star team, Joe was inducted into the SHS Hall of Fame in 2005.
I remember him best as a member of the Pirates little league team, blasting home runs over the left field fence at Pomeworth Park and into the tennis courts.
See Joe's career big league stats.
"We came much closer than we did 3 years ago, only losing by 200 votes rather than 3000, but coming close won't stop the devastating series of cuts that we now face. Our public safety departments are dangerously understaffed, our library faces loss of its certification, the school system is facing major layoffs, increased class sizes, elimination of art and music education, elimination of the school athletic program, the list just goes on."
Read full article.
Featuring Kristen Seabury Till, Joe Vitiello, Amy Whelen, "Sonny" Lane and others.
From The Stoneham Independent, Oct. 29, 2003:
"Perhaps the most moving induction of the night belonged to Bob Margarita, who received the night's only standing ovation upon his induction. Margarita was honored for his work as a teacher, coach and equipment manager at Stoneham High from 1964-2002."
Read the full article.
The cuts are already planned, but never say never is our attitude. Example: our Junior year soccer team (1988, the first year SHS offered soccer, coached by a younger Coach Carino) didn't win one single game the whole season. Our Senior year, we started a crisp 0 - 10 and it looked like our winless streak would never end. But after a rousing speech from Coach, and a willing Watertown opponent (I think they had maybe one win at the time), we managed to squeak out a tie that honestly, felt better than any win I experienced in sports. I remember getting joyously tackled by a teammate when the final horn sounded and I thought, this is how Red Auerbach must feel all the time. If that team could pull that off, surely this new team of ours can find a way to keep sports, art and music in Stoneham's schools.Randy Perillo wonders what the Summer of '07 has in-store for Stoneham.
"We’ll learn the true fate of Stoneham High School athletics during the blazing days of summer. Will we see the familiar sight of student athletes preparing for the fall season or will we see empty green spaces where football, soccer, and field hockey were once played?"
Read the full article.
From The Boston Globe, June 23, 2007
"Voters here defeated a $3 million override Tuesday, spurring a round of budget cuts that will wipe out the town's entire high school sports program and leave hundreds of student athletes in the lurch. All 54 coaching positions, the athletic director's job, and elementary and middle school arts and music programs were eliminated Wednesday night by the Stoneham School Committee."
"I think a part of me would be gone. You know what I mean?" said Dustin Feldman, 17, a basketball player who will be a senior in the fall. "If you get rid of all sports, what's going to happen to all this," he said, motioning to the athletic complex outside Stoneham High School, where Feldman and 10 friends played pick-up baseball yesterday."
Read the full article.
Check out Boston.com's extensive coverage of Prop 21/2 override campaigns in more than 30 communities in Greater Boston.
Stoneham High graduate Nancy Kerrigan (Class of 1987) began her skating career at the age of six, and went on to win multiple figure skating medals, including the Silver at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Visit Nancy Kerrigan's official website.
Kerrigan inducted into SHS Hall Of Fame.
Though she didn't attend Stoneham High, resident Abby Hill grew up playing soccer, hockey and softball in Stoneham's youth sports programs.
"Playing sports definitely helped me in every part of my life,” Hill said. “It made me more confident to develop leadership skills, and the coaching that I had received in high school made me even better. It got me ready for college.”
Read the full article.
MySpace is a great way to get the word out quickly to a large number of people, especially those far flung former Stoneham-ites who may not be within hailing distance of a Boston Globe (not to mention an Independent).
Become our friend and help Save The Spartans on our MySpace page.
From The Stoneham Independent, May 30, 2007:
"It wasn't a decision reached lightly or easily, but after a 13-year run as Athletic Director at Stoneham High School, Mike Lahiff announced last week that he was resigning from his position at SHS and would join up with Middlesex League rival Watertown High as their Athletic Director - effectively replacing the retiring Elaine Paradis."
"This was something I thought a lot about and to be honest things got a little emotional the other day when I looked out at the fields and thought of all the work that I'd done to improve the fields and keep them up," said Lahiff. "I look all around me here at Stoneham High and think of the work that I've done here and the great people I've interacted with, and I thought to myself 'do I really want to leave this?"
From The Boston Globe, March 18, 2007:
"Despite the townwide cutbacks, the potential elimination of sports led Selectman George Seibold to ask, "Has it come to this?"
Without an override, "the town will go right down the tubes," he said."
Read the full article.
