John Sallay News Today

John Sallay The Weston Town Election is Saturday, May 8. If you are registered and have not already voted by mail, you can vote in person at Town Hall from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. In addition to several elected positions on the ballot, there is a Ballot Question 1: Proposition 2-and-a-half Debt Exclusion, explained here in layperson’s terms. And that, in turn, raises some larger issues about the current relevance of Proposition 2-and-a-half in Weston. Ballot Question 1 is not really a...

John Sallay The following was submitted by John Sallay: With an eye toward Weston’s upcoming Town Election, this article is an invitation to reflect on Weston’s current financial situation and need for change -- to fix an unguided budgeting process, address issues with openness, transparency and civility, promote a results-based approach to staffing and spending, and acknowledge the impact of rising property taxes on property values. These are leadership issues. Each of us can then decid...

OPINION: Time for a reckoning on Westons school report card John Sallay The following was submitted by John Sallay: Relative to comparable affluent Boston area school districts, Weston Public School academic performance is not exceptional, despite per pupil expenses that are 26% higher than these comparable districts. In a town so dedicated to academic excellence, these facts are doubly concerning since the School Committee -- rather than urgently addressing these issues -- is now proposing a...

John Sallay The following was submitted by John Sallay: Weston Town Manager Leon Gaumond recently presented his proposed fiscal 2022 budget to the Select Board and members of the Finance Committee. Overall, for next year, he is recommending $101 million for total town spending, up 4.4%. This reflects Weston Public Schools spending up about 3% and the balance of the town spending up over 5%. Debt service, including the large Town Center projects now underway, is down about 2%. In some past year...