Showing Real Leadership – Mayor Erik Gitschier was at his best Chairing the School Committee meeting this week.
He reminded the crowd that all they were trying to do tonight, is give three people a 3 % raise, the same raise many of you in this room are receiving in July! (Paraphrasing but pretty damn close) He also reminded them that being a municipal employee for 35 years and negotiating, you never know what next year brings when Eileen DelRossi tried to say she couldn’t support something not knowing what next year brings. Didn’t stop her from supporting 4%-3%-3% for the UTL a few years ago.
He kept the meeting in order and kept it moving as best he could.
Not the Worst Idea! Sun Reporter Melanie Gilbert, speaking on an InsideLowell Daily Pulse podcast earlier this week, thought that the Senior Center might be better located at the old ICC.
It’s not the worst idea I’ve heard. This could be a huge public /private partnership. A private entity buys the ICC and the city leases the first two floors for the Senior Center, and the developers use the upper floors as a 62+ residential community. They could also lease the banquet facilities for events or to offer meals or restaurants for the residents who live on the upper floors. There are stores across the street, plenty of parking and walkability to the downtown stores, restaurants and events.
Council continues Senior Center Saga – In this week’s packet there are two similar motions regarding the Senior Center:
C. Scott – Req. the City Mgr. prepare a 15-year RFP for the needed space for the Lowell Senior Center
Robinson / M. Gitschier – Req. City Mgr. have the proper department draft and execute a request for proposal (RFP) seeking to provide alternate accommodations for our Lowell Senior Center.
A Tie No More – According to Melanie Gilbert in today’s Sun, Councilor Rita Mercier reached out to the Ethics Commission and has a ruling that will allow her to vote on anything related to the Senior Center.
I don’t expect a new lease anytime soon! My belief is Councilor Mercier would NOT have supported the lease for the Senior Center.
Best Wishes for a steady and healthy recovery to a regular reader and longtime supporter (Radio and School Committee) Jack Rourke! Enjoy today’s column.
I’m supposed to Read That? Conway again showed how biased and unprepared he is when he stated the financial info was dumped on our desk before the meeting, but was corrected that it was in the packet.
He then AGAIN tried to get a contract for the Ed Davis Company, which includes a lot of Lowell connections, one in particular who Conway is close with.
Argue about not spending money (for Assistant Superintendents), then asking to spend money on something that has been denied often in this past year. FRAUD
LIAR LIAR PANTS ON FIRE! – Paul Georges has been a great union leader, but like Dave Conway or Jim Rice in his final year, he is past his prime, showing he’s a step slower and can’t hit the fastball.
At Wednesday’s SC Meeting. Mr. Georges accused City Manager Tom Golden personally of holding back the $18 Million dollar increase in Chapter 70 funding received for the 25/26 School year. Chapter 70 Program – School Finance
In 2025 Lowell Received $243,051,046 in Chapter 70 Funding.
In 2026 Lowell Received $261,489,114 in Chapter 70 Funding.
That’s the $18,438,068 Mr. G mentioned. The city provided $10,000,000 in cash, making the final 2025-2026 budget $ 271,489,114.00 ($261,489.114 + $10,000,000).
The School Dept Final Budget Book on their website shows that FY26 Budget Digital Copy. It also shows that same figure on the Feb. 28th Munis Report GENERAL-FUND-EXPENSES—SCHOOL-ACCOUNTS-2-28-2026
Poor Mr. Georges, upset that he can’t badger the Manager the way he badgered the former Manager and Superintendent of Schools, resorted to outright lying. He and the Union knew when former Superintendent Boyd spent so much ESSER money on funding positions, that it would leave a structural deficit. He didn’t care. He looked good getting more positions.
You can’t pay for grant funded positions when the grant money is gone.
Mayor, Supt. and School Committee show Pity sympathy! I commend the Mayor, the Supt. of Schools and the School Committee for not jumping all over Mr. Georges for the factual inaccuracies. Instead they let him posture and ramble, portraying the tough and knowledgeable union leader. They didn’t publicly show him up or make him look bad by pointing out what he tried to state as the truth was easily proven factually inaccurate and false. Let the once proud warrior have a final (probably not) hurrah.
McDonough and DelRossi, two of a kind! Both got elected and then resigned from a full-time, decent salaried teaching position to serve on the low paying School Committee and City Council. Not surprisingly, neither one understands finance.
McDonough thinks being a City Councilor is like being a Superhero. He speaks at City Council and School Committee meetings as mild-mannered teacher / under-employed citizen McDonough, but on Tuesday Nights he sits behind the desk as City COUNCILOR MCDONOUGH (aka Underdog)!
He does pose interesting, thought-provoking motions: C. Liang – Req. Mayor provide a semiannual report detailing the activities and responsibilities of his office; this report should include information on community events, initiatives, status, and upcoming services and programs within the City of Lowell to empower the community and its residents (how does that empower the residents?)
- Liang – Req. City Mgr. and his team develop an improvement plan for the internal physical environment of City Hall to enhance overall comfort and create a welcoming atmosphere for residents, visitors, and dignitaries from around the world.
Someone Please explain to Mr. Liang that City Hall is part of the City Hall Historic District and is also located within the boundaries of the National Register-listed Lowell National Historical Park & Preservation District (1978) as well as the Downtown Lowell Historic District (1983). It is a historic and architectural review district under the jurisdiction of the Lowell Historic Board, who are tougher than Nick Sarris to get renovations or improvements done or approved.
Is he looking for Shag carpeting on the floors with brown wall paneling?
Last One Out, Shut off the Lights! It’s been a tough few weeks to be an Asst. Supt. and it’s never easy being the Supt.
The upcoming budget season is going to be painful for Derek Pinto, Jim Hall and Supt. Skinner. On top of that the Transportation Director has given their notice.
After watching the Three Amigos (Conway-DelRossi and Lay) at work to derail the progress that has been made by this current administration, the one thing that came to my mind is this;
This entire Administration. Supt. Skinner and Asst. Supt’s Hall, Pinto, Roberge, Fox-Roye and Brown-Legrand all have employment contracts that EXPIRE JUNE 30th 2027. Sadly, if Connie Martin has to retire / resign for health issues, who knows how supportive Bob Hoey or Zoe Dzineku would be to this administration.
Imagine if EVERY one of them decides they cannot continue to deal with this lack of support and start seeking easily obtainable positions elsewhere. All the steps forward get wiped out and we have no school administration.
Maybe then Councilor Rourke could have his dream of the School dept. becoming another dept. under the City Manager!
Observations…Dominik Lay got very emotional at the meeting. Must have been a tough day for him. Vanna Howard got sworn in as Senator and Dominik worked for Ed Kennedy. They became good friends and I’m sure that he was thinking of Ed that day and talking about layoffs hit him with his own employment unsure…If all SC members bothered to attend two executive sessions, maybe these contracts could have been less controversial….If you clicked on the link above to see the total budget, you will see that the school department spent 3.2% of their 2025/2026 budget on Administration/ Central Office …no official layoff notices have been issued yet this year…NONE,ZERO, ZILCH…the union leadership just wants everyone to feel threatened in their job to hide the fact that they encouraged and supported Supt. Boyd to use one time money for positions that would cause a structural deficit when the money ran out…hearing that we will see a new look on the City Solicitor this week.
10 responses to “Nutter’s Sunday Notes: March 22, 2026”
Has anyone done more damage to himself as a new councilor the McDonough. His name is already trash within the city, especially at Lowell High School. The Mayor needs to tighten up his dog collar.
Paul Georges has been UTL President too long. The only problem I see is that it seems no one wants to run for his office. It is a big commitment.He should perhaps tell people that he will step down on his own and let’s see what happens.
Lorraine, the queen of sour grapes, bears a big grudge. Or, perhaps the queen of sour grapes is a tool of the desperate old boys and girls network.
Barbara, https://insidelowell.com/georges-leaving-the-bargaining-table/
I wish uou hadn’t gone after Paul George’s !
The mechanics of government finance is not for the faint of heart. He should not be at fault for not focusing on the paperwork sent to DOR for Ch 70 funding. 100% does not fund the schools per we. There are municipal costs spent for the schools which stay to support the city budget. Then there is the factor of “free cash” which is not free!
It is a simple differential of what is not spent by either schools and city !
I wish the focus would be on student performance ! What do we get for all the money spent ! Now that would be an interesting factor!
Kevin, the good Ole boys, literally, is alive and well at the Voke!!
“hearing that we will see a new look on the City Solicitor this week”.
On October 24, 2022, Massachusetts implemented the “CROWN Act” which expanded the definition of race under state anti-discrimination law (Chapter 151B) to include “traits historically associated with race, including, but not limited to, hair texture, hair type, hair length and protective hairstyles”.
A Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court decision (Brown v. F.L. Roberts & Co., Inc.) makes it difficult for employers to reject accommodation requests for religious appearance requirements unless they can prove it creates a “substantial” or “undue” hardship”.
The ability of an employer to dictate your physical appearance is also limited by several other state and federal laws like The CROWN Act (Massachusetts), as mentioned above, and “Religious Exemptions”. If your long hair is a requirement of your religious beliefs, Massachusetts Law typically requires employers to grant an exception unless it causes an undue burden on the city, like a legitimate safety issue.
Another prohibition is “Gender Discrimination”, because while the federal courts have historically allowed different grooming standards for men and women, that is allowing long hair for women but not men, state laws like the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act (FEPA) provides broader protections against sex-based discrimination and gender stereotyping.
“I don’t expect a new lease anytime soon! My belief is Councilor Mercier would NOT have supported the lease for the Senior Center”.
In Massachusetts General Laws, the beneficiaries of a trust can be made public when the trust is involved in transactions with a public entity like the City of Lowell. Private trusts are generally not public records, but specific regulations enforce transparency in municipal dealings. Massachusetts General Laws, specifically Chapter 7C and Chapter 268A require transparency that can override the general privacy of a private trust. Also, in the discovery phase of litigation, the names of the beneficiaries often must be disclosed to the court and the opposing party.
I believe the City of Lowell, the City Manager, the City Solicitor and his Team are being prudent and Not caving. This is about spending millions in taxpayer dollars on a lawsuit with an uncertain outcome. Negotiating a guaranteed outcome is being more reasonable and responsible with the hardworking taxpayers money because it puts the city in a more strategic and strength-based position to control the outcome rather than leaving it to a judge.
Negotiation is strength because the city is taking command and Not conceding. Using the Threat of Litigation can be used as a leveraging tool to get the best deal. If the negotiations don’t meet the city’s needs, THEN go to court!
Additionally, the City Manager, the City Solicitor and his Team as well as the City Councilors could also use the Public Records Laws, MGL Chapter 66 & 10 to compel the trust to reveal the current beneficial owners and trustees to ensure there are no violation of ethics laws by those receiving benefits from the trust. This could be another leveraging tool for negotiations.
Also, any City Councilor’s public statements on televised meetings, radio or social media regarding very active and serious legal disputes such as the Lowell Senior Center lease controversy can carry distinct legal risks and potential liabilities. Sometimes statements made by elected officials can be used as evidence in court against the city, and potentially weakening its position in disputes over the property ownership or the contract terms. You never want to be perceived as a “loose cannon” and having political motives.
Always remember that the city’s legal interests are ALWAYS best served by following the formal professional legal counsel of the City Solicitor in executive session, rather than a very public, emotionally charged, and very political commentary which can potentially be used to show “bad faith” and escalate contract disputes into much more expensive legal battles involving punitive damages. The smartest and most effective Lowell city councilors understand that winning the legal case requires a unified and very disciplined front, ALWAYS led by the professional legal counsel of the City Solicitor!