We’ve all seen and heard advertisements by businesses claiming that they are “purveyors of fine goods,” right? Well, the Wachusett Regional School District Committee and its Superintendent Reilly are purveyors of outright BULLSHIT. If “America runs on Dunkin’” THEN the WRSD runs on BULLSHIT.

So, last night, 11 February 2025, according to a loyal reader of this Blog whose name I shall hold in confidence, TWO WRSD BULLSHIT ARTISTS/PURVEYORS SHOWED UP AT THE STERLING FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING TO SPREAD WRSD BULLSHIT. One, Michelle, is Finance Director from the WRSD Central Office in Holden a/k/a BULLSHIT CENTRAL, the other being Linda Woodland, one of three Sterling WRSD Committee members. Linda Woodland is notorious for blowing more WRSD smoke than a U.S. Navy smokescreen generator.

Their attempted pitch to rationalize the WRSD’s outrageous 4.55% to 5% budget increase request for next Fiscal Year, 2025-2026??? The WRSD plans to initiate a “new curriculum” with the “new curriculum” pilot program to be initiated in grades K-5– and FOR THAT they ‘need’ to hire 17 brand new full-time teachers screwing District property taxpayers for the megabucks pay and benefit packages.

REFRESHER: WRSD total student enrollment has fallen by 936, from 7493 to 6557, since Fiscal Year 2010-2011, 119 in just the last year, or 12.5% per cent, WHILE the WRSD total budget increased 50%, from $81.3 million in FY 2015-2016 to $121.9 million THIS Fiscal Year 2024-2025.

SEE

https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=07750000&orgtypecode=5&

The WRSD has 467 teachers. The WRSD student-teacher ratio is now down to 14:1.

SEE 

https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/teacher.aspx?orgcode=07750000&orgtypecode=5&

BUT, BUT, BUT the WRSD ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO HIRE 17 BRAND NEW TEACHERS.

WHAT BULLSHIT!

I guess Michelle and Linda Woodland want you to believe that the WRSD does not have enough intelligent teachers on the payroll roster to learn the “new curriculum” over this-coming summer and teach it next year.

Good to know! Probably THAT’S why WRSD students, on average, have reading levels 3 grades BELOW where they should be.

ACTUALLY, what the WRSD Committee and Administration REALLY think is that all WRSD property taxpayers are stupid and will buy their transparent BULLSHIT.

At the May 2025 Sterling Annual Town Meeting let us pay them back for their utter arrogance, lying, and total incompetence

Stay Tuned.

J.G.

Am passing on to you a report, edited slightly, sent to me by a Paxton reader of this Blog whose name I shall keep in confidence. I am most grateful to him.

Here it is:

“I live in Paxton. The WRSC [WRSD Committee] is a disaster of epic proportions. Did you hear about the secret, invite-only closed doors budget meeting between the WRSD, WRSC, town BOS Chairs, town FINCOM Chairs and TA’s Tuesday night 2/4/25?
Unfortunately, there is no recording of the meeting (it was a district meeting and not a SC meeting, so it was not required to be public), but the WRSD Superintendent let a lot of cats out of a lot of bags.
NOTE: I was not in attendance but have spoken to someone who was. Topics touched buy Reiley [WRSD Superintendent Reilly]….

-all 13 WRSD buildings are falling apart, have been for years. Cited “lack of planning and deferred maintenance”
-Student reading levels are THREE YEARS BEHIND (9th graders reading at 6th grade levels).
-Student assessments are far below average across the board in all subjects.
-Since 2015, enrollment down 12.5%, yet budget up $47 m.
-the WRSC has no idea what to do with all of this except ask for MORE MONEY and hire more staff. The SC chair [WRSD Committee Chair] showed up to the meeting 40 minutes late and sat there in silence the entire meeting.

You need to speak with your Fin Com rep who attended and get the full details. This [2025-2026 WRSD] budget needs to be shot down.”

SO, there you have it folks. The ROBOTIC WRSD UNIONIZED EMPLOYEE ASSLICKS CONSTITUTING THE WRSD COMMITTEE AND SUPERINTENDENT DON’T EVEN KNOW HOW TO SWALLOW THEIR OWN SPIT. THEY ARE INCAPABLE OF RUNNING ANYTHING COMPETENTLY OR EFFICIENTLY. THEY JUST FLUSH OUR PROPERTY TAX DOLLARS DOWN THE WRSD SHITHOLE YEAR AFTER YEAR AND EACH YEAR ASK FOR A BIGGER FLUSH.

WELL, F#CK THEM!

IN NOVEMBER 2024, BY LETTER, TOWN OF PAXTON OFFICIALS NOTIFIED WRSD OFFICIALS THAT if the WRSD assessment to Paxton exceeds 2.5%, the Town of Paxton will present any amount over that 2.5% limit as a separate 2025 Annual Town Meeting warrant article requiring a town vote as an override to Proposition 2 1/2.

NOW IT IS THE JOB OF STERLING 2025 ANNUAL TOWN MEETING VOTERS TO SHOOT DOWN THE WRSD’S REQUESTED 5% FY 2025-2026 BUDGET INCREASE AND FORCE THE WRSD TO PRESENT A SMALLER BUDGET TO THE 5 TOWNS. LET’S DO OUR PART!!!

Stay Tuned.

J.G.

As the outright cowardly BUFFOONS constituting the Sterling Select Board, the Select Boards in the other four WRSD towns, and the Finance Committees in the other four WRSD towns sit around with their thumbs stuck firmly up their asses, the utterly despicable and contemptible WRSD Superintendent Reilly and WRSD Committee members plan to jump their previous 4.5% budget increase proposal for next fiscal year to 5%. That increase will push Sterling, Paxton and Princeton toward or into Proposition 2 ½ property tax override territory. Reilly and the WRSD Committee members are tax-fattened hyenas preying on the utter weakness and stupidity displayed over years by the afore-mentioned town-level boards and committees. Unfortunately, the District property taxpayers end up getting shafted on their account.

Here in Sterling two Mass.Gen.Laws Ch. 39, Sec. 10 voters’ Petitions for Annual Town Meeting Warrant Articles to confront the absolutely rapacious WRSD are circulating for signatures, and on 1 February 2025 those were provided as templates to potential allies in Paxton and Princeton. Let’s hope the folks in those two towns finally smarten up to protect themselves and all District taxpayers from fleecing by the out-of-control WRSD.

Stay tuned.

J.G.

The Wachusett Regional School District has lost so many students over the past 15 years that the student-teacher ratio is now down to 14:1. You can figure it out yourself by dividing the total number of students by the total number of teachers—

https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/general/general.aspx?topNavID=1&leftNavId=100&orgcode=07750000&orgtypecode=5

Of course, there are multitudes of teachers’ assistants and ‘paraprofessionals’ (whatever THEY are) too. To view the WRSD’s ENTIRE BLOATED PAYROLL, GO HERE—

https://lookerstudio.google.com/reporting/5e538c54-d043-4ec3-87a2-a02c36371e83/page/Bg0sD?params=%7B%2292hlfn6ufd%22:%22include%25EE%2580%25803%25EE%2580%2580T%22,%22axfx8xzffd%22:%22include%25EE%2580%25803%25EE%2580%2580T%22%7D

There is PLENTY of payroll bloat across the entire WRSD to cut but the WRSD Superintendent and WRSD Committee won’t fire or layoff any personnel, however, because they are grandstanding, virtue-signaling cowards just fine with screwing District property taxpayers.

The Amended Wachusett Regional School District Agreement, Section 11.1, provides in pertinent part that “Students in pre-kindergarten through grade eight (8) shall attend schools in their town of residence….”

So let’s take a look at the schools in Holden and Rutland, the WRSD towns having more than one school building within their borders, along with their 2024-2025 enrollment numbers—

HOLDEN

Davis Hill Elementary: 431

Dawson Elementary: 487

Early Childhood Center (PreK): 127

Leroy E. Mayo Elementary: 472

Mountview Middle School: 773

DON’T tell me that one of the three Holden elementary schools, at this point, can’t be closed and its students merged into the other two with a HUGE savings to District taxpayers.

RUTLAND

Central Tree Middle School: 369

Glenwood Elementary: 382

Naquag Elementary: 353

DON’T tell me that the Central Tree Middle School can’t be closed and its students, at this point, split into two groups and accommodated in the two elementary schools there, with a HUGE savings to District taxpayers.

At Sterling’s May 2025 Annual Town Meeting, please remember all of this stuff when the WRSD’s bloated budget request comes up for vote(s).

Stay tuned.

J.G.

It took two (2) very pointed emailed demands from me, months apart, before MassDESE released the WRSD’s 2024-2025 total student enrollment numbers. Now we know why. The WRSD student population has fallen yet again, from a peak of 7493 in FY 2010-2011 to 6557 this academic year–

https://profiles.doe.mass.edu/profiles/student.aspx?orgcode=07750505&orgtypecode=6

That’s down from 6676 in just the past year. It’s a 936–12.5%– drop since FY 2010. The WRSD’s total student enrollment is cratering. Yeah, my heart bleeds.

BUT, as you know, the WRSD Superintendent and WRSD Committee are virtue-signaling cowards who refuse to layoff/fire employees despite being authorized by statute to do so when the student population drops. SEE

https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXII/Chapter71/section42

They are running a jobs program for drones unable to hack it in ‘the dreaded private sector’–at our expense. The WRSD payroll exceeds 1000 persons. It is bloated. Despite this continuing student enrollment free-fall the WRSD budget has BALLOONED from $81.3 million in FY 2015 to $121.9 million for THIS Fiscal Year, or $40.6 million in just 10 years.

The WRSD IS ABSOLUTELY OUT OF CONTROL. I am informed that the WRSD Superintendent and WRSD Committee, extortionists all, insist on yet another annual budget increase of 4.5% for the Fiscal Year 2025-2026. Meanwhile, Social Security recipients got a 2.5% increase based on the annual inflation rate. THESE WRSD ANNUAL BUDGET INCREASES ARE OUTRAGEOUS AND COMPOUNDING. DISTRICT PROPERTY TAXPAYERS ARE GETTING SCREWED.

Meanwhile, in response, we are not even getting mush from the wimps, meaning Sterling’s Select Board. Instead, we get Omerta—the code of silence. They’re too busy pandering for votes from WRSD vested interest blocs in town—mommies, daddies, unionized school teachers, and members of other WRSD collective bargaining groups—to give a rat’s ass about property taxpayers at large, particularly those who are retired and on fixed incomes.

They, the WRSD Superintendent, the WRSD Committee, and the Sterling Select Board are shameless and contemptible.

Your correspondent has drafted TWO (2) Sterling Voters’ Petitions for 2025 Sterling Annual Town Meeting Warrant Articles in accordance with Mass.Gen.Laws Ch. 39, Sec. 10 to confront the WRSD Superintendent, the WRSD Committee, and the pandering, groveling Sterling Select Board. They are out for editorial review by some concerned Sterling voters. I hope to have them signed by multiple Sterling voters and filed with the Select Board by 11 February 2025. More on them later….

Stay tuned.

J.G.