Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Massachusetts Ballot Questions, in haiku form

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Inspired by Damian Carroll’s version of this for California and LA.

Q1:
Builds a slots parlor
Exclusively Suffolk Downs
Without open bid

Q2:
Twelve new charter schools
Must be opened every year
First in poor cities

Q3:
Animals’ cages
Must be a minimum size
If grown or sold here

Q4:
Legalizes pot
Licenses granted by State
Towns vote to opt out

Q5 (Boston and other places voting on the CPA):
Small property tax
Pays for housing, old stuff, parks
Some State matching funds

Q5 (Somerville):
Build new High School or
Risk deaccreditation
Borrowing money

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Comments

  2. …which strikes me as very misleading. The narrator claims to be a public school teacher who says (and cites a Globe story as backup) that more money will come to public schools. I strongly suspect that since charters swear up and down that they are a form of public school the narrator may teach at a charter and the claim about money does not distinguish between charters and actual public schools.

  3. “First in poor cities” really isn’t true. Look at the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s explanation of the question, and the “low performing” rule doesn’t kick in unless there are 13 or more applications for new or expanded charter schools. By the way, 12 new charter schools would cost the Commonwealth an additional $120 million, and I would guess the state wouldn’t throw another $120 million in the reimbursement account.

    If the Board received more than 12 applications in a single year from qualified applicants, then the proposed law would require it to give priority to proposed charter schools or enrollment expansions in districts where student performance on statewide assessments is in the bottom 25% of all districts in the previous two years and where demonstrated parent demand for additional public school options is greatest.

      • Twelve new charter schools
        Must be opened every year
        Drain public school cash

        Twelve new charter schools
        Must be opened every year
        Bankrupts our cities

        Twelve new charter schools
        Towns and cities have no say
        But they lose their money

        • …”every” should be written as “ev’ry” to give it two syllables as I believe it is technically divided as ev-er-y. This keeps those lines to seven syllables.

          I would change “money” to “cash” or “dough” in the last line to make it five syllables.

  5. Weed becomes legal;
    Smoke ’em if you got ’em, man!
    Prohibition sucks.

    Legalize it, now!
    Alcohol is worse than pot;
    And Oxy’s far worse.

    It’s about time now
    That we join Colorado.
    Yes on Question Four!

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