Mendonca & Uong on WCAP

School committee member Joe Mendonca, who's now a candidate for city council, appeared on WCAP this morning. He discussed the status of the under construction Stoklosa School and whether it will be ready for occupancy by the start of the school year on August 30. Joe said there are contingency plans being formulated that would place students temporarily at another site, most likely the old Molloy School, but he implied that the Stoklosa - or at least enough of it to house the incoming students - should be ready on time. Joe also explained the various reasons why he has chosen to run for the city council. One important reason was his concern that the "new" schools which are mostly a decade or more old are in need of normal maintenance such as new roofs and heating units and that he would like to add his voice to that debate in a more direct way. Joe was followed on the air by soon to be former city councilor Rithy Uoung. Rithy would not commit when asked if he was planning to resign from the city council (he did just that later in the day, to take effect tomorrow at noon). Although Rithy is leaving the council, he is staying at Lowell High School despite resigning from his housemaster's position several weeks ago. On August 22, he starts his new/old job as an LHS guidance counselor. He goes from being a councilor to being a counselor.