SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING HIGHLIGHTS - January 8, 2007
**School Committee Meeting Minutes are posted to the Scituate Public Schools website www.scituate.k12.ma.us
Committee Members in Attendance: Maura Curran, Jamie Strobino, Libby Michaud, Edward Tibbets and Michael Hayes
Administrators Present: Mark Mason (Superintendent), James Kelleher (Asst. Superintendent/Curriculum), Judy Norton (Special Education) and Paul Donlan (Business & Finance).
# of Attendees: approximately 20
Special Matters:
Request for Waiver of Local Residency Requirement was discussed for family doing construction on Scituate home but temporarily living in Marshfield (during construction). Voted to approve waiver unanimously.
Proposed policy for ‘My Space” was given to the School Committee by Mark Mason for their review and discussion at the next school committee meeting.
Proposed Policy regarding “The Scituate School’s District Website” was given to the School Committee by Mark Mason for their review and discussion at the next school committee meeting. Policy is the same as that used for the Town website.
A district-wide Flyer Distribution Policy will be drafted and presented to the School Committee members at the next school committee meeting. A letter was sent to Mr. Mason by a concerned citizen about what is being sent home with the students from both the private and public sectors. In total, 42 flyers have been sent home from the district (more from each individual school) and approximately 18 requests for flyers have been turned down.
Comments were made about how many flyers are going home on non-school related matters and that a policy needs to be put in place to ensure that only value added information is sent home with the students. Additional comments were made that the school website should be considered as a place where parents can go to get things that interest them vs. having them sent home. An elementary principal pointed out that the number of flyers can allow for important information to be lost – like a principal’s newsletter.
The Out of State Fieldtrip request to NY by the Music Department was approved for March 27 & 28th. The students will get to go back stage of a Broadway show and perform at Carnegie Hall. 125 students will go with a teacher to student ratio of 1 to 10.
Update on the Budget Cycle for 2008
Mark Mason discussed a revised budget proposal to cut down from the $28.9 million the School Committee had voted on in December based on a meeting with selectman, advisory, financial forecasting and members of the School Committee. Despite wanting to stick with the original number, his proposal was based on the sense that the Town’s financial situation would not support the proposal with all of the other Town needs.
Members of the school committee expressed that, while they understand that the schools may not get the entire amount in the end, the amount is for what is needed to restore (not improve) the level of education the Town deserves. The Committee members want it to be the responsibility of the town leadership to scale the number back and let the community know that the Town cannot support this level of education or funding.
Mason had sent an email to the selectmen requesting a meeting of the entire Board of Selectman, School Committee, Advisory and the financial forecasting prior to the Jan 16th Selectman meeting. A meeting of these groups was held last year and was very effective. All agreed it might require more deliberations but it was well worth the time spent by all.
The school budget proposal goes to the Board of Selectman 1/16 and the Advisory Board 1/25. It needs to be finalized by the first week in February to be discussed at the March 3rd Town Meeting and voted on at the March 31st Town Election.
Maura Curran shared an article from Boston Business Journal, dated 12/29/2006 citing that Scituate ranked 46 among the top wealthiest 50 zip codes in Massachusetts. Recognizing that many are on a fixed income and a tax increase could require adjustments to a resident’s budget, it would appear the community should be able to afford an increase in taxes as we have one of the lowest tax rates on the South Shore.
Donations and Letters – refer to the School Committee minutesThere were no Other Business, Communications from School Councils or Sub-Committee Reports agenda items for discussion.
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9 comments:
Does CSI have any information about the MySpace policy?
Would love to know, thanks.
Thank you for your question. The School Administration is working on a policy regarding MySpace as it was discussed at the last School Committee Meeting.
The last School Committee meeting being 1/8/07, or the prior one? I may have missed the discussion on Ch. 22, however I thought it was simply tabled to be reviewed at the next meeting.
Thanks for the site - keep up the great work!
I watched the 1/8 School Committee meeting on Chan 22. Mention was made of a meeting with the selectmen, advisory and school committee to discuss the school's budget needs as they relate to the overall town's budget needs. Is there a meeting like this scheduled for this year - if not, why not? It seems to make sense.
I showed up to the selectman's meeting last night and heard the school budget discussion had been delayed. At a minimum I think the community wants to know and hear that the town and school leaders are working together toward the best fiscal answers before the voters are asked to make a decision.
**thanks for the blog - it is a great service to the community!
Good news - there is a meeting of the selectman, school committee and advisory board scheduled for 1/23 to discuss the budget. The advisory meeting will then be on 1/25 in the library basement to finalize it. Thanks for the question!
Regarding the MySpace Policy. Mark Mason has begun to formulate a policy regarding MySpace which will be reviewed by the School Committee. There is a School Committee meeting scheduled for Monday, January 22, so we will report back. FYI - College admission offices are starting to review MySpace to screen potential applicants to see if they have inappropriate items posted on their page. It might not be wise to have a picture of our students holding a beer and partying while they are trying to apply to Harvard!!
Students presence on MySpace are a huge issue. Teachers on MySpace is another issue, which I assumed and hope is being addressed my Mr. Mason.
Anyone have the summary for the January 22nd School Committe meeting? How about the Selectmens meeting from January 23rd? This information needs to be out there.
As you can see the 1/22 School Committee highlights are posted. The official minutes will be posted on school website after they are approved at the 2/5 School Committee meeting.
We do not summarize the selectman's meetings (even if they are school related) currently as they are televised on Channel 10 and the detailed minutes are posted on the town website.
If a willing volunteer comes forward to summarize some of the upcoming meetings for us, we will have more information available.
Thank you for your feedback! We agree - the more information, the better!
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