Annual Town Election - Ballot Questions Explained

Annual Town Election
Saturday March 31st Polls open: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. SHS Gym

Ballot Question 1 2008 operational override of $2.7 million

A YES VOTE means that the town will have sufficient funds to cover the $1 million dollar shortfall in its current budget. This will ensure we will maintain current town services and also includes needed funds for:
Fire - emergency medical supplies DPW - road work, lighting, grounds Library -staff, books, programs, computer needs Police –traffic officer/ cruiser Schools - necessary teachers at all schools and yearly curriculum maintenance

The cost per household, based on a home value of $500,000, is $26.25 per month.

A NO VOTE means that there will be at least $1 million dollars in across the board cuts to current budgets. This could lead to a compromise in public safety due to cuts in fire and police staffing hours. Our library will continue to be understaffed. As for our schools, a budget cut will mean reducing course offerings at our middle and high schools, further overcrowding of classrooms at all schools, substantial cuts in art and music, and a serious threat to our high school’s graduation requirements.

The Selectmen, Advisory, and School Committee recommend a YES vote on Ballot Question 1.

Ballot Question 2 Hatherly Road Fire Station $3.5 million Debt Exclusion

A YES VOTE means that a new fire station will be built on Hatherly Road to improve response times to all residents of Scituate. It will further fund a new pumper truck to service this station.

The cost per household, based on a home value of $500,000, will be $3.25 per month.

The Selectmen, Advisory, and Fire Department recommend a YES vote on Ballot Question 2.

Ballot Question 3 FY 2009 operational override of $600,000 for 8 fire fighters

A YES VOTE means that 8 new firefighters will be added to Hatherly Station if it is approved in Ballot Question 2.

The cost per household, based on a home value of $500,000, is $5.83 per month to be added to your tax bill when the firefighters are needed to staff the new building.

The Selectmen, Advisory, and Fire Department recommend a YES vote on Ballot Question 3.

Ballot Question 4 Senior & Community Center $3.2 million Debt Exclusion

A YES VOTE means that the town will support the building of a much-needed new Senior and Community Center.
If approved the current senior center will be sold and the proceeds will help offset the cost of the new building.

The cost per household, based on a home value of $500,000 is $3 per month.

The Selectmen, Advisory, and Council on Aging recommend a YES vote on Ballot Question 4.

Ballot Question 5 School Furniture, Books & Computers $800,000 Debt Exclusion

A YES VOTE replaces broken desks/chairs, outdated computer equipment and an out of print Kindergarten to 12th grade English Language Arts program. Our current ELA daily student workbooks, replacement textbooks, and teacher guides are no longer available for purchase.

The cost per household, based on a home value of $500,000, is $1.75 per month.

A NO VOTE means that the schools will be unable to purchase the necessary computer equipment, desks/chairs and books. It currently costs $100,000 to copy the textbooks/worksheets. This money will have to be funded from the budget already at risk in ballot question 1.
The Selectmen, Advisory, and School Committee recommend a YES vote on Ballot Question 5

If all of the above questions are approved, the tax bill for a home assessed at $500,000 will increase by $40 per month.
For more information go to www.YesforScituate.org

YesForScituate Information Session on Chan 22

This is now playing on Channel 22 - see schedule in a posting below

The YesForScituate ballot question committee will sponsor "The Five Questions: An Information Session for Scituate Voters" on Thursday, March 22, 2007 at 7:00pm at St. Mary's Parish Center. Representatives from the School Committee, Selectmen, Library, Council on Aging, and Fire and Police Depts. will discuss the five override questions that will be on the Town Election ballot on Saturday, March 31st. YesForScituate urges every voter to take the time to learn about what will happen in Scituate if the five ballot questions pass or fail. For more information please visit www.YesForScituate.org.

School Committee Summary - March 5, 2007

School Committee Meeting Highlights – March 5, 2007

**School Committee Meeting Minutes are posted to the Scituate Public Schools website www.scituate.k12.ma.us

Committee Members Present: Maura Curran, Jamie Strobino, Libby Michaud, Edward Tibbets, and Michael Hayes
Administrators Present: Mark Mason, James Kelleher, and Paul Donlan
Attendees from the public: 1

Comments from the public - none

Special Matters:
Massasoit Community College Alliance – Massasoit is pursuing a partnership with Scituate Public Schools to hold classes for higher learning in Scituate that would be focused in the area of environmental initiatives, water quality research, global warming, drinking water and pollution. They have investigated the space at the Gates School and have recommended the name of the program to be, Gates to the Future Education Center. This Massasoit satellite program could begin in the fall of 2007 and a 3-5 year vision is being purposed which would allow the Scituate Public Schools to share space and technology with Massasoit. It would be a great partnership for all parties.

Maura Curran wants to make sure that Massasoit helps with the funding of the new Gates School since they would be using the space and the Steering Committee was in agreement with that plan. Dick Blake, Principal of Gates, felt it was a win-win for all because we could benefit by the use of technology and space expansion while Massasoit has access to the Scituate costal location and the support of the town. It would benefit Scituate and higher education.

Summer Reading Program – Mr. John Fitzgerald, elementary teacher, proposed continuing and expanding a self-funding summer reading enrichment program for students entering the 6th and 7th grades. Last year 35 students were involved in the program that focused on the summer reading assignments in a small group setting while developing skills in reading comprehension, writing style, vocabulary, spelling and grammar. The program is being proposed for July 9-19, Monday –
Thursday, from 8-10, and 10-12. The program has received excellent feedback from the parents and Mr. Fitzgerald is looking for approval to continue with it this summer.

Routine Matters:
“My Space” Policy – Mr. Mason presented a policy regarding the use of social networking websites as it pertained to the School Department staff. The School Committee felt the policy was too broad and lacked specifics. It was decided that Mr. Mason would seek legal council and refer to the teacher’s bargaining agreement and then present a revised policy to the committee. The purpose of the policy is to guide employees regarding inappropriate interaction with students on social network websites. Motion to table until March 19th meeting.

“The Scituate School District’s Website” Policy – Mr. Mason proposed a policy that would define the schools website as providing information regarding the district’s programs and services as well as links to outside websites that serve the same purpose. The policy defined which types of websites our website would link to as well as the type of sites it would not. The policy was accepted by a vote of 5-0.

Draft of the 2007-2008 School Calendar – It was proposed that the school year would begin on September 4th and end on June 16th without snow days. The proposed calendar was accepted by a vote of 5-0.

2007-2008 Budget Update – The committee discussed the general perceptions of Town Meeting and was appreciative of all the support all the town boards and committees gave to each other. The mood and attitude was supportive of all that the town wants to accomplish in the override vote, but it was stressed that it was the responsibility of the voters to come out and vote. Libby Michaud felt that there was a clear trust and respect developing amongst all the groups in town and that the forecasting is getting better. Maura Curran praised the efforts of Paul Reidy, Chairman of the Selectmen, and Tony Vegnani, Chairman of the Advisory Board, for all their hard work. Jamie Stombino stressed it is important to educate and make people understand the need for the overrides to pass and the need for people to get out to vote.

Superintendent’s Report:
Poll hours for March 31, 2007 have been set for 8:00am to 7:00pm.

Town Meeting Review – Mr. Mason was proud to be associated with the school department in Scituate.

Scituate Winter Athletics – GREAT!! All teams made the first round of their tournaments and he appreciated all the efforts of the new Athletic Director.

Joint Council and PTO Meeting scheduled for the Gates Media Center on Tuesday, March 20th at 7:00pm.

The Communication Sub-Committee is testing an on-line survey that will be available for Scituate residents to provide feedback to the school department. The survey will be discussed at the Joint Council Meeting on March 20th.