The funding of a new position for a technology director topped the wish list in a discussion of the fiscal year school budget for 2013, which geared up when the Mattapoisett School Committee met on Monday at Center School.
Chairman Grace Knox asked each of the principals to prepare a list of weighted priorities for the school board to use during budget crunch time.
Superintendent Doug White said that he had recently met with town managers and they wanted to look at two scenarios: a level services budget (same services as FY 2012) and a level funded budget (same dollars as FY 2012).
“The towns want to see both budgets and would like to continue with level service, if fiscally possible,” said Mr. White. In the discussion, it was noted that the towns fund approximately 90% of the school budget, while the state funds the difference through Chapter 70 monies.
In other business, Ms. Knox reported that a recent ORCTV program focused on a discussion by the librarians from Center School and Old Rochester Regional Junior High School on the various services offered to students. Ms. Knox publicly thanked community member Kate Brown who e-mailed Ms. Knox with a link to a study which showed a direct connection between student library spending and student success.
In her Principal’s Report, Ms. Bowman reported that all students in grade three will participate in an English Language Arts/Reading assessment on January 5, 2012, using an assessment tool, known as Galileo. The assessment will help identify students’ weakness and proficiencies in performance levels prior to the Spring 2012 MCAS assessment. A Math assessment will be given to all grade three students on March 13, 2012.
Students and staff at Center School participated in a Lockdown Drill and an Evacuation Drill on Monday, December 5. All students, staff and people from the Council on Aging walked to the Congregational Church Hall as part of the drills. Two Mattapoisett police officers were on duty throughout the drill and closed Barstow Street to traffic during the drill. Principal Bowman reported that all went well, with directions followed by students and staff.
Old Hammondtown principal Matt D’Andrea presented next and said that the recent Staff vs. Sixth Grade Basketball game, which was held at ORRHS last Friday was a hit, with the students winning the game. The event raised $145 for St. Vincent dePaul Charities. “The Pep Band and Cheerleaders helped make the event fun for everyone,” said Mr. D’Andrea.
Mr. D’Andrea reported that on Tuesday, December 20, all OHS students will attend the Center School Holiday Show at 1:45. All OHS students will be dismissed from Center School.
Curriculum Director Elise Frangos presented her report and commented on a recent talk on Brain Dominance which sparked discussion among the board members. Committee member Charles Motta said he was intrigued by some of the information and casual tests and role playing in the session. “Learning more about this topic can eliminate a mismatch between your gift and career,” said Ms. Frangos.
In other business, the board approved the addition of the town of Norton as a member of the Regional Educational Assessment and Diagnostic Services (READS) in the regional collaborative. At the last meeting, the Town of Acushnet was also approved as a READS member. “The more towns included in the program, the better it is for the children in it,” said Terri Hamm, Director of Student Services.
In other business, the committee heard from Food Services Director Caitlyn Meagher who reported that Center School had a lunch participation of 51% in November and Old Hammondtown was at 53 percent. Ms. Meagher said that she recently attended a seminar on how to boost students participation in purchasing school lunch and has visited other school district’s food service facilities to meet with food directors to get ideas on how to make the lunch offerings more appealing. “Giving out free samples and making the food presentation more appealing is helping,” said Ms. Meagher.
In other news:
Members of the OHS Knitting Club will present three blankets to Beacon Hospice this Thursday. The ceremony will be held at the Mattapoisett Public Library.
Old Hammondtown School will offer after school foreign language classes starting in January. Latin and Spanish classes will be taught to 4, 5 and 6 graders by high school students.
The minutes from the regular session on November 21, 2011 were approved.
By Joan Hartnett-Barry