Category: schools

FY 09 operating override gets cold reception

I thought B2’s readers might like an update, following Wednesday night’s Warrant Committee meeting, on the status of debate among the town’s elected leaders, on the possibility of an operating override for FY09 to help cover what began as an…

Whatever happened to Full Day Kindergarten, anyway?

I’ve heard, directly and indirectly, from a couple of parents in the last few days who wanted to know what the status was of Superintendent Holland’s proposal for full day kindergarten, so I thought I’d give the lo-down. If you…

Band of Mothers

With Belmont headed towards a likely override vote (or a few of them) in the coming days, I was interested to read this fine article in the Boston Globe on the phenomenon of “override moms” — concerned, suburban parents (generally…

Massive turnout puts override on the agenda

An impressive turnout by parents of Belmont Public School students and other concerned citizens put the issue of an operational override at the top of the town’s agenda Saturday, and may have set the stage for a vote on an…

The latest on School, Town Budget cuts…

I’m passing along up to date information on where things stand with deliberations on the proposed cuts to the School and Town operating budgets for next year. As you know, at the Warrant Committee meeting on Wednesday, both the town…

Reading the Warrant Committee’s Tea Leaves

I’m just back from the Warrant Committee meeting at the Chenery where both Town Administrator Tom Younger and Dr. Gerry Missal, the School Department’s Director of Finance and Administration, presented their best estimates of what kinds of cuts would be…

More on last night’s School Committee meeting

At the risk of muddying the water about what has and hasn’t happened yet re: the School Budget, School Committee member Ann Rittenburg has provided a detailed comment to my post from early this AM. Ann provides some more context…

School Committee weighing layoffs, other cuts

In brief: The Belmont School Committee met Tuesday evening to discuss proposed cuts of between $800,000 and $1.6 million to the FY 2009 budget. The Committee worked out various scenarios, but anticipated elimination of full time instructors at the Butler…

A Cliff’s Notes for the FY 09 School Budget…

First off: there’s a School Committee meeting this evening at 7:30PM at the Chenery Middle School to discuss proposed cuts for the FY 09 School Budget, in advance of tomorrow’s Warrant Committee meeting. Please attend either or both! For those…

Selectmen respond to open letter on school funding

I just received an e-mail response from Selectman Dan LeClerc to B2’s open letter on the school budget cuts. When I last wrote, the figure being kicked around was $3m in cuts to square the school and town budgets with…