Live blogging here from Spring Town Meeting. We’ve been here for close to two hours and are still snagged in debate of the first substantive issue: approval of a new stabilization fund for Minuteman Technical. The idea here is to…
Category: schools
School Candidates Discuss Online Learning (Patch)
An interesting interview with the three School Committee candidates on online learning models like Khan Academy. Long and short: we’ve got one strong “Yes” one “Maybe” and one “I need to think about it.” First: the “maybe.” Candidate Anne Lougee…
Game on: Scharfman Picks Up Selectman Nomination Papers
School Committee member Dan Scharfman is the latest to pick up papers to run for a seat on the Board of Selectmen, following the decision by current member Angelo Firenze not to seek re-election. Scharfman is the third person to…
PTO/PTA: Race to Nowhere Screening tomorrow evening
Just a note that the Belmont PTA/PTO will be screening Race To Nowhere: The Dark Side of America’s Achievement Culture tomorrow evening (Thursday) at the Belmont Studio Cinema, with half the price of admission donated to Belmont’s Public Schools.PTO/PTA’s! The…
Belmont: Middle of the pack for per resident school spending
There are three zillion different ways you can slice the school spending pie and analyze the numbers, and none of them are particularly satisfying. One way, however, is to look at how much each town spends per resident on its…
Entwistle Stepping Down as Superintendent
Belmont Public Schools Superintendent George Entwistle has decided to step down after two years on the job, citing “personal, family reasons.” Entwistle will be taking a position as Superintendent of the Scarborough, ME, school district.
Questioning the Development=Kids Equation
An op-ed in the Citizen Herald charges that the O’Neil and Cushing Square developments will send more than 200 new children to our schools. But will they? A 2003 study suggests that the link between development and school population is difficult to make.
The Override Playbook: Chill ‘Em then Kill ‘Em
There’s good reason to be very, very, very suspicious of the Board of Selectmen’s call to delay a vote on an override. In fact, the push to delay a vote on the override is part of a well worn strategy for sinking it, altogether.
Save Our Schools – Save Our Town Meeting Tonight
Just a heads up that there will be a meeting this evening (Sunday) to start organizing a town-wide effort to raise awareness within Belmont about the cuts facing our schools. Among other things, there’s a need for folks to serve…
Important Budget Goings On – Don’t Sleep Through ‘Em!
Just a heads up, y’all, that there are a slew of important budget meetings looming, starting this Tuesday evening, January 11, when School Superintendent, Dr. Entwistle will present the proposed FY 2012 budget to the School Committee. This meeting is in the Community Room at Chenery Middle School and will be the public’s first look at the budget for next year. From what I’ve heard, this is a “make the best of a bad situation” budget with some sobering numbers. We’ll need your help and involvement to win the funding our teachers and administrators need to preserve critical programming. Here are some dates to put on your calendar.