A proposed budget using the Warrant Committee’s “Available Funds” for the school proposes eliminating five full time teaching positions, art and music instruction at the elementary school level, language instruction at the middle school level and steep cuts to support services district wide. Time to get angry, people!
Diary of a mean mommy
What’s the Chinese method of mothering? According to Yale Prof Amy Chua’s new book, its a kind of maternal totalitarianism that encompasses a numbing collection of do’s and even more don’ts. As in “Don’t…attend a sleepover, have a playdate, be in a school play, complain about not being in a school play, watch TV or play computer games, choose (your) own extracurricular activities, get any grade less than an A, not be the No. 1 student in every subject except gym and drama, play any instrument other than the piano or violin AND not play the piano or violin.” These are her words, mind you, not mine.
We’ve come a long way, baby!
This is apropos of nothing at all, but I thought I’d pass it along anyway, as it was one of the ‘viral videos’ this week – albeit a pretty dated one. In any case – the back story here is…
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.
Belmont Citizens Forum bike path pamphlet stirs controversy
Suddenly a pamphlet promoting a bike path connection to Belmont Center is “controversial.” By the way, if you’re wondering if your town has a NIMBY problem, terms like “controversial” and “bike path” popping up in close proximity to one another in the town paper are a good sign that, in fact, you do!
New Year’s Resolution (or how I learned to stop worrying and love parking meters)
After a hectic year of political races and an (unsuccessful) override vote, I wrapped my brain around a much smaller and more concrete question: could Belmont make money off of multi space parking meters? The answer: hell yeah! Read on for more…and for my New Year’s Resolutions