Word on the street is that, after months of back and forth, the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) voted unanimously on Wednesday to approve funding for reconstruction of the Wellington Elementary school. Next up: a vote by the town (within 120 days) on a debt exclusion to fund construction.
Tag: Board of Selectmen
Warrant Committee notes: pensions, public safety, sports all on the chopping block
Town leaders stared into the abyss on Wednesday, contemplating “what ifs” should the town not pass a Prop 2 1/2 override. Teacher and town layoffs, fee supported sports and reduced emergency services are all possibilities.
Get involved: important meetings happening this week
There’s a full schedule of important meetings this week covering everything from school funding to the town’s budget and an opportunity to have your thoughts on education heard by leaders at the state level. Check it out.
Wellington vote could come in April
A vote on a debt exclusion for the construction of Wellington Elementary School could make it onto the April ballot after all…if state and town officials can hammer out a funding agreement by the end of the day.
Selectmen at odds on Override timing
The Belmont Citizen Herald is reporting today on a Board of Selectmen meeting last night that makes it look likely that the town will be asked to vote for an override of Proposition 2 1/2 to close a hole in…
Wellington vote unlikely for April Ballot
A special election to pass a debt exclusion for the construction of a new Wellington Elementary will almost certainly be needed, as negotiations on the final price tag for construction of a new Wellington Elementary School between the Mass. School Building Authority (MSBA) and the town continue.
BCH: School Committee taps Entwistle for Super
he Belmont Citizen Herald is reporting that the School Committee has tapped George Entwistle, the Superintendent of Falmouth, Maine, as its choice to head Belmont’s Public School system starting next year. Entwistle was one of two finalists, along with Ashland Superintendent Richard Hoffman, and won unanimous support from School Committee members, who responded especially to Entwistle’s record as a consensus builder in Falmouth, a highly ranked school district in the state that serves around 2,100 students.
Who let the dogs out?
Oberdorfer throws a wheelhouse punch at everything that he perceives to be wrong in town. Those include: “so-called liberals,” the Senior Center, town administrators (there are too many of ’em) and, of course, “our beknighted School Department,” “compliant School Committee” and … wait for it… “greedy” parents. Oberdorfer accuses this last troika of a “conspiracy against suffering property owners.”
LeClerc looking for compromise on budget, capital spending
With the town facing a swift economic contraction and the loss of state aid, even as it juggles multiple, competing spending issues, Selectman Dan LeClerc is hoping Belmont will steer a middle path: accepting some cuts in services while supporting important projects such as the construction of a new Wellington Elementary School and the preservation of teacher positions at the elementary, middle and high school levels.
Upcoming events: critical school funding meeting and BSEAC documentary
A couple of notices for the next week that you in the B2 community should put on your calendars: joint School Committee, Warrant Committee and Board of Selectmen meeting on Feb 4 to discuss school funding cuts. And, on Feb 11, the Belmont Special Education Parents Advisory Committee will host a free screening of Including Samuel, a documentary that weaves together stories of five families’ efforts to include their children with disabilities in every facet of their lives.