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…
Tag: budget
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.
A poll and a survey…
A poll from the BCH and a survey from the town give you two opportunities to have your voice heard. Check them out!
Shovel ready? Roads, sewers on list of projects considered for bailout money
Town officials submitted no fewer than 17 shovel ready projects to the state, with a price tag north of $30 million. Road, sewer and other improvement to municipal buildings top the list and range from a $14m project to rebuild 2.5 miles of new roadway and improved drainage along Trapelo Rd. and Belmont St., to a $35 request for a fan to blow exhaust out of the town’s municipal garage.
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.
State aid cuts to town could top $800k
Rep. Will Brownsberger says that pre-release figures from Gov. Deval Patrick’s office suggest that Belmont could be looking at a 10% cut in state aid, totalling more than $800,000. But will the Obama Administration ride to the rescue?
School Budget cuts would mean layoffs and fewer, larger classes
There were no smiling faces and no easy fixes as the School Committee walked through potential cuts, including the elimination of AP courses at the High School level, science instruction at the elementary level JV sports and community service programs.