Agenda Preview: January 9 School Committee Meeting
Facilities report, $7 million “free cash” and MCAS
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Happy 2025! Hope you had a nice winter break. Here’s the preview:
January 9 School Committee Meeting
The next school committee meeting is scheduled for January 9 at 5 p.m. There is no executive session. See the full agenda here. You can watch it via zoom or Youtube Live. Spanish translation is available on zoom. Always a good reminder that remote participation is a courtesy, and that the meeting will continue even if there are issues with the virtual broadcast. So if there’s something you really want to speak on or listen in on, in-person is always the most reliable bet.
Report of the Superintendent.
This meeting’s report is on facilities planning, prioritizing and implementation. A long term plan to improve facilities is one of the strategic plan goals, as many WPS buildings are in desperate need of work, mostly due to deferred maintenance for many, many, years because of underfunding. The facilities department is a fan favorite and I’m looking forward to this report.
Free Cash.
The city has allocated free cash, of which about $7.6 million will go to the general fund for the schools for the rest of the school year. Despite what social media posts might infer, this money is not the city being generous, but meeting its legal obligation to fund the schools as required by the state. Most communities in Massachusetts fund much more than their legal obligation. Here is a list of where the district proposes to use the money, including purchasing new elementary science and secondary math textbooks, increasing the per pupil instructional supply fund to an extra $25 per student, and adding back 18 building substitute positions.
Pocket Positions.
You may remember that during budget deliberations, there was some conversation around “pocket positions,” or teaching positions the district has in the budget, but does not assign until a few weeks into school when enrollment numbers are more clear. Typically the positions are used to alleviate large classes. Member Binienda had an item requesting where the pocket position teachers were placed and the administration has a response
MCAS.
Member Sue Mailman (at-large) has an item requesting a report outlining the plan for seniors who have not yet passed the MCAS, and asking how many students need assistance with their competency determination (now that passing the MCAS is not required).
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