Mansfield School Committee Roundup: Feb. 28

The Mansfield School Committee gave a budget update, which, at the time of the meeting, put the current school budget deficit to $1.8 million and the current town budget deficit to $1 million.

Superintendent Brenda Hodges said that there will be an increase in the $100,000 range because of an increase in special education students that was not foreseen.

Mansfield will be receiving a $60,000 grant from the Race to the Top program. The grant is a one-time (but extendable with certain qualifiers) fund to help schools without a full-day kindergarten program refurbish rooms and buy materials.

Hodges said that the teacher’s salaries, if the grant money is utilized, will be paid through tuition and will not have an impact on the school budget.

Hodges said that Robinson Elementary School nurse Nancy DeGirolamo, Jordan Jackson adjustment counselor Diana Mobley, Robinson first grade teacher Alfred Thurber and music teacher Eleanor Vaughn are retiring. “They will be truly missed,” Hodges said.

Hodges also told the committee about the upcoming the Massachusetts Teaching, Empowering, Leading, and Learning (TELL) Survey. She said that the survey covers key education issues available time, facilities and resources; community engagement and support; instructional practices and more.

Mansfield High School teachers Bill Deasy and Benjamin Caisse discussed this year’s senior project with the committee. This year’s projects ranged from nursing and special education to weather and environmental conservation.

Mansfield’s technology coordinator Lori Letendre shared the results from the recent communication survey opened to the public last month up to Feb. 15. According to the survey, 35.7 percent of the parent population took the survey, and 85-86 percent of the answers on the entire survey were satisfied with how the school communicated with parents.

Ben Cavallo and Keith Signoriello of Cavallo and Signoriello Insurance came to the school committee to present a program offered from Arbella Insurance that would allow about 80 Mansfield students, who are new to driving, to simulate a distracted driving experience. The program, called Distractology, would, if approved, take place on the week of March 26 and would teach new drivers the importance of not being distracted by texting, loud conversations and cell phone activities and focus on the road.

Hodges brought forth the current plan to replace the Qualters Middle School sign. The entire process would cost $3,100 and would use funds taken from this year’s budget as to not affect the upcoming budget deficits.

Mansfield Municipal Building Committee Member Maureen Dougherty stopped by the committee to give an update on the current replacement of windows at the Robinson Elementary School.

The committee voted 5-0 to look into the cost and construction required for a crack in the Mansfield High School gym wall. The crack has been monitored for a few years now, according to committee chair Michael Trowbridge, but has recently enlarged.

All field trips were approved 5-0 by the committee. These trips include:

World Travel Club Trip to Ireland & Scotland 2013.

QMS – Grade 6 Field Trip to IMAX in Providence, RI.

QMS – Grade 7 Field Trip to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH.