Schools

Mansfield School Committee Roundup: Leftover Funds, MIAA Alcohol Policy and Capital Improvements

The following is a summary of topics discussed at the June 19 Mansfield School Committee meeting.

The Mansfield School Committee voted 4-0 (with Wayne Smith abstaining) to finalize their superintendent evaluation.

Mansfield schools director of finance and operations Edward Vozzella said that the fiscal year 2012 budget is expected to have funds leftover. The funds would be available for repurposing for the next town meeting in the form of free cash. Vozzella said that exact numbers are not in yet because of summer payments to teachers.

Superintendent Brenda Hodges said that the strategic planning oversight subcommittee is starting to invite members of the public to participate in the committee. The committee will consist of residents who participated in the strategic planning committees earlier in the year.

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Hodges said that 126 parents have gone through the process of enrolling Mansfield full-day kindergarten program.  There will be six classes of full-day kindergarten for the fall. She added that there are also currently 125 students enrolled in the half-day kindergarten program.

Hodges and the committee discussed the various contributions from the Mansfield Elementary School Association and the Qualters Middle School Parent Advisory Council. Hodges said that the QMS Pac alone raised enough money this year to cover 15 percent of QMS’s non-salary yearly budget at about $35,000.

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School committee member Keira O’Neil reported half of the district policy updates (policy items in the Mansfield School district that are out of date according to the Massachusetts Department of Education). The committee voted all policy updates at 5-0.

Vozzella said that many of the schools’ capital improvements are either underway or getting underway. The track and field renovations have started with Quirk Construction.

Vozzella said that Foxborough’s Maguire Group came and inspected the crack in the Mansfield High School gym wall and said that the damage is not as bad as previously thought.  This means that the the area is currently safe to use and will cost less than previously estimated.

Bids on the Robinson window replacement project opens on Wednesday, June 20.

O’Neil also discussed events and programs discussed at the last Tri Town Drug and Alcohol Task Force.

The committee voted 5-0 to reconsider their vote on the MHS alcohol policy concerning constructive possession of alcohol and the MIAA chemical health ruling. The committee then moved to strike the policy from the MHS policy, but the motion lost 4-1 with Jean Miller voting for.

Robinson’s reading specialist and literacy consultant Jen Fleischmann gave a report of literacy in the second grade. She said the report was a prediction for MCAS scores in the next school year.


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