School Committee Hears From A Big Crowd
Citizens for Needham Schools would like to thank all the parents who spoke at the School Committee public hearing on overrides on Tuesday night or who emailed their comments to the School Committee. It was great to see such a big crowd offering their opinions.
Generally, the crowd supported both an operating override for school operating expenses for fiscal year 2008 and a debt-exclusion override for the middle school projects, which might include a High Rock renovation and addition for a sixth-grade center, a technology upgrade at Pollard, and two modulars at Pollard to accommodate rising enrollment in September 2008.
Several parents expressed their wishes to save teachers in order to keep class sizes small. Several said that they do not want to see any more cuts to the schools. One parent asked that the athletic fee be reduced or capped and that the other fees that parents of athletes pay be eliminated. One parent asked if athletes could receive PE credit for their afterschool athletics, thus reducing costs. Parents also asked that the Finance Committee and School Committee make clear the differences between the two budgets and attempt to resolve any differences so that voters can make an informed decision.
We’d love to hear others’ thoughts about the hearing.
-Caroline Sabine