Dale Street Project Gets MSBA Approval!
On December 13th, the Massachusetts School Building Authority voted to accept the Dale St. School into their school building program. The project will get underway with a required feasibility study that will examine various options such as renovation to existing school, new school construction, and possible sites for the new school. The feasibility study could last up to a year. In order for the feasibility study to take place the Medfield Annual Town Meeting must appropriate funds on April 30th. More information will be forthcoming on this important meeting. A special thanks to the "Medfield Team" that accompanied me to the board meeting; School Committee Chair Maryanne Sullivan, School Committee and Permanent Building Committee member Tim Bonfatti, and Director of Finance and Operations, Michael LaFrancesca. We are thrilled for the students and for the community! We now have a section of our website dedicated to the documents and other information regarding the Dale St. Project. The site will updated as the process moves forward. Please click here to view information on the project.
The Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Process is Underway
It is that time of year again as we begin to build the budget for the the 2018-2019 school year or Fiscal Year 2019. After many meetings with principals, directors and department leaders, we presented an initial budget to the Medfield School Committee on December 18th. This version of the budget is the our pass which includes additional personnel and supplies requested from each building.The current budget increase stands at 6.75%. This initial budget request is typically larger than the public hearing version (7:30 on January 29th in MHS Auditorium) and the final version at Annual Town Meeting (7:00 on April 30th in MHS Gym).
FY19 Budget Highlights
- Maintains most of our current staff and programs
- Includes teachers' “steps and lanes", longevity, and a % increase
- Level funds professional development (R&D, Conference and Travel, Course Reimbursement)
- Adds a teacher in Grades 1, 2, and 3
- Adds a Special Education Teacher and a .5 Reading Teacher
- Eliminates one Grade 6 cluster (Eliminated one section of grade 5 in FY18, grade 4 in FY17, grade 3 in FY16)
- Reduces a .4 Math Teacher at the Medfield High School
- Increases to transportation contracts
- Includes 7 Special Education support staff added since May 2017
- Supports policy manual revision with MASC
- Supports a portion of a part time prevention specialist (collaboration with MYO and Medfield Police)
A link to the initial budget presentation is here.
Director of Student Services Search Update
We have begun the process of hiring a new Director of Student Services. We have advertised the position and are working with a recruiter to help locate qualified candidates for this critical leadership position. Our goal is to complete the hiring process by February vacation. Special thanks to the volunteers serving on the search committee:
Parents
Christine Barney
Kate Tormey
Tanya Sullivan
Carrie Traub
Community Member
Chief Bob Meaney
Teachers and Staff
Gina Dalan
Nancy Giammarco
Melissa Devine
Mary Salamone
Christine Dardia
Stephanie Worthley
Administrators
Nat Vaughn
Steve Grenham
Missy Bilsborough
Important Reminders
Medfield Talks Speaker Series- Sarah Ward "Practical Strategies to Develop Independent Executive Function Skills in Students" will take place on Tuesday, January 9th from 7:00-9:00 PM at the Lowell Mason Auditorium at MHS. This event is co-sponsored by the Medfield SEPAC and MCPE.
The SEL Task Force continues to meet. Please follow their progress here.
Snow day notification information was on last month's blog posting.
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