Upcoming meetings:
Advisory Committee:
Wednesday, 1/18 at 7:30 pm at Town Hall.
On the Agenda: WPS FY07 Operating Budget,
presented by School Committee and the
Administration. This is a critical meeting:
PLEASE ATTEND!
Interboard Meeting:
Thursday, 1/19 at 7:30 pm at Town Hall. On the
agenda: Review of all town department budgets.
Town-wide Forum
Wellesley’s Town-Wide Financial Plan, An
Overview of Major Town-Wide Fiscal Issues,
Sunday, 1/22 (1:45pm at the Wellesley Free Library)
and Wednesday 1/25 (6:45pm at the Wellesley Free
Library) . This is a non-partisan forum organized and
moderated by The League of Women Voters of
Wellesley as an opportunity to ask questions of Town
officials, including the Board of Selectman and School
Committee members, about future expenses
anticipated in the Town Budget.
School Committee:
Tuesday, 1/24 at 7:30 pm at WHS library. On the
agenda: The FAC will present its recommendation on
the High School project.
Advisory Committee Public
Hearing:
Wednesday, 2/8 at 7:30 pm at Town Hall.
On the Agenda: Public comment on Town-wide
Operating Budgets, including the school budget.
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School Committee has unanimously approved the
WPS Operating Budget, including the "Restoration
Budget." Though
encouraging, this is but the first step in the budget
process. In the coming weeks, your attention and
involvement are needed to make sure decisions that
are made now reflect the will of the town.
What you can do now:
- Attend the Advisory Committee meeting on
January 18th (7:30 p.m. at Town Hall) to show your
support for the Operating Budget.
- Display your magnetic bumper sticker on your car
as soon as you receive
it! (see below)
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| Operating Budget APPROVED by School Committee |
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The first budget hurdle was successfully overcome
on January 4th when the Wellesley School Committee
unanimously approved the full Operating Budget
Request made by the WPS Administration, including
the Restoration Budget, for a total budget
of $47.5M, a 11.25% increase over last year.
The Operating Budget that was initially
proposed provides level school services while
accommodating increases in enrollment and Special
Education costs. Earlier this year, the Administration
conducted a review of the impact of budget
reductions over the last three years. As a result of
this review, they identified critical programs and
services which have been jeopardized. Therefore, in
an effort to restore the integrity of these programs
and services, additional funds were outlined in a
Restoration Budget, totaling $539,973 and
comprised of the following items:
- Elementary library teaching assistants (1.4 FE)
- Communications lab, Grade 8 (0.8 FTE)
- Middle school literacy (0.2 FTE)
- Grade 6 Teacher (1.0 FTE)
- High School English writing labs (0.8 FTE)
- High School Humanities-(0.4 FTE)
- High School librarian (1.0 FTE)
- High School orchestra (0.2 FTE)
- High School - restoration of all labs (2.8 FTE)
- High School - attendance clerk
- High School - custodian
- Library books, K-12 ($40K)
- Professional development ($31K)
NEXT STEPS:On January 18th,
the School Committee will present its Operating
Budget to the Advisory Committee (7:30 p.m.
Town Hall). It is important that you attend this
meeting to demonstrate your support for this
budget.
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| Show Your Support: Display a Magnet |
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Over the coming weeks, the Board of Selectman,
Advisory Committee members, and Town Meeting
members will be trying to gauge the level of town-
wide support for an override: Will the town support
an override? And for how much?
To send the message loud and clear that
there is significant support in our town for funding
our schools, show your support: In two weeks, we
will be initiating the distribution of
a magnetic bumper sticker like the
picture above.
Display the magnet on your car; show your
support every day as you drive around our town.
With every magnet displayed, we send one more
message that we are willing to support the WPS.
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| High School Project Update |
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The Facilities Advisory Committee will present its
recommendation on the High School project to the
School Committee on Tuesday, January 24 at 7:30pm
(WHS library). After many months of review and
study, the FAC has drafted its findings in a summary
report.
Next steps: School Committee will review
the FAC findings and prepare a final
recommendation. Ultimately, they will present a
recommendation to Town Meeting.
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| Committee 21 in Your School |
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Each Wellesley Public School has a representative to
Committee 21 who has volunteered to provide the
updates, keep informed and organize volunteers.
Below is a list of the representatives for each of the
ten Wellesley Public Schools, including the preschool:
- Fiske: Susan Ryan, Rich Page
- Sprague: Todd Himstead
- Hunnewell: Joan Minklei
- Hardy: Anna Abate
- Upham: Susan Doran
- Schofield: Sarah Nocka
- Bates: Alissa Keene, Karen Wolfson
- PAWS: Julia Abbott
- WMS: Barb Connolly, Christine Goss,
Sally
McNamara
- WHS: Lynne Boswell, Christine Olakson
If you would like to help the efforts of
Committee 21, please contact a school
representative or contact us directly at
committee21@comcast.net.
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| The Last Word |
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While feeling relief that the FY07 Operating
Budget has passed the first test, we know the
challenge has really just begun. It is now critical to
articulate support for our schools to our friends, our
neighbors, and our town at large. Please show your
support for high quality education next year and for a
long-term vision of excellence in education in
Wellesley.
Show your support now.
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Committee for Education in the 21st
Century
