Left In Lowell

School Committee Meeting 1/6/08

by Mimi at 9:54 pm.

Margaret at jackiedoherty.org reminded everyone that while we here are focusing on the activities in the City Council, tonight’s School Committee meeting was a significant one and we should pay attention.

The meeting began with the introduction of the Screening Committee. The list was announced earlier in the week. In case you missed it, here are their names and the different entities they represent:

Anita Downs of the Citywide Parent Council
Theresa Colena of the Citywide Parent Council
James Conway of the Lowell Plan
Jeanne Osborn of the Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce
Dr. Donald Pierson of the University of Massachusetts – Lowell
Dr. Molly Sheehy of Middlesex Community College
Paul Georges of United Teachers of Lowell
Kathleen McLaughlin of United Teachers of Lowell
Ted Rurak, former Lowell Deputy Superintendent
Linda Lee, Principal at the Shaughnessy School in Lowell
Karen Frederick of Community Teamwork, Inc.
Cindy McAndrews of the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee
Carla Correa-Berg, a social worker in the Lowell schools

Most of the selected members were present as well as former Mayor Eileen Donoghue, who will serve as non-voting Chairperson/Facilitator of this group.

Then she came to the rescue. Eileen solicited the opinion of the Attorney General’s office on the open meeting law. Guess what? All interviews must be done in public. So our fellow blogger, Dick Howe’s passionate pleas for the open process not only was based on good judgment but the law.

The preliminary screening will be done in private but once someone has made the cut, the interviews will be made in public. The School Sub-Committee decided that they will have access to all applications and after review, they can add a candidate to the screening committees’ list.

SC member Jim Leary’s motion to extend School Superintendent’s selection date and solicit other applications through professional organizations for assistance did not pass; actually he was the only one who voted in favor of it. I was not sure which entity would do the seeking; the screening committee or the School Department’s personnel.

SC member Leary’s point is that there are 38 cities/towns which have open School Superintendent position; so the 21 who applied for the Lowell job most likely applied to a few other places. Good point but it seems that the committee was pleasantly pleased with the 21 and did not think they required to actively seek other candidates. Then there is the question if someone is pursed wouldn’t he/she have an added advantage. That is also a good point.

In addition to the discussion on the superintendent screening process, the School Committee discussed SC Jackie Doherty’ s motion on televising Lowell High School Sub-Committee meetings. Currently the SC does not have their Sub-Committee meetings televised unlike the CC. They have logistics problems: location of the meetings, and access to the LTC cameras.
SC Doherty suggested that the High School studio is the perfect location. The sticking point on the motion was the financial cost. There was disagreement about how much this really cost. Everyone was for open, transparent, easily accessible meetings but not everyone was willing to spend the money. I agree with the majority of the SC, it is a worthwhile financial investment.

That’s it for tonight.

[Filed under Education] [link]

9 Responses to “School Committee Meeting 1/6/08”

Mr. Lynne Says:
February 6th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Thanks Mimi.
Bob F Says:
February 6th, 2008 at 11:03 pm
The mind boggles at the thoroughly unreflective nature of the selected group and how sad that when institutions and entities could appoint a representative diversity seemed to not enter into the equation much at all.
Left-handed Lowellian Says:
February 6th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
You have 21 applicants. That is not a stable number. The longer you hold it open for more people, the more likely good people in the search will be hired in other communities. Advice: move as quickly as possible.

The one thing that will hurt the search is if the committee would short-circuit the process by bringing someone in through the back door. Go through the process, and then get passed by for an “insider” who gets pulled in at the last minute? Candidates will withdraw if that scenario is possible.
Margaret Says:
February 6th, 2008 at 11:25 pm
Thanks for watching and posting, Mimi. I was at a class and could do neither, so I was glad to read your account when I got home.
Victoria Says:
February 7th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Mimi, I did not get to see the meeting. Besides the CPC parent, is there any diversity on the panel? Also, was a final vote taken regarding televising the high school subcommittee?
Jackie Says:
February 7th, 2008 at 9:12 am
The majority voted to continue to televise LHS meetings this year (for a total cost of about $2,000) with Dave Conway, Mayor Caulfield, and Regina Faticanti voting against it. The next LHS subcommittee meeting will be held Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 7 p.m. in the Colleen Creegan TV studio at the high school. It will be broadcast live on channel 22.
Mr. Lynne Says:
February 7th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Ah yes… Bud “Unity” Caulfield. When the television thing first (originally) came up for various things (zoning, school committee, etc.) what way did he vote in the past?

Government behind closed doors… yup… thats what we need more of… NOT.
Concerned Citizen Says:
February 7th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Can we get a Superintendent that will give the Lowell an educational system we can be proud of? The only option available at this time for a good, safe education is in parochial schools. I am tired of paying these high taxes and not having a school system I can use.
Richard M. Nixon Says:
February 8th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
The ship may be leaking. According to the Worcester Telegram, one of the insiders is looking outside.

Thursday, February 7, 2008
Candidates for school chief respond to budget issues

By Priyanka Dayal
TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

BOYLSTON— The school committees of Berlin, Boylston and the Berlin-Boylston regional school district interviewed two candidates for superintendent last night, questioning each candidate for more than an hour about how he would improve schools under tight budget conditions.

Paul Schlichtman, coordinator of research testing and assessment for Lowell public schools, said Berlin and Boylston should build on their strengths — high-quality teachers and a trustful, close-knit community.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20080207/NEWS/802070639/1005/RSS01&source=rss

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February 6, 2008

School Committee Meeting 1/6/08

9 Responses to “School Committee Meeting 1/6/08”

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