School officials say thank you to town with 205K gift

By Jay Turner

In a gesture of goodwill to their fellow town officials, members of the School Committee last week unanimously agreed to give $205,000 in additional state aid back to the town to help replenish its free cash reserves in the wake of town meeting.

The funds, announced by state Senator Brian Joyce shortly after the close of town meeting, had been awarded to the school department in the form of “extraordinary relief” to help address unanticipated increases in special education spending.

But after receiving a pair of reserve fund transfers totaling more than $800,000 at town meeting — including $440,000 for next year’s budget and $363,000 to cover special education costs in FY10 — committee members decided that it was best to return the favor even as they acknowledged the money could be put to good use if kept by the schools.

“There are plenty of good reasons to spend the money,” said Chairman Reuki Schutt, who rattled off a half dozen examples to emphasize the point.

Schutt said the schools also had the option of saving the extra funds, especially with future budget shortfalls expected in 2012 and beyond; however, she ultimately agreed with her colleagues that returning the funds to the town was the “right and proper thing to do” and would strengthen the school department’s credibility going forward.

“What feels good is to have been believed and to have been trusted, and I don’t want to lose that,” said Schutt, referring to what was, in her mind, a “particularly successful” town meeting for all of the town boards.

Committee member John Bonnanzio added that he “wouldn’t even consider spending the money” — however tempting it might be — because the political backlash would be “enormous” and would be felt for several years.

He also said it was extraordinary how the entire town, including members of the Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen, rallied around the schools in their time of need.

“The town demonstrated they will help when our backs are against the wall,” he said.

Committee members Liz Salisbury and Tim Brooks also voted to return the funds, while member Cindy Thomas was absent.

“That’s a unanimous vote to say thank you to the town for believing in us and working with us,” Schutt said.

In other news Thursday night:

• Superintendent Dr. John D’Auria announced that Debra Bromfield will take over as the Canton Public Schools’ new director of student services beginning August 1. Bromfield, who currently holds the same position in the Masconomet Regional school district, will replace outgoing assistant superintendent for student services Dr. Alan Dewey.

D’Auria said the search committee was “very impressed” with Bromfield, who comes to Canton with “stellar” recommendations. He added that new superintendent Jeff Granatino, who will replace D’Auria at the end of June, felt that Bromfield was “clearly the top candidate.”

• The School Committee unanimously voted to continue its residency recertification program next year for incoming sixth graders and to expand the program on a pilot basis to include incoming ninth graders. The program will cost between $2,000 and $3,000 per grade, mostly in related clerical expenses, although they will try to save on postage by sending initial requests for documentation via email.

According to D’Auria, this year’s test run was very successful, and as a result, one can be certain that every sixth grader currently attending the Galvin Middle School is a documented Canton resident.

Committee member Liz Salisbury, who chaired the residency subcommittee last year along with Galvin Principal Tom LaLiberte, said the recertification program has generated a lot of positive feedback and has given people more confidence that school officials are now following up on this perceived problem of nonresidents attending Canton schools.

• The committee unanimously approved an amendment to the first grade entrance policy that will allow children under age 6 who have completed private kindergarten to be admitted to first grade on a case-by-case basis pending approval by the school principal.

Previously, the only children who could enter first grade early were those who had completed public kindergarten in another school district. The policy will still require children to be 6 or older by September 1 in most instances, but it expands the list of possible exceptions while “still presenting checks and balances that are appropriate.”

• The superintendent praised several members of the maintenance staff, led by director Dana Cotto, for their cost-saving efforts on two recent projects.

First, he acknowledged Gene Zupkofska, Mark Eardley, and Scott Parsons for going “above and beyond” to repair the cracks in the CHS tennis courts, thereby extending the life of the courts for at least another year. He then acknowledged Jim Farrington, acting head custodian at the Luce school, for “organizing a vendor demonstration/training session that provided a cost-free means of stripping and resurfacing the gym floor.”

D’Auria could not say enough about the maintenance staff as a whole, which he described as a “very high functioning team at this point.”

• Schutt appointed herself and Bonnanzio to serve on the newly formed labor relations subcommittee, which will meet throughout the upcoming year to strategize in advance of the next round of contract negotiations. In addition to the two School Committee members, the subcommittee will consist of two members of the BOS, two members of FinCom, and two members of the Capital Planning Committee.

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