School calendar in decent shape despite recent snow days

With all of the tough decisions he’s had to make this winter due to the weather, new Superintendent of Schools Jeff Granatino has more than earned his keep in his first year in Canton.

That was the consensus last Thursday among School Committee members as they thanked Granatino for making some “excellent calls” with respect to the recent snowstorms and for keeping the number of school days impacted by snow thus far to a minimum.

As of last week, that number stood at six, including four cancellations, one two-hour delay, and one early dismissal. And yet it easily could have been worse, according to Granatino, who deflected much of the praise onto facilities director Dana Cotto and the school maintenance staff as well as the Canton DPW crew under Mike Trotta and Danny Teague.

Noting that some nearby communities have already tallied as many as seven cancellations, Granatino said Canton is actually in fairly good shape and still has some “wiggle room” in its school calendar in the event of more snow in February and March.

Granatino said the current last day of school, after accounting for all makeup days, is Friday, June 24, and so far, Canton High School’s graduation day is still set for Thursday, June 9.

The superintendent did indicate, however, that two early release days that were lost due to the snow will have to be rescheduled this year in order to meet contractual obligations related to common planning time and professional development for teachers.

After reviewing the calendar, Granatino proposed two dates: Wednesday, February 16, as a makeup day for the February 2 early release and Wednesday, April 27, as a makeup day for January 12.

But what began as a routine matter quickly evolved into a lengthy discussion after School Committee Chairman Reuki Schutt questioned why the early release days could not be scheduled on a Friday to better accommodate parents. Granatino said he was simply following what he believed was the established practice in Canton, but said he was open to a change going forward.

Committee members appeared to be divided on the issue; however, they eventually agreed to approve the proposed February 16 early release day while tabling discussion on the April 27 date until a future meeting.

In other School Committee news:

* The superintendent announced that his preliminary FY 2012 operating budget, which he submitted to Town Hall at the end of January, will likely require some modifications as it is currently just over $1 million off of the target figure set by the town. Granatino said he will discuss cost-cutting options with each of the six principals but will hold off from making any definitive recommendations until the town has a clearer picture of what its state aid package might look like.

Meanwhile, school business manager Ken Leon is still projecting a surplus for the current FY11 operating budget; however, it now stands at $96,000, which is down more than $180,000 from Leon’s most recent projection in mid December. Leon had originally projected a surplus of more than $450,000, but as he had warned back in October, unanticipated special education costs have steadily chipped away at that total and could continue to do so between now and the end of the school year in June.

* Granatino announced that a search committee has been formed to find a new Kennedy school principal after Jennifer Henderson, the former principal, was named director of curriculum and instruction earlier this month. Henderson has served in the role on an interim basis since last June. Her interim replacement, Jan Chamberlain, is expected to return to her previously held post as assistant principal/fifth grade teacher once the new principal is hired, which Granatino said could happen as early as April.

Granatino also provided an update on the search for a new middle school principal, which became necessary when current principal Tom LaLiberte announced his plans to retire at the end of the school year. Granatino said the committee has narrowed the field down to 10 candidates and hopes to have a list of three to five finalists within the next two weeks.

* The School Committee announced that the Scholar Dollar Foundation, a longtime scholarship fundraising group, has voted to dissolve after more than 50 years of supporting Canton’s graduating seniors. The decision was made after the group’s outgoing members, who served for the past 27 years, were unable to find sufficient replacements. Scholar Dollar will give all of its remaining funds, in the amount of $54,142, to the town of Canton and has instructed the town to give out ten $500 scholarships each year until the money is used up.

* The School Committee approved a proposal by early childhood director Kelty Kelley to restore the FY12 preschool tuition rates for regularly developing children to their FY09/10 levels. Rates for this year had been dropped by $500, but Kelley was given permission to return the rates to $2,000 for classes that meet three half-days per week and $2,500 for those that meet four half-days per week.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Feb 10 2011. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.