MAC: Good News for Canton Schools

Did you know …

The Canton schools have done extremely well with their new 2015-2016 fiscal year budget. They have increased their overall budget by 5 percent, one of the highest increases in recent years. They will hire nine more teachers, and Canton voters approved a $4.1-million override to fund an eight-classroom addition to the Hansen School. Not a bad start to a new fiscal year for Canton schools.

The Canton School Committee recently approved new starting times for all Canton schools. Starting in September 2015, Canton High School will operate from 8 a.m. to 2:24 p.m.; Galvin Middle School, 7:50 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.; JFK and Hansen elementary schools, 8:35 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.; and the Luce School and St. John’s, 9:05 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. The elementary school times will also rotate beginning in the 2016-17 school year.

Jayne Moore has been appointed to be the new assistant principal at the John F. Kennedy Elementary School.

The School Committee will formally begin the search for a permanent school superintendent in August. Jen Henderson will be the interim superintendent for the 2015-16 school year.

Beginning Thursday, August 6, at 9 a.m., the Veterans’ Coffee Hour will be having their monthly meeting at the new Senior Center on Pleasant Street. For years, the coffee hours were held at the Canton Town Club, but from now on, they will be held at the Senior Center.

There is a proposed bill before the state legislature that would permit the word “veteran” to be placed next to any candidate’s name, if requested by the candidate, on any general election and city or town election ballot. The current law only allows this designation on primary election ballots.

The Sons of the Canton American Legion Squadron 24 is one of the largest in Massachusetts with 168 members.

The Canton American Legion Ladies Auxiliary sent two girls to Girls State, Masha Smirnova and Lauren Peplau.

According to a report from the real estate data company Zillow, the Boston Metro area is one of the most expensive in the United States in which to own a home. The median cost of homeowners’ basic expenses was $9,400 a year, which includes unavoidable costs like property taxes, utilities, and homeowners insurance; and that $9,400 figure does not include the cost of a mortgage. The median household insurance cost is $1,104 per year, while utility costs, which include electricity, gas, television, cable, phone, and internet service add up to more than $3,400 per year. Yes, these are the unavoidable costs of owning a home.

The Open Book Coffeehouse, which features live acoustic music, recently closed out its ninth consecutive season. The OBC is sponsored by the Friends of the Canton Library and is located in the community room of the Canton Public Library.

The JFK CAPT recently donated $6,000 for the Interactive Classroom Technology Project.

Voters at the 2015 annual town meeting approved the purchase of 6.85 acres of open space at the Plymouth Rubber site for $1.74 million. The purchase will be financed with a 10-year bond and will be repaid using Community Preservation Act funds.

The Massachusetts legislature approved a fiscal year 2016 budget of $38.14 billion.

According to the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office, from February to May of this year (only four months), there were 43 fatal overdoses in Norfolk County, ranging from a high of 13 in Quincy to five in Stoughton and two in Canton. Also, according to Canton Police Chief Ken Berkowitz, using the opiate reversal drug Narcan has saved the lives of seven heroin overdose victims in Canton.

The United States is less than 5 percent of the world’s population, but we consume 80 percent of its opioids.

The town of Canton will share a $100,000 grant with its neighboring towns of Stoughton, Holbrook, and Walpole to combat substance abuse among young people with a particular focus on opiates. The Stoughton Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force will coordinate the grant, which was awarded by the state Department of Public Health.

No matter what you do, someone always knew you would.

This is all for now folks. See you next week.

Joe DeFelice can be reached at manaboutcanton@aol.com.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=30240

Posted by Joe DeFelice on Jul 23 2015. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.