schools
Thursday is the last chance for resident input on school building proposal
(Below is an unedited version of an email sent out to Lincoln School parents by the Lincoln PTO.)
Been hearing bits and pieces of what’s happening with a potential Lincoln School building project since the November 3rd Town Meeting, but haven’t been following very closely since the big meeting? Parents were noticeably absent at the first of two charettes to give the Lincoln School Committee guidance about a future school building project for our town. Please plan to participate in the final input session on Thursday, January 31 from 7-10 p.m. in the Brooks gym, and spread the word to fellow parents so they know the importance of parental voices in the process.
First, a bit of catching up and contexting since November…
Want to coach kids for the Science Share?
Would you like to help kids learn about science? The Lincoln School is looking for adult volunteer mentors to coach teams of students for the seventh annual Science Share on April 8, 2013. What is a Science Share? It’s an opportunity for students to explore a topic in the science and technology field outside their…
School project survey announced
By Alice Waugh How do you really feel about the school building project? The Lincoln School District is surveying town voters to find out what they like and don’t like about the plan that was voted on in November—and what would garner more support for the project. Registered voters may complete the survey online or fill…
Residents ask for more financial, community use considerations in school project
By Alice Waugh
Heeding the School Building Committee’s call for more public input on what the school building project should look like, dozens attended a January 9 SBC workshop and asked for a building that considered the needs of the broader community and was closely connected to its surrounding natural environment.
The workshop’s goal was to reexamine the guiding principles and evaluation criteria that were used in developing the school project. Residents broke into groups and contributed ideas that were then written on poster paper hung on the walls of Reed Gym.
The SBC will decide on a final consolidated set of criteria at its January 22 meeting.
School, LEAP beefing up security
The Lincoln After-school Extended-day Program (LEAP) has begun keepings its door locked at times, and this week the Lincoln Schools will announce measures to increase security in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings. When the children are indoors doing homework or other activities, LEAP visitors must now ring a doorbell and be admitted…
Crucial meetings on school project begin Wednesday
The School Building Committee this week kicks off a series of meetings to ratchet up communication between residents and the SBC about what the school project should look like—or whether it should go forward under the current scenario at all. The SBC is trying to regroup after the project failed to garner a two-thirds majority…
State gives town two months on school building project
By Alice Waugh
State officials have given Lincoln another two months to decide how to proceed with the school building project, but they appeared to offer little wiggle room as far as allowing changes to their approved plan.
The town has until February 28, 2013 to “assess community support and examine how best to proceed,” said the December 14 letter to Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall from Mary Pichetti, director of capital planning for the Massachusetts School Building Authority. McFall and School Committee Chair Jennifer Glass wrote on November 15 to ask for an extension to try to keep the project alive after it failed to get a two-thirds majority at the November 3 Town Meeting.
Selectmen won’t support town vote on ‘same’ school project
By Alice Waugh The Board of Selectmen will not support the idea of bringing the “same exact” project to another Town Meeting, even if that was the only way to retain the state funding. “It would be disrespectful of the Town Meeting process,” Selectman Renel Fredriksen said at the board’s December 17 meeting. “I think…
Town still awaiting word on extension request for school project
By Alice Waugh
School officials are still waiting for a response to their request from the state for more time to achieve enough “yes” votes to allow the school building project to go forward.
At a meeting of three town panels on December 5, Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall said she had spoken by phone to representatives of the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) and gotten “verbal approval of additional time to work with the community” until at least the end of February.