Westfield School Committee member Cindy Sullivan. (WNG file photo)
WESTFIELD – The School Committee on Monday voted in favor of the recommendation to rename North Middle School to the Westfield Intermediate School (grades 5/6); and South Middle School to the Westfield Middle School (grades 7/8).
“We asked for a lot of input, and asked principals regarding opposition to the names,” said Cindy Sullivan, who chairs the Education and Technology sub-committee, which gave the initial recommendation.
Diane Mayhew said to her, naming the schools anything else would be confusing. She said the definition of an intermediate school is one for grades 4-6. “The name of the school must accurately reflect it,” she said.
“Our own policy prohibits us from naming after individuals, only geographic names,” said Kevin Sullivan.
Ramon Diaz, Jr. said 12 or 13 schools in the state are named intermediate schools already. He said if it were called a middle school, it would still appear on the intermediate school list with the state. “It’s the most accurate name,” Diaz said.
Cindy Sullivan said that the School Committee knew that some people disliked that name, but no one had come forward with any other suggestions, and few people came to the sub-committee meeting where it was discussed.
Mayor Brian P. Sullivan said the one mother and two daughters in the audience at the sub-committee meeting gave it thumbs up, which was good enough for him.
In other business, two Westfield High School foreign exchange students were approved for the 2018-19 school year; one from Kurdistan, and one from South Korea.
A slew of field trips for May and June were also approved, including a South Middle School trip to High Meadow in Granby, North Middle School and Westfield High School trips to Lake Compounce, Westfield High School trips to Mystic Aquarium and Mystic Seaport, and a Westfield Technical Academy trip to New York City.
School Committee member Diane Mayhew. (WNG File Photo)
Diane Mayhew, chair of the Human Resources and Policy subcommittee, continued her work of several years of bringing forward revised school policies, many based on the changes recommended by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees (MASC), and of rescinding outdated ones.
Chief Financial Officer Ronald R. Rix presented the monthly financial statements for April and transfers of funds from areas with unexpended funds into areas with shortages, including maintenance. ”It’s going to be close,” he said, referring to final versus budgeted numbers for the fiscal year.
Human Resources director Paula Ceglowski reported on memoranda of agreements (MOA); one with the Westfield Education Association regarding vice principals, to allow them to stay where they are, and one on longevity for para-professionals. “We want to pro-rate longevity and vacation for the amount of time actually worked. This allows us to fill critical shortages by current staff members,” Ceglowski said.
Curriculum director Susan Dargie spoke about a new planning grant from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for $6,480 for high-quality instruction over the summer. Dargie said the grant is for grades 5-8 science teachers, to integrate science education for public understanding into the current science curriculum.
Rix reported on another grant from Governor Charlie Baker’s office on hurricane relief funds to cover increased district expenses for students who arrived from Puerto Rico and the U.S.Virgin Islands. Rix said the first grant was for $48,400; at the time, the district had 32 students from Puerto Rico, some of whom have relocated. Currently, there are 20 new students remaining in the district.
School Committee member Ramon Diaz, Jr. (WNG File Photo)
Rix said he was unsure what would be the amount of the second relief grant. “It’s almost a supplemental funding in the form of a grant,” he said, adding that it comes out to about $38 per day, based on the number of days in district. He said next year they are taking in 18 students, for which the district has budgeted $80,000.
Ramon Diaz, Jr. reported that the Finance sub-committee met last Monday for more than two hours to go line-by-line through the school budget. He thanked all of the members of the School Committee for attending the meeting.
Diaz said he’s waiting for some indication of state funding for the district before scheduling the next meeting, at which the sub-committee will propose any cuts, before the School Committee as a whole votes on the budget for the 2018-2019 school year. Diaz said the meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday, May 14 in City Council chambers, and will be posted on Thursday.
