Jamestown Schools: A School-Community Partnership
"SCAN," issued by the Superintendent’s Office in conjunction with the School Committee, is designed to inform staff members and interested others of matters discussed and actions taken by the Jamestown School Committee at its most recent meeting. SCAN does not represent meeting minutes.
Old Business
FY10 Budget: The school committee reviewed the status of the budget. With reductions realized largely in health insurance costs (though group health membership), the committee can respond to the town council’s request for a $150,000 reduction to achieve a 0% tax increase. The committee must also address the governor’s proposed use of federal IDEA funds to replace $106,000 in state aid. The federal monies are designed to supplement--not supplant--current special education expenditures. At the April 23 school committee meeting, the administration will propose additional reductions to offset this loss of general (unrestricted) state aid.
High School Review: Ms. Kaiser reported that she received a letter from Narragansett Superintendent Kathy Sipala inviting Jamestown to consider Narragansett High School as its high school of record. In 2004, the school committee conducted a high school review that focused on five area schools. At the time, the committee recommended that a review be conducted every five years. This spring, the committee will initiate a review limited to Narragansett HS and NKHS. A 7-member review committee will visit the two schools in May, collect and analyze data, and make a second visit in September to resolve any questions generated by the data analysis. The review committee will comprise two administrators, two school committee members, a member of each SIT and a representative of SELAC.
Lawn Playground Initiative: Lisa Carlisle presented plans for a playground on the Lawn School grounds. The project would include climbing boulders to be installed on the site of the former Lawn playground and a courtyard play area that would feature a climbing net (macro spacenet), tether ball courts and a multi-use swing (goric cloud). The courtyard site will require an archaeological survey. The committee endorsed the playground design, giving the playground committee the go-ahead to begin raising funds.
Elizabeth Stone Scholarship Application and Advisory Panel: Ms. Kaiser reported that Attorney Quentin Anthony will transfer the bequest funds to the school in early May. By April 7, applications will be available at Jamestown Schools, on the school website, and through the NKHS guidance office. The application submission deadline is May 15. Ms. Kallfelz volunteered to serve with a (retired) teacher and parent on the advisory panel to review the applications,. The school committee agreed this year to fund through the bequest as many as four scholarships of at least $1000 each.
The next business meeting of the Jamestown School Committee will be on April 23. The next workshop meeting will be on May 7. All meetings are held at 7 p.m. in the Lawn School Library.