SC Spotlight

Topics of the Hamilton Wenham Regional School Committee March 2015

Snow day approach

Superintendent Harvey outlined his plan to ensure we meet the required 180 days of school.
Our last day is currently scheduled for Tuesday, June 23rd. If we need any additional snow
days, we could extend through Friday of that week. Classes were held on March 9th,
previously scheduled as a professional development day. If more days are needed, the District
would consider holding classes on Good Friday (April 3, 2015). To review his complete plan,
read Superintendent Harveys blog post dated 2/10/15 at hwschoolssuper.wordpress.com
FY16 Budget
At its February 12th meeting, the HWRSC voted unanimously to adopt the
Superintendents Recommended FY16 Budget. This budget represents a level service
budget PLUS an additional $150,000 to fund the resources necessary to fully implement a
Middle School Teaming Model. The net result is an increase in Total Expenditures of
$923,050 or 3.25% versus the FY15 budget. The budget presentation can be found on
the district web site www.hwschools.net, select District Information, School Committee tab
and the handouts from the 2/12/15 School Committee meeting. To watch the
presentation, go to hwcam.org and select the 2/12/15 School Committee meeting.
Gordon Update
The March 5th meeting of the HWRSC was dedicated to discussion about hosting
Graduation at Gordon Colleges Chapel. After a presentation from High School Principal
Eric Tracy, the committee heard comments from citizens, followed by a presentation from
Gordon College President Dr. Michael Lindsay. After deliberation and discussion, the
HWRSC voted (4-2) to host graduation starting in 2015 on the high school campus. To
watch the meeting, go to hwcam.org and select the 3/5/15 School Committee meeting.
Foreign Language Article
Kudos to Kevan Sano and the Foreign Language Department. They were featured in this
months Language Educator magazine for their work with performance standards around
language proficiency.

Student Artists Shine in State Competition

The High School Fine Arts Department is proud to announce that six students have
received a total of three Gold Keys, ten Silver Keys and six Honorable Mentions in the
prestigious Scholastic Art Awards. Ethan Ham and Anthony Pham received Gold Keys,
the highest honor. Fiona Collins, Madison Kenny and Anthony Pham received Silver
Keys. Fiona Collins, Josh Erhard, Ethan Ham, Caroline Mastrianni and Anthony Pham
all received Honorable Mentions. In addition, Anthony Pham received a Silver Key for
his art portfolio and Fiona Collins received an Honorable Mention for her art portfolio.
Artwork selected for the Gold Key award was exhibited at Boston University. Go online
to the Fine Arts Department blog hwfinearts.blogspot.com - to view all the winning
artworks by our enormously talented students!

State Budget News

Governor Baker has submitted his FY16 state budget recommendations to the
Legislature. It contains a $105 million or $20 per-student increase to Chapter 70 aid to
education. This translates into a year-over-year increase of about $35,000 for our School
District. We hope to see an improved amount as budget negotiations continue into the
spring. In addition Special Education funding for high needs students (Circuit Breaker)
has been level funded over last year. This is a disappointment as this account has been
largely fully funded in recent years. The 9C cut made to this years regional
transportation (busing) funding last November has not been restored. We continue to
work with Rep. Brad Hill and Senator Bruce Tarr as they fight for funding increases for
the District, and look forward to Rep. Hills upcoming visit to the SC for further updates.

Class Size Policy

The class size policy was discussed at the 1/22/15 School Committee meeting. Superintendent
Harvey proposed streamlining the current policy by removing specific number ranges. It was
agreed to continue the discussion at a future meeting.

We welcome questions or comments, please contact us at: sc_communications@hwschools.net