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The Norwood School Committee voted 5 to 2 last night to relocate the town’s school administration offices to the Winslow School, contingent upon cost estimates proving favorable. The motion, introduced by William F. Egan, passed with support from most of the board, while committee members Richard Joseph and Joseph M. Pentowski cast the dissenting votes.
Along with housing central administration, the Winslow School would accommodate business operations, the supervisor of custodians, buildings and grounds, the director of food services, and office spaces for art, music, and physical education coordinators. The facility would additionally function as an audiovisual center, house a professional library, provide space for a bilingual education program, and serve as headquarters for a federally funded employment program covering fifteen towns. Furthermore, the board previously voted to allow a federally funded regional special education program from Medfield and Dedham to locate at the Winslow School.
Chairman Charles C. Saraca favored the move only after William F. Egan made the project contingent upon cost estimates to be delivered to the committee by Superintendent Philip O. Coakley the following week. Chairman Saraca criticized Philip O. Coakley for not having immediate figures available regarding potential rental income if the current administration building on Walpole Street were vacated. The board decided to meet at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Shattuck School to tour both older, phased-out elementary schools before their next meeting.
Discussions regarding the future uses of the Winslow and Shattuck schools had been under study since the spring. Joseph M. Pentowski unsuccessfully attempted to convince the board to retain the Shattuck School for educational purposes, citing its suitability for pupil personnel services, pre-school screening, and special education compliance under Chapter 766. However, Philip O. Coakley indicated he would prioritize the Shattuck if forced to choose, while board member Patricia O. Prindle expressed strong unhappiness with the Shattuck proposal, arguing that the main thrust of Chapter 766 was to integrate children with special needs into regular classrooms rather than segregating them.
In other business, the committee voted to change its meeting format, opening with executive sessions on appointments and resignations when necessary before moving into open session for votes. Chairman Charles C. Saraca announced he had signed an application for $285,000 in state reimbursement for special education programs, while the board also addressed kindergarten and sixth-grade overcrowding concerns at the Willett School raised by PTA co-presidents Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Turner. Additionally, the committee directed Philip O. Coakley to consult legal counsel Francis L. Kelly of Weymouth regarding fifteen principals and vice principals whom the committee refused to recognize as members of the Norwood Teachers Association (NTA) collective bargaining group following a recent state law ruling them managerial personnel.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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Extra $10,000 Approved for High School Renovation-August 7, 1986
Amid project delays tied to Anchor Construction Corp., the Norwood Finance Commission voted 3-1 to approve an extra $10,000 for KL&Q Architects to oversee the completion of the $5 million high school renovation.
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150 Norwood High Students Walk Out and March to Protest $5 Million Renovation Delays-October 31, 1985
Protesting ongoing delays in a $5 million renovation project that has kept them displaced at Junior High North, 150 Norwood High students staged a walkout and marched to the high school.
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Norwood High SAT Scores Surge as Principal John Piccirilli Commends Student Gains-October 30, 1985
Driven by a 12-point surge in verbal scores and math averages exceeding state and national benchmarks, Norwood High Principal John Piccirilli celebrated strong college board gains.
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School Opening Delayed for High School Students-August 27, 1985
Norwood high school classes are delayed to September 9 as students temporarily relocate to Junior High North during a $5 million renovation project.
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High School Students to Relocate to Vacant Junior High School North-August 21, 1985
Citing extensive construction delays by Anchor Construction Co., Norwood school officials voted to move nearly 950 high school students to Junior High School North for the start of the school year.
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Norwood School Officials Weigh Alternatives as Renovation Delays Threaten High School Opening-August 8, 1985
Norwood school officials discussed seven alternatives for opening day if $5 million high school renovations are not finished, while firmly rejecting double sessions.
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Norwood Rejects Rockland Offer of Part Payment-July 16, 1985
The summer of 1985 was a time of great economic uncertainty in Massachusetts, with the state facing significant budget deficits and high unemployment rates. However, amidst this backdrop of fiscal woes, the town of Norwood found itself embroiled in a dispute with its neighboring municipality, Rockland, over tuition fees for vocational school students. The issue…
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Norwood High School Implements Total Smoking Ban-July 3, 1985
In July 1985, the Norwood School Committee unanimously approved a total smoking ban at Norwood High School to begin in September, prioritizing the health of its students.
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Recess is a Popular Subject Among Crop of First Graders-September 6, 1984
First-grader Amy Frigulietti sat at her desk yesterday, reaching inside to rearrange her freshly sharpened pencils, pens, and a notebook featuring a picture of Michael Jackson on the cover. Like many of her peers across Norwood, 6-year-old Amy was eager for the new term in teacher Sandy Barner‘s class at Prescott Elementary School, though she…
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Norwood Kindergarten Bus Routes Announced for Fall Term-September 9, 1983
School officials have officially released the comprehensive morning and afternoon bus route schedules for Norwood kindergarten students, with classes set to begin on Monday. Schedule and School-Specific Route Details The morning kindergarten session commences at 8:40 a.m. (with first pickups beginning at 8:20 a.m. and dismissal at 11:15 a.m.), while the afternoon session begins at…
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