⠀
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
More…
-
Norwood School Board Rejects All Special Needs Busing Bids-August 21, 1980
With opening day just two weeks away, the Norwood School Committee voted 4-3 to reject all bids received the previous week for special needs student transportation. Acting under emergency procedures, the board announced it will call for new bids by Tuesday, with a potential contract award scheduled for Wednesday night. The rejected proposals came from…
-
Henry O. Peabody School Director Ruth Shea Ponders Retirement After 14 Years-August 12, 1980
After 14 years expanding vocational education, Henry O. Peabody School director Ruth Shea ponders retirement while securing a 97 percent graduate job placement rate.
-
Norwood School Administration Relocates to Willett School-July 24, 1980
The Norwood School Administration relocated to the George F. Willett School and enacted strict new graduation credit requirements.
-
Students to Face Stiffer Standards-July 18, 1990
In 1990 the town of Norwood was on the cusp of a significant change in its educational system. The school administration, led by Superintendent Louis J. Taris, had been studying ways to improve academic standards for over a year and a half. The result of this study was a proposal to double the number of…
-
Aaron Guild School Leased to Norwood CETA Consortium and EdCo for One Year-August 1, 1979
Norwood selectmen voted unanimously to lease the closed Aaron Guild School for one year to the Norwood CETA Consortium and the Educational Collaborative of Greater Boston (EdCo) for $148,000.
-
Norwood School Bus Billing Questioned-July 31, 1979
The Patriot Ledger’s July 31, 1979 edition brought to light a controversy surrounding the billing practices of Kiessling School Transportation of Dedham, which had been contracted by the town of Norwood to transport special needs children. The issue at hand was whether the company had overcharged the town for mileage on certain routes. According to…
-
School Department Releases Bus Routes and Eligibility Rules-August 30, 1978
As the late-summer excitement of a new academic year approached in 1978, the Norwood School Department officially released its comprehensive student transportation schedules, route mappings, and eligibility guidelines for the upcoming school term. Designed to ensure safe and orderly transit for thousands of local students, the announcement established clear boundaries and behavioral expectations for families…
-
Norwood School Committee Considers Staggered School Closing Plan-July 14, 1978
The school housing needs committee last night recommended a second school closing plan that would close the doors of the Callahan School in September, shut down the Balch School in 1981 and close a third, unnamed elementary school in 1983. The plan was backed by seven of the nine members voting and was billed as…
-
Norwood High School Accessibility Concerns-July 10, 1978
On July 10, 1978, parents of handicapped students in Norwood voiced serious concerns regarding the lack of physical accessibility at the local high school. Mrs. Charlotte Haskell, president of the Norwood Special Needs Parents Group, recently sent a formal letter to School Superintendent Philip O. Coakley. In the communication, she urged the district to take…
-
School Board Recall Urged-July 8, 1978
Discover the 1978 budget battle in Norwood, where deep cuts to the school district’s $11.3 million budget led to a controversial recall effort and a lawsuit involving the Massachusetts Teachers Association.
Discover more from Norwood Historical Society
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.