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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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Schools Face Heating Oil Shortage for Upcoming Winter, While Band Camp and Library Art Programs Make Headlines-August 6, 1970
Superintendent Dr. Philip O. Coakley informed the Norwood School Committee that no companies submitted bids to supply 110,000 gallons of No. 5 heating oil for town schools due to quotas, shortages, and environmental regulations.
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Bells Are Ringin’-July 3, 1970
The Norwood School Committee overhauled its student transportation system and faced an $8,000 wave of structural school vandalism in July 1970
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Almost 50% of Graduates Head To College-July 10, 1969
The Norwood High School guidance department released a significant report on July 10, 1969, detailing the educational future of the school’s 419 graduates. The data revealed that approximately 45 percent of the class planned to attend four-year colleges that fall, a figure the department noted was likely the highest percentage of four-year institution acceptances in…
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Special School Program Enters Fourth Year-June 24, 1969
Utilizing a low 5-1 student-to-teacher ratio, a staff of 36 professionals works to reinforce reading skills and improve academic performance for public and parochial school children.
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School District Prepares for New Academic Year with Orientation Institute and Registration Dates-August 14, 1968
Superintendent Dr. Philip O. Coakley announced student registration dates and school opening schedules as Norwood public schools welcome dozens of new educators for the 1968-1969 academic year.
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Alan R. Wonson Reappointed as Principal of Winslow Elementary School-August 31, 1967
Following an executive session, Committee Chairman Francis X. Sheehan Jr. announced that the Norwood School Committee has reappointed Alan R. Wonson of Westwood as principal of the Winslow Elementary School, effective immediately. Wonson, the former vice-principal at the Cleveland Elementary School, had previously been appointed by a unanimous committee vote earlier in the month; however,…
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School Committee Discloses Closed-Session Debate Over Elementary School Principalship Merger-August 25, 1967
School committee minutes revealed a shelved plan to merge Shattuck and Winslow schools
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School Committee Considers Sweeping Administrative Reorganization Plan-August 24, 1967
School Committee Chairman Francis X. Sheehan Jr. proposed a sweeping administrative reorganization creating an associate superintendent to streamline Norwood school management
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Schools Prepare for 5th Annual New Teacher Orientation-August 22, 1967
Superintendent Dr. Philip O. Coakley welcomed 58 incoming educators at the fifth annual teacher orientation institute at Prescott School, introducing new faculty across secondary and elementary schools.
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Norwood Teachers Association Submits $1,000 Pay Increase Proposal-August 18, 1966
The Norwood Teachers Association submitted a $1,000-plus pay raise proposal as the school committee signed its first collective bargaining agreement amid debate led by John J. Cavanaugh and William Egan.
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