Norwood School Committee Votes to Relocate School Administration Offices-August 1, 1974

⠀

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

George F. Willett School Faces Potential Temporary Reprieve-October 18, 1979

Enrollment and Space Questions Revive Closing Debate-October 18, 1979 The future of the George F. Willett School is back under intense scrutiny. Although the School Committee voted on January 17 to shutter the facility in 1980, School Superintendent Louis J. Taris told the committee last night that the timeline might be flexible. “The timing hinges…
Prescott School Security Roadway Proposal Sparks Opposition from Residents &PTA-September 14, 1979

Prescott School neighbors and the PTA oppose a security committee proposal to pave a perimeter roadway for police patrols, citing student safety and vandalism concerns.
School Enrollment Shows Drop of 382 from Last Year-September 6, 1979

Norwood public school enrollment drops by 382 students to 5,078, while administrators outline major scheduling and open-campus policy changes at the senior high school.
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 Supplies Budget Maintained at Prior Year Level Amid Spending Pressures and Utility Shortfall Concerns-September 14, 1978

Superintendent Louis J. Taris reports that Norwood’s school instructional supplies budget maintains prior-year per-pupil rates despite tight spending constraints.
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.