School Committee Approves Shortened High School Day Format-July 16, 1975

The decision was made in response to a request from absent member Richard Joseph, who asked that the board defer its official vote on the plan until its next regular meeting in two weeks.

According to Principal John F. Monbouquette, the new plan will shorten the class schedule from nine to eight periods and restrict sophomores from leaving the campus during school hours beginning in September. The class periods will be lengthened to 45 minutes, with the school day concluding at 2:30 p.m. Detention and makeup work will be scheduled from 2:30 until 3:15 p.m.

The plan aims to overcome some of the problems associated with the current open campus system, which has been criticized for allowing large numbers of students to roam around town during their free periods. Seniors will be scheduled for classes between the first and sixth periods, juniors from periods one through eight, and sophomores from periods two through eight.

Dr. Monbouquette attributed the “roaming” to a small percentage of students who hop in their cars and drive downtown or around the neighborhood during free periods. He indicated his aim is to get back to a seven-period day when the school enrollment allows it, returning to 50-minute class periods and eliminating open campus entirely.

Committeeman Joseph M. Pentowski expressed concerns about the space problem at the high school, stating that it was not as acute as previously believed. Dr. Monbouquette disagreed, presenting graphs to town meeting showing one-third of the classrooms empty during the last three periods under the nine-period schedule.

The committee briefly considered barring all students from leaving the school grounds but ultimately agreed with member Rudith M. Berkowitz that such an approach was not feasible. Member Richard W. Kief worried that even for sophomores alone, the restriction policy would be “unenforceable.” Dr. Monbouquette agreed that it would be difficult to enforce, but added, “If a sophomore is found wandering around, he would be disciplined.”

The board instructed Dr. Monbouquette to begin programming for the switch due to the pressure of time. The committee took no action on the question of semantics posed by Mr. Pentowski, who recommended using the term “condensed scheduling” instead of the word “restriction” for sophomores to eliminate possible stigmas.

In other business, the committee discussed a citation issued by the state Anti-pollution Board regarding the heating system at the high school. State inspectors visited the work on July 3 and found that no afterburner had been installed. The installation of the necessary equipment would cost $1,200, according to Dr. Coakley.

The board voted to forward the matter to selectmen, charged with school maintenance under the town charter. Asst. Supt. James R. Donovan was unsuccessful in gaining the board’s approval for a deluge shower layout for Junior High South, which still has funds in its construction budget to cover the past year.

Dr. Coakley said that the Washington Street area would be improved before tackling other areas of the school. The committee also discussed the installation of deluge showers in school laboratory areas over to the permanent building construction committee.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger