A closed-session administrative proposal by Superintendent Dr. Philip O. Coakley to merge the administrative operations of the Shattuck and Winslow elementary schools under a single principal came to light Wednesday night during a contentious public meeting of the Norwood School Committee.
The existence of the merger plan was revealed when portions of the minutes from an August 1 executive session were read aloud in open session at the insistence of Committee Chairman Francis X. Sheehan Jr. The reading occurred after committeeman John J. Cavanaugh—who had presided over the August 1 meeting in Sheehan’s absence—submitted several pages of proposed amendments to the official record, maintaining that the minutes needed greater detail given lingering questions regarding the legality of actions taken that night.
According to the records, the August 1 meeting initially involved transferring the Winslow School principal to a vacancy at the Callahan School and subsequently filling the resulting Winslow opening. However, that appointment was rescinded just a week later after teachers complained they had not been given an opportunity to apply for the position. Ultimately, the broader merger plan was abandoned in favor of maintaining separate principals for both schools, and the committee is currently reviewing applications for the Winslow post. Following cross-questioning among members regarding the appropriateness of debating closed-session actions in public, the committee deferred action on Cavanaugh’s proposed amendments.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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School Enrollment Shows Drop of 382 from Last Year-September 6, 1979
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Aaron Guild School Leased to Norwood CETA Consortium and EdCo for One Year-August 1, 1979
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Norwood School Bus Billing Questioned-July 31, 1979
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School Supplies Budget Maintained at Prior Year Level Amid Spending Pressures and Utility Shortfall Concerns-September 14, 1978
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School Department Releases Bus Routes and Eligibility Rules-August 30, 1978
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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…
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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…
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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.
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