2008-01-24-SC-min - Laserfiche WebLink

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LEXINGTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING Thursday,January 24, 2008 Lexington Town Office Building, Selectmen's Meeting Room 1625 Massachusetts Avenue Present: Superintendent Paul Ash, School Committee Chair Tom Diaz, School Committee Members Helen Cohen, Tom Griffiths and Ravi Sakhuja. The minutes were taken by Leora Tec. The meeting was convened at 10:09 a.m. I. Call to Order and Welcome (Tom Diaz) Tom Diaz laid out the ground rules of the meeting. II. Members' Reports /Members' Concerns Tom Diaz: There will be an editorial in the Minuteman that is a critique of the schools and the schools' financial management saying among other things that the schools should not be complacent. I disagree with the conclusion. I believe that this administration has done everything they can to save money and as recently as last night they have done things to save money. Also our main goal is education. Tom Diaz went over the next few meetings. On Jan 31st the first hour of the meeting will be a public hearing. IIl. Discussion: Public Hearing on the FY09 Budget: Amy Zaslow: Full day kindergarten and the financial questions related thereto including the possibility of fees. Carole Pilarski responded that 4 years ago they did poll the incoming parents and a high percentage of incoming families were in favor of full day kindergarten. They did accept the planning grant at that time. Murray Wright: Mother of five children who opposes full day kindergarten. Jesse Steigerwald: Technology and capital budget as it aligns with the operating budget. Priorities within the technology budget. Marianne McKenna's technology plan can be put on the web. Francis Gillespie: School user fees for music and athletics. Paul Ash: I do think schools need to be free. What would be the financial impact if the fee structure was altered? We will present some options. SC Meeting 1/24/08 page # 1