Town of Princeton, MA
Meeting Minutes
Thomas Prince Middle School Enrolment Study Committee
March 15, 2011
Town Hall Annex
Members present were Toryn Bright, Laura Gall (7:45), Larry Greene, Matt Lindberg, Larry Pistrang, Dawn Sulmasy, and Carla Volturo. Also present was Selectman Edie Morgan (8:00) and Holden Landmark reporter Phyllis Booth. Chairman Pistrang called the meeting to order at 7:38 PM.
Acceptance of Minutes
The Committee unanimously voted to approve the minutes of February 15, 2011 with one minor change from a comma to a period in the third paragraph on the meeting with Dr. Pandiscio (between ‘time’ and ‘He’).
Discussion of Draft Final Report
Committee members were impressed with the report and thanked Chairman Pistrang for his hard work. Members felt that the report was an excellent representation of the significant effort done by the committee and overall were pleased with the objective nature of the writing, although there was some discussion about the occasional personal opinions that appeared, especially in the second half of the report.
Dawn Sulmasy reported on the discrepancy between the 2010 and 2011 NESDEC numbers. District staff feels that the startling increase in TPS student population was due entirely to an increase in school choice and does not appear to plan to ask NESDEC to reassess. The committee unanimously agreed that NESDEC should be asked to look at the numbers again and defend their projections.
The remainder of the evening was spent looking thorough the report page by page. Numerous changes were made to the draft report, both in grammar and content, but no major ideological adjustments or significant rewrites were necessary. The committee only reviewed six pages, however, and will continue the review at the next meeting.
There was substantial discussion of how the 6th grade students are currently educated at Thomas Prince and how changes to the current model might help solve some of the enrollment issues. The committee also spent some time discussing whether to add information to the report on the amount of money spent by Princeton on education compared to the other District towns. Princeton pays a higher percentage compared to their population than the other communities but overall spends less in total dollars.
Public Comment
Selectman Edie Morgan initiated a brief discussion on innovation schools.
Future Meeting Dates
The Committee decided to meet on Tuesday, March 22 at 7:30 PM in the Town Hall Annex to conclude the review of the draft final report. Laura Gall noted that she will not be present but will submit written comments to add to the continued discussion.
The Committee unanimously voted to adjourn at 9:09 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Lawrence A. Pistrang
Lawrence Pistrang
Referenced Documents
Draft Final Report of Thomas Prince Middle School EnrollmenM
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