HUDSON – As Superintendent Brian Reagan noted at the Sept. 10 School Committee meeting, hurdle number one was crossed with the Select Board’s vote to place a Proposition 2 1/2 override question on the May Town Meeting warrant.
“So I’ve been fielding emails and some calls from parents about … where can we help with the cause, which is very much appreciated,” he said. “And, I’ve been telling them: ‘Let’s just get through this first step.’”
It is important to respect the process, Reagan said, and think about how to organize the budget effort on their end. He has met with the teacher’s union, who are “ready to help.”
“There are certain communities that have had successful overrides in the past few years,” said Reagan. “I’m already in contact with superintendents from those districts. Just ask how we set those coalitions up and, you know, how they organized.”
Reagan said they “don’t have to recreate the wheel,” but just have a plan that they can model the next steps after. In addition, Finance Director Dan Gale has experience with a successful passage of an override in Grafton and has shared the draft of the override with him.
School Committee Chair Steven Smith said he reached out to the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, and they will present to the committee on Oct. 22 about the school committee’s role in an override and the “dos and don’ts.”
He said, “That could even be beneficial for parents to attend to understand what’s in our purview with School Committee members and what isn’t.”
School Committee member Marcia Mitchell noted that it would be a good idea to have a special committee for community outreach to last for at least this year.
In new business, the School Committee approved several grants from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, including $320,530 to be used in Farley, Mulready and Quinn Middle schools and $799,394 for use in all Hudson schools for the Special Education IDEA grant.