The Council retreats

While I did not attend the City Council retreat today, Daily Worcesteria did and gives us a few notes worthy of comment from this angle (and we're choosing, following the Mayor's own example from earlier this week "to refrain from comment" on her thoughts on blogging):

The four times (I've been told) rescheduled joint meeting of the School Committee's Standing Committee on Business and the City Council's Subcommittee on Education was cited by Councilor Toomey in the conversation about the Council not being pitted against the School Committee. That meeting is now scheduled for Monday, April 6 at 4:30 pm.

The tension over who funds the schools versus who decides where the money goes came back out again in Councilor Eddy's comments regarding accountability. The "can't question without coming across as antagonistic" stems from his comments (regarding the expense of school administration) two weeks ago and the subsequent outfall. I'd say it is possible, but it is difficult. In a system that has been cut so deeply and so often, a defensive posture is a way of life.

Eyes are turning to Franklin now, as the meeting's facilitator cited his hometown as one in which the city took over management of the school buildings. Franklin is a town of 30,000 with a single high school, two middle schools, and seven elementary schools. Their latest enrollment figure shows a student population of 6232.