Mr. Monfredo is proposing that "repair, remodel, and restore" be the new motto of the Worcester Public Schools plant.
He wants to have volunteerism in sprucing up schools.
Referring to Community and Employee Issues
The Mayor says she's sure there are legal opinions "floating around out there."
Mr. Bogigian says "there have to be safeguards." He mentions liability.
Mr. O'Connell mentions work at Worcester Arts Magnet done by parents and inmates at the County House of Correction. He says that the collective bargaining with tradespeople was one issue in the past; he also agrees that liability was an issue, but speaks of a "carefully considered balancing of the" risks and benefits.
And beyond coming up with a motto - what solid action is the school committee ready to take? Will they be reviewing the contracts and determining the actual limitations imposed on volunteers set by the scop of those contracts? Will they be writing guidelines that will be UNIFORMLY applied to and enforced at ALL of the schools? We had a parent volunteer effort to paint the exterior doors of our school. We were reprimanded for the effort after we painted several but not all of the doors. The remaining doors are still on the work list several years later - deteriorating rapidly because they desperately need to be sealed with something. It is one thing to say "hey, volunteers should do this work." and quite another to actually support those volunteers in a meaningful way.
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