While some of the Commission is set by the legislation, some are appointed. Governor Healey today announced her picks:
Governor Maura Healey has appointed Kristen Smidy and Amy O’Leary to the Foundation Budget Review Commission.
Smidy is the former superintendent of the Gateway Regional School District and currently serves on the Board of Ed; O'Leary is the Executive Director of Strategies for Children. Both are from western Mass, which the Governor notes in her press release.
Due to the Consensus Revenue hearing starting at noon, I did not liveblog the last section of the Board of Ed meeting last Tuesday, which was on the interim graduation report. I did watch it later in the day--you can read my MASC coverage here--but much like the Commissioner's goals, feedback was not so much focused on the report as it was talking around associated items.
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| Please enjoy this waving snowman from Palmer. The snowman has nothing to do with the post, but we need to take our happy things where we can. |
There were five eyebrow raising moments during the meeting--two from the Commissioner's priorities, and three from the graduation discussion--that I want to be sure we don't miss, as much as everyone's attention right now may be elsewhere.
The Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meets today for its regular September meeting. This is the first meeting with the new commissioner, Pedro Martinez.
The agenda can be found online here. The livestream will come up over here. I'll update once they start.
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| you'd never know that this was below the Revere Beach Parkway, would you? |
...and I want to thank the Governor's office for putting out a press release in advance, rather than leaving us to scramble to figure out who the new person is at the next Board meeting.
Governor Healey has appointed former Gateway Regional1 superintendent Kristen Smidy to the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. Before she was superintendent in Gateway, a position she just left at the end of this past school year, she was the principal of Hampshire Regional. She now works for NEASC.
Think: rural, regional, western Mass
She's also been leader and outsized voice for the needs of small rural districts.
She's a good egg, and this is a good pick! And I suspect she isn't going to be quiet, either!
She replaces Michael Moriarty (of Holyoke). Thus, while the Board is still wildly overbalanced in terms of inside 128 to outside 128 (with two from Worcester plus Smidy), at least we haven't actually lost ground on that!
