MSBA items off!

It's all up to the state now!

And speaking of Statements of Interest...

I'm at City Council tonight to keep an eye on the Statements of Interest we have ready to go the Mass School Building Authority. 
You may have seen this GoLocal article on the Statements of Interest that we are sending off the Massachusetts School Building Authority this spring. There's just one thing I wanted to clear up; the end of the article may have given the impression that there is concern about allocation for FY15 from the state Legislature. While changes in allocation are always possible, the MSBA is funded by a dedicated penny of the state sales tax. That's unlikely to change.
What we're at the mercy of is the other submissions to MSBA and how urgent our application is in contrast with those.

next round of MSBA Statements of Interest

Accelerated repairs due February 14; McCarthy says "get roses for the wife and get the SOIs in."
Accelerated repairs coming through in March and June meetings, core program in fall and winter.

Reporting out: Joint committee and F&O

And I'm not going to take notes on this, as you've already seen them. This is the joint meeting that was held on December 18; notes here and following. 
Possibly the first some are hearing that we are under net school spending by $1.3M due to benefits of city administration not being able to be counted towards education spending.
Also, yesterday's F&O meeting, with Mr. Foley reporting out on addition of assistant principal at North High and special education increases.

Full committee approving quarterly transfers:

• $135,000 from Custodians to Custodial Overtime
• $95,000 from Maintenance Services to Custodial overtime
• $50,000 from Maintenance Services to Maintenance Overtime
• $80,000 from Administrative clerical to Support Overtime
• $100,000 from Non-instructional support to Support Overtime--drivers
• $10,000 from Non-instructional support to Bus monitor Overtime

Full committee approving Statements of Interest to send to the Mass School Building Authority 
Again, those are South High, Burncoat High, Doherty High for renovation/replacement
Clark Street, Goddard, Union Hill, West Tatnuck for window replacement

Finance and Operations meets Wednesday at 5!

The Standing Committee on Finance and Operations meets this Wednesday, January 22 at 5 pm. You can find the agenda here.
And welcome, Ms.Ramirez for her first meeting!

• We're getting a report back from Administration (on a motion I filed) on fixing the pesky problem of knowing what door to go in. 
• We have the Blue Ribbon Technology report up for consideration. You'll remember that we've funded the first round of computer rentals, so we'll be getting a progress report. With the needs we also have with the upcoming PARCC assessment coming in, there's some cross referencing we need to do here as well. And possibly capital funding.
• We're sending both the FY14 budget and the FY14 capital budget to our joint committee with City Council.
• WPS participated in the drafting of the 2013 Open Space and Recreation Plan, a document that the City is required to submit every seven years.
• We have the usual quarterly budget report, with an update on all accounts. It looks to me that the big things here--beyond underfunding workers' comp, which you'll remember we discussed at our last meeting and are taking up again at this one--are special education costs and a few categories of overtime. 
• We're getting an overview on the review of playgrounds that has happened. Schools do have the specifics for their own playgrounds; do keep in mind that this is a citywide view. I've already gotten some questions: if your school has a brand new playground, chances are that what you need is a sign and possibly better groundcover. 
• Mr. O'Connell had a query on adding assistant principals. 
• It's MSBA Statement of Interest time! The rebuild/renovate proposals remain the same: South at number one, with Burncoat and Doherty to follow. Proposed accelerated repairs for this year--all on windows--are Clark Street, Goddard, Union Hill, and West Tatnuck. Those have to pass out of F&O, through School Committee, then through City Council, and (in the case of the accelerated repairs) all by the first week of February.
• Miss Biancheria inquired about WRTA bus passes. 
• I've got some concerns about our snowblowers and lawnmowers. You have to read between the lines, but that's a worried Facilities department. 
• And Mr. O'Connell referred the school nutrition account here, so we should get to have some conversation about school lunch!

It's a long one, but it all starts at 5 on Wednesday! Fourth floor of the Durkin Administration Building (or live on Channel 11). 

Statements of Interest open

so far 103 districts have requested access to system
as of this morning 84 SoI submitted by 50 districts
"only file SoIs that they can financially support in the next two years"
much talk here of districts not sending in as many as previously
Grossman asks if there is "always a rush at the end"...yes, usually close to half
They're due on April 10