The Marion School Committee met on Thursday, October 30 for a brief meeting. Chair April Nye began the meeting by greeting, via Zoom, Superintendent of Schools Mike Nelson and Assistant to the Superintendent and the School Committee Melissa Wilcox.
Superintendent Nelson invited Catherine Cooper, executive director of the Southeastern Massachusetts Educational Collaborative (SMEC), to speak regarding her proposed amendment to the SMEC Capital Reserve Account. The amendment would primarily be that of a language change, with Cooper saying, “The purpose of this amendment – is pretty much just clarification language, making it more clear.” Another change would be to increase the maximum potential balance in the account. She asserted this was not a request for more funds, but a grammatical clarification and increase of the stated maximum dollar amount. The current maximum is $500,000 with the increase pushing it to $2,000,000.
“We do not have anywhere near that amount of money,” she added. SMEC is looking for state funding and would need the increased maximum to have a place to put the money, if awarded. The account was established in 2015 and was previously amended in 2019, with this being the second amendment.
The committee unanimously approved the proposition, though SMEC still needs approval from other school committees it serves.
Next, Doctor Leslie J. Sattler, associate professor at the School of Social Work at Bridgewater State University, presented her plan to conduct research examining the effectiveness of comfort dogs, namely being the Plymouth County Comfort Dogs Program dog Norman with his handler Marion Police Officer Jonathan Tracy. The superintendent spoke of his and the administration’s support for the program, though he said Sattler wasn’t available at the time of the meeting. Regardless, the research proposition was approved unanimously by the committee.
Next, the committee approved various donations: $1,000 from the Ludes Family Foundation for Project Grow, from eight to 10 “Thankful Boxes” from the First Congressional Church of Rochester with food items for families during Thanksgiving, two to three Thanksgiving dinners for Sippican families from Girl Scout Troop 67041 of Marion, 18-20 holiday wish-list gifts for Sippican families from the Friends of Jack Foundation, and four books in memory of Leslye Ribeiro from Sue Bender and other retired teachers. All donations were accepted with a unanimous vote of approval and much thanks.
The next meeting of the Marion School Committee is scheduled for Thursday, December 11, at Sippican Elementary School. The next Joint School Committee meeting will be held on Thursday, January 29, in the ORR Junior High School Media Room.
Marion School Committee
By Sam Bishop