The latest Wellesley Public Schools news:
Upham & Hardy farewell events
Wellesley Public Schools wraps up the academic calendar next week, so now’s the time to bid farewell to the Hardy and Upham Elementary Schools.
The 100-year-old Hardy building is being demolished and the adjacent new building will take its place in the new school year. Upham is closing as part of a district-wide consolidation plan, with initial uses for the building being a voting location and swing space for upcoming Warren Building renovations.
Here’s the farewell schedule:
Thursday, June 6 at Upham
Attend the final all-school assembly for Upham from 2-3pm. followed by a community celebration the Upper Field from 3:05-5p.m. Enjoy entertainment and refreshments. Upham alumni and community members are welcome.
Monday, June 10 at Hardy
Hardy Lights Out Event! From 6-7:30 p.m. come say goodbye to the Hardy school building. Alumni and community members are invited to visit the 100-year-old school before it is demolished.
Wednesday, June 12 at Upham
Alumni and community members are invited to visit the Upham school building for “One Last Walk” before the building closes. Self guided-tours will be available from 4-7pm.
Putting in School Committee hours
The topic of how many hours School Committee members put in as unpaid elected officials has been raised by members over the past couple of weeks as the School Committee interviewed candidates for an interim seat and then sought Select Board approval on June 3 for their choice of Sharon Clarke.
In making their choice, School Committee members wanted to feel confident that their choice would be able to put in the work. It’s generally known that being a School Committee member can be like having a full- or at least part-time job.
During the May 20 School Committee meeting, member Linda Chow said she wasn’t quite sure how candidates might be asked how much time they would have to put into being on the decision-making body. But she stated that when you add up meeting and prep time, and various assignments, the commitment is significant.
Outgoing member Catherine Mirick estimated the time adds up to between 5 and 20 hours per week. Member Niki Ofenloch said for her as a newish member with task force responsibilities, it’s closer to 15 to 20 hours.
Chow said during the joint meeting with the Select Board that for her the commitment has been closer to 30 hours a week. Selecting a candidate who can “roll up their sleeves and do the work” was an important characteristic for her making an interim committee member selection.
The need to commit such a large amount of time to the volunteer job certainly limits the pool of realistic candidates, especially during an appointment process.
Number of grievance hearings way up
In selecting Clarke as the interim School Committee member, existing members pointed to her human resources expertise, which may be useful given the rise in grievance hearings being handled by the Committee.
While the School Committee came to terms last year with the Wellesley Educators Association after lengthy negotiations, the Committee remains busy with grievances, which typically are addressed through closed door executive sessions seen on Committee agendas (e.g., “Under MA G.L. c. 30A, §21(A), exemption #2 – Collective Bargaining (Step 4 grievance hearing with the Wellesley Educators Association); and exemption #3 – Strategy with respect to the same grievance”).
Chow said “we’ve had as many grievances this year alone as we’ve had in the previous six years that I’ve been on School Committee,” adding that grievances have been up across the state.
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