Short meeting brings up topics for future discussions

Date: 9/22/2010

Sept. 22, 2010

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor

CHICOPEE -- The School Committee's meeting on Sept. 15 may have been short -- just a little over 45 minutes -- but the seeds were planted for a much longer meeting in the future.

School Committee member Marjorie Wojcik made a motion to place on the agenda for the meeting on Oct. 6 a discussion about Mayor Michael Bissonnette's effort to consolidate municipal departments and services

Bissonnette said a state law allows cities and towns to seek consolidation of "non-education functions" and he has asked both city councilors and school committee members to form a committee to discuss such moves.

The goal, Bissonnette said, would be for this committee to work through the winter months in order to make specific budget recommendations for the next fiscal year.

Another item to be potentially discussed at the Oct. 20 meeting is the city's latest Massachusetts Comprehensive Achieve System (MCAS) scores. School Superintendent Richard Rege told the committee his office is still awaiting additional information from state education officials.

Bissonnette also told the committee work continues on the conversion of the former Chicopee High School into a middle school. Construction on the project is still expected to begin next summer and Bissonnette said the range of the budget, depending upon building options, would be between $12 million and $18 million.

One of the issues facing the project's architects is to take the necessary steps are taken to insure "the structural integrity for 30 to 50 years," Bissonnette said.

He said the re-use will "save a great iconic building" and should save the city between $150,000 and $200,00 annually in bussing costs.

The mayor estimates the city's part of the renovation funding will be about $6 million and he has met with the bonding committee. He added his top three priorities are the middle school project, a new senior center and the expanded public safety complex.

School Committee member David Barsalou made a motion, which was passed, asking the School Department's personnel office to double check credentials of those in education positions. Barsalou said there appears to be an increasing number of Web sites that offer fake degrees and diplomas.

"It's running rampant," he said, based on written reports.

Rege explained the city does have a vetting process, but the state is responsible for issuing teaching certificates and making sure those credentials are in order.

Rege added, that in the past, when an applicant had a college listed with a suspicious name they didn't even receive an interview.

Rege told the School Committee the opening of this school year was the "smoothest opening in my memory." He added that every teaching position is filled.

Rege noted all school buses are now equipped with two video cameras. The new systems allow greater visibility and the digital technology will preserve those video records for longer periods for review purposes.