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Date: 2/22/2023
LONGMEADOW — During a brief meeting on Feb. 14, the Longmeadow School Committee approved the proposed fiscal year 2024 (FY24) budget for Longmeadow Public Schools to be sent to Town Manager Lyn Simmons for inclusion in the town’s operating budget.
Despite being a level service budget, the FY24 proposal is $41.94 million, an increase of $1.75 million over the FY23 revised budget of $40.19 million. The Select Board is scheduled to vote on the town’s budget on March 6, after which taxpayers will vote at the May 9 Annual Town Meeting.
Before the end of the school year, Center School and Glenbrook Middle School will need to make up one and two school days, respectively. O’Shea explained that Center School recently lost a day to water damage. In two separate incidents, Glenbrook lost a day each to a power outage and a graffitied threat.
While O’Shea requested a waiver to exempt these schools from the 180 school-day requirement, he told the School Committee he was doubtful it would be approved. Dates for the make-up days have yet to be set.
Three LPS educators were selected as winners of the 2023 Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Awards from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Lianne Barr is a social studies teacher at Glenbrook Middle School, Colleen Cummings teaches grade 5 and Arlene McLean teaches grade 4, both at Center School. The teachers will be honored at a banquet later this year.
The committee approved a preliminary request to explore cost and options for a trip to Takikawa, Japan, a sister city of Longmeadow. In April, students would spend four days in Takikawa, housed with Japanese families. The group would then visit Kyoto, Japan’s historical capital, where they would experience thousand-year-old shrines and temples. In the past, before the coronavirus pandemic put an end to the trips, students would also visit Hiroshima. A delegation from Takikawa is expected in Longmeadow in the fall.