Police/Fire

New Watertown Strong Flag Flying Over Watertown High School

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A new bright red flag with the words “Watertown Strong” now flies on the flag pole at Watertown High School in honor of the work of the first responders on April 19, 2013.Thursday morning, the high school held a ceremony to honor the first responders and to celebrate the new flag. The idea for the new banner came from students in the Transitions to Success class at WHS. The students wanted to thank the Watertown Police and Watertown Fire departments for their work last April when they helped stop and capture the Boston Marathon Bombing suspects, said Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald. The class raised money for the flag, made by Lubin’s Trophy of Newton, by selling wrist bands. They also received a donation from the Watertown Fire and Police Memorial Golf Tournament.

Around Town

Perkins School Appoints New President

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Perkins School for the Blind has a new president and chief executive officer. The school’s Board of Trustees chose Dave Power of Newton to be the school’s new leader. He comes to the school from Power Strategy Inc., a company he founded and where he served as president, according to the announcement from Frederic M. Clifford, chairman of the Board of Trustees. “This is a period of growth for Perkins, and Dave’s business acumen, strategic leadership abilities, and experience with the blindness community are precisely what the organization needs as we continue to diversify and extend our reach here and around the globe,” Clifford wrote in the letter announcing Power’s appointment. Power’s experience in the world of technology will help Perkins.

Government

See How Much the School Committee Approved for the School Budget

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Watertown Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald asked for a bigger budget, and she got what she asked for. Now school officials and parents will have to wait to see if they get the funding. Last week Fitzgerald said the schools need $46 million in Fiscal 2015 to provide the type of education that school officials believe Watertown’s children need. That would require a $42 million appropriation from the town. The amount is $6 million and 16 percent higher than Fiscal 2014 (the current year).

Government

Watertown School Budget, High School Renovation on Tap Monday

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The Watertown school budget will be on tap Monday night for the School Committee, and y0u can have your voice heard. The public hearing on the Fiscal 2015 school budget will be held Monday night at 7:15 p.m. in Town Hall. The School Committee must decide how much to request from the Town Council and Town Manager Michael Driscoll. Last week, Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald said she believes the district needs to add $6 million to this year’s budget to “move the district forward the way we would like it to go.” That would be an increase of more than 16 percent.

Around Town

Watertown Youth Leaders Head to State House to ‘Kick’ Teen Smoking

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Members of the Watertown Youth Coalition visited the Massachusetts State House recently in an effort to stop teen smoking. The peer leaders joined more than 250 other young adults from across the commonwealth for national Kick Butts Day. During the event the peer leaders learned about new challenges in curbing smoking from Department of Public Health Commissioner Cheryl Bartlett. “Tobacco companies have been using cheap prices, glitzy packaging, and widespread availability to market their new, flavored products to young people,” Bartlett said. “Now they’re using those same strategies to market e-hookahs and other types of flavored e-cigarettes at young people.

Schools

Schools Superintendent: This is the True Cost of Running a District

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The School Committee got the final recommended budget from school staff, and Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald said it is the amount required to run the district and educate students the way she believes is right. The total amount recommended is $46.48 million for the 2014-15 school year (Fiscal 2015). With about 3.5 million offset by grants and other funds, the town’s share would be about $43 million – or about $6 million more than the previous year. “This is the true cost of running a school district,” Fitzgerald said. “We’re at the tipping point.

Around Town

Rep. Hecht Gives Forecast of Special Ed Circuit Breaker Funding

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State Rep. Jonathan Hecht said the Governor’s budget does not fully fund the Special Education Circuit Breaker, but he hopes the Legislature can fix that. 

One of the main topics of discussion during the School Committee’s Budget and Finance Subcommittee meetings over the past week has been special education funding. The state chips in a significant amount for the most expensive services for special needs students – those costing $41,000 or more a year, according to Student Services Director Arlene Shainker. The cost is based on “four times the state average foundation budget per pupil as calculated under the Chapter 70 education funding law,” according to the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. When fully funded, the state provides 75 percent reimbursement for the amount over $60,000. Last year the state fully funded the program with $250 million (Watertown received more than $2 million), but this year the governor’s budget is level funded, Hecht said.

Around Town

Watertown School Supporters Call for Stabilization of Special Education Costs

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By Charlie Breitrose

The uncertainty of how much special education will cost the Watertown Public Schools each year has been a thorn in the side of school administrators and parents alike, and now supporters of the school want to establish a stabilization fund to deal with unexpected costs. The town must provide education for students with special needs from the age of 3 through high school, and in some cases until the age of 22. Some students attend programs in Watertown, but others attend schools outside of town which often have high price tags. This year alone, the district got 12 students who they had not anticipated who required out-of-district programs, said Student Services Director Arlene Shainker said at the School Committee Budget and Finance Subcommittee meeting on Monday night. That number is higher than most years.