10.15.2019 Fall River School Committee

The Fall River School Committee met on October 15, 2019, to conduct regular business, review district accountability data, and address several significant financial matters. During citizens input, community members spoke in support of the Kuss Middle School theater arts program, prompting the committee to later allocate $10,000 to each of the city's five middle schools ($50,000 total) for performing arts out of unexpended Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands relief funds. Superintendent Dr. Matthew Malone presented updates on the new Durfee High School construction project, which reached three-fifths of its skeletal foundation, and celebrated the state Senate's unanimous 37-0 passage of the Student Opportunity Act, projected to bring upwards of $15 million in new foundation funding to Fall River next year and approximately $75 million over seven years.

A central focus of the meeting was an extensive presentation on the 2019 district accountability data delivered by Dr. Tracy Curley and the assistant superintendents. Fall River Public Schools achieved a 42% criterion-referenced target completion rate, categorized overall as not requiring assistance or intervention. The presentation highlighted notable progress at schools utilizing the Achievement Network (ANet) coaching model—such as Fonseca, Henry Lord, and Talbot, which met or exceeded 75% of their targets—prompting discussions on expanding instructional supports, paraprofessional staffing, and social-emotional learning districtwide. Committee members raised concerns regarding flatlined standardized test scores, paraprofessional-to-student ratios, and educator retention.

The committee also took action on multiple financial and administrative items. Members approved expenditures from the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands relief funds, including $200,000 for a site-based Innovation Improvement Fund, $74,264 for an English Language Learner department head at Durfee High School, $40,000 for inclusion playgrounds at Spencer Borden and Greene schools, and full paraprofessional staffing in foundation rooms. Additionally, the committee approved a $750,000 expenditure from the employee trust fund, accepted donations totaling over $17,000, authorized three new ELL positions, approved the superintendent's evaluation tool and goals, and, following an executive session, ratified collective bargaining agreements and multiple individual non-union contracts.

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