6.13.2022 Fall River School Committee

Fall River Government TV Jun 13, 2022 YouTube Report Issue

The Fall River School Committee convened its regular meeting on June 13th, 2022, addressing a wide range of topics from citizen concerns to budget approvals and personnel matters. Public input focused heavily on condemning the Judge Rothenberg Center (JRC) for its use of electric shock therapy and opposing the transfer of school department one-time monies to the city budget. Several speakers urged the committee to vote against funding the JRC and to allocate school funds directly to student needs, particularly special education. The meeting also included a significant segment honoring numerous retiring school staff members for their years of service. Key discussions and decisions included the approval of various contracts and grants, with several items, notably the JRC contract and ESL curriculum, being pulled for further discussion or tabled. The committee approved the allocation of $1,267,376 in pandemic-related assistance to the Durfee athletic fields, following a motion by Mayor Coogan. Significant time was spent on updates regarding the PowerSchool implementation, which is set to go live on July 1st despite challenges with data migration and a request for additional hours. The committee also approved the creation of a CVTE revolving fund to support vocational programs and discussed plans for Pre-K classroom expansion, including staffing for a new facility at 951 Slade Street. In a notable decision, the committee authorized Superintendent Ponce to immediately create and hire for new Student Support Specialist positions to address urgent social-emotional learning (SEL) needs, bypassing the usual approval process due to the critical demand. Other approvals included three additional ESL instructors for Morton Middle School and a social studies teacher for Kuss Middle School, both aimed at enhancing educational equity and meeting instructional requirements. The meeting concluded with approvals of executive session minutes, litigation settlements, and non-union personnel contracts, before adjourning.

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