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Archive for March, 2008

In the Mix: Will Brownsberger

March 25, 2008
By proberts
In the Mix: Will Brownsberger

This is the latest installment in a series of interviews BloggingBelmont is doing with some of the leading thinkers and decision makers in the Belmont Community — those folks who help shape the town that we live in. For this latest In the Mix, BloggingBelmont sat down with State Rep. Will Brownsberger, a longtime town...
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Posted in budget, politics, schools | Comments

The good news and…the good news!

March 20, 2008
By proberts

A hearty congratulations to the 100+ town residents who turned out to support the School Committee’s plan to introduce full day kindergarten on Tuesday. As reported in the Citizen Herald, the School Committee voted 5-1 in favor of the full day kindergarten program, which will be funded by state grants and parent fees —...
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Full Day K goes up for a vote tonight

March 18, 2008
By proberts

Supporters of full day kindergarten need to turn out tonight to the Chenery Middle School at 7:30 for an important School Committee meeting. At issue will be the School Dept.’s plan to introduce all day kindergarten to the town’s elementary schools, to be paid for with state grants and fees from families that use...
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Are we letting the Underwood die?

March 15, 2008
By proberts
Are we letting the Underwood die?

“The long term strategy is to wait until it dies, then leave it empty.” — March 12 Warrant Committee Meeting An interesting side note from Wednesday evening’s Warrant Committee meeting. As I noted in my recent post, the meeting was really an opportunity for the WC to consider the impact of cuts to both the...
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FY 09 operating override gets cold reception

March 14, 2008
By proberts

I thought B2’s readers might like an update, following Wednesday night’s Warrant Committee meeting, on the status of debate among the town’s elected leaders, on the possibility of an operating override for FY09 to help cover what began as an estimated $3 million budget deficit, threatening both town and school programs. As you probably know...
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Posted in budget, roads, schools | Comments

(Update) PILOTs…maybe not such a crazy idea after all!

March 10, 2008
By proberts

Those of you who have been following bloggingbelmont.com for the last couple months will, no doubt, recall the Eight Crazy Ideas (that just might work) for ‘08 series we ran. This was an effort to throw some out of the box ideas about how to improve life in town to the proverbial wall and...
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Posted in budget, discussion | Comments

Whatever happened to Full Day Kindergarten, anyway?

March 5, 2008
By proberts

I’ve heard, directly and indirectly, from a couple of parents in the last few days who wanted to know what the status was of Superintendent Holland’s proposal for full day kindergarten, so I thought I’d give the lo-down. If you recall, the School Department initially proposed –and the School Committee backed– a plan to extend...
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Band of Mothers

March 3, 2008
By bloggingbelmont

With Belmont headed towards a likely override vote (or a few of them) in the coming days, I was interested to read this fine article in the Boston Globe on the phenomenon of “override moms” — concerned, suburban parents (generally moms — but not always!) who are pushing their communities to right by their...
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Massive turnout puts override on the agenda

March 2, 2008
By proberts
Massive turnout puts override on the agenda

An impressive turnout by parents of Belmont Public School students and other concerned citizens put the issue of an operational override at the top of the town’s agenda Saturday, and may have set the stage for a vote on an override in May or June. Hundreds of people crammed into the Community Room at the...
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