Scott Hoffman officially becomes Bromfield associate principal
Long-time Harvard teacher Scott Hoffman, who has served as interim associate principal at Bromfield since February, has been chosen to fill that position permanently, School Superintendent Thomas Jefferson told the school board at its meeting last week. Hoffman has taught in the schools since 1987, both as a fifth-grade teacher and as a social studies teacher at Bromfield. In addition, he has been the seventh-grade team leader, and has coached varsity girls tennis and the varsity boys basketball team. He has a bachelor’s degree from Bates College and a master of education degree from Cambridge College.
A press release handed out at the meeting lauds Hoffman’s “deep understanding of the Harvard culture, and his strong ties to parents, students, and faculty.” It further states that Hoffman is “honored and grateful to have this opportunity and looking forward to working with the exceptional students, staff, and parents at Bromfield.”
First-grade teacher Paula Hult to retire
Long-time first-grade teacher Paula Hult will retire at the end of the current school year, which will “be a real loss” according to School Superintendent Tom Jefferson. Calling Hult a “born teacher,” Jefferson told the school board that he is always drawn into her classroom when he walks down the hallway at the elementary school.
Nature’s Classroom goes forward
School Superintendent Thomas Jefferson and elementary math and science curriculum coordinator Gretchen Henry will serve as staff facilitators for next spring’s Nature’s Classroom program, Jefferson announced at last week’s school board meeting. The environmental education program, in which fifth-graders spend several days at an overnight camp, is usually planned and coordinated by the fifth-grade teachers. However, because the teachers have implemented a “work-to-rule” action, doing only those tasks required by contract, the administrators will take on this work instead, along with parent volunteers. The Nature’s Classroom trip is a favorite with students and parents alike, and many had worried that the program would have to be cancelled unless the teachers’ contract is settled soon.
More state aid a priority for schools, board to tell state representatives
The School Committee agreed to send a letter to Harvard’s state representatives Jamie Eldridge and Pam Resor, spelling out its top priorities for state action to help out the schools. The letter was composed after Eldridge asked local school boards in towns he represents to tell him what changes in school funding they would like to see on the state level.
School Committee Vice-Chairman Will Verbits listed four actions his board would like the state to implement. To start, Harvard would like to see the state increase the amount of per-pupil state aid to a minimum of $2,000. Harvard currently receives slightly less than $1,000 per student. Second, the board wants the state to reimburse high-cost special education students’ expenses at a rate of 85 to 100 percent, rather than at the current rate of 72 percent, Verbits said. Also, having the state include transportation costs in these “circuit-breaker” reimbursements would help Harvard, he said. The third item on the wish list is for the state to help towns pay the health insurance premiums for its employees. Finally, the state ought to lift its moratorium on adding new school building projects to the list for partial state reimbursement, especially in rural areas, the board agreed.
Steve Colwell, the Finance Committee liaison to the school board, added a fifth suggestion for the board to put in the letter. “We’re getting killed with increases in SPED [out-of-district] tuition in mid-year,” he told the board.
School Committee member Mark Hardy agreed. “It flies in the face of a contract,” he noted, saying that such unexpected special education tuition increases make fiscal planning much harder for the schools. School Superintendent Thomas Jefferson agreed to add Colwell’s request to the letter.
PTA donates money for art program
The school board accepted a gift of $600 that the PTA raised for the schools. The money will be spent on the Bromfield art program, Superintendent Thomas Jefferson told the board.
At the end of the open school board meeting, the board met in executive session to discuss contract negotiations.
Note: This From the Boards article appears in the December 22, 2006, print edition of the Press.
