Redinger named chair
The School Committee unanimously voted to name member SusanMary Redinger as its new chairman, replacing Keith Cheveralls, who held the post for three years.
Redinger commended Cheveralls, who will continue as a committee member, for his service and gave him a plaque on behalf of the board.
“I have very big shoes to fill,” Redinger said.
Cheveralls told Redinger, “You will easily fill my shoes and exceed my shoes.”
Redinger, of Ayer Road, was elected to her first term on the School Committee last spring.
Rounding out the officers on the board Monday, Kirsten Wright retained the title of vice-chairman, and new member Bob Sullebarger was named recording secretary, both in unanimous votes.
Solar panel approval
The board gave a unanimous go-ahead to the Harvard Energy Advisory Committee for a plan to install solar panels on the roof of the Hildreth Elementary School. The energy committee had originally proposed to install the panels on the Bromfield School, but committee representative Bill Blackwell announced at the last meeting of the School Committee the elementary school would be more suitable.
The School Committee had asked Blackwell to return after seeking input from the Planning Board and Historical Commission and to provide a full financial statement. The Planning Board did not have any objections and the Historical Commission said “it’s not visible from the Historic District,” Blackwell said Monday.
The plan still requires approval by the town building inspector.
School Choice opening
The School Committee voted, 4-1, to open up a School Choice position in sixth grade starting next year. The opening is to replace a current tenth-grade School Choice student who is moving out of state.
Interim Superintendent Joe Connelly told the School Committee the grade-six position would go to the sibling of a current School Choice student, automatic under state law.
“Grade 6 continues to have the lowest class size,” Connelly wrote in a memo to the committee.
Wright voted against the motion, saying she preferred to open the new position at the kindergarten level.
“I get a little nervous about the middle school numbers being higher than they should be,” Wright said.
The board agreed to make a thorough discussion of School Choice policy, class size, and enrollment projections one of its goals for the next year.
“The implications here are profound,” Cheveralls said. “We’ll probably spend an entire night on these two or three topics.”
