Man About Canton: May 14 Preview
By Joe DeFeliceDid you know …
As the town and the school department now knows, Canton School Superintendent Jeff Granatino is leaving after five years to run the Marshfield School Department. He will remain in Canton until June 30. In MAC’s opinion, Granatino was the best Canton school superintendent we have had over the past 30 years, and he will certainly be missed. The town should have offered him more money to stay; he was the most underpaid town official in Canton. Granatino lives in Scituate and has school-aged children, and he said the Marshfield job was a “perfect opportunity” for him and his family.
Jen Henderson, the Canton Public Schools’ current director of curriculum and instruction, has been named interim superintendent effective July 1. As a result, the School Committee decided to begin the search for the next superintendent in late summer/early fall to draw from a wider talent pool. It is expected that Henderson will be named interim superintendent for one year.
According to Canton School Business Manager Barry Nectow, 233 students have pre-registered for kindergarten for the next school year. This will project out to 10 full-day classrooms and 2.5 half-day classrooms.
At the suggestion of the Board of Selectmen, the Canton School Committee agreed to withdraw the proposed question of a debt-exclusion override that was originally slated to appear on the April 7 town ballot. The school department is seeking the override to pay for an eight-room addition at the Hansen School. Instead, the question will be introduced at the May town meeting and, if approved, will then be put before the voters in a subsequent special town election.
According to Canton Finance Director Jim Murgia, the town has certified free cash reserves in the amount of $3,271,361. The stabilization fund has a current balance of $5.1 million, and the assessor’s overlay account has a cash reserve of $3.2 million. Murgia said the town tries to keep between 10 and 15 percent of its budget in reserves to maintain its top AAA bond rating. The town’s current reserve level is around 13 percent.
It has been estimated that the DPW spent $1.1 million this year for snow and ice removal.
The Canton Police Association recently donated $2,000 to the Canton Council on Aging …
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Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=29490
Posted by Joe DeFelice
on May 14 2015. Filed under Featured Content, Man About Canton, Opinion.
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