School board considering flat fee for extracurriculars

The Canton School Committee will consider the possibility of establishing an annual flat fee for participation in all CHS extracurricular activities, thus allowing students an opportunity to join an activity at any time of the year. A fee of $50 has been suggested and would be independent of a sports or drama club fee.

School Superintendent Jeff Granatino will report back to the committee after discussing the idea with other administrators.

The proposal came up at the October 4 School Committee meeting as Vice Chairman Cindy Thomas led a discussion of the Extracurricular and Sports Study Committee’s report. Although the report was discussed in early 2012, the committee decided to take another look at its findings for sports, drama, music, and extracurricular activities.

Currently, Canton High School offers more than 30 general extracurricular activities, including special interest clubs, student government, yearbook and school newspaper, honor societies, literary clubs, and peer leadership groups. The school budget finances stipends for nine programs at a total cost of $35,000 per year, but the report said the basis for the current stipend structure is unclear.

At Thursday’s meeting, Thomas said it was important for CHS to publicize the activities to both parents and students.

The idea of the annual flat fee was well received by the five committee members. New member Dave Emhardt said it would be both cost-effective and encourage more student participation.

Thomas said the committee should take a further look at how the increase in user fees has affected participation in athletics. She also reiterated one of the key points of the sports finding — that the district should adopt a formal evaluation of programs over a period of multiple years. The criteria should include participation level and the overall health of the program.

Thomas further noted that user fees should not exceed 33 percent of the cost of the sports program. If the fee exceeds that figure, then the fee structure and program offering should be reevaluated and modifications should be considered, she said.

At this point, the committee wants to boost participation in the music program and therefore does not want to institute a music fee. The committee did authorize more public funding for the music department in this year’s budget.

In other news, the committee received a positive update from Donna Creed Bauman, who has led the development of the “Garden’s Gate Project,” which focuses on the restoration of courtyards at CHS. Since proposing the idea to the committee in the summer of 2011, Bauman said the project has slowly picked up steam and support throughout the community.

The project’s goal is to restore the five existing garden spaces at CHS for use as outdoor classrooms, music concert platforms, art studios, science labs, and workshop areas. The project will promote self-sustaining gardening techniques and environmental conservation.

Bauman was pleased to report that an anonymous donor has made a large donation to pay for a landscape architect, Len Costello of Costello Designs. The hiring of the architect allows Bauman to pursue public and private grants. The project has also received funding from the Paul Matthews Charitable Foundation, the CHS Alumni Association, Collaborations in Clinical Care LLP of Canton, Barry Okun Photography, Grounds Management Landscaping of Easton, and Irene Kelly.

For the current school year, Bauman said she will focus on two of the five outdoor spaces. Her most immediate need is for mulch. For more information about the project, click on the “Garden’s Gate Project” link under the community heading on the Canton Public Schools website.

In other school news:

* The committee formally announced the three-year contract extension for Superintendent Granatino. School Committee Chairman John Bonnanzio said the extension does not contain a cost of living adjustment; however, the committee upped his tuition reimbursement from $2,000 to $3,500. Granatino is working on his doctorate degree in education at Northeastern University.

* At the request of Selectmen Chairman Bob Burr, the committee approved a $5,000 appropriation to pay for a noise shield at the batting cage at the JFK sports fields. The idea came from town building inspector Ed Walsh and is being done to curb noise at the field out of consideration for the neighboring residents. Thomas said the fields do benefit the schools and “we want to be a good neighbor.”

* The committee met the two new CHS student representatives, Ben Wiseman and Angelina Salcedo, and will meet with the student council representatives at a breakfast scheduled for the morning of October 24.

* The Canton Alliance for Public Education (CAPE) will hold a reorganization meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 16, at the Armando Recreation Center.

* Granatino said the recently imposed curfew on athletic events due to the threat of EEE will remain in effect for another few weeks or until the second frost of the season.

* The School Committee will next meet on Thursday, October 18, at 7 p.m. at CHS.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Oct 10 2012. Filed under News, Schools. Both comments and pings are currently closed.