SCHOOL COMMITTEE NEWSLETTER

February 2007

Welcome to the first newsletter from the School Committee Chairman. My name is John Coyne and I am the District 5 representative serving as the Chairman of the Portland School Committee for the 2006-2007 school year.

Let me start with a little history of how this newsletter came to be. During the School Committee retreat in August 2006 the committee identified communications as an area for improvement both on the committee and with the community. This newsletter is the School Committee’s attempt to provide another form of communication with stakeholders. The goal of this newsletter is to provide information about the work that is taking throughout the district. The newsletter will be posted on the website, included with school newsletters, and provided to staff in each school. I welcome any comments about this new idea as well. You may contact me through e-mail: SCnewsletter@portlandschools.org .

We are now on the cusp of diving into our budget season. Ben Meiklejohn, At- Large, is Chair of the Finance Committee this year and has done a marvelous job at getting this budget season off the ground. This budget year is again shaping up to be another challenge in attempting to meet the educational needs of all students in the face of ever shrinking resources. Superintendent O’Connor has received budget requests from the cost centers and presented a proposed FY08 budget to the School Committee on February 28^th . The Finance Committee will now begin their work on the FY08 budget.

Lori Gramlich, District 4, is the Chair again this year of the Legislative Affairs Committee. She has brought forward legislation that is pertinent to education and the committee is coming to a consensus on what will be in the best interest of the district. The other elephant in the room is the consolidation plan. We have had multiple meetings with the City, Legislative Delegation, and Susan Gendron, Commissioner of Education.

We are very grateful that Robert O’Brien, District 2, stepped up and has taken on the Chairmanship role of the Policy Committee. The Policy Committee has posted a timeline of upcoming work and meetings on the website.

The Elementary Facilities 3x3 Committee is currently looking at the Nathan Clifford Elementary School project. Nathan Clifford is first on the list for state funding of school construction projects. The Elementary Facilities 3x3 Committee is currently in the process of looking at new construction vs. renovation. There are three options for renovation at the Clifford site and additional work needs to be done to provide other options for the Elementary Facilities 3x3 Committee to consider.

I have enjoyed my time on the Committee and serving as its Chairman this year. I want to make sure that our goal of better communication with the community is achieved this year. Please contact me through the e-mail listed above if there are any questions or comments that you would like to make. I look forward to publishing this newsletter each month.