schools

To the editor:

Amidst all the information being distributed regarding the upcoming votes that Lincoln will take regarding Minuteman High School, the Lincoln Vocational Education Options Working Group (VEOWG) wants to ensure that accurate and consistent data is provided to the public. To that end, the VEOWG has reviewed Sharon Antia’s recent letter and the accompanying charts provided by Minuteman that projected Lincoln’s per-student cost for fiscal year 2020 (FY20) under the revised regional agreement. We have also inquired with Minuteman to clarify its methodology for its calculation, particularly its use of seven students as the applicable “HS Enrollment” used to divide into Lincoln’s total projected cost for FY20.

Minuteman has informed us that it used seven students because that is Lincoln’s estimated four-year average enrollment for FY16-19 (including the actual enrollment for FY16 and an estimated five students in each of the other three fiscal years). We disagree with Minuteman’s methodology and have so informed them. In order to provide an accurate per-student cost estimate for a particular year, the only accurate and consistent methodology is to divide the total cost chargeable to Lincoln for that year by the actual number of students enrolled that year. Since the estimated enrollment for Lincoln is five students in each of FYs 2017, 2018, and 2019, the only reasonable estimate for FY20 is also five students. We also confirmed with Minuteman that five students is the appropriate assumption for FY20.

Dividing five into the total projected FY20 cost of nearly $280,000 yields an estimated FY20 per-student cost of nearly $56,000. This is the number that the VEOWG will use to describe Lincoln’s potential cost of remaining a member, in comparison to the projected per-student FY20 cost on an out-of-district basis at Minuteman and the other vocational/technical schools we are considering.

We hope to see you at the upcoming public forum (February 11) and Special Town Meeting (February 23).

Sincerely,

Selectman Peter Braun on behalf of the Lincoln Vocational Education Options Working Group

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of letters about Minuteman Regional Vocational School District from Sharon Antia, Lincoln’s representative on the Minuteman School Committee. The previous letters were published on January 4, January 14, and January 24.  She invites readers with questions to email her at Sharon.antia@gmail.com.

To the editor:

On February 23, Lincoln will hold a Special Town Meeting at which we will be asked to vote on two things: whether to approve the amended Minuteman school district’s regional agreement, and whether to withdraw from the Minuteman school district.

Massachusetts evaluates a town’s ability to pay for public education based on property values and personal income (“wealth factors”). Using this information, the state determines the fair and equitable distribution of state funds for education by subsidizing schools serving communities with low wealth factors at a higher rate than schools serving towns such as Lincoln where wealth is determined to be high. This matter is determined by the state and is not something that can be controlled at the local level.

[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: Minuteman in dollars and cents

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of letters about Minuteman High School from Sharon Antia, Lincoln’s representative on the Minuteman School Committee. The previous letters were published on January 4 and January 14. She invites readers with questions to email her at Sharon.antia@gmail.com.

To the editor:

On February 23, Lincoln will hold a Special Town Meeting at which we will be asked to vote on two things: whether to approve the amended Minuteman school district’s regional agreement, and whether to withdraw form the Minuteman school district. The new Minuteman regional agreement, which all 16 towns in the district must vote on, has two important changes to the district’s governance.

1) Voting mechanism for school committee members—Under the current structure, each of the 16 towns in the district has one school committee representative, and each representative has one full vote. Some towns send many students and some only send a couple, yet each representative’s vote holds equal value.

With the new amendment, 50 percent of a town’s voting strength will be shared equally among members and 50 percent will be based on that town’s four-year rolling average enrollment. Recognizing that some towns may withdraw from the district and that Lincoln sends only a few students to this high school, it is difficult to determine exactly how this change will impact Lincoln, but it is likely that the value of our vote will be diminished.

At least as important as the actual vote is having a seat at the table and being part of the conversation in the district. As history has shown, we expect that some of our students will want to attend this high school, and the new school will be built in our town. The ability of the Lincoln Planning Board to manage building size, scale, and impact on abutters is constrained by state statute. However, as long as we are part of the district, our representative to the Minuteman School Committee has the ability to question program-driven design such as the proposed new theater.

2) Selection of school committee members—Unlike our K-12 system in which citizens elect school committee members, Minuteman School Committee representatives are appointed by town moderators. One of the proposed amendments will move this appointing power to the Board of Selectmen in each member town (or by the mayor in the case of a city), unless the community provides otherwise by bylaw or charter.

Minuteman School Committee members act, as do K-12 School Committee members, as advocates for public education in their respective schools. Without an election process for a Minuteman School Committee representative, an appointment by the town moderator has provided a balanced alternative to select strong advocates for education.

Minuteman High School has been part of Lincoln’s educational system since its inception in 1971. We have expected its School Committee, just as we expect our K-8 and L-S school committees, to be strong advocates for investments in quality education. This must be part of the conversation as we consider change.

Sincerely,

Sharon Antia, Minuteman School Committee
165 S. Great Rd.

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Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

(Editor’s note: the most recent Lincoln Squirrel article about Minuteman can be found here.)

To the editor:

Minuteman High School has become an important topic of discussion here in Lincoln. On Tuesday, Feb. 23, we will have a Special Town Meeting at which we will be asked to decide if we want to remain in the Minuteman School District. There are many incredibly complex issues to be examined and an informed decision will require much thought, consideration, and understanding from all of us.

[Read more…] about Letter to the editor: many Minuteman issues to mull