Attleboro School Committee Discusses Mayor as New Voting Member

The Attleboro School Committee raised a few questions Monday night regarding the city’s proposed comprehensive plan which could give the city's mayor a chance at becoming a voting member of the committee.

While mayors in other cities and towns including Newton, Brockton and Quincy hold a voting seat on the school committee, Attleboro's committee members aren't sure it is the best idea for Attleboro. 

Committee Member Jim Stors said a conflict may arise between the needs of the city and the needs of its schools.

“There has to be separation,” Stors said. “Our priorities are going to be different at times than the (Attleboro) City Council.”

School Committee Chairman Ray DiCiaccio questioned whether the mayor would have enough time in his packed agenda to be an active, voting member.

“I just can’t imagine putting something else on the mayor’s plate, just from a practical perspective," DiCiaccio said. "It would make a tough job even more demanding."

During a previous interview with Patch, Mayor Kevin Dumas said he would take a seat on the committee, but shared DiCiaccio's sentiment on having a full plate. "This is about the students and their achievements and that is where we need to focus," he said. "We have come way too far to even think about going backwards."

There were also issues with other sections of the plan, though mainly with the wording and the implications made by it including the sections of the plan labeled Policy 4: Develop a top of the line Career and Technical Education (CTE) program and Policy 5: Ensure that all school buildings and infrastructure are maintained at highest possible levels.

The issue was that the wording implies that these goals are something that the district is not currently working towards or considering a priority, which is not the case as Superintendent Pia Durkin pointed to out refrencing highly regarded technical education program.

With regard to policy the committee pointed to Marc Furtado, the district’s business manager, and his work to repair the leaky roofs in the district.

“It implies a lot of things that I’d hope the committee and administration would disagree with,” Stors said.

The committee then unanimously voted to form a new subcommittee made up of DiCaccio, Michael Levinson, Melissa Cook and Jim Stors to look further into the comprehensive plan and discuss it with the city's Planning Committee and maybe even Mayor Kevin Dumas.

Committee Notes

• The committee voted to approve the request for six qualifying members of the AHS track team to attend the New England Track Championship in Burlington, Vermont from June 10 and 11
• The committee voted to approve the proposed field trip for grade eight class to attend High Meadow in Granby, CT. on June 10

The committee voted to approve the following donations:

• Two guitars valued at $230 for use at AHS from Linda Binns
• $1,000 from Bob’s Discount Furniture Outreach Program to AHS for deposit into the principal’s discretionary account
• $250 in supplies from Foxwoods Resort for the math program at Thacher Elementary
• One boy’s bike from the Providence AAA branch and John and Diana Dias for the International Walk to School Day event (The Walking School Bus) held on May 4 at Thacher
• One girl’s bike from the at 290 South Main St. and Luis Oliveira for The Walking School Bus event
• Two bike helmets valued at $50 from the for The Walking School Bus event
• $52.10 from Corkery and Company, Inc., LLC of Fall River to be deposited in the gifts/donations line for