Norton Public Schools Ready For Year Ahead

The first School Committee meeting of the school year was held Monday as Norton superintendent Dr. Patricia Ansay gave a report of how things were going.

 She noted that three teachers were awarded for 35 years of service, while many others were also commended for their time working in Norton.

 Funding may be sought from the state to repair the roof at . Meanwhile, the gymnasium floor of was damaged due to a busted pipe below the surface. The moisture from the rupture warped the floorboards. In fact, a vote to approve a fall town meeting warrant article passed that will seek money from the insurance recovered school account. The exact sum needed is still unknown as the committee is waiting to hear from the insurance company, but Ansay estimated it to be in excess of $100,000.

 A big goal for the year is to reduce the amount of dropouts at . Ansay estimates that the dropout rate is currently over 3 percent.

 “For a school of our demographic, that’s still too high,” Ansay said.

To combat this, a Drop Out Prevention Taskforce has been formed. Volunteers are wanted to speak one-on-one with students who are thinking about dropping out. If interested, call 508-285-0160.

 The committee also looked at how was doing, and principal Lisa Farrell reported that out of 411 students attending, many were happy to return. There was some discussion over class size, however, as the average classroom has about 26 students. Several teachers in attendance at the meeting said that the while the ideal number would be about 22, 26 is manageable.

 Tom Golota of the Norton High School building committee gave an update with how the project was coming along. A contract was extended to JCJ Architecture and Pinck & Company while W.T. Rich came on board as the construction manager at risk. W.T. Rich has started planning on how work phases will be done. Over the next six months, designs will be drafted. It is estimated that the shovel will hit the ground in March. For more information on the project visit nhsbuildingproject.org.