3/6/1996 SCHOOL COMMITTEE Minutes

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MA HPEE SCHOOL COMMITTEE -• REGULAR MEETING - MARCH 6 . 1996 PAGE 2 t Corinne wicke l, a copy room volunteer at the Coombs school., expressed her concerns regarding the copying of textbooks in lieu of purchasing then. The copy machines are in meed of repair and copies are sometimes poor and the wear and tear on the machines is very load. She asked if this is cost- effective instead of purchasing the textbooks . Dr. HeMoura said that there is not enough money to purchase the textbooks and make repairs to the machines. Next year there will be a drastic reduction in copy machine usage and textbooks will be at a minimum, At this point, Mrs. Mills asked the Committee if two items on the agenda could be taken out of order. The Conuni tee agreed. 7 .2 Presentation to Joan Tavares - Mrs. Mills presented a plague to Shirley Peters on behalf of the United States department of Education recognizing the Mashpee Public schoolsIndian Education program. Mrs, Peters accepted the plaque andj thanked Mrs. Tavares for her yard work. 7 . 1 Selectman Nancy-Caffyn - Equitable Funding for Municipalities -- Mrs. Caffyn addressed the Committee on a recent move to bring equity in the funding formula, as . devised by the Education Reform Act, to all Cape towns. Speaking on behalf of 1 *A,G,E. (Residents Angry about Governmental Equity) , Mrs. Caffyn referred to state aid statistics for Massachusetts communities and that Cape Cod is receiving much less than other communities in the state. She said the Cape teaches 3.8 percent of the students in the state but is receiving less than 1 percent of state aid. One of the problems with the formula is that it does not account for growth plus it places a lot of emphasis on property values and very little on median family income. After using graphics depicting Barnstable statistics and the inequity in the funding formula using the town of Norton as a prime example of a wealthy town receiving more funding than any Cape town, Mrs. Caffyn answered questions regarding .A.G.E. Motion made by Mrs. Lynch, seconded by Mrs. Cook, to support the efforts of R.A. .E. Residents Angry about Governmental Equity)ity . Mr, Paxton s u ge steel. sending a letter to F .A.G.E o 4 and Representative Torn Cahir expressing their concerns over the funding inequity, Dr. DeMoura will send a letter. NOTE: Unanimous Mrs. Caffyn asked the Committee for representatives to serge on a sub-committee for .A. .E. Mrs. Lynch and Mr. Paxton volunteered to be the School Committee representatives.