09/25/2000 SELECT BOARD Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

t Board of Selectmen Minutes September 25, 2000 Present: Selectman Leveille, Selectman Cahalan, Selectman Taylor, Selectman Marsters, Selectman Green Town Administrator Robert Whritenour Assistant Town Administrator Joyce Mason Meeting Called to Order by Chairman Leveille at 6:10 p.m. Town Hall, Conference Room#1. APPOINTMENTS AND HEARINGS: School Committee: The Board of Selectmen met in joint convention with members of the School Committee for the purpose of reviewing Chapter 70 funding. In attendance; Janice Mills, Kathleen Lynch, Donna.Lopez, Ben Caswell, and Superintendent of Schools; Sherwood Fluery. State Representative Nancy Caffyn was present with RAGE officials, Tom Michaels and John Ladner to review the issue of fair and equitable education for the children of Cape Cod communities. Anthony Alva, co-counsel for the RAGE organization was also in attendance for discussion purposes. Presently, there is a complaint alleging that Cape communities prior to the educational reform act have suffered harm and that the state funding formula failed to meet its constitutional obligation of fair and equitable education. The State Attorney General's Office has denied that there is any harm. A motion was filed by the state in 12/99 to supplement the original 1993 complaint referred to as the McDuffy case, with findings that the current formula is deemed adequate and meets the constitutional standards and obligations of the legislature. It was noted that educational reform was filed after the McDuffy finding in 1997. Mashpee was a plaintiff in the preliminary lawsuit in October of 1998, in complaint of the alleged educational violations. To date, RAGE is preparing for suit against the state, and has made a decision to link their efforts with the Council for Fair School Finance, a larger coalition that has had an existing complaint with claims similar to Mashpee. They have agreed to address Mashpee's concerns in the suit.