Busy September: City Will See Five Preliminary Contests for the First Time in a Long Time – Everett Independent everettindependent.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from everettindependent.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Everett School Committee has historically been less than competitive over the years in political races, but the cap has seemingly been removed from the bottle this year, and not only are there several contested races, but as of this week there will be at least one Preliminary Election contest for School Committee, and likely two.
On Monday, Ward 6 School Committee was assured a Preliminary on Sept. 21 when incumbent Member Tom Abruzzese and current Ward 6 City Councilor Michael McLaughlin were certified for the ballot – joining already-certified Catherine Tomassi Hicks.
“That’s the way it should be,” said Abruzzese. “I’ve been on and off the School Committee for 20 years and it’s the first time I’ve been involved in a Preliminary. I can’t even recall there being a Mayoral Preliminary and I remember back to George McCarthy and Mayor Plunkett. It’s exciting and it will be new and different. Hopefully my record speaks for itself. I’d like to think I had a big
Supt. Priya Tahiliani and the School Committee agreed on Monday night to start the long process of trying to build a new high school in the Rivergreen area, hoping to potentially transform Everett High into a middle school and relieve the overcrowding that exists now at every school building in the district.
Tahiliani requested and received permission to file a Statement of Interest with the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) to pursue review and financing for a new high school building – tentatively planned for the area in and around RiverGreen Park.
Tahiliani said they would pursue a high school as they can only focus on one school at a time, and the high school is already overcrowded. She said it was built for 1,800 students and is now at 2,057 students – more than 250 over the built capacity.
The Everett School Committee voted 7-2 to move forward with negotiations with the Everett Teachers Association (ETA) and form a plan that would bring willing families back to school throughout the month of March.
Any new plan will only be in effect after an extensive negotiation with teachers that is happening this week, and a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that details every facet of the return plan.
Voting against the plan – which would bring teachers back before vaccination on March 8 and then slowly roll children into hybrid models on March 15 – were Members Allan Panarese and Millie Cardello. Both preferred a plan that would have waited until at least the first vaccination shot to begin going back to hybrid.
The Everett School Committee voted 7-2 to move forward with negotiations with the Everett Teachers Association (ETA) and form a plan that would bring willing families back to school throughout the month of March.
Any new plan will only be in effect after an extensive negotiation with teachers that is happening this week, and a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that details every facet of the return plan.
Voting against the plan – which would bring teachers back before vaccination on March 8 and then slowly roll children into hybrid models on March 15 – were Members Allan Panarese and Millie Cardello. Both preferred a plan that would have waited until at least the first vaccination shot to begin going back to hybrid.