Press Releases

Getting to the 3.1227% Town Priorities Budget:

Like many of you, I’m angered by the single-minded budget proposal to close the school’s 2.85% or $1,493,489 budget gap (between what Town Priorities provides and what SPS says it needs for level service funding) presented last Wednesday.

We will need all hands to achieve workable —by no means painless—solutions that do not directly impact student success and wellbeing. We need solutions that don’t add to the tax-payer burden in this town. I hope the superintendent shows up in good faith tonight and gives the School Committee numerous routes to reach its goals—impeding students’ access to their teachers and the classes they need to meet their full potential and requirements must be a last resort in the budget-balance sights.

The union and the School Committee bargained in good faith. Discussions about whether or not the district can afford the current teacher contract are moot. The school district must honor the contract. That leaves the district with tough choices.

Though it pains me to revert to paid full-day kindergarten, I don’t see a responsible path forward where we keep free full-day K in place for these tight years ahead. The School Committee will have to find a path back to free full-day K with a consistent funding source in the future (Chapter 70 funding is not the answer). Here’s $600,000 of our shortfall.

We have an excellent Early Learning Center preschool and I’m glad the School Committee is exploring a fee increase for paying students more in alignment with other area preschools in our region. I’d like to know if those funds are available for all uses, how much of an increase we might see, and how much that would offset our budget shortfall. I have similar availability questions for other requested fee changes and increases.

I do agree with some of the speakers at last week’s budget hearing that the administration should see pay cuts—it is a symbolic move, but might also net significant relief to the threat of taking teachers or specialists from students. We cannot dismantle student success and wellbeing.

Our schools have seen a decrease in professional development, an increase in social-emotional and behavioral issues, and challenges related to acclimating our new students from emergency shelters. For these reasons, I would advocate that the Assistant Superintendent for Equity and Engagement and the DEI Director remain in place. Again, like all admin positions, I think small cuts to salaries might be on the table to the collective benefit of trimming down that budget gap.

I support retaining our curriculum coordinators, especially in a year we must implement a new elementary literacy curriculum in place of Lucy Calkins.

I will admit, I love that my kids had access to Spanish in elementary school, but to me this is a “nice-to-have” in lean years. We must consider going without for a few years with a plan to onboard it again. Curtailing foreign language instruction at the elementary level would trim $200,000 from the budget.

Our special education programs at Sharon Public Schools are phenomenal. Considering the increasing numbers of students needing support and the universal impact of the pandemic on mental health and learning, we must maintain our district’s strength here. Suggesting cuts to the LEAP (Language Extension and Practice Program) program – which addresses student language and literacy needs – as a part of the first suggestion of cuts is shocking and unacceptable.

At the top of Dr. Bothelho’s list of cuts last week was a retiring AP Psychology teacher. If the district needs to release one AP course in 2024-25, I believe our students will survive this one. Exploring this would trim $70,000 off the budget. According to the Program of Studies this year, SHS offers at least 22 AP classes (2022-23 DESE data suggests our students passed 29 different AP exams in 2022-23, see source in comments below). Perhaps the high school encourages students to attend a dual enrollment psychology class at Massasoit Community College. A psychology offering there would cost students $150 for 3 credits with transferable college credit guaranteed (if they pass the class) along with actual college academic rigor and classroom experience. Each AP test costs $95 with no guarantee of college credit unless students pass at a certain level.

I hope the Sharon School Committee sees reasonable and distinct options from the Superintendent tonight—maybe some of the ideas I’ve mentioned above. Our budget must provide for the success, safety, and wellbeing of our students first and foremost.

I would like to take a moment to directly comment on the ongoing discourse and sense of division in our town – one that impacts my family alongside many of yours. I am devastated to hear that my actions have caused hurt and pain in the Jewish community in Sharon. My home is Jewish and my mother-in-law is a rabbi. My family is part of the Jewish community in Sharon.

Holding both truth and pain is complicated, and does not dismiss one’s pain for another person’s pain.

I believe in Israel’s right to exist, thrive, and to defend itself.

I believe the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel were horrendous and demanded action.

I believe the hostages taken that day need to be freed. Bring them home.

I believe there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza that demands immediate aid on a large scale.

I believe in a ceasefire.

I believe that Palestinians have a right to a country.

I believe the Israel-Gaza war is immensely complex and has a tremendous impact on our community, including our students.

I believe — whether people know it or not — that “from the river to the sea” is a call to end Israel and the Jewish people.* It hurts when I read and hear it. It makes me fear for my family’s safety.

As my rabbi, Rabbi Joseph Meszler, pointed out in his sermon regarding “The Impact of Words & Shabbat” on Friday (March 9, 2024), “All of those things can be true at the same time, but they don’t fit onto a banner.”

I also hold dearly the freedom of speech and expression in the U.S. I will still listen to people if they have said words that hurt me. I believe in the power of repair when I hurt someone.

I am a writer. I value books and reading. I am against book banning. I am passionate about the representation of identity in books and that our children have access to books in which they see themselves and their families, as well as kids and families who are different.

I value the power of authors reading their own works and discussing their creative process. I believe students should have access to writers of various backgrounds and identities. I tend to preference seeing and meeting writers from underrepresented groups. I am aware of my cultural bias when reading, and I value being invited into human ways of being that don’t resemble (and ones that do resemble) my own. I believe Sharon students should have the same opportunity to listen and discern other ways of being.

I believe in grace and kindness in our interactions with each other and that social media do not always fit well into such complicated and nuanced conversations. I believe in protecting our children and creating learning spaces where they can encounter each other with grace, kindness, and respect for their right to believe differently. I will work for the safety and wellbeing not only of my own Jewish children, but also of all the children in Sharon Public Schools.

I am running for Sharon School Committee because I hope to lead with empathy, nuance, and understanding so that all children, regardless of faith or race, can receive excellent education and create a more just and diverse future. I am committed to sitting down and having open and honest conversations with community members and faith leaders across Sharon – this is not just a promise for the campaign, but for the tenure of my term and throughout the rest of my life.

I truly believe that our diversity and passion for what we believe in is what makes Sharon a better place to live and hope to rectify any harm I have caused, especially unintentional, to members of our community. Thank you for your time and grace and, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out. I look forward to speaking with you.

I know many of you can’t attend School Committee meetings, but wanted to ensure you had a re-cap of everything on the agenda—here’s a brief summary.

Sharon School Committee Meeting, 3/20/2024 Re-Cap

Open Forum

1. Several members of Sharon’s Muslim community spoke (the first speaker noted Muslim speakers delayed breaking fast for Ramadan to speak during the meeting) regarding the twice-cancelled speaker, noting the pain the cancelling caused the students and community. A recent Sharon graduate with siblings still in SPS, and a current 9th grader spoke about their experiences wearing a hijab while learning, the importance of hijab-wearing professionals speaking at SPS in terms of representation, and the impact of the cancellation on their feelings of belonging at the schools.

2. Speakers shared their surprise and disappointment at the district’s change to the federal holidays calendar.

3. Speakers asked about students’ safety in the schools and one speaker spoke about the students labeled racist for opting out of the speaker.

4. A speaker pointed out the release of personal data (emails and names) on two Sharon social media groups connected to the School Committee survey about holidays and the school calendar. The post was taken down after about an hour.

SC comments during and in response to open forum

The Chair spoke to explain and apologize for the lack of communication around the announcement of the use of the federal holidays calendar.

Several School Committee members and Dr. Botelho empathized with the speakers from the Muslim community, especially our student/recent graduate who spoke. Dr. Bothelho & the chair addressed student safety and student wellbeing concerns raised in Open Forum, as well as questions around the new federal holidays calendar. The school committee member who released the data apologized for the posting and is working to repair the situation. Four community members had their hand up after this, but Open Forum had ended.

Correspondence

More than 50 pieces of correspondence were received between the last meeting and 9 a.m. on 3/20/2023. Subjects included: the speaker appearance, the speaker cancellation, the new federal holiday calendar, the school budget, the removal of Assistant Principals in the schools in next year’s budget, the removal of the Assistant Superintendent for Equity and Engagement in next year’s budget, and the value of curriculum coordinators.

Student School Committee Representative Update

Two student representatives shared a thorough update. Highlights celebrated the SHSTC METG High School Theatre Festival progress to the finals (tonight 3/21/23 in Boston) and the Sharon HS Boys Basketball Team’s state finals appearance. The debate team success, speech team success and academic team successes, and a SMS/SHS hackathon were mentioned. A blood drive will be held at SHS on Friday. One representative mentioned the community can find out more at the SHS Instagram: @sharon.high.eagles run by the Sharon High School Student Council.

Superintendent’s Report

Dr. Botelho gave a general report and then reviewed his goals and progress as part of his mid-cycle review. He displayed slides with the Superintendent goal benchmarks, status, and any notes about those benchmarks. He also reviewed the evaluation process and timeline.

Discussion Items

1. Review of the Superintendent Procedures Manual. Tabled until next meeting.

2. Student Opportunity Act (SOA). SOA works to bridge gaps in “experience and outcomes” in learning across race, class, ability, and English language learners (https://www.doe.mass.edu/soa/). Dr. Botelho presented about Sharon School’s SOA three-year plan. He asked the SC to vote on it last night to avoid missing the deadline for submission. The SC held the vote on this until next meeting.

3. Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan. The plan has been updated according to DESE guidance. Parents in the school system had access to the plan for at least 2 weeks and were invited to comment on it via survey. Some types of bullying were discussed, as was the difficulty in discerning, reporting, and intervening in all cases of bullying. The chair did ask for a motion to vote on this policy. It passed 6-0, with one abstention. The member abstained from the vote, citing the SC usually holds voting on discussion items until the following SC meeting. The chair mocked the committee member’s abstention.

4. FY ’25 budget- Status of Curriculum Request. Discussion of a one-time $365,000 budget request from town free cash for Math and Literacy curriculum materials. The request will have to be included in 2025 SC budget request to be approved by Finance Committee and eventually voted at Town Meeting in May. A committee member wanted to revisit the SC budget to weigh priorities given that the curriculum materials were not included in those budget priorities initially. There was a lack of understanding and an amount of disrespectful behavior from the chair towards the dissenting committee member. A committee member moved to request one-time additional funding (for the math and literacy curriculum materials) from the Finance Committee. It was seconded and voted. The dissenting committee member was unable to vote for the request due to technical difficulties.The request passed 6-0.

Decision Items

Minutes and out-of-state trips (Italy, Paris, Montreal) were voted and approved. SC members thanked our teachers and chaperones for making these experiences possible for the students.

SC went to Executive Session and did not return to open session.

School Committee Recap, April 3, 2024

I. Community Update

Public Comments

A community member talked about equity and access issues at high school. Concern about connecting grades to attendance—that excused absences not be tied to grades. Program of Studies: concerns of an override penalty toward students. Concerns that access to Aces/Eagle Block and transport home will conflict. Concern that the Policy Subcommittee met on a weekday at 11 a.m. without Sharon tv coverage..

A community member and member of the Sharon Jewish Action Committee: clarifying the group was not opposed to recent speaker due to her book, religion, or hijab wearing, but because of antisemitic social media statements. The speaker also conveyed concern for the harm caused to students opting out of seeing the speaker being called racist. The community member is for representation, but this guest speaker was antisemitic. The group welcomes speakers of diverse religions and background, but not speakers who are antisemitic or Islamophobic, hateful to other cultural groups.

Correspondence

There were 11 letters to the School Committee between last meeting and 9 a.m. April 3, among them letters suggesting better communication around hijab day, letter asking to remove MTA union, concern about antisemitic messages in the community, and community members concerned with the speaker cancellation.

Student School Committee Representative Updates no report

II. Superintendent

Financial Updates: Finance Committee has approved the district operating budget and the one-time request for curriculum materials. Next is the Town Meeting vote. Reviewed new/open position postings. Priority Admin positions include Asst. Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, SHS Athletic Director/Assistant Principal, Heights Elementary Principal.

General Updates: MCAS testing has begun. AP exams are scheduled for the first week in May. Notices sent about the eclipse on April 8 (awareness and safety), baseball field dedication to Coach Joel Peckham scheduled for May 19 with another ceremony before home game on May 20. Next School Committee meeting on April 24.

Questions from members to Dr. Botelho: Is there a priority for filling open roles: yes for Heights Principal—Heights family members, SC members, staff to be on hiring committee.

Regarding MCAS schedules and religious observances & Eid: Not able to reschedule the MCAS on Eid. One grade needs to be on that day. Dr. Botelho says we would lose make-up days and we’ve needed them all in the past. Lobbied the state to extend that window to no avail.

School Committee member requested to hear more about progress about the new elementary literacy curriculum and math curriculum. Dr. Botelho will present considerations going into the types of books and resources SPS will be buying at the next meeting.

III. Discussion Items

School Choice: Preliminary Discussion and Next Steps

Presentation: Dr. Botelho gave background, financial considerations, admittance details, benefit considerations, and potential risks/drawbacks of School Choice. Emphasized “School Choice is a complex issue with pros and cons.” He also pointed out in his presentation that “kids we might enroll through the program are a positive not a negative addition to the community.” Schools must participate in School Choice unless they withdraw by July 1. Dr. Botelho’s preliminary recommendation was not accepting School Choice students in 2024-2025 because of capacity levels, possibly having to hire additional staff, and tight fiscal year (reduced level service budget year). Public hearing, discussion and vote on School Choice is April 24, 2024.

School Committee Discussion/Questions: A robust and respectful discussion of School Choice followed Dr. Botelho’s presentation, including consideration of where there might be capacity for more students. Dr. Botelho mentioned high school has some grades where it could handle students. Some school committee members praised Dr. Botelho for advocacy of School Choice last year. Dr. Botelho mentioned that this year is a big change because of capacity and tight budget. It’s not time to start it. He reiterated it is a good program. If programs are under enrolled, that might be a time to consider. One school committee member agrees it is not the right time for School Choice, but is not philosophically opposed to School Choice and could see benefits; recommends a cohort of students who begin together if SPS opts for School Choice. Transition would be harder for a single student.

Chair added perspective, summarized previous comment, asked for members for informal poll on School Choice before public hearing on April 24. Committee member recommends waiting for an informal poll until public hearing with concerns informal decisions would limit public comment. Chair reiterates and reassures that this is just discussion and nothing would to be decided. Public discussion could still sway School Committee decisions. School Committee members appreciate keeping an open mind about School Choice, but concur with Dr. Botelho’s preliminary recommendation of not recommending School Choice. School Committee member shares that April 24 is Passover day two and conflicts with a public hearing meeting.

Policy Subcommittee - General Update to School Committee

Subcommittee chair notes meeting on 3/28. Acknowledges it was in the morning and not easiest to attend.

Policies discussed: [policies located at https://www.sharonschools.net/en-US/school-committee-3119a552/school-committee-policies-b840a7c5]

JH - STUDENT ABSENCES AND EXCUSES: Particularly addressing absences due to religious holidays, considering the new federal holiday calendar.

IJOB - COMMUNITY RESOURCE PERSONS / SPEAKERS regarding School Committee’s role moving forward regarding speakers at the schools the community is concerned about.

Delegated different policies to subcommittee members. Draft policies to be shared with the larger committee. Policy Subcommittee will meet again on April 11 at 11 a.m. and will see that Sharon TV records for accessibility.

IV. Decision Items

Motion to Approve Minutes 03.20.24 passes 6-0

Motion to Authorize the SOA Submission to DESE passes 5-0 (1 abstention)

Motion to Approve Out of State/Overnight Field Trip [DECA - California -

International Career Development Conference April 25 - May 1, 2024] passes 6-0

[Item not anticipated within 48 hours] History Club Competition in Virginia, overnight field trip passes 6-0

V. Announcements- none. Vote to enter VI. Executive Session 6-0Couldn’t make last night’s School Committee meeting? Here’s a re-cap of everything on the agenda.

Click here to read written responses from all candidates.

Click here to read written responses from all candidates.