Greenwich Free Press (https://greenwichfreepress.com/tag/dr-michael-joseph-mercanti-anthony/)
WMS 7th grader Henry Tajeda said having 40 school buses beeping as they move in and out of campus impacts student learning and will cause students to lose focus during upcoming standardized testing. Continue Reading →
The opposing perspectives seemed to boil down to whether enrollment might be declining in response to cuts or cuts being the response to declining enrollment. In one teacher’s words, “Death by a thousand cuts” or in the words of the Superintendent, “The budget for what the district needs.” Continue Reading →
The idea of the preferred Option 5 is to build a new natatorium on the location of the existing GHS tennis courts so the existing pool can remain in use for swimming and water polo teams and then be repurposed afterward for other PE uses. This approach would make it possible to create a second egress to the high school, a long overdue project given the twice a day mind-numbing traffic jam on Hillside and Putnam Ave. Continue Reading →
“As we start the meeting and start the new term – to all of you, the public at home and everyone listening – we ask for your grace. We have a new board – half of us are brand new. We have new leadership and it’s easy to forget that we are all in this together. All of us are parents, all of us ran for the board because we want the best for our children and community.” – Dr. Michael-Joseph Mercanti-Anthony, unanimously elected BOE chair Continue Reading →
Two heavy agendas included changing 5-house structure at GHS to one based on grades: 9, 10, 11 and 12; moving to a 7-block fixed schedule, consolidating freshmen English/Social Studies and not weighting the grades, school bus parking, and Cardinal Stadium lighting. The much anticipated enrollment report was presented. Also the head of IT gave an update on the cellular improvement project at GHS. Continue Reading →
The board did not vote on cuts to Transportation (bus routes) that would change school Start Time or changing the GHS House structure to eliminate 5 full time employees, citing the fact that 2 BOE members – Cody Kittle and Wendy Vizzo Walsh – were absent. They did vote to reject pay-to-play sports at GHS. Continue Reading →
“The impact of these cuts is not abstract. Reductions of this scale threaten the educational opportunities we offer our students and are going to jeopardize the longstanding reputation of Greenwich Public Schools.” – BOE chair Karen Hirsh
“I don’t think we have fully done our job. What I observe are mostly political theatrics here.” – Cody Kittle Continue Reading →
Three of the four Republicans seated voted to table the vote until a later date. That vote failed. The board then voted on the contract extension. The vote was 5-3 with three of the Republicans voting no. Continue Reading →
The board discussed a pay-to-play scheme for athletes. Cody Kittle said charging a $220 fee per athlete, per sport, based on 2,072 athletes, yielded a savings of $455,600 – or 20% of the GHS Athletics budget. Continue Reading →
“I want to thank everyone on the building committee for all their stellar work for the town. Without these people, we wouldn’t be here today. This team worked tirelessly. They met 119 times at the school at 7:00am over the past 30 months and 10 days. And we didn’t pay them a dime.” – James Waters, Old Greenwich School building committee chair Continue Reading →