Selectman Billings to step down
Chairman of the Lincoln Board of Selectmen, Penny Billings, announced
today (Monday) that she has decided not to run for re-election in next
March's town election.
Her decision to retire after one term as selectman leaves open a seat for a
full three-year term on this three-person board. Any takers?
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Two voices on South Lincoln development
After over two years of debate, public opinion still appears split on the
desirability of further commercial development in the B-1 Business District.
These two letters to the Planning Board and Selectmen come from concerned
Lincoln residents and resulted from last month's State of the Town Meeting.
They exemplify the debate:
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DeNormandie to step down from Planning Board
In one short five year term, Tom DeNormandie went from political rookie
to seasoned veteran, and the most senior member of the Planning Board.
Now he's stepping down, he confirmed at a recent Planning Board meeting.
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School Committee explains itself...again
The Lincoln School Committee issued the following public letter to explain why
it supports Superintendent Mickey Brandmeyer's decision not to
renew the contract of Principal Jerry Schultz:
To the Editor-
As the Lincoln School Committee, we would like to ensure that the
community understands why we support Superintendent Mickey
Brandmeyer's decision not to renew the contract of Principal Jerry
Schultz. Our support does not negate the fact that Mr. Schultz has
demonstrated some valuable traits during his tenure as principal which
have engendered the support of many parents. However, the situation is
substantially more complex once one takes into account the multitude
of perspectives. The Superintendent has a responsibility to lead our
schools into the future and provide the best possible education
for our students. To achieve these goals, he needs to have in place
the leadership team he believes will best accomplish the job.
The School Committee has now heard from a variety of sources,
including parents, teachers and administrators. What we can say
definitively and publicly is that there are two sides to this story.
This was not simply a matter of the Superintendent and the Principal
not getting along. Over the past two years, members of the School
Committee have heard privately from parents who have expressed a
variety of opinions about Mr. Schultz's leadership. We take the
opinions of parents very seriously.
At the School Committee meeting on November 20th, we heard publicly
from many parents who were vocal in their support for Mr. Schultz.
However, we also heard from parents who supported the Superintendent
and his right to make a decision about the non-renewal of Mr.
Schultz's contract. There were also parents who were concerned that
some of the tactics used in the campaign to support Mr. Schultz have
been extremely divisive and are negatively affecting our children.
Importantly, we also heard a message from the Lincoln Teacher's
Association supporting the process by which the administration
assesses members of its own staff. We heard from the three other
principals in our system stating their support for the Superintendent
-- for his leadership, his fairness, his willingness to set high
standards and to work with them to help them accomplish their goals.
We also heard a strong message in a letter signed by a significant
number of teachers, describing the chaotic climate in the Lincoln
School, the neglected tasks stemming from lack of "school-based
leadership" by the principal, and their anger that "any one individual
would presume to speak for 80% of the staff when in fact, they do
not."
In the judgment of the School Committee, these statements individually
and collectively indicate strong opinions on all sides of this issue
The Superintendent takes the voices of the parents, as well as those
of the Lincoln Teacher's Association, Administrative Council and
Lincoln School staff very seriously; we do, too. But ultimately the
Superintendent needs to make decisions based on educational outcomes
for the students, and the administrative team that can best facilitate
them. If a principal does not have the support of a significant
portion of his faculty, he is not in a position to lead.
Some have expressed concerns about the costs of bringing a new
principal to our system, and the quality of the potential pool of
candidates. We anticipate the cost to bring a new principal to be
approximately $10,000. This is similar to the $11,000 in expenses
incurred to advertise, recruit and relocate Mr. Schultz. We are
confident that a search committee composed of parents, teachers and
administrators will ultimately present a quality slate of candidates
to the community.
We, too, are saddened by this turn of events and its many
consequences. We are saddened by the upheaval this issue has caused
our community, particularly for the children who have been brought
into this discussion in sometimes very inappropriate ways. We are
saddened, as well, by those who have chosen to attack our
Superintendent on a personal level. His energy, his tireless
commitment, educational leadership and personal creativity have helped
guide our system through tough financial times, and he remains
committed to working with all of us to build a school that will better
prepare our children for the challenges of tomorrow.
We hope our Superintendent, with the support and help of all of us,
can now move forward and establish the leadership team that will
provide the best education for our children, and the best
administration of our school system.
The Lincoln School Committee
Sue Hollingsworth, Chair
Ashton Peery, Vice-Chair
Julie Dobrow
Jan Nyquist
Dennis Picker
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School Committee responds to Principal Schultz's dismissal
The school committee has issued a letter responding to Superintendent
Mickey Brandmeyer's decision not to renew the contract of Principal
Gerry Schultz:
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To the
Editor-
We
understand that some people in our community are deeply concerned
about the Superintendent’s decision not to renew Principal Jerry
Schultz’s contract. The School Committee is interested in listening to
those concerns. We will devote the first half hour of our regularly
scheduled meeting on Thursday, November 20th to hearing those members
of our community who wish to comment on the situation. Please be
advised that due to legal restrictions we will be limited in the ways
we are able to respond.
We
also wish to inform you that the School Committee is satisfied that
the Superintendent has followed appropriate procedures. The
Superintendent and the School Committee have heard a great variety of
opinion on this subject of Mr. Schultz’s contract from faculty,
parents, and staff. The School Committee supports the Superintendent
in his decision and believes that it is in the best interest of the
school district and its students.
Please keep in mind that the major focus of our November 20th School
Committee meeting will be on the Phase 1 budget cuts. This crucial
work needs to get done in a very short amount of time to enable us to
meet the Finance Committee’s request that we prepare two budgets for
presentation in the beginning of December. We will also be discussing
what we heard at the METCO forums and what our next steps might be. Of
course we are interested in your input on this important work as well.
As always, we are grateful for your support as we work hard to deliver
a program that both offers our students a high quality education and
falls within the guidelines given us by the Finance Committee.
Thank you,
The Lincoln School Committee
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