The public has opportunities to shape policy this week as various Haverhill boards meet. In the interest of transparency in government, WHAV provides this list of upcoming meetings every week.
Click image above for Haverhill School Committee agenda.
Haverhill School Committee members revisit the matter of in-person learning during a special meeting tomorrow night.
As of now the only agenda item is “Returning Students to the Classroom.” No matter what decision the Committee makes, if past choices are any indication, members have come under fire from different community segments.
School Committee members voted 5-2 Dec. 15 to have students in kindergarten through fifth grade and those identified as high needs to return to hybrid learning next Monday, Jan. 4. They also voted 6-1 to allow basketball and hockey with Mayor James J. Fiorentini as the only no vote. Since then, the Haverhill Education Association’s Action Team and Executive Board voted “no confidence” in the School Committee for its actions.
A number of School Committee members hesitated before casting those votes. Approving returning some students to classes earlier were Fiorentini. Vice Chairman Richard J. Rosa, Scott W. Wood Jr., Paul A. Magliocchetti and Gail M. Sullivan. Opposed were Toni Sapienza-Donais and Maura L. Ryan-Ciardiello.
Union leaders said the School Committee could earn back confidence by touring classrooms and understanding the concerns.
“Although we have taken this vote of no confidence, that confidence is not permanently lost, because we believe that if this School Committee was more familiar with what actually goes on in our buildings and what educators face on a daily basis, they would have voted for full remote schooling,” the statement read.
The Haverhill School Committee meets remotely at 7 p.m. As a public service, 97.9 WHAV plans to carry the meeting live.
In other public meetings this week:
Tuesday, Dec. 29
Haverhill Board of Assessors meets to discuss excise tax abatements, status of statutory exemptions and mailing of property tax bills, Tuesday, Dec. 29, from 9-10 a.m., in the Assessor’s office, room 115, Haverhill City Hall.
Wednesday, Dec. 30
Merrimack Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, associated with the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission, meets Wednesday, Dec. 30, from noon-1 p.m., remotely. Agenda items include status of roadway and bridge projects.