The Curriculum and Instruction Committee of the Manchester Board of School Committee will meet in City Hall at 7 tonight. On the agenda is an item having to do with Common Core. Unfortunately, the promises of a policy discussion notwithstanding, the item in question has to do with adopting curriculum guides that have been realigned to meet the so called Common Core State Standards that haven’t even made it through the state’s rule making process. As it is a regular meeting of the committee, there will be an opportunity for the public to comment. Speakers will have up to three minutes to share their views on whatever topic happens to be on their mind.
Meanwhile, at 7 o’clock in Goffstown Town Hall, the Plan Pinardville Ad Hoc Committee will again take up the draft Community Plan proposed by a consultant hired by town planners with federal grant money obtained through the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. The proposed master plan has has roiled residents in the neighborhood and engendered widespread opposition. Ad hoc committee members Tony Marts, an attorney with extensive dealings in real estate development and Mike Lawler, a commercial realtor also with extensive dealings in real estate developmet have resigned under pressure over perceived conflicts of interest. Both are associated with the Goffstown Industrial Corporation, a privately held non-profit organization that advocates for commercial development which donated three thousand dollars to the town to help it raise funds to meet the grant’s matching requirements.
Speaking of Goffstown, Life Scout Nick Raven, whose Eagle Scout Project was featured just a few short weeks ago here on Girard at Large, was able to raise the funds needed to complete his project; a fitness course at Barnard Park. Apparently, the scouts from Troop Ninety Nine have been busy about the business of installing the fitness stations and expect to have the project completed soon. Congrats to Nick on a job well done.
News from our own backyard continues right after this.
The Manchester Board of School Committee met last night in special session. The board decided to extend a pilot policy governing the use of electronic devices in the schools by students. The board also adopted a new vision statement and mission statement. The board also decided it needed some P R help and voted to establish a communications position. Ward 2 Committeewoman Debra Langton and Ward 9 Committeeman Arthur Beaudry opposed the new position. Preliminary numbers released by Superintendent Dr. Debra Livingston showed the number of high school classes with more than thirty kids was projected to be around eleven. The middle schools weren’t so lucky, though. Initial projections there showed up to one hundred classes with over thirty students. The board authorized Livingston to hire additional staff prior to their next meeting on September 9th so she had the ability, within the district’s budget, to address staffing concerns. Many of the district’s principals were on hand last night as concerns over how to handle the arrival and dismissal of students given the city’s new school hours remain. Remember, Manchester will now have a one hundred seventy five day school year, but the days will be longer to provide additional instruction time each day. Manchester Education Association President Ben Dick will be our guest this morning to discuss these concerns and ooohhh sooo much more. Be sure to tune in!
It’s time for our monthly Candia Crime Wave Report. It was a busy month for police in the little bedroom community to Manchester’s east. Police in town issued one hundred forty five motor vehicle warnings and issued fifteen motor vehicle summonses. They also made eight arrests on everything from taking three Candia residents into protective custody for Alcoholism, to simple assault to drug possession. We’ve posted the gruesome details with this news read at Girard at Large dot com. Stay strong, Candia. Stay strong!
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is straight ahead!
