Town of Dunstable, MA

The Groton-Dunstable Regional School District School Committee voted unanimously last night to withdraw its override request totally $136,989. However, the five positions that would have been lost with a failed override will not be eliminated.

The School Committee will assume a risk of funding these positions without a guaranteed revenue source. Instead, the positions will be funded through an undefined revenue source and other cost saving initiatives.

At a Special meeting held last night, the School Committee voted to include an undefined revenue source to support the five positions that would have been eliminated if the override request had failed. Additionally, the District will be looking at cost saving initiatives to help offset any shortfalls in this undefined revenue.

Several recent events that created the possibility for this proposal include:

1. the renegotiation of the bus contract voted by the School Committee on May 7^th which will yield about a $60,000 savings;
2. on May 12^ththe District learned that the House Budget earmarked an additional $30,000 for Chapter 71 funds for regional transportation to Groton-Dunstable (This is not a final number and could change.); and
3. the District may be able to reduce costs if it can outsource the special education transportation at a cost savings.

"As Chair of the Committee I have enjoyed working with a committee that uses data to make informed decisions in a timely manner. I believe that the Committee made the right decision in withdrawing the override request." said Cindy Barrett, Chair of the GDRSD School Committee.

This action will not change the total operating budget voted on by the School Committee. However, the amount assessed to the towns will be decreased due to the undefined revenue now supporting the FY09 budget. The District Treasurer will send out new, certified assessments reflecting this change.

Announcements that the override was withdrawn were made last night at the Groton Board of Selectmen meeting and at the Dunstable Town Meeting. Town officials expressed their appreciation that the District has continued to seek creative ways to support the FY09 budget without the need for an override.

"I am pleased at the cooperation between town officials and the School Committee in working collaboratively to provide a budget that will support the quality of our public education while being sensitive to the financial challenges that both towns face." said Superintendent Dr. Alan Genovese

Although an operating budget override is no longer needed, school and town officials urge residents to support the debt exclusion ballot question.

An Evening of Science - Exploring Outer Space With Radio Astronomy

The GDSTEM (Groton Dunstable Science, Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) is pleased to be sponsoring the following evening of science..
If you've ever had questions about how do we know "What's out there?, What
does that silver ball that can be seen from Rte. 40 do?, How do I get into
this field?" etc., please join us for what will sure to be an informative
evening.

Radio Telescope Array in the Australian Outback
Dr. Roger Cappallo, MIT Haystack Observatory
29 May 2008, Middle School North (Old High School) Library
Refreshments at 6:30pm, feature presentation at 7:00-9:00pm.

Dr. Cappallo will talk about the Murchison Widefield Array project (MWA),
an international effort which MIT Haystack is leading. The project is
building a low frequency radio astronomy array in the Australian Outback.
Dr. Cappallo will cover background on radio astronomy, capturing radio
signals from the universe, and the science goals of the project. The
three main goals of the MWA are searching for transient radio sources,
studying ejections from the sun that collide with earth, and observing the
earliest objects from the "dark ages" of the universe before stars shone.

The talk is aimed at high school and late middle school students, and is
free and open to the general public. Dr. Cappallo will also mention career
opportunities and career paths in his field, and there will be ample time
for open discussion.

As we enter the prom and graduation season the Groton Dunstable Alliance for Youth wants to take a moment to thank the "cool" parents in our communities. You know who you are and we appreciate your efforts to care for the children and teens in our communities. Who are the cool parents? Cool parents...

• Understand that our children and teens need strong parents, but not parents who want to be their friends. They have friends their own age.
• Know that letting other people's children drink alcohol in their home crosses a line. Cool parents understand they don't have the right to make that decision for other people's children.
• Know that they have the right to expect other parents in the community to respect their family's rules and expectations.
• Understand that it is not a given that all the kids will drink and that we should let them drink at home where they'll be "safe." Cool parents understand that this practice doesn't guarantee anyone's safety.
• Set clear expectations about healthy and safe behaviors with their children and hold kids accountable for their actions.
• Don't minimize teen alcohol use because of a misinformed belief that "we did it and our kids will too."
• Understand that driving a car after drinking is a major risk to anyone, including teens. Cool parents also know that drinking and driving is not the only alcohol-related risk to our kids.
• Recognize that it is illegal to serve alcohol to people under the age of 21.

Again, our thanks to the cool parents. Spread the word and encourage other parents to join the crowd.

Sincerely,

GDAY Steering Committee
Alice Anne Barbo
Ann Bradley
Jane Cooper
Ardie Henry
Penny Hommeyer
Alice Lenhart
John Llodra
Judy Robinson
Patti Spooner