Facing a $2.44 million budget deficit, Brookline’s school district is planning to cut all or a significant portion of its world language program for kindergarten through fifth grade next year and is weighing laying off approximately 20 employees. The cuts come as district-wide expenses are outpacing the town’s revenue, driven in part by inflation-related surges… Continue reading Brookline schools planning layoffs, cutting world language classes for K-5 students
Author: Jeremy Margolis
2023 town salaries: Police officers dominate list of highest-paid employees
Nineteen of the 20 highest paid Brookline employees in 2023 were police officers, according to payroll data for last year obtained through a public records request. The town’s highest paid employee was Patrol Officer Robert Mayer, who took home $382,566.53, including $149,184 for details and $104,736.89 for overtime. Mayer’s base salary was $65,194.18. School district… Continue reading 2023 town salaries: Police officers dominate list of highest-paid employees
School Committee votes down BHS plan to expand unleveled English course to all ninth graders
The Brookline School Committee has rejected a controversial plan by district administrators to transition to a fully unleveled ninth grade English course next year. Thursday’s decision, by a 7-2 vote, followed three weeks of vocal criticism of the plan by some parents, who argued a fully unleveled course would diminish academic rigor. After district administrators… Continue reading School Committee votes down BHS plan to expand unleveled English course to all ninth graders
Q&A: School Committee vice chair Andy Liu on possible changes to ninth grade courses
Earlier this month, two days after administrators at Brookline High School announced they would transition to a fully unleveled ninth grade English course next year, the School Committee stepped in to pause the controversial course change. The School Committee is now expected to vote on February 29 on whether to move forward with expanding the… Continue reading Q&A: School Committee vice chair Andy Liu on possible changes to ninth grade courses
Latest ‘Zoombombing’ targets Brookline Commission for Women with antisemitic, racist comments
A trio of speakers “Zoombombed” the public comment period of an online Brookline Commission for Women meeting last week, making antisemitic, racist, and sexist comments. The Commission for Women is the latest town body to experience a disruption of this nature. The Police Commissioners Advisory Committee and the MLK Celebration Committee have also been Zoombombed… Continue reading Latest ‘Zoombombing’ targets Brookline Commission for Women with antisemitic, racist comments
School Committee steps in to pause controversial ninth-grade course changes
A contentious change to the ninth-grade English course at Brookline High School is temporarily on pause after the School Committee stepped in at its meeting on Thursday. On Tuesday, administrators announced plans to transition to a fully unleveled ninth-grade English course next year, no longer separating students into honors and standard classes, as part of… Continue reading School Committee steps in to pause controversial ninth-grade course changes
High school moves forward with ninth grade course changes amid parent concerns
Update: The high school’s plan for an unleveled English course for ninth-grade is now on pause following Thursday’s School Committee meeting. For more, click here to read our latest story. A multi-year effort to redesign Brookline High School’s ninth grade curriculum will move forward next year, despite opposition from some parents who fear that the… Continue reading High school moves forward with ninth grade course changes amid parent concerns
Schools ask for 6% budget increase next year
Brookline’s superintendent has requested $138.6 million to fund the town’s school district in 2024-25, which would be a 6% increase over this year’s budget and approximately $940,000 over the district’s forecasted allocation from the town for next year. The request, laid out by Deputy Superintendent for Administration and Finance Susan Givens during last week’s School… Continue reading Schools ask for 6% budget increase next year
School employees’ Social Security numbers exposed by HR office email mishap
The Brookline schools’ human resources office sent an email on Friday to approximately 900 employees that included a link to a document that mistakenly contained the Social Security numbers of employees, according to emails obtained by Brookline.News. The Social Security numbers appeared on the second tab of a spreadsheet distributed Friday to employees that lists… Continue reading School employees’ Social Security numbers exposed by HR office email mishap
A costly payroll failure: Brookline schools paid $500,000 in damages to settle late-pay claims
Brookline’s public school district has paid roughly $500,000 in damages this year to settle late-wage claims brought by 173 employees. The claims stem from a systemic payroll failure during the summer of 2022 that led the district to miss some paychecks entirely and to underpay employees in others, according to around a dozen interviews and… Continue reading A costly payroll failure: Brookline schools paid $500,000 in damages to settle late-pay claims
Brookline schools provide new resources to educators on Israel-Hamas war
Brookline school officials have distributed a new list of resources to help educators support students who are grappling with the Israel-Hamas war. The new list, which includes an activity from Facing History and Ourselves as well as articles from UNICEF and the American Psychological Association, replaces an initial list that Superintendent Linus Guillory retracted after… Continue reading Brookline schools provide new resources to educators on Israel-Hamas war
Town Meeting approves animal welfare proposals
Brookline’s Town Meeting voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to prohibit the sale of mammals and birds by pet stores and ban the use of wild animals by circuses and other traveling acts. Neither ban will have any immediate impact: Brookline does not currently have any pet stores and has not been visited by a circus act… Continue reading Town Meeting approves animal welfare proposals
Sarah Moghtader appointed to School Committee seat
Select Board and School Committee members chose Sarah Moghtader, a Brookline parent and former teacher in the district, to fill a vacancy on Brookline’s School Committee until the next town election in May. Moghtader replaces former School Committee member Nancy Rhei Gorer, who resigned in August to spend more time closer to family. Moghtader was… Continue reading Sarah Moghtader appointed to School Committee seat
Building Commission puts off decision on Pierce School demolition timing
Brookline officials tabled a decision about the path forward for building a new Pierce School, leaving the timing of relocation for students and staff up in the air. The town’s Building Commission voted on Tuesday to authorize the preparation of architectural drawings for an “early release” demolition of the school, but put off until March… Continue reading Building Commission puts off decision on Pierce School demolition timing
Brookline High School grapples with ballooning class sizes
Cuts to teaching positions coupled with a spike in student enrollment have caused some Brookline High School class sizes to balloon as high as 35 students and prevented some students from taking certain courses entirely, according to administrators, teachers, and students. Upper level — honors, advanced, and advanced placement — core-subject courses for juniors and… Continue reading Brookline High School grapples with ballooning class sizes
MCAS scores show vast racial achievement gap remains in Brookline schools
The state’s 2023 MCAS results released last week show the persistence of a large racial achievement gap in test scores among Brookline students. In third through eighth grades, 76% of Black students and 60% of Hispanic students did not fully meet expectations in math, compared with 26% of white students and 14% of Asian students.… Continue reading MCAS scores show vast racial achievement gap remains in Brookline schools
Pierce School demolition pushed back as project timeline remains uncertain
A revised timeline for rebuilding the Pierce School will push back demolition of the school until at least next summer, principal Jamie Yadoff wrote in a letter to families last week. The long-anticipated rebuild had been set to start next March, but following Town Meeting’s vote to fund the project in May, the town encountered… Continue reading Pierce School demolition pushed back as project timeline remains uncertain
Schools restore some K-5 world language classes after August hiring spree
An August hiring spree will allow Brookline’s schools to avoid fully implementing a plan announced last month to eliminate six grades of language instruction this year, Deputy Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Jodi Fortuna said in an interview with Brookline.News Wednesday. At Baker, Driscoll, Heath, and Lincoln, all students will receive language instruction this year.… Continue reading Schools restore some K-5 world language classes after August hiring spree
‘It’s the Wild West’: Brookline High administrators and teachers scramble to adapt to ChatGPT
As Brookline High School English teacher Robert Primmer graded his juniors’ papers last spring, he began to spot a peculiar trend. “There would be these quotes from the text that were supporting some idea, and the idea was in the book, but the quote wasn’t,” Primmer said. “It wasn’t what the writer had written in… Continue reading ‘It’s the Wild West’: Brookline High administrators and teachers scramble to adapt to ChatGPT
Brookline school district hires new leader for equity office
The Brookline school district has hired a new leader for its Office of Educational Equity. Claire Galloway-Jones, who has worked as a teacher and administrator in the Boston area for more than 25 years, was hired last month as the new senior director of educational equity, the district announced last week. Most recently, Galloway-Jones was… Continue reading Brookline school district hires new leader for equity office