Protest Planned for School Committee Meeting Regarding Projected Cuts

The Norwood Public School system has been building a budget that trims over $2,000,000 out of the budget for the 2013 fiscal year.

According to the school department, the budget has received modest increases over the past three years while expenses have risen beyond those adjustments. This year’s budget requests represent an 8 percent increase from the previous year.

The projected reductions include closing the elementary school libraries, eliminating the string/instrumental program at the middle school, eliminating drama classes at the high school, along with sections of other courses, and many other personnel and operational reductions outlined in the summary from last week.

The School Committee is meeting tonight at the James R. Savage Center at 7:30 p.m. and some of Norwood's students, parents, and teachers are planning to protest the cuts starting at 6:30.

Norwood high school senior Lauren Seijido said that even though she is a graduating student, the cuts would greatly upset her.

"The opportunities and activities I have been able to be a part of have strengthened me as a person and as a student," she said. "And I would hate to watch our students and school system become less competitive and lose its diversity...."

The budget needs proposal from the School Committee states, "We strive to meet increasing educational expectations and mandates with the realities of limited revenue sources from Federal, State and local sources during difficult economic times."

"If we take away these valuable things such as foreign language, fine arts, music, and athletics, we will take away not only the true essence of being a student, but being a student in Norwood," Seijido said.