Adult Ed, JAG Programs Won't Change in 2013-14

The Winnacunnet School Board officially voted Wednesday to keep the Jobs for America's Graduates and Winnacunnet Adult High School programs as-is for the 2013-14 school year, following through on promises made during the annual deliberative session and the first board meeting after that session.

The decision to maintain the programs as currently constituted was called into question, though, before Wednesday's 5 p.m. work session and 6:30 p.m. meeting.

Some board members thought paperwork issued by administrators indicated the school was going to still try to save $80,000 by redistributing each program's director's duties to school administrators — a decision that would've gone against the intent of by the public at deliberative session.

Principal Bill McGowan said Wednesday, though, that he didn't intend to do that  and said he included the information in board members' packets Wednesday "just in case" they "had questions" about what may happen to the programs "in the future."

"We have no objection to keeping the JAG program [or the evening school program] as-is with the money here," said McGowan. "Our plan is to maintain those programs because the money has been put back into them for 2013-14."

The board unanimously voted Wednesday to instruct administrators to keep JAG and adult education unchanged for the upcoming school year. No decisions were made about the following year, 2014-15, although administrators and school board members did speak at length about the value of the programs during Wednesday's sessions.