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BILLERICA, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — At the conclusion of a three-hour meeting on Tuesday, the Billerica school committee decided not to tack on 30 minutes to each school day for students.
The proposal stemmed from a local teachers' union contract negotiation in which it was agreed upon that the workday would be pushed from 6.5 hours to 7 hours. With the additional half hour, Superintendent Tim Piwowar suggested a split extension of the school day on both the front and back end of the day.
According to WBZ-TV, Tuesday's meeting became contentious at times, with some attendees shouting out expletives at committee members. Those at the meeting said it was not so much the half hour extension they took issue with, but rather, parents argued it was the hasty and nontransparent manner in which the measure was brought to the public.
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Because the proposal fell flat of getting the majority vote, Billerica School Committee member John Kleschinsky says the extension idea is dead and will not be entertained again by the school committee.
"I voted in favor of the plan because I felt it was in the best interest of students and the district. I completely agree with my colleagues that the process should have been much better, but felt extending the day in the face of those mistakes was better than losing the opportunity to improve the school day," Kleschinsky said in a Facebook post.
Paraprofessionals said that the extra school time would have allotted a number of half days where they would be responsible for supervising students once the bell rang, rather than attend professional development with the rest of staff. Some of those who work in those positions said the proposal made them feel devalued as a result. Kleschinsky acknowledged those sentiments, saying that the idea came out of a time crunch.
"I'm sorry to our paraprofessionals who felt blind-sided by the most recent memo proposing they cover early releases without having been invited into discussions beforehand. That was wrong. I wish we could have had more time to get to the table and hammer out a better plan. It wasn't meant to be," Kleschinsky said.
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