K-6 School Committee: We Need Help

Now that the Proposition 2 ½ override is kaput, Norfolk School Committee members will have to figure out a way to close a projected $800,000 budget gap.

Teacher concessions on sal­ary aren’t an option, because the teachers union has said no, said Shawn Dooley, chairman of the School Committee.

The School Committee will probably approve some combi­nation of fee increases and de­creases in educational services at its next meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, July 7.

In the meantime, though, Dooley is hoping to appeal to parents and other residents to come up with ways to make the schools better without spending more money. “I will be putting together a public outreach program which will utilize our citizens’ energy, knowledge, and ingenuity to continue to make the Norfolk schools better and better, even without the additional funds,” Dooley said in an email message this week. “If people are willing to donate their time and energy we will get through this minor setback and be positioned far be­yond the curve when the monies are available once again.”