From the Superintendent: Letter to the Editor RE: Impact of Override

Department/School: District Office
Type: Announcements
The letter below was sent to the local newspapers on November 2, 2007. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To the Editor, Last April, Westwood residents voiced their support of our public schools by passing a $2.8 million override. It was particularly satisfying given that very few communities in the Commonwealth had similar results. I believe the primary reason for our success was that voters had all the information they needed to make an informed decision. We delivered on our promise to “leave no question unanswered”. As Superintendent, I give you my word that the school department remains firmly committed to maintaining an open line of communication with the community. Our efforts did not begin and end with an override campaign. More than ever, I feel a strong sense of accountability to Westwood voters. They showed their support and deserve to see results. Throughout the course of this school year, I want to share with the readers some success stories that are directly related to the override. Since the majority of the budget increase was needed to lower class sizes, I thought I would first share the statistics below. They are remarkable, and clearly illustrate how important the override was to our schools. Please note the following: Before the override, almost 30% of all high school classes had 25 or more students. Today, only 7% have 25 or more students and no class at the high school has over 30. Before the override, 23% of all elementary classes were at or above school committee guideline. Today, no class is above guideline, and only 4% are at guideline. Before the override, some Physical Education classes at Thurston Middle School had 49 students. Today, the average Physical Education class size is less than 20. What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time, I made several State of the District presentations. For those who saw it, and many did, it was clear that our schools needed an infusion of funding. We got it, thanks to the residents of Westwood who place a high value on education and take pride in their schools. As a result I can say unequivocally that the state of the district has never been better. Thank you for your continued support. John J. Antonucci Superintendent of Schools