Public meet on Lynn’s Ford School status set

LYNN – After hearing the cries of students and teachers desperate to save the Ford School’s middle school program, the School Committee voted Thursday to hold a public hearing on the budget later next month, with the elimination of the city’s only K-8 facility still the top money-saving option.In a unanimous vote, the committee chose to hold a public hearing on the $107.4 million budget Thursday, June 25 at the Lynn Vocational and Technical Institute Annex Building. An official start time was not discussed.Praising everything from dedicated teachers to unique educational programs, parents, students and friends of the school pushed the committee’s pre-meeting open microphone session to the brink of its 30-minute limit, but ultimately left with nothing to show for their efforts as committee members failed to discuss any new options to keep the school open.Touting the school’s NASA Explorer Program and many college preparatory opportunities, students like eighth-grader Paola Otero crafted letters to the committee detailing their positive experiences at the school, most of which were read to members by adults.”One of the best moments I have spent at the Ford School are very memorable and precious,” wrote Otero, who has attended the school since he started kindergarten a decade ago. “Being a NASA Explorer School is terrific and very rewarding. NASA has offered us access to the Digital Learning Network, symposiums, yearly field trips to the Christa McAuliffe Center and Planetarium, robotics competitions and much, much more.”Facing a $4-5 million budget gap in fiscal year 2010, the committee has proposed laying off over 130 employees and shutting down programs like the Ford’s 6-8 grade, housed on Bennett Street in a former union hall.By closing the school, the department saves money on both facilities and personnel, but forces the displacement of over 200 students to Breed, Marshall and Pickering middle schools.Ford Principal Claire Crane has proposed several ideas to keep the middle school open, from moving it to another vacant facility to renovating the Hollingsworth Street K-5 building, but Superintendent Catherine Latham and her budget team have held steady that none would work given the dire financial consequences of the current budget.Latham has vowed to provide adequate staffing for the three remaining schools, but parents Thursday seemed less worried about class sizes at new schools than they were of losing the Ford’s unique programs.Seventh-grader Joke Jolaoso praised the school’s Ford and Salem State Together (FASST) Program, where Ford students attend college activity seminars at the neighboring college.”I have done this program for three years,” Jolaoso wrote tot he committee. “During the program I learned a whole lot of new things. I got to meet college students and tour the big campus. Most of all, we were exposed to college life? The Ford School is the only school in Lynn that offers this program? That’s why I would hate to see it go.”Following the open mic session, the committee held its regularly scheduled meeting, addressing the budget only to agree on the June 25 public hearing.At the hearing, taxpayers will have one last opportunity to voice their opinion on the budget and offer any amendments to the current plan. Taking those ideas in to account, the committee should vote to accept or deny the plan following the hearing.