Shrewsbury Public Schools
The Shrewsbury Public School system is a suburban school district serving the town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. The superintendent of schools is Dr. Joseph M. Sawyer.[1] The assistant superintendent is Mary Beth Banios.[1] Currently, the district controls 9 schools. They are:
- Shrewsbury High School (9-12)
- Oak Middle School (7-8)
- Sherwood Middle School (5-6)
- Coolidge School (1-4)
- Spring St. School (1-4)
- Floral St. School (1-4)
- Paton School (1-4)
- Beal School (K-1)
- Parker Road Preschool
Transportation
Currently, the district is contracted with AA Transportation, (Best School Bus Company In The Area) of Shrewsbury. The district operates approximately 45 vehicles. Transportation is not free, however.
Transportation Fees
Due to tight budget concerns, the district implemented transportation fees for the beginning of the 2005–2006 school year. The fee was $190.00 per student, with a maximum family cap of $380.00. It was successful in its first year, so much so that the district underestimated the number of students riding, that they had to purchase more buses. The fee has been changed however, due to the ever rising fuel costs. The new fee is $210.00 per student, with a maximum family cap of $419.00, if paid before the June 15, 2006 deadline. A late fee of $25.00 per student will be applied to requests received after June 15.
Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School Students
Students attending Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School receive free transportation. These students use the town buses, but their cost is paid for by Assabet Valley.
Financial Troubles
The district, over the past 3 years, has lost over 130 full-time positions due to budget cuts. The FY07 budget is around $40,000,000 USD, but not enough, according to school committee members. The district lost 42 1⁄2 positions after the 2005–2006 school year.
School Calendar
Over the past couple of years, the district has been criticized over the last day of school. Last year, the district used 4 "snow days", or 4 days where school was cancelled due to weather, and the last day of school was June 27, 2005. This was the latest release date of any towns in the surrounding areas. The Worcester Public Schools, for example, were released on June 21, 2005, and they had used more snow days than Shrewsbury, using 5. The calendar has been revised for the 2006–2007 school year, where the last day of school will be June 13, 2007, if no snow days are used, and if all 5 are used, the last day would be June 20, 2007. The district used only 2 snow days during the 2005–2006 school year, yet under the old calendar, will still get out on June 23, 2006.