Dear Friends of the Foxborough Public Schools,

Budget

The Foxborough Public Schools have improved the public’s access to the budget process in the past decade. From a budget subcommittee chaired by Mr. Frank Spillaine with Ms. Kate Kominsky a single set of minutes is available for the meeting of July 31, 2003. Members of the Committee have expressed concern regarding Open Meeting Law violations by the way meetings have been held in the past. Other members have defended themselves by questioning the compliance of those that raised the concern.

Although Massachusetts General Laws require that "at least one copy" of the proposed budget be available at least 48 hours "either at the office of the superintendent of schools or at a place so designated by said committee," several school districts have taken the lead and have made budget documents available to their communities over the web .

• Arlington - Budget Timeline | Public Hearing February 15
• Bedford - Budget Proposal | Extracurricular Reductions
• Belmont - Budget Statement | FY12 Budget | Public Hearing March 15
• Cohasset - Budget Overview | Budget in Detail
• Framingham - Budget Presentation
• Pentucket Regional - FY12 Budget | Public Hearing February 1
• Wayland - Budget Presentation | Budget Proposed

The Foxborough FY12 budget documents could not be found in the "Public Documents" section of the School Committee’s web page, the Committee’s main web page, or the Administration’s web page. A notification of the "Budget Hearing" is available at the District’s home page.

General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
Title XII (Education),


Intent of the title
Section 1. It is hereby declared to be a paramount goal of the commonwealth to provide a public education system of sufficient quality to extend to all children including a limited English proficient student as defined in section 1 of chapter 71A, and also, including a school age child with a disability as defined in section 1 of chapter 71B the opportunity to reach their full potential and to lead lives as participants in the political and social life of the commonwealth and as contributors to its economy. It is therefore the intent of this title to ensure: (1) that each public school classroom provides the conditions for all pupils to engage fully in learning as an inherently meaningful and enjoyable activity without threats to their sense of security or self-esteem, (2) a consistent commitment of resources sufficient to provide a high quality public education to every child, (3) a deliberate process for establishing and achieving specific educational performance goals for every child, and (4) an effective mechanism for monitoring progress toward those goals and for holding educators accountable for their achievement.

Chapter 71 (Public Schools),
Section 38N (Proposed annual budgets; public hearings required; quorum)


"Section 38N. The school committee of each city, town or regional school district shall hold a public hearing on its proposed annual budget not less than seven days after publication of a notice thereof in a newspaper having general circulation in such city, town or district. Prior to such public hearing said committee shall make available to the public at least one copy of said proposed budget for a time period of not less than forty-eight hours either at the office of the superintendent of schools or at a place so designated by said committee. At the time and place so advertised or at any time or place to which such hearing may from time to time be adjourned all interested persons shall be given an opportunity to be heard for or against the whole or any part of the proposed budget. Such hearing shall be conducted by a quorum of the school committee. For the purposes of this section a quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of said school committee."

Respectfully,

Andres Navedo

Deborah Navedo

Foxboro Education Organization