School Committee Newsletter

Last April, Superintendent Dr. Blake submitted a Statement of Interest (SOI) for each elementary school to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for funding assistance to address our obsolete and overcrowded elementary school buildings.

Unfortunately, we learned in late December that Ipswich had not been invited into the selective program, as other applying districts were determined to be in greater need.

This year’s SOI period opened on January 12, and closes on April 12. The School Committee plans to continue to pursue funding assistance from the MSBA for a future school building project. In the meantime, we will review pertinent information as we continue to discuss the future of elementary education in Ipswich.

This past fall, the School Committee toured schools in districts that completed the MSBA program, including Amesbury, Acton-Boxborough, and most recently, the East Veterans’ Elementary School in Gloucester. The impressions from these tours will also help us prepare for our next MSBA submission.

In early January, Ipswich Climate Resiliency Manager, Rick Mitchell, presented on the EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program, which could provide assistance to our school bus company for electrification of the school bus fleet. The School Committee unanimously voted to authorize the grant application, and we eagerly await hearing back regarding the grant awards in the coming months.

Additionally, the School Committee discussed the establishment of a district-wide sustainability policy to both capture and harmonize initiatives occuring in each of our schools, as well as some aspirations. The School Committee plans to collaborate with students, staff members from the school and town, and volunteers, to identify and highlight best practices. The goal is for this policy to be presented to, voted on, and adopted by the School Committee by the end of this school year.

The Ipswich School Committee invites interested residents to apply to serve on the Whittier Vocational Technical High School Committee for a three-year term beginning on April 1, 2024 and ending on March 31, 2027.

Ipswich residents who are interested in serving are asked to send a letter of interest to Kate Eliot, Chair of the Ipswich School Committee, 1 Lord Square, Ipswich, MA 01938 or to keliot@ipsk12.net, no later than Thursday, February 15.

Applicants will be interviewed in public session at the March 7, 2024 meeting of the Ipswich School Committee. Read more about the Whittier School Committee here.

In January, the Superintendent and the Director of Finance presented the first draft of the 2025 budget to the School Committee. This year, the budget process includes additional time for town boards and residents to review the budget, ask questions, and share feedback before being finalized at Town Meeting in May. The School Committee will be discussing the budget at our January 31st, February 1st, 8th, and 29th meetings. The public budget hearing will take place during the February 8th meeting. The complete budget timeline is available here, and the draft budget is available here.

• The Ipswich Educators’ Association presented on College Readiness, explaining the opportunities available to our high school students; we also learned about teaching Executive Functioning at the elementary levels, and how related professional development has allowed teachers to incorporate strategies into everyday learning.

• The School Committee approved 32 new and revised policies.

• Wednesday, January 31st and Thursday, February 1st - Budget Presentations to the School Committee - 7pm in the Middle/High School Ensemble Room and online

• Thursday, February 8th - School Committee Budget Hearing and Meeting - 7pm in the Middle/High School Ensemble Room and online

• Monday, February 19th through Friday, February 23rd - No School- February Break

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