New Teachers' Contract Signed by School Committee

After months of negotiations and tension between the two sides last year, the contract was finalized on Monday night.

  The negotiations between the Westford Education Association (WEA) and the Westford School Committee concluded last June and the new contract went into effect on Monday. In 5-0-0 votes, the School Committee voted to approve the new contracts for Unit A and Unit G of the WEA. Unit A consists of all school district employees involved in classroom work excluding teachers' aides and Unit G includes Math and Reading intervention specialists. The board also unanimously approved new contracts for office professionals and Superintendent Bill Olsen. Olsen's new agreement, which lasts until 2016, was largely unchanged from his former deal, outside of a small increase for travel fees and $3,000 to be obtained upon retirement. He also told the board …

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Alex Finnegan

3:56 am on Friday, April 12, 2013

I'll be watching carefully. Just be sure to remember that I was trying to tell the teachers that they weren't broke, that the whole thing was just masterfully planned opportunism. In the end they did what they felt was right, but I think now, it's apparent to them.   more ›

Olsen Praised During Yearly Evaluation

Westford Public School superintendent Bill Olsen was given significant praise from the Westford School Committee during almost all of his job performance and yearly goal evaluations on Monday night.

The Westford School Committee assessed the performance of Superintendent Bill Olsen in five separate job performance areas, giving the rating of “exceptional” in 14 of the 35 total grades given by the seven members. While several members of the Committee stated that they were reluctant to give the “exceptional” grade out lightly, the opinions of the Committee on Olsen’s job performance were almost entirely positive both in the areas considered “exceptional” as well as those considered to be doing “proficient”, which was defined as doing a good job, and where he was graded as “needing improvement.”   In return, Olsen consistently deflected praise to members of the School Committee along with teachers, administrators and other staff within …

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You Asked, Patch Answers

Will Westford Have Full Day Kindergarten?

Welcome to our "You Asked, Patch Answers" for Feb. 24.

Welcome to “You Asked, Patch Answers”, our weekly feature where we try to find answers for questions from Westford Patch readers. Today’s question addresses Westford’s public school system, specifically the likelihood of Westford getting a full day kindergarten program in the future. The answer? No, at least for the short term. A few years ago, Westford Public School superintendent Bill Olsen informed the School Committee that the price tag for a full day kindergarten program would be $800,000, a figure that would require a Proposition 2 ½ override under the town’s current financial situation. Olsen acknowledged that given the town’s current fiscal difficulties, the School Department will not seek that route any time soon, but believes …

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AB

3:16 pm on Tuesday, March 6, 2012

I'm not sure canning the two, three at the most pre-first classes to add full day Kindy for the entire district will save us money.   more ›

Olsen Responds To Party Policy Criticism

Westford Public School superintendent Bill Olsen has attempted to respond to criticisms related to a new policy ranging from ineffectiveness in its attempt to fight poor nutrition to beliefs that it was designed to steal Christmas from children.

Over the past month, concern has grown toward a new policy now implemented in Westford Public Schools relating to food at school-sponsored parties. Various avenues of opposition have blossomed into attempts at dialogue over the issue from Superintendent Bill Olsen. The policy, which was first announced in an e-mail to parents and reported here on Patch soon thereafter, is an early adoption of a Massachusetts state regulation set to begin next year that forbids public schools from allowing any food with sugar, potential allergens, or anything homemade into the four yearly school-sponsored parties conducted in Westford. Frustration with the policy grew among local residents, but the resistance to the policy took an unexpected turn after a …

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Rich F

9:37 am on Friday, February 10, 2012

Vinny wrote: "do you know the last time I was able to dictate my raise to any of the half dozen private employers I have worked for? answer: NEVER " That's a shame. I really feel for you. Where exactly did you read the teachers are dictating what their step or COLA increases should be? The town and the teachers NEGOTIATE the amounts. NEGOTIATE - to arrange for or bring about through conference, …   more ›

Olsen Not Dwelling On Friday Bus Incident

Westford superintendent Bill Olsen sees the incident where his five-year-old grandson was left on a school bus last week as an isolated occurrence.

While multiple media outlets reported on Westford School superintendent Bill Olsen's five-year-old grandson being left in a bus last Friday, Olsen himself wants to move past the incident. In a statement to Patch this morning, Olsen stated that while the incident required immediate action, he believes that the matter has been resolved and it wasn't worth lingering upon, and that at no time did he have any concerns that the incident would end in a similar manner to the 13-month-old child that recently died in a Dorchester bus. “Everyone's moving on,” he said. “It was an unfortunate occurrence, as the bus company and the driver had good records, but it was a reminder that we always need to remain vigilant because child safety is paramount.” …

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First Day Of School Delayed By Irene

While the bad weather has abated, Westford superintendent Bill Olsen was still concerned with lingering live power lines in the way of bus routes.

While the rains from Hurricane Irene ended on Sunday, the storm’s impacts had a much longer lasting effect on the Westford School District. The impetus of downed power lines, many of which were still live, proved to be too much of a risk for opening school today for Westford Superintendent Bill Olsen. Olsen announced his decision at last night’s School Committee meeting, explaining that he conferred with Westford Chief of Police Thomas McEnaney over the decision. McEnaney told Olsen that despite the fact the weather had improved, many roads remained impassable in town and did not feel comfortable with children trying to get on school buses in areas where live power wires may be nearby.  Olsen concurred, notifying the committee he felt that…

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School Choice Number Set By School Committee

By a 4-3 vote, the School Committee on Monday gave Superintendent Olsen the authority to admit up to 22 out-of-town students for the upcoming school year.

More details on School Choice in Westford Schools next year took shape during Monday night’s School Committee meeting with the number of out-of-district students coming now set at a maximum of 22 following the board’s split 4-3 decision. The reduced number was proposed by Superintendent Bill Olsen and became the main focal point between the arguments that School Choice students were necessary sources of income for the embattled district budget and that out of town students would actually bring more cost than benefit. One of the strongest voices against the motion on was School Committee member Erica Kohl, who reiterated her concerns from the earlier and broader debate over the program regarding the view that the program would lose the …

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Parents Ask Questions About Principals' Contracts, Online Grading, Religious Holidays

Superintendent Olsen fielded a wide array of questions from parents during an open forum on Monday night that was largely dominated with discussion about recent food safety issues.

While Superintendent Bill Olsen’s Monday night outreach event with parents was predominantly focused on parental questions about recent food safety concerns, other topics of discussion were brought forth during the evening. Long-term Contracts For Younger Administrators? One parent asked a question about the departure of former Crisafulli School Principal Julie Vincentsen, in particular what the significance of a three-year contract when she was able to leave only two years into her term as principal, citing concerns over the effort it took to find Vincentsen and whether that effort was wasted because she didn’t complete her contractual obligations. Olsen commented that younger administrators had a much different viewpoint toward career …

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Olsen Tries To Allay Parents' Fears Over Food Safety

An open forum for parents' concerns was dominated by recent problems with food safety issues in the Westford School District.

Following revelations over unsanitary conditions in a major food storage area for the Westford School System, Superintendent Bill Olsen and members of the School Committee met with a group of parents in an attempt to try and regain confidence in the district’s food safety standards. Although the evening meeting was geared towards serving as an open forum for concerns of parents not usually able to attend similar meetings that had previously been only held during morning hours, parents in the forum quickly honed in on the issue and spent over an hour grilling Olsen on the issue. The more than two dozen parents that filled the room in the Millennium Building behind the Abbot School seemed perplexed as to why Westford School District food …

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On Earth Day, Westford's First Town Building Goes Solar

A solar array will save about $8,000 a year in energy costs at the school, according to a town official.

Town officials on Earth Day today announced a huge solar array is up and running at the Stony Brook Middle School. The school is the first town building to use solar power. The 176-panel system cost about $178,000. It's expected to save $200,000 in energy costs over an estimated 25-year lifespan, according to Town Manager Jodi Ross. “The highly visible location will also serve as a constant reminder to residents of how Westford is trying to be green and do its part to reduce energy emissions," Ross said in a statement. The project was funded through state and federal grants. No town money was used. The array consists of 176 Evergreen solar panels and two Solectria inverters. It will generate about 40,000 kilowatt-hours annually, saving …

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