Gill-Montague School Committee Approves $316,000 in Warrants, Accepts Superintendent Goals

GILL — October 11, 2022 — Gill-Montague School Committee unanimously approves more than $316,000 in warrants and accepts superintendent goals. The seven-member board voted 7-0 at its October 11 meeting to approve four warrants, the largest a $309,767.97 accounts-payable bill, alongside a $3,777.06 high school student activity payment, a $324.07 middle school student activity payment, and $3,000 in graduation scholarships. The board then voted 7-0 to accept Superintendent Brian Ewers' three state-required annual goals, which include submitting a Statement of Interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority for a proposed new Hillcrest Elementary School by a late-April deadline, expanding a writing-across-the-curriculum initiative at the secondary level ahead of a higher MCAS graduation threshold affecting the class of 2026, and establishing a standing district wellness committee to update a lapsed wellness policy. Three building principals — Christopher Barnes for Turner's Falls High School and Great Falls Middle School, Carrie Heathway for Sheffield Elementary, and Sarah Burstein for Hillcrest Elementary — presented school improvement plans built around five shared district goals; the Gill Elementary plan was deferred while Principal Dr. Walter Houston recovers from surgery.