Local Schools Debate Finances

A proposal that targets low enrollment in two Cambridge public schools complicated discussions over the school budget at a meeting last night between school officials and parents.

The plan calls for a hybrid middle school, which would move middle school students from the Tobin School to the Peabody School. The Tobin School suffers from low Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) scores, whereas the Peabody School suffers from declining enrollment, according to Cambridge Public Schools Superintendent Thomas Fowler-Finn.

Under this plan, the Tobin School would continue only as a K-5 elementary school.

Fowler-Finn said that allocating part of the $125 million district budget to the new hybrid middle school would allow for the implementation of an Intensive Studies Program (ISP) at the Peabody School. ISP, along with the Achievement Via Independent Determination program, would aid the school in improving their level of achievement, Fowler-Finn said.

Peabody School Principal Joellen Scannell said she was optimistic about the plan’s ability to increase enrollment.

“We have plenty of classrooms, and we’d like to fill them with children,” she said.

But others at the meeting noted the drawbacks of ISP.

“A program like this makes the divide between the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ very clear,” said Daniel Monahan, a math and science teacher at the Cambridgeport School. “The message that this sends to students is that either you can do it or you can’t.”

Some School Committee members also said they were worried about the social implications of ISP.

“It’s very synonymous with ‘gifted’ and ‘talented,’” said school committee member Richard Harding. “I’m much more inclined to support the improvement of middle schools across the board.”

However, School Committee member Patricia M. Nolan ’80 said there was more to the budget than the issue of the hybrid middle school.

“It is incredible that we are doing this budget...and throwing more money into the pot everywhere when other districts are cutting back,” she said.

The School Committee will vote on a finalized budget on April 4.

—Staff writer Laura A. Moore can be reached at lamoore@fas.harvard.edu.