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Methuen Public Schools, Massachusetts

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Taxes N
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Budget Y
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Meetings Y
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Elected Officials Y
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Administrative Officials Y
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Contracts N
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Audits N
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Public records P
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Academics Y
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Background checks Y
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School district websites
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Transparency grading process


Methuen Public Schools is a school district in Massachusetts.


[edit] Website evaluation

Main article: Evaluation of Massachusetts school district websites

[edit] The good

  • The budget for the current fiscal year is posted online, but previous years are not posted online.
  • Prominent navigational features enabling someone to locate the budget are included on the homepage of the website.
  • Some graphic features that compare the current budget to past year's budgets are incorporated, to enable people to make sense of trends over time.
  • The school district's website discloses meetings and agendas.[1]
  • School Committee Meetings are televised and rebroadcast.
    One needs to look at Main City Website under Government Channel tab to find schedule.[2]or Archive video of meetings[3]
  • Minutes of meetings are posted online.[4]
  • The rules that govern public [5] input are now posted.
  • Information is posted about elected officials.[6]
  • The website provides contact information about how to reach key school district administrators, but doesn't include e-mail.[7]

[edit] The bad

  • Narrative features should be incorporated into descriptions of the budget. For example, if the current year budget is 1.2% higher, or 5% lower, or 14.7% higher than the previous year's budget, it is helpful to citizens to provide this comparative explanation at the beginning of a summary about the budget.
  • Definitions of technical terms and explanation of legally mandated formulas would be useful if provided.
  • Terms of office and date of next election not listed on site. See Election Calendar 2009
  • The website Does not indicate their party affiliation.
  • Financial disclosures and conflict-of-interest statements required of elected officials are not posted online.
  • Committee appointments are not listed. (i.e. School Building Committee)
  • A copy of the contract between the superintendent and the school district governing the terms of his or her employment, including salary information, job expectations, severance provisions and so on.

[edit] Academic performance

The Methuen Public Schools website includes information about the district's academic performance.
They carry a schedule, on the Home page, for the current MCAS and MEPA testing [8]
The Districts scores and comparison data is provided, via a link [9] to the Mass Department of Education, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This shows statewide MCAS Results (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) and MEPA (Massachusetts English Proficiency Assessment) scores and National comparative data in support of No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress).
A minumum of every two years the Methuen Public Schools prepares a comprehensive District Improvement Plan [10]that sets long-range goals. The current plan is on-line.

[edit] Background checks

[edit] Criminal Offender Record Information

Effective November 4, 2010, the Criminal History Systems Board (CHSB) was renamed the Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS). [11]

CORI training is handled by the CORI Audit, Training, and Compliance Unit of the DCJIS, which posts a training schedule [12]

The school district's website includes,comprehensive information [13] about its policies regarding conducting criminal background checks of staff employed by the school district. It includes a seperate poilcy for School Bus Drivers CORI Check[14]. The policies include information about how often criminal background checks are conducted and what procedures the district follows when it learns of past or current criminal conduct on the part of school district staff.

Information is,also, provided regarding CORI questions for interviewees[15]and new hires.

[edit] Sex Offender Registry Information

"The Sex Offender Registry Board [16]is the state agency responsible for keeping a database of convicted sex offenders and classifying each offender so that the public may receive information about dangerous sex offenders who live or work in each community. The goal of the Sex Offender Registry is to educate the public and to prevent further victimization."

  • Each principal arranges for the training of professional staff members in the proper use of S.O.R.I. information [17] through the Methuen Police Department. Said training includes information related to compliance with the dissemination provisions of the law.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ↑ School Committee Calendar 2009-2010
  2. ↑ Schedule
  3. ↑ Archived video of meetings
  4. ↑ Minutes to the Meetings
  5. ↑ Public participation
  6. ↑ Methuen School Committee
  7. ↑ Directory of Administration
  8. ↑ 2010-2011 MCAS/MEPA Schedule
  9. ↑ Methuen Report Card
  10. ↑ Methuen School District Improvement Plan
  11. ↑ Department of Criminal Justice Information Services
  12. ↑ Upcoming CORI training
  13. ↑ C.O.R.I. Requirements Policy
  14. ↑ School Bus Drivers CORI Check
  15. ↑ C.O.R.I. Investigation questions for Applicants Policy
  16. ↑ Sex Offender Registry Board
  17. ↑ Sexual Offender Registry Information policy (S.O.R.I.)
Retrieved from "http://sunshinereview.org/index.php/Methuen_Public_Schools,_Massachusetts"
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