Inauguration Event: Mayor Galvin, City Council, School Committee

I'm sure that many of you are aware that Woburn's new mayor, Scott Galvin, took the oath of office during last night's inauguration ceremony. We look forward to working with Mayor Galvin, and we wish him much success as he takes on the challenges of his new position.

In addition to the mayor, members of the City Council and members of the School Committee were also sworn into office as the new year begins. The Woburn School Committee for 2010 is pictured below.

Denis Russell Chosen as School Committee Chairman

At last night's organizational meeting of the Woburn School Committee, Denis Russell was selected as the Chairman of the School Committee for 2010. Here is the text of the speech he gave to the School Committee  following his selection:

Let me begin by wishing you and your families a very happy and healthy new year. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve as Chairman this year.

Before I look ahead at the challenges we will face, I’d like to take a moment to recognize and bring my attention to the many things you do for the Woburn School District. Many nights are spent away from home whether at meetings or functions. We receive phone calls regarding a host of school matters at all hours of the day and evening. None of us punch a clock. Much of what we do is not reported in the newspaper nor seen on TV. But you can all take pride in knowing that the job you do is appreciated not only by me but by the families of Woburn. So to you I say thank you and to your families, thank you.

Looking ahead, this will be an exciting and challenging year. We have a new Mayor and a number of new Councilors. It will be a priority to keep the lines of communication open at all times.  To do this, frequent meetings with Mayor Galvin will be commonplace. I’ll ask our subcommittees to provide a quarterly summary of your meetings and accomplishments that will be presented to the Mayor and City Council.

Another important issue certainly is the ongoing construction of the new Goodyear School. We will provide whatever is necessary to keep this project going and keep it on time. As part of this project, I have asked Superintendent Donovan to move ahead with planning and informing the Clapp parents on the redistricting that will take place when the Goodyear School is completed. This information needs to be presented sooner than later to insure a smooth transition.

This year we will enter contract negotiations. It is our objective to come to a fair and expeditious agreement. Finally, budget time is upon us. Our goal is to continue to provide sound education for our students, and safe and well maintained facilities. Working closely with the Mayor, the Council and Administration we will develop a responsible and effective budget.

There will be many other issues that we will face but as in the past, I know that together we will find solutions.

Again, Happy and Healthy New Year.

Happy New Year!

On behalf of the Woburn Public Schools, I want to wish everyone a happy new year. The year ahead will no doubt provide us with a mixture of joys and challenges, but our community will remain strong. We look forward to seeing our staff and students return to school on Monday, January 4th, 2010.