Dr. Alan D. Genovese

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_5479024 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/20/2007    Last Visited: 3/20/2007  

  The override initiative stems from Groton-Dunstable Regional School District Superintendent Alan Genovese's request for a $30.75 million school budget for fiscal 2008.The spending plan stands for a 10.27 percent
  ...
  Genovese has refused to cut his budget, saying it takes $30.75 million to improve class sizes and students' performance in the state standardized tests.As a result, selectmen are expected to file an override proposal later this week once the School Committee makes a final budget recommendation and certifies it tomorrow night.
  
  In the meantime, selectmen are recommending to allocate nearly $300,000 out of the projected revenue increase toward municipal departments to sustain existing services next year.This means the Fire Department would have to wait another year to buy backup generators and Town Hall will continue to rely solely on volunteers for the maintenance of computer systems.
  
  Genovese have argued that a quality school system helps property values and thus benefits all residents.
  ...
  But others said they are keeping their eyes on Genovese for a reduced budget and will carefully weigh in on the benefits of passing an override.

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_6029285 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/31/2007    Last Visited: 6/1/2007  

  Superintendent of Schools Alan Genovese said some students may be shifted between elementary schools to keep class sizes the same at all the schools.
  
  "We're trying to minimize the number of students who are being moved," he said.
  
  Genovese recommended accepting the budget reduction rather than trying to fight it, because without an approved budget, the district would be forced to

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_13306245 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/10/2009    Last Visited: 9/10/2009  

  "I think we are going a little bit too far for our accountability," Groton-Dunstable Regional School District Superintendent Alan Genovese said of the Pioneer Institute's Web site.
  ...
  Genovese said certain criteria the Pioneer Institute used made his district shine on the Web site.
  
  "But we've been shining for years," he said, adding that it is thanks to dedicated teachers and staff.
  
  Besides, more than 90 percent of local high-school students fall into the advanced and proficient categories in all MCAS subject areas. Those numbers available from the state speak for themselves, Genovese said, and the Pioneer Institute's grading system is overkill.

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_13281958 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 9/6/2009    Last Visited: 9/6/2009  

  GROTON -- Some students don't use bus stops that are closest to their homes, says school Superintendent Alan Genovese; their parents drive them to their relatives' homes or the houses in which they used to live, and drop them off at a nearby bus stop.
  
  You might call it a desperate attempt by the parents to send their children to schools that they believe are the best for them. Each year, the district discovers several students have been lying about where they live so that they can attend schools in the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District, which is known for high academic performance, says Genovese.
  
  But, lying comes with a price.
  
  Once the truth comes out, the district has no choice but to throw the students out, because it's not fair to the taxpayers who are paying for local education, Genovese says.
  
  "The law is pretty clear; they have to be a member of the district communities," Genovese says.
  
  The regional school district recently terminated the enrollment of a student at Swallow/Union Elementary School in Dunstable after finding out the child lives elsewhere. Every year, several families see a police officer knock on their doors to verify their addresses, and their children are tossed from the district. Genovese says he does not track the count of expelled students, but says fewer than 10 students per year are removed.
  ...
  Groton-Dunstable has few School Choice seats available, however, because it has enough students of its own to take care of, Genovese says.
  
  "If our class sizes are 24 or 25 (per teacher), I'm not going to declare any open seats," Genovese said. "We've got to be really careful about not overcrowding" the schools, he said.
  
  The district currently has 30 students on its School Choice waiting list. Genovese is recounting this year's enrollment, and depending on what he finds, he may propose for the School Committee to declare 16 open School Choice seats at the high school. Having School Choice students can benefit the district because it receives $5,000 per student from the sending districts -- revenue the cash-strapped district won't have otherwise. But, there will be no openings in other grade levels, Genovese says.
  ...
  These days, many families use cell-phone numbers as their home numbers, and that works in favor of those who try to hide their addresses, Genovese said. But in almost all cases, the district finds out what may be going on from residents' calls. Genovese would then call the police chief, who would send out an officer to investigate.
  
  Some families who were caught lying in the past lived in New Hampshire, Genovese says. The district's decision to remove a student sometimes upset the parents. He would remind them that it was their choice to move out of Groton or Dunstable.

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/ci_12767533?source=most_emailed - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 7/7/2009    Last Visited: 7/7/2009  

  Groton-Dunstable Regional School Committee Chairman Jim Frey said yesterday that Superintendent Alan Genovese is now following "certain steps" after the board wrapped up its investigation into a harassment complaint against him.
  ...
  Frey said, however, the complaint stemmed from a meeting between the superintendent and some employees back in May, during which Genovese said something inappropriate.
  ...
  Genovese apologized to the employee, but the person filed a complaint, Frey said.
  ...
  The School Committee found -- and Genovese agreed -- that the superintendent's comment was inappropriate and "not in the right tone" as words coming from the district's leader.
  ...
  Genovese did not return repeated telephone calls seeking comment yesterday.
  
  Genovese, former superintendent of schools of the Mohawk Trail Regional School District, Harlemont Regional School District and Rowe Elementary School District in Shelburne Falls, was hired as the Groton-Dunstable superintendent in the summer of 2005. Between late 2006 and early 2007, Genovese faced some fallout with veteran principals who resigned, citing leadership-style differences with him. One of them, former Florence Roche Elementary School Principal Launa Zimmaro, claimed Genovese threatened her and ordered her to remove all remarks questioning his management style from her resignation letter right after she submitted it on Feb. 7.
  
  The School Committee renewed Genovese's contract shortly thereafter. Genovese announced earlier this year that he will retire June 30, 2010, when the contract expires.

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/ci_11643370?source=rss_emailed - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/6/2009    Last Visited: 2/9/2009  

  var requestedWidth = 0; > if(requestedWidth Groton-Dunstable Regional School District Superintendent Alan Genovese presented his $35.9 million
  
  budget proposal for fiscal year 2010 at the School Committee meeting Wednesday night, calling for a variety of cost-cutting strategies to keep an overall spending increase to 0.2 percent.
  
  Under his plan, the operational budget would increase by $277,984, or 0.9 percent, from this year. But because the district will have paid off some bonds by June 30, it will need 4.5 percent less money next year for debt service, bringing down the overall budget increase to $72,702, or 0.2 percent.
  
  Genovese originally projected a budget shortfall of more than $2 million for fiscal year 2010 as he anticipated a 10 percent reduction in the state's Chapter 70 fund to the district.
  
  But Gov.
  ...
  The Administrative Council has proposed freezing the salaries of 25 employees on the administrative payroll, including secretarial staff, but excluding Genovese, to save $41,000. Genovese, who earns $144,450 in salary, said he has not received a pay raise in two years, and wants to honor his three-year contract that increases his salary to $154,552 next year.
  ...
  Genovese said the district would need to cut spending by another $1 million if Dunstable reduces its funding by 5 percent, and that would affect Groton students.
  
  "I will continue to work with Dunstable officials" to resolve the issue, Genovese said.

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_11413936 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 1/9/2009    Last Visited: 1/9/2009  

  Groton-Dunstable Regional School District Superintendent Alan Genovese was the only school leader in the area to call a two-hour delay yesterday for classes but said it was the right decision given the weather in his area.
  
  Custodians started treating school grounds at 3 a.m., but two coatings of sand each froze so Genovese delayed classes so the sun could rise and warm up enough for a third coat to be effective.
  
  "I think it was absolutely the right call," Genovese said after classes yesterday.

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/todaysheadlines/ci_10343610 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 8/30/2008    Last Visited: 8/31/2008  

  "The economy is having people think about working close to where they live," said Groton-Dunstable Regional School District Superintendent Alan Genovese, who had to replace 12 teachers this year.

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_9357120 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/23/2008    Last Visited: 5/23/2008  

  Alan Genovese, the superintendent of the Groton-Dunstable Regional School District, said yesterday that voters' rejection of the debt-exclusion proposal at this week's elections in Dunstable and Groton will affect the town budgets -- but not the school budget -- unless votes are retaken and reversed in the fall.
  
  That's because it would be against state law -- and in violation of the regional school district agreement -- to change the school budget already approved by Town Meeting, Genovese said.
  ...
  The district financed the $2.5 million through short-term borrowing; the interest payment is about $60,000 in fiscal year 2009 with $48,000 of that being Groton's share and $12,000 being Dunstable's share, according to Genovese and Groton Selectmen Chairman Fran Dillon.
  ...
  That would mean an additional $54,000 between Groton and Dunstable, including principal payment, in fiscal year 2010, Genovese said.
  
  It will be up to town and school officials to decide whether the figure will be discounted from, or included in, the municipal funding for the school district.
  
  Genovese hopes voters will agree to pay for the debt through debt exclusion.He said he will work with town officials to help voters understand the consequences of rejecting the debt exclusion if the question goes back on the ballot this fall.
  
  If another vote is not taken before Oct. 24, the district could issue a "bond anticipation note" to extend the short-term borrowing, though that would make the debt more costly in the long run, Genovese said.
  ...
  "The theme is, we are going to work with the towns" to figure out the best ways to finance the borrowing, Genovese said.

• 
  www.lowellsun.com/front/ci_8239848 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 2/12/2008    Last Visited: 2/12/2008  

  Genovese: Schools merger would ease deficit
  ...
  If parents and the School Committee agree to merge Prescott with other elementary schools, said Groton-Dunstable Regional School District Superintendent Alan Genovese, the buses will no longer be there, relieving downtown traffic and helping to reduce school-transportation spending.
  
  The district also would not have to replace the retiring Prescott School principal, who earns $87,000 a year, nor spend $75,000 for custodians.Most important, the district could use that money to keep the teachers it already has, Genovese said.
  
  "If we use our space and staff more efficiently, we could save half of the ... shortfall" projected for the next school year, Genovese said.
  ...
  With health-insurance premiums and fuel costs soaring, the school district needs another $1.53 million just to keep its teachers and staff, according to Genovese.Without it, "we will need to ask for another override," he said.
  
  The district eliminated 17 positions after Genovese's $1.2 million tax-override proposal failed last May.
  ...
  Genovese maintains, however, that the school merger would benefit all students.Elementary enrollment continues to shrink, and elementary schools have vacant rooms.For example, Swallow Union had 340 students in 2005 and now 294, and districtwide elementary population is projected to decline from 955 this year to 567 in 2014.
  
  If Prescott merges, many specialists shared by different schools, such as art and Spanish teachers, would spend less time traveling.And the district would save $332,000 in operating costs -- $297,000 in personnel cost and $35,000 in utilities -- and could put off $450,000 spending for ventilation and exhaust system replacements for the building and $120,000 in architect fees, Genovese said.
  
  Other money-saving options include contracting out special-education services and establishing a SPED program at the Middle School and at the Florence Roche School in order to save money that would otherwise be spent sending SPED students to other districts.
  
  Genovese has held meetings with elementary parents about his ideas, but Prescott parents said they wanted to be more included in the decision-making and requested the School Committee set up a Parent Advisory Committee.

Page:  1 2 3 4 5