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Parents press Preston board for clarity after elementary Spanish is cut; district outlines reallocation of minutes
Summary
Parents at the Sept. 8 BOE meeting asked how instructional minutes from the elimination of elementary Spanish will be reallocated. Principals said the time will provide 25 minutes twice weekly for additional reading and math; parents also raised Powerschool access issues and urged livestreaming of BOE meetings.
Several parents pressed the Preston Board of Education on Sept. 8 after the district removed elementary Spanish from the schedule, asking how the lost instructional minutes would be redeployed and raising related concerns about communications and access.
At public comment, Kelly McNamara and Kayla Thompson asked how instructional minutes from the loss of Spanish at the elementary level would be reallocated. Ray Bernier, PVMS principal, later explained that the change freed 25 minutes twice a week that are now being used for additional reading and math instruction at PVMS. Board and staff members acknowledged parents’ concerns about communication and access to student information systems; Cara Sawyer said she can access PowerSchool at the elementary school but not at the middle school and asked the district to resolve that issue.
Another recurring public comment asked the board to livestream meetings to reduce misinformation. Andrew Koniecko, whose email was summarized at the meeting, suggested a free livestream via YouTube to target younger parents and said the district could disable chat to keep the stream informational only. “The Town of Preston or the Board of Education could create a YouTube channel at no cost, and livestream a meeting to the public,” Koniecko wrote in the email included in the meeting packet.
Why it matters: Teaching minutes, staffing changes and communication practices directly affect instruction, parent engagement and perceptions about district decision-making. Parents asked the board to review minutes of Aug. 11 before approving them and requested monthly discussion of Gifted & Talented; the board pulled the Aug. 11 minutes for further review.
Details and next steps: District staff will continue to explain how reallocated minutes are being used and to resolve PowerSchool access issues. The board pulled Aug. 11 minutes for further review and agreed to consider a monthly Gifted & Talented agenda item at parents’ request.
