Zoom and Facebook Live information is available in the town newsletter, available at richmondma.org.
The Municipal Building Committee announces a site visit at the proposed location of the new building from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 1. Parking will be available at Richmond Consolidated School. Committee members and the project manager and designer will be available to answer questions. Rain date is Sunday, May 2. Masks and social distancing will be required.
Questions can be sent to MBC@richmondma.org.
RICHMOND â After extensive discussions at several meetings, the townâs Budget Advisory Committee has signaled its support of the proposed 2021-22 budget for the Richmond Consolidated School.
The spending proposal requested for appropriations approval by town voters comes in at $3,970,000, a $332,000, or 9.1 percent, increase over the current budget at the school, which is prekindergarten through grade 8.
But, the majority of the increase comes from the stateâs legally required costs for special education students. The state reimburses the town a year later for a portion of the 2021-22 $175,000 SPED cost and an additional $32,225 for SPED transportation.
The operating budget increase, not including special education, is up by 3.4 percent, close to the budget committeeâs hoped-for target of a 3 percent hike.
RICHMOND â Teaching music is hard enough in person. Trying to do it virtually â during a pandemic â is even harder.
So, Joy Mullen had to get creative. The Richmond Consolidated School music teacher gave instrumental lessons outside last year, but once the weather turned cold she was forced to conduct class over Zoom.
One virtual lesson featured a TED Talk by Dame Evelyn Glennie, a decorated Scottish percussionist who was deaf. After studying Glennie, Mullenâs students created presentations about her career.
One of her students, sixth-grader Cruz Swinson, emailed his presentation to Glennie and asked if she would participate in a virtual lesson with his classmates. Mullen followed up on her studentâs email and as a result, Glennie spent an hour with Mullenâs class on Thursday, explaining how sheâs dedicated her life to teaching the world how to listen.
RICHMOND â Faced with an aging, deteriorating Town Hall, a reactivated committee of officials and residents is proposing a nearly $6.6 million project to create a modern community center, including municipal offices and a library.
It would be built on town-owned property north of the Richmond Consolidated School on Route 41 (State Road). If approved by voters, the cost to taxpayers with an average-priced home would amount to less than 50 cents a day for a 30-year bond, the primary funding source for the project.
âThe 100-year-old Town Hall is in very bad shape, and itâs not getting any better,â said Pat Callahan, chairwoman of the Municipal Building Committee, during a virtual briefing for residents Saturday. It was the first in a series of six Zoom meetings to acquaint residents with the project.