Sharon High seniors enrolled in Honors Advanced Print & Digital Journalism are covering School Committee meetings. The following news story reports on the Nov. 20 meeting, which can be watched online on Sharon TV. (Cover photo from Sharon TV.)
Correction: In an earlier version of this article published on 12/10, it was incorrectly stated that that the Counseling Department increased AP fees without obtaining School Committee approval, although Ari Shemtov’s presentation referred to “Guidance personnel.” We regret the error.
By Sammy O’Reilly, Maxwell Sheng, Koya Wilcox, and Jacob Slavsky, Class of 2025
Students who are taking AP exams this year will be refunded up to $6 per test.
School Committee member Avi Shemtov proposed that students be refunded a portion of their AP fee after conducting an audit of expenses. He estimated that the school had overshot the amount of money needed to cover proctoring and other expenses related to the exams.
The price for one AP test had increased to $105 this year, causing many students, AP teachers, and Sharon citizens to question why. In the ensuing vote on November 20, the motion passed 4-0, with two school committee members, Jeremy Kay and Adam Shain, abstaining.
During the meeting, Mr. Shemtov gave a lengthy explanation and slideshow on why the School Committee should vote for students to be refunded a portion of the AP fees. The College Board charges $99 per exam but automatically offers a small rebate based on the number of tests given. Mr. Shemtov emphasized that though additional funds were needed to cover proctoring and equipment, as well as students qualifying for the reduced exam fee, the $6 increase per test was not entirely justified.
Students at Sharon High had already paid the more expensive fee before this meeting. The fundamental reason for the increase in student prices was that the number of tests given increased, and with that number, additional proctors and equipment costs.
The cost of proctors was understated $1,373, while equipment rentals were overstated by $156, according to Shemtov’s audit.
Another issue Shemtov brought up was that the School Committee was not first consulted about the increase before students paid the fee, raising concerns about transparency and financial oversight.
Besides the AP exam fees, another major issue was discussed: the salaries of instructional assistants at Sharon Public Schools. In the first 20 minutes of the meeting, various K-12 teachers and paraprofessionals, with matching Zoom backgrounds and union t-shirts, spoke out in support of the instructional assistants. These speakers said that paraprofessionals are vital to special education students and to all students.
One speaker was Diana DiBattista, an instructional assistant at East Elementary School, who pointed out that paraprofessionals currently are working without a contract.
DiBattista, arguing for higher salaries, said that many IAs currently do not earn a living wage.
“None of us should have to have a second job,” she explained and mentioned that many of the instructional assistants in the school district have had to work second jobs to pay the rent and bills, particularly with rising inflation in Massachusetts over recent years.
Job responsibilities for IAs vary according to school building and program. Duties typically include instructional support in general education classrooms and assisting the classroom teachers.
Earlier in the meeting, Sharon High School student representative Emily Zhang gave the School Committee and its audience an update on SHS’s recent and upcoming events. Zhang discussed the great attendance at the Unified basketball jamboree on Nov. 7. She also reported the successful Model UN conference at Brown University with students Soham Kulkarni, Aaron Park, Dante Gorostovich, and Rohith Raghavan, who won outstanding delegate honorable mentions. Lastly, she talked about how the Science Olympiad team competed at Oliver Ames for this year’s first mini-tournament.
