Beverly School Committee Accepts $7.4 Million in Grants, Adds Dietitian Post

BEVERLY -- October 13, 2021, Beverly School Committee unanimously accepts $7.4 million in federal and state grants and hears roughly 30 public comments condemning racist remarks made at the prior month's meeting. The board voted 7-0 at its October 13 meeting to accept $7,404,894 in grants, led by $4,741,978 in ESSER 3 pandemic relief funds and $1,423,071 in federal special education IDEA entitlement money, and also approved a new registered dietitian position in the self-funded food services department and accepted $10,778.21 in gifts to schools. Superintendent Dr. Brenda Trocki reported total district enrollment of 4,757 students as of October 1. The evening's longest segment was a public comment forum in which speakers including Beverly Human Rights Committee representative Mindy Depolito, North Shore Community College mathematics educator Dr. Walter Stone, and City Councilor Scott Houseman condemned treatment of School Committee member Dr. Kenan McKenzie at the September 8 meeting, with Houseman calling the behavior "reprehensible." Director of College and Career Readiness Julie Ferrara, in a subcommittee presentation earlier in the evening, described a new CFES Brilliant Pathways mentoring partnership, five career pathways set to roll out to the freshman class, and a November 4 two-year and vocational school fair, the first such event in the district's history.