News digest

By Donna Capodelupo
Staff Writer

March 06, 2008 05:00 am

—

Girl Scout councils merge

NORTH ANDOVER — It's not only Fortune 500 firms merging these days. It's Daisys, Brownies and Cadettes, too.

On Feb. 1, three Girl Scout councils representing different parts of the state merged into one large council called Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. The local council, Spar and Spindle in North Andover, merged with the Patriots' Trail Council of Boston and the Girl Scouts of Southern Massachusetts.

Together, the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts serves some 45,000 girls. This merger will allow the girls to participate in camps and workshops outside the Merrimack Valley, including those in Boston and on the South Shore.

"When people think of the Girl Scouts, the first thing they think of is cookies and camping," said Ruth Bramson, new chief executive officer for Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts. "We want to be much more than that. We want to be known as a place to help girls develop and become tomorrow's leaders."

The national group, Girl Scouts of the USA, began merging councils in 2003. The reason behind it was the concern that there were too many councils competing for financial help for the same types of programs. Since 2003, the number of councils has been scaled down from 318 to 110.

Bramson, who was a Brownie and Girl Scout growing up, said chances are the girls won't notice much difference. The merger will not affect cookie sales. Lifetime and annual membership will remain the same, and there are no immediate plans to close branches.

— Yadira Betances

Candidates debate key issues

NORTH ANDOVER — Overrides, classroom space and a new police station were the topics debated on Thursday, Feb. 28, by selectmen and School Committee candidates during a League of Women Voters Candidate Forum at Town Hall.

Four candidates seek two open seats on the Board of Selectmen. The main focus of their questions was money, from how to save by limiting raises to whether they support overrides.

None of the candidates said they would never endorse a Proposition 21/2 override; they all said it's not a measure they would encourage. A Proposition 21/2 override raises property taxes above the 21/2 percent limit imposed by state law.

The town voted to pass a $1.65 million override last year, with most of the money going to the schools.

"I believe overrides are tough," said Joe Edward Smith. "When you raise your neighbors' and your own taxes, some of us can afford it and some cannot."

Donald Stewart said he would consider voting for an override on a case by case basis because, for many, it's hard to come up with the extra money.

Richard Nardella said the important thing is not to put the town in a position where an override is needed.

Tracy Watson agreed. "We need to be more fiscally responsible," she said.

For the three School Committee candidates seeking two open seats, the questions centered around how to measure student achievement, the superintendent search and the coordination of the School Committee and selectmen.

Chris Nobile said MCAS scores, grades and how many students are going to college can all be important standards to gauge how students are doing, depending on if the school wants to produce high scores or well-rounded citizens.

Michael Quinlan said without these measures, it is difficult to compare students in North Andover to students in other towns.

"We have to measure all these things," said Stanley Limpert.

One job the new members will face is hiring a new superintendent. The district has an interim superintendent - James Marini - but he will stay only until the end of the 2009 school year at the latest.

The forum was videotaped and will be shown regularly on local Channel 8 leading up to the March 25 election.

— Drake Lucas