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Prior to its biweekly meeting, the Lowell School Committee will meet at 5:30 in Council Chambers tonight to discuss options related to the potential closing of the Lowell Community Charter School, and the impact the 841 students will have on district classes next year. The meeting will be televised live on cable channel 10 (should also be available on streaming video at some point through LTC). In December, Commissioner of Education Mitchell Chester indicated that he will recommend closing the school at the end of the school year; the Board of Education will vote on his recommendation at its meeting on Jan. 26 in Malden. Tonight, the school committee will get more information about the charter-school students who live in Lowell, the potential impact to the district, and various options available to the board if the charter school license is revoked. I will be on WCAP tomorrow morning—sometime after 6:40—to discuss those options briefly on the radio. I will also report my thoughts on the issue here, so stay tuned.

Yesterday’s Sun had an article regarding Wednesday’s discussion among school committee members of the Commissioner of Education’s indication that he would recommend revoking the license of the charter school on Jackson Street in Lowell. The Mass. Board of Education will vote on that decision later this month. In the meantime, the Lowell School Committee will meet on Wednesday, Jan. 20, at 5:30 in Council Chambers, to explore the district’s options should the 800-plus students in grades K-8 be returned to its schools. Factors to be discussed included the breakdown of students by grade and the impact on classroom size, options regarding school building facilities and costs, information regarding the possibility of creating a district-controlled Horace Mann Charter School, as well as funding for the returning students. (It is possible funding for those students would require special legislation in order to avoid a year lag time.) Although the state board of education is the ultimate decider regarding the future of the charter school, if those students return to our district schools, it is in their best interests as well as the city’s that we have begun the process of exploring our options. The meeting will be televised live and can be seen on cable channel 10.

Tonight’s Chronicle (channel 5) will include a special report on the rampant abuse of prescription drugs—with a particular focus on its impact on suburban communities. The show will include a spotlight on Joanne Peterson, the woman who started her own movement in response to her son’s addiction to OxyContin and heroin. Peterson was one of several who spoke before hundreds of parents, students and community members at Lowell High School last October to make folks aware of the problem and what could be done to counteract it. (See an earlier post on the issue here.) One of several suggestions was to limit prescription drug availability in homes by properly discarding unused medications. Several speakers were clear that drugs should not be flushed down the toilet or allowed to enter the water system. Contact the Lowell Health Department for their next collection date for unwanted prescription drugs (unfortunately they just had one yesterday).

Last night, there were a few must-see-tv events with live broadcasts of both President Obama’s speech about sending more troops to Afghanistan and the senate candidates’ debate. Tonight also includes informational opportunities via the television: The senate candidates will debate again, from 7-8 p.m. on NECN and WBGH channel 2. This debate will be simulcast on the radio and streamed online by 90.9 FM WBUR. In addition, the Lowell School Committee will meet, beginning at 7 p.m. and broadcast on LTC, local cable channel 10. The meeting will start with a Spotlight on Excellence for 28 students from  middle schools across the city who achieved a perfect score of 280 on the MCAS test last year. The meeting will include a special presentation on the district’s results regarding the Growth Model, the state’s new way of looking at student achievement, via MCAS scores, based on individual student progress over the last three years. Also tonight, the school committee will evaluate Dr. Chris Scott’s performance in her first year as superintendent of the Lowell Public Schools.

If you’re thinking about college in the next few years, you should check out tonight’s interactive webcast at 7 p.m. from the Wall Street Journal on Campus. Join with admissions directors from eight top colleges (such as Bryn Mawr, Princeton, Univ. of Pennsylvania, and Wesleyan) as they share how admissions decisions are made, what you need to know to get accepted at top-choice schools, and ways to approach the college search process. The webcast, titled Inside the Admissions Office, explores what admissions counselors look for when reviewing applications, how important grades, class rank, and essays are for getting accepted, and what role parents should play. Tune in for information on these and other issues; you may also ask your own questions by emailing wsjoncampus@unigo.com.

Today’s Globe features a column, “Progress Adjourned,” in which Kevin Cullen sarcastically writes about not planning to write again, at least not formally, for the rest of the year, as a dig to state representatives taking a break until they reconvene in January. The Globe, a proponent in the charter-school movement, has pressed the issue, particularly the posturing between Governor Patrick and House Speaker DeLeo, as well as its own “get back to work” demand regarding the House delay in voting on the Education Reform Act the Senate passed last week. (Senate, No. 2216). Count me in the crowd who wants important decisions made in a timely fashion that impact the safety and welfare of residents, particularly those involving the budget and the education of our children. Those decisions must be based, however, on good information, adequate discussion, and an opportunity to hear from major stakeholders, which is why, as a school committee member, I am relieved we have time to learn more about the Senate version of the bill and discuss it with lawmakers.

The Senate Bill “An Act Relative to Education Reform” begins with this preamble: “Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to drive forthwith innovation into school districts and turnaround underperforming schools, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.” I spoke to several representatives on Friday who had not seen the final version of the bill, which is 75+ pages long and includes numerous reiterations of some 95 amendments, never mind begun to decipher what its impact could be on the public schools. If the next several weeks are devoted to looking closely at the many implications of the bill, researching ways to improve it, and listening to stakeholders with the ultimate goal of passing a bill to improve public education for all students in Massachusetts, a state known nationally for its exceptional school system, I am fully in favor of taking the time to get it right.

As the Lowell representative and one of about 350 delegates from districts across the state, I’m headed to the annual meeting of the Mass. Association of School Committees (MASC) today to vote on 11 resolutions regarding education reform. With controversy around removing the cap on charter schools (see yesterday’s Sun), the association’s position has added importance as lawmakers look to enact reform that makes sense for kids and communities during tough fiscal times. In terms of charter schools, the MASC resolution asks the state to restructure charter-school funding and student enrollment before lifting the cap. The resolution also requires charter schools to enroll student populations that reflect the overall community of students at risk—economically disadvantaged, English language learners, varying special needs, etc. (Current legislation only recommends charter schools recruit diverse populations.) In addition, the resolution requires charter school enrollments be audited to make sure their projections, on which funding is based, are accurate. Much of the debate is about money, as this quote from yesterday’s article illustrates: “The bill already appeared headed for troubled waters before debate began when the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association said a proposal to create a separate budget line item to fund charter school expansion would expose charter schools to uneven funding cuts in tight budget years.” (Welcome to my world.) The latest word from Boston is the legislature will not vote on education reform until it reconvenes in January, giving MASC and others time to vote, organize, and plan their advocacy. Check here for the delegate manual, and stay tuned!

It was a long day today, standing on achy feet outside the polls for hours with incumbents, challengers and supporters, watching and hoping for voters. At times, I admit, I was concerned about the turnout, concerned about how I would feel about my community if we didn’t see positive change, if people didn’t bother to come out and vote. Although the numbers still seem disappointingly low, the results for change were significant. The Choice Vote initiative may not have gotten the support it needed to pass, particularly in terms of a substantial increase in voters, but the message from the 5,174 who voted yes on the ballot question demonstrated that many people in this city want a government that is more representative, inclusive and accessible. Perhaps Choice Voting is not the answer, or perhaps now is not the time, but the conversation this initiative began will continue; some change is inevitable, and I predict it will happen soon.

In terms of the candidates, my congratulations to everyone who had the courage to put their names on the ballot and run. We saw several upsets on the council, the school committee, and the vocational board as incumbents Armand Mercier, Alan Kazanjian, Regina Faticanti and Michael Hayden lost seats to challengers Franky Descoteaux, Joe Mendonca, Patrick Murphy, Alison Laraba, and Fred Bahou—good hardworking, thoughtful challengers who earned the voters’ trust. As candidates, all we can do is work toward our goal, knowing we have given our best effort, but at the end of the day, the voters get to decide. Today, the voters decided I will continue to serve on the Lowell School Committee. For that honor and privilege, thank you.

The Lowell schools, police and attorney general’s office are sponsoring a community forum tonight at LHS Auditorium, 50 Morrissette Blvd., 6-8 p.m., on prescription drug abuse among our youth. (The meeting will be televised on channel 22.)This problem is not unique to Lowell, however, we are taking a proactive position of partnering together to do something about it. As the parent of teens myself, I know what most of you are thinking: This isn’t a problem that impacts my kids. In fact, when I told my son he was required to attend the event, he gave me a similar response. “I don’t do drugs, so I don’t have to go.” Wrong! We all need to be informed—whether the problem hits directly at home or not. Someday it may impact your teen’s friend, a neighbor, or (God forbid) a family member; well-educated means well-prepared to deal with the issue. Join with us tonight to learn the dangers, warning signs, and actions we can take to protect our young people. Even one life derailed from drug abuse, hurts us all.

After that, if you’re looking for more to do, attend the school committee meeting at city hall, at 8 p.m.

Not one to shirk media criticism when it’s warranted, I take space here to express my disappointment with WCAP Radio. Last week was a pretty exciting news week for me. House Bill 481—a bill I helped initiate a year ago—was heard before the Joint Committee on Education on Tuesday, Oct. 20. When I contacted our two media outlets, The Sun and WCAP, to cover this issue, which currently impacts our school budget by $1.3 million as well as the lives of 23 children forced out of district, I was told by our local radio station that it was too close to the election for me to come on-air. Mind you, this was only days after station co-owner Sam Poulten, a member of the Nashoba Vocational School board familiar with the bill, suggested I contact WCAP to discuss the issue, as well as only days after Councilor Kazanjian went on the Warren Shaw show to discuss his news—regarding a subpoena—for an hour!

Okay, they’re different issues—one is a hearing about changing a law to protect kids and save money while the other is a legal mandate to appear in court and give testimony to determine if any laws were broken. Most would agree, however, that House Bill 481 is as newsworthy as a subpoena, which leads me to conclude that getting on WCAP these days isn’t about equal time or even newsworthiness, but rather, it is about who is asking. Perhaps I should feel better that when I mentioned the unfair treatment to co-host Teddy Panos, he admitted to having to “tip toe” around the newsy-enough issue regarding time for the councilor. But the fact is, the more I think about it, the more annoyed I am.

By the way, The Sun did cover the issue before and after the hearing. Besides being news with far-reaching impact on costs and kids, House Bill 481 is not done yet; we now need speedy passage, which is where the bulk of my energy will be invested next.