Some meetings are in person, some online, and some are both. Go to provincetown-ma.gov and click on the meeting you want to watch to see if a remote option is available.
Thursday, Dec. 16
- Animal Welfare Committee, noon, Veterans Memorial Community Center
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6 p.m., Town Hall
Tuesday, Dec. 21
- Other Post-Employment Benefits Committee, 10 a.m.
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 22
- Pier Corp. Board, 5 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 23
- Planning Board, 6 p.m., Town Hall
Conversation Starters
Second Chance at Scholarships
Two college students who grew up in Provincetown or Truro and attended the Provincetown Schools will receive $10,000 scholarships, although it seemed at first that they would not because they had not filled out their applications properly.
The select board on Dec. 13 intervened on behalf of the two students. They were eligible for two scholarships each, based on their residency and the length of time they attended local schools. But when they failed to complete the related paperwork properly, the Provincetown Scholarship & Trust Administration Committee denied their applications for the John Anderson Francis Family Scholarship and the Capt. Joseph F. Oliver Scholarship.
Scholarship committee chair Julia Perry defended her group’s action, saying that older adolescents need to learn accountability.
“They are children becoming adults, and we expect certain things from them,” Perry told the select board.
The members of the select board, however, argued that it is not easy for students to pull together the proper paperwork, especially if the task is overseen by family members who may themselves not understand the application process.
Perry countered that previously a student got a major scholarship although her “mother could barely read or write.” That student took the application to someone at her church who reviewed it for her, Perry said.
“How do you teach young people cause and effect?” Perry asked.
This year a total of five students applied for the two pools of scholarship money. The Anderson Francis Fund has $1.1 million in it, and the Oliver Fund contains $500,000, said Town Manager Alex Morse.
The amount each student receives is determined by a decision by the finance director on the overall amount to be awarded. That sum is then divided by the number of scholarships to be awarded, Perry said. The scholarship committee had already divided this year’s money among the three students who penned their applications properly, Perry said.
But Morse said the funds can spare another $20,000 this year; the scholarship committee has that discretion.
“My take is, we are supposed to help if we can,” select board member John Golden told the Independent.
“It seems pretty clear from the sentiment of this board that we are sorry about the way this was handled,” said board member Louise Venden. “It has been an extraordinary year for all of us and certainly for young people.”
To avoid this situation in future, the select board voted to have a town staff member review future applications along with the scholarship committee. —K.C. Myers
