NEWTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE

MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING & PUBLIC HEARING ON FY03 BUDGET FEBRUARY 11, 2002

DAY MIDDLE SCHOOL, AUDITORIUM, 7:00 P.M.

PRESENT: Chairperson Anne Larner, Vice-Chairperson Susan Albright, Gail Glick, Patricia Kellogg, Marc Laredo, Nancy Levine, Leslie Schneider, Dori Zaleznik

ABSENT: Mayor David Cohen, student representatives

CALL TO ORDER

Anne Larner called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m.

PUBLIC HEARING ON FY03 BUDGET

Ken Hamilton, President of the Newton Teachers Association, stated that the financial issues facing Newton Public Schools are not just local concerns, but represent both a regional and national crisis. Many surrounding communities have passed overrides. They can no longer retain an excellent system with dwindling resources. Staff has been shouldering the burden for over 10 years and are reaching a breaking point. The "keeping pace" budget must be enacted or they will never retrieve the cuts they have been forced to take in so many areas. He urged people to support the override for the future of this community.

Benjamin Freshman, senior at Newton South High School, spoke about the importance of guidance counselors, who provide so many services of both an academic and social nature. However, because of the increase in the ratio of students to counselors, it is becoming more difficult for them to reach their entire caseload. Given the increased responsibilities and number of students, a decrease in the ratio to 170:1 would be very beneficial, although 150:1 would be ideal.

David Donahue, 28 Russell Rd., West Newton, has been reviewing the past three years' budgets and was shocked to learn that many of the accounts directly impacting children were cut after the budget was approved, while administrative accounts and other non-direct service areas had increases. The system needs to take a careful review of its spending habits, to be sure that the dollars are going towards the best interest of the children.

Andrew Yeats, 36 Maple Ave., junior at Newton North High School, was distressed to learn about the cuts in the Russian Program and the possibility of its eventual elimination. He made a commitment to study this language in his freshman year, with the belief that he would be able to continue in the program for all four years.

Andrea Holtz and Jamie Chaloff, Copresidents of the PTO Council, spoke in support of the Superintendent's "keeping pace" budget, which represents the needs of the system. The schools have been forced to accept so many cuts over the past 10 years. Without an override, they cannot keep pace with neighboring communities.

Sarah Kraft-Cohen, senior at Newton North, is concerned that without an override class sizes will increase, particularly in the areas of fine arts and physical education, or that they will be eliminated completely in order to keep class sizes lower in some of the major departments. The excellence of these programs at the secondary level is a direct result of the offerings in the elementary schools, which lays the groundwork.

Beth Mendel, 180 Otis St., Director of the Understanding our Differences Program, cannot remember the last time she has seen anything as devastating as the "allocation" budget. The system is no longer capable of providing an excellent education under the current financial situation. She is upset over the fact that 23 years of disability awareness education will end because the City cannot afford the small amount of funding necessary to keep it running. This program has helped build a community that is tolerant, compassionate, and understanding. She urged the Committee to support the "keeping pace" budget.

Carol Kanin, 65 Stuart Rd., Newton Centre, President of the Board of the Understanding our Difference Program, talked about the commitment of hundreds of parents who volunteer to bring this program to thousands of Newton students. This system has a national reputation for valuing outstanding programs and promoting diversity, which strengthens the fabric of the community. She thanked the Superintendent for his tireless efforts to maintain excellence in the schools and hopes the School Committee will support his "keeping pace" budget.

Kiki Gross, Eileen Mullarkey, Ellen Schwab, Sue Freedman, and Ruth Hoshino, Copresidents of the Newton North and Newton South High School PTOs, talked about the commitment to education that the Mayor and School Committee have portrayed. They have shown great courage in supporting the "keeping pace" budget and in calling for an override in order to keep the City's services strong. Today's classrooms present new and difficult challenges. There are children in the system who have a variety of medical and emotional needs and many do not speak English as their first language. Lower class sizes allow teachers to provide

proper attention to students, which pays off in their achievement. However, the focus on elementary class size has been at the expense of other areas, such as class size at the secondary level, supplies and materials, textbooks, and building maintenance. They are at a crossroads in terms of how they are going to plan for the future. They can either support the needs or they can settle for a greatly diminished school system.

Verne Vance, 101 Old Orchard Rd., Chestnut Hill, previous School Committee member and Chairperson, urged the Committee to vote the Superintendent's "keeping pace" budget and to support an override. Newton has been fortunate enough to have avoided the need for an override for the past 20 years, while continuing to provide quality education and excellent municipal services. However, the slowing economy and increased public safety needs have reduced municipal and state resources for public education. At the same time, costs for special education services and health insurance continue to rise, while Newton falls behind in many areas of the school budget in comparison to other neighboring communities. Those opposed to an override believe there is waste in the school budget and they cite examples such as high numbers of special education aides. He argues that a $15,000 special education aide, which allows for a student to be mainstreamed into the classroom, is far more cost-effective than spending $35,000 on an outside placement. Opponents talk about high salaries for teachers. He argues that in order to attract and retain quality staff, competitive salaries are necessary. High quality, excellent education is expensive and the community must meet its responsibility to the future by continuing to provide this to its children.

Mary Margaret Pappas, 70 Prospect St., West Newton, is also advocating for the "keeping pace" budget, which will give students who are now in the schools and those who will be entering, the same quality of education that was afforded to previous generations. As the Director of the Newton Community Education Program, which is housed at Newton North, she can attest to the need for repairs and updates in the schools. Funds are desperately needed for building maintenance, which has continually experienced cuts every year. She talked about h0w overcrowded classrooms would become and how the quality of programs would suffer under the "allocation" budget.

Sarah Ecker, 68 Prospect St., Newtonville, Cabot Elementary School parent,

stated that the school system has been operating marginally for years because of lack of funding. While she appreciates resources being devoted to the priority of keeping class sizes small at the elementary level, they can no longer do this at the expense of so many other critical needs, such as technology and elementary world language. The "allocation" budget is unacceptable and is not what the children of this community deserve. The Superintendent has thoroughly documented the

standards to which Newton should be aspiring and the resources necessary to take these steps. On behalf of numerous Cabot parents, she urged the Committee to approve the "keeping pace" budget.

Lisa Cohen, 138 Albemarle Rd., Newtonville, has been very pleased with the quality of education that her children have received and the dedication of staff in this system. However, she is distressed by the serious infrastructure needs that have been neglected, as funding has been diverted for other services. Teachers have far more demands being placed on them today, including the administration of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam and Time & Learning mandates. Children benefit from the rich learning environment, but it requires personnel and money. She fears that in the absence of an override, education will suffer and the community will be shortchanged.

An unidentified speaker read a statement on behalf of Linda Hiller, Bound Brook Rd., community representative for the Countryside Elementary School Council. Linda has been actively involved with the Understanding our Differences program for the past 20 years, including a stint as President, and now as a guest speaker, who is living with multiple sclerosis. She has personally seen the positive impact this program has had on people and how it has increased sensitivity and understanding of disabilities and made Newton a more compassionate community. Newton's reputation for excellence in education is earned in part as a result of the range of exceptional programs, such as Understanding our Differences, and it would be a shame to eliminate these programs because of budget constraints.

Jonathan Yeo, 152 Grove St., Auburndale, Copresident of the Williams Elementary School PTO, supports the straw vote that the Committee took at its last meeting, i.e., the "keeping pace" budget. The impact of the "allocation" budget on Williams would mean that the library would be closed three days a week. Art, physical education, and music programs would be reduced. The number of combination classes would be increased. The Primary Intervention Reading Program (PIRP) would be eliminated, and the Understanding our Differences program would no longer exist. These are not acceptable situations.

John Davidow, 52 Berkshire Rd., Cabot Elementary School parent, spoke in support of the "keeping pace" budget and the need for an override. If the "allocation" budget is put in place, class sizes will increase to levels that are unacceptable. Student/guidance counselor ratios will also increase to levels that will not allow for the necessary delivery of services. The transportation services that were promised, as a result of redistricting, could also be in jeopardy. The elementary music program, which has so enriched his daughter's school career, would be decimated.

Diane Burke-White and Brooke Meltzer, Copresidents of the Angier Elementary School PTO, spoke in support of the Superintendent's "keeping pace" budget and

mentioned that even with this budget in place there will still be insufficient money in the area of technology, particularly for repairs and maintenance, which PTOs are not allowed to fund. Unfortunately, state mandates and increased special education costs have resulted in cuts to other areas, and they should not have to face this type of competition between programs. The classrooms in their small school cannot accommodate increased enrollment. It is only because of the dedication of a wonderful staff that they are not in even more dire straights. They spoke of personal experiences that their own children had with the excellent programs and teachers in Newton. It is not fair or realistic to think that people can continue to provide quality services with less support. There are no more places to take cuts.

Naomi Forman, 100 Lewis St. senior at Newton North, spoke about the value of the Russian program. She had the opportunity to visit the country this year in the exchange program and was thrilled to be able to communicate with the people in their language. She has many Russian friends and she can talk with their families in their native language. She also looks forward to utilizing her knowledge of the language in her future career choices.

Wendy Weinstein, 48 Dolman Rd., Copresident of the Peirce Elementary School PTO, thanked the Superintendent and his staff for developing the "keeping pace" budget. She has grave concerns about all the programs that will be impacted if they are forced to live with the "allocation" budget. Her daughter would be faced with a class size of 30-35, in a room that is not large enough for 20. Even the "keeping pace" budget cannot sufficiently fund all the programs that have experienced cuts or been lost. For example, she would like to see the world language program eventually reinstituted.

Sue Parson, 76 Page Rd., Day Middle School parent, thanked the Superintendent and the Mayor for not taking the easy way out and for speaking up for the needs of the system. People need to be reminded that Newton is what it is because of excellent school and municipal services. Their students do well on the MCAS exams and in the percentage that move on to higher education because of the quality of the school system. The community needs to understand the importance of an override and that they are not talking about entitlement, but rather the future of their community.

Mitchell Lestik, 118 McCarthy Rd., has owned a business in Newton for 20 years. He is concerned that citizens are being asked to shoulder another tax increase so soon after passing the Community Preservation Act (CPA). The country is facing an economic recession and this is not the time to be increasing taxes, particularly for the elderly and those on fixed incomes. This is a time for fiscal prudence.

Eva Radding, 11 Elinor Rd., Newton Highlands, Brown Middle School and Newton South High School parent, works as an aide in South's library. She sees

firsthand, on a daily basis, the importance of the services students receive in the library. Any cuts in this area would be detrimental. The impact on the advanced placement courses would also be a tragedy, as many students need these challenges to continue to be successful.

Peter Bruce, 11 Claflin Place, Newton North High School parent, feels that cuts in extracurricular activities, such as sports or fine arts, would mean more students on the streets after school with nothing to do but get into trouble. He supports the "keeping pace" budget.

Andrew Yeats addressed the Committee again to note that the quality of education in a community has a great impact on property values.

PUBLIC COMMENTS ON MATTERS OTHER THAN THE BUDGET

None.

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES' DISCUSSION

Lindsay Dahlben talked about the impact of large classes and how it results in a substandard education.

RECOGNITIONS

None.

APPROVAL OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES

MOTION: It was moved to approve the School Committee

meeting minutes of 1/14/02.

(Albright- Levine)

8 - 0 - 1

Absent: Mayor Cohen

REPORTS

SUPERINTENDENT'S PERSONNEL REPORT

There were no questions on the report.

FY02 BUDGET UPDATE

Sandra Guryan, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Finance & Planning, provided an update on the FY02 Budget, which is currently showing a $39,000 positive balance. She continues to watch the utilities and maintenance accounts and is closely tracking all special education costs. The forecast also includes some assumptions about special education placement trends for the end of the school year.

Susan Albright asked about health insurance savings.

Sandy Guryan explained that there are slightly fewer people enrolled in the health insurance plans than originally forecasted and there were more people choosing the lower cost plans than anticipated, thereby producing a savings.

Susan Albright asked if this might have any implications for next year's budget.

Sandy Guryan stated that unfortunately she would not go any lower in her assumptions regarding enrollments. The only way of realizing any additional savings in this area would be if the health insurance price increase is lower than anticipated.

Dori Zaleznik wondered if there might be any cost savings in the utilities accounts.

Sandy Guryan replied that they have gone over these accounts very carefully and she does not see any additional movement that will produce any savings.

REPORT ON PRIVATE SCHOOL ENROLLMENT

Sandy Guryan reported that the number of students attending private schools is up slightly this year, mostly at the elementary level. The report details the data by grade and school. While she would not want to speculate on the reasons, it is possible that the new kindergarten entrance age policy might have something to do with the increase. Every other year her office conducts exit statistic surveys and that will be presented in the fall.

Marc Laredo asked if neighboring communities are experiencing similar trends.

Sandy Guryan responded that she has not had the opportunity to survey neighboring communities because of the focus on the budget, but can do that after the budget process is complete.

MID-YEAR REPORT ON SYSTEMWIDE GOALS

Jeff Young noted that this is the first time they have conducted a mid-year report on the Systemwide Goals, which are discussed with the School Committee in the summer retreat and then brought forward for a vote in the fall. The report provides an update on the status of each goal.

Marc Laredo hopes they can progress in the area of collaborating with the City around a citywide charter maintenance program.

COMMUNICATIONS

None.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m.