NEWTON SCHOOL COMMITTEE
MINUTES
OF SPECIAL MEETING
SUPERINTENDENT'S
FY04 BUDGET PRESENTATION
MARCH
3, 2003
DAY
MIDDLE SCHOOL, AUDITORIUM, 7:30 P.M.
PRESENT: Chairperson Anne Larner, Vice-Chairperson Susan Albright, Gail Glick,
Patricia Kellogg, Marc Laredo, Nancy Levine, Leslie Schneider, Dori Zaleznik,
Mayor David Cohen
ABSENT: student
representatives
Chairperson Anne Larner
called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m.
She outlined the schedule for budget meetings and then turned the meeting
over to the Superintendent.
SUPERINTENDENT'S FY04 BUDGET PRESENTATION
Superintendent Jeffrey
Young began the presentation by talking about how difficult the challenge was
to develop the budget this year, in light of the economic realities. However, he feels that they have stayed true
to the Budget Guidelines approved by School Committee in the fall. During budget discussions, he will
constantly refer back to their core mission of promoting teaching and
learning. While all other activities
are important and supportive of this mission, everything has come under close
scrutiny this year. Difficult choices
and decisions had to be made. This was
done with the focus on redirecting limited resources to the core function of
the classroom. Given this goal of
preserving classroom instruction, class size and program are the main
components. To this end, he is
proposing a number of restructuring initiatives to free up resources to support
this goal.
The recommended budget is
$128,175,197, provided there is no change to the Mayor's allocation of a
$3,500,000 increase. The majority of
the school system budget is tied up in people, as it should be, and the rest in
expenses. Over the past 12 years, they
have been fortunate to be able to average a 6.5% annual increase for
expenses. However, given this year's
constraints they are only looking for 2.8%.
The major factors driving the budget are contracts, preservation of
classroom instruction, fixed and mandated costs, and restructuring initiatives.
With regard to contract
settlements, they will be entering negotiations with all three unions
(teachers, secretaries, and custodians). There is a total increase of
$5,300,000 to settle collective bargaining agreements. There are also step increases and degree
changes covered in this figure, as well as health benefits, which the City's
estimates will see a 15-20% increase.
In the preservation of
classroom instruction, they are projecting 249 classrooms next year at the
elementary level, compared to 246 this year.
They are responding to the Committee's directive that classes should not
exceed 25 at this level. They are
adding a reserve position in case of unexpected enrollments over the summer,
such as what happened last year at Underwood.
All art, music and physical education programs will remain intact. The cost to achieve these criteria is
$238,500, or 5.3 additional full-time equivalencies (FTEs). At the middle schools, the goal is to
preserve team size. Part of last year's
Override allowed them to reduce the team size to 88-90 and their plan is to
maintain that number. However, there
will be a reduction of 6 FTEs split among the four schools, by consolidating
electives, for a savings of $270,000.
The high schools will experience the bulk of the enrollment increase,
with 28 at Newton North and 45 at Newton South. Staff will be added to accommodate that increase. At the same time, staff will be reduced to
implement the guideline of limiting the number of low enrollment electives.
Redistricting is another factor impacting the high schools next year, resulting
in approximately 85 freshmen who would have been attending Newton North moving
to Newton South. Approximately six teachers
will accompany this shift. The Override
helped them reduce the number of large classes at the high school by 52% and
this budget will allow them to sustain these gains. A reserve teaching position will also be added at this level for
unanticipated enrollments. Guidance
will be staffed at a 180:1 ratio. Under
the area of special education, they are fulfilling every legal, ethical, and
moral obligation to students to ensure that the level of service is maintained,
but with some different methods. An
additional $18,000 is added for instructional materials for increased
enrollment. The total increase to
preserve classroom instruction is $305,925.
The next area driving up
the budget is fixed/mandated costs, which include transportation, unemployment,
utilities, and special education tuitions.
This is the second year of their contact with the Eastern Bus Co., which
escalates each year. They have also had
to increase the fleet because of redistricting. Unemployment costs are being increased by $50,000. Because of the state of the economy, people
are staying on unemployment longer and they were under-budgeted this year. In the area of utilities, estimated
increases in all accounts total $352,793.
There is an 8% increase in tuitions and transportation for special needs
students in day or residential private placements.
Despite the Mayor's
generosity in allocating 70% of all new revenues to the schools, the amount of
money funneled to the City is shrinking.
The factors
driving up the budget,
which he just outlined, total approximately $6.7 million. The Mayor's budget allocation is $3.5
million. This leaves a $3.2 million
gap, which he is proposing to cover with restructuring initiatives. While this will be a painful process in
terms of its impact on people, he believes that in the long run it will be a
positive outcome in terms of retaining strong classrooms. Many sacrifices will be made to focus on the
classroom, which he reiterated is their core mission. However, if they are successful in this restructuring and are
able to maintain this level of allocation, Newton will not have to experience
the level of devastation that so many other communities are facing
The first restructuring
initiative deals with the administrative reorganization. The Education Center provides a variety of services
to all the schools. Their proposal
reduces staffing in this building by 13.7 FTEs, for a savings of $687,125. The intent is to upgrade services, while
realizing a cost savings, and redirect the resources to the schools.
The second area of restructuring
is reductions in professional development.
They will continue to have a rich and extensive program and will be in
compliance with the demands of the Education Reform act, but there will be
fewer opportunities than in years past.
Literacy is another area
of restructuring. The Override allowed
them to increase all 15 literacy specialists to full-time and this remains
intact. However, they plan to eliminate
the Primary Intervention Reading Program (PIRP) aides, for a total savings of
$270,679. This will require the
literacy specialists to reorganize their day and consolidate services.
There will be a reduction
of 1.0 FTE enrichment coordinators as another piece of the restructuring. These two staff positions at each high
school oversee programs that enhance the experience of the school day. Their work is important and connects to the
curriculum, but they are going to have to sustain the program with one position
to cover both schools.
One of the short-term
solutions put in place a couple of years ago to address the overcrowding at
Newton North was the addition of assistant department heads, who help run the
departments and have done an excellent job.
However, given tight fiscal times and the declining population at Newton
North, they felt this was the time to let this go, for a savings of
$66,500.
The custodial &
maintenance staff is another place that has had to take a hit in the
restructuring process. There is a
correlation and delicate balance between the number of custodians on hand vs.
the amount of custodial overtime necessary and the Operations Department has
been tracking this closely this year.
In the area of special
education, they are committed to meeting the needs of students, but in a
different way. Over the past 10 years,
the average annual
increase in the special
education budget has been 10.5%. This
rate of growth cannot continue without seriously impacting the system. They have tried exceptionally hard this year
to reexamine everything under special education and pupil services to continue
to provide a high quality program at a reduced cost. This will be described in more detail at another meeting, but
they will realize a $1,001,119 savings in this area.
The contract with their
food services provider (Chartwells) expires this year. They are in the process of working with the
City's legal department to draft new bid specifications. He is not at liberty to speak to specifics
at this time, but is confident that they will be able to continue to provide a
quality school lunch program, for a cost savings of $463,750.
He is also proposing a
$180 transportation fee next year ($1 per day), that should generate
approximately $432,500. A waiver system will be put in place for families who
cannot afford the cost, as well as a family cap. They will have to hire a secretary to implement the program. While he understands this will probably be a
contentious issue, he reiterated that the focus is on the classroom and
everything else must be sacrificed in order to meet their mission.
Another area that will be
impacted is Triple E sports at the middle schools, where the user fee will be
increased from $35 to $70. Family caps
and a waiver system will apply here as well.
The high school athletic fee will remain the same, but there will be an
increase in the family cap.
They have reduced a small
amount of funding in the consultants line item, which addresses the School
Committee's legal counsel, as they hope to need less of his time once all the
contracts are settled.
Health benefits will be reduced
by $304,351 as a result of fewer staff, but unemployment costs for layoffs will
need to be increased to $421,500.
The total savings from all
of the restructuring efforts he has outlined reduces staff by 65 FTEs, for a
savings of $3,209,912 and meets the Mayor's allocation. The category that is touched the least is
teachers. He also noted that all
promises made in the Override remain intact.
This has been a very
difficult and challenging process but it was made easier by focusing on the
mission, which is that the school system exists for the sole purpose of
supporting children. While it makes him
unhappy to have to tell people they will be without jobs next year, he is proud
that the quality of education will continue.
In conclusion, it is necessary to state that this budget was developed
prior the Governor's. If that budget
becomes a reality, they will be forced to revisit everything on the table and
preserving classroom instruction will be very difficult, if not
impossible. He thanked the School
Committee for providing clear and meaningful Budget Guidelines and the staff
for assisting in
the development of these
proposals. He particularly wished to
thank Sandra Guryan, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Finance &
Planning, for all her efforts in preparing the document.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned
at 8:20 p.m.