Tonight the Superintendent presented his proposed budget to the School Committee. Sometime tomorrow, the budget should be available online on the SC website, and each PTO should be receiving one copy through the PONY–the interoffice mail. While I tried to write down as much of the information presented as possible, it will take a bit of time to go through all the details once they are available. In the meantime, I can give you an outline of the proposal.
First, there is a $4.4 million budget shortfall if the SC were to maintain all levels of programming and staffing the same as this year. This is based on the assumption of $650,000 in revenue from the state for the schools. The proposed number is currently $1.3 million, but is expected to change as the state goes through their budget process. So the budget is based on a conservative figure, and can be adjusted upwards if a larger number becomes a reality.
The Superintendent identified 4 areas to help close the gap and meet the SC budget guidelines: efficiencies and administrative savings; instructional reductions; new and increased fees; and program initiatives. First, he identified a list of efficiencies including those from food services, changes in purchasing, energy savings, and administrative reorganization.
In terms of instructional reductions, here is a list of some of the changes:
At the elementary level, which is expected to see an overall increase of 24 students and the following changes:
-1.5 FTE (full-time equivalents) teachers
+1 FTE reserve teacher
-.3 FTE in art, music and PE based on the lower number of classrooms
-1.6 FTE from the elimination of the 3rd grade recorder program
-1.3 FTE from the elimination of the 4th grade chorus
-2.7 FTE from reducing art classes to 45 minutes from 60 minutes
-2.5 FTE from reductions in librarians
savings from a reduction in ISS, which includes substitute teachers and other supports
+1 FTE from the addition of a math coach
+2 FTE from the addition of two literacy specialists, one each for Countryside and Memorial-Spaulding
Change in the Early Morning Program free to $12 per hour from $8
Addition of a 5th grade instrumental music fee
Addition of an All-City Music fee
There will also be an increase in the number of co-taught classrooms, meaning that there will be fewer Special Education aides, but more Special Education teachers working with Regular Ed teachers. In addition, there will be more interns and other Special Education reductions. I’m afraid I didn’t quite catch all those numbers in a very thorough way, so I would rather wait to see the details tomorrow than report them inaccurately.
At the middle school level, the number of students will increase by 121 students. The average team size will be 92, with both the 7th and 8th grades at Oak Hill having team sizes of over 100. These changes include:
-1.3 FTE from a reduction in drama to just the 6th grade
-1.6 FTE from the elimination of middle school Latin
-1.1 FTE from secretarial staff
-5.5 FTE from Student Services reductions
-.5 FTE from Student Service reductions at Day
+2 FTE teachers to help with the increased enrollment
+1 FTE reserve teacher
+2 FTE literacy specialists
Increase in athletics fees
Addition of a student activity fee
At the high schools, which will see an enrollment increase of 22, there will be the following changes:
-9.8 FTE in teaching staff [NOTE: there is no detail on where the cuts will be as yet–much depends on student course selections]
-6.6 FTE in student services reductions
+1 FTE reserve teacher
Increase in athletics fees
Addition of a student activity fee
Addition of a drama fee
Regarding fees, there will be more details in the budget, but there will be changes in the transportation fees, from $260 per year to $310, with the expansion of fees to the elementary level.
Again there are a number of details I couldn’t write down fast enough–and they will all be in the proposed budget. The Special Education changes were a bit confusing, but I expect this will be cleared up when we see them in writing. But this list above should give you a general idea of the proposed changes. Please let me know if I got anything wrong…otherwise I’ll send another update after Wednesday’s 7 p.m. Ed Center meeting. This will focus on “regular instruction” which includes all the elementary, middle and high school changes, as well as technology and other program adjustments. If you would like to make a comment to the SC, you can either send an email to schoolcommittee@newton.k12.ma.us or wait until March 28th for the public comment evening.