To: Franklin Community
From: Lucas Giguere, Superintendent
Date: June 20, 2024
RE: FY25 Budget Update
Dear Franklin Community,
On May 22nd, the Franklin Town Council approved an appropriation of $75,324,829. While this appropriation represents a 4.5% increase over FY24, the largest increase the Franklin Public Schools have ever received, it still represents less than the School Committee’s approved budget intended to stabilize the district. As a result of the failed override vote, there is not enough funding to support the approved budget for current services and staffing in the next year (FY25). We must implement program and service cuts as a result of the failed Proposition 2 ½ override.
This document outlines the cuts in staff, supplies, and materials. The School Committee will need to approve a new budget that aligns with the amount allocated by the Town Council. The outlined reductions are necessary to address the financial constraints, as the final budget is lower than the amount needed for Level Service Plus, as detailed in the budget documents available on our website.
With a less-than-level service budget, 37 positions were eliminated, including teachers and educational support personnel (-5.1%), school administration (-6.4%), and other district non-union personnel and administrator (-22%), necessitating the district to prioritize educational needs. Over the past months, we have identified the reductions and shared the associated impacts with our school community.
● Educators = 33/644 = 5.1%
● School Leaders = 2/22 = 9.1%
● District non-union personnel and administrator= 3/9 = 22%
Below is a summary of the anticipated areas impacted and how these will affect our schools, staff, and students. Please note that program reductions may also include the elimination of specific programming for certain student populations, such as particular grade levels. AS THE BUDGET IS FINALIZED AND MASTER SCHEDULES ARE BUILT, SHIFTS MAY OCCUR.
1. Elementary —Reducing elementary classroom teachers will increase class sizes, with multiple sections at or over recommended guidelines and sections at or above 24 students. Reductions in curriculum specialists will impact elementary tier 2 support for math and literacy, curriculum and assessment development, and classroom support. Reducing library support will result in limited access to elementary school libraries, with school libraries being closed on certain days of the week. Reducing an elementary school adjustment counselor prioritizes students with the most needs, limiting our ability to support students and families proactively.
2. Middle—Eliminating middle school chorus and orchestra programs. Reducing band across the three middle schools will limit the number of students accessing the program. Reducing to one Spanish teacher at each middle school adjusts the program's instructional expectations. Middle school tier 2 reading support is reduced. Reducing library support will result in limited access to middle school libraries, with school libraries being closed on certain days of the week.
3. High School—Reducing high school teachers will increase class sizes, with some sections at or above the recommended guidelines of 24 students. Courses that are graduation requirements will be prioritized over elective offerings in all subject areas, resulting in elective offerings being reduced or eliminated.
The electives being reduced are still being finalized, but likely include: AP Computer Science A, AP Computer Science Principles, Introduction to Computer Science, AP Latin Language and Culture, Latin I, Creative Writing, Early Childhood Education, Astronomy, Robotics, FAA Anatomy/Structures of Life, Stagecraft, Theater I, II, III, Musical Theatre Workshop, AP Music Theory, Music Production I, II. Juniors and seniors will have priority in AP course selections and wellness/PE electives, displacing and potentially eliminating sophomore AP and PE elective experiences. Athlete access to PE electives will be limited. Many high school extracurricular activities will also be eliminated or reduced.
4. Administrators and non-union staff—Reducing two school-based administrators results in redistributing the responsibilities of current administrators among schools. Reducing three district non-union positions, two in non-union personnel and one district administrator. In analyzing the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's RADAR reports for Franklin Public Schools compared to state averages. Across key categories, the district aligns closely with the statewide norm regarding school leaders per 100 students, maintaining parity at 0.2. Across other key categories, the district falls below the statewide norm regarding Instructional leaders at 0.5 per 100 students, below the state's 0.6 average, and District-level administration, at
0.1 per 100 students versus the state's 0.3.
5. Support Services—District-wide social worker support services affect student caseloads, leading to reduced counseling staff intervention, prioritizing those with the most needs, and impacting our ability to support students and families proactively.
6. Operational Adjustments—Increasing all fee and tuition-based programs, self-funding athletics, and reducing all school supply budgets (-25%), reducing the Office of Teaching and Learning budget (-25%) to reduce professional learning opportunities for educators, curriculum resources for students, curriculum committees, educational software, and stipends, Central Office (-25%). Reducing activity monitors (-17%) and educational interventionists (-25%) decreases time spent supporting students.
7. Staff Transfers—Staff transfers due to eliminated positions can create a cascading effect on less senior staff members at various grade levels based on seniority.
Timing and Planning—The impact of additional funding this late in June, before the start of the fiscal year in July, creates challenges for operations, ordering supplies for the new school year, rebuilding master schedules, creating student schedules, and taking away from the time needed to close out the previous fiscal year and plan for the upcoming school year. For example, the high school schedule cannot be run until definitive course and staffing decisions are finalized.
The impact of receiving funding so close to the start of the fiscal year cannot be overstated. It compresses our timeline for crucial tasks such as revising our budget and hiring essential staff, making it challenging to retain and secure
high-quality educator positions and allocate resources effectively. We have received eighteen resignations in May and June, with eleven received in June. Some referenced a desire for more budget stability and less volatility as their reason for leaving the Franklin Public Schools.
Given the timing of our circumstances, an infusion of one-time revenue would only exacerbate the financial challenges the district faces exponentially and would not be used to restore staff positions. As a result of the failed override, we have been prepared to move forward with the reductions in less-than-ideal conditions. While additional funding would benefit students, we, as a community, must recognize that additional allocations to the schools likely come at the expense of town-wide cuts and town-wide services. We do not support subsidizing the schools at the expense of town services and staff. Many of these departments such as the Police, Fire, DPW, Library, and Facilities directly support schools in a variety of ways.
While additional funds are appreciated as a long-term commitment, it remains a reality that receiving these funds at this late date creates challenges with retaining previously cut staff, hiring new staff, and rebuilding master schedules in time, all previously communicated as impacts. We created four budgets at the start of the budget development cycle, received School Committee approval on a recommended budget, and revised the budget to meet the town appropriation. We are now conducting an exercise to identify a series of prioritized bringbacks in the event additional funds are allocated from the town before the start of the fiscal year. These bringbacks have financial implications. The majority of time in July and August will be spent hiring new staff and creating new master schedules at all levels. It is estimated that it will take six full weeks at the high school to meet with students and build a new schedule. Should long-term funding be allocated to the schools, we’ve summarized the POTENTIAL use of resources below, subject to further review.
● Reinstate elementary school educators due to larger-than-optimal class sizes
○ Strive Teacher (1.0 FTE)
○ Kindergarten teachers (2.0 FTE)
○ Grade 5 (1.0 FTE)
● Reinstate middle school educators in the following areas:
○ Chorus (1.0 FTE)- reinstate chorus
● Reinstate FHS educators in the following areas:
○ PE/Wellness (1.0 FTE) - add sections of required PE/Wellness classes for all students
○ Theater/Music (1.0 FTE) - reinstate theater and music electives
○ Librarian (1.0 FTE): NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) accreditation evaluates schools based on various standards. Standard 4.4 in Student Learning Support requires a qualified librarian to support curriculum delivery, student research, and information literacy.
○ Business (1.0 FTE) - increased student demand and the requirement for Financial Literacy
● Review reinstating elementary instructional intervention supports
● Review reinstating elementary activity monitors
● Review reinstating selected middle school educator instructional and non-instructional stipends
● Review reinstating high school educator non-instructional stipends for activities such as Science, Math, Business National Honor Societies, and SAGA (subject to further review)
● Fund high school Guidance Department summer hours to build the new master schedule and meet with students to finalize individual schedules for the 2024-25 school year.
Despite the challenges presented, we are committed to staying true to our goal of providing the best education possible for our students with the available resources. Please understand that our leadership team needs the time, space, and bandwidth this summer to complete these priorities while completing the work normally done during the summer as well. As such we will do our best to respond to your contacting us via email and/or phone in as timely a manner as practical.
Sincerely, Lucas Giguere
Superintendent
Franklin Public Schools
You can listen to the School Committee meeting of June 18 to hear this presentation and discussion (begins at 46:32)
