Sunday, March 29, 2009

State Education Mandates - Part 8

From time to time, particular around the budget period, reference is generally made to Franklin Public Schools having to support "unfunded mandates." I managed to find a listing of such compiled by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. This is Part 8 of the series.


School Choice

This program requires all school districts to admit students from other districts in the state unless the host school district takes action to restrict or prohibit accepting non-resident students from other Massachusetts school districts.

• Admitted choice students’ siblings are thereafter entitled to enrollment in the school also, even when there is little or no space for new local students to enroll. Districts losing students to choice have no control over the students who choose to leave and are charged for the cost of those students as assessments on the Cherry sheet.
• With declining enrollments and constraints on local funds, it is expected that this “free-market-choice” of school districts will expand causing a drain on resources from more vulnerable school districts. This will have an affect on the capacity to address issues for low-income school districts often having the neediest students.

Charter Schools

School districts have no control over students who wish to attend charter schools rather than the local district and local residents have no say in how these schools operate or how their tax dollars are used unless they happen to be selected by the charter school to serve on its board of trustees. In other words, charter schools operate outside the reach of city, town, and regional government.

• Many persuasive arguments have been made to demonstrate such counter-intuitive outcomes as lower numbers of special education students enrolled, the virtual absence of limited English proficient students, and the ability of charters to transfer students out of their school back to the public school district.
• We believe that the current charter school funding formula is unreasonable because it draws away from a city or town (or region) chapter 70 allocation

The full listing is available here (DOC)

maybe there is hope for relief on mandates!


... budget problems are a big part of what’s happening here. State legislators who were budgeting more and more for schools over the years were powerfully tempted to play school board on all kinds of minutiae. Now that they’re cutting education budgets, some of them apparently are finding it a little harder to ignore how much their mandates drive up local costs.

That’s not to say we’re necessarily embarking on a new era of school flexibility. We don’t yet know what the new federal role in education will end up looking like, and certainly on some issues we’re likely to see stronger accountability, not less.

But school boards can take some comfort if there’s at least some more careful thinking about the difference between accountability and micromanagement. After all, that’s a distinction effective school boards think about constantly.

Bold for my emphasis!

Read the full article on the National School Board Assoc's blog "BoardBuzz" here.


Letter from Ed Cafasso

Hello Everyone!

Here’s an update Franklin’s school budget issues based on the administration’s budget presentation to the School Committee this past Tuesday evening.

A “level service” budget for the schools for the next fiscal year would total $53.8 million. That amount would preserve current personnel and programs and cover cost increases for teacher salary hikes and step changes; healthcare, special education, and transportation services. However, due to a decline in state and local revenues, the schools are being asked to create a “level-funded” of approximately $50.3 million, roughly the same amount as the current Fiscal 2009 budget.

This means that $3.5 million in reductions must be achieved in order to present a balanced budget for the schools by July 1. So far, some $600,000 in savings has been identified in the form of health insurance changes; a wage freeze voluntarily agreed to by 51 non-union school employees; and, an increase in circuit breaker reimbursement from the state.

That leaves a gap of $2.9 million. State and federal stimulus funds for the schools could total $773,000, bringing the projected school budget deficit down to $2.2 million. However, the exact amounts of stimulus aid are still a question mark, and there are reports that state lawmakers may decrease the town’s local aid payments by the same amount.

On Tuesday night, the School Committee asked the teacher’s union to agree to a wage freeze for this year. If all unionized school employees agreed to forgo the 2.5% salary increase they are scheduled for this year, the savings would total around $800,000. A freeze on all “step” salary changes would save around $720,000. Combined, the two moves would reduce the budget gap by approximately $1.52 million.

The School Committee’s letter to Chandler Creedon, president of the Franklin Education Association (FEA), acknowledged the stellar work of our teaching staff, as reflected in our student’s college acceptances and academic performance. It also noted that, for most of this decade, the School Committee has worked hard to avoid reductions in teaching staff by steadily reduced spending on other services and imposing new and higher fees for busing, athletics, and student activities, to name a few. The savings generated from these decisions have been poured directly into the classroom, to recruit and retain top quality teachers, to support a strong curriculum and to maintain appropriate class sizes. “We have cut around the edges to protect our core,” the letter stated. Parents and community groups, like the Franklin Education Foundation, also have worked hard to contribute more to classrooms through personal generosity and the fundraising efforts of the PCCs.

In an interview with the Milford Daily News the following day, Mr. Creedon reportedly stated that it was “not likely” that the teachers union would agree to a wage freeze. You can read the story on his remarks at http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x515998073/Teachers-union-president-Pay-freeze-unlikely. It is unclear whether Mr. Creedon’s comments reflect the views of the union’s rank-and-file or whether FEA members have even been polled or have met to discuss the possibility of a wage freeze.

You can read the School Committee’s letter to the FEA at http://franklinschoolcommittee.wordpress.com/.

At last week’s School Committee meeting, the school administration presented a worst case scenario plan for accomplishing close to the $3 million in cuts. Administration proposals included:
  • $110,000 in reductions in Central Office staff and services
  • The elimination of 25 classroom and 5 support positions at the elementary school level
  • Elimination of full-day kindergarten in favor a half-day scheme that would trigger a complex series of staffing moves to help prevent severe overcrowding in many elementary grades
  • Elimination of all elementary-level library, the late bus, and instrumental music in Grade 5
  • Elimination of 10 teaching and 5 support positions in the middle schools
  • Creation of either a seven-period or eight-period (with study hall) schedule at Franklin High School, including the elimination of anywhere from 8 to 11 teaching positions and 6 to 9 support positions
  • A $150,000 reduction in the athletic budget along with increased athletic user fees

The administration’s proposal carries serious academic implications, including the loss of accreditation for our kindergarten program; the potential probation status with accreditation at the high school (which is now on warning status in several categories); the potential for a downward turn in test scores; and, class sizes that would exceed School Committee guidelines in the vast majority of elementary and middle school grads.

The administration’s presentation marks the start of an intense discussion about how to best navigate the difficult financial circumstances facing the Franklin schools in this economy. Given that 45 professional teaching positions were eliminated at the start of this school year (and 14 were cut the year prior), members of the school community are working together to explore and discuss every possible option in an effort to avert another dramatic teaching cutback and even larger class sizes.

As a reminder of the budget cuts your schools have sustained in the past six years, I encourage you to visit this web link: http://www.slideshare.net/shersteve/franklin-ma-school-budget-reductions-updated-presentation?type=powerpoint

It’s important to keep in mind that many of the budget-cutting maneuvers under consideration, including the potential for stimulus money and wage freezes, are only one-time fixes. How the cost of these measures would be recouped next year, when we are planning the fiscal 2011 school budget, remains to be seen.

Citizen ideas and feedback are critically important in the weeks ahead. I hope you will share your thoughts. I also urge everyone to stay close to the budget process this year by paying attention to School Committee, Town Council and Finance Committee meetings. It is also important for parents and guardians to pursue a frank discussion of budget issues with your principals and your school PCCs.

These e-mails are provided as a constituent service. I try to distribute at least one e-mail update each month during the school year, as issues warrant. As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions. If you are receiving duplicate e-mails or if you no longer wish to receive these e-mails, please let me know and I will remove you from the distribution list. If you know of someone you would like to add to the list, please send along their e-mail address.

Thank you!


Ed Cafasso, Member

Franklin School Committee
edcafasso@comcast.net

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Social media 101 session at #pcwm

When folks gather and the buzz rises, that is all goodness!

"starting with nothing but their vision"

GHS
Posted Mar 28, 2009 @ 12:05 AM

FRANKLIN —

As it now stands, the 1.42-mile trail through Franklin State Forest looks like "a BMX course" or "mogul ski hills," but bicyclists, equestrians and politicians who gathered at the trail head yesterday envisioned a smoother path.

The goal is to forge a trail from Franklin to Bellingham, and ultimately to Palmer in Central Massachusetts.

Among those at yesterday's brainstorming session, state Rep. James Vallee said he wants to create a trail conducive to bicycling, horseback riding, hiking and other activities.

"It's in pretty good condition, it's in a pretty good state," but not quite ready for such pursuits, he said.

read the full article about the efforts to improve the rail trail in the Milford Daily News here

State Education Mandates - Part 7

From time to time, particular around the budget period, reference is generally made to Franklin Public Schools having to support "unfunded mandates." I managed to find a listing of such compiled by the Massachusetts Association of School Committees. This is part 7 of the series:

Residency

Residency waivers and concerns arising from private entities such as sports boarding facilities within district boundaries and the implications of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Act impact district budgets (also see above). Sports boarding camps attract players from various towns, states and countries. Local districts are required to educate said students without regard to tuition payments because residency statutes state that if a student is not at such a facility “solely for the purpose of education,” they are allowed to attend at no cost to the student.

• Residency also becomes an issue when a residential special education institution is located in a Massachusetts community. Students admitted to that institution sometimes attract the family, or a guardian member of the family, to relocate to the community for purposes of being closer to the resident student. This includes formerly out of state as well as in-state residency shifts and families with multiple residents. Such shifts determine assignment of costs to the host resident community.

• While there is local control on the admission to kindergarten there is a great deal of differentiation of starting age. Under choice students may be entered into a district at an earlier age and then require placement at the resident school district.

Vocational Education

School districts allow students to attend out-of-district vocational schools when programs are not offered in the regional district to which the local district belongs. Unlike the Charter School Reimbursement, there is no apparent reimbursement for vocational placement, though the vocational student, like the charter student, is counted in the Foundation Budget of the sending district. In addition, school districts are required to transport these secondary students to the schools of their choice. There is only partial (up to 50%) reimbursement for vocational education transportation.
The full listing is available here (DOC)

Amy Speace at The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse - 4/4/09

Amy Speace and her band, the Tearjerks, will perform at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse on Saturday, April 4th at 8:00 PM. This New York-based singer/songwriter demonstrates why she's quickly become one of her adopted hometown's most celebrated emerging artists. Possessing a commanding voice, a distinctive melodic sensibility and an uncanny knack for nailing complex emotions in song, Speace makes music that's both illuminating and effortlessly accessible. Time Out New York stated, "Amy Speace plays sweet, twangy folk music with a clear voice and an innocent vulnerability," while The Nashville Scene noted that she "balances wry humor with open-hearted honesty." And renowned Nashville critic Robert K. Oermann, writing in Music Row, dubbed her a "new star."

"Amy Speace has one of those fetching voices, the kind that taps you on the shoulder and motions seductively for you to follow it around corner after dark corner. You don't know where you're going to end up or how you'll ever find your way back, but that doesn't matter right now: you're enjoying the trip." Scott Brodeur, No Depression



Here is a clip of her song "The weight of the World" to entice you to attend and hear her in person.



Enjoy!

The Circle of Friends Coffeehouse website is here

The Amy Speace website is here