January 4, 2006
Wellesley Public Schools
School Committee Meeting - Wednesday, January 4, 2006
Wellesley High School Library
The meeting was called to order by the Chairman at 7:35 pm. Ms. Jablonski, Ms. Littlefield, Mr. Murphy, Ms. Newman, and Ms. Sereiko were present. Also present were Dr. King and Ms. Wong. Representing the Student Congress was Ryan Speers.
CITIZEN SPEAK
Annie Cohen Precinct F: As ways and means chair of her local PTO, Ms. Cohen is frustrated that PTO’s cannot spend funds as they would like in the schools. Though she was encouraged to hear that the School Committee plans to discuss PTO fundraising, she is concerned that this topic would be discussed during budget discussions.
Susan Doran, Precinct C: Parent of 8th grade student, 4th grade student and Upham School representative to the Committee for the 21st Century, Ms. Doran’s comments reflect comments she has heard from Upham parents: Funding of the operating budget is the heart and soul of the Wellesley Public Schools. This year’s budget is being termed “level service,” but she views it as “below level service.” Cuts to the budget are cumulative and lower the budget base for future years. The public often forgets one year’s budget cuts as the next cycle comes, and a downward spiral occurs each year. Parents are concerned about budget cuts, and it is imperative to stand firm on this year’s budget, approve it as presented by the superintendent, and restore items listed in the “supplemental” budget. Give the voters a chance to express their support of the budget.
Phil Tracey, WHS ‘05: Restore the Humanities course at the high school. This course prepared him well for college. Students experience a realistic exposure to the curriculum, taught by two teachers. The course is a positive force for the rest of the school, and a trendsetter through the self paper that is a requirement of the Humanities curriculum.
DISCUSSION ITEM
FY07 Budget - Middle School Ms. Littlefield reported for the sub committee. The student body at the middle school will exceed 1,000 students next year. Staffing increases are required for the incoming seventh grade, and increased support is needed for the entering sixth grade class (240 students). There is no unassigned position. The expense budget reflects large increases in oil and gas. The guidance counselor ratio is 1-190 students. The increase in FTE for math is offset by a decrease in the administrative time of the math department head. There is a modest increase in staffing for visual arts and electives, and some fees will be increased. The grade 8 communications lab, the increase in staffing for Grade 6, and the literacy staffing, cited in the restoration budget, will greatly improve the experience of middle school students in three critical years of their education within a building that is currently undergoing renovations. School Committee discussed the proposed funding of books for libraries at all levels of the system. Of the entire $40,155 line item the proportion designated for the middle school would cover replacement of about 2% of the library inventory.
FY07 Budget - High School Ms. Sereiko reported. The high school budget discussions covered similar themes to discussions by the other sub committees. Enrollment at the high school will rise to 1,218 students next year. Students and teachers both are experiencing the impact of an overcrowded facility. Increased teacher loads are an obvious outcome, and depleted space allows little option for teachers to prepare for classes and/or meet with individual students, parents, and colleagues. Emotional issues are on the rise among students. The student load for assistant principals has nearly doubled within the past ten years, and the absence of an attendance clerk imposes on their work load further. The NEASC-required self study for accreditation in 2008 will begin spring 2006. The work load for librarians (staff was reduced by 1.0FTE this year) includes maintenance of the high school web site. The high school community, functioning in a deteriorating facility, is feeling the effects of increasing enrollment and aggregate cuts from the past several years. Restoration of the .2FTE orchestra conductor position would allow the music faculty currently covering this offering to teach classes in which he has greater expertise. Restoration of the lab classes would significantly improve student access to individualized instruction in writing papers across all disciplines. Reinstitution of lab classes would permit a scheduling load for teachers of four classes, which parallels teacher loads in many comparable communities.
Citing the significant support received by the schools from PTO’s, the Wellesley Education Foundation, and various individuals Ms. Jablonski noted that these organizations and individuals wish to maintain and sustain excellence in the schools. Many contributions to the schools of both time and finances are not widely known to the public. The schools depend on such contributions, but cannot expect support from donors at a given level consistently from year to year. The committee concurred that if the purpose of PTO’s is “enrichment,” the degree to which the schools currently accept support from PTO’s makes the system less of a “public” system. The committee agreed that the community should be responsible for funding the “core services” of the public school system at a level of appropriate financial support.
ACTION ITEM
FY07 Budget Ms. Jablonski polled the committee for proposed changes to the budget as recommended. Ms. Sereiko noted that the sole improvement called for in the budget, to introduce a computer telephone technician position, was “short money” that would be well spent. The committee learned that eliminating the activities fee for students in grades 6 - 12 would impact the budget by $80,000. Dr. King noted that after many hours of thoughtful consideration, administrators concluded this year that there are no cost savings measures that can be identified. Individually, members of the committee expressed support for the full budget as recommended.
Upon motion made by Ms. Sereiko, seconded by Ms. Littlefield, it was
VOTED: To approve the budget as presented by the Superintendent for Fiscal Year 2007 in the amount of $46,986,924.
The motion carried unanimously (5 - 0).
A MOTION was made by Ms. Littlefield, seconded by Ms. Sereiko
To amend the base budget for Fiscal Year 2007 by an increase of $539,937,
line items identified by the Superintendent as a “restoration” budget.
In discussing the presentation of its budget to the town the committee agreed to fold restoration budget line items within the budget to create a unified budget request for FY07. Including restoration items in the budget request would result in a percentage increase over FY06 of 11.25%. Dr. King noted that the restoration items cited are “partial” restorations of items totaling $2.6 million, which have been cut from the school department budgets over a period of four years. There was further discussion about the restoration of elementary library teaching assistants. Ms. Jablonski called for a vote.
The motion carried unanimously (5 - 0).
Ms. Jablonski announced that the next step for the School Committee will be to advocate for the budget within the process leading to Annual Town Meeting. The full FY07 budget request of the schools will be $47,526,897. “This is a thoughtful and reasoned budget,” she concluded.
CITIZEN SPEAK
Janet Seidl, Upham PTO President: Thanking the School Committee for its vote, and promising an “enormous” show of support from the school community, she urged the committee not to back down from its position in its continuing budget discussions with Advisory and the Selectmen.
Andrew Gorgone, WHS ‘05: Expressing hope that the budget will be passed, Mr. Gorgone spoke of the importance of the Humanities course. To assure support of the budget this year, he urged involvement by the students.
Betsy Kessler, Precinct F: Thanking the School Committee for its hard work on the budget, Ms. Kessler expressed confidence in the support the schools will receive within the community. She encouraged the School Committee to “push back,” and she further encouraged the committee to package its budget information well in its presentations to Town Meeting.
Susan Ryan, Precinct E: Ms. Ryan thanked the committee for its support of the budget, underscoring as important that the restorations are a partial restoration of items that have been cut over time. She thanked the committee for recognizing the contributions of parents and other groups in the schools. The parents support the schools. It is time for the town as a whole to recognize its obligation to support the schools.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Upon motion made by Ms. Littlefield, seconded by Ms. Sereiko, it was unanimously
VOTED: To go into Executive Session for purposes of collective bargaining, with
no intention to return to public session.
Ms. Littlefield, aye; Mr. Murphy, aye; Ms. Newman, aye; Ms. Sereiko, aye; Ms. Jablonski, aye.
The public session was adjourned at 9:22 p.m.
Executive Secretary
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