High School Principal’s Budget Commentary

The projected enrollment for Grades 9-12 for 2008-2009 is 1,419, which is an increase of 22 students (or 1.6 %) over this year’s enrollment of 1,397. The High School budget contains no increase in faculty in any department and a slight reduction in staffing in the Foreign Language Department associated with the beginning phase-out of the German program. In addition, a special education tutor is being transferred to the Middle School to accommodate the substantial increase in the 7^th grade.

We plan to offer a few new electives with existing faculty. By decreasing sections of electives currently offered, we will provide the most diverse and relevant courses to our students so they can keep pace with changes in the world in which they will work. As previously planned, we are offering Chinese to incoming ninth graders to enable them to take four years of Chinese. The High School also is offering several interdisciplinary courses next year that will bring teachers from academic departments together to enhance our course offerings. Research tells us that courses that combine different disciplines and require students to learn in multiple modes will enhance learning. As we increase the connections between the academic disciplines, long-term learning is improved, as well as the students’ ability to transfer that learning to other areas in the future.

We anticipate our students will take part in extracurricular activities in approximately the same numbers as in FY08. In this school year, all clubs met their minimum enrollment with the exception of the German Club. We had planned to add two new clubs to the budget next year, but financial constraints will not allow the expansion at this time. The two clubs may continue to operate with a volunteer advisor until funding is permitted. New clubs proposed by students will have to operate with a volunteer advisor for the foreseeable future. Participation in athletics saw a jump, from 1,447 in 2005-2006, to 1,508 in 2006-2007. (Participation numbers are down somewhat this year so far, with 21 fewer students taking part in the fall, and 65 fewer during the winter season. We still have another season remaining this year.) We had planned to expand athletics and offer a freshman level of boys and girls lacrosse, but the budget will not permit program expansion next year. We will field 57 teams, with Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity levels in 2008-2009.

Part of the High School’s mission is to develop students of character, who exhibit integrity, responsibility, and ethical decision-making. We are in the second year of a character-building education program in conjunction with the Institute for Global Ethics (IGE). Faculty, administrators, and students have been participating in training sessions to design our program as part of a three-year initiative with IGE. Funding is provided primarily through a State grant and supplemented by District professional development monies. Part of our mission is to prepare students for an ever-changing world, as well. We have a new Global Literacy initiative for the High School that began at the end of last year. A committee of teachers and administrators is working on several program initiatives to expand our students’ knowledge and experiences to prepare them to be more successful in our global society and economy.  

In the following sections are some of the details regarding the items that appear in the High School budget proposal.

High School Principal’s Budget Commentary- Continued

CLASS SIZE (See page 32.)

Staffing levels reflect generally 15 or16 sections in the core subjects for the Lower House (Grades 9 and 10) and the Upper House (Grades 11 and 12). The Lower House will have a slightly smaller class size than the Upper House - by design. This budget results in an average class size in the core subjects in grades 9-12 of approximately 23.8 students, which is the same as this year. The number of sections in the elective departments varies because of projected student choices and more individualized course enrollment patterns. In all cases, the average class size per department (except music and PE) will be at or below this year’s figures, with the exception of Art and Foreign Language where the average is projected to increase as a result of increased demand, and stable, or slightly reduced staffing levels. Some staffing remains undesignated until course selection is completed and the master schedule is finalized, so that class sizes can be balanced through the addition of sections as needed.

We have multiple layers of learning starting with core courses and developing through elective courses, extracurricular activities, and the senior internship, which gives students a unique chance to gain depth of learning, apply their knowledge, and test their interests. For example, a student can build on his/her biology course by taking Introduction to Medicine, participating in the Paws and Claws or Equestrian clubs, and interning with a local veterinarian during his/her senior internship. A student interested in math can try any number of business and computer courses, and then work in our on-site bank, Java City Café, school store, or MIS Department. The same is true of each and every department, where Masco students are given a competitive edge as a result of our multi-layered approach to learning. We want to build on what we already do well and make it much better.

Based on this desire, we will be offering some new and some modified electives. This year, we offered Chinese Language and Culture as a one-year course for juniors and seniors. It has been quite successful. Consequently, we are continuing our phase-in plan by offering Chinese I to incoming 9^th graders as a four year language commitment, and to other grade levels as a second foreign language. With the continuing emergence of China as a world power, we believe offering a full Chinese program will position our students better for the future they face. French and Spanish are other foreign language study options, and German will continue to be available until those students currently in the program complete their foreign language sequence.

We also are excited to be offering three new interdisciplinary courses next year. Web Design will be offered through an interdepartmental initiative between the Computer Science and Art Departments. It is a full year course with one semester being taught by a computer science teacher, who will focus on the technical skills required to build web pages. The other semester will be taught by an art teacher, who will focus on the aesthetics of design.  The full year course, Architecture, will be an initiative between the Science/Technology/Engineering Department and the Art Department, with a similar model employed. Finally, a one semester course, Prometheus Unleashed, will be an initiative between the Social Studies and the Science/Technology/Engineering Departments. This course will focus on the interplay between scientific discoveries and societies, cultures, and political systems, and will be instructed in a co-teaching model with a science and a social studies teacher. We believe these interdisciplinary courses will

High School Principal’s Budget Commentary- Continued

significantly enhance learning in these areas for our students and capitalize on the pooled knowledge and talent of our teachers.

In addition, we will be offering other new electives that will expand student experiences and provide more in-depth learning. The Art Department will offer a course in Fashion Design prompted by student interest and current job prospects in that field. We plan to bring about more in-depth learning by offering Ceramics II in the Art Department, and Advanced Mass Media in the Business/Computer Department. These courses will allow students who have completed the first level of the course to delve into more advanced material that will give them an edge if they plan on this as a college major. We currently offer the second level in Media Journalism for students who have a true interest in pursuing it as a field of study in college. We are making a concerted effort to increase students’ opportunities to pursue sequences in electives that give them a deeper understanding of the material and better prepare them for college majors.

We will be making some changes in current electives as well. We are adding an AP option to our existing Statistics (H) course. Students will be able to opt for the AP level course where they will be required to remain in the course during the senior internship program and complete the required AP course material not offered in the honors level course. They will be fully prepared for the AP test in mid-May. We also are adding a Financial Literacy component to our Health and Wellness course that is required for graduation. Our research tells us that most high school students are not well prepared to make important financial decisions they will face as college students and working adults. This new unit in the health curriculum will better prepare students for this important aspect of life. In addition, a day-long refresher seminar in Financial Literacy will be added to the senior internship experience before they graduate.

These additions and changes to our program allow us to offer our students more and varied choices that make Masco graduates better prepared to undertake higher education and enter an increasingly competitive global economy. We will continue to cycle some existing electives out, and others in, as we have in the past. Electives are one means by which students explore and determine plans for post-high school education, careers, and avocations, so we need to offer as many as possible each year. As noted above, we are offering these programs next year with no additional staffing. As a result, we may be reducing the number of sections of other courses, or deleting electives with insufficient student interest. Some students may not be able to take a course in which they have interest next year, but we hope to offer the course in the following year. We feel students will derive greater benefits from these changes and additions.

STAFFING (See pages 33 and 34.)

Administration: The size of the administration will remain the same in the FY09 budget.

Teachers: The High School’s FY09 budget reflects a small decrease in staffing from FY08 because Foreign Language is being reduced by .2 related to the beginning phase-out of German. Our budget cannot support four full languages at the high school level as our enrollment and costs increase and revenues decrease, so German eventually will be phased-out of the district.

High School Principal’s Budget Commentary- Continued

Counselors: We will maintain the approximate 220:1 student to counselor ratio in the FY09 budget. This level of guidance counselor staffing should be adequate for the next few years.

Nursing: There is no change in staffing in the nurse’s office. We will continue to have one full-time nurse and a .7 health aide (other .3 assigned to the Middle School health office), again providing us with full, all-day coverage in that office.

Secretarial: The secretarial staff will remain at its current level in FY09. We will continue some overtime hours to provide assistance in the guidance office and other offices during particularly busy periods of time during the year. This enables us to serve our students at peak periods without adding permanent employees.

Aides and Tutors: A special education tutor will be transferred to the Middle School to accommodate an increasing special education population associated with the large incoming 7^th grade class.

Coaches and Advisors: We will maintain the current club and sports offerings in FY09 with no expansion in either area.  However, several new clubs will be operating with volunteer advisors that will increase opportunities for students, but not impact the budget next year.

OPERATIONS (See pages 34.)

The Operations portion of the budget reflects the costs of textbooks, other published materials such as reference materials and workbooks, consumable supplies, durable goods, contracted services, and administrative services. For FY09, most areas reflect slight increases, or have remained the same.

Textbooks/Other Published: The total cost of textbooks for the High School is down for FY09 due to budget trimming efforts. The major new text series being purchased are for Art History, French III, AP American History, and Pre-Calculus Honors. These texts are to replace outdated or worn editions, or augment current text series. The remainder of textbook purchases will be for increased enrollments, or replacements of lost or damaged books. In the Other Published category, the overall budget is up slightly from the current year because of increased cost of the Naviance program used by guidance, and needed materials for our increasingly popular health electives.

Consumables: There is a slight increase in consumables for additional supplies needed in music, health and guidance. However, several departments have decreases in this area to offset some of the increases in these departments.

Durables: Overall, there is an increase in this area of the budget because many items were deferred last year but are sorely needed. We are still far below the FY07 expenditure level in this area. The main purchases for next year will be digital cameras for the Business/Computers and Art Departments; digital scales for Science; physical models for Health classes; drums for Music; and skis and snow shoes for PE. In the Athletic Department, we also need to replace all, or parts of uniforms in football, wrestling, tennis, and golf.

High School Principal’s Budget Commentary- Continued

Consultants and Other Service Providers: This area remains the same as in FY08. This line pays for such items as all home tutors, game officials, and game workers.

Maintenance, Rental, and Fees: The costs in this area have increased slightly, primarily for transportation for athletic and co-curricular teams.

Administrative Services: This line includes graduation costs, printing, and postage for the High School. This area remains at about the same level as the FY08 budget despite a much larger senior class.

SUMMARY

This budget provides for approximately the same staffing level as in FY08 as our population is projected to change by about 1.6 %. We will be offering both new and revised electives to better prepare our students to make difficult post high school education and career choices and to compete in our more complex, global society. Our requested staffing levels will allow us to maintain stable class sizes in most departments. In this budget, we will be providing a program that offers increased interdisciplinary experiences and more in-depth learning for our students, both of which enhance student learning and creativity. Our textbook replacements will allow us to keep current in several curricular areas, though not all. Overall, this budget will allow us to continue to provide high quality teaching and learning experiences for our students, but erosion is underway in many areas because of budget limitations. We hope our efforts at program expansions and improvements will make our students more competitive, while behaving in an ethical and responsible way.

School Council & Program Enrollment/

Class Size Summary Schedule

Staffing and Enrollment Comparison Data

High School Expenses Displayed by Line Item

High School Expenses Displayed by Program