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Masconomet
RSD Vision Statement
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The
§
Maximizes
opportunities for intellectual, personal and physical development
§
Encourages
individuals to become contributing community members
§ Promotes learning as a life-long pursuit
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District
Goals
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PROGRESS TOWARD FY08 GOALS
1. Maintain class size in core courses
We
made significant strides in FY07 and FY08 in reducing class size in core
courses. Class size is one of the
main factors related to the high performance we all want for our students. It does this by building student commitment
to their education through increased involvement in class because, put simply,
fewer students means greater opportunity to ask questions and engage in
discussion. It also enables teachers to
provide more individual attention and assign and correct more papers and projects
per student.
2. Reduce
class size in High School electives and add/or restore electives
The
FY 08 budget contained additional elective courses. Some of them were the result of a redesign of
existing courses or the rotation of offerings year-to-year, so did not require
additional faculty. Other electives were
an expansion of the current program and required the addition of teachers,
which were included in the FY08 budget.
We added sections of courses where we had not been able to meet demand, and
we developed new and exciting options to better prepare our students for post-high
school education and training, career decisions, and the development of talents
and interests.
- Increase funding for textbooks, curricular materials,
and instructional equipment
Our
average annual expenditure for textbooks since FY02 has been $112,150. (In FY07, we cut this category by
$40,230.) Many of our books were
outdated, and most of our computers were six years old. Their age, coupled with the use to which they
had been subjected, meant they needed to be replaced. Because of other obligations, we could not
afford to both buy books and replace computers.
For the FY08 budget, we chose to replace books and budgeted $104,895 for this purpose.
4. Increase
Athletic Director (AD) position to full-time
The
AD’s salary is funded through athletic fees.
Because we did not want to increase
the fees and could not absorb the cost in the budget either, we were not able to realize this goal.
5. Add an
administrator to oversee personnel matters and other general administrative functions
With
new personnel laws and regulations, as well as revisions to existing ones, (i.e.,
the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with
Disabilities Act, etc.), frequent revisions to the Massachusetts Department of
Education’s requirements for teacher/administrator licensure and re-licensure,
the requirements of the Federal No Child Left Behind Act pertaining to teacher
and tutor preparation, the management of five labor contracts representing over
300 part- and full-time employees, the training needs of this diverse work
force, the processes for the hiring/orientation/supervision/evaluation/training
of employees, and many more personnel functions require the knowledge and
skills of an experienced human resources manager. In addition, the use of our buildings by
outside groups and the implementation of the athletic user fees has
significantly increased the workload of the Chief Financial Officer,
Superintendent, Buildings and Grounds Department, Technology Department, and
other District employees. Though additional help was needed, the FY08 budget could not sustain the cost
of an additional administrator, so this goal went unmet.
6. Reduce
athletic user fees
Decreasing
the fees would have resulted in cuts in other areas of the budget. As much as we would like to lighten the
financial burden on parents, we could not realize this goal in the FY08 budget.
7. Restore
staff positions such as the full-time writing tutors, adjustment counselor, and
secretaries
In
FY04, 40 positions were cut (13.88 of which were teachers). To restore teaching positions since then, we
outsourced cleaning and food services, restructured several departments to
reduce the number of non-teaching staff, and more. We have not been able to reinstate most of
the other positions. We did, however, restore
a 1.1 full time equivalent in tutor time to provide writing instruction to
students who failed the writing portion of MCAS, though students’ needs for
service far exceeded the time available.
We used to have over three times that amount of tutor time for supplemental
writing instruction prior to the cuts made in FY04. We cut secretarial support significantly, and
those absorbing the additional duties have felt the strain. Nonetheless, due to budget limitations, we
could not increase tutor time or restore secretarial staffing levels. The
FY08 budget included an additional adjustment counselor, partially paid for
through a reduction in the number of special education tutors. The addition of the adjustment counselor is
helping us meet students’ social and emotional needs, particularly in realizing
our goal related to student engagement in learning with an eye toward reducing
the drop-out rate. Consequently, we only partially achieved this goal.
8. Increase
funds for public communications efforts
We began publishing the District’s
newsletter again in FY05. Two editions
are published annually, one in the fall and another in the spring, which are
mailed to residents
in the three towns. We had hoped to increase the number of editions in order to provide
more frequent and timely information to all community members as well as
improve the format and appearance of the print and web versions of the
newsletter; however, the FY08 budget could not absorb the cost, given other
priorities.
9. Continue to develop objectives and action
steps to realize the District’s two goals relative to MCAS and student
engagement
In general, Masconomet students have scored well on MCAS, which indicates that our regular education program works quite well. Our interventions work well, too, as evidenced by the fact that to date all students have ultimately passed MCAS before their classes graduated. We have found that students having initial difficulty reaching proficiency have been relatively new to Masco and/or are special education students. Nonetheless, we are not content. In addition, State requirements are being increased, and we want all our students to demonstrate proficiency in these important academic and knowledge skills areas. Consequently, faculty and administrators have spent considerable time and energy trying to understand and address the problem. Several strategies have been implemented at the Middle School, including these examples among many: extra courses and math lab time added to cover material not previously included in the math curriculum; new Study Skills and Academic Support programs introduced; special education teachers assigned to grade level teams to improve service delivery to special education students;
and all math teachers participated in a course on data analysis to improve instruction. Similar efforts related to English Language Arts are underway. This work carried into the High School with regular and special education teachers working together to revise the curriculum in the 9th grade College Preparatory, level 2, classes (CP2).
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District
Goals, FY09 Priorities
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FY09 PRIORITIES
1. Maintain
class size in core courses
The
FY09 budget loses ground relative to this goal because we could not fund the additional
teaching positions needed for the largest incoming 7th grade class
in Masco’s history, given the Towns’ budget cap. In
FY08, the overall MS class average is 22.5 students, as compared with 27.1 for
FY09. The High School average will remain
stable at 23.8. Of course, fluctuations
class to class will occur. As mentioned
previously, class size is directly related to our ability to provide better
instruction and more individual attention to students.
2. Reduce class size in High School electives
and add/or restore electives
The
FY09 budget does not allow us to continue to address this goal.
Unfortunately, we find ourselves having to phase-out German and
eliminate General Music at the Middle School in order to meet the Towns’ budget
cap. Additional reductions may be
necessary once union contracts are settled.
We will continue to redesign existing courses and
rotate offerings year-to-year at the High School, which will not require
additional faculty. Masconomet has prided itself on providing students
many academic and extracurricular offerings not available in other schools, which
provide them additional opportunities to learn and grow and prepare them for a
competitive post-high school environment.
We regret this budget is beginning to erode some of what has made
Masco so good.
3. Increase funding for textbooks, curricular
materials, and instructional equipment
As
mentioned previously, we have averaged about $112,125 a year for textbooks
since FY02. For the FY08 budget, we chose to replace books over computers and
budgeted $104,895. Because we have not
been able to keep pace and have deferred purchasing needed books, materials,
and technological tools, many of our books still are outdated, and many of our
computers now are seven years old. In
addition, we have not kept pace with the elementary schools relative to
technological instructional tools such as Smart Boards. Because
of other obligations, this budget cannot fund all the books we need, replace
computers, or expand the use of Smart Board technology. Again this year, we chose to replace some
of the books and budgeted
$108,533 for this purpose ($61,266 for the High School, and $47,267 for the
Middle School). However, we will
work with parents to seek private funding for Smart Boards. The FY09 budget also includes increases in
consumables related to increased enrollment, and increased costs for
maintaining aging equipment.
4. Increase Athletic Director (AD) position to
full-time
We
believe having a full-time AD would result in additional time for more training
and supervision of the head and assistant coaches for the 57 teams we field at
the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman levels. It also would enable us to expand current
practices for showcasing student athletes relative to post-secondary
opportunities. The current AD does what
he can, given his half-time status and other job responsibilities, but would
benefit from additional time to do even more. The AD’s salary is funded through
athletic fees, but we did not want to increase the fees, and we cannot absorb
the cost in the budget either. Consequently,
we cannot realize this goal in FY09.
5. Add an administrator to oversee personnel
matters and other general administrative functions
As
noted above, new personnel laws and regulations, as well as revisions to
existing ones, frequent revisions to State requirements for
teacher/administrator licensure, the requirements of the Federal No Child Left
Behind Act, the management of five labor contracts, the training needs of a
diverse work force, the processes for the hiring/orientation/supervision/evaluation/training
of employees, and many more personnel functions require the knowledge and
skills of an experienced human resources manager. In addition, the use of our buildings by
outside groups and the implementation of the athletic user fees has
significantly increased the workload of Central Office and other District
employees. Additional help is needed so
that District staff can properly fulfill their main mission of educating
Masconomet students. Unfortunately,
this budget could not sustain the cost of an additional administrator, so this
goal again will go unmet in FY09.
6. Restore staff positions such as the full-time
writing tutors, adjustment counselor, and secretaries
In
FY04, 40 positions were cut (13.88 teachers).
As noted previously, we outsourced cleaning and food services,
restructured several departments to reduce the number of non-teaching staff,
and more, in order to fund the restoration of some teaching positions. We have not been able to reinstate most of
the other non-teaching positions with the exception of a 1.1 full time and an
adjustment counselor (largely funded through savings elsewhere). The
FY09 budget does not allow us to make progress on this goal.
7. Increase
funds for public communications efforts
We had hoped to increase the number of
newsletter editions sent to all residents to provide more frequent and timely
information as well as improve the format and appearance of the print and web
versions of the newsletter; however,
this budget cannot absorb the cost, given other priorities.
8. Continue to
develop objectives and action steps to realize the District’s two goals relative
to MCAS and student engagement
We will
continue efforts already underway. New initiatives requiring additional faculty
could not be funded through the FY09 budget.
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Budget
Calendar – FY2009
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Budget
Process reviewed and priorities established by the School Committee October 3
Budget
Preparation packet sent to all administrators October
17
Budget
requests submitted to the Central Office November
30
Fee
Schedule Review undertaken by the Fiscal Management Subcommittee Fall
(drivers ed, lunches, athletics, etc.)
Advisory
Council (Principals, Directors, & Department Heads) meets with December
5
School
Committee to discuss FY 08 programmatic needs
Fee
schedule for FY 08 approved by the School Committee December 19
Budget development deliberations
undertaken by the Administration December
3– January 31
Revenue estimates received from the State January/February
Budget
document distributed February 8
-11
Brief
budget overview provided and Open Public Hearing held February 13
School
Committee questions submitted to the Superintendent in preparation February 25
for
the upcoming deliberation meeting
Budget
deliberation by School Committee (8:30 AM – 1:00 PM) March
1
Budget
deliberation by School Committee (potential date for Budget March 5
Adoption/Certification)
Budget
deliberation by School Committee (only if necessary) March 10 &12
Meetings
held with town officials on adopted budget March
and April
School
Assessment voted on at Topsfield Town Meeting May 6
School Assessment
voted on at Boxford & Middleton Town Meetings May 13
We appreciate the financial
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