Government officials from the Tri-Towns have pledged to support an Old Rochester Regional school district level-funded budget increase of $320,000 maximum for FY18. This amount, however, is not nearly enough to cover the ORR budget subcommittee’s level-funded budget increase of $704,516, let alone the budget that the subcommittee feels the school needs – $18,475,627 or an increase of about $834,000.
“The word we keep hearing from the towns is ‘dire,’” said ORR School Committee Chairman Tina Rood. “But I really do believe that it is our job to put forward the needs of our schools.”
The district was hoping to move forward with its five-year capital plan that towns had supported last year, and make the part-time art teacher position a full-time position, while also maintaining the teacher leadership program, late busses for after school activities, and the age 18-22 program established last year.
With the ‘middle road’ level-funded budget, requests such as an additional guidance counselor, social worker, technology upgrades, and a special education coordinator would not be funded. A custodial position would also not be replaced upon retirement this year.
“It does not include any kind of monies for upgrades and improvements at the district,” said Rood. The $320,000 number, she said, “Is not based on need or importance, but ‘just a number.’”
Under the more conservative budget option, the music program, including the band, would be gutted at the junior high. Principal Kevin Brogioli said, “Basically every student in the school moves through this program.”
“Those are the types of things that will not be funded at that $320,000 level,” Rood stated. “That is very disappointing in a district like this with voters who support our schools…. A number that doesn’t even start to cover the updates and things that need to happen at the school.” She continued, “But now you’re talking about the curriculum and the everyday teaching of our students.”
School committee member Heather Burke cautioned, “If we went forward with this requested budget, we would not be doing our service to the students. This type of budget would kick off a death spiral for this school. Honestly, it would gut it. And with that would go housing prices, community involvement, all sorts of dire community ills would start to flood in.”
Burke called the towns’ proposal “misguided.”
“If this is what town authorities are proposing, then I think the communities should evaluate in whom they put their trust,” said Burke. “I understand budgets are tight everywhere,” she continued, adding that a budget like that is like a message that says, “We don’t value education in this community, we don’t care about our children, and I don’t think that’s how the Tri-Town population feels.”
“I can’t even understand a number like this,” said Burke.
In defense of the three towns, School Business Administrator Patrick Spencer said, “They’re dealing with a reality that they have to deal with … a number based on their revenue streams.” He continued, “It’s not just something that they picked willy-nilly out of the air…. I understand what we’re trying to accomplish, but that number was based on information that we have given them. It’s their reality that they’re trying to deal with.”
Spencer said the district’s reality is quite different, and it must find different ways to fund it, recommending that the committee steer the budget more into the ‘middle.’
“We’re trying to be as realistic as we can be,” Spencer said. “Reality is reality, so that’s what we’re dealing with right now.
The committee, under the recommendation of Superintendent Doug White, discussed increasing school choice slots at the two schools, a move away from prior years when the committee headed more towards maintaining the current levels, if not slowly decreasing them.
Brogioli and high school Principal Michael Devoll agreed they could both accommodate 30 to 35 students and still maintain class sizes and programs.
The committee discussed a cap on school choice students, deciding between a max of 105 students and 125.
Right now there are 68 school choice students at ORR junior and high school.
The district is reimbursed $5,000 per student in the program.
The caveat, however, is the district can’t know ahead of time what services, including special education, might be needed as they come into the district, which could increase costs some. Director of Student Services Michael Nelson said that although some percentages of certain programs are reimbursed at the end of the year, 100 percent is not. Nelson stressed he could not predict any increases in student services with school choice.
However, as school committee member James Muse pointed out, “The solution to this budget is not school choice.”
He also emphasized the cultural and social positive impacts that school choice offers.
“We got to find the problem to find the money to do it right no matter what,” said Muse.
“We shouldn’t be using school choice for budget solutions.”
Although 125 school choice students was not the most feasible number, the committee voted unanimously to simply cap the number at 125.
It is, however, as Rood put it, not optimal.
“That is not an optimal world … but it is what we are committed towards,” said Rood. But, just accepting a level-funded budget, she said, “That’s just crazy.”
Rood encouraged supportive residents to speak to their members of town government.
In other matters, the committee denied one senior’s request to bring her 21-year-old boyfriend to the senior prom. The committee considered the student’s request over the past several weeks and ultimately chose to uphold the policy that prohibits anyone 21 or over to attend school events such as prom. The committee did, however, approve the out-of-state prom location venue selection at Belle Mer in Newport, Rhode Island.
The ORR School Committee will meet again at the March 20 budget review meeting at 6:30 pm in the ORRJHS media room, accessible from the double doors behind the school.
By Jean Perry